Sophia

The Lesser Aeon of Wisdom (Art by William Blake)

### Aliases

Pistis, Pistis Sophia, Achamōth, Prunikos, The Sophia, Wisdom, Chokmah, Norea, Helena, Goddess of Wisdom, Helen of Troy, Bride of Christ, The Holy Spirit, Mother of Creation, Inferior Mother, Yushamin, Ruha, New Jerusalem

### Affiliation

Anthropos, Ecclesia, Heaven, God, The Dodecad

## Physical Description

### Spirit of

Wisdom, Creation, Light, Soul, Faith, Divine Spark, Spiritual Locks, Life, Motherhood, Desire

## Relatives

### Siblings

Paraclete, Pistis, Patricos, Elpis, Metricos, Agape, Ainos, Synesis, Ecclesiasticus, Macariotes, Theletos

### Consorts

Jesus Christ, Theletos, Autogenes, Dynamis, Bythos, Simon Magus (through Helena)

### Offspring

Yaldabaoth, Satanael, Abraxas, Nebro

**Sophia**, also known as the **Goddess of Wisdom**, **Mother Wisdom** or **Pistis**, is the aeonic goddess of wisdom, faith and knowledge. She is the last emanation of Bythos and the mother of Yaldabaoth, and the consort of Jesus Christ. Sophia is mainly worshiped in Gnosticism, but also in Christian theology, Platonism, Hellenism, Christian Mysticism and Jewish Mysticism.

## Overview

Sophia played a pivotal role in shaping the material world. As she bestowed mortal humans with souls, she also shared with them the hidden wisdom of the genuine spiritual universe, enabling them to break free from the sway of Yaldabaoth.

Her full name is "Pistis Sophia", indicating that she is not only the personification of wisdom, but also the faith that moves the hearts of humans and has helped them throughout history, performing miracles, healings, saving people and much more.

All aeons are androgynous, that is, they have a male and a female counterpart, in Gnosticism the female counterpart of Jesus Christ was Sophia, and vice versa. In fact, the two are twin, together they form the dual power, the masculine and the feminine, the positive spirit and the negative spirit. The Gnostics claim that she is the syzygy of Jesus (the Bride of Christ) and the Holy Spirit of the Trinity, although such a position also seems to belong to Barbelo. It is also argued that she is the mother of Zoe, whom she sent to enter Adam's body, and when God (or the Demiurge) took Adam's rib, that's when Zoe assumed a human female form.

## Appearance

Sophia is a high-level spiritual being and therefore lacks a physical form, needing to use mortal forms in the human realm. Its true form is indescribable, usually being described as a very intense blue light capable of burning the eyes of anyone looking at it.

In Gnosticism, although not explicitly stated, it is clear that good is represented with beauty, while evil is represented with ugliness. Yaldabaoth and his archons are always represented as chimera-like figures, while Sophia is always glorified for her beauty, often being depicted nude.

In her human form, Sophia is a tall dark-skinned woman with waist-length blonde hair who has several bangs down her face, two bangs come down at the sides running all the way down that also frames her face and hazel eyes that sometimes change to blue. She usually appears to be sleepy whenever she makes an appearance, but under special situations, she has a serious face that she puts on.

In her second form, Sophia appears as a 12-year-old fair-skinned girl with blonde hair that reaches down to her legs, she has sea-blue eyes. She wears a black and white dress, giving her a cute look. Her voice is described by Gabriel as being very cute. Despite her small size, she has a powerful aura, being much more powerful and bright than the Seven Archangels.

## Personality

Sophia is a very kind and compassionate, optimist, especially to her family and people close to her. While presenting an image of apathy towards others, she dislikes cruelty, especially towards the innocent. To put it in simpler terms, Sophia is shown to be very humble and polite, as well as a loving mother and a dedicated leader.

She possesses a huge amount of regret due to what she did with Yaldabaoth, wishing she could go back stop her past self from banishing that demiurge due to embarrassment and shame. During her time on Earth, she developed loving feelings for the Absolute. However, some believe that she already had feelings for God even before her fall.

## Powers and Abilities

Due to the fact that the goddess does not like to fight, her true powers are unknown. But, it is implied that the powers of the Goddess of Wisdom are far beyond many beings, as she transcends Yaldabaoth and all of his Universe, which consists of a universe that is basically a copy of the universe created by God, with its own Heaven and Hell, as well as several powerful beings like the Archons, beings almost as powerful as the Angels of Heaven. Even though weaker than her siblings, she makes up for her weakness with her wisdom, which has always given her the edge over her siblings.

* **Wisdom Deity Physiology**: Sophia is a Deity of Wisdom, a goddess who represents or is associated with wisdom, knowledge and life experiences. Although similar, it should not be confused only with the Deities of Knowledge, as not all of them are as wise as the Deities of Wisdom. The Wisdom Deities possess the experience of knowledge. The Wisdom Deities were quite common in mythology and important among ancient and current civilizations, where they were present.
	+ **Soul Creation**: Sophia, alongside God and Life, is a creator of souls, which allows her to manipulate them at will. Before God created the first Edenims in 4,004 BCE, Sophia had already done this 7 million years ago earlier, with a prehistoric race, giving the first hominids a powerful soul. Although she can create souls at will, she admits that creating them makes her nauseous for a while, as the soul is nothing more than a piece taken from the goddess herself to make something aware.
* **Nigh-Omniscience**: As Sophia is the very personification of wisdom, her knowledge about the universe is extremely great by nature, combined with her long studies about the universe, she is an all-intelligent entity. The Goddess is aware of different things and events that are happening in different timelines and dimensions, after all, she is wisdom, being present in all beings who have the ability to think, whether irrationally or rationally.

## History

The Universe's origin can be traced all the way back to the original and unknowable God, often referred to as the Parent, Bythos, or Monad, as described by Monoimus. This initial, unitary beginning gave rise to the spontaneous emanation of successive Aeons, which were pairs of progressively 'lesser' beings in a sequential order. Collectively, along with their source, these Aeons constituted the Pleroma, symbolizing the fullness of God. It's essential to understand that these Aeons shouldn't be seen as distinct from the divine but rather as symbolic abstractions of the divine nature. The transition from the immaterial to the material, from the noumenal to the sensible, occurred due to a flaw, passion, or sin in one of the Aeons.

Sophia played a central role in this instability within the Pleroma, which ultimately led to the creation of materiality. The crisis emerged when Sophia attempted to emanate without a partner, resulting in her cataclysmic fall from Heaven. Filled with fear and anguish at the loss of her divine life, just as she had lost the light of the One, Sophia longed to return to it, inadvertently giving rise to matter and soul. The creation of the Demiurge, known as Yaldabaoth or the "Son of Khaos," was also an error during this exile. The Demiurge proceeded to craft the physical world we inhabit, remaining ignorant of Sophia's existence, even though she managed to infuse some spiritual spark or pneuma into his creation.

Jesus Christ was sent from the Godhead with the purpose of reuniting Sophia with the divine realm. Christ's mission was to help Sophia regain her connection to the spiritual world and bestow upon her the knowledge of the spirit. Subsequently, Christ incarnated as the man Jesus and shared the wisdom necessary for individuals to liberate themselves from the physical world and return to the spiritual realm.

The Gnostics assigned a specific dwelling place to Sophia and outlined her relationship with the upper world, as well as her connection to the seven planetary powers that were positioned beneath her. In the ancient worldview, these seven planetary spheres or heavens were considered the highest realms within the created universe, arranged as seven concentric circles, each ruled by one of the seven Archons. This collection was known as the Hebdomad.

Above the highest sphere of the Hebdomad, there existed the Ogdoad, a realm of immutability that was in close proximity to the spiritual world. In this context, the seven pillars were interpreted as representing the planetary heavens, with Sophia's dwelling located above the Hebdomad in the Ogdoad.

Sophia's dwelling-place is depicted as being "on the heights," situated above the created universe, between the upper and lower worlds, bridging the gap between Heaven and Earth. She is said to reside at "the gates of the mighty," signifying her position at the thresholds to the realms ruled by the seven Archons. Furthermore, her praise is sung at the entrances to the upper realm of light. In this role, Sophia holds the highest authority over the visible universe while also serving as the intermediary between the higher and lower realms. She shapes the mundane universe based on heavenly prototypes and organizes the seven star-circles, each with its own Archon, who, according to the ancient astrological beliefs, govern the fates of all earthly things, particularly human destinies. She is often referred to as "the mother" or "the mother of the living."

To reconcile the ethereal nature of Sophia with her dwelling in the kingdom of the midst, situated outside the higher realm of light, a scenario was conceived where Sophia descended from her celestial home into the void below. This concept involved the appropriation or theft of light, or a pouring and diffusion of light-dew into the kenōma, triggered by a life-bestowing movement in the upper world. Because the light brought into the darkness of the lower world was associated with suffering, this suffering was regarded as a form of punitive consequence.

The story of Sophia's fall serves as a prototype for the history of individual souls. These souls, originally from a heavenly pneumatic origin, have fallen from the upper world of light, coming under the influence of malevolent powers, which subject them to prolonged suffering until they can return to the upper world. However, these fallen souls retain a memory of their lost home and strive to return.

## Trivia

* Sophia admits that she feels a tremendous passion for God.
* Sophia emanating Yaldabaoth without her consort is literally interpreted as a metaphor for masturbation - she creates Yaldabaoth by having sex alone rather than with her consort (sometimes interpreted as Jesus or Theletos).
* Technically speaking, all humans are facets of Sophia, as she is the very divine spark that dwells within each human. Some Gnostics interpret this as Sophia dressing in a heavenly robe that is the cosmos and exploring her positive and negative aspects. No wonder, she calls herself the saint, and the harlot, the father, and the mother, and the son, the sinless one who brought sin.
* As the embodiment of wisdom, Sophia is quasi-omniscient. However when in her human form her IQ is believed to be 10^30, or one nonillion.
* Her favorite music is "Hallelujah" and she is sometimes seen singing it around.