Gnosticism Terms and Concepts
To fully understand the complicated religion of Gnosticism, one must understand the terms of the religion, as well as the concepts behind them. There are many that are important to Gnosticism and they are intertwined with each other. One who wishes to achieve Gnosis, that is a state of superior knowledge and freedom from worldly goods, must understand each concept as well as how they work together to form the fundamentals of Gnosticism.
Aeons: Gnostics have many different names for the different entities that they have as God. These names include the One, Monad, Aion teleos, Bythos, and Proarkhe. All of the terms grouped together can be called aeons. The two most common aeons are Jesus and Sophia. It’s not unusual for aeons to come in pairs constituting one male aeon and one female aeon. The aeons make up the region of light, what those in the Gnosticism religion call the plemora. There are different areas of the plemora and the lowest areas are the darkest and the lowest. They are all the areas that are closest to earth.
Archon: The term archon refers to the Demiurge, which in Gnosticism, in the creator god. The purpose of the archons was to serve the Demiurge, for they were the gateway between spiritual humanity and a transcendent God that one could only experience with Gnosis. The archons can be compared to the angels and demons which appear in the Old Testament.
Abraxas/Abrasax: This is a term that Egyptian Gnostics used when referring to a spiritual figure that was the highest rank among 365 other spiritual beings. Although the figure is etched onto many stones that were worn as charms among the Egyptian Gnostics, the role of the Abraxas is not known. In modern Gnosticism, it is believed that this is the god that embodies both good and evil.
Demiurge: Although one may originally believe that Demiurge is one of the highest gods because he is the creator god, he is actually seen as quite evil in the eyes of the Gnostic religion. This is because he is the creator of the physical world and humanity and the idea of Gnosis is to be free from these entities.
Gnosis: Gnosis is a form of special knowledge. This knowledge is derived from knowing, or having an experience with a god.
Monad: Monad is one of the names for a god in the Gnostic religion. This is the god that is the opposite of the Demiurge and the Monad represents everything that is good about the pleroma. In the same way the Demiurge controls and creates everything that is related to the physical world, the Monad creates and controls everything that is related to the spiritual world.
Pleroma: The pleroma is a completeness of God’s powers. The term refers to the word “fullness.” This is where all of divine life is derived from and it is something that is above our world not in the literal sense but in the idea that it can only be achieved once one lets go of the worldly thoughts and beliefs. To understand the Gnostic religion, one must understand this concept and what it represents to every aspect of Gnosis.
Sophia: It is from Sophia that the Demiurge came. This refers to the final and lowest form of god.