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SOPHIA OF WISDOM III - GOD'S BRIDE
LIBRARY OF SOPHIA OF WISDOM III
SOPHIA OF ALL SOPHIA OF WISDOMS
AKA CAROLINE E. KENNEDY - CAROLINA KENNEDIA_________________
JUL 23, 2007
RE: Sophia: Goddess of Wisdom & God's Bride
Sophia Prayers & Gallery
By Rev. Mark Raines, R+C & Dr. Katia
Who is Sophia? Quite literally, She is Wisdom, because the Greek word Sophia translates into Wisdom. More than that, She is the Wisdom of Deity. She has been revered as the Wise Bride of Solomon by Jews, as the Queen of Wisdom and War (Athena) by Greeks, and as the Holy Spirit of Wisdom by Christians. She is known as Chokmah (pronounced HOK-mah with the H being said like -ch in the name Bach) in Hebrew, and Sapientia in Latin. But just who is Sophia?
Sophia is found throughout the wisdom books of the Bible. There are many references to Her in the book of Proverbs, and in the apocryphal books of Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon (accepted by Catholics and Orthodox, found in the Greek Septuagint of the early Church). She is Wisdom Incarnate, the Goddess of all those who are wise.
Is it any wonder that She is constantly associated with wise King Solomon? 1 Kings 4:29-31 tells us that God gave wisdom to Solomon, and that he became wiser than all the kings of the East and all the wise people of Egypt. Wisdom 8:2, 16, 18 tells us that Solomon was seen as married to Sophia. One of the many layers of symbolism attributed to the Song of Songs (also known as Song of Solomon or Canticle of Canticles) is that it speaks of Solomon's marriage to Holy Sophia. Wisdom 9:8-11 even tells us that Sophia instructed Solomon in building the Temple!
The Jews revered Sophia. King Solomon even put Her right in the Temple, in the form of the Goddess Asherah. However, after the "reforms" of King Josiah, there was a threat that the veneration of Sophia would come to a halt - there was even more of a threat when patriarchal Christianity took over the world. Even still, thanks to Her continuing presence in the world and Her presence in the Bible, veneration of Sophia continued in the Eastern tradition with the construction of the Hagia Sophia and the Russian Catholic liturgical service to Sophia combined with the assumption of Mary on May 15. The Russian Orthodox Church has also begun a school of "Sophiology" to explore the thealogy of Sophia without contradicting the Russian Orthodox theology.
Yet the Eastern Christians are not the only Christians to venerate Sophia. Sophia was very likely venerated by early Followers of the Way, and her veneration has survived in the West today in the form of Gnosticism. Gnostics see her as one of the aeons, one of the quasi-deities who live in the ethereal realm known as the pleroma. Gnostics believe that she gave birth to or brought about the creation of a negative aeon, who later came to be called an archon, called the Demiurge, creator and ruler of this world. Gnostics see the Demiurge as the God of the Old Testament, with his strict rules and chains that bind the people of the Earth. Gnostics believe that Sophia and the Father God (not the Demiurge) sent Yeshua to right this wrong. In Gnostic tradition, Sophia plays a very active role in our world.
Sophia and her 3 Daughters, Faith, Hope & Charity/Love
- from a Russian Icon Esoteric Christianity doesn't typically support the theory of the Demiurge. It believes that creation is inherently good, and as such so is the Creator. However, the Mystery School does teach one "theory" that Shaitan (aka Satan or Shatan), the devil, was the ruler of this world and was accidentally given the keys to the Otherworlds by the Goddess. He had these keys until the passion, death, and descent into hell of Yeshua, when Yeshua retrieved them and holds them still. Sophia, Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene are three Christian Goddesses, making up a female Trinity. Both the earthly forms of Mary and MM shared the name Mary, and both in their Heavenly forms share the Hebrew letter Heh in the God-Name YHVH. So how does Sophia fit into the Godhead? Wisdom of Solomon, a book in the apocrypha says clearly that Sophia is the Holy Spirit. There could be a feminine Trinosophia - Mother, Daughter, and Pneuma (Holy Soul).
The Trinitarian/Trinosophia can also fit with the Quaternity. Believers in the Quaternity see the Four as Father, Mother, Son, and Daughter - BUT, they also acknowledge Paraclete and Pneuma as the masculine and feminine essences of Divinity (see our Creed of the Way, in which Pneuma is clearly acknowledged). Perhaps Paraclete is the combination of the two masculine forces, and Pneuma may be the combination of the two feminine forces. This could explain why They do not have Their own letters in the Quaternity, since They may be a combination of the masculine and feminine forces. For more information on the Holy Trinity and the Holy Trinosophia, try our Restoring the Goddess Lesson E.
Sources:
1. The Sophia Foundation of North America
2. Sophia, Goddess of Wisdom by the WOW Institute. Originally on www.wowinstitute.org/goddess/hidden/goddess_sophia.html (link no longer works)
3. About Sophia, Hidden Goddess of the West by Brother Leonard
Sophia: Exile & Return Excerpt: Sophia personifies wisdom, an ancient tradition concerned with integrity in the marketplace, politics, and royal court. Because the teachings were rooted in life instead of doctrine, Sophia became problematical and excluded from the religious formulations of monotheism. This manuscript is about exile--Sophia's and our own. I compare Sophia's exile from mainstream religion to the alienation suffered by modern individuals who experience loss, betrayal, and abandonment. What is exiled in today's dysfunctional paradigm is the vital soul, the genius or daemon. When we pay attention to it by taking our life seriously--as a mode of knowledge--we awaken its fire. The vital expresses the integrity and intelligence of the life force, whose awakening turns exile into home--revealing Sophia to be not divine but the source of divine images--the human psyche. While Sophia has been interpreted as divine, goddess or psychological image, she is examined here from several unique perspectives. First, Sophia is developed from the context of modern life and real people, but in conversation with the historical and mythological. Second, the dark side is confronted through analysis of Sophia's "Other" faces, Lilith and Hecate, locating it as the source of individual power and knowledge. Third, it provides modern women with an image of female power that is not based solely on reproduction and mothering but on another aspect of the feminine archetype rarely discussed--the intelligence and cosmic power of the life force. Finally, it introduces the "path of crumbs" which encourages women to direct their own life through recognition of the guidance present in circumstances.
GREAT SOPHIA LINKS: Read entire article Sophia: Exile and Return
Gnostic Sophia articles
Have you seen her? Wonderful page on the Sophia Holy Spirit connection and the Sophia Mother Mary connection. Nice pictures and links, too.
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Prayers to the Holy Sophia Top Sophia!
You of the whirling wings,
circling, encompassing energy of God:
you quicken the world in your clasp.
One wing soars in heaven,
one wing sweeps the earth,
and the third flies all around us.
Praise to Sophia!
Let all the earth praise her!
-Hildegard of Bingen
"Sophia" Copyright Hrana Janto
Used by permission of the artist.
Notice her wings, her "pregnant" belly
The Creed of the Holy Spirit
(by Unknown author. Please email if you know who wrote this!)
I believe in the Blessed Sophia.
I believe that she is Our Heavenly Father's Beloved Daughter.
I believe our souls dwelled with them in the Beginning, in harmony and love.
I believe that Sophia is the Divine Daughter.
That She lives in all women, and her strength and grace inspires all;
And she has sinned, learnt and is now strong and free.
I believe that Sophia is the Great Mother.
She is the Eema, the image of the hight of our strength;
And she has tutored me along Her Holy Path.
I believe that Sophia is the Holy Soul.
The Pneuma, the inner Crone of death and understanding within me;
And that She will bring completion in my waning days.
I believe that Sophia is the Spirit of God.
She is the Celestial Mother, and unites the Father and Child;
And She has given us knowledge of Their nurturing ways.
I believe in the Aeons, the Spirits, the gods of the Unknown God.
They are ruled by Sophia, they are Her children;
They all come from the Mother and to Her they shall return.
I believe in Reincarnation.
Her soul allows us to cycle throughout the prinsonhosue of matter;
Until we achieve the Liberation of the Light of Her Unknown Source.
I live in duty to restore honour to The Holy Spirit.
In prayer and reverence of all Her rituals;
From the masks of saints and goddesses, to restore honour to the True Queen.
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The Hail Sophia
Hail Sophia, filled with Light, the Christ is with thee. Blessed art thou among the Aeons and blessed is the liberator of thy Light, Jesus. Holy Sophia, Mother of all Gods, pray to the Light for us thy children, now and in the hour of our death, Amen.
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Prayer To The Holy Spirit
Most loving Father of the poor, send your light down from Heaven, your Gift of most splendid gifts, the Light that penetrates all, the Fountain of deep consolation. Come, O Divine Sophia.
Come, Sweet Host of the soul. Give everyone rest from their efforts, respite from their hard labor, be their gentle breeze in moments of fire, the joy that dries up their tears and comforts their sorrows.
Enter the deepest depth of their soul, Oh Divine Sophia, and enrich it. Look at the emptiness within when you are not presence. Look at the power of sin when you do not breathe within them. Water the dry earth of their soul, heal their wounded heart, wash them clean of all dirt, place the warmth of life back within their cold hearts, conquer their uncontrollable spirit, guide them when the way is confusing.
Pour out on your servants your seven gifts according to their faith. In your goodness and blessings give them the strength they need, save all who are looking for salvation, and bless us all with your eternal joy.
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Prayer to Sophia Top
Savior of the World, Sunny Lady,
Patroness of Powers, Sophia - Wisdom of God,
Invincible Almighty's Hand, Bless the World by the sign of Cross,
incinerate the Hearths of the world fundamentalism,
and erect the City of Saints by the Intercession of the Fiery Hierarchy
of the triumphant Church and crowd of angelic ranks,
save My Land and all the World!
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Faith, Hope and Charity
O holy and most praiseworthy Martyrs, Faith, Hope and Charity, and wise mother Sophia of these glorious daughters: to you do we now hasten in heartfelt prayer, for what better representation can we have before the Lord, than faith, hope and charity, the three cornerstone virtues, which, bearing their names, ye embodied in fact. Entreat the Lord to shield us, save us and keep us in every sorrow and trouble, as One Who is good and loveth mankind. Pray that His glory, like a sun that never setteth, and which ye now see as becometh Saints, be with us in our humble prayers; may the Lord God forgive our sins and iniquities, and have mercy on us sinners who are unworthy of His generosity towards us. Pray indeed for us, ye holy Martyrs, unto our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom we send up glory, together with His Father Who is from everlasting, and His All-holy, and Good, and Life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
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Prayer to Sophia Top
Oh,
Great Light,
Hidden within this darkness,
Unlimited Fire,
Brilliant Emanation,
Sapientia Dei,
Beauty and wonder
that fills me like water to a sponge,
Sophia,
Holy Spirit,
Rising Dawn,
Lily of the Valleys,
Tree of Life,
Behold,
You Are Beautiful!
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Hail, Lady of Light
Hail, Lady of Light,
Mystical Lover of my spirit.
Blessed are you, Woman of Wisdom,
and blessed are the gifts you bestow on us your children.
Holy Sophia, goddess who leads to the One God,
fill me with your emptiness,
and darken my spirit with your light,
Amen.
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Salve Regina (Sophia)
Hail, Queen of Heaven,
Mother most merciful,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
You lead us on this pilgrim journey,
and to you we cry when we seem mired,
in the pain of exile from our true home.
And, gentle Mother Sophia, you soothe our tears.
Turn then, most gracious Advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us,
and bring us into the unity of the Pleroma,
with your heavenly consort, our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Mysteries for the Sophia Rosary Top
(The last mysteries are taken from the Ecclaisia Gnostic Rosary, the ones before are inspired by the story of Sophia. The original script of the Gnostic Mysteries can be found at:
http://www.gnosis.org/library/rosary.htm)
The Mournful Mysteries
1st Mournful Mystery: The Descent: Desiring for the Light, Sophia is overwhelmed by power and falls from Pleroma.
2nd Mournful Mystery: The Aeon's Prayers: The Father and the other Aeons search for Sophia, pleading to the Light to save Her.
3rd Mournful Mystery: The Forsaking: In her anguish, Sophia gives birth to a dark hybrid and abandons Him in despair.
4th Mournful Mystery: The Creator: The hybrid grows and becomes the
Demiurge and steams the elements from Sophia to create the Earth and Mankind for His slaves.
5th Mournful Mystery: The Weeping: Sophia continues her mourning in the lower realms as the Demiurge enslaves man-kind.
The Gracious Mysteries
1st Gracious Mystery: The Blessing: Sophia's daughter Zoë kisses Adam and blesses mankind with Her Holy Soul and encourages the snake to tell Eve to eat the apple.
2nd Gracious Mystery: The Rebuking: The Demiurge proclaims He is the only God and Sophia replies: 'You are wrong, Blind One!'
3rd Gracious Mystery: The Salvation: Finally the Light hears the prayers of the Aeons and Sophia and sends down the Lord Christ to bring salvation to the Soul.
4th Gracious Mystery: The Inspiration: Eema Sophia is mirrored in Mary Theotokis, who gives birth the one who Christ will manifest in, Jesus.
5th Gracious Mystery: The Manifestation: The Divine Daughter, Sophia's Gnosis, is achieved by Mary Magdalene, the High Preistess and consort of Jesus
The Gnostic Mysteries
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