{"id":1056,"date":"2015-03-09T13:53:06","date_gmt":"2015-03-09T21:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/betweentheshadows\/?p=1056"},"modified":"2017-09-04T19:36:49","modified_gmt":"2017-09-05T03:36:49","slug":"seekers-and-guides-knowledge-wisdom-and-gnosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/betweentheshadows\/2015\/03\/seekers-and-guides-knowledge-wisdom-and-gnosis\/","title":{"rendered":"Seekers and Guides: Knowledge, Wisdom and Gnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Tree of Life\" by Albero della Vita di Davide Tonato 2011. Released to the public domain through Wikimedia Commons.<\/a>
\u201cTree of Life\u201d by Albero della Vita di Davide Tonato 2011. Released to the public domain through Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Knowledge, Wisdom and Gnosis\u00a0<\/span>\u2013 What do these words mean to you? How do you express these principles in your spiritual work? Is any one more important than the other? Why?<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I was excited by this week\u2019s Pagan Experience<\/a> topic because I see these three attributes as the three poles, not of Paganism in particular, but faith in general. \u00a0I\u2019ve been talking about this recently. \u00a0What defines \u201cPagan theology?\u201d \u00a0Do we even have such a thing? \u00a0What are the differences between Knowledge, Wisdom and Gnosis, and how do they affect our spiritual practice?<\/p>\n

The Logos and the Sophia<\/h2>\n

The definitions of Knowledge<\/a> given by a dictionary have the connotation of education. \u00a0One studies and learns in order to obtain knowledge. \u00a0One trains or reads things. \u00a0When one is arguing from Knowledge, one argues from a place of reason and cause and effect.<\/p>\n

Knowledge gives context within a vaster framework. \u00a0It is the Logos<\/a>, the Word. \u00a0Knowledge gives things forms and names them. \u00a0The power of naming was one of the great abilities attributed to great wizards, druids, and significant religious figures such as saints.<\/p>\n

The definitions of Wisdom that a dictionary presents to us also include scholarly learning, but mostly they have connotations of insight and discernment. \u00a0Wisdom is learned through the School of Hard Knocks and is the result of struggle and mistakes. \u00a0When one is arguing from Wisdom, one argues from a place of folk tradition, intuition\u00a0and common sense.<\/p>\n

Wisdom gives acuteness of judgment. \u00a0It is the Sophia<\/a>, the innate knowing that we have and aren\u2019t aware of. \u00a0This is the power attributed to the great seers, oracles and Biblical judges.<\/p>\n

In a study of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life we also see the manifestation of these powers. \u00a0The Sephiroth Chokmah <\/a>represents Wisdom, and is seen as being another expression of the Sophia in Abrahamic religious thought. \u00a0The Sephiroth Binah<\/a>, usually translated as \u201cUnderstanding,\u201d represents \u201cprocessed wisdom,\u201d or wisdom seen through the lens of learning, study, and deductive reasoning. \u00a0Chokma crowns the Pillar of Mercy; Binah crowns the Pillar of Severity.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, the Logos is seen as masculine and the Sophia as feminine; while Chokmah is seen as male, giving its seed to Binah, through which the worlds are birthed; which, I suppose, illustrates the fluidity of gender-based metaphors and how greatly they depend upon culture and perspective.<\/p>\n

Why does all of this matter? \u00a0It matters because the works of the Greek philosophers, who conceived of the Logos and the Sophia, is the beginning of modern philosophical and theological discourse, and that idea continues to influence the way we think about Knowledge and Wisdom. \u00a0The Sephiroth<\/a> matter because the mystical Kabbalah is one of the essential concepts of occultism; which of course strongly influences the modern Neo-Pagan movement.<\/p>\n

Gnosis: Following Your Bliss<\/h2>\n

So where does Gnosis fall then? \u00a0Our dictionaries would translate it, again, as \u201cknowledge,\u201d only this is spiritual or revealed knowledge, direct from the divine. \u00a0The Druids would have called it \u201cAwen,\u201d or \u201cfire in the head,\u201d which is the same wisdom that inspires prophecy and art. \u00a0This is where the Gnostic concept of the Sophia comes in<\/a>, which again, influences modern occultism, this time through our heritage of Alchemy. \u00a0Expressing Gnosis might also be understood in more modern language as \u201cspeaking your truth\u201d or \u201cfollowing your bliss.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Gnostic Sophia was the part of the Divine that exists within all of us; the Divine Spark<\/a>. \u00a0Aleister Crowley spoke of it when he said that \u201cevery man and every woman is a star.\u201d \u00a0Jewish mysticism calls it the Shekinah<\/a>; Christianity understands it as the Holy Ghost; which shakes up the triumvirate a bit, as they understand Jesus to be the Logos and God the Father as the Unknowable All. \u00a0Therefore, I can\u2019t place Gnosis neatly at the top of the Pillar of Mildness, a.k.a. the Middle Pillar, in Kabbalistic symbolism, but when you look at the totality of what the Middle Pillar represents, Gnosis would suit\u00a0it quite well. \u00a0It\u2019s a direct path of information from the Divine without and within, and it strongly suggests the need for balance. \u00a0When Crowley spoke of the coming of the child of the Aeon, he was referring to a being of Gnosis who was a perfect synthesis of binaries that manifest as something new; the Divine Androgyne, light and dark, mortal and divine; and he was not speaking of a Messianic being, but rather, of finding the Messiah within oneself.<\/p>\n

The discourse in the blogosphere often addresses UPG (Unverified Personal Gnosis,) and from this dialogue one might get the impression that gods chatting with you in your living room is what Gnosis means. \u00a0But in my understanding it\u2019s usually much more ordinary than that. \u00a0This is the guidance of the Divine, the little \u201cvoice\u201d that tells you when something is right or wrong. \u00a0It can<\/em> manifest as gods chatting with you in your living room, but more often it comes in the form of sudden realizations and connections: \u201cThis relationship is over,\u201d or \u201cI need to spend my life creating music,\u201d or \u201cThis witchcraft stuff feels so right to me; it\u2019s like coming home.\u201d \u00a0Sometimes it can be difficult to determine where Wisdom ends and Gnosis begins.<\/p>\n

Other Ways of Looking at the Triumvirate<\/h2>\n
\""The<\/a>
\u201cThe Witch\u2019s Pyramid\u201d (c) 2010 by Sable Aradia. Originally printed in The Witch\u2019s Eight Paths of Power.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In more specifically Pagan triads, one might look to the Fates<\/a>. \u00a0Clotho, who spins the threads of life from the raw dross of chaos, is Gnosis; Lachesis, who weaves the threads into the great tapestry of Creation is Knowledge (the Logos); and Atropos, who cuts the threads of life when they need to be cut, is Wisdom (the Sophia). \u00a0Or one might understand them as\u00a0Ur\u00f0r<\/a>\u00a0(Wisdom of what has happened,)\u00a0<\/span>Ver\u00f0andi<\/a>\u00a0(Gnosis of what is happening now,) and\u00a0<\/span>Skuld<\/a>\u00a0(Knowledge that allows us to make an educated guess about\u00a0what will happen in the future).<\/p>\n

One might also look to the Witches\u2019 Pyramid<\/a>. \u00a0Air (Noscere) is \u201cto Know,\u201d and that\u2019s the starting point, which is where one integrates Knowledge. \u00a0Fire (Velle) is \u201cto Will,\u201d in the context\u00a0of \u201cTrue Will,\u201d and this is the point at which one integrates Gnosis. \u00a0Water (Audere) is \u201cto Dare,\u201d and this is the point at which we integrate Wisdom, which puts Knowledge and Will into practical application. \u00a0Earth (Tacere) is \u201cto Keep Silent,\u201d and this is how the experience is integrated into our spirit.<\/p>\n

One might also look to psychology. \u00a0Knowledge is centered in the ego, the conscious part of ourselves that we think of as Self. \u00a0Wisdom is centered in the subconscious, our accumulation of intuition and all the things we don\u2019t know that we know. \u00a0Gnosis is the superconscious or Higher Self; again, that part of us which is part of the divine, or that part of us which speaks for that which is greater than just ourselves<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This may sound a little weird, but one of the most effective ways I found to grasp this concept came from a roleplaying game called Werewolf: the Apocalypse,<\/a> which I discovered in my late teens. \u00a0They had a concept of the forces that created everything and it was a divine triad. \u00a0The Wyld was the spark of raw chaos that brought everything into being with the raw power of potential, and it was bright and random and beautiful and quixotic and dangerous; this, to me, would be Gnosis. \u00a0The Weaver was all about classification and organization and it gave the universe form and function; this, to me, would be Knowledge. \u00a0And the Wyrm was the force of destruction that cleared the way for new things to grow; this, to me, would be Wisdom.<\/p>\n

Balancing the Forces<\/h2>\n

I believe that it\u2019s important to express a balance of these three types of \u201cknowing\u201d in one\u2019s spirituality and philosophy, and that the roots of modern Paganism encourage us to do that. \u00a0These terms have specific and defined meanings within Christian theological discourse. \u00a0But part of the problem we\u2019re running into is that within the Pagan discourse is that we are possibly not saying the same thing when we use the words.<\/p>\n

One of my mentors, Sam Wagar, said something once to me that I thought was very profound about the different roles of clergy; I\u2019m not sure if he read it somewhere else or if he came up with it on his own. \u00a0Essentially there are three types of clergy in any sort of religious setting; Rabbis, Priests and Monks (and Nuns); or as I would call them, Mystics. \u00a0Rabbis are concerned with Knowledge: doctrine and lore, ritual and interpretation; Priests are concerned with Wisdom: which is ministering to the needs and lives of the\u00a0people who share their faith, and Mystics are concerned with Gnosis: or rather, their personal relationship with deity and the divine.<\/p>\n

All of these aspects serve an important purpose in the practice of faith, and especially in the various roles of people dedicated to divine service as their primary focus. \u00a0In Abrahamic religions a person devoted to Knowledge would be a scholar of the printed doctrine, such as Talmud, the Koran or the Bible. \u00a0In Paganism, a person devoted to Knowledge is likely a scholar of magickal study and technique, a student of history or theology in a Reconstructionist tradition, or a Pagan philosopher<\/a>. \u00a0In Abrahamic religions a person devoted to Wisdom would be a priest, imam or rabbi who spends his life\u00a0in service to the community. \u00a0This person runs soup kitchens or teaches school or\u00a0does\u00a0prison ministry and hospital chaplaincy. \u00a0Pagans with a Wisdom focus also do prison ministry and hospital chaplaincy, run public rituals or sanctuaries, join umbrella groups, develop into healer-shamans or diviners, or become Local Coordinators for Pagan Pride<\/a>. \u00a0Abrahamics with a focus on Gnosis become monks or nuns, hermits or Sufi mystics or whirling dervishes, and sometimes the faithful priest who quietly spends his life building a cathedral, synagogue or mosque because that\u2019s what God wanted him to do. \u00a0Pagans with a Gnosis focus become bards, seers, shamans, channels and hedgewitches.<\/p>\n

I also believe that too much of any one thing leads to problems. \u00a0Abrahamics\u00a0who are too focused on Knowledge lecture endlessly on minutia of scripture; Pagans too focused on Knowledge spend hours clogging email lists and blog comment sections discussing the minutia of whether or not Gerald Gardner spun people to the right or the left in initiation ceremonies, or whether or not the MacLeods were given the Faerie Flag or stole it; I mean, seriously, in the context of religion, who really cares? \u00a0Religious people focused too heavily on Wisdom become pedantic busybodies who take charge of everything and tell everyone else how to live their lives. \u00a0Religious people too focused on Gnosis tell everyone else\u00a0about the will of their gods, complain when someone else chooses to worship differently, and sometimes tip over what we would consider \u201cthe deep end.\u201d<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s interesting that John Beckett recently wrote about this aspect<\/a>, and he framed the dialogue as a binary between UPG and the Lore; which he then argued did not exist. \u00a0I think he\u2019s got a lot of good things to say there. I believe\u00a0that people do<\/em> think of it a a binary. \u00a0But it really isn\u2019t. \u00a0These aspects have a natural interplay; indeed, they often (and should) overlap.<\/p>\n

He makes a valid point that Gnosis tends to be the least respected way of knowing in our culture:<\/p>\n

\n

Our Protestant overculture also tells us that people who talk to Gods are crazy.\u00a0 Sometimes this refers to the fact that mystics and\u00a0God-speakers<\/a>\u00a0have a rather different take on reality than the mainstream.\u00a0 But it also refers to the fact that some people who claim to speak with Gods are genuinely mentally ill.<\/p>\n

This makes discernment a messy affair \u2013 how do we separate the true messages from the Gods from those who are controlled by disease\u2026 and from those who claim to speak with Gods to pump up their own egos?\u00a0 It\u2019s much easier to just quote the lore and smack them down.\u00a0 Unfortunately, that also means we ignore genuine wisdom from the Gods, and we make it less likely that we ourselves will experience Them first hand.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I agree with John\u2019s observation that Gnosis is the heart and soul of faith. \u00a0We have Knowledge, however, to help us to understand its revelations and give it\u00a0a framework that makes sense. \u00a0And we need Wisdom to sift through the revelations of Gnosis and find the parts which are of practical benefit in our daily lives and which are not.<\/p>\n

Unchecked, Gnosis can lead us into undesirable situations. \u00a0Gnosis might tell me to sell everything I own and move to Tibet, but is that really a good idea? \u00a0Maybe I should consider that a little first before leaping into it.<\/p>\n

However, many people discount the feelings that they glean from Gnosis because Knowledge is contradictory to that inner knowing. \u00a0For example, many modern Pagans who follow Loki associate Him with foxes. \u00a0There is no historical basis for Loki to be associated with foxes; it doesn\u2019t appear in the Lore anywhere. \u00a0However, quite a few modern worshipers have made this connection, and Wisdom would back this up by telling us that since foxes carry a connotation of cleverness and mischief in our Anglo-influenced culture it would be logical to conflate the two; at least in our current understanding of what Loki represents. \u00a0Whether you believe that deities are ideas or individuals with agency, in either case They likely don\u2019t stay the same over hundreds of years, and relying too much on Knowledge carries the risk of becoming static and hidebound.<\/p>\n

And from a third viewpoint, the shadow-side of Wisdom is arrogance and hubris. \u00a0If your cup is already full there\u2019s no room for more wine in it. \u00a0Thinking of yourself as wise puts you at risk of being a know-it-all. \u00a0Wisdom can also limit the benefits of the spark of inspiration that is Gnosis in your life or even prevent it from manifesting its changes at all. \u00a0How many of us stay in boring, unfulfilling jobs that we hate or loveless marriages due to Wisdom? \u00a0How many of us never take the risks that are needed to realize our dreams or embrace our inspiration?<\/p>\n

Application to My Own Practice<\/h2>\n

So to get back to the original question,\u00a0on a personal level I try to leave space for all three ways of knowing in my spiritual practice. \u00a0Exactly what form this takes depends greatly on the situation. \u00a0When I learn a piece of relevant information (Knowledge) I consider how this might apply to my own active practice and present life (Wisdom) and test it against the sense of whether or not it feels \u201cright\u201d to me (Gnosis). \u00a0When I am confronted by a situation that demands Wisdom, I check what I think I know against the available information and my own experience (Knowledge) and try to leave room for the spark of inspiration (Gnosis.) \u00a0When I am inspired by the gods or the Muses (Gnosis,) I refer back to my own experience and what I have learned and studied (Knowledge) and then sprinkle it with a liberal dose of what I hope to be practical common sense (Wisdom). \u00a0I\u2019ve not always been the best at it, and I think I\u2019ve developed a bias in all three directions at one point or another in my life.<\/p>\n

I think one of the most effect things I do to aspire to a balance is to read authors who lean in all three directions to consider my practice and my theology; which of course is a method of acquiring Knowledge about all three aspects. \u00a0John Halstead<\/a> often argues from a place of Knowledge; Jason Mankey<\/a> from a place of Wisdom, and Nornoriel Lokason<\/a> from a place of Gnosis. \u00a0And I value the insights\u00a0of all three.<\/p>\n

I work as a Tarot reader at a local bookstore and I help to \u201cminister\u201d to a local Pagan group by officiating at\u00a0passage rites. \u00a0This helps me to do the work of Wisdom without getting too involved in it; which I was when I was running my metaphysical store.<\/p>\n

I have to work to make time for it, but I also make an effort to spend time in nature and ritual, and observe a personal ecstatic practice. \u00a0I also make time for my art and my writing. \u00a0And this allows me to embrace my Gnosis and \u201cfollow my bliss.\u201d<\/p>\n

I am sure my solutions are not practical for everyone, but they work for me. \u00a0In any case, I hope I have made a case that there is room for all of them, both in personal practice, and in the Big Tent of Paganism<\/a>. \u00a0Indeed, I think we need them.<\/p>\n

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She is the author of \\\"The Witch's Eight Paths of Power\\\" (Red Wheel\/Weiser, 2014,) a contributor to two Pagan anthologies (Pagan Leadership Anthology, Immanion Press, 2015, and Pagan Consent Culture, Asphodel Press 2016) and a blogger at PaganSquare, the Patheos Pagan channel, and Gods & Radicals. To make ends meet she reads Tarot, teaches workshops, makes music, writes speculative fiction, maintains an Etsy shop and works part time at a bookstore. She lives in Vernon, BC, Canada with her two partners and her fur babies. For further information, please visit her website http:\/\/www.sablearadia.com.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.sablearadia.com\",\"brandygrenier\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/betweentheshadows\/author\/sablearadia\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Seekers and Guides: Knowledge, Wisdom and Gnosis","description":"Knowledge, Wisdom and Gnosis - What do these words mean to you? 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She is the author of \"The Witch's Eight Paths of Power\" (Red Wheel\/Weiser, 2014,) a contributor to two Pagan anthologies (Pagan Leadership Anthology, Immanion Press, 2015, and Pagan Consent Culture, Asphodel Press 2016) and a blogger at PaganSquare, the Patheos Pagan channel, and Gods & Radicals. To make ends meet she reads Tarot, teaches workshops, makes music, writes speculative fiction, maintains an Etsy shop and works part time at a bookstore. She lives in Vernon, BC, Canada with her two partners and her fur babies. 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