INNER CIRCLE: The Ascent of the Soul

From here, the Soul encounters the third power:

“Again, it came to the third power, which is called ‘Ignorance,’ [who] interrogated the soul and [said], ‘Where are you going? In wickedness you’re bound. Since you’re bound, don’t judge!’ [And] the soul said, ‘Why do you judge me, since I haven’t judged? I was bound, even though I haven’t bound. They didn’t recognize me, but I’ve recognized that everything will dissolve – both the things of the [earth] and the things of [heaven].’

As expected, Ignorance knows nothing the Truth. It challenges the Soul and attempts to convince her that she is bound in wickedness and, therefore, unqualified to judge. In response, the Soul points out that the only one judging anyone is Ignorance. The Soul pleads her case as one who “was bound” in spite of not binding anyone, and again says that no one has seen or known or recognized her, although she has recognized the truth: that all things on earth and in heaven are an illusion that will fade away. As in her encounter with Desire, the Soul escapes Ignorance by simply speaking the truth from a pure heart.

What follows next is more than a little confusing:

“When the soul had overcome the third power, it went up and saw the fourth power, which took seven forms: The first form is Darkness; The second, Desire; The third, Ignorance; The fourth, Zeal for Death; The fifth, the Kingdom of the Flesh; The sixth, the Foolish ‘Wisdom’ of Flesh; The seventh, the ‘Wisdom’ of Anger. These are the seven powers of Wrath.”

Curiously, seven powers emerge from the fourth power which is not named. However, the list we’re given corresponds to the two powers we have already encountered: Desire and Ignorance. Somehow, the fourth power takes seven forms that seem to follow a similar structure (Desire is second and Ignorance is third), but now the fourth power blossoms into seven powers. This fourth power could be “Zeal for Death”, or it could be the power to take on seven forms. Or both. It’s not entirely clear what exactly is going on, or what these seven powers mean.

So, either the Soul encounters Darkness, Desire and Ignorance, and then encounters a fourth power that also includes Darkness, Desire and Ignorance, among other powers, or this fourth power reveals the entire pantheon of the seven powers to us. Either way, we’re left wondering what they mean.

Harvard theologian and author Meggan Watterson says that these seven powers in Mary’s Gospel “…serve as the template of what it means to be human. It’s like being handed a road map for the inner terrain. Here are the places [we] as human beings get stuck. These are the climates, the states of mind that can compel us to act in ways that are not indicative of who we really are. These are the powers that can silence us from within.”[1]

For Watterson, The Gospel of Mary is “about acquiring a vision that allows us to see what has always been here, within us. It’s about the quality and intensity of our existence. It’s about the possibility of actually being present, instead of being caught without even realizing it in the endless stories the ego tells us from the second we wake up, diving us from what’s already right here, dividing us from each other and ourselves, dividing us from what we consider good, or god.”[2]

This chapter of Mary’s Gospel ends with these seven powers of wrath collectively challenging the soul:

“They ask the soul, ‘Where do you come from, you murderer, and where are you going, conqueror of space?’ In response, the soul said, ‘What binds me has been killed, what surrounds me has been overcome, my desire is gone, and ignorance has died. In a [world] I was released from a world, [and] in a type from a type which is above, and from the chain of forgetfulness [or “the fetter of oblivion”] which exists only for a time. From now on I’ll receive the rest of the time of the season of the age in silence.'” When Mary said these things, she fell silent because the Savior had spoken with her up to this point.”

These seven powers cannot contain their hatred and contempt for the soul, as evidenced by the accusations contained in the questions above: liar, bound in wickedness, murderer. However, the Soul is not provoked by these accusations. She simply tells the truth and the power of these seven powers is helpless to hold her. The Soul has awakened to the reality that what bound her has been killed and what surrounds her has been overcome. Her desire has been vanquished. Her ignorance is dead. She has been released and set free from this world of illusion. The chain of forgetfulness that bound her no longer exists. All she needs to do now is to rest in silence, knowing who she is and where she came from, and where she is going.

This is where Mary Magdalene, too, falls silent in the midst of the other Apostles, awaiting their response.

[1] As quoted from the article “What Mary Magdalene Wanted Us To Know” by Meggan Watterson, published on the Omega website on January 11, 2024 at: https://www.eomega.org/article/what-mary-magdalene-wanted-us-to-know

[2] IBID

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The newest book from Keith Giles, “The Quantum Sayings of Jesus: Decoding the Lost Gospel of Thomas” is available now on Amazon. Order HERE>

Keith Giles is the best-selling author of the Jesus Un series. He has appeared on CNN, USA Today, BuzzFeed, and John Fugelsang’s “Tell Me Everything.”

He co-hosts The Heretic Happy Hour Podcast and his solo podcast, Second Cup With Keith which are both available on Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Podbean or wherever you find your podcast fix.