" GNOSIS " By Ron McVan

GNOSIS, by Ron McVan

"As a matter of fact, it really seems likely that we have lost our way----which the Druids, with their sensitivity to stone and tree would never do. They received the message which we, with our more complex cerebral telecommunications, have lost in a wilderness of greater knowledge. But such must be the price to pay, unless in our self---consciousness we can learn the truth of what is happening to us!" ................................E.Graham Howe

The word gnosis is derived from the Greek word gnosia, which means knowledge or to know. Gnosis appears as the source and very cornerstone of all the religions, their purpose being that of bringing about the liberation of man through absolute truth and divine knowledge.
Gnosticism was the religion of those who were convinced of the presence of a divine ingredient within themselves, the "divine self". The understanding and use of this essential gnosis was considered a sacred knowledge which brought salvation. The Gnostics believe that true gnosis has a direct bearing on the welfare of the individual man and woman, and on the development of a more perfect order.
The Teutonic God Wotan is well known for his insatiable quest for knowledge and much gnosticism is to be found in the Wotanist spiritual path as well as in Celtic Druidry. The early Alexandrian gnosticism forms its own unique movement of original thought. Nourished by Greek philosophy and the sacred science of Egypt, the very roots of Gnosticism reach back to Atlantis, to Hyperborea and its capital,Thule, the highest center of knowledge that was ever known to the world of man. The people of Hyperborea, extend even further back in history than the Atlanteans. Both civilizations are believed to have been founded in their origin by the descendants of other worldly intelligences which would explain why such a highly advanced knowledge was already developed in such far distant times.
In the Book of Henoch, chapters CVI and CVII, Hyperborean man is described thusly: "His flesh was as white as snow and red as a rose petal; and the hair on his head and scalp were white as wool; and his eyes were beautiful." It has long been said that man-gods walked the earth in those enlightened times, before the great comet cataclysms and deluge. Ancient heiroglyphics mark this account along with the use of flying machines. The father of Greek didactic poetry, Hesiod, wrote that at the time of the Golden Age; the "Gods clothed in air moved among men."
Life has always been an unending fight between diverse elements. The spiritual quest man finds him struggling in the fight between polar opposites, light and dark, good and evil. Man's suffering is explained essentially by the fact of his not knowing his beginning (in the metaphysical sense of the term) and his becoming.
Illumination for the Gnostics comes from the knowledge of a book of super-human origin. This tradition of the "Great Book" is also that of the Grail. The Grail contains the answers of man's beginnings and his becoming, which is why it is the most sought after, precious item of the gnostics. It is not the chalis object as the religious, romantic fantasies would have you believe, which purportedly held the blood of Christ, but is in fact of two parts, both an emerald stone and book of sorts, in the form of a tablet. The true Grail, also known as the Emerald Tablet of Hermes, is not a fantasy; and many have risked or lost their lives in the quest to obtain it or defend it. This arcane Pagan treasure came into Europe by way of Persia following the disappearance of the mysterious realm of Thule, whose people were the ancestors of the Indo-European tribes. According to occult sources, Appolonius of Tyana gained possession of the Grail, which he found hidden in a cave. This might explain why he had travelled extensively and accumulated such remarkable wisdom. The Grail, in later times would then surface in diverse areas, such as Rome, Britain, Toledo Spain, the Pyrannese in southern France and the Bavarian Alps in Germany.

"From any point, A line reaches back, And attaches to
a far distant center. There is no unconnected life in this
world, Nor a point in time, Unknown by any other point.
Nor a tear shed in a vacuum."
..................................Hermes

A gnostic sect known as the Cathars served as protectors of the Grail. The Cathars derived their name from the Greek 'cathari', meaning 'pure ones', and established communities in northern Italy and southern France. Cathars taught a dualistic belief in the opposing powers of light and darkness. As Gnostics, they also believed in the recurrence of souls, and identified the material world as the 'plane of illusion'. They rejected the Christian cross as an evil symbol. The Cathars had an inner circle within their priesthood with seven degrees of initiation, representing the stages of spiritual perfection. Ceremonies were performed out-of-doors, in caves and woods; much like the Druids, the Initiates wore white tunics tied with cord.
The Knights Templars shared similarities with the Cathars in that they were a secret society which coveted the gnostic mysteries and sought the overthrow of the 'exalted whore', long known as the Roman Catholic Church. Free Masonry, as well, shared many similarities with the Cathars until the Masonic Constitution of 1717, where it departed from the true way. It was further corrupted by the infusion of the one world, universalist Illuminati, founded by Adam Weishaupt in the year 1776.
There is much Gnostic mythology that surrounds the real life historical figure of King Arthur and his counsellor and magician Merlyn. However, the records of that time make no mention of Arthur and the Holy Grail, the Round Table or the Magic Sword of Caliburn, (Ex-Calibre). The private life of Merlyn will never be known because it was never recorded. The great mystic teaching never changes, only the time period and the initiates, or players. There is only one experience that can lead to truth, and there is only one description apropriate to those who have accomplished this divine adventure. In the case of Merlyn, the adept brought the Circle of the Living Stones to Salisbury, not the monolithic rocks of Stonehenge, but the Gorsedd, the throne of the revelation of the ancient ones of the earth. The Gorsedd of the Druids became the Round Table of King Arthur. The famous Ex-Calibre legend is a reinterpretation of the Notung Legend found in Wotanism. The Notung is the Sword of the Volsungs, which Wotan thrust into an oak tree, and which only Sigmund could draw from the tree. What the sword trial represents is the release of the will from its bondage to the material elements.
The Gnostics understood that the whole purpose of man's evolution is to bring the mind and the body into perfect coordination. If the exigencies of the life render this impossible at any given time, then the mind, as the superior part, should receive the greatest emphasis. It is possible for the mind to excel the body because of its natural and inherent excellence, but it never is possible for the body to excel the mind. Mind is to the brain as the brain is to the body; it is the source and the superior part of itself. The 'all' is mind; the universe is mental. Everything which eventuates on earth has first been born of the world of the mind.
Individual mind partakes of universal mind, of which it is a special area in the same way that the physical body partakes of physical nature of whose elements it is likewise composed. The entire brain as we know it is not essential to thought or mental existence. What is essential is the presence of our magnetic field. It is understood to the Gnostic healers throughout our history that if this magnetic link that unites the astral with the physical body has not been definitely severed, it is still possible for life to be restored.
Gnosis can be divided into two opposing paths of attainment for the Gnostic Adept, depending upon his own, personal, spiritual outlook. There is the "Optimist form of Gnosticism" which accepts the universe as divine; God reveals himself in everything, and through his intellect man can become like God in order to comprehend him. By a religious approach to the universe and by inscribing a representation of the universe within his own mens,(degree of spiritual ascension) man can ascend and unite with God. "Pessimist Gnosticism", on the other hand, rejects the world as evil, and the material aspects of man and the universe are regarded as being a form of divine punishment. Man can escape the confines of the body and piety and asceticism; by elevating himself above matter, the evil nature which is perceived through the mens, he can rise above through the spheres to God.
Gnosticism is a spirituality which is timeless. Like Wotanism, it has the tendancy to fully express itself to the spiritual seekers during periods of great crisis. Both Gnosticism and Wotanism will survive so long as man searches for the truth and inner-development encountered in the vital experience of our personal, psychic transformation. Each gnostic adept shares a common quest, which is to attain a fullness of being and avoid the confines of religious dogma and blind faith. One should persistently oppose ignorance and the downward path of meaningless life. Having gained so much of the material world around us, we have always been in danger of losing more and more of the essential value and meaning of our indigenous customs and tribal unity as well as our life essence.
Those who seek the light of truth will carry that light within them even more increasingly as they become awakened to their their life's quest. This light, the Divine Ray, the God self, (Hamingja) that has passed unbroken through endless legions of souls from far distant times, continues to generate the vital spark of divinity in our life, in our will, and in the hopes and dreams that mold the future of the physical world and must never be abandoned, as we chart the perilous course of our fleeting fragile lives here in Midgard (earth).

"The difficulties arising in the process of evolution in the
human understanding of life are rooted in the very essence
of understanding, which is the aware thinker. Although he can
feel, and thus intuitively understand existence, he cannot
conceptualize his intuition, except through reason."
.............................Bika Reed

"EYE OF THE GOD KING"
The sweet, Rose scented tears, Of Aphrodite, Permiate the
distilling mist, Beneath a burnished evening star, There, By
an ancient pillar, Near the vortex, At Delphi, I hear, In the stillness
of mythic shadow, A colloquy of angelic voices, Conversing, Through a cloak, Of nebulous dreams, A magic twilight garden,
Of the immortals!

In the delirium, Of my enlightenment, I have quenched a thousand
icons, In the flame! The savage flame! Within, My ever surging
archaic blood, I carry, The haunting memories, Of all lifes passion, Of all man's fury, And I, Am consumed, Transfixed! By its futility, By
its Madness!

Submerged, In forbidden perilous conundrums, In the crucible, Of
seven dimensions, I gaze, From the highest crystal pinnacle, Into
the threshold of mirrored doors, Of infinite timeless space. And through that fiery portal, I see, The yawning chaos, I see the perfection, Of perfect imperfection, I become formless radiant entity, Niether man nor beast, And in a grimace, I am light........
I am Immaculate!!
....................................Ron McVan

"SONS OF ALBION" P.O. Box 422 Butte, MT. 59703