The Trail of Gnosis

What Others Are Saying About The Trail of Gnosis “I am gobbling it up. There are really no words of appreciation that would honor the depth of your journey!” –S.G." After a few days of exploring the contents of The Trail of Gnosis, I am profoundly impressed. There is information made available that I have not found elsewhere. Your book is opening new and exciting channels for me. Thank you for your important contribution to a virtually forgotten tradition." --L.J "In her work on the Cathars of southern France, Ms. Mann has recovered a vital spiritual practice that is as important to our knowledge of ourselves as to our understanding of another culture." --E.R. The Trail of Gnosis A Lucid Exploration of Gnostic Traditions Judith Mann Published by Pacific Rim Press at Smashwords Copyright 2002 Judith Mann This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. Discover other titles by Judith Mann at Smashwords.com Introduction The Trail of Gnosis is the culmination of more than twenty-five years of research. It is my sincere hope that it provides inspiration for your own explorations of gnosis. I have trekked across far-flung parts of this earth to identify and record the many diverse links that compose the great chain of Gnosticism. It seems important not to confine gnosticism to a particular locale, historical period or belief system, but to acknowledge that it encompasses all that we call ‘human’ connection to the Divine and to apply these experiences meaningfully to our times. The term ‘gnosis’ is the Greek root of ‘to know’. It is knowledge by direct perception, personal intuitive or inspirational experience. As such, it imposes no dogma or obedience to an authority outside of ourselves, only to the Divine within each of us. Earlier Gnostics, such as the Mandaeans, Cathars, Bogomil and Manichaeans, believed that each approach to the Divine is individual. From traces of their teachings, we can learn to take responsibility for identifying our specific reality, pursuing spiritual experiences by whatever means we deem appropriate. Within these parameters, we can also develop a climate of respect for each manifestation of the spirit as having something to offer, no matter how diverse. How was I ‘called’ to this task? Well, in 1976, I accompanied my eleven-year-old actor-son to Europe for his six-month acting stint in Robert Wilson’s and Phillip Glass’ Einstein On The Beach. A knowledgeable friend suggested that while in France and Yugoslavia, I devote what time I could to researching the Cathars and Bogomil, whom I had not known of before then. On looking back, it seems that unseen forces had conspired to place me there so as to begin a life work. Though the south of France, once Oc, land of the Cathars, was our first and longest stop, serendipity set in a month later in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Synchronistic events are signals to me that a connection exists with some guiding intelligence and the events themselves. The events began to proliferate at an incredible speed. Because I do not read Cyrillic and did not speak Serbo-Croatian, my son and I were often lost on the streets of Belgrade. One day, in such a circumstance we passed a sign in English that read ‘American Library’. Seizing the opportunity to correct our course, we raced up a steep flight of stairs and out of breath, were greeted by a gracious Yugoslavian librarian who spoke fluent English. After she explained how to return to our hotel, I brought up the subject of the Bogomil. “What a coincidence! My brother-in-law, an archeologist and an expert on the Bogomil is returning from Paris just this night. Please come to my house at 9 p.m. this evening and meet him”. Of course! So meet Dr. Bogdanovic, I did. He suggested that on my return to Paris, I purchase recent copies of Archeologia, which contained his articles about the gnostic Bogomil. Armed with these magazines, I made my way one afternoon to a quiet vegetarian restaurant in the Marais quarter of Paris. While waiting for my lunch to arrive, I opened one of the magazines and saw this woodcut. Then, I looked up at the wall in front of me and saw —the same image! I asked the waiter who had created the woodcut on the wall. He replied matter-of-factly that he was in the kitchen, but could come out to talk with me. No, Christian A. was not the artist, but he had hung a reproduction of the same medieval woodcut illustrating the philosophy of the Grecian, Thales, as had appeared in Archeologia. He turned out to be a Rosicrucian, a group claiming spiritual descent from the Cathars, and extraordinarily open. Christian’s immediate response was to invite me to his nearby apartment, where he gave me several Rosicrucian books, a map covering many important Cathar sites in the Ariege and introductions to people who would guide me further. Years later Christian accompanied me to Armenia, which helped me to access information on Manichaean connections to the Bogomil and Cathars. This initial series of ‘happenings’ have been signs enough to propel and sustain me through the years, though other synchronistic events have unfolded along the way. And thanks to the special people who have helped to create The Trail of Gnosis. I am truly grateful. Judith Mann September 2002 p.s. Though the city of Beziers was central to Cathar history, and though I have researched the subject thoroughly, there is a deep obstacle to my writing about the demise of Beziers at this time. In simplified terms, recently it came to light that I hold the consciousness of a Dominican friar at the time of the Inquisition. This individual saw the errors of his beliefs about ‘heretics’ after the Beziers tragedy, but was powerless to speak his truth or impact the situation in a meaningful way. Honoring this connection, my task now is to research, verify and reveal as much as possible of what I feel to be true about gnostic history. July 2012 Table of Contents Introduction 1 Mani; His Origins & Doctrines The Origins of Dualism The Organization of Manichaeism The Three Seals of Righteousness The Silk Road & Manichaeism Manichaeism in China The Western Dissemination of Manichaeism 2 The Paulicians The Key of Truth The Tenets of The Key of Truth 3 The Mandaeans Mandaean Cosmology & Customs 4 The Massalians 5 The Bogomil The Bosnian Church Apocryphal Literature Bogomil Cosmology Bogomil Rituals Bogomil Doctrines Manichaean Elements in Bogomilism Bogomil Stele 6 The Entry of Dualism into Western Europe 7 The Johannites 8 The Kabbalists The Ein-Sof The Sefirot Otz Chim, the Tree of Life Da’ath The Tsimsum The Qelippot Ecstatic Kabbalah 9 Cathar Symbols The Dove The Solar Cross The Solar Cross of Montsegur The Celtic Cross The Knights Templar Rose-Cross The Tau The Pentagon & The Pentagram The Pentagon & The Five Elements The Fleur-de-Lys The Six-Petaled Rose The Energetic Hand The Stag Hunt 10 The Consolamentum, Meliormentum & The Endura 11 The Lyon Codex 12 The Council of St. Felix 13 The Inquisition & The Cathars 14 Principals of the Albigensian Crusades The Siege of Montsegur 15 The Caves of Sabarthez Bethlehem Ussat Lombrives Ornolac Spougla de Bouan 16 Carcassonne Cordes Minerve Montsegur, Zodiac of Morenci Puivert Queribus Sainte Juliane Toulouse 17 The Agotes/Cagots 18 The Knights Templar 19 Journey of The Grail Montreal-de-Sos San Juan de La Pena 20 The Vera Cruz of the Knights Templar Bibliography About The Author Other Books by The Author Chapter 1 Mani: His Origins & Doctrines During Medieval times, Catholic writers tended to use the term, “Manichaean” to describe any dualistic heresy, whether or not derived from the teachings of Mani. Today's scholars consider Manichaeism to be a separate religion, not a heresy in the strict sense of the word. Its founder, Mani, was born into an educated Persian family on April 14, 216 a.d., in what is now Iraq, but then the Persian-dominated province of Babylonia. Living near the crossroads of Ctesiphon, Mani was exposed to diverse traditions: Gnostic Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Greek philosophy, Chaldean astrology and other doctrines emanating from Central Asia. An exceptionally gifted child, it is said that Mani experienced his first vision at age twelve, that of an angelic being, who came to him from “The King of the Paradise of Light”. The being, named al-Tawm, “the Divine Twin”, seemed to be his mirror image. He was told that later, he would leave the Elkesaite community he was born into and given the basic tenets of a future religion. A Coptic Manichaean codex acquired by the University of Cologne in 1970, claims that the Baptist sect Mani grew up in was founded by Elchasai, an early second century Judeo-Christian leader from Palestine. Elchasai preached that fire sacrifices led to error and should be avoided, but that water was good and acceptable to God. Influenced by gnosticism and living by the law of Judaism, the sect, had little contact with the mainstream Christianity of that era, which was dominated by Greek-speaking churches of the Roman Empire.

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