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Ophiomorphos
Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2021 5:38 pm
by Gangleri
Knowing that SoA and Nefastos have a familiarity with Blavatskyan theosophy, I started wondering the Friday hymn where Ophiomorphos is invoked. In Blavatsky's teaching and in Gnosticism Ophiomorphos is generally seen as the embodiment of an evil principle, and it is also correlated to Jehova (Jehovah Ophiomorphos). Where does the SoA teaching relating Ophiomorphos to the "liberating serpent" stem from? From LHP inversion?
Re: Ophiomorphos
Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2021 9:45 pm
by Nefastos
Gangleri wrote: ↑Sat Jun 05, 2021 5:38 pmIn Blavatsky's teaching and in Gnosticism Ophiomorphos is generally seen as the embodiment of an evil principle, and it is also correlated to Jehova (Jehovah Ophiomorphos).
Not exactly, in the sense you imply. Ophiomorphos is definitely not the same as JHVH, and even though Gnostic sects vary greatly, the Serpent (Ophio-morphos literally = "Serpent-formed") is the adversary of demiurge, as we can see from Genesis. Blavatsky also says that Ophiomorpos is Satan (see Secret Doctrine II, 389; Isis Unveiled II, 184). Of course, the whole Gnostic philosophy goes through several permutations regarding on which level the Tetragrammaton is being interpreted at the time. Does it stand for the Absolute? Logos? Demiurge (blind force of Logos on physical plane)? Demon? Oppressive Right Hand Path patriarchal symbol? All these different planes are used on different Gnostic readings, and thus the whole "Tetragrammaton-Trigrammaton" (JHVH-STN) -duad is reversed several times. Thus basically the only key we need for reading the Hymn's idea with the right idea is the word itself, the same "form of the Serpent" repeating itself throughout the hymn. It is ~kundalinî. The whole idea of Ophiomorphos holds pretty much the same as our duad name "Lucifer-Christos":
Secret Doctrine wrote:Before its fall on earth the "Serpent" was Ophis-Christos, and after its fall it became Ophiomorphos-Chrestos. (I, 413)
Re: Ophiomorphos
Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2021 11:54 pm
by Gangleri
My search for the meaning of Ophiomorphos was perhaps to quick a glance to the subject. This is an interesting question, since there is also the agathodaemon and cacodaemon, which hold the serpent symbolism also in a different form, and we can of course refer to the twofold serpent caduceus, silvery and golden.
Maybe the thread's subject could be named "Ophiomorphos and serpent symbolism/allegories"?
Re: Ophiomorphos
Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2021 12:32 pm
by Nefastos
Yes, we can change the name if the discussion lives on.
The main reason why I did not include the serpent symbol to Fosforos' part that deals with the central LHP symbol archetypes (Cista Mystica) is that serpent includes pretty much everything. The first "serpent trinity" might help to put the symbolism into an understandable starting order, though: to consider the three serpents as idâ, pingalâ, and kundalinî. The Black and White, grounding and elevating polarities or winds, essential magnetisms, which bring about the middle-cross of fire in sushumna. Every one of these is a "serpent," as we see in Caduceus symbol, and thus the serpent-formed stands for everything at one. Context is really everything in this symbol.