COMPARATIVE RELIGION
https://archive.org/details/neo-sethian-alchemy
Above is a link to the book on archive.org where it can be accessed in .txt, .odt, .rtf, and .pdf format. I recommend reading it in .pdf format.
The book is a general overview of the Zostrianos text re-interpreted to fit the general format of the alchemical Magnum Opus, with a few insights given from related fields of Christian mysticism and Neoplatonic and Hermetic philosophy. It is highly inspired by the work of Zosimos of Panopolis, an ancient Sethian alchemist from a time when “Sethians” were just called “Gnostics.”
Not very many modern Gnostics talk about Christian mysticism, which is something that this work seeks to remedy. I see a deep connection between some of the practices and terms in Orthodox Christian mysticism and Quietism that not many other Gnostics have spoken about before.
Aside from this, the primary focus on the book is about the ancient Gnostic conception of the soul.
The general idea is that the “soul” is the mind of a person, viewed as separate from material existence. Visions and dreams are therefore spiritual phenomena, and they can be activated through ancient techniques that take advantage of well-known psychological mechanisms like trance induction and the Ganzfeld Effect.
The soul itself is divided into 4 parts, the first 3 corresponding to the Freudian trio (and a few other tripartate models of the psyche) and the last corresponding to the One. The soul itself houses a wide variety of spirits or archetypal forces described primarily by Zostrianos and the Apocryphon of John, as well as locations that can be visited through guided visualization practices.
The end-goal of the practice described in this book is to purify the spirit of materialism and to unify with the totality of the One on the level of an individual soul.
What I have posted here is actually a rough draft. I decided against refining the whole work and going through with publishing it into physical copies, because I can no longer justify many of the supernatural beliefs depicted in this book and have found that simple philosophical practices are all that’s necessary for the spiritual growth and fulfillment that I once pursued Gnosticism for. I believe that I have grown out of needing a rigid path now, although it served its purpose in my life when I needed it, and I hope that this book may some day help someone else who finds themselves on a similar path to mine.
Please, feel free to ask about or discuss the contents of the book here as tangentially as you want and you have my permission to share it with other people.
(Discussion in ‘Esoteric‘ started by Ella S., Mar 4, 2022)
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