(3) Father, mother, and child constitute the natural trinity. The Mysteries glorified the home as the supreme institution consisting of this trinity functioning as a unit. Pythagoras likened the universe to the family, declaring that as the supreme fire of the universe was in the midst of its heavenly bodies, so, by analogy, the supreme fire of the world was upon its hearthstones. The Pythagorean and other schools of philosophy conceived the one divine nature of God to manifest itself in the threefold aspect of Father, Mother, and Child. These three constituted the Divine Family, whose dwelling place is creation and whose natural and peculiar symbol is the 47th problem of Euclid. God the Father is spirit, God the Mother is matter, and God the Child--the product of the two--represents the sum of living things born out of and constituting Nature. The seed of spirit is sown in the womb of matter, and by an immaculate (pure) conception the progeny is brought into being. Is not this the true mystery of the Madonna holding the Holy Babe in her arms? Who dares to say that such symbolism is improper? The mystery of life is the supreme mystery, revealed in all of its divine dignity and glorified as Nature's per feet achievement by the initiated sages and seers of all ages.

On account of this it is said concerning her that she said, I am part of my mother, and I am the mother. I am the wife, I am the virgin. I am pregnant. I am the midwife. I am the one who comforts during labor pains. My husband produced me, and I am his mother, and he is my father and my lord. He is my potency; what he desires he speaks with reason. I am becoming, but I have borne a lordly man. Now these things were revealed by the will of Sabaoth and his Christ to the souls who will come to the fashioned bodies of the authorities. Concerning these the holy voice said, “Multiply and flourish to rule over all the creatures.” And these are the ones who are taken captive by the chief creator according to their destinies, and thus they were locked in the prisons of the fashioned bodies until the consummation of the age.

(7) The Father and the Son have one Will, and that Will is the Holy Ghost, Who gives Himself to the soul so that the Divine Nature permeates the powers of the soul so that it can only do God-like works. Just as a spring, which perpetually flows and waters the roots of the flowers, so that the flowers bloom and receive their colours from the water of the spring, so the Godhead imparts Itself to the capacities of the soul that it may grow in the likeness of God. The more that the soul receives of the Divine Nature, the more it grows like It, and the closer becomes its union with God. It may arrive at such an intimate union that God at last draws it to Himself altogether, so that there is no distinction left, in the soul's consciousness, between itself and God, though God still regards it as a creature. Wherefore let yourselves not be misled by the light of nature. The higher the degree of knowledge which the soul attains to in the light of grace, the darker seems to it the light of nature.

If the soul would know the real truth it must examine itself, whether it has withdrawn from all things, whether it has lost itself, whether it loves God purely with His love and nothing of its own at the same time, so that it may not be separated from Him by anything, and whether God alone dwells in it. If it has lost itself, it is as when the Virgin Mary lost Christ. She sought Him for three days, and yet was sure that she would find Him. All the while Christ was in the highest class in the school of His Father, unconscious of His mother's seeking Him. Thus happens it to the noble soul which goes to God to school, and learns there what God is in His essence, and what He is in the Trinity, and what He is in man, and what is most acceptable to Him. St Augustine saith that the righteousness of God in the Godhead and in the Trinity and in all creatures is the source of the chief joy which is in heaven. God in human nature is a lamp of living light, and "the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not." The darkness must ever more flee the light, as the night flees day.

Thus the soul learns to know God's will. St Paul saith, "This is God's will, our sanctification." And this is our sanctification, to know what we were before time; what we are in time, and what we shall be after time. Thus the soul loses itself in these three, and recketh naught of the body, till it comes to it in the temple, and obeys it without murmuring. The Father is a revelation of the Godhead, the Son is an image and countenance of the Father, and the Holy Ghost is an effulgence of that countenance, and a mutual love between Them, and these properties They have always possessed in Themselves. The Three Persons have stooped out of pity down to human nature, and the Son became man, and was the most despised man on the earth, and suffered pain at the hands of the creatures whom He Himself created with the Father, through Whose will He became man. Thus was Christ till His death, and when He rose from the dead then was seen the most despised of all men united with the Godhead in the Person of Christ.

(4) But, as appears, many even down to our own time regard Mary, on account of the birth of her child, as having been in the puerperal state, although she was not. For some say that, after she brought forth, she was found, when examined, to be a virgin.

(3) Then Mary, the mother of Jesus, came forward and said: "My son according to the world, my God and Saviour according to the height, bid me proclaim the solution of the words which Pistis Sophia hath uttered." And Jesus answered and said: "Thou also, Mary, hast received form which is in Barbēlō, according to matter, and hast received likeness which is in the Virgin of Light, according to light, thou and the other Mary, the blessed one; and on thy account the darkness hath arisen, and moreover out of thee did come forth the material body in which I am, which I have purified and refined,--now, therefore, I bid thee proclaim the solution of the words which Pistis Sophia hath uttered." And Mary, the mother of Jesus, answered and said: "My Lord, thy light-power hath prophesied aforetime concerning these words through Solomon in the nineteenth Ode and said: "'1. The Lord is on my head as a wreath, and I shall not depart from him.

Then the mother began to move around. She realized that she was lacking something when the brightness of her light diminished. She grew dim because her partner had not collaborated with her. I said, Master, what does it mean that she moved around? The master laughed and said, Do not suppose that it is as Moses said, above the waters. No, when she recognized the wickedness that had occurred and the robbery her son had committed, she repented. When she became forgetful in the darkness of ignorance, she began to be ashamed. She did not dare to return, but she was agitated. This agitation is the moving around. The arrogant one took power from his mother. He was ignorant, for he thought no one existed except his mother alone. When he saw the throng of angels he had created, he exalted himself over them. When the mother realized that the trappings of darkness had come into being imperfectly, she understood that her partner had not collaborated with her. She repented with many tears. The whole realm of fullness heard her prayer of repentance and offered praise on her behalf to the invisible virgin spirit, and the spirit consented. When the invisible spirit consented, the holy spirit poured upon her some of the fullness of all. For her partner did not come to her on his own, but he came to her through the realm of fullness, so that he might restore what she lacked. She was taken up not to her own eternal realm, but to a position above her son. She was to remain in the ninth heaven until she restored what was lacking in herself.

(143) That spirit formeth and preserveth and supporteth all, all vegetation, all colours and all creatures, both in heaven and in this world, and above the heaven of heavens. For the birth or geniture of the holy Trinity above all is thus and no otherwise, neither will it be otherwise in all eternity.

(2) The other Mary came forward and said: "My Lord, bear with me and be not wroth with me. Yea, from the moment when thy mother spake with thee concerning the solution of these words, my power disquieted me to come forward and like-wise to speak the solution of these words." Jesus said unto her: "I bid thee speak their solution." Mary said: "My Lord, 'Grace and truth met together,'--'grace' then is the spirit who hath Of the spiritual and material bodies of Jesus. thy mother, and Elizabeth, mother of John, whom I have met. 'Grace' then is the power of Sabaōth in me, which went forth out of me, which thou art. Thou hast had mercy on the whole race of men. 'Truth' on the other hand is the power in Elizabeth, which is John, who did come and hath made proclamation concerning the way of Truth, which thou art,--who hath made proclamation before thee. And again, 'Grace and truth met together,'--that is thou, my Lord, thou who didst meet John on the day when thou hadst to receive the baptism. And again thou and John are 'Righteousness and peace kissed Of the incarnation of Jesus. each other.'--'Truth hath sprouted forth out of the earth, and righteousness looked down from heaven,'--this is, during the time when thou didst minister unto thyself, thou didst have the form of Gabriēl, thou didst look down upon me from heaven and speak with me. And when thou hadst spoken with me, thou didst sprout up in me,--that is the 'truth,' that is the power of Sabaōth, the Good, which is in thy material body, that is the 'truth' which 'sprouted up out of the earth.'" It came to pass then, when Jesus had heard his mother Mary speak these words, that he said: "Well said, and finely. This is the solution of all the words concerning which my light-power hath prophesied aforetime through the prophet David."

(1) It came to pass then again, after all this, that Mary came forward, adored the feet of Jesus and said: "My Lord, be not wroth with me, if I question thee, because we question concerning everything with precision and certainty. For thou hast said unto us aforetime: 'Seek that ye may find, and knock that it may be opened unto you. For every one who seeketh shall find, and to every one who knocketh it shall be opened.' Now, therefore, my Lord, who is it whom I shall seek, or who is it at whom we shall knock? Or who rather is able to give us the decision upon the words concerning which we shall question thee? Or who rather knoweth the power of the words concerning which we shall question? Because thou in the mind hast given us mind of the Light and hast given us sense and an exceedingly exalted thought; for which cause, therefore, no one existeth in the world of men nor any one in the height of the æons, who can give the decision on the words concerning which we question, save thee alone, who knoweth [ sic ] the universe, who is perfected in the universe; because we do not question in the manner in which the men of the world question, but because we question in the gnosis of the Height which thou hast given unto us, and we question moreover in the type of the excellent questioning which thou hast taught us, that we may question therein. Now, therefore, my Lord, be not wroth with me, but reveal unto me the matter concerning which I shall question thee." It came to pass, when Jesus had heard Mary Magdalene say these words, that he answered and said unto her: "Question concerning what thou desirest to question, and I will reveal it unto thee with precision and certainty. Amēn, amēn, I say unto you: Rejoice in great joy and exult most exceedingly. If ye question concerning all with precision, then shall I exult most exceedingly, because ye question concerning all with precision and question in the manner in which it beseemeth to question. Now, therefore, question concerning what thou wouldst question, and I will reveal it unto thee with joy." It came to pass then, when Mary had heard the Saviour say these words, that she rejoiced in great joy and exulted most exceedingly and said unto Jesus: "My Lord and Saviour, of what manner then are the four-and-twenty invisibles and of what type, or rather of what quality are they, or of what quality is then their light?"

(1) "Thou Virgin Mother, daughter of thy Son, Humble and high beyond all other creature, The limit fixed of the eternal counsel, Thou art the one who such nobility To human nature gave, that its Creator Did not disdain to make himself its creature. Within thy womb rekindled was the love, By heat of which in the eternal peace After such wise this flower has germinated. Here unto us thou art a noonday torch Of charity, and below there among mortals Thou art the living fountain-head of hope. Lady, thou art so great, and so prevailing, That he who wishes grace, nor runs to thee, His aspirations without wings would fly. Not only thy benignity gives succour To him who asketh it, but oftentimes Forerunneth of its own accord the asking. In thee compassion is, in thee is pity, In thee magnificence; in thee unites Whate'er of goodness is in any creature. Now doth this man, who from the lowest depth Of the universe as far as here has seen One after one the spiritual lives,

(2) But to the sovereignest wisdom of His Godhead lapped in the dark words of His manhood, thither beheld she with all the love of her heart. For from thence she would not remove, for nothing that she saw nor heard spoken nor done about her; but sat full still in her body, with many a sweet privy and a listy love pressed upon that high cloud of unknowing betwixt her and her God. For one thing I tell thee, that there was never yet pure creature in this life, nor never yet shall be, so high ravished in contemplation and love of the Godhead, that there is not evermore a high and a wonderful cloud of unknowing betwixt him and his God. In this cloud it was that Mary was occupied with many a privy love pressed. And why? Because it was the best and the holiest part of contemplation that may be in this life, and from this part her list not remove for nothing. Insomuch, that when her sister Martha complained to our Lord of her, and bade Him bid her sister rise and help her and let her not so work and travail by herself, she sat full still and answered not with one word, nor shewed not as much as a grumbling gesture against her sister for any plaint that she could make. And no wonder: for why, she had another work to do that Martha wist not of. And therefore she had no leisure to listen to her, nor to answer her at her plaint.

(2) When then the Saviour had said this, Mary Magdalene started forward and said: "My Lord, bear with me and be not wroth with me, if I question on all things with precision and certainty. Now, therefore, my Lord, is then another the word of the mystery of the Ineffable and another the word of the whole gnosis?" The Saviour answered and said: "Yea, another is the mystery of the Ineffable and another the word of the whole gnosis." And Mary answered again and said unto the Saviour: "My Lord, bear with me, if I question thee, and be not wroth with me. Now, therefore, my Lord, unless we live and know the gnosis of the whole word of the Ineffable, shall we not be able to inherit the Light-kingdom?" at the time that he cometh out of the body of the matter of the rulers,--then the retributive receivers come and lead the soul of that man out of the body. And that soul will become a great light-stream in the hands of the retributive receivers; and those receivers will be afraid of the light of that soul. And that soul will go upwards and pass through all the regions of the rulers and all the regions of the emanations of the Light. And it will not give answers nor apologies nor tokens in any single region of the Light nor in any single region of the rulers; but it will pass through all the regions and cross over them all, so that it goeth and ruleth over all the regions of the first saviour. "In like manner also he who shall receive the second mystery of the First Mystery and the third and fourth, until he shall receive the twelfth mystery of the First Mystery, if it shall be at the time that he cometh out of the body of the matter of the rulers,--then the retributive receivers come and lead the soul of that man out of the body of matter. And those souls will become a great light-stream in the hands of the retributive receivers; and those receivers will be afraid of the light of those souls and will become powerless and fall on their faces. And those souls will straightway soar upwards and cross over all the regions of the rulers and all the regions of the emanations of the Light. They will not give answers nor apologies nor tokens in any single region; but they will pass through all the regions and will cross over them all and rule over all the regions of the twelve saviours, so that they who receive the second mystery of the First Mystery, will rule over all the regions of the second saviour in the inheritances of the Light. "In like manner also those who receive the third mystery of the First Mystery and the fourth and fifth and sixth up to the twelfth,--every one will rule over all the regions of the saviour up to whom he hath received the mystery. "And he who shall receive in sequence the twelfth mystery of the First Mystery, that is the master-mystery concerning which I discourse with you,-- and he who, therefore, shall receive those twelve mysteries which belong to the First Mystery, if he goeth forth out of the world, will pass through all the regions of the rulers and all the regions of the Light, being a great light-stream, and he will moreover rule over all the regions of the twelve saviours; but they will not be able to be like unto those who receive the one and only mystery of the Ineffable. But he who shall receive those mysteries will abide in those orders, because they are exalted, and he will abide in the orders of the twelve saviours."

(5) And therefore she hung up her love and her longing desire in this cloud of unknowing, and learned her to love a thing the which she might not see clearly in this life, by light of understanding in her reason, nor yet verily feel in sweetness of love in her affection. Insomuch, that she had ofttimes little special remembrance, whether that ever she had been a sinner or none. Yea, and full ofttimes I hope that she was so deeply disposed to the love of His Godhead that she had but right little special beholding unto the beauty of His precious and His blessed body, in the which He sat full lovely speaking and preaching before her; nor yet to anything else, bodily or ghostly. That this be sooth, it seemeth by the gospel.

(2) I affirm that had the Virgin not first borne God spiritually He would never have been born from her in bodily fashion. A certain woman said to Christ, "Blessed is the womb that bear Thee." To which Christ answered, "Nay, rather blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it." It is more worthy of God that He be born spiritually of every pure and virgin soul, than that He be born of Mary.

Hereby we should understand that humanity is, so to speak, the Son of God born from all eternity. The Father produced all creatures, and me among them, and I issued forth from Him with all creatures, and yet I abide in the Father. Just as the word which I now speak is conceived and spoken forth by me, and you all receive it, yet none the less it abides in me. Thus I and all creatures abide in the Father.

(6) "So I appeared that I might get an opportunity to go down to the nether world, to the light of the spirit that was burdened, that I might protect him from the evil of the burden. And through his looking down at the dark region the light once more came up, that the womb might again come up from the water. The womb came up by my will. Guilefully, the eye opened. And the light, which had appeared in the middle region and which had separated from the astonishment, rested and shone upon her. And the womb saw things she had not seen before, and she rejoiced joyfully in the light, although this one that appeared in the middle region, in her wickedness, is not hers. When the light shone upon her, and the womb saw things she had not seen, and she was brought down to the water, she was thinking that she had reached the power of light. And she did not know that her root was made idle by the likeness of the light, and that it was to the root that he had run.

(1) It came to pass then, when Jesus had finished speaking these words unto his disciples, that Mary Magdalene started forward and said: "My Lord, be not wroth with me if I question thee, because we question thee concerning all with precision." And Jesus answered and said unto Mary: "Question concerning what thou desirest to question, and I will reveal it unto thee in openness without similitude, and all concerning which thou questionest, I will say unto thee with precision and certainty. I will perfect you in all power and all fulnesses, from the interior of the interiors to the exterior of the exteriors, from that Ineffable to the darkness of darknesses, so that ye shall be called 'the fulnesses perfected in all gnoses.' Now, therefore, Mary, question concerning what thou mayest question, and I will reveal it to thee with great joy and great exultation." It came to pass then, when Mary had heard the Saviour say these words, that she rejoiced in exceedingly great joy and exulted, and said: "My Lord, will then the men of the world who have received the mysteries of the Light, be superior to the emanations of the Treasury in thy kingdom? For I have heard thee say: If I lead you into the region of those who have received the mysteries of the Light, then will the region of the [emanations of the] Light-land count for you as a speck of dust because of the great distance in which it is distant from it, and because of the great light in which it is,'--that is the Light-land is the Treasury, the region of the emanations,--will therefore then, my Lord, the men who have received the mysteries, be superior to the Light-land and superior to those [emanations] in the kingdom of the Light?"

(2) And when the Saviour had said this, Mary started forward to Salome, embraced her and said unto her: "My sister Salome, concerning the word which thou hast spoken: It standeth written in the Law of Moses: 'He who shall abandon his father and his mother, let him die the death,'--now, therefore, my sister Salome, the Law hath not said this concerning the soul nor concerning the body nor concerning the counterfeiting spirit, for all these are sons of the rulers and are out of them. But the Law hath said this concerning the power which hath came forth out of the Saviour, and which is the light-man within us to-day. The Law hath moreover said: Every one who shall remain without the Saviour and all his mysteries, his parents, will not only die the death but go to ruin in destruction." When then Mary had said this, Salome started forward to Mary and embraced her anew. Salome said: "The Saviour hath power to make me understanding like thyself." It came to pass, when the Saviour had heard the words of Mary, that he called her most exceedingly blessed. The Saviour answered and said unto Mary in the midst of his disciples: "Hearken, therefore, Mary, who it is who compelleth the man until he sinneth.

(3) It came to pass then, when Jesus had heard these words, that he said: "Well said, Mary, blessed one, who shalt inherit the whole Light-kingdom." Thereon Mary, the mother of Jesus, also came forward and said: "My Lord and my Saviour, give commandment unto me also that I repeat this word." Jesus said: "Whose spirit is understanding, him I do not prevent, but I urge him on still more to speak the thought which hath moved him. Now, therefore, Mary, my mother according to matter, thou in whom I have sojourned, I bid thee that thou also speak the thought of the discourse." it became material body for thee, and hath made proclamation concerning the region of Truth. 'Righteousness' is thy spirit, who hath brought the mysteries out of the height to give them to the race of men. 'Peace' on the other hand is the power which hath sojourned in thy material body according to the world, which hath baptized the race of men, until it should make it stranger unto sin and make it at peace with thy spirit, so that they may be at peace with the emanations of the Light; that is, 'Grace and truth kissed each other.' As it saith: 'Truth sprouted forth out of the earth,'--'truth' is thy material body which sprouted forth out of me according to the world of men, and hath made proclamation concerning the region of Truth. And again as it saith: 'Righteousness [looked down] from heaven'--'righteousness' is the power which looked out of the height, which will give the mysteries of the Light to the race of men, so that they will become righteous and good, and inherit the Light-kingdom." It came to pass then, when Jesus had heard these words which his mother Mary spake, that he said: "Well said, finely, Mary."

Now, this father is the One who beholds himself in the light surrounding him, which is the spring of living water, and provides all the realms. He reflects on his image everywhere, sees it in the spring of the spirit, and becomes enamored of his luminous water, for his image is in the spring of pure luminous water surrounding him. The father’s thought became a reality, and she who appeared in the presence of the father in shining light came forth. She is the first power who preceded everything and came forth from the father’s mind as the forethought of all. Her light shines like the father’s light; she, the perfect power, is the image of the perfect and invisible virgin spirit. She, the first power, the glory of Barbelo, the perfect glory among the realms, the glory of revelation, she glorified and praised the virgin spirit, for because of the spirit she had come forth. She is the first thought, the image of the spirit. She became the universal womb, for she precedes everything, the mother-father, the first human, the holy spirit, the triple male, the triple power, the androgynous one with three names, the eternal realm among the invisible beings, the first to come forth. Barbelo asked the invisible virgin spirit to give her foreknowledge, and the spirit consented. When the spirit consented, foreknowledge appeared and stood by forethought. This is the one who came from the thought of the invisible virgin spirit. Foreknowledge glorified the spirit and the spirit’s perfect power, Barbelo, for because of her, foreknowledge had come into being. She asked again to be given incorruptibility, and the spirit consented. When the spirit consented, incorruptibility appeared and stood by thought and foreknowledge. Incorruptibility glorified the invisible one and Barbelo. Because of her they had come into being. Barbelo asked to be given life eternal, and the invisible spirit consented. When the spirit consented, life eternal appeared, and they stood together and glorified the invisible spirit and Barbelo. Because of her they had come into being. She asked again to be given truth, and the invisible spirit consented. Truth appeared, and they stood together and glorified the good invisible spirit and its Barbelo. Because of her they had come into being. This is the father’s realm of five. It is: the first human, the image of the invisible spirit, that is, forethought, which is Barbelo, and thought, along with foreknowledge, incorruptibility, life eternal, truth. This is the androgynous realm of five, which is the realm of ten, which is the father.

(4) But should they say that this takes place by His mother, or should they say that they, along with Christ, war against death, let them own their secret dogma that they have the hardihood to assail the divine power of the Creator, by setting to rights His creation, as if they were superior, endeavouring to save the vital image which He was not able to rescue from corruption. Then the Lord would be superior to God the Creator; for the son would never contend with the father, especially among the gods. But the point that the Creator of all things, the omnipotent Lord, is the Father of the Son, we have deferred till the discussion of these points, in which we have under taken to dispute against the heresies, showing that He alone is the God proclaimed by Him.