The narrative of the Fall and the banishment of the first humans from paradise has fascinated minds for ages, inspiring extensive contemplation and debate. However, some have posited that the Garden of Eden’s tale is allegorical, concealing a deeper significance. They suggest it symbolically narrates events in the Pleroma, the supreme spiritual realm, culminating in the creation of the material world.
In ancient Greek and Gnostic beliefs, Pleroma represented the fullness of the divine, embodying the spiritual realm and the totality of divine powers. Kenoma, in contrast, was seen as the emptiness that corresponds to the material world, a lower realm of phenomena and imperfection. Heaven was often equated with Pleroma, a place of transcendent divinity and perfection, while hell was not a concept extensively explored but could be likened to Kenoma, a state of deficiency and distance from the divine fullness.
In Gnostic cosmogony, the First Father, the Creator of all, has a consort known as the Aeon Sige, which translates from ancient Greek as “eternal Silence.” The First Father and Sige have a daughter named Ennoia, meaning “Thought” in Greek. Another account suggests that Ennoia is Sige’s sister.
In Gnostic tradition, Ennoia, the initial thought of the Creator, eventually became arrogant and fled to create independently. However, upon descending into the material realm, she was seized by the archons, the sinister entities of her own making. These archons persist in detaining her, preventing her return to the divine progenitors.
In Greek mythology, the separation of the Aeons of Sige and Ennoia, or the Aeons of elder Sophia and younger Sophia, mirrors the myth of Demeter and Persephone’s separation. In this tale, Persephone is abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld. Longing for her mother Demeter, she is unable to leave until Hermes, the messenger of Zeus, intervenes as her rescuer. Hermes ventures into the underworld, retrieves Persephone, and reunites her with her mother Demeter and father Zeus.
In a more renowned Gnostic narrative concerning the distortion of the Pleroma (Greek for “fullness”), the proud Aeon Sophia (Greek for “Wisdom”) is the catalyst for the Fall, resulting in her daughter being expelled from the Pleroma to Kenoma. The story centers on the anticipated reunion of the elder Sophia and her daughter, the younger Sophia-Sirim.
In esoteric traditions, myths serve to elucidate the journey of inner salvation. They persistently remind adherents of their core mission: the redemption of the soul, often allegorized as the “harlot,” and its ascension back to paradise through the guidance of Hermes, the emissary of Zeus. To gain a deeper comprehension of the Gnostic perspective on these internal transformations, one can refer to the ancient text “Song of Sirim.”
“Song of Sirim” unveils the Gnostic narrative of the Fall. Authored in the first century AD and later disseminated in a condensed Latin version in 1529, it offers a window into the saga of the Garden of Eden, detailing the ensuing exile, deliverance, and the anticipated arrival of the Messiah.
As the narrative unfolds, the book discloses the causes of human suffering in the material realm and explores the perpetual disarray of the soul, delving into its sorrows. It also elucidates why individuals from diverse nationalities and faiths are drawn to the Western Wall and the symbolism it holds.
According to ancient legend, the western wall divides the Pleroma from the Kenoma. Sirim, the divine soul who departed from the Pleroma (the realm of fullness, paradise), visits this wall nightly to sing a melancholic tune, known as the “Song of Sirim,” to pray for salvation and express a longing for a swift reunion with his mother, the elder Sophia (Eon Sophia).
