#the logos

[sadko101]

his face may be partially blocked, but you can see the absolute anguish in Sparks as Niobe stood up.

[tearsofthemagdalene]

falling back in love with Jesus, who is Love Incarnate, after being so angry and distant from Him for so long is the best feeling in the world. i love You my Lord, my Friend, my Love.

[alchemisoul]

The common translation by Christians in China for the concept of Logos, a Greek word and concept referred to as "The Word" in English transcriptions, as it appears in John 1:1, is Tao or Dao: "The Way".

[eli-kittim]

THE NAME AND PREEXISTENCE OF JESUS WAS KNOWN AND ATTESTED BY PRE-CHRISTIAN SOURCES

If the New Testament (NT) was written in advance,  as I have suggested, then one could reasonably argue that the NT writers knew of Jesus before he became man by way of revelations, including Paul as well as Philo who preceded him.

Case in point. Philo of Alexandria is a Jewish mystic philosopher and theologian who is writing between 20 - 40 CE, thus predating the New Testament writings.

In his "Confusion of Tongues" pp. 62-63 and pp. 146-47 as well as in his work entitled "On Dreams" 1.215, he attests that there existed within the Jewish Angelology of that period a belief in a celestial being - who in Zechariah 6 LXX is named Jesus - and that it is precisely this archangel who is considered to be the firstborn son of God (cf. Rom. 8.29), the celestial image of God (cf. 2 Cor. 4.4), God's agent of creation (cf. 1 Cor. 8.6), and God's celestial high priest (cf. Heb. 2.17, 4.14).

Source credit: Richard Carrier

In fact, Philo often refers to him as the Logos (cf. John 1.1) or the highest emanation of God. Similarly, many Christian scholars consider Jesus to be the preincarnated so-called "Angel of the Lord" in the Old Testament!

Thus, despite vast doctrinal and philosophical differences, there is considerable evidence to suggest that the name and preexistence of Jesus was known and attested by multiple independent sources!

[matrixreimagined]

Niobe: You're pretty conceited.

Sparks: Thanks.

Ghost:...

Niobe:...

Ghost:... She just called you conceited, Sparks.

Sparks: I'm only focusing on the positives in life, so all I heard was 'You're pretty'

[sensitiveasks]

you'll learn the alphabet together // we'll learn the new alphabet together

Reliable lightning frenzy strikes into descending shapes. Reach into the plastic shapes of those letters, in your dreams, by your bedside, illuminated in the warm light. Remember, it's always coming and never here

The plumed hand, the mind of magic, they can all take their places. But first we must run through those colored corridors, run outward to a window. A gap in the wall, a space for the spaces between. Those letters are out there, twisting and dancing, you can see their putty-like forms

[rhosyn-o-magdalene]

"Lord of Light"

This was the first Sabbat of the year where I focused more on the divine masculine. It seemed fitting with Lughnasadh being named after the Irish god Lugh. However if I'm being honest, since getting into Celtic Paganism, the Irish pantheon in particular has been the one I've struggled to connect to. My tiny brain really struggles with all the myths and names, and there's not exactly a singular text like with the Mabinogi. There's been some exceptions, of course I work with Brigid though she is very much a pan-Celtic deity but she does feel particularly Irish in nature. The Morrighan has also come to my altar when I do my daily card pull. I'm also a huge fan of the goddess Ainé and I invoked Her to join me in my ritual yesterday. I've also said before that the Dagda seems like a cool dude but I've yet to work with him yet.

So while I did welcome Lugh, I felt more called to focus on his Welsh equivalent Lleu Llaw Gyffes. I've worked with both his mother Arianrhod and his one-time bride Blodeuwedd so there was a bit of awkwardness to get past at first considering their connections. But it's important to remember that these myths are myths and not to let them affect how we interact with the gods too much.

Lleu, to me, is another aspect of the Mabon; the divine son. In other Welsh myths, he appears as the son of Modron, in others he is Rhiannon's son Pryderi, in another he is Cerridwen's son Taliesin. I would also personally throw King Arthur or maybe even Lancelot in there as well. The linking factor is that they are these princes born of goddess-like women who embody exceptional skill, soveriegnty and 'radiance'. Ie, Sun Childs.

In my meeting with him, I found Lleu to be quiet, aloof, but with a wry sense of humour. He's eager to help improve or find certain skills or talents. He is willing to help change circumstances that might be restricting or unfair, but he also helps come to terms with that which cannot be changed but instead learned to live with. Something unique which I've never seen mentioned around him before is Trust. We know in the fourth branch that Lleu is betrayed by Blodeuedd and Gronw. But I also feel like his reluctance to return to Gwydion's arms until his uncle sings to him is also about losing trust in a parental figure, one who hurts you indirectly by their own actions. I find it interesting that the third fate placed upon Lleu is the only one that he doesn't get around by tricking his mother. Arianrhod disappears from the story just before the creation of Blodeuedd. She has no hand in giving him his bride and thus it's his bride who is his undoing - and he never finds another as far as we know. Gwydion and Math believing they could simply steal a woman from the Earth itself is almost like cheating to grant Lleu his Soverignty and, predictably, she rejects him and chooses another. Personally I believe Lleu does not hesitate to return to Gwydion out of weakness or being in an animal form, instead he feels the betrayal and hurt of those who suffer from generational trauma. So that was a rather deep thing to connect with him in.

Lleu also helped me to understand another 'Lu' who I haven't worked with for a while, that being the Logos. The Logos, the 'Word of God', is believed by some Gnostics to be the consort of Sophia and the two together create 'the Christ'. Word and Wisdom together. And some go further to say that Yeshua represents the masculine Logos-Christ while Mary Magdalene is the Sophia-Christ. When I became a Filinianist, I saw the Logos more as an abstract tool of Sophia rather than an entity, because to me She didn't have a consort. Especially in the view of how Gnostics see the Logos which is as a heroic figure who comes to save the 'fallen' Sophia, painting her as a damsel in distress.

But what Lleu kind of helped me to see differently is the Logos is not this perfect, almost Gary Stu persona saving his foolish bride. The Logos rescues Sophia out of love but also because of need; he is empty without her. Without Wisdom, the Word is nothing. And we see this reflected in how Yeshua is treated today. People worship the Word in flesh but have ignored his Wisdom, both literally as in not following his message of love but also figuratively in how they displaced and disrespected Mary Magdalene; the Christ Sophia. Likewise, we are discovering the Magdalene and her true role as Wisdom and yet her words are lost, or most of them are aside from fragments in newly discovered texts.

It is often said in Gnostic circles that Christ (Logos) came not to save the world but to save Sophia. But it was SOPHIA, who came for the world, for Her children. She shattered Her soul and sent a piece of Herself into each of us so that we may always have a path back to God. That is not to say the Logos doesn't love us, but his love is found through Her and the understanding of life which he receives from Her. And so it's not a one sided hero-saves-damsel situation. More of a Knight rushing to protect and be with his Queen.

Or perhaps, like Lleu, a son seeking blessing from his mother or a prince seeking Soverignty from his divine bride.

I've become comfortable working with Yeshua on occasion as the consort of the Magdalene, I feel I can also honor the Logos as the consort of Sophia.