Gnosis Adonia

Archangel Raphael with Adam and Eve, 1808, William Blake

—

Aldous Huxley

March 1962

“Now, we must help each other to get to Heaven.”

Being confused, out of my confusion I look to another, to a teacher, to a book, to an organization, to bring me peace or to help me find out what is true; but when I am confused my search will also be confused, and my action will be the outcome of this confusion. So what is important, surely, is to free the mind from all sense of authority, from all giving of value to someone else's experience and therefore imitating, following.

Now, is it possible to find this light within oneself and not look to another? I think it is possible, and that it is the only way. There is no other way, and it requires considerable insight, arduous investigation into oneself. The disciplining of the mind, the following of various teachers, the practice of yoga - all these things are empty, utterly futile to a man who is really serious, because there is self-knowledge, the real thing, only through oneself, it cannot be found through another.

St. Luke painting the Virgin – It is said, that St. Luke painted many portraits of the Virgin and many Renaissance artists were inspired to recreate their interpretations of this.

“I suppose that Our Lady did not pose for him, but rather that he saw her many times and had her figure in mind to reproduce in a painting. So, we can imagine him silently admiring this or that facet of her physiognomy, and then reproducing it in the picture he was painting.” - Prof. Corrêa de Oliveira

THE OX, recognized as the animal of sacrifice, was applied to St. Luke because his Gospel emphasizes the atonement made by Christ’s sacrifice of himself on the Cross.

"The proper arrangement of the Ray of Creation is as follows:

1. Absolute - Protocosmos

2. All the worlds from all of the clusters of Galaxies - Ayocosmos

3. A Galaxy or group of Suns - Macrocosmos

4. The Sun, Solar System - Deuterocosmos

5. The Earth, or any of the planets - Mesocosmos

6. The Philosophical Earth, Human Being - Microcosmos

7. The Abyss, Hell - Tritocosmos

"The brothers and sisters of the Gnostic Movement must deeply comprehend the esoteric knowledge which we give in this Christmas Message, in order for them to exactly know the place that they occupy in the Ray of Creation."

~ Samael Aun Weor

Today we also celebrate our Venerable Father Andronicus and his wife, Athanasia. Saint Andronicus and Athanasia of Egypt lived in Antioch in the fifth century. Saint Andronicus was a craftsman who divided his earnings into three portions. One part he gave to the Church, the second to the poor, and the third he used for his family. When the Lord took the son and daughter of Andronicus and Athanasia, the pious couple decided to devote themselves fully to the service of God, helping the poor and the sick. Soon the saintly spouses set out for Alexandria, where Andronicus entered a skete monastery, and Athanasia entered the women’s Tabennisiota monastery.

After twelve years of ascetic life Saint Andronicus went to Jerusalem to pray at the holy places. He met a co-pilgrim, Saint Athanasia, who, foreseeing the difficulties of the journey, had donned men’s attire. They did not recognize each other, since long ascetic effort had altered their appearance. When they returned from Jerusalem, both monks settled into a single cell and for many years lived the ascetic life in silence. Saint Athanasia wrote a note to be read after her death, revealing her secret. Saint Andronicus died soon after Saint Athanasia. May they intercede for us always +