Archons and Kidemons

We have already mentioned that among the destructive forces and beings exerting the greatest influence on the existence and development of both individual people and humanity as a whole, two groups dominate — the so-called “Goetic demons,” or Kidemons (Greek κηδεμόνας), and the so-called Rulers, or Archons (ἄρχων). One might say that in the real conditions of our world, practically the entire “external” environment is formed under the influence of the Archons, while all structures of the psyche are corrupted by the Gatekeepers; and in the same way that the gods, who shape and direct the manifest flows of energy, often turn out to be mere toys in the hands of the archons, the creative and protective forces of mind can only with difficulty peek out from under the shadow of the destructors. And in exactly the same way that the fabric of reality is woven by the gods, and the streams of possibilities are shaped by the angels, reality is dispensed by the archons, while potentialities are depleted by the kidemons.

At the same time, it does not matter whether we consider archons and gatekeepers as beings or as destructive tendencies: the fact remains that both our mind and its channels function in a mode far from optimal, dissipating significant amounts of energy.

When the mind operates in the mode of creation, when it crosses the Boundary, extracting from the potential space of the Interval new possibilities, finding new impulses and aspirations — it proves vulnerable to the Kidemons. It is not for nothing that this very word (κηδεμόνας) means “guardians,” that is, beings who manage the property of an incapacitated or immature person. The Hebrew word “Shomrei” (שומרי), used to designate them, means “guards,” that is, beings who make sure that a prisoner locked in a dungeon does not escape.

But when mind works in a “stationary” mode — when it lives, acts, shapes reality, and uses its resources — it is in heimarmene, in the power of the archons (Heb. nasikim, נסיכים), since it is precisely they who “allocate” into worlds, into the field of reality, specific possibilities for realization. In other words, when mind treats the Interval as a Boundary, it enters the world of the Gatekeepers; but when it interacts with it as with the Space of the Interworld (or the world of dreaming), it is in the field of activity of the archons.

In this sense, one may say that the gatekeepers enslave our desires, while the archons enslave our will. That is precisely why, lately, as life becomes more “mechanized,” as civilization becomes more technocratic and creative impulses and passions fade, an ever larger share of the “milk yield” of the energy dispersed by people goes to the archons. It is precisely this technical orientation of the activity of the archons that has allowed some magical schools to trace their origin back to the most ancient alvs, since it is the energy of the latter that is characterized by an emphasis on the mechanical level of existence. At the same time, we have already mentioned that both the Gnostics and other schools considered the archons to be more primordial beings, correlating them with the pioneers of the Interval.

It is clear that very often the spheres of influence of these two groups of “harvesters” intersect, since many kidemons instill mechanistic thinking in mind, and a number of archons operate in the sphere of feelings; however, the influence of each group still has distinguishable features. Gatekeepers are usually active at the sensory level, distorting attraction and repulsion; therefore, characteristic signs of their activity may be capriciousness, irritability, aggression, or, on the contrary, greed, lustfulness, etc. Archons, on the other hand, distort the will, the active component; therefore, the result of their activity usually turns out to be weakness of character, apathy, and mental lethargy.

In any case, in relation to both groups of predators, it is most effective to apply a tactic of resistance — a skilled maneuver to exit their spheres of influence. However, a correctly made diagnosis, proper identification of the causes and mechanisms of energy leaks, will make it possible to develop more precise approaches to liberation from a particular destructive force.