Epinoia — Light in the Darkness
As we have understood, the world, which from the standpoint of the magical myth is an harmonious coexistence of predators, nevertheless contains a potential field that provides the possibility of its development and the acquisition and accumulation of Power by embodied beings.
This possibility is secured by the presence, in any description of the world, of a component that implicitly ensures the evolution of consciousness.
In its potential reality this “benign” component of the cosmos is traditionally called Shekhinah or Sophia — the “Shadow” of the Absolute, its otherness in the world. At the same time Shekhinah also has real manifestations appearing in evolutionary currents arising at various points of the cosmos. Namely, one may say that the manifested cosmos has the capacity to generate a drive to develop, for overcoming limitations.
The ensemble of these manifestations is traditionally called Epinoia (lit. “Thought”), “the created Light” (Or Chozer, אור חוזר) , and in Zoroastrianism — Vohu Manah (“Good Thought”). That is, just as Shekhinah herself is the “presence” or “echo” of the Absolute in the cosmos, Epinoia is those “discernible” manifestations of Shekhinah.
According to Gnostic ideas, Epinoia is derived from the perfect but potential world and constitutes, in the imperfect but actual world, the global category of the movement of life. It pairs with the unmanifest striving toward actualization — the masculine (or rather androgynous) principle — Pronoia (or Barbelo). One may say that Epinoia expresses the “active” aspect of that wisdom whose “essential” manifestation is Pronoia. Thought (Gnostic “Truth”, Aletheia), originally generated by the One, is linked with the feminine principle; and the response to its capacity to inhabit the Nous plays the masculine (expansive) role.
Epinoia is the “saving form” of the Mother principle. It enables liberation and grants salvation. Each person — man and woman alike — possesses this power of the Great Goddess. “The Epinoia of light is sent to awaken the spiritual principle.” The higher principle, the great Power, in such a pairing is the Universal Intelligence, ruling all and masculine; the lower principle, the great Thought, generates everything and is feminine. Put differently, the very possibility of evolution — its “seed” enclosed within all that is manifested — is Pronoia, while the soil that gives rise to that seed, the sum of actual strivings leading to development, is Epinoia.
Pronoia is the influence of the Father, manifesting as a “pre-sensation” of ideality, Mezla, and Epinoia is the power of the Mother, Shekhinah. Thus Epinoia is born as the “answer” to the “call” of the Absolute, “sounding” in the cosmos.
In other words, Epinoia is the metaphysical source of the world’s “knowledge” of its divine origin, the firm striving of created nature to attain its ideal archetype, the sense of the absolute nature of reality.
Hermes Trismegistus says that Epinoia is indestructible and, being Light, produces all things. Epinoia is the meaning of everything and in all things there is Epinoia.
However, Epinoia is “hidden,” diffused through the cosmos; it has no direct, concrete manifestation. Gnostics believed this happened as a result of the seizure of power by the “evil” demiurge, from whom, in fact, Epinoia is “hidden.” Unlike the relative optimism of Eastern philosophies, Western thought sees in the real world opposition, death, and war, and the “good” component is regarded as “hidden” behind the veil of actuality, though quite perceptible and real:
«And it helps all creation, laboring with it, directing it toward its fullness, teaching it … the way of ascent, the way by which it descended.»
Yet this state of affairs does not appear hopeless or pessimistic; on the contrary, it is precisely in overcoming that Western consciousness finds the way to forming the will, to its own development. The Western Way is the Way of “cultivating the garden” — the transformation of matter, the alchemical extraction of “gold” from “ore.”
Let us emphasize once again that Epinoia is conceived as a capacity for development permeating being, the environment’s response to the influence of the Spirit possessed by the cosmos, and not a concrete form of Power. Therefore development and the acquisition of Power in the Western myth are conceived as struggle; Power does not flow by itself — one must fight for it — yet its attainment is possible.
Well said! However, the thought of India (if attributed to the East) is unlikely to be optimistic—after all, within the framework of Vedanta philosophy, ‘only a fool does not strive for liberation from this world of illusion and suffering’ (as a result of Ignorance). Although probably Indian thought, if it emphasizes its ‘Aryan’ origin, should be considered Western. And thus Eastern, strictly speaking, should be regarded as the ‘Far Eastern’ tradition, which, if not optimistic, is certainly less ‘tragic’ than the Western (probably because it is more feminine, ‘nocturnal’ if we use Gilbert Durand’s terminology). Hence, it’s likely to have a greater inclination for Life Force rather than Awareness Force.
The division of reality into the law of predators and the law of epinoia, in my opinion, reflects itself in two Castanedian approaches in energy-information practices. Namely, in working in dreams and in stalking. Both techniques pursue a dual goal: power accumulation and unwavering intent. Just in each technique, there is its own emphasis. In dreams, the illusions of consciousness are shattered – the world of predators, while in stalking, consciousness control is developed – the world of meaning.
What do you think of this analogy, Enmerkar?
We will look for Epinoia!!
What is the point of the thought of perfect creation if it is in fact unrealizable here in physical terms? And this is seen as toxic masculinity, the demonic start suppresses the Epinoia. When Sophia’s wisdom descended from the pleroma into the void/kenoma, the sleeping archons were activated and became a factor of inertia for the ‘blossoming of wisdom.’ From a philosophical point of view, can this be seen as a paradoxical or absurd situation? I hope the question was not confusing))
The idea of Wisdom, of the Ascending Sophia or Epinoia, is not about “repressed” knowledge, but rather a free state of consciousness in the realm of wisdom. What is referred to as the “wisdom of the lower world” is Sophia Achamoth, who is ensnared in oblivion.