Matrices of Heimarmene

We have already discussed more than once that the Hermetic Myth describes the same reality from two positions – from the position of “being”, the objective world, the macrocosm, and from the perspective of consciousness – the subjective basis, the psychocosm. At the same time, both ‘cosmoi’ are manifestations or descriptions of one and the same process, and therefore are built on analogous principles, reflect each other, and are dependent on each other.

Similarly, just as the units of reality in the “objective” world are material formations and interactions between them, in the “subjective” space such units are the mind’s “matrices”, forming subpersonalities, personalities, and suprapersonal structures.

At the interface between the two cosmoi, as a product of their mutual reflection, living beings arise – bearers of consciousness, which, on the one hand, are material formations, and on the other, expressions of certain matrices.

We also said that just as the macrocosm experiences the influence of forces of destruction, an entropic element, in the psychocosm such a component manifests as a tendency toward evil (“Yetzer hara”), represented by two kinds of destructive matrices: a distorted expression of desires (the so-called “goetic demons”) and a distorted expression of will (the so-called Nephilim (Heb. ‏נפילים‏‎ — “fallen” or “pushing toward a fall”) or Fomors).

At the same time, the very process of distortion of the matrices of the mind, the emergence of the “darkened”, “fallen” psychocosm can also be described from two perspectives:

• as a separate stream of consciousness opposing its common basis (this driving force is personified by the image of the First Demon – Lucifer), this type of darkening is called “ignorance of the self”;  
• as a refusal to adequately reflect the “objective world” (expressed by the image of the Father of the Void – Ialdabaoth), also known as “ignorance of others”.

We noted that it is precisely the feeling of separateness that gives rise to the urge to possess, and these two roots constitute the basis and cause of the darkening of the stream of desires – the impulses for realization.

At the same time, the sense of the “objective”, independent existence of the physical world is the cause of fixation on systems of evaluation and punishment, which is the basis of the enslaving power of Heimarmene.

In other words, the process of distortion of the mind can be considered as Lucifer’s enthronement within it or Ialdabaoth’s tyranny, and, accordingly, purification and liberation also include two strategies – the development of love and wisdom.

And just as cleansing the mind of destructive forces implanted by kidemons can be carried out far more successfully provided one knows the features of these destructive matrices themselves, their energies, and their interactions, liberation from conditioning can be more effective when supported by a liberating outlook – gnosis. That is why both goetia and kenography (from Ancient Greek κενόγραφία – “description of emptiness” — a complex of teachings that study the structure, functioning, and evolution of materiality as an emptiness phenomenon) are important tools in the struggle for the freedom of mind.

If we consider the process of the enslavement of the mind by conditioning, then the Gnostic myth about the birth of the Archons and their creation of the material universe acquires a clear psychocosmic interpretation. Indeed, the “blind”, darkened mind (Ialdabaoth), unaware of its connection to the divine source, proclaims itself the “lord” of the psychocosm and creates within it its own “creating” forces, which only imitate true creativity, and generate cascades of darkening. Here lies one of the strongest dissonances of the modern human mind: on the one hand, it is highly dependent on “reality” and strongly oriented toward “material goods”, comfort and convenience, and on the other hand, it seeks quick gratification with minimal effort, which are possible only in virtual reality. One could say that modern man wants to live in the real world by the laws of the virtual world, and, not receiving quick and easy reinforcement, becomes frustrated and loses energy. Needless to say, such disharmony and the ongoing drain of energy following from it are very beneficial to the inhabitants of the Interworld. To correct such a situation, the mind should change its self-identification – exactly as the Gnostics did, “gathering” the sparks of Divine Light enslaved by matter. A person seeking liberation will inevitably encounter Ialdabaoth in his guise as Choronzon, the mind’s disintegration and reintegration known as the Crossing of the Abyss.

At the same time, it is clear that in the psychocosm one can find the same archontic matrices as in the Rulers of Materiality themselves, and therefore trace them to their aeonic roots. This knowledge helps to build the correct strategies for devirtualization of the mind, and, accordingly, increasing its effectiveness.