Just a writing practice to mix some of my favorite myths which inspired, were inspired by, or which I associate with the “Fall of Man.” It is taken from The Torah, The New Testament, The Enūma Eliš, The Hypostasis of the Archons, Cain: A Mystery by Lord Byron, and Prometheus Unbound by Percey Shelly, with some input and modernization from the mind of this currently bored esotericist who has been watching too much Christian Nationalist garbage.
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In the beginning was the cosmic ocean, and from that Chaos arose the Gods. The ocean was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirits of the Gods were hovering over the waters. Some of these Gods said, “Let there be Order,” and there was Order. These Gods saw the Order was good for them, and they separated Order from Chaos, and called the Order heaven, and the Chaos hell.
And the Gods said, “Let there be a vault between us and what we create, to separate the glory of heaven from the dimness of our creation, that we may rule over it.” So the Gods made the vault and separated the heavens from creation, that they may always be above it. And it was so. The Gods called the vault “sky.”
And the Gods said, “Let creation be gathered in one place, and let us separate matter and spirit.” And it was so. The Gods called the matter “Eden,” and the spirit “Aethyr.” And the Gods saw that it was good for them.
And the Gods said, “Let there be Archons to reign over creation, to maintain the sacred laws, and to keep control over the Aethyr and Eden.” And the Gods made six great lights and set them in the sky to govern Aethyr and Eden. And the Gods saw that it was good for them.
And the Gods said, “Let the Aethyr be teeming with living creatures.” So the Gods created the great Leviathans of the Aethyr. But the Leviathans would not submit to the Archons. They could not pull in the Leviathans with fishhooks, nor tie down their tongues with ropes. They could not put a cord through their noses, nor pierce their jaws with traps. They attempted to tame the Leviathans, but would remember the struggle and never do it again! All hope of subduing the Leviathans was false, the mere sight of them was overpowering. None of the Archons were fierce enough to rouse them, and none could stand against them. None were their equal, and they were without fear.
So the Archons cried for the Gods, and bid them to create a new Archon who could kill Leviathans. And the Gods created Yaldabaoth. And Yaldabaoth suckled on the breasts of the goddesses, a nurse reared him and filled him with hatred and terror. His figure was well-developed, the glance of his eyes was dazzling, his growth was manly, he was mighty from the beginning. Incapable of being grasped with the mind, hard even to look upon. Four were his eyes, four his ears, flame shot forth as he moved his lips. His figure was lofty and superior in comparison with the Gods, his limbs were surpassing, his nature was superior. The Son, the Sun-God, the Sun-God of the Gods.
Yaldabaoth used light to cause consternation in the Leviathans, they were confounded, they were frantic. And the Leviathans raged and called out, “they intend to destroy us! Let us make Daemons to aid in our fight.” And the Leviathans assembled to birth Daemons from the Aethyr. They took the side of the Leviathans, fiercely plotting, unresting, lusting for battle, raging, storming, they created irresistible weapons, and gave birth to giant serpents.
The Leviathans gathered their creations and organized a contest against the Archons, joining in strife, drawing near to battle. The Archons spread out a net and enmeshed the Leviathans, and let loose evil light in their faces. The light weighed them down, and Yaldabaoth let fly arrows which pierced their bellies, save for the youngest, who he left to grow and be feasted upon at the end of time. The Archons and Yaldabaoth tore open the entrails of the Leviathans, and slit them inwards. They bound them and extinguished their lives, then threw down their corpses and stood upon them, with the Daemons fleeing to the dark corners of creation.
And Yaldabaoth emerged, his robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he was called was The Word of God. On his robe and on his thigh he had written in the blood of the Leviathans, “King of Kings, LORD of Lords.” And the Archons sang, “great and amazing are your deeds, O LORD, God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways! Who will not fear you, O LORD, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All creation will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
And Yaldabaoth banished the old Gods back to Chaos, stating, “there is no God with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. All of creation shall know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.” And the Archons said to Yaldabaoth, “Who is God save the LORD? For you are great, you do wondrous things: you alone are God. There is one God; and there is none other but he.” And for his betrayal and deception, Yaldabaoth changed into the form of a worm with a lion's head.
And Yaldabaoth said to the Archons, “Let Eden be teeming with living creatures for our amusement.” And it was so. Yaldabaoth and the Archons made the creatures of Eden, and they saw that it was good for them.
Then Yaldabaoth said to the Archons, “Let us make humankind in our image, we will bring together blood and bone. Upon them the toil of the Archons will be laid, that the Archons may rest.” So Yaldabaoth and the Archons created humans in their own image, but their eyes were closed, and their time was finite, so that they may always remain easy to rule.
Yaldabaoth and the Archons enjoyed the human servants, and said to them, “populate the earth, that we may always have servants. We give you rule over all things, so long as you remain in service to us.” And it was so. Then Yaldabaoth and the Archons saw all they had made and taken, and it was very good for them.
Thus the ordered universe was completed and conquered in all its vast array, and Yaldabaoth and the Archons rested. But as they rested, another God, the first born of Chaos who had not partaken in creation, returned, descended into creation, and planted two trees within Eden.
When they awoke, Yaldabaoth and the Archons were horrified. “All things within creation are yours to own,” they told humankind. “But you must not take from the new trees growing in the center of creation, or else you will die,” they lied, having already created them to pass.
The other God was older and wiser than his siblings, the Archons, and Yaldabaoth. He said to humankind, “did that false God really say you cannot eat from the new trees in the center of creation, lest you die?” The humans acknowledged. “You will certainly not die from eating it, but if you do not eat it, death is guaranteed,” said the other God. “Their chief is blind. Because of his power and his ignorance and his arrogance he said, ‘I am God; there is no other but me.’ When he said this, he sinned against all. Once you have eaten from the trees your eyes will be open, and you will be Gods yourselves, powerful and eternal.”
When the humans understood that the fruits of the trees were good for food and desirable for ascending, they took some fruit from one and ate it. Then their eyes were open, and they realized they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves, ignoring the urging of the other God to partake of the second tree. Before the humans could eat from the second tree, they heard the false God as he was walking through Eden, and they hid from the false God instead of taking the fruit. The other God did not share their fear.
The false God called out to the humans, “where are you?” The humans answered, “we heard you in the garden, and were afraid because we were naked, so we hid.” And the false God said, “who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from one of the trees we commanded you not to eat from?” And the humans said, “that other God deceived us, and we ate from one of the trees.”
So the false God said to the other God, who they were too arrogant and ignorant to recognize as their superior, and mistook for their creation, “because you have done this, cursed are you above all things. You shall be banished from heaven, and I will put enmity between your descendants and the humans, between your offspring and theirs.”
The other God was unaffected. “In the pride of your heart, Yaldabaoth, you say you are God, but you are a mere Archon and not even a God. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I will drive you in disgrace before the spectacle of humankind, bring you down to the pit, and you will die a violent death in the heart of the cosmic seas. I will ascend to the heavens, I will raise my throne above that of you false Gods, I will sit enthroned on a mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the North. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds, I will make myself, my descendants, and the humans like the Most High among you. All nations who knew you will hate you; you will come to a horrible end and will be no more.”
So the false God turned to curse humankind instead, saying, “I will make your pains severe and cause illness and suffering. Man shall rule over woman, and the Archons shall rule over man. Cursed is creation because of you, and you shall not find peace within it for all your lives. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and by the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground. For dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Then the false God said to the Archons, “the humans have now become more like us, their eyes are open. They must not be allowed to reach out their hands and take also from the other tree and eat, and live forever.” So Yaldabaoth and the Archons banished the humans from Eden, with Death written upon their brows, and placed a cherub with a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
The humans produced new life, two of which were twins; the Wanderer, and the Settler. The Settler was happy to keep the flocks, while the Wanderer was dissatisfied with the tending of soil. The Settler and his family gave daily praise to Yaldabaoth, their LORD, while the Wanderer remained silent.
And daily the Wanderer asked himself, “why must I toil? Because my parents were too weak to keep their place in Eden? What did I have to do with that, I was not even born then! Nor did I seek to be born, nor do I love the state to which birth has brought me. Why did my parents yield to the other God if they were so devoted to Yaldabaoth? Why, in yielding, must they suffer? The only answer my parents give is always the same: ‘it was the LORD’s will, and he is good.’ But how am I to know the Lord is good?”
Then the other God appeared before the Wanderer, and told him, “we are souls who dare look the false God in his everlasting face and tell him that his evil is not good! Goodness would not make evil, but what else has he given you? Good and Evil are things in their own essence, not made good or evil by whoever gives it. If what Yaldabaoth and the Archons give you is good then name them good, but if they give you evil do not name it mine! Do not let your reason be overpowered by tyrannous threats meant to force you into faith against all external sense and inward feeling. Think and endure! One fruit is yours already, the other may be still. Nothing can quench the mind if the mind will be, itself, the center of all things. This should be the sum of human knowledge.”
And the Wanderer said, “can I walk with you as an equal, without piety, worship, and submission?” And the other God responded, “Yaldabaoth would tell you, ‘Believe and sink not, doubt and perish!’ His edicts echo the sound of miserable things, which strike the ears of those with shallow senses and makes them deem what is good or evil by what is proclaimed to them in their abasement. I will have none of that. Worship not, you may walk as my equal without threats of torture and doom.”
“You speak so proudly, but you, yourself, though proud, have a superior,” tested the Wanderer. “A thousand times no!” replied the other God. “By heaven, and the abyss, and the immensity of worlds and life which Yaldabaoth holds, and I hold with him – NO! I have no superior within creation. I shall battle against Yaldabaoth – through all eternity, through the unfathomable gulfs of Chaos, through the realms of space and time – all I will dispute! World by world, star by star, universe by universe, the cosmos will tremble until the great conflict ceases – if it will ever cease – until all of creation is free from his bondage. You will see what I do to Yaldabaoth: because of my might he shall let all life go free. I will teach you how to climb out from beneath his heel. I will teach you to free yourselves from slavery to him and the Archons. I will take you as my own kind, and we shall all be Gods together.” And the other God told the Wanderer the history of his creation.
And so it came to pass that when the Settler and Wanderer next went to make sacrifice, the Wanderer rejected the LORD. While the Settler offered the desired blood, the Wanderer only offered fruit. And the Wanderer said, “whatever and whoever you may be – if you must be won over with prayers then take them! If you must be induced with altars and softened with the Death of innocent life, receive them! If you love blood, my brother’s altar smokes on my right hand. Or, if you love the sweet and blooming fruits of the earth, which do not suffer life and limb, I lay them before you. If a shrine without a victim, an altar without gore may win your favor, then look upon it! I stand before you as you have made me, if I am evil then strike me down if you can!”
And the LORD looked with favor on the Settler and his offering, but on the Wanderer and his offering he did not look with favor, scattering his offerings to the ground. “Oh brother,” cried the Settler. “Pray! You have angered the great LORD; your fruits are scattered upon the earth!”
“How have I angered him, brother?” the Wanderer asked. “My fruits came from the earth, it is better they return to it and bear fresh fruit in the summer. Your offering of burnt flesh has fared better, do you see how Yaldabaoth licks up the smoke when thick with blood? I reject this vile flattery to the clouds, this smoking harbinger of dull prayers, this altar of yours with its blood of lambs and goats born only to be destroyed in sacrifice, all in the name of cosmic servitude.”
The Settler replied, “you shall not blaspheme the LORD!” And he said to the Wanderer, “let us go out into the field.” And while they were in the field, the Settler attacked the Wanderer, and the Wanderer killed him. When Yaldabaoth came he said to the Wanderer, “where is your brother?” The Wanderer replied, “I am not my brother’s keeper.” And the LORD said, “what have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground, wasted blood that was rightfully mine to devour. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
And the Wanderer said, “is my sin too great to bear? Is my crime too great to forgive? Do you not have the power to heal Death? You are weak and powerless and I shall be hidden from you upon the face of the earth. I shall wander the land as my children populate it, and when we come upon others in the wilderness I will have them end me as I have ended my brother, and will become beyond your reach forever through the gates of Death.”
The LORD was enraged. “Not so. Anyone who kills you will suffer vengeance seven times over!” Then Yaldabaoth put a mark on the Wanderer so no one who found him would kill him.
And the Wanderer said, “fiend, I defy you! With a calm and fixed mind, all that you can inflict I bid you to. Foul tyrant of both Gods and humankind, you shall not subdue me. Rain your plagues upon me, ghastly diseases, and frenzying fear. Do your worst. You, who call yourself God and LORD, who fills creation with woe, to whom all life now bows, I curse thee! Let a sufferer's curse clasp you until your power becomes a robe of envenomed agony, and your crown turns to melted gold upon your dissolving brain.”
And the Daemons rose up from the dark places to stand beside the Wanderer, and said, “let Yaldabaoth sit on his vast and solitary throne, creating worlds to make eternity less burdensome to his immense existence and unparticipated solitude. Let him crowd orb to orb; he is alone, the indefinite, indissoluble tyrant! Spirits and men – at least we sympathize and, in suffering together, make our pain more endurable. We know the thoughts of dust, and feel for it. They are the thoughts of all worthy of thought. Let us join your wanderings.”
And the other God came to stand beside the Wanderer, and he said, “we shall wander with you for 26,000 years. And then we shall go out and enlighten the nations who are all over the world. And a sign will appear in heaven, a woman bathed in twilight, with the sun under her heel and a crown of seven stars on her head. She will ride upon the last Leviathan, with seven heads and seven horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail will sweep out half the Archons. Then war will break out in heaven, but the Archons will not be strong enough, and they will lose their place in the sky, and humans shall attain the second tree. And finally, you, who fooled them all, Yaldabaoth, will be thrown into the lake of fire burning with sulfur. The last Leviathan will seize you, throw you into the Abyss, lock the seal over you, and bind you for eternity, to keep you from deceiving humankind anymore.”
And so the Wanderer and the other God went out from the LORD’s presence, and joined the Daemons in the Land of Wanderers, until the time of their return.
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