GNOSTICISM
I've been interested in Gnostiscism for a couple of years now and although I don't believe with everything they belived ( and they often didn't agree with each other) its very thought provoking and I don't doubt that its changed the way I veiw the world.

A NOTE TO CHRISTIANS
It's come to my attention that some Christians including on this forum have been very quick to denonce the use of magic and although I don't believe in the exitence of magic i've always felt its good to keep an open mind. So Christians and anyone interested in the Ocult I think you'll find this interesting.

BRIEF HISTORY
Gnostics were a group that flurished in the first three centuries AD. They were one of many "mystery cults" to grow up in the eastern medditeranian in a time when people inspirered by the teachings of Plato and Aristotle felt that through knowledge they could understand the nature of the universe and thus control it.

The Gnosics devoted themselves to gathering up the spiritual knowledge (gnosis means knowledge) of the ancients from across the known world and studying these texts hoping to understand the nature of God and the universe.

These Gnostics called the greatest among there number Magoi (spiritualy wise men) from were we get the word magic. In truth most ocult and magical practices can trace, at least parts of there origin to the Gnostics. There symbols were the apple and the pentagram, the apple representing the fruit taken from the tree of knowledge in defience of the God of creation (which the Gnostics saw as a positive thing) the pentagram which retains its link with magic to this day was both Aristotles perfect shape and agian representetive of the apple (cut an apple in half and the seeds make a five pointed star) but the pentagram also represents a third aspect of their faith, the five wounds of Christ because, as we will see the magic practicing God defieing Gnostics were some of the earliest followers of Jesus Christ.

I'm going to leave it there for the moment because I know I don't read posts if there to long but I will continue the history later and also discuss the link between Gnosticism and Bladerunner.