This is the Seasonal Rite, the delineation of the Abraxasian Gnostic System forged by Basilides—the architect of an enduring cosmology. His life, obscured by time, is known only through the indelible traces of his works, a legacy that has coursed through the veins of Gnostic and occult traditions, embedding itself into the very roots of the Hebrew Kabbalah. It is a dark irony, one that vexes the orthodox, that Basilides’ heretical fire was never fully extinguished.
Our knowledge of his epoch and teachings owes much to the polemical Refutation of All Heresies, a document reluctantly yielding the seeds of an esoteric revolution. From emanations beyond the gods, Basilides catalysed a vision of the unknowable Source—sparking the Gnostic movement that swayed thinkers from Valentinus to Moses de Leon, and casting its shadow into the modern currents of occult philosophy.
The echoes of this system, veiled and unveiled, continue to haunt and invigorate those who dare pursue the gnosis of the infinite.
PERSONNEL
- One Celebrant, Four Watchtowers in a group setting, with the Congregation sitting in a circle around them.
- Or just the Celebrant for private and personal celebration, starting in the Centre and moving into the Quarters and around the Circle before returning to the Centre at the end.
INTROIT
The Celebrant bows and gives salute to the Northern Watchtower,
in honour of the season of the Winter Solstice.
All members bow in following, and the Celebrant says:
The cycle of spiritual light turns again, and at each quarter a new philosophy is declared, a new Gnosis is revealed, a different magick is expressed: all unto the endless and eternal spiral of the evolution of consciousness. I reveal the Gnosis of Abraxas that is the expression of Emanations; those irradiating blessings that give us cause for hope, for our release from spiritual bondage, the freedom, and the redemption of the World Soul!
GNOSTIC EXEGESIS
The Celebrant begins to circumambulate the magick circle deosil, slowly,
while saying the following:
In the beginning, there was Nothing—not absence, not void, but the ineffable Absolute, shrouded beyond the grasp of human thought. It was not substance nor non-substance, neither simplicity nor complexity. It was the unspoken essence, the unnamable and indefinable root from which all things unknowingly emerge, veiled in the stillness of a silence that defies articulation.
Yet this Nothingness is not still; it is alive with a motion both enigmatic and profound, a paradoxical fusion of intelligence and not-intelligence, creation and awareness. From this unfathomable source—the font of all possibility—springs the seed of boundless potential. This seed is the IAO, the Alpha and Omega, from whom all things emerge and to whom all shall return.
From this primordial seed radiates the first emanation: the Five Original Principles. They are Mind (Nous), the font of thought; Word (Logos), the articulation of being; and from these flow Intelligence (Phronesis), the discernment of meaning; Wisdom (Sophia), the womb of insight; and Power (Dynamis), the force that shapes worlds. These Five stand in perfect harmony, forming the primal architecture of existence, a pure and abstract universe—the archetypal template from which all subsequent manifestations are forged.
In their equilibrium, these emanations weave the hidden lattice of countless worlds. From the seed's inexhaustible potential proceeds a creation layered upon creation, universes unfolding like a fractal hymn to the Absolute. Thus were birthed 365 distinct realms, each reflecting the eternal archetype, each a shadow and echo of the primal whole—each a microcosm of the boundless, eternal design.
Within each of these 365 universes resides a god, the central axis of the mirrored union of the Five Principles. Yet, this god is but an imperfect reflection of the ineffable Absolute, a created image bearing the limitations of its derivation. From this god emerges its progeny—a creation of its essence—the Son of Light.
The Son of Light transcends its creator, embodying a truer reflection of the Source, untainted by the flaws of its origin. As the pure expression of the primal seed, this Son becomes the guiding beacon of spiritual evolution within each manifested universe. Through its luminous influence, the Son of Light leads creation back toward the perfection and unity of the Absolute, restoring the balance and purpose embedded in the divine architecture of existence.
The Five Principles have woven their might into a singular, unfathomable force—a godhead vast and encompassing, the union of all that manifests within the 365 universes. This is Abrasax, or Abraxas, the ineffable Whole. Hear me as I declare: the god heralded by institutions is a hollow mask, a falsehood that veils the deeper truth. For behold, Abraxas transcends such binaries as good and evil; it is both devil and god, for it is the Spirit in its totality, unbroken and absolute.
As a god, Abraxas appears in a form both symbolic and enigmatic. Its torso is human, clad in armour for the ceaseless struggle of knowledge, signifying the eternal quest for understanding. Its legs are two serpents, coiled and powerful, representing Nous and Logos, the intertwined foundations of mind and word. Its head is that of a cock, an emblem of Phronesis and the divine light of Phoebus, harbingers of clarity and awakening. In its hands, it bears the tokens of Sophia and Dynamis: the shield of wisdom and the scourge of power, guardians and executors of the divine will.
Such is the anatomy of the true God—a mystery as vast as the universes it governs, a being that defies the illusions of separation, embodying the totality of existence in its terrible and sublime unity.
SEASONAL VORTEX
The Sentinel in the Eastern Watchtower makes the sign of the cross, then vibrates the letter Alpha, intones the word hAletseitor (Guardian), and says:
Behold the godhead of Abraxas, the unfathomable union of all principles. Phronesis, the guiding light of discernment, stands as its sentinel, shielding the integrity of the Source. It is Phronesis who charts the path through the labyrinth of inquiry, leading the seeker to gaze upon the veiled truth, not in haste, but in measured gradations that refine and temper the soul.
For in the sacred journey, Nothingness becomes the mirror of the Spirit—a reflective void where the soul encounters its essence, glimpsing the infinite through the clarity of its own striving. It is in this reflection that the unknowable begins to reveal itself, not as an answer, but as the eternal invitation to ascend through the shadows of understanding toward the boundless light.
The Sentinel in the Southern Watchtower makes the sign of the cross, then vibrates the letter Omikron, intones the word Bouleima (Purpose), and says:
Behold the godhead of Abraxas, the eternal synthesis of all principles. Dynamis, the force of power and motion, propels creation ever forward, driving the ceaseless evolution of existence. It is Dynamis that ensures no stagnation in the cosmic order, urging all things toward their destined becoming.
Though the initial pattern was ordained at the dawn of all, it is not a static decree but a living blueprint—a design flawless in its conception and sublime in its culmination. For Dynamis enacts the will of the Absolute, shaping and reshaping the myriad manifestations to reflect the unfolding perfection that lies embedded in the very heart of the seed. Through this divine power, the cycle of creation and transcendence flows unbroken, eternally spiraling toward its apotheosis.
The Sentinel in the Western Watchtower makes the sign of the cross, then vibrates the letter Rho, intones the word Rheima (Axiom), and says:
Behold the godhead of Abraxas, the eternal unity of all principles. Logos, the divine Word, is the source of all manifestation. It is through Logos that the creator god of spirit speaks forth the essence of the Absolute, uttering the Word of divine substance. In this sacred act, the ineffable is translated into form, and the unmanifest becomes manifest.
Logos is the bridge between realms, the medium through which spirit takes on matter and becomes tangible, shaping the formless potential into the structured realities of existence. It is the cosmic resonance by which the hidden designs of the Source are expressed, the primal vibration that gives rise to all creation, and the eternal echo that binds all things back to their origin.
The Sentinel in the Northern Watchtower makes the sign of the cross, then vibrates the letter Chi, intones the word Charis (Grace), and says:
Behold the godhead of Abraxas, the ineffable union of the divine principles. Sophia, the radiant light of spiritual knowledge, shines as the crown of wisdom that is earned, not granted—a wisdom born only of experience. It is Sophia who illuminates the path through the shadows of existence, revealing the truths that lie beyond the veil of mere understanding.
Spiritual Wisdom is the exalted offspring of Mind (Nous) and Word (Logos), the culmination of their union. It is the active intelligence, tempered by inquiry and enriched by encounter, which seeks the Source and, through that sacred journey, surpasses its progenitors. In Sophia, knowledge is transfigured into revelation, and the seeker transcends the limits of the finite, embracing the infinite with clarity and grace.
The Celebrant in the Center of the circle makes the sign of the cross, then vibrates the letter Sigma, intones the word Steropa (Lightening flash), and says:
Behold the godhead of Abraxas, the unbroken unity of all that is and is not. Nous, the divine Mind, is the first spark that conceives the Whole in its entirety—a vision so complete, it comprehends the All in an instant, as a lightning flash illuminates the infinite. From the ineffable darkness of the god who is Nothing, the light of Nous ignites, becoming the radiant essence of Abraxas.
The Whole, as known to Nous, is seamless and indivisible, free of bias, sentiment, or fragmentation. It is pure comprehension, untouched by the limitations of duality. Yet we, the manifested, remain shrouded in ignorance, for that which is beyond expression and understanding eludes the grasp of finite minds. Nous, in its silent clarity, knows the All as it is—beyond words, beyond thought, beyond the veil of what we can perceive.
The Celebrant joins the East, South, West, and North nodes to the point in the Center of the Circle. He says:
Alpha, Beta, Rho, Chi, Sigma — A.B.Rh.Ch.S. — Abraxas!
From the unutterable silence arises the Word, a vibration piercing the void, emanating outward to weave the five-fold god of the 365 manifested universes! The ineffable, through its boundless grace, pours itself into form—each syllable a spark, each letter a principle, each utterance the genesis of a cosmic truth.
Abraxas! The Name resounds through all creation, birthing the sacred architecture of existence and revealing the divine order beneath the chaos. It is the seal of the All, encompassing the void and the plenitude, the origin and the culmination, the eternal and the transient.
All members complete the ritual with meditation upon what has been revealed.