"There is no mystery which is more excellent than these mysteries on which ye question, in that it will lead your souls into the Light of the lights, into the regions of Truth and Goodness, into the region of the Holy of all holies, into the region in which there is neither female nor male, nor are there forms in that region, but a perpetual indescribable Light." — Pistis Sophia
The expression Pístis Sophía is obscure, and its English translations varied: "The Wisdom of Faith", "Faith Wisdom", "Wisdom in Faith", or "Faith in Wisdom". To some later Gnostics, Sophia was a divine syzygy of Christ, rather than simply a word meaning wisdom, and this context suggests the interpretation "The Faith of Sophia", or "The Loyalty of Sophia".
Again, his disciples said: "Tell us clearly how they came down from the invisibilities, from the immortal to the world that dies?" The perfect Saviour said: "Son of Man consented with Sophia, his consort, and revealed a great androgynous light. Its male name is designated 'Saviour, begetter of all things'. Its female name is designated 'All-begettress Sophia'. Some call her 'Pistis'
- Parrott, Douglas M. (translator). "The Sophia of Jesus Christ"
- The Treasury of Light (the place of the right; separate regions in Books 1 & 2 only)
- The Midst (mesos)
- The thirteenth aeon (excluded in Book 3 and part two of Book 4)
- The twelve aeons/heimarmene (separate regions in Books 1 & 2 only)
- The first sphere (Books 1 & 2 only)
- The firmament (Books 1 & 2 only)
- Amente (Book 3 and part two of Book 4 only)
- Chaos (Book 3 and part two of Book 4 only)
- The Midst (mhte) (Books 3 & 4 only)
- The Outer Darkness (Books 3 & 4 only)
, the aeonic realms represent the material universe, bounded by the stars and the zodiac. The Midst is the space dividing this region from the upper realms, and is sometimes a waiting space for souls before being allowed to enter the light realms. The goal of the soul is to ascend beyond the aeons and enter the upper realms of light. This is achieved by receiving the mysteries offered by the group represented by these texts.
Sabaoth, the Adamas is the primary representative of evil or wickedness in the majority of the Pistis Sophia. He is accused of inappropriate sexual conduct, begetting archons and other beings, and as a result he is imprisoned in the bounds of the zodiac, or the material universe. For those human souls who did not receive the mysteries before death and are thus bound to be reincarnated in the world, he is also responsible for giving the “cup of forgetfulness,” denying them the knowledge they had acquired from previous lives and punishments.
Pistis Sophia represents the soul, or more specifically, the part of the soul that incarnates; namely, the Monad of consciousness in the concrete mind. Her name is a key to her role: Pistis is the Greek word for faith. Not blind faith, but faith arising from total conviction of inner knowledge. Aeons is derived from the Greek Aion or age, are entities governing zones of existence, or planes of consciousness, between heaven and earth.
Sophia is Greek for wisdom. Thus her compound name indicates the fundamental principle that enables her to undertake her mission, namely, the development of wisdom in both worlds.
Her consort is Christ, the aspect of the soul that unfolds the triple-natured higher Self in line with Pistis Sophia's progress in the material world. Christ remained behind in the higher planes when she descended into chaos. This separation expresses the split in consciousness between the higher and lower nature of man.
Although man is really one with his divine Self, the usual level of his consciousness cannot reach the spiritual planes; thus in the myth Pistis Sophia and Christ are presented as separate entities. The villain of the story is the Self-Centered One, standing for the ego, an appropriate name for the vain and egotistic "I," which always demands to be the center of attention and strives for the gratification of the senses, thus causing great affliction for the soul.
The regents or archons of the Aeons are the main allies of the Self-Centered One, and they stand for the emotions and passions of man. Leading them is the Lion-Faced Power, an emanation of the Self-Centered One, standing for egotism, the strongest force driving man away from God and into chaos. While chaos, in the system of this text, is a region of the underworld, the term is mostly used to convey the image of a psychological state of disorder.
Since Pistis Sophia is the Monad of consciousness, when it is said that she falls into chaos, it means that she becomes prey to mental disorders resulting from emotions, desires, and passions. She becomes conditioned by names and forms, by cultural values and mores, by a whole gamut of conditions that represent a virtual prison to the incarnated soul, in short, the delusion of separateness. Thus Pistis Sophia's descent into chaos is a symbolic description of man's entrance into the cycle of incarnation, where he will remain until his mission is accomplished.