And the Self-willed dispatched out of the Height in the thirteenth Aeon, he dispatched another great power of light, it came down unto the Chaos as an [125 ] arrow flying, that he should help his emanations, and take away the lights of the Pistis Sophia another time.
And having come down that power of light, the emanations of the Self-willed, these which become in the Chaos, which afflicted the Pistis Sophia, they were confident of heart greatly, and again they persecuted the Pistis Sophia with great fear and in a great disturbance; and they afflicted her some among the emanations of the Self-willed, one indeed among them changed himself unto a form of great serpent, another also changed himself unto a form of serpent of basilisk having seven heads: another also changed himself unto a form of dragon, and also the first [125 ] power of the Self-willed which is of face of lion, and also all his emanations which are many greatly came together they oppressed the Pistis Sophia, and also they brought her into the Places which are below (of) the Chaos, and also they disturbed her greatly.
It happened therefore, they having disturbed her, she ran from them, she came unto the Places which (are) of the upper part of the Chaos, and ran after her the emanations of the Self-willed, they disturbed her greatly.
It happened therefore after these (things), looked out of the twelve Aeons the Adamas the tyrant, this (one) also was being angry with the Pistis Sophia, because that she was wishing to go unto the Light of the Lights, this who was being above all of them: [126 ] because of this he was angry with her.
It happened therefore, the Adamas the tyrant having looked out of the twelve Aeons, he saw the emanations of the Self-willed oppressing the Pistis Sophia, until they take away all the lights in her.
But it happened the power of the Adamas having come down unto the Chaos (close) to all the emanations of the Self-willed, it happened therefore, that demon having come down unto the Chaos he thrust the Pistis Sophia down, and the power of face of lion, with the face of serpent, and with the face of basilisk serpent, and with the face of dragon, and with all the other emanations of the Self-willed which are [126 ] many greatly, they all surrounded the Pistis Sophia, wishing to take away her powers which (are) in her another time.
And they oppressed the Pistis Sophia greatly, and they threatened her.
It happened therefore, they having oppressed her and having 69 disturbed her greatly, she cried again up towards the Light and she hymned saying, O Light thou (art) he who helped me: let thy light come upon me, because thou art my accepter, and I am coming (close) to thee, O Light.
I am believing thee, O Light, because thou art my deliverer of me from the emanations of the Self-willed and with the Adamas the tyrant; and thou (art) he who delivereth me from all his [127 ] threats which are cruel.
But these having said the Pistis Sophia, then also by the command of my Father the First Mystery which looked inward, I sent also Gabriel with Mikhael with the ten (?) great effluences of Light, that they should help the Pistis Sophia.
And I ordered unto Gabriel with Mikhael, that they should take away the Pistis Sophia upon their hands, that her feet should not touch the darkness below: and also I ordered unto them for to steer her from the Places of the Chaos, into those which they are about to bring her.
Themes
◆Aeonscosmology
Divine archetypal beings or eternal attributes dwelling within the Pleroma, often arranged in male-female syzygies.
The text explicitly mentions the 'twelfth Aeon' and 'thirteenth Aeon' as sources of emanations.
A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.
The text describes a chain of powers descending from the Self-willed and the Father to affect the Pistis Sophia.
The Gnostic myth of Wisdom's prolapse from the Pleroma — her unilateral desire or error producing the Demiurge and the entrapment of divine sparks in matter.
The passage depicts the Pistis Sophia being persecuted, oppressed, and brought into darkness by malevolent powers.
Form-mutability as a constitutional property of divine and preternatural beings — gods, heroes, spirits, and their human practitioners possessing inherent capacity to alter form across human, animal, plant, or elemental states. Loki and Odin's transformations in Norse, Math's pigs and Blodeuwedd's owl-shape and Pwyll's exchange with Arawn in the Mabinogion, the Greek Proteus, the Indian dasavatara, Vainamoinen's bird-flight in the Kalevala, Ovid's metamorphoses, the shamanic and witch's capacity for ritual form-change. Distinct from anthropomorphism (divine taking specific human form, single embodiment) in that anthropomorphism establishes a stable form whereas this concept establishes form's plurality and instability.
Emanations of the Self-willed change form into serpents, basilisks, dragons, and lions to persecute the Pistis Sophia.