They (the souls) are wont to spend hundred thirty three years with nine months in the punishment of her Places, while she tormenteth them in the fire of her evil doing.
It is 185 wont to happen therefore after all these times, whenever the Sphere should turn round and the little Sabaoth the Zeus cometh unto the first of the Aeons of the Sphere, this (one) whom they are wont to call in the World the Ram of the Bubasti, namely the Aphrodite.
[326 ] Whenever (Aphrodite) should come unto the seventh House of the Sphere, namely, the Balance, they are wont to draw (away) the veils which are between those on the Left with those on the Right, and is wont to look out of the Height among those on the Right the great Sabaoth the good, and all the World with all the Sphere (are troubled) before that he looked: and he looked down upon the Places of the Paraplex, and her Places dissolved and perished.
And all the souls which (are) in her punishments, they are wont to take them away and throw them back unto the Sphere another time, because that they were (being) destroyed in the punishments of the Paraplex.
He added also in the word, said he, (The Ruler of) the second array they are wont to call him Ariuth the Ethiopian-woman, being a woman Ruler being quite black, with fourteen other demons under her, they ruling over many other demons.
[326 ] And these demons which are there, who are under Ariuth the Ethiopian-woman, they are those which are wont to go in unto the men quarrelsome, until they excite the wars and killings which happen; and give hardness to their heart and anger, for killings to happen.
And the souls, which this authority will take away by robbery are wont to spend hundred with thirteen years in her Places, she is tormenting them by her smoke of darkness with her evil fire, and they draw near unto destruction.
And after these (things) whenever the Sphere should turn round, and (should) come the little Sabaoth the good, this whom they are wont to call in the World Zeus; whenever he should come unto the fourth Aeon of the Sphere which the Crab is, and (should) come the Bubasti, this whom they are wont to call in the World, The aphrodite, and she (should) come unto the [327 ] tenth House (Aeon, MS ) of the Sphere, this which they are wont to call, The He-goat, then they are wont to draw (back) the veils which are between those of the Left with those of the Right, and Ieou (should) look out on the Right and all the World should be disturbed, and (should) be moved with all the Aeons of the Sphere and (should) look upon the dwelling places of Ariuth the Ethiopian-woman and her Places (should) be dissolved and be destroyed, and they should take away all the souls which are in her punishments, and (they) should throw them (back) unto the Sphere another 186 time, because that they perished by her smoke of darkness with her evil fire.
Added also said he, The (Ruler of the) third array they are wont to call, The hecate the three of face, but there are twenty seven other demons under her authority: they are those which are wont to go in unto the men and they cause them to swear false(ly) and [327 ] they lie, and love that which is not their own.
Themes
◆Aeonscosmology
Divine archetypal beings or eternal attributes dwelling within the Pleroma, often arranged in male-female syzygies.
The text explicitly lists multiple Aeons (Zeus, Aphrodite, Ariuth, Hecate) as rulers of specific arrays and houses within the Sphere.
The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination.
The text describes Aeons looking out upon the World and Sphere causing disturbance and movement throughout the cosmos.
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 Sphere is described as turning round and Aeons moving through houses in a structured order.
Final, collective cosmic judgment as an event in which the wicked are sentenced and the cosmos restored; distinct from psychopomp_journey (individual passage at death) and emphasising verdict where Zoroastrian frashokereti emphasises restoration.
The passage details the torment of souls in punishments and the periodic judgment by Aeons on their fate.
The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.
Souls are described as being torn away from the good and plunged into punishment by evil doing.
Iamblichean ritual practice that engages the gods directly through consecrated material symbols and actions, on the premise that divine power descends into properly prepared matter — distinct from philosophical contemplation alone.
The text describes Aeons looking out and causing disturbance as part of cosmic engagement.