astronomy

Ophite Diagrams

Ophite Diagrams is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ophite Diagrams rather than just read about it. In short: The Ophite Diagrams are ritual and esoteric diagrams used by the Ophite sect of Gnosticism, who revered the serpent from the Garden of Eden as a symbol of wisdom, which the malevolent Demiurge tried to hide from Adam and Eve. Celsus and his opponent Origen (Contra Celsum, vi. §§ 24-38) both describe the diagrams, though not in the same way.

Key takeaways

Ophite Diagrams belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ophite Diagrams to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ophite Diagrams from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Ophite Diagrams are ritual and esoteric diagrams used by the Ophite sect of Gnosticism, who revered the serpent from the Garden of Eden as a symbol of wisdom, which the malevolent Demiurge tried to hide from Adam and Eve. Celsus and his opponent Origen (Contra Celsum, vi. §§ 24-38) both describe the diagrams, though not in the same way. Celsus describes them as ten separate circles, circumscribed by one circle, the world-soul, Leviathan, divided by a thick black line, Tartarus, together with a square, with words said at the gates of Paradise. Further to this, the Ophites are said by Celsus to add the sayings of prophets, and circles upon circles, with some things written within the two great cosmological circles representing God the Father, and God the Son. Origen maintains that there were two concentric circles, across the diameter of which were inscribed the words ΠΑΤΗΡ ("father") and ΥΙΟϹ ("son"); a smaller circle hung from the larger one, with the words ΑΓΑΠΗ ("love"). A wall divides the realm of light from the middle realm. Two other concentric circles, one light and one dark, represent light and shadow. Hanging from this double circle was a circle with the inscription ΖΩΗ ("life"), and this enclosed two other circles which intersected each other and formed a rhomboid. In the common field were the words ΣΟΦΙΑϹ ΦΥϹΙϹ ("the nature of wisdom"), above ΓΝΩϹΙϹ ("knowledge"), and below ΣΟΦΙΑ ("wisdom"); in the rhomboid was ΣΟΦΙΑϹ ΠΡΟΝΟΙΑ ("the providence of wisdom"). There were altogether seven circles, with the names of seven archons:

Michael, in the form of a lion Sariel, of a bull Raphael, of a dragon Gabriel, of an eagle Thauthabaoth ("Tohu wa-Bohu"), of a bear's head Erataoth, of a dog's head Onoel or Thartharaoth, of an ass's head The archons are perhaps identical with the seven generations of Yaldabaoth. They signify the corporeal world, which follows the middle realm, and with which the dominion of Sophia ends. The Sefirot of Jewish Kabbalah may be in some way connected with this diagram (Myer, pp. 311-13). But the serpent as symbol is found likewise in connection with the mysteries of Egypt, Greece, Phoenicia, Syria, and even Babylonia and India.

References

Bibliography Myer, Isaac (1888). Qabbalah: The Philosophical Writings of Solomon ben Yehudah Ibn Gebirol. Philadelphia: Published by the author. p. 311. The Ophite Diagrams published by the Gnostic Society Owens, Lance (editor) citing A. H. B. Logan, The Gnostics: Identifying an Early Christian Cult, 2006 & Reconstructing the Ophite Diagram, A. J. Welburn, Novum Testamentum, Vol. 23, Fasc. 3 (Jul., 1981), pp. 261-287 Attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Samuel Krauss and Kaufmann Kohler (1901–1906). "Ophites". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ophite Diagrams

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ophite Diagrams claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ophite Diagrams before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ophite Diagrams ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ophite Diagrams

In research: Ophite Diagrams appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ophite Diagrams in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ophite Diagrams is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Christian genres, Gnostic apocrypha, Gnostic cosmology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ophite Diagrams outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Ophite Diagrams in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ophite Diagrams means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ophite Diagrams out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ophite Diagrams in simple terms?

Why does Ophite Diagrams matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ophite Diagrams?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ophite Diagrams.