SYMBOL
Body of Truth
Body of Truth · Marcus the Gnostic
Letters mapped to body parts
WHAT IT IS
Marcus the Gnostic corresponded each letter to a member of the "Body of Truth" — a cosmic archetypal form. Truth "utters" the 24 letters, each corresponding to a part of her body.
HISTORY & SOURCES
Irenaeus of Lyon (~180 CE) in Against Heresies I.14 describes the "Body of Truth" of Marcus: Truth appeared to Marcus as a woman and uttered the 24 letters, showing that each letter corresponds to a member of hers. Head=Α/Ω, Neck=Β/Ψ, Shoulders=Γ/Χ etc.
HOW IT WORKS
- Word: ΛΟΓΟΣ
- Λ → Ankles
- Ο → Legs
- Γ → Shoulders
- Ο → Legs
- Σ → Belly
- The word "maps" parts of the Body of Truth
CONCLUSION
Marcus believed that every word "describes" a part of cosmic Truth through its letters.
SOURCES
Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresies I.14–16 (~180 CE) · Hippolytus, Refutatio VI.39–55 (~230 CE) · Barry (1999) ch. 8 · Kalvesmaki, The Theology of Arithmetic, Harvard CHS (2013)