Mandaean cosmology is the

Gnostic Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: �nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse g ...

conception of the universe in the religion of

Mandaeism Mandaeism (Mandaic language, Classical Mandaic: ),https://qadaha.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/nhura-dictionary-mandaic-english-mandaic.pdf sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnosticism, Gnostic, Monotheism, ...

. Mandaean cosmology is strongly influenced by ancient near eastern cosmology broadly and

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, Babylonian,

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Manichaean Manichaeism (; in ; ) is an endangered former major world religion currently only practiced in China around Cao'an,R. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''. SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 found ...

and other Near Eastern religions and philosophies particularly.

Emanations

The three major Emanations or "Lives" (''Hayyi'') in Mandaeism are: #The Second Life:

Yushamin In Mandaeism, Yushamin () and also known as the 'Second Life', is the primal uthra (angel or guardian) and a subservient emanation who was created by the Mandaean God 'The Great Life' (''Hayyi Rabbi'' or 'The First Life'), hence beginning the cre ...

, the primal

uthra An uthra or ʿutra (, Neo-Mandaic ''oṯrɔ'', traditionally transliterated ''eutra''; plural: ʿuthrē, traditionally transliterated ''eutria'') is a "divine messenger of the light" in Mandaeism. Charles G. Häberl and James F. McGrath transl ...

#The Third Life:

Abatur Abatur (, sometimes called Abathur; Yawar, ; and the Ancient of Days and also pronounced Awāthur) is an Uthra and the second of three subservient emanations created by the Mandaean God ''Hayyi Rabbi'' (, “The Great Living God”) in the Mand ...

, the weigher of souls, and also the father of the '' uthri'' (plural of ''uthra'') #The Fourth Life:

Ptahil In Mandaeism, Ptahil () also known as Ptahil-Uthra (uthra, "angel, guardian"), is the Fourth Life, the third of three emanations from the First Life, Hayyi Rabbi, after Yushamin and Abatur. Ptahil-Uthra alone does not constitute the demiurge but ...

, the creator of the material world The Second Life, Third Life, and Fourth Life are emanations of the First Life,

Hayyi Rabbi In Mandaeism, Hayyi Rabbi ( Neo-Mandaic; ), 'The Great Living God', is the supreme God from which all things emanate. Hayyi Rabbi is also known as "The First Life", since during the creation of the material world, Yushamin emanated from Hayyi ...

(the Supreme God).

Realms

Mandaean cosmology divides the universe into three realms: #

World of Light In Mandaeism, the World of Light or Lightworld () is the primeval, transcendental world from which Tibil and the World of Darkness emerged. Description *The Great Life ('' Hayyi Rabbi'' or Supreme God/ Monad) is the ruler of the World of Ligh ...

or Lightworld (''alma ḏ-nhūra'') #

Tibil In Mandaean cosmology, Tibil () or occasionally Arqa ḏ-Tibil (lit. "Tibil-Earth") is the Earth (World) or earthly middle realm. It is separated from the World of Light (''alma ḏ-nhūra'') above and the World of Darkness (Mandaeism), World of D ...

, or Earth #

World of Darkness ''World of Darkness'' is a series of tabletop role-playing games, originally created by Mark Rein-Hagen for White Wolf Publishing. It began as an annual line of five games in 1991–1995, with ''Vampire: The Masquerade'', ''Werewolf: The Apocaly ...

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

(''alma ḏ-hšuka'') According to Book 3 of the ''

Right Ginza The Right Ginza () is one of the two parts of the Ginza Rabba, the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The other part of the Ginza Rabba is the Left Ginza. Summaries of each book (or tractate), based mostly on Häberl ( ...

'', a "fruit (''pira'') within the fruit" and "ether (''ayar'') within the ether" had existed before the World of Light came into being. In a sort of "

Big Bang The Big Bang is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models based on the Big Bang concept explain a broad range of phenomena, including th ...

," the World of Light comes into being along with the Great Jordan and

s. Tibil and the World of Darkness are then formed by Ptahil and others after the World of Light came into existence.

World of Light

The

is the primeval, transcendent world from which

and the World of Darkness emerged. The Great Life (''

'' or Supreme

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

Monad Monad may refer to: Philosophy * Monad (philosophy), a term meaning "unit" **Monism, the concept of "one essence" in the metaphysical and theological theory ** Monad (Gnosticism), the most primal aspect of God in Gnosticism * ''Great Monad'', an ...

) and his

s dwell in the World of Light. The World of Light is also the source of

Piriawis In Mandaean cosmology, Piriawis (; sometimes also spelled Biriawiš Lidzbarski, Mark. 1920. ''Mandäische Liturgien''. Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, phil.-hist. Klasse, NF 17.1. Berlin.), also known a ...

, the Great '' Yardena'' (), or "

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

" of Life. In Mandaean cosmology,

ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group, a single oxygen atom bonded to two separate carbon atoms, each part of an organyl group (e.g., alkyl or aryl). They have the general formula , where R and R� ...

(Mandaic: ''aiar'' or ''ayar'') permeates outer space and the World of Light. Uthras travel by moving through ether. The

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

is also sometimes mentioned as ''Ayar Rba'' ('Great Ether') or ''Ayar Ziwa'' ('Radiant Ether'). In Mandaeism, the "outer ether" (''aiar baraia''), mentioned in texts such as ''

The Thousand and Twelve Questions ''The Thousand and Twelve Questions'' ( ; Modern Mandaic: ''Alf Tressar Ešyāli'') is a Mandaean religious text. The ''1012 Questions'' is one of the most detailed texts on Mandaean priestly rituals. It is kept by Mandaean priests in the shk ...

'', refers to the ether that permeates the cosmos, while the "inner ether" (''aiar gawaia'') refers to the "breath or pure air of Life within the soul". The

Mshunia Kushta In Mandaean cosmology, Mshunia Kushta () is a part of the World of Light considered to be the dwelling place of heavenly or ideal counterparts (''dmuta''). It is similar to Plato's concept of the hyperuranion (realm of Forms), which can be roug ...

is a section of the World of Light where spiritual counterparts or images called ''

dmuta In Mandaeism, a dmuta () or dmut is a spiritual counterpart or "mirror image" in the World of Light. People, spirits, and places are often considered to have both earthly and heavenly counterparts (''dmuta'') that can dynamically interact with ea ...

'' are found. When a Mandaean person dies, priests perform elaborate death rituals or death masses called ''

masiqta The masiqta () is a mass or ritual practiced in the Mandaean religion in order to help guide the soul ('' nišimta'') towards the World of Light in Mandaean cosmology. They are typically performed as funerary rites for Mandaeans who have just di ...

'' in order to help guide the soul (''

nišimta In Mandaeism, the nishimta ( ; plural: ) or nishma ( ) is the human soul. It is can also be considered as equivalent to the " psyche" or " ego". It is distinct from '' ruha'' ('spirit'), as well as from ''mana'' ('nous'). In Mandaeism, humans are ...

'') towards the World of Light. In order to pass from

(Earth) to the World of Light, the soul must go through multiple ''

maṭarta In Mandaean cosmology, a maṭarta (; plural form: ' ) is a "station" or "toll house" that is located between the World of Light (''alma ḏ-nhūra'') from Tibil (Earth). It has variously been translated as "watch-station", "toll-station", "way-s ...

'' (watch-stations, toll-stations, or purgatories; see also

Arcs of Descent and Ascent The Arcs of Descent and Ascent (), an ontological circle, are described in Neoplatonism, as well as in Islamic and Sufi cosmology, mainly inspired by the works of Ibn al-Arabi. In the Arc of Descent ("qaws al-nuzuli"), from unity to diversity, Go ...

and

araf (Islam) In Islam, al-A'raf () is a separator realm or borderland between Jannah (heaven) and Jahannam (hell), inhabited by those who are evenly balanced in their sins and virtues, they are not entirely evil nor are they entirely good. This place may be ...

) before finally being reunited with the ''

'', the soul's heavenly counterpart. The ''

Scroll of Abatur The ''Diwan Abatur'' (; "Scroll of Abatur"; Modern Mandaic: ''Diwān Abāthor'') is a Mandaean religious text. It is a large illustrated scroll that is over 20 ft. (6.1 m) long. A similar illustrated Mandaean scroll is the '' Diwan Nahraw ...

'' mentions a heavenly tree called ''

Shatrin In Mandaeism, Shatrin () is a heavenly tree mentioned in the '' Scroll of Abatur''. Shatrin is where the souls of unbaptized Mandaean children are temporarily nourished for 30 days. On the 30th day, Hibil Ziwa baptizes the souls of the children, ...

'' (''Šatrin'') where the souls of unbaptized Mandaean children are temporarily nourished for 30 days. On the 30th day,

Hibil Ziwa In Mandaeism, Hibil () and/or Hibil Ziwa () and sometimes pronounced Hīwel is referred to an uthra ("excellency", an angel or guardian) from the World of Light or the son of Adam (then; only referred as Hibil). Hibil, the man, is considered to b ...

baptizes the souls of the children, who then continue on to the

. The tree has a length of 360,000

parasang The parasang, also known as a farsakh (from Arabic), is a historical Iranian peoples, Iranian unit of Walking distance measure, walking distance, the length of which varied according to terrain and speed of travel. The European equivalent is the ...

s according to the ''Scroll of Abatur''. The idea has some parallels with the

concept of ''

pleroma Pleroma (, literally "fullness") generally refers to the totality of divine powers. It is used in Christian theological contexts, as well as in Gnosticism. The term also appears in the Epistle to the Colossians, which is traditionally attributed ...

''.

Tibil

, or Earth, is the middle, earthly realm in Mandaean cosmology. It is separated form the World of Light above and the World of Darkness below by ''ayar'' ( aether). Rituals mediated by priests allow for a ''

laufa In Mandaeism, laufa or laupa () is the concept of a spiritual connection forged between Tibil (Earth) and the World of Light. It has been variously translated as "communion," "spiritual union," "spiritual connection," or "vital connection." In r ...

'' (or ''laupa'', meaning 'connection' or 'union') to be made from Tibil to the World of Light.

World of Darkness

The

is ruled by its king Ur (

Leviathan Leviathan ( ; ; ) is a sea serpent demon noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch. Leviathan is of ...

) and its queen

Ruha Ruha (pronounced /ˈruːhə/) is a term with spiritual connotations found across various religious traditions. In Arabic, Ruh () signifies "spirit" or "soul" and is a fundamental concept in Islam, referring to the divine breath of life.Esposito, ...

, mother of the

seven planets A classical planet is an astronomical object that is visible to the naked eye and moves across the sky and its backdrop of fixed stars (the common stars which seem still in contrast to the planets), appearing as wandering stars. Visible to huma ...

and twelve constellations. The great dark

Sea of Suf A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order sections ...

lies in the World of Darkness. The great dividing river of Hiṭfon, analogous to the river

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; ; lit. "Shuddering"), also called the River Styx, is a goddess and one of the rivers of the Greek Underworld. Her parents were the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and she was the wife of the Titan Pallas and the moth ...

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, separates the World of Darkness from the World of Light.

Directions

Mandaeism considers

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

, and hence also the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

and

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinisation of names, Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an ...

, to be auspicious and associated with the World of Light. Mandaeans face north when praying, and

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

are also oriented towards the north. On the contrary,

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

is associated with the World of Darkness.

Planets

Overall, the seven

classical planet A classical planet is an astronomical object that is visible to the naked eye and moves across the sky and its backdrop of fixed stars (the common stars which seem still in contrast to the planets), appearing as wandering stars. Visible to huma ...

s ( , "The Seven"; , "planets"; or, combined, "Seven Planets") are generally not viewed favorably in Mandaeism, since they constitute part of the entourage of

, the Queen of the World of Darkness who is also their mother. However, individually, some of the planets can be associated with positive qualities. The names of the seven planets in Mandaic are borrowed from Akkadian, and are also reflected in the same sequence in Jewish sources The other earliest reference and being in Mandaic is the sequence occurring on a lead amulet in Mandaic.Mark Lidzbarski, "Ein mandäisches Amulett", in 'Florilegium ou recueil de travaux d’érudition dédiés à monsieur de Marquis Melchior de Vogüé', Paris 1909, pp. 368-371. The planets are listed according to the traditional Mandaean order of the planets as given by Masco (2012). Each planet is said to be carried in a ship. Drawings of these ships, such as ''

Shahrat In Mandaeism, ''Shahrat'' () is a ship or boat mentioned in the ''Scroll of Abatur''. ''Shahrat'' ferries souls from Tibil across the river Hitpun and into the house of Abatur. According to the Mandaean priest Brikha Nasoraia (2021), it is bas ...

'', are found in various Mandaean scrolls, such as the ''

''.

Calendar and zodiac

The

Mandaean calendar The Mandaean calendar is a 365-day solar calendar used by the Mandaean people.Drower, Ethel Stefana. ''The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran''. Oxford At The Clarendon Press, 1937. It consists of twelve 30-day months, with five extra days at the end of ...

is a 365-day

solar calendar A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicates the season or almost equivalently the apparent position of the Sun relative to the stars. The Gregorian calendar, widely accepted as a standard in the world, is an example of a solar calendar ...

used by the Mandaeans.

Dual counterparts

In Mandaeism, people, spirits, and places are often considered to have both earthly and heavenly counterparts (''

''), which dwell in the

("Realm of Truth").

References

{{Mandaeism footer Ancient Near Eastern cosmology