Topic: Hellenism

In a 2015 interview, Gordon White explains the historical difficulty of understanding Gnosticism because most records were written by detractors like Irenaeus. He describes Gnosticism as a "broad church" of Mediterranean practices combining Hellenism, Judaism, and Egyptian magic. The discovery of the Nag Hammadi library in the mid-20th century is highlighted as the turning point that allowed for a direct understanding of "Gnosis" or personal knowledge of the divine.

The worldview embedded in the Sola Busca deck draws from Orphism and Neoplatonic philosophy, maintaining a continuous tradition from the 8th century BC through the 15th century. Despite attempts by Christian Emperor Justinian to suppress these ideas, the Byzantine civil service remained imbued with Hellenistic values. This allowed pagan philosophical and magical concepts to survive within the imperial elite for centuries.

The worldview expressed in the deck involves the reincarnation of souls, or metempsychosis, with the Milky Way serving as a portal between worlds. This Orphic tradition survived for over 1,200 years despite attempts by the Christian Emperor Justinian to suppress it. The Byzantine civil service remained deeply imbued with Hellenistic pagan values through the study of classical literature and philosophy well into the 15th century.

Gordon White explains the difficulty of defining Gnosticism, noting that for 1,500 years, the primary records were written by detractors like Irenaeus. The discovery of the Nag Hammadi library in the mid-20th century provided direct access to Gnostic texts for the first time. Gnosticism is defined by "gnosis," or personal, unmediated experience of the divine, emerging from a mixture of Hellenism, Judaism, and Egyptian magic.