*Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading 'This knowledge is not something that can be put into words like other sciences; but after long-continued intercourse between teacher and pupil, in joint pursuit of the subject, suddenly, like light flashing forth when a fire is kindled, it is born in the soul and straightway nourishes itself.' - Plato Gnosticism is one of the great mysteries in the history of Western religion. At its core is an ancient Greek word, gnōsis, a word prominent in the writings of Plato which refers to a deep personal knowledge or understanding that often transcends the physical world. The Gnostics painted a picture of a fallen, broken world in which physicality was a product of a lesser deity. This deity was created in defiance of the One and in order to trap humans and blind them to the truths of their predicament and divine origins. By acquiring insight, or gnōsis, in this secret nature of the