Norea

   The title of this article makes a bold claim, in a crowded and competitive field of feminine divinities that includes the Virgin Mary, Isis, Venus, and Ishtar, among many others. Yet a stronger case for supremacy can be made for a seemingly obscure figure from an obscure faith known as Gnosticism. Her name is Norea, and she is possibly the most remarkable female figure in all religions.

Norea’s legend should be addressed first, before making an argument for her peerless status among feminine deities. There is actually little written about Norea. As scholars have posited, Norea was once revered by a Gnostic sect known as the Sethians, before two events erased her prominence—the rise of Orthodox Christianity and the Sethians abandoning the Judeo-Christian matrix for pagan Neoplatonism. The former event likely forced the latter, sometime during the fourth century.

Norea’s most prominent role occurs in The Reality of the Rulers, a text found in the Nag Hammadi library. Norea is depicted as the fourth child of Eve, and the author claims he draws this information from Jewish tradition older than even the book of Genesis. Adam is not mentioned as the father, though, indicating her birth as virginal in the sense of being assisted by the Unknown God of the Gnostics (the only such occurrence in their scriptures). Norea is portrayed as a completely spiritual entity, incorruptible by any evil force in the cosmos, and the one who conceives all future heroes of humanity. Most of all, Norea is seen as the one true savior, heralded as “an assistance for many generations of mankind.”

Norea’s one deed in The Reality of the Rulers occurs when the Creator God—based on Old Testament Yahweh—decides to destroy civilization with a flood. (Unlike the book of Genesis, in this Gnostic account the Creator God wishes to punish humanity because it has become too good! Norea attempts to board the ark.) When Noah refuses, she breathes fire on the ark and destroys it.

Sensing Norea’s power and purity, the Creator God and his angels materialize and attempt to recruit her to their cause. She refuses, incurring their wrath, but is rescued by an astral entity named Eleleth—a mighty avatar of the Unknown God. In some parallel dimension, while the planet perishes in the flood, Eleleth explains to Norea the secret history of the universe and her coming role as the champion for those seeking spiritual liberation.

This narrative is similar to the account of the church father, Epiphanius, although he claims that Norea destroyed the ark a total of three times. The other main difference is that Norea is given the role of Noah’s assertive wife. Epiphanius mentions that the text he uses corresponds to that of Pyrrha and Deucalion, the husband and wife main characters of the Greek version of the flood myth (an odd admission during a time when Christendom was attempting to fully adopt Judaism as its foundation and renounce all Paganism).

Norea’s other mention is in the Nag Hammadi library’s, The Thought of Norea, a short invocation that holds her as having the very mind of the Unknown God and dwelling in the hearts of those seeking Gnosis (divine knowledge). In essence, the text portrays her as the ultimate feminine principle.

Norea’s impact was felt beyond Christianity and into Judaism. The Kabbalistic book, The Zohar, vilifies her as a seducer of angels because of her incredible beauty. Rabbinical tradition also places Norea as the rebellious wife of Noah.

Norea’s name certainly attests to her role in the various accounts. The name Norea is possibly associated to the Syriac word for light or fire (nur). It also might be related to the Greek for “beautiful” (oraia).

Returning to the claim of Norea being the most remarkable feminine figure in all religions, one needs only to draw out her characteristics from her mythic narratives:

--She is a savior figure.

--She is a being of complete spirit dwelling in a dimension of matter, a perfect balance of virginal and seductive forces.

--She has no male consort.

--She is both an avatar and encompasses the supreme divine feminine.

When compared to other goddesses, mythological heroines, or even historical woman saints, Norea is truly unparalleled.

Jewish and Christian polemics attempt to portray her as a wanton woman defying established order; but these must be taken lightly, as they are the traditional calumny leveled against woman luminaries (Lilith and Mary Magdalene are two prime examples). Norea only defies the unjust structure of the universe, as her tales indicate, and any passion she uses is for the awakening of humanity’s Divine Spark.

It is unfortunate that no other literature on Norea has survived, up to now. Epiphanius mentions a Sethian scripture simply titled Norea. Gnostic writings speak of The Account of Oraia and The First Book of Noraia (both referring to versions of her name). However, none of these texts have surfaced.

Regardless of Norea’s mention in the annals of religion, the truth is where there is smoke there is fire. Following that smoke leads to the burning wreckage of an ark symbolizing the wrath of angry gods and their wooden religions. In the middle of it all stands Norea, the perennial symbol of the Gnostic ethos—that a small spark of divine fire can ignite holy meaning in the darkness of mere being, hold off the floods of history and mortality, even if just for a while.

Resources:

Introduction to Gnosticism, by Nicola Denzey Lewis

The Gnostic Scriptures, edited by Bentley Layton

The Nag Hammadi Scriptures, edited by Marvin Meyer

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