“Happy are those who find wisdom. . . . She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. . . Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called happy” (Proverbs 3: 13, 15, 17-18).
Sophia is DIVINE WISDOM, Her name comes from the feminine Greek word meaning Holy Wisdom. She is found all over the Bible (Proverbs, Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon..) and in the Gnostic Gospels (unearthed at Nag Hammadi in 1947.) She has been called the MOTHER OF THE UNIVERSE, Mother of Yahweh and HOLY SPIRIT. The words: “Philosophy, theosophy and sophiology” all come from Sophia. The Bible links her to Christ: “Christ is the Wisdom (Sophia)” (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30). There is some evidence that Mary Magdalene was also called “Mary Sophia.”
Because She did not help advance the patriarchal scheme, Sophia was all but deleted from history. Hidden throughout the Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls, knowledge of the DIVINE FEMININE all but went up in flames. Even a great cathedral build in Her honor in Constantinopole, Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom), was burned to the ground twice. It’s newest rebuild was a mosque and is now a museum. NOTRE DAME (Our Lady) has survived but they eventually claimed it was named after the Virgin Mary. (The famous Notre Dame rose windows are a common symbol of the Divine Feminine!). Some say there are secret societies that still exist to keep knowledge of Her alive.
But no matter how hard they tried to hide or forget Her, She is always here with us. For every hardship you survive, you’ve gained and are CLOSER TO WISDOM.
“Get wisdom; get insight…Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you. Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. She will place on your head a fair garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown” (Proverbs 4:5a, 6, 8-9).
Many say that SOPHIA IS RETURNING NOW to restore PEACE on Earth. I also don’t think i
t’s any accident that the name “Sophia” has been one of the TOP 3 most popular BABY GIRLS’ NAMES since 2010. Even the newest Disney princess is named “Sofia” (the 1st!); she has a regular TV show series and she is loving and kind toward all including animals.
a second time, and this time
in the form of woman. And I will
speak with you then, instructing you
about the coming times, about
the end of things and the beginning of things
which are the same, which occur
at the same time. I will tell you then
about the new time coming
when all will be changeless and good:
thus I, Wisdom, will tell you.”-Gnostic text, The Prophecy of Sophia
In her book In Search of Christ-Sophia: An Inclusive Christology for Liberating Christians, Jann Aldredge-Clanton writes about “the ancient belief that MALE AND FEMALE MUST BE BALANCED in order for there to be harmony in the world and that the LOSS OF THE SACRED FEMININE CREATES CHAOS.”
Jann Aldredge-Clanton has written numerous books (including hymnals!), and given countless talks and lectures on the subject of liberating the Divine Feminine. She is an ordained minister, author, professor and chaplain. Early in her career as a Baptist minister she saw much inequality and has since made it her mission, much through inclusive language, to EMPOWER ALL. From her hymnal, Inclusive Hymns for Liberation, Peace, and Justice, the hymn “Celebrate Sophia’s Birth” is set to the holiday tune “Gloria.” Jann’s lyrics include: “Celebrate Sophia’s birth, bringing healing to the earth; HOLY WISDOM OPENS HEARTS, PEACE AND FREEDOM SHE IMPARTS. Gloria, blessed be Sophia!” More info about Jann, her books and music can be found here. Many of the songs are found on YouTube videos, angelically sung by the all-female band Devi Vanni, from Ebenezer herchurch in San Francisco. Photography and photo enhancement of “Sophia” by David Clanton.
For other Goddess Project: Made in Her Image Goddesses go to our website, or the FREE SOPHIA blog.
feminismandreligion.com 
Thanks for writing this! And welcome to the community. I’ve been a “fan” of Sophia for longer than I can remember. I create a collage every year (it started out as a sort of mainstream metaphysical “goal board” but I got too creative for the group I was working with) and I put an image (cut out of the Sacred Source catalogs) of Sophia on it every year. I have long loved the idea of Holy Wisdom and I never give up hoping I’ll get some. Hoping that Sophia will touch me. Sacred Source also gave me permission to use their image of Sophia on my website. That was a long time ago.
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Oh, thank you! And thank you for reading and sharing your special Sophia rituals. Me too. She is why I named my blog/website FREE Sophia, as well as my deceased daughter Sophia. We are helping to Free Her. Everytime we write Her name and every ritual we do and everyone we tell is helping the Wisdom come back to Earth. YOU are definitely blessed and anointed by Sophia.
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“LOSS OF THE SACRED FEMININE CREATES CHAOS.” Talk about truth with a capital “T”… Called by whatever name or experienced directly through an intimate relationship with Nature as I have – the despised divine feminine must be restored to her rightful place in our culture in order for all of us (human and non human species) to survive. As it is we are teetering on the edge…
I remember Marion Woodman writing about Sophia. A brilliant scholar and Jungian analyst she introduced me to the idea of learning to love my body – a body that I had despised all my life. When I finally met her I couldn’t even speak and ended up weeping in her lap. Restoring the sacred feminine begins with women learning how to love their bodies – this at least has been my personal experience.
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Right on, Sara! We ARE teetering on the edge. Thanks for bringing up the idea of loving our female form, I’d never thought of that in relation to Sophia but you just changed my life. Beautiful food for thought. Roses to you,
Colette
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An article about Sophia prompts me to remind people of Asphodel Long’s book In a Chariot Drawn by Lions: the Search for the Female in Deity. Its specific focus is on Wisdom deities in the ancient near east, and Hochma/Sophia in particular. Out of print, but a free pdf can be obtained from http://store.goddess-ink.com/inachariotdrawnbylions.aspx (and I still have some physical copies of the book).
And don’t forget the Russian sophiologists. Mostly a very patriarchal approach but, because they have a genuine devotion to Sophia, there are occasional flashes of moving poetry.
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Bless you, Daniel for reading and for sharing that exciting (and new to me!) information about Long’s book and the sophiologists! I can’t wait to check them out. I’m curious, when did you first hear of Her?
Roses,
Colette Numajiri
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Basically, I learnt about Sophia/Hochma through talking to Asphodel in the mid to late 80s, when she was doing her research. And the Russians through searching for books that I thought Asphodel would like. Though there is also Caitlin Matthews’ book from a rather different viewpoint, though I can’t recall when that came out.
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