Blessing and Consecration

The usage of the words bless and blessing indicate the endowment of some kind of empowerment, some sort of purification, a well-wishing, a wish that someone be healthy or happy, or the invocation of divine favor. [see the provided links for dictionary entries online]

The word sacred refers to the quality of being dedicated or set apart in a religious sense, i.e., something that is consecrated, someone who is consecrated.

The meaning of the words consecrate and consecration are related to the actions that are associated with the sacred, such as actions of spiritual dedication, the setting aside of something as sacred. The meaning extends to include concepts of initiation, spiritual transformation, investment with power, the use of something in a sacred manner or in a sacred rite.

Gnostic Insights

Many spiritual traditions involve blessings, sacred rites, and consecrations of various sorts. And so the question naturally arises as to what role such practices might have for a Gnostic path, or how Gnostic teachings may apply to these concepts.

Gnostic teachings about the material world, about distinctions between body, soul, and spirit, and about the reclamation of light that is reflected or trapped in this world, can be fruitfully applied to the concepts of blessing or consecration, and practically applied to the path.

Consecrating Ourselves
And Our Individual Paths

We may begin by asking the hidden holy invisible Spirit, the Depths of the Divine, and the Divine Forethought (called Barbelo in many texts), the Grace and Silence associated with such Depths, to bless and consecrate us and our individual path.

I invite the reader to do so, whether in these words or in their own words. Perhaps after exploring some of the texts, some passage or reflection upon the Divine particularly resonates or has lead to spiritual insight, and perhaps that will lead to some personal expression of such a desire for blessing and consecration.

Example of Gnostic Blessing

"May divine sparks be revealed, may souls be oriented towards such sparks and receptive to their light, purified and empowered by the light that shines from such sparks."

This is blessedness, a wish of blessing.

Example of Gnostic Consecration

"May illumination direct our souls' development towards higher things, may we become less entangled in this world, as we are guided by spirit, may we be dedicated to the illumination of our soul, may we be shown Gnosis."

This is consecration. The light's illumination, revelation, and activity shining upon souls is what consecrates.

Having blessed, recognized what is divine, and asking for Divine presence and guidance, blessing results. However deeply hidden divine sparks may be, we may recognize the possibility and invite receptivity and awareness of such sparks. We may do this in our lives as a regular practice. And then our life may become consecrated, as our life becomes integrated into a path that includes such persistent practice.

Gnostic Perspective

Matter is just matter and physical bodies are just physical bodies.

But any reflection of light can be recognized as blessed, to the extent that it reflects spiritual light, to the extent that it bears some resemblance of form or some contact with spiritual essence, however distorted.

The intention of blessing such reflected light is to bring about more awareness of spiritual resemblance and essence, to invite more illumination, and to orient reflected light towards receptivity to the light that it reflects.

Deep within such reflections may be seeds of spiritual light, and such seeds are blessed in their essence. To recognize them, to be open to awareness of them, is to orient the soul towards spirit and to participate in blessing.

Sprinkling Holy Water
Blessed Cleansing

Were we inclined to set apart something as a symbol or method of orienting our soul towards the spiritual, and to invite spiritual awareness so that we become receptive to spiritual influence, we might ask that such things be blessed and consecrated for such usage.

Such things would be blessed and consecrated in the sense that we are wishing the reflected light within to become illuminated and receptive to direction by the presence of Divine Sparks. Any essential quality or formal characteristic that bears perhaps some slight resemblance to higher things, could be used to orient our own soul towards that which is higher. As such, the object or symbol participates in something set apart from ordinary worldly activity and other material objects.

We might ask that salt be blessed and consecrated, and add it to water that we also ask to be blessed and consecrated. The salt and water are materially just material salt and water, matter is just matter, the point isn't physical.

The blessing is upon the reflection of the idea of divine sparks that by essence preserve and enhance that which resembles goodness in the reflected light of the soul.

What is happening during the Holy Water blessing?

The blessing is upon the symbolically meaningful form of the salt crystal that is transparent and can reflect light and that gives it structural stability, and thereby bears resemblance to higher ideas of transparency to light, reflection, and spiritual stability. The blessing is upon the reflection of the idea of Spiritual luminous water of light and life, that by essence nurtures and gives good things. The blessing is upon the essence of flexibility and nourishment of rain or of washing, which reflects higher spiritual forms of such creative influence, nourishment, and purification.

When set apart for use in meditation, contemplation, blessing or cleansing activities, etc., such things as blessed salt water can be considered consecrated, by definition. To sprinkle such consecrated water upon yourself and in your immediate environment, can be seen as saying to your own soul (and to any others in the environment):

"Recognize reflected light inside you and whatever reflected light is around you! Call it forward, nurture what may need nurturing, heal what may need healing, purify what may need purification, as you are able. Orient towards the light of the Divine, be awakened! Open to the bringing-forth, the nurturing, the healing, the purifying that is available from Divine Grace!"

Use of such consecrated water on anything in the environment which may reflect light or participate in some aspect of soul or qualities that can participate in something higher, can be seen in such terms. We may appeal to the reflected light in any living thing, to orient that reflection towards the light it reflects. We may also do so with anything that by its essential qualities or formal characteristics, can be seen as a symbol of some higher reality.

Being Aware of Traps

What is important about blessing and consecration, spiritually?

It is not the physical object or physical actions, nor the crude symbols themselves, it is what is going on in the soul that is spiritually important.

Undue reverence for objects, misplaced emphasis upon physical practices, superstitious fear, and legalistic or obsessive approaches to cleansing -- all of these emphasize things of this world, things far below the realm of that which is spiritual and good. Methods which can orient the soul towards spirit, should not become the focus in such a way that we are distracted from spirit.

Blessing can heighten awareness of the nature of soul oriented towards spiritual reality. Blessing can orient the soul toward spiritual reception. Consecration can set aside our life to higher things, and set aside special time for special moments on our individual paths. In the process, we may receive a sense of inner peace, and we may feel a sense of protection or healing.

And yet we are still in this world. This world is a very dangerous place. The light that shines through cracks in the world from time to time, nurturing and guiding us, does not determine everything that happens in this world. Nor do we. Our blessings and consecrations can help us cope with these very real limitations.

The Essence of Blessedness
In the Form of Spiritual Relationship

Perhaps such practices may help us to open to receive whatever is good and spiritual that can shine through the cracks in this world, from time to time. Perhaps we may become more open to be directed to help or at least console others, to know when and how to be available for others.

Practices such as blessings, consecrations, meditations, and prayers, may console us and help us to seek and receive spiritually desired-wisdom.

We can hope to know something about our true selves. We can hope to have some confidence that ultimately, we will be going home. We can hope to Know something of the nature of that home. That is, we can hope to gain some measure of Gnosis.

The very form of our relationships, our spiritual community, can participate more in the essence of blessedness. And the shape of our relationships can be spiritually shaped. That is where our path can lead when the essence of wisdom is shaped by that which is spiritually desirable.

May we be blessed to walk such paths together, as a spiritual community.