Eidos and Areta

[Part 1/5]

The aim of this post is to introduce the two foundational components of Wood‘s cosmogony, as portrayed in his book, the Song of God (2008, 2015), and other of his writings and teachings. While the book presents these fundamental constituents at various stages along a vast timeline of evolution, the intent here is to introduce these powers in their primordial stages of existence.

Most of the content of this post is quoted directly from Wood’s writings. The material I’ve personally contributed is offered as a humble attempt to understand and explore, and should not be considered anything more than an invitation for further inquiry and refinement.

Given the limitations of language and thought (especially mine) when it comes to exploring that which is transcendent to space and time, it is my hope for the reader that literalism occasionally yield to imagination and leniency in the interpretation of what follows.

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Eidos

Speculation about the origin of the universe inevitably leads to contemplation of no-thingness. This concept is commonly referred to in philosophy, mysticism and metaphysics as the Void. The Song of God offers unique perspectives about this primordial state, associating it with a mindless, masculine, uncreated force called the Eidos.^[1]Of Greek origin, “the words εἶδος (eidos) and ἰδέα (idea), come from the Indo-European root *weyd- or *weid- “see” (cognate with Sanskrit vétti). Eidos (though not idea) … Continue reading According to the Song of God, the Eidos existed as the “mindless creator and thoughtless purposer”^[2]3rd Endowment 1:20 of massless, “unformed matter”— subatomic particulates incapable of combining into more complex atomic structures.

The Void, sometimes referred to in scripture as “the Deep”, and possibly synonymous with the “Abyss”, is presented as a strange reality that pre-exists spacetime and physical matter as we presently understand it. This is the realm of the Eidos, the birthplace of unformed, massless matter.

Here are some references from the Song of God about the Eidos:

²⁰ But there existed within the vastness, a power which moved and brooded in the greatness of the Deep, being in itself masculine in force and presence; being called Eidos, the uncreated and unbounded; even the mindless creator and thoughtless purposer of all things created and uncreated.

²¹ For all matter does spring forth out of the midst of the Eidos itself, having neither shape nor form; being pushed and moved about by such chaos as did stir within the depths of the Eidos.

3rd Endowment 1:20-21

…For in the Eidos do you find that mindless purposer and dread destroyer of all created things.

5th Endowment 4:11b

² For by the power of The One was I made to see the great Abyss from whose blackened womb there is made to spew in endless streams, the very matter from which all things visible are made.

³ And there dwelt in the Abyss the very Eidos which stirred and moved about; being of itself both blind and thoughtless, creator and destroyer, being also cold and harsh, indifferent and callous, both unthinking and unpredictable, even the mindless purposer of all things which move throughout the immensity of space.

1st Endowment 6:2-3

…For it is the Eidos which rules the Deep, pouring from out of his powers, the matter unformed, being himself cold and callous and cruel indifferent.

5th Endowment 4:13

For I beheld the great Abyss from whose depths the matter of all created things are made to spring up, having neither shape nor form.

Enlightenment 1:2

In an unpublished manuscript entitled, Origins, Wood expanded upon what is written in the Song of God, describing primordial Eidos as a bizarre reality in which “anti-time”, and all the unformed matter, moves in an endless void of “anti-space”. This “movement” of anti-time within the Deep of anti-space is presented as the primal cause behind the churning chaos of the unformed matter.

We must go back before the advent of any singularity. This is the void, the endless Deep where “anti-time” rules over all the unformed matter which moved within a sort of soup, a slurry of non-creation. This “anti-time” was mindless, it had no purpose, it merely existed. Yet it moved. How could this “anti-time” move before there was any “space” for it to move in? Here, the answer should prove obvious. Anti-time moved within an immense void of “anti-space”. It was in this vast sea of anti-space that all the unformed, subatomic particulates moved. In this bubbling brew of chaos, creation could not take place. All of this combined—the anti-time, the anti-space, the endless chaos of unformed matter moving within an endless void of unimaginable darkness—this was the Eidos, the thing which served no purpose, for it had no mind to create it.

Wood (2013); “Origins” manuscript, ch. 8 excerpt

While the foregoing excerpt portrays the Eidos and the Void as an environment of chaos, Wood also presents the Eidos—the “Single Supreme Source”—as possessing a perfect symmetry and harmonious balance:

In that first beginning, there existed only the cold darkness of an endless void. It was void because there was no matter or energy within it. There was however, a Single Supreme Source from which all subsequent things would have their beginning. This Single Supreme Source possessed a perfect symmetry, a perfect and harmonious balance; for within its bizarre and mysterious structure nothing else existed. There was only that one Single Supreme Source. It was cold, sterile, and unbearably static. There was no time, no space in which this Single Supreme Source existed. Its home was an endless void of nothingness, a dark place where an ocean of massless matter moved in a sea of endless night. This was the matter unformed, having no ability to [form] even the simplest of atomic structures.

And then in one bright moment—in a time which was not a time, in a place which was not a place, upon a day which was not a day—something new and extraordinary happened…

Wood (2013); “Origins” manuscript, ch. 7 excerpt

That Wood described the realm of Eidos as possessing both a perfect symmetry and peculiar chaos is a bit puzzling and I’m not sure how to think about it. I’ll re-address this apparent “symmetrical-chaos” paradox in a forthcoming footnote. For now, let’s summarize what seems to be clear:

There was no creation within the Eidos. The Void was an endless, mindless Deep of “nothingness”—which “nothingness” was actually an ocean of unformed, massless matter. Yet, amidst this static void where anti-time moved through the anti-space, something mysterious and extraordinary appeared. At some timeless point, the Eidos came to reflect its own opposite within itself.

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In the process of writing this essay, a poem happened. Perhaps it can serve as a succinct portrayal of the mystery that is Eidos.

Before all beginnings there was only the darkness,
The endless void of the Deep.
A static symmetry of balanced sterility
No energy, no matter
No space time to keep.

Yet in the great void dwelt a mindless creator,
The Eidos, uncreated and blind.
A thoughtless purposer of matter unformed,
The masculine Source with no purpose or mind.

Dread destroyer, indifferent, aloof,
All anti-time King of the non-space.
His chaotic slurry of massless matter
evolved a mysterious interface.

Primordial Single Source Supreme
The Masculine Anti-Creation.
This is the Eidos within the great Deep
From whence woke the First Emanation.

(TLS – April 25, 2021)

Revised 9/3/21^[3]Original third stanza:

King of the nothing, indifferent, aloof
as anti-time churned through the non-space.
His chaotic slurry of massless matter
evolved a mysterious interface.

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Areta – the First Emanation

“All things which exist reflect the opposite of their nature, revealing in both form and structure the presence of that opposite.“^[4]Wood (2013); Origins manuscript, ch. 7

Within the depths of Eidos there came to exist a phenomenon that gave rise to what Wood refers to in his writings as the “First Emanation”. This First Emanation^[5]What is an emanation? Wood taught that for anything to be identified as an emanation, it must be animated by the same essential element that animated the First Emanation before the creation of the … Continue reading is a feminine consciousness identified in the Song of God as “Areta” (pronounced: AH-<r>-tay, with a trilled “r”).

In Wood’s cosmology, Areta is the First Mind that mysteriously awoke in the Deep to eventually become the Supreme Mother of all creation. In the following excerpt, Wood describes the mysterious beginnings of Areta:

[Areta] was the first manifestation of an extraordinary phenomenon which took place within the very heart of chaos. How it happened cannot be said. If there is an answer, it must be locked away somewhere under heavy guard. Perhaps there is a place where angels guard the answer.^[6]This is an allusion to what Wood called “The Keep of the Seven Mysteries”, which he had briefly written about years earlier (2003?) in his Commentary entry: House of Shevas (Song of God, … Continue reading And while we may never be able to identify the phenomenon which got things started, we might piece together certain elements which might reveal just how that First Emanation was first presented. Like the quantum theory itself, the Eidos presents a bizarre reality where anti-time and anti-space created movement within the void. This “movement” was the primal cause behind the churning chaos of all the unformed matter within the Deep. There was no specific time when things seemed to change. One thing, however, was certain: it was not a sudden miraculous event. The advent of the First Emanation came as the result of a long string of failures.

It began in the very midst of the great void; a counter movement began to evolve and take shape, like a wheel moving inside another wheel. Both movement and counter movement spun in opposite directions. Over extraordinary lengths of [anti-] time, the wheel within the greater wheel began to spin faster and faster. As it did so, the friction between the two caused a spark to leap out into the cold darkness of the Deep. It flashed suddenly within the darkness, and just as suddenly it winked out of existence. Again there were extraordinary lengths of “time”, and then another flash of light, and a spark leaped into the cold darkness of the Deep, and then it, too, died.

A thousand times, and then perhaps a million times, a spark leaped out into the chaos only to die. And then one day something different happened: the possibility and the probability happened in the same moment. The spark did not die or fade away in the void, it stayed and maintained a constant presence. This spark was not yet the First Emanation; for although it maintained a constant spin, and possessed its own peculiar movement within the void, it had no awareness of itself. However, this changed.

The unknown phenomenon which produced the spark still continued to produce other sparks as well. As these leaped into the Deep they attached themselves to the first spark which proved so constant.[…] The sparks which flew into the Deep were not some type of atomic particles. These sparks may best be described as an “essence”. They represented something which was truly bizarre, strange, surreal. These sparks represented a unique conjunction point wherein the possible and the probable could meet and reveal themselves as singularly conjoined. These “essences” would prove the building blocks which would bring about the First Emanation, the thing we have come to call Areta.

The First Emanation happened in a sudden flashing moment. Over an almost endless stretch of aeons, the ever growing spark that spun and moved within the chaos of the Eidos suddenly became aware. It was this awareness of “self” which revealed the presence of the First Emanation. It was this sudden flash of self-awareness which revealed the presence of the first “mind”. This First Emanation represented the dividing line between chaos and order, between anti-time and time, between anti-space and space, between non-creation and creation, between mindlessness and mind. With this First Emanation, the “eternal” became a possibility. But in order for that probability to take place, a great many things would have to happen.

Wood (2013); “Origins” manuscript, ch. 8 excerpt

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With the advent of the First Emanation (Areta), the Single Supreme Source (Eidos) came to reflect its own opposite within itself. Wood referred to these two primordial entities of the Areta and the Eidos as the Yin-Yang of the first creation.

We now have two primordial opposites:

(Primordial) Eidos: the Single Supreme Source, the masculine force behind all unformed, massless matter, possessing neither mind nor substance in itself^[7]Wood (2013); Origins manuscript, ch. 7; being “both blind and thoughtless, creator and destroyer, being also cold and harsh, indifferent and callous, both unthinking and unpredictable, even the mindless purposer of all things which move throughout the immensity of space” (1st Endowment 6:3).

(Primordial) Areta: midst the endless chaos (or perfect symmetry?)^[8]In his Origins manuscript, Wood describes pre-emanation Eidos as being bound in “perfect symmetry” and “harmonious balance” (ch. 7). But Wood also portrays the Eidos existing … Continue reading of the Eidos, a mysterious phenomenon eventually gave rise to an enduring spark-like “essence” that spun and moved through the Deep. Over countless eons of “time”, subsequent sparks formed and congealed with the original enduring spark, forming a bizarre conglomeration of essence. This growing spark eventually became self-aware, which marked the advent of the First Emanation.

This First Emanation began as a vague, feminine awareness that would eventually evolve to become the Areta: the First Power, the First Observer, the Supreme Universal Consciousness behind creation. Areta is considered the “First Power” because, as the First Mind, she had the power to act, as opposed to the static, masculine, mindless purposer that was the Eidos. As the First Power, Areta may also be accurately described as the “First Primary Cause”.

What was it like for this mysterious, feminine mind to suddenly become self-aware? Wood speculates the experience was fraught with confusion and despair.

She awakened in the dark, the sudden awareness filling her with a sense of deep aloneness. A conscious mind devoid of knowledge, having no memories, possessing no future. All she had was the moment of her awakening, and it was empty and cold and filled with darkness. How long she existed in this state cannot be known. Knowledge and memories are made of time, and for her, time did not exist. There was only anti-time, and in such a sterile void, no future was possible. She was “consciousness” in its infancy, a lonely child reaching out for anything that would give her a sense of bearing. But all she felt was an ever increasing sense of despair.

Who was she? What was she? How did she come to be? Why did she exist? What was her purpose? She had no answers. Something was needed, but what was it? The darkness around her seemed to vibrate with expectation, and all the while, the ages of anti-time moved slowly around her, only to fade away into the nothingness of the great Deep.

Her despair mounted and grew in proportion to the loneliness she felt, and from that agony something new sparked and then flared within her very essence. The First Emanation had produced another emanation within her own self. Deep within her mind, she felt a strange, unexpected vibration which grew with every passing eon. The vibration grew in intensity and then all of a sudden, the vibration transformed itself into a sound which she could hear. It was the first sound her mind had ever felt. The sound repeated itself, over and over, like a pulsar in a vast sea of nothingness.

And then in a single flashing moment of extraordinary brilliance, the First Emanation spoke within her mind, saying: “I am Areta.” And then it happened—suddenly, unexpectedly, she experienced something new—something wonderful seemed to drive back the despair she had felt for so long. It was hope, and in that one brilliant moment, this hope brought a profound sense of clarity. In that singularly breathtaking moment, Areta knew that nothing would ever be the same again.

Wood (2013); “Origins” manuscript, ch.9 excerpt

Wood brings attention to a seemingly significant event in Areta’s evolution. After eons of anti-time, another emanation occurred deep within the mind of the First Emanation, described as a pulsating vibration that turned into the first sound she had ever felt. This repeating, internal sound led to an unprecedented moment of self-definition:

I am Areta.

And with this realization came a sense of something new and marvelous. For the first time in her lonely, agonizing existence, Areta felt hope. Consider now this beautiful depiction from the Song of God, which presents a first-person account of Areta’s awakening:

¹ Before the birth of time and space, before the dawn of man, before the tides of great creations rushing through the Deep, I alone existed; before the birth of God and Goddess, before the light of Heaven shined, before the beginning of all beginnings I was the breath of life.

² In a void of great aloneness, in the depths of endless night burst the spark of deep awareness, instant, sudden, fully conscious, becoming self-aware; gazing, seeking, ever reaching beyond the veil of nothing, filled with desperation, the birth of endless mind.

³ Struggling, gasping, shocking thoughts, darkness all around; silent stillness in the Deep where matter moved unformed; thoughts like sparks most quick colliding, shaping, forming, quick constructing that first most inner sound; and from the sounding there came a whisper, soft and warm and filled with longing, giving place within my mind, the first eternal name.

⁴ I am Areta, eternal Mother, Supreme and Sovereign, the singer of songs within the dreams of God; weaving through most subtle thoughts a deep and great design, sudden light of inspiration, I touch and gently guide, ever seeking that greater oneness filled with light and life and love.

7th Endowment 1:1-4

While the first three verses of the foregoing excerpt^[9]According to Wood, this passage—and the entirety of the 7th Endowment—was dictated to him directly by Areta, herself. describe Areta’s beginning, the last verse (7:1:4) offers a glimpse of what Areta eventually becomes. But, for now, let’s remain focused on the early stages of Areta’s burgeoning self-awareness.

Before singularity, before the birth of time and space, in a time that was not a time, the primordial consciousness of Areta found herself awake and alone in an endless void of unformed matter. Having previously quoted verses 20-21 of the following stanza, consider this more extensive excerpt from the Song of God that introduces the first Eternal Mind, the mysterious, feminine consciousness that would later become the Mother of Life:

¹⁹ Now in the beginning did there exist neither God nor Goddess; for in the vastness of the cosmos was there found but darkness and emptiness only.

²⁰ But there existed within the vastness, a power which moved and brooded in the greatness of the Deep, being in itself masculine in force and presence; being called Eidos, the uncreated and unbounded; even the mindless creator and thoughtless purposer of all things created and uncreated.

²¹ For all matter does spring forth out of the midst of the Eidos itself, having neither shape nor form; being pushed and moved about by such chaos as did stir within the depths of the Eidos.

²² Yet did there dwell in the midst of Eidos, that which lay unseen, being of itself the mystery unknown yet always present; being in herself both mind and power, even the Mother of Life.

²³ Being hidden up and unperceived within the Deep; desiring most fully to bring forth order out of chaos, and light out of darkness; seeking for herself some greater purpose filled with meaning.

²⁴ Thus did the Mystery move most subtly within the midst of the Eidos, being called of herself Areta; and peering out into the Deep, she spoke to herself, saying: “Here is matter unorganized, being empty of life, having neither light nor purpose.”

²⁵ And in the bosom of the Eidos did Areta stir most cleverly, causing that the Eidos should gather from out of the regions of endless space, the sum of all uncreated matter…

3rd Endowment 1:19-25

This excerpt offers a general overview of the two primordial entities: Eidos and Areta. The masculine Eidos represents the Single Supreme Source, the mindless purposer of all things created and uncreated. At some “point”, the primordial, feminine awareness of Areta mysteriously awoke to find herself alone in a vast sea of unformed matter. For eons of anti-time the Areta struggled to understand her environment. Desperation and loneliness plagued the mind of the First Emanation.

For how many timeless eons did Areta search the Deep for another mind, only to conclude she was truly alone? How long can mind withstand a vacuum? How could the First Emanation create a mind similar to her own if she possessed no knowledge about how she came to exist? Is it reasonable to suppose that in order for Areta to truly exist, in order for her to have meaning and purpose, she would need to find—or somehow create—another mind similar to her own?

In the depths of Areta’s mind, agony and hope battled for supremacy until finally, something happened. As quoted above:

In a “void of great aloneness” (7:1:2), Areta began to “move most subtly”, to “stir most cleverly, causing that the Eidos should gather from out of the regions of endless space, the sum of all uncreated matter” (3:1:24-25).

This clever, subtle stirring marked yet another mysterious, new beginning. But what process is being described in the foregoing verses (3:1:24-25)? How did Areta cause this reaction within the Eidos? What phenomenon allowed the gathering of uncreated matter which would lead to the formation of the first singularity? Furthermore, if Areta existed as the reflected opposite of the Eidos—which possessed neither mind nor substance—at what point did the First Mind evolve into a state of substance? How did it happen? What was the nature of this substance?

It is at this juncture we can begin to explore what the Song of God refers to as “AZ particles”, and the advent of the first creation—which I will expound upon in my next post.

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Closing Remarks

Before concluding this piece, I’d like to address an important consideration:

Is Areta God?

• Is it correct to assume the advent of the First Emanation (Areta) represents the birth of God?

• In Wood’s cosmology, does primordial Areta represent God?

To add clarity at the onset, and remain in alignment with Wood’s teachings and definitions, the answer to these questions is “no.” Areta, in her early stages of existence, should not be associated with any theological concept of God. This is a crucial feature that separates Wood’s cosmology (and theodicy) from other theistic models. Maintaining a distinction between primordial Areta—i.e., the Universal Consciousness underlying the creation of this cosmos—and that which is commonly referred to as “God”, is an important feature of Wood’s ontology.

The Universal Consciousness behind the creation of this cosmos should not be associated with any theological concept of God.

Further exploration of Wood’s cosmology will clarify this distinction between God and the Universal Consciousness, and reveal framework supporting a radical yet plausible redefinition of the very nature of “God”. For more information, see my overview of Wood’s Five Radical Propositions.

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Summary

In conclusion, here is a brief distillation of some of the more important ideas presented in this essay:

• The Eidos represents the mindless, masculine, Single Supreme Source of unformed, uncreated matter. The “void” of the Eidos does not technically represent an environment of absolutely nothing. The origins of the Eidos remain unknown.
• A feminine Awareness mysteriously awoke amidst the Eidos to eventually become the First Emanation. The Awareness had a beginning, and this beginning followed a natural course of evolution. 
• After her awakening, the Awareness came to realize she was alone. Her growing sense of agony, despair and loneliness eventually gave rise to a new depth of self-awareness, and a sudden, yet enduring sense of hope. Loneliness and hope became the driving catalysts behind Areta’s subsequent intentions.
• It is with the continuing evolution of Areta that the story of creation begins to unfold. At this stage of Areta’s evolution, she should not be considered “God”.

I have attempted to introduce the Eidos and Areta in their primordial manifestations. I utilize the qualifier “primordial” because the Song of God portrays the Eidos and the Areta in various states of existence and stages of evolution. If you’d like immediate access to more comprehensive summaries of these and other related topics, information is available on the official Song of God website, specifically the respective glossary pages: Eidos and Areta.

In the next post, I intend to continue this exploration of Wood’s creation myth and the evolution of Areta—specifically, as it relates to the advent of AZ particles and the formulation of the first singularity.

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Revisions

• September 8, 2021 – added “[Part 1]” to the beginning of the post.
• September 3, 2021 – revised third stanza of Eidos poem (see footnote #3).