The Book

Posted: January 8, 2021

The book is called The Song of God – Living Gnosis of the Ahgendai. It was written by Archie Dean Wood Sr, under the moniker “Azrael Ondi-Ahman”. Wood began writing in 1986 and completed the book twenty-one years later in 2007. The book was self-published in its entirety for the first time in 2008. A second edition was published in 2015.

I was introduced to Azrael’s writings in 1996. Particularly moved by the content, I sought him out the following year and ended up working closely with him as a personal assistant and devotee until 2016, when our relationship came to an abrupt end. 

The following material is intended as a preface for this website. After presenting a brief introduction to the Song of God and a basic summary of what I know about its creation, I will speak to what I consider its foundational themes and share some of my personal views about the book and its potential. The names “Archie”, “Wood”, and “Azrael” all refer to the same person.

---

One reason the Song of God is unique is that it’s presented by the author as a book of divinely inspired scripture that accurately portrays the heart and mind of God. Determining what constitutes “divinely inspired” and “scripture” and “God” is a relevant discussion for another time, but this is the context surrounding the book’s creation.

Wood taught the purpose of the book was to explain the connection that exists between God and humans — to make it possible for the reader to know God, and in the knowing, come to an intimate knowledge of the self. The book is a rich tapestry of interwoven narratives, revelations and reinterpretations put forth by the author as a grand disclosure and restoration of gnosis for the benefit of all humankind. 

The “scripture” portion of the Song of God is a considerable body of work comprised of more than 550,000 words and organized into twelve independent yet interrelated books. All scriptural content, along with a chronology of authorship for each book and a comprehensive glossary of terms, is available for study on the book’s official website, which I will regularly link to.

Throughout the twenty-one years of the book’s creation, the author was often seen writing in neighborhood sandwich shops and sports bars in Pocatello, Idaho. Portions of the book were written while the author was homeless, living in the woods. All scriptural content was handwritten by the author. He never used a computer or a scribe. With the exception of utilizing a dictionary and thesaurus, I never personally observed Azrael doing any research or handling any source material during his writing. According to Wood, a divine mandate restricted his writing process to the hours between sunrise and sunset.

Wood provided all written content to an assistant in final draft form, to then be typed and organized into a digital format. Over the years, Azrael made certain revisions, redactions, and additions to the text (primarily in the book of Wisdom), however, these changes could be considered minimal given the amount of material produced. The nature of Wood’s writing process and workflow remains ambiguous. If final drafts were preceded by research, notetaking, outlining or considerable revision, these efforts remained inconspicuous.

Wood often claimed the most difficult aspect of writing scripture was i) determining what to write, given the vast amount of material he was “provided”, and ii) letting go of his own beliefs and opinions. Azrael spoke to the latter in an essay written in 2006 about writing scripture:

“The most difficult aspect of writing scriptures is…letting go of yourself. The truth doesn’t care about your feelings, or dreams or aspirations. The truth does not care if you are good or bad, rich or poor, educated or uneducated. The truth is truth regardless of one’s personal feelings about it. To know the truth, or to know God, you must let go of yourself; you must be willing to abandon everything that you think you know and embrace the truth of God instead. And this is the absolute most difficult thing for people to do. […]

To truly write scriptures, you must let go of your own beliefs and opinions. You must sublimate your own feelings in order to embrace the heart and mind of God. All church doctrines and theologies, all dogmas and creeds must be expunged from your mind with extreme prejudice. Nothing except God must be sacred to you. The teachings of theologians, preachers, popes and even modern day prophets must be rejected and then you must approach God with an empty heart and an open mind. To touch the realness of God you must present yourself as one who knows nothing, and the only thing you can feel is the burning desire to know God at last. Indeed, this desire must be so intense that only death or the coming forth of God can quench it.“^[1]Wood, On Writing the Scriptures (an essay), 2006

Wood not only maintained the Song of God was divinely inspired, but claimed to have woven within the language of the text an advanced mathematical construct intended to interact with the reader’s brain.

“To write [the scriptures] as God wanted me to write them, I had to first learn a strange kind of celestial mathematics which would be woven into the very language of the scriptures themselves. God first began to teach me this mathematics in 1979, and it took me seven years to master it sufficiently enough to receive my commission to write the scriptures. The purpose of this mathematical construct within the scriptures is simple: it is meant to create new synaptic pathways within the reader’s brain which will enable that person to more clearly ascertain the living presence of God in their life. You need not know how the math works in order for it to affect you. All you need to do is read, study and live the ‘Song of God’. As you do so, the thoughts in your mind will become clearer, more focused and receptive to the touch of the ineffable. And in the doing of this, your life will become sacred, and you will feel yourself empowered and imbued with godly wisdom and insight.” [Ibid]

When pressed about the subject of mathematical constructs underlying the writing of the scriptures, Azrael would offer very little detail. On a separate yet possibly related note, there are numerous eye-witness accounts of Wood’s ability to write and seemingly comprehend what appeared to be an otherworldly script which he referred to as the Adamic Language.

---

What’s the book about?

The overarching narrative of the Song of God addresses why life exists, why we are here, what God is like, how God came to be, and the relationship that exists between God and humankind. The book is about a lot of things, but central motifs include deification, eternal progression, and the art of sacred living. 

A Conceptual Summary of the Song of God

1. Life preceded God. God evolved from life. God had a beginning and continues to evolve and progress.
2. Creation and evolution was originally intended by a feminine awareness that awoke in a void of sterile ‘nothingness’. Finding herself alone, this First Mind came to desire meaning and purpose through communion with some other mind like her own. This desire became the impetus behind a trial and error process of creation, absent of moral parameters. A distinction exists between this primordial ‘Universal Mind’ and ‘God’.
3. Efforts of the Universal Mind eventually gave rise to the first ‘soul’: an unprecedented quantum mutation of mind^[2]Soul engenderment as a quantum ‘mutation’ is speculation on my part, based on my current understanding and interpretation of the Song of God and Wood’s teachings. I believe at least … Continue reading, an epiphenomenon that enabled individual memories of an intelligent life-form to be preserved beyond physical death. The advent of this original soul occurred as a singular case among a species that ultimately destroyed itself and their planet.
4. This first (male) soul eventually united with an individualized aspect of the feminine Universal Mind, marking the advent of First God. As eternal beloveds, this First God continued to evolve, progress and procreate.
5. A process of eternal progression was established and refined by First God for their spirit children to pursue according to their own desires. Realms of existence were created to accommodate the diverse aspirations of their children.
6. The concept and manifestation of ‘God’ evolved over time to be more accurately understood as a Supreme Collective wherein an individual is appointed to speak for the whole. God, i.e., the Supreme Collective, did not always exist, but rather, represents the pinnacle of a very long, evolutionary process. While the concept of God may be represented by a Heavenly Father and/or Mother, it is more accurate to consider God as the represented will of a Supreme Collective rather than the will of a single, celestial being.
7. A plan was conceived and initiated by First God that entailed a contingent of the Supreme Collective traveling back in time to save the world from which God first evolved.
8. This cosmos, this earth, and our species (human) was not created by God, but rather, is that which gave birth to the first soul, the First God. “God, who is our future, came from humans, who are Their past.”^[3]Wood, Song of God (2015), p viii-ix; see Basic Beliefs #1
9. The current timeline we are experiencing is a replication, a fork of the original timeline that gave rise to God. This alternate timeline came to exist as a result of a mind from God’s ‘present’ traveling to the far distant past — to a time and place preceding the existence of God — and interacting with the original timeline. 
10. All spirits incarnating on this world are celestial beings seeking to: i) regain individual holiness that was set aside while defending Heaven against the Nemesis referred to as Yaldabaoth, the Chief Demiurgos; and ii) facilitate a large-scale creation (mutation) of soul among the original human population.

Notable Features and Ideas in the Song of God

• In contrast to other books deemed sacred, it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to justify acts of inhumanity by appealing to the Song of God.
• “The only proper religion for humankind is humanity itself, for it is from this humanity that God first evolved.” (Ibid. Basic Beliefs #1)
• “The material world contains within its mortal, physical nature, the very essence and similitude of all things wondrous and eternal.” (Ibid; Basic Beliefs #6)
• Divine revelation and the experience of Gnosis is available to everyone.
• The sanctuary of the home is more important to the spiritual life of the family than any church building or temple. (Ibid. Basic Beliefs #19)
• Priesthood is a divine power equally and inherently accessible to both men and women. It is the presence of God which validates one’s priesthood, never church authority.
• Death is not the real enemy of humankind, but rather, our own ignorance and inhumanity.
• Mortal life is an environment utilized by God to provide spirit children the opportunity to experience opposition, learn about good and evil, acquire free agency, and pursue the likeness of their Heavenly Parents, i.e., to increase in glory, intelligence and holiness.
• Reincarnation is an essential feature of eternal progression. Spirit children live multiple mortal lives. No single life can determine the value or place of a human soul or spirit.
• Exalted beings (Gods/Goddesses) are not perfect and are capable of unbecoming behavior. Redemption is God’s greatest power.
• The nature of God is most accurately defined by their holiness, which holiness is represented by seven virtues: wisdom, benevolence, faith, justice, fortitude, beauty and harmony (W:26:36-37). Concepts such as perfection, omnipotence and omniscience do not apply to the nature of God.

The Song of God:

• celebrates women, empowers the Matriarchy, and gives voice and identity to the Divine Feminine. The book presents a spirituality rooted in gender equality and the empowerment of women. Various Heavenly Mothers have prominent roles throughout the narrative.
• encourages critical thinking, scientific inquiry, and the pursuit of greater knowledge for the sole purpose of bettering humankind and preserving the earth.
• presents a spirituality that is sex-positive, even sex-conditional, where spiritual fulfillment and sexual liberation are directly correlated.
• recognizes that true, justified belief must be rooted in and empowered by choice, acknowledging the believer’s right to walk away from their faith without any judgment or condemnation from God (Basic Beliefs #13; Ibid.).
• presents a spiritual framework free of heteronormative biases and exclusions. Homosexuality is presented as a divinely ordained means of spiritual progression, not an inherent state of confusion or sin.
• includes a detailed account of Yeshua’s life, ministry, and divine role that is free of the toxic, nonsensical doctrines espoused by Christian orthodoxy, including: The Fall, Original Sin, Virgin Birth, the Perfect Christ, and Blood Atonement. The Song of God restores Yeshua’s humanity, and in doing so, uplifts the human family.
• presents an indictment against church leaders, and the systemic corruption, exploitation and violence of prominent religious institutions.
• provides detailed context behind the origin, purpose and agenda of the Demiurge.
• includes a prominent and cohesive narrative addressing Lucifer’s rebellion, and God’s subsequent efforts to restore and redeem him.

---

What’s my take?

Before sharing what I think about the Song of God, know that outside my own personal studies I have no formal education or training in any subject that would add clout to my speculations and conclusions regarding Azrael and his work. The only unique qualifications I can claim are my familiarity and fascination with the Song of God and its author.

I am presently unable to draw a comprehensive conclusion as to what this book truly is. However, of this I remain most certain: the Song of God and its author represent a fascinating anomaly, one that I believe is worth consideration and discussion.

For me, there are aspects about Azrael and his work that remain both compelling and puzzling. Critics will hastily conclude that no puzzle or anomaly exists here: that I have been helplessly brainwashed and manipulated by a brilliant con-man suffering from various psychological disorders and delusions of grandeur. There are elements of truth to this assumption, but a deeper inspection of the man and his work (i.e., the evidence) will reveal more than meets the cynical eye.

I’m not a voracious reader, but I’ve read enough to contend the Song of God is a syncretic masterpiece, a grand coalescence of perennial truths and wisdom teachings — both new and old, Eastern and Western, obscure and familiar — all woven together into a magnificent epic of love, war and intrigue.

More than just a creative collection of feel-good affirmations, this book presents a marvelous trove of coherently nested thought-experiments and formational narratives that address the most enduring questions we have as humans, while providing a stable gateway to the experience of Gnosis. It’s like some kind of beautiful Theory of Everything, a Supreme Meta-Myth that appeals to both reason and sentiment. Traversing the book’s depths is like journeying through an intra-personal macrocosmic fractal, full of well-polished interactive mirrors that reveal some vast yet intimate spectrum.

The Song of God offers a robust theodicy while including novel definitions and interpretations of familiar religious concepts and narratives. It provides context, continuity, and perspective. Stale theological problems are resolved as fresh mysteries are revealed. New inquiries are inspired as longstanding questions are refined.

There is an elegant complexity to this book’s lyrical weave that I have found particularly enchanting. Despite the sheer amount of material presented, the Song of God is exceptionally coherent and consistent. While guiding the reader on a trans-dimensional odyssey through time and space, the text offers relevant, practical insight and instruction that is surprisingly comprehensive given the broad array of human experience and the author’s apparent emotional ineptitude.

Beneath the wisdom teachings presented in the book flow a river of symbols, patterns and archetypes that tease the heart and mind toward some greater fulfillment. Based on my personal experiences and observations, I believe the Song of God could not only prove to be an abiding catalyst for personal transformation, liberation and empowerment, but also a powerful impetus for social equality, stability and innovation. The creativity, peace and resilience born from this book will be seductive and abundant.

As scripture, the Song of God disempowers oppressive systems while restoring all emotional, intellectual, sexual, and spiritual sovereignty to the individual. Gate-keeping priestcrafters will despise this book because it threatens their authority and alleged relevance. What revolutions will be inspired by this book? When considering the current religious landscape, I believe the Song of God offers a clean yet familiar slate, a renovated spiritual garden space cleared of weeds and rot, full of opportunity to both plant and harvest that which reflects humanity’s highest and noblest ideals.

I believe Wood’s work represents one of the most beautiful, reasonable and radical theories about God and life ever presented to the human family. If after studying the Song of God you find my position unfounded, and are aware of some other literary wonder that exceeds the depth, richness, and explanatory power of this book, please lead me to that most brilliant radiance and forgive my bold presumption.

Mathematically enhanced or not, there is something curiously sophisticated about the Song of God. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is, but this book has captured my heart and mind, and given me hope for a brighter future. While aligning with what I know about the natural world, this book has made God real for me, and continues to offer a reliable connection to that which I find transcendent and sublime. It liberates me, challenges me, and empowers my capacity to love myself and others more deeply. Despite the ambivalence I presently feel towards the author, I will always be grateful for the gift he gave in writing the Song of God.

---

Minor revisions to this post were made to wording and punctuation on 11/15/2022.