Epiphany: Sophia's reflection in the waters

The chief [of the archons] is blind; because of his power and his ignorance and his arrogance he said, with his power, "It is I who am God; there is none apart from me." [cf. the decalogue -- SS] When he said this, he sinned against the entirety. And this speech got up to incorruptibility; then there was a voice that came forth from incorruptibility, saying, "You are mistaken, Samael" - which is, "god of the blind."

His thoughts became blind. And, having expelled his power - that is, the blasphemy he had spoken - he pursued it down to chaos and the abyss, his mother, at the instigation of Pistis Sophia. And she established each of his offspring in conformity with its power - after the pattern of the realms that are above, for by starting from the invisible world the visible world was invented.

As incorruptibility looked down into the region of the waters, her image appeared in the waters; and the authorities of the darkness became enamored of her. But they could not lay hold of that image, which had appeared to them in the waters, because of their weakness - since beings that merely possess a soul cannot lay hold of those that possess a spirit - for they were from below, while it was from above. This is the reason why "incorruptibility looked down into the region (etc.)": so that, by the father's will, she might bring the entirety into union with the light.

from The Hypostasis of the Archons

This is an obvious parallel to the opening of Genesis:
[Genesis 1:2] Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Though it is an obvious parallel, there are important distinctions. Note for example that the Gnostic text presumes that the Incorruptble Divine Spirit is female. In fact, throughout the entire text, wisdom is revealed from female to female -- in the Valentinian scheme, females are the primary bearers and receivers of wisdom. The Archons lust after Sophia's reflection in a possessive way -- wanting to make it their own and contain it. You cannot possess, however, the reflection of light on water; it comes as it does, and you must simply receive it as it presents itself.

The "Hypostasis of the Archons" is a Valentinian text, and as such, assumes a distinction between the soul-natured (or psychikoi) and the spirit-natured (or pneumatikoi). That distinction comes into play in the above, in that the soul-natured and spirit-natured react differently to the reflections of spirit 'in the formless waters'.

What isn't explicitly stated, is that for a reflection to be visible on the surface of water, the surface of the water must first be still.

This is a depiction of the way in which the Divine presense touches us. Its touch is so subtle and so light that we see only a reflection of it in the waters of our soul during moments of stillness.

There are those who see the reflection and try to capture spirit and wrap it up in words and concepts, so that it will always be with us. This is depicted in the Hypostasis graphically as the gang-rape of Eve by the Archons.

There are those instead who seek to maintain inner stillness so that the reflection will appear more often and with more clarity.