LITERATURE OF GNOSTIC WISDOM 127
and the seal of Edem preserved forever.
Edem set the soul in Eve and Elohim the spirit.
And they were given commandments:
"Be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth."^17
Edem gave away all her power to Elohim,
like a marriage dowry, and till this day,
in imitation of that first marriage,
a woman comes to her husband with a dowry,
obeying a holy and hereditary law
that Edem carried out toward Elohim.^18THE ANGELS ARE DIVIDED
When, according to Moses, everything was created
including heaven and earth and all therein,
the twelve angels of the mother were divided
into four principles, and each quadrant is called
a river: Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates.
Huddled in these four parts, the twelve angels
circle around and govern the cosmos.
Their authority over the world comes from Edem.
They are not forever in the same region,
but as in a circular chorus they move
from place to place at fixed intervals and periods
according to their assignments.
When the angels of Pishon rule a region,
then famine, distress, and tribulation
foul that segment of the earth,
for their criterion for ruling is avarice.
And in all regions come bad times and disease
according to each power and nature.
There is a torrent of evil pouring out
like the rivers, and constantly around the world
Edem's will controls every quadrant.- Genesis 1:28.
- See Genesis 2:24.