Sophia

n. female first name; name of several towns in the USA

Sophia may refer to:SpiritualSophia (gnosticism), gnostic deityPistis Sophia, gnostic textIn the Ben Sirach, wisdom from the Torah.MusicSophia (indie rock band)Sophia (rock band), a Japanese bandSophia (EP) by The CrüxshadowsSophia (song) by Nerina PallotA track on the Good Shoes album Think Before You SpeakBuildingsHagia Sophia or Saint Sophia, IstanbulSophia Cathedral in RussiaSophia University in Tokyo
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n. Sophia, female first name; name of several towns in the USA

[Judaic] The Greek word for wisdom. In Proverbs 8 she speaks like a goddess. The Gnostics conceived Sophia as a saintly spirit. The emperor named his great cathedral in Constantinople (Istanbul) Hagia Sophia, 'Holy Wisdom'. Some sources identify her with Siduru sabaut, the Mesopotamian goddess of paradise. The name survives in Arabic as safiyya.

Sophia (Greek) Wisdom. Used in a general sense by St. Paul, as when he speaks of earthly and heavenly wisdom; but by the Gnostics, especially Valentinus in his Pistis Sophia, it is the great Mother of all, corresponding to Sephirah, Isis, Vach, divine wisdom, akasa, anima mundi, and the Holy Ghost (when considered as feminine). Sophia among the Gnostics was considered the feminine aspect of the Logos, whether the Second of the Third. The idea of a cosmic mother precedes that of the cosmic father, and Sophia is the daughter, the feminine Logos of the cosmic mother; and this feminine Logos has seven sons, constituting the ogdoad. In the human constitution, Sophia may be equated with buddhi or on a somewhat lower plane, with the buddhi-manas.
According to the Pistis Sophia, the power of Sophia resides specially in the solar Logos, whose planetary vehicle is Venus. This dual symbol has an upper and a nether pole, like akasa and the astral light. The lower pole is called Achamoth; Sophia-Achamoth is used sometimes in the sense of the lower aspect, and sometimes to denote the two poles together.