One Reed

I am Catherine Berry, a Bishop of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica living in Los Angeles, California. I am also a software developer, a student of ancient Mesoamerican culture, and an active member of Ordo Templi Orientis, of which EGC is a part. Until mid-2016 my name was Craig Berry, so you will find a good deal of my past work under that name.

I combined my interests in EGC and Aztec theology in choosing my episcopal name "Ce Acatl". This translates to "One Reed" in English, and is the day-sign (and hence a primary name) of Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent of Aztec mythology, a god associated with learning, innovation, and civilization itself. Uniquely among the major gods of the Aztec pantheon, Quetzalcoatl did not demand human sacrifice, and in one myth actually attempted to end it entirely.

From the EGC side, the Gnostic Mass contains the invocation "O Thou, the true fire within the reed". Here the allusion is to the myth of Prometheus, who brought fire (and by implication, civilization) to humanity in a hollow reed, in defiance of the other immortals. Prometheus is thus rather reminiscent of Quetzalcoatl. My episcopal name, and the name of this website, combine these parallel myths of the Old and New Worlds.

By the way, a note about Quetzalcoatl: This name is not pronounced "KEHTZ-ul-koh-AH-tul". The final "tl" is actually an unvoiced single consonant, close to a soft "t" sound. A reasonable approximation of the correct pronunciation of Quetzalcoatl is "KEHTZ-ahl-KOH-aht". Similarly, Ce Acatl is close to "SAY AH-caht".