Developer API

Gnosis Lexicon API

The Gnosis Lexicon API gives free, open JSON access to a growing corpus of gnostic and esoteric terminology in English and Bulgarian, with no API key and no sign-up. Built for researchers, developers, and anyone building tools for the study of ancient wisdom traditions.

Contents

Base URL

GET https://pleroma.guide/api/lexicon/public

Authentication

None required. The API is free and open. No API key needed.

Rate Limits

100 requests per hour per IP address. Rate limit headers are included in every response.

X-RateLimit-Limit: 100

X-RateLimit-Remaining: 99

X-RateLimit-Reset: 1712764800

X-License: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Every response also includes an X-License header with the SPDX identifier CC-BY-SA-4.0, so downstream tooling can detect the licence without parsing this page. It covers Pleroma's own text, not the third-party quotations some entries contain.

Endpoints

GET /api/lexicon/public

Returns a paginated list of all lexicon terms. Supports filtering by pillar, locale, and search query.

Query Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
locale	string	"en"	Language: "en" (English) or "bg" (Bulgarian)
pillar	string	-	Filter by knowledge pillar (e.g. cosmology, alchemy, shadow)
q	string	-	Search term name (case-insensitive partial match)
limit	number	50	Results per page, 1–100. A larger value is capped at 100.
offset	number	0	Pagination offset

Example Request

curl

curl "https://pleroma.guide/api/lexicon/public?pillar=cosmology&q=hylic"

Example Response

JSON

{
  "data": [
    {
      "term": "Hylic",
      "slug": "hylic",
      "definition": "In Valentinian Gnostic anthropology, a Hylic is a person whose dominant principle is matter (hylē) — one whose consciousness is entirely identified with the material world, unable to perceive the spiritual dimension or the Logos pattern. The Hylic lives within the Demiurge's system without questioning it.",
      "pillar": "cosmology",
      "tradition": "Gnostic (Valentinian)",
      "etymology": "Greek: ὑλικός (hylikos) — of matter; from ὕλη (hylē) — matter, material, wood",
      "relatedTerms": [
        "archon",
        "demiurge",
        "divine-spark",
        "gnosis",
        "logos",
        "nigredo",
        "npc",
        "pistis",
        "pneumatic",
        "simulation"
      ],
      "url": "https://pleroma.guide/en/lexicon/hylic"
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "total": 1,
    "limit": 50,
    "offset": 0,
    "locale": "en",
    "hasMore": false
  },
  "attribution": {
    "source": "Pleroma Guide Lexicon",
    "url": "https://pleroma.guide",
    "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
    "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/",
    "required": "Attribution required: 'Powered by Pleroma Guide' with a link to https://pleroma.guide, and the licence name (CC BY-SA 4.0) with a link to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/",
    "thirdPartyContent": "Passages quoted from other authors and translators (for example published translations of the Nag Hammadi texts) keep their own copyright and are not covered by this licence."
  }
}

GET /api/lexicon/public/[slug]

Returns a single term by its slug, including full content and related blog posts that reference it.

Example Request

curl

curl "https://pleroma.guide/api/lexicon/public/hylic"

Example Response

JSON

{
  "data": {
    "term": "Hylic",
    "slug": "hylic",
    "definition": "In Valentinian Gnostic anthropology, a Hylic is a person whose dominant principle is matter (hylē) — one whose consciousness is entirely identified with the material world, unable to perceive the spiritual dimension or the Logos pattern. The Hylic lives within the Demiurge's system without questioning it.",
    "fullContent": "Definition\nIn Valentinian Gnostic anthropology, a Hylic is a person whose dominant principle is matter (hylē) — one whose consciousness is entirely identified…",
    "pillar": "cosmology",
    "tradition": "Gnostic (Valentinian)",
    "etymology": "Greek: ὑλικός (hylikos) — of matter; from ὕλη (hylē) — matter, material, wood",
    "pronunciation": "HY-lik",
    "termOriginal": "ὑλικός",
    "relatedTerms": [
      "archon",
      "demiurge",
      "divine-spark"
    ],
    "relatedPosts": [
      {
        "title": "AI and Gnosticism: Is the Machine a New Demiurge — or a Better Mirror?",
        "slug": "ai-and-gnosticism-machine-as-demiurge",
        "url": "https://pleroma.guide/en/blog/ai-and-gnosticism-machine-as-demiurge"
      }
    ],
    "url": "https://pleroma.guide/en/lexicon/hylic"
  },
  "attribution": {
    "source": "Pleroma Guide Lexicon",
    "url": "https://pleroma.guide",
    "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
    "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/",
    "required": "Attribution required: 'Powered by Pleroma Guide' with a link to https://pleroma.guide, and the licence name (CC BY-SA 4.0) with a link to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/",
    "thirdPartyContent": "Passages quoted from other authors and translators (for example published translations of the Nag Hammadi texts) keep their own copyright and are not covered by this licence."
  }
}

fullContent, relatedTerms and relatedPosts are shortened here; the API returns them in full.

Response Fields

Every response is a JSON object with three top-level keys: data (the term or array of terms), meta (pagination + request metadata, list endpoint only), and attribution (license and credit info). The tables below document every field the API can return.

data — term object

Field	Type	Description
term	string	Canonical name of the term as it appears in the lexicon.
slug	string	URL-safe identifier. Use this in the single-term endpoint path.
definition	string	The entry's short definition: the paragraph under its Definition heading, as plain text (usually 35–70 words). An entry without that heading falls back to its first paragraph.
pillar	string	The knowledge pillar this term belongs to (e.g. cosmology, alchemy, shadow).
tradition	string	The lineage or tradition the term originates from (e.g. Gnostic, Hermetic, Kabbalistic).
etymology	string \| null	Origin of the word, usually including the source language. May be null when unknown.
relatedTerms	string[]	Slugs of other terms cross-linked to this one. Useful for graph walks and related-reading UIs.
url	string	Canonical URL of the term's page on Pleroma.
fullContent	string	The whole entry as plain text: headings and paragraphs with the Markdown, links and components removed. Single-term endpoint only.
pronunciation	string \| null	Rough phonetic pronunciation guide. May be null. Single-term endpoint only.
termOriginal	string \| null	Original-script form of the term (e.g. Greek, Hebrew) when applicable. May be null. Single-term endpoint only.
relatedPosts	object[]	Array of blog posts that reference this term, each with title, slug, and url. Single-term endpoint only.

meta — list endpoint only

Field	Type	Description
meta.total	number	Total number of terms that match the current filter, before pagination.
meta.limit	number	Page size that was actually applied (1–100).
meta.offset	number	Offset that was actually applied (after clamping).
meta.locale	string	Locale that was resolved for this response (en or bg).
meta.hasMore	boolean	True when there are additional pages after this one. Equivalent to (offset + limit) < total.
meta.warnings	string[] (optional)	Present only when the API adjusted your input: a limit above the maximum was capped, a limit below 1 was replaced by the default (50), or a negative offset was set to 0. Each string explains one adjustment.

attribution

Field	Type	Description
attribution.source	string	Human-readable name of the data source.
attribution.url	string	URL you should link back to when attributing the data.
attribution.license	string	Licence name, always "CC BY-SA 4.0". The X-License response header carries the SPDX identifier, CC-BY-SA-4.0.
attribution.licenseUrl	string	Link to the licence text. CC BY-SA 4.0 asks you to include it when you reuse the data.
attribution.required	string	The attribution we ask you to display with reused content: the credit line with a link back, and the licence with its link.
attribution.thirdPartyContent	string	Passages quoted from other authors and translators keep their own copyright; the licence does not cover them.

Fields marked as "single-term endpoint only" appear when you fetch GET /api/lexicon/public/[slug] and are omitted from the list endpoint to keep responses small.

Available Pillars

Use these values with the pillar query parameter to filter terms by knowledge domain.

cosmology
alchemy
frequency
temple
matrix
shadow
astrology
mastery
sophia

Embed a widget

Two live widgets you can drop into any page. Each is a self-contained frame: dark themed, under 320 px tall, no cookies, no analytics. Paste the snippet where the widget should appear.

Live moon reading — phase, illumination, Moon sign, lunar mansion, next phase

HTML

<iframe
  src="https://pleroma.guide/en/embed/moon"
  width="100%"
  height="320"
  loading="lazy"
  title="Live moon reading — Pleroma"
  style="border: 0;max-width: 100%;color-scheme:dark"
></iframe>

Chrism fast — the next sacred-secretion window for a Sun sign

HTML

<iframe
  src="https://pleroma.guide/en/embed/chrism-fast?sign=capricorn"
  width="100%"
  height="320"
  loading="lazy"
  title="Chrism fast next window — Pleroma"
  style="border: 0;max-width: 100%;color-scheme:dark"
></iframe>

Replace capricorn with the visitor's Sun sign (aries … pisces), or drop the ?sign= parameter to show a 12-sign picker.

Attribution: keep the "Powered by Pleroma" link inside the widget visible and followed — it is the only condition of use.

Download the lexicon dataset

The complete lexicon — 269 terms per language — as JSON and CSV, regenerated on every deploy.

Fields: term, slug, url, locale, pillar, pillar_label, definition (plain text), etymology, tradition, related (slugs), term_original, pronunciation, date_added, last_updated, license, generated_at.

Generated on 2 November 2026 · License: CC BY-SA 4.0 — share and adapt with attribution to Stefan's Alkimia / Pleroma Guide, under the same license.

Cite this

Copy-ready references for the dataset and for the site. Click a citation to select it.

Dataset

APA (7th ed.)

Stefan's Alkimia. (2026). Pleroma Guide Lexicon (Version 2026-11-02) [Data set]. Pleroma Guide. https://pleroma.guide/en/api-docs

Chicago (17th ed.)

Stefan's Alkimia. 2026. Pleroma Guide Lexicon. Version 2026-11-02, dataset. Pleroma Guide. https://pleroma.guide/en/api-docs.

Website

APA (7th ed.)

Stefan's Alkimia. (2026). Pleroma — The Fullness of Hidden Knowledge. Pleroma Guide. https://pleroma.guide/

Chicago (17th ed.)

Stefan's Alkimia. 2026. Pleroma — The Fullness of Hidden Knowledge. Pleroma Guide. Accessed November 2, 2026. https://pleroma.guide/.

Attribution

The data is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Use it in any project, with attribution that links back to Pleroma and names the licence.

HTML

<a href="https://pleroma.guide">Powered by Pleroma Guide</a> · <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>

License

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). You may share and adapt the data for any purpose, including commercial, as long as you give attribution and distribute derivative works under the same licence. The licence covers Pleroma's own text only. Passages quoted from other authors and translators, for example published translations of the Nag Hammadi texts, keep their own copyright and are not licensed here.

Error Codes

Code	Meaning
200	Success
400	Bad request: invalid locale, unknown pillar, a q longer than 200 characters, or an invalid slug
404	Term not found (single-term endpoint only)
429	Rate limit exceeded. Check the Retry-After header.

Feedback & Contact

Found a bug, a wrong definition, or need a higher rate limit for research or a larger integration? Reach out directly — a human reads every message.

pleroma@pleroma.guide

Rate-limit increases are granted case by case. Include a short note about the project and expected request volume and you will usually hear back within a few days.