The Spirit in the Sky
A brief history of seekers,
from Druids to Zoroastrians
by A.R. Goldyn, Max Sparber and
Niels Strandskov
Americans live in woeful ignorance of religion. We labor under the delusion that the world is dominated by three monotheistic religions (Christianity, Judaism and Islam) and everything else can be quietly lumped into the "Eastern Religion" or "New Age" sections of our bookstore.
Americans have always viewed the world as a vast buffet, a table covered with international delectables spread out for our delighted sampling. We read lightweight books with titles like A Pocket Guide to Zen while watching videotapes explaining the basics of yoga. We hang Native American dreamcatchers from our rear view mirrors, and with what purpose? Do we plan to fall asleep at the wheel? Our dilettante approach to alternative spirituality produces exactly this sort of metaphysical confusion, creating a culture in which religion involves either a strict allegiance to a monolithic mainstream or a notoriously vapid spiritual dabbling (think of Madonna's trifling studies of Hinduism and Kabbala).
There are genuine spiritual seekers out there, and there are religions with long histories and complex theologies that are never mentioned in college survey courses in religious studies. Some are indigenous religions, beaten down by hundreds of years of imperialism and dismissed as primitive practices. Some are modern creations, liberally borrowing elements from past cosmologies to create a contemporary vision of spirituality. Some are strange hybrids, dismissed (sometimes unfairly) by mainstream religions as cults but believed fervently by their followers. Some are religious societies, where individual members may belong to any religion but band together over shared rituals and goals.
What follows is a brief, necessarily incomplete selection of the incredible range of religious practice. This is intended as an introduction, nothing more, to the magnificent diversity of human belief.
Druidic Sects
The Druids were a secret society of the ancient Celts, but their membership differed from that of contemporary secret societies in that they practiced a specific religion. The Druids were an exalted caste of priests (men and women) strict in their beliefs and practices, and their caste was the third highest in Irish society. The Druids inhabited Gaul, Britain and Ireland, but the Irish Druids are those whom we are most familiar with nowadays.
Study for initiation into Druid sects lasted more than 20 years and was tedious: No information was to be recorded in writing - all lessons were taught orally and were required to be recalled from memory. Some
Druids are rumored to have begun scribing Druidic practices, rituals and beliefs, but virtually all of that information was lost in fires. Most of what is currently known about the Druids comes from opinionated and biased writings of the Greeks and Romans.
What we do know is that the Druids (sometimes referred to nowadays as "tree huggers") worshipped ancient Celtic gods in isolated sections of the forests or near lakes or rivers. Trees were held sacred, particularly the oak tree which they identified with a high god and which bore their cherished mistletoe; in fact, the term "Druid" is Gaelic for "knowing the oak tree." The Druids were superior physicians and revered trees and plants for their healing properties and diligently studied herbal medicine. The Druids were the wise ones of Celtic society and studied moral philosophy, nature and religion. They conducted Celtic religious ceremonies and dictated moral, ethical and spiritual standards of the Celts. They were also extraordinary magicians who studied dream interpretation, astronomy and calendar and omens. One Roman historian wrote that Druids "are uplifted by searchings into things most secret and sublime."
The Druids were active participants in animal and human sacrifice and had no qualm about burning victims alive, drowning them, spearing them with stakes or using some other violent method of killing. Theories suggests that sacrifice was acceptable to the Druids because they believed souls to be immortal.
The Romans thought the Druids to be repulsive, and around 60 A.D., they killed all of the Druids and destroyed their ritual grounds.
Throughout the centuries, Druidism has experienced several periods of revival and, like many ancient pagan religions, underwent a revival in the 1960s. The Reformed Druids of North America (RDNA) and a splinter group, the New Reformed Druids of North America (NRDNA), have modified ancient Druidic practices and rituals to accommodate modern society (no blood sacrifices). With such little information available about the ancient Druids, contemporary Druids are sometimes assumed to be offshoots of present neo-pagan religions, specifically the Celtic-inspired Faery religion.
Order of the Solar Temple
"We are in the reign of fire," Luc Jouret told a Swiss radio station in 1987, "Everything is being consumed." In 1994, Jouret's followers began an international string of murders and suicides, frequently ending in mass infernos, that would end with over 70 deaths - including Jouret's. His group, The Order of the Solar Temple, lived on the fringes of organized religion, but his followers included mayors and millionaires. Among these, it is rumored, was Grace Kelly.
Jouret, a mystic born in the Belgian Congo, believed himself in a previous life to be a member of the semi-mythical 14th century Christian group the Knights Templar. He preached a weird but seemingly harmless mixture of homeopathy, New Age mysticism and financial theory. But in his spare time he was building a following that numbered 500, some of whom donated more than $1 million to the group.
Jouret encouraged his followers to stockpile weapons and himself was convicted of smuggling silencers into Canada. Jouret declared his daughter to be a "cosmic child," conceived without sex, and named her Emmanuelle after one of the Biblical names for Jesus. When two of his followers named their own son Emmanuel, Jouret declared the child to be the Antichrist and had the parents murdered. The boy was found with a stake through his heart. Jouret preached that the world was nearing its end through a great ecological crisis. His followers could find eternal salvation through self-immolation. After death, they would awaken on the planet Sirius, which would be paradise.
In October of 1994, 53 members of the Order of the Solar Temple died in a series of suicide pacts at a ski resort in Quebec and two villages in Switzerland. Some had not gone willingly. There were signs of struggle and many had died of gunshot wounds to their heads. Some had been stabbed. The bodies were cloaked in ceremonial robes and surrounded by empty champagne bottles, indications of a grim celebration. The buildings that housed the suicides were rigged to catch fire with a telephone call. They burned, and the bodies with them. Dental records later identified Jouret among the victims.
A year later, 16 more members of the Order of the Solar Temple committed suicide in a remote French Alpine village. On March 26, 1997, a house caught fire in St. Casimir, a village 50 miles west of Quebec City. Investigators found four burned bodies seated cross-legged in an upstairs bedroom and a fifth body on a sofa. The last body was an older woman with a bag over her head, leading police to believe she was murdered. Police also discovered three teenagers in a nearby shed. The teenagers explained that their parents were members of the Order of the Solar Temple and had drugged them, intending to include them in the suicide without their knowledge. However, an explosive device failed. The teenagers awoke and discovered their parents' plans. The family discussed the matter at length and finally the parents allowed their children to remain behind.
As we near the end of the millennium, religious conviction grows increasingly fervent and, in some cases, increasingly violent. It is with this in mind that we include the story of the Order of the Solar Temple as a cautionary tale. Faith, the backbone of religion, can turn deadly. As Jouret told his followers, "Liberation is not where human beings think it is. Death can represent an essential state of life."
Rosicrucianism
Rosicrucianism is not a religion; it is a religious order, a mystic, largely Christian organization. However no matter what religion you are, you may join a Rosicrucian order and membership does not require any conversion. Some Christian groups have criticized the Rosicrucians, calling them cultists - most likely because Rosicrucians believe that all religions are equal. They draw beliefs and practices from many, and their practices are metaphysical or considered magical.
The roots of the word "Rosicrucian" are the Latin "rosae," meaning rose (which is a symbol of secrecy), and "crux," meaning cross; thus, one common symbol of Rosicrucianism is a cross superimposed with the red rose of Venus.
Often associated with Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism relies heavily on magics and is the mother of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Rosicrucianism can be officially traced to the 12th and 13th centuries, but members of the organization claim that private records prove it to be much older. Rosicrucianism was said to have been founded by a German named Christian Rosenkreutz, but he is now considered merely a representational mythical figure whose name means "a Christian of the Rosy Cross."
Rosicrucianism draws heavily from Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and pagan religions. Its followers have long been noted for their ability to heal, their concern for keeping balance in the world and their practice of alchemy. Rosicrucian orders teach esoteric methods of using innate psychic and spiritual parts of the brain to effect change in the world - think metaphysics, creative visualization and astral travel. A basic tenet of Rosicrucianism is that "all manifestation comes from energy and that for all physical manifestation a triangle of energies is needed."
Rosicrucians subscribe to the principles of karma and reincarnation. They believe that people can alter the way they live and behave and free themselves from the reigns of karma and teach that reincarnation is "a fact of existence" and that our souls weather many incarnations on the path to perfection.
Rosicrucian orders continue to survive throughout the world. One of the oldest and most noted is the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC), founded in 1915 and still thriving with chapters all over the world.
The Radical Faery Fellowship
The Radical Faery Fellowship is perhaps the most diverse and decentralized religion listed here. Radical Faeries are (as best can be summarized) gay men with an interest in spirituality and rural life. The spirituality of the Radical Faery Fellowship is extraordinarily varied: Some might believe in nothing more unusual than their own form of Christianity, while others blend Native American spiritual beliefs, European paganism and various indigenous religions to create hybrids unlike anything else. Despite this wide range of belief, a common emphasis on tolerance and acceptance allows each Radical Faery to be included in the broader circle of supporters.
The Radical Faery movement was started in the late '70s by Harry Hay, one of the United State's first gay rights activists and founder of the Mattachine Society. The first gathering of Radical Faeries happened in 1978 in Arizona. Since then the loose network of Faeries has created gatherings across the country as well as rural retreats where some Faeries live on a permanent basis.
The best continuing resource for Radical Faery information is the magazine RFD (typically for Faery-related material, the acronym has no set meaning and changes with each issue.) RFD is available in many gay bookstores and by subscription from: RFD-W, P.O. Box 68, Liberty, TN 37095
The Hermetic Order
of the Golden Dawn
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn is another secret society, founded in London in 1877 by three members of a Rosicrucian society open only to Master Masons. Disenchanted, they broke from the society and supposedly discovered the Cipher Manuscripts, the foundation of the Order of the Golden Dawn. This history is debatable, though, as most scholars believe these papers were forged and that the Order of the Golden Dawn came into existence based upon lies and fraud.
At its height, the Order of the Golden Dawn held the most vast magical knowledge and the most revered magicians of the Western world. Its philosophies are blatantly similar to those of Rosicrucianism, and near-universally the Golden Dawn is understood as a revival of the Rosicrucian movement. Whereas Rosicruicianism could be considered "occult practice lite," the Golden Dawn's essential magics were rooted in Egyptian and Kabalistic practices and also borrowed from the grand grimoire The Key of Solomon, Abra-Melin magic and Enochian magic - all considered high, ceremonial magics. The Golden Dawn's texts incorporate ideas from the Egyptian Book of the Dead,the Chaldean Oracles,William Blake's Prophetic Booksand Christianity - Jesus was referred to as the "Master of Masters," which closely resembles the Rosicrucians' reference to him.
Members of the Golden Dawn were required to speak the Enochian language and to be well-versed in alchemy, geomancy, scrying, astral projection and travel, astrology and Tarot. Ritual, sigils and talismans were also main constituents of the order. Modern witchcraft is a melting pot of the magical elements of the Golden Dawn, Rosicrucian orders and freemason rituals.
The Order of the Golden Dawn uses an elaborate hierarchic system of 10 degrees, which correspond to the Kabbalist sephiroth of the Tree of Life. An 11th degree was established for neophytes - freshly initiated into the order. The sephiroth of the Tree of Life are essences of angels and men representing divine aspects. Each sephiroth is a level of attainment of knowledge, as are the levels of the Golden Dawn. The Golden Dawn's degrees are divided into orders - Outer, Second and Third. The Third and highest order is that of the Secret Chiefs, which are entities existing on the planes of the astral realm. A few members of the Golden Dawn claimed that the Secret Chiefs had initiated them into the Third Order, but many claim that human initiation into this order is not possible.
Aleister Crowley is the most notorious member of the Golden Dawn, and was said to be an excellent magician. However, Crowley broke from the Golden Dawn, allegedly to pursue the darker arts, and formed Astrum Argentum (the Silver Star) in Italy. Crowley's sect was based upon the system of the Golden Dawn and incorporated elements of Oriental occult practices and sex magic.
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn has recently undergone a revival of its own, and chapters currently exist worldwide.
Santeria
The term Santeria is actually a misnomer. The religion of the orishas, sometimes known as La Regla Lucumi, was called Santeria by the Spanish. The misnaming occurred because the orishas' worshippers, who were slaves in Cuba, were forced to hide their religion from their masters by devising a system of correspondences by which they could worship their gods in the form of Catholic saints. The Spanish derisively applied the term Santeria as a means of noting that the slaves were ignoring the divinity of Jesus Christ in deference to the less holy saints. Many of the slaves who were brought to the New World were adherents of the Yoruba religion who came from what is now present-day Nigeria. Despite their displacement from their homeland, they brought their religion with them. Unfortunately, their Spanish masters insisted that the only religion they could practice was Roman Catholicism. Thus the slaves transformed their pantheon of seven orishas into seven Catholic saints. Through this slight-of-hand, the slaves were able to practice their religion, and continue their culture, despite the oppression of slavery.
Over the last century, immigration to the United States from Cuba and other parts of the Caribbean has once again displaced the religion of the orishas. Today there are as many as two million adherents of the orishas, many of them in the United States Other branches of the religion are present in Mexico and Hispaniola.
The beliefs and practices of those who follow La Regla Lucumi are not always accessible to people outside the faith. Generally, ceremonies include an invocation of Olorun, the one God who rules over the orishas but does not have direct contact with the world. Then a specific orisha will be invoked, depending on the purpose of the ceremony. A ceremonial drum marks off different segments of the service and, as the beat changes, the priests and priestesses may become possessed by an orisha.
La Regla Lucumi has run afoul of the law on several occasions in the past 20 years. At the heart of the conflict is the practice of animal sacrifice. Despite the fact that animals sacrificed in rituals are killed quickly and are often eaten afterwards, some Christians and animal rights groups have attacked the practice as cruel and sought the government's help in banning it. After the Supreme Court decided in 1993 that laws designed to prevent the religious sacrifice of animals were unconstitutional, the challenges to it have disintegrated.
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is the religion of the prophet Zarathushtra (which was transliterated as Zoroaster by the Greeks). The historical dates of Zarathushtra are unclear. Some commentators put his life as being in the 8th century B.C.E, while others place him as much as 600 years earlier. Zarathushtra was responsible for the Gathas, 17 hymns he composed, many of which were directly addressed to his god, Ahura-Mazda.
The Gathas form the basis of Zoroastrianism, although the collection of ancient Zoroastrian scripture (the Avesta) also includes prayers, ceremonial rites and som000e purity laws Zoroastrianism is monotheistic. Ahura-Mazda is the supreme being, the creator of humanity and everything good. Ahriman, an evil being who is responsible for everything evil in the world, opposes him. Zoroastrians wait for a messiah called the Saoshyant, whose coming will herald the final battle between good and evil, where evil will be destroyed and immortality will be granted to all people, living and dead.
Zoroastrianism is firmly rooted in the ethnicity of its adherents. The religion began in ancient Persia among the people known as Aryans. Modern Zoroastrians trace their lineage directly to these ancient Persians. Since they believe that Ahura-Mazda has placed each person in the correct religion at their birth, Zoroastrians have a strong aversion to intermarriage. Once a dominant world religion (during the period when the Persian Empire was a force to be reckoned with), Zoroastrianism has suffered a decline in popularity. Estimates as to the number of practicing Zoroastrians vary, but the number is almost certainly less than 200,000 worldwide. Zoroastrians are concentrated in India, where approximately 100,000 reside, and Iran, where the number is closer to 12,000. There are around 5,000 Zoroastrians in the United States.
One practice that sets Zoroastrians apart from most other faiths is their method for disposing of dead bodies. Believing that burial and cremation pollute Ahura-Mazda's creation, Zoroastrians favor enclosing the dead in a sort of open stone cylinder where the corpse can be devoured by scavenger animals.
Now?
by Kara Fitzgeral
Y2K is the tip of the iceberg for many people who fear the new millennium is a flood gate ready to burst and release the terrors of Armageddon.
It will start slowly with blackouts, anarchy, and global chaos, until ultimately the world will come to a screeching halt.
Absurd? Well, maybe.
Many people say this millennial frenzy stems mainly from the Bible's Book of Revelation and the mysterious Apocalypse it mentions.
The Greek word Apokalypsis means "to unveil" or "to uncover"; "apocalypticism" is the belief that God will come down from heaven to destroy all things evil and to start his own peaceful kingdom on earth.
These prophecies have been overanalyzed and misinterpreted for centuries and have thus been embedded into the American psyche. Many Christians believe the possible computer shutdown fulfills Bible prophecies about the End Times arrival of a beast whose number is 666 (which could just be 1999 upside down?).
According to a recent Newsweek poll (Nov 1, 1999), 40 percent of American adults believe the world will end as foretold: in a Battle of Armageddon between Jesus and the Antichrist. But, whether that will happen at 12:01am on January 1, 2000 is anybody's guess.
So doomsday or just another day?
Well, before you build an underground compound or stock up on any more canned food and other survivalist supplies, some local religious figures have a few words of reason to share.
"A lot of Western human history has been affected by looking through the prism of John's apocalyptic vision mentioned in the Book of Revelation," says Reverend Christopher Platt, the chaplain at St. Augustine Chapel, "All this bizarre Christian interpretation that really teaches that God comes as an enemy rather than as a friend just amazes me as a Christian."
Platt's currently working on an essay entitled The Millennium: Apocalyptic Terror and Holy Stupidity. In his piece, he writes, "I cannot recall anyone referring to me as a Biblical literalist (one who believes that the words in Scripture are "inerrant,"-that each word is completely factual), however I do know two things about Revelation. The first is the assurance that God wins in the end. The second is a warning of startling clarity. The author writes: 'I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person's share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book' (Chapter 22, verses 18-19)."
Reverend Bill Kincaid over at Woodland Christian Church agrees.
"I don't think the Book of Revelation is a book about speculating; it's a book written to the early church [which] was enduring Roman persecution. And all the people who have made predictions through the years based on Revelation have one thing in common: they've all been wrong."
"All the Gospels have talked about the end time-saying that you don't know the hour or the moment, so always be prepared," says Father Walt Bado of the Catholic Newman Center, "There are passages which taken out of context indicate the end time is a comin', but then Jesus goes on [in] all those passages that we don't know the time or the hour. We don't really know the right interpretation of the signs, so therefore watch, be prudent, be vigilant."
"I think Y2K is going to be an interesting situation, but to tie Y2K to the end of the world?.....It's also important to remember that zeros are a concept of Persian mathematicians," says Reverend Platt, "If we really want to talk about the beginning of the millennium, we're talking about 2001."
It's also important to remember there have been dozens of calendars throughout time. So, the idea that this is the end of the second thousand years may have no validity at all.
"It's a little pompous on our part to think the most recent calendar somehow is going to redefine the course of history," says Reverend Kincaid.
Rabbi Jon Adland of Adath Israel Temple says, "It's not my millennium; it's based on the birth of Jesus. My new millennium is not for 244 years, so I have made no issue of this date whatsoever. We don't really have a perspective on the end of the world, we don't have an Armageddon concept or an apocalypse concept....our idea of the end of day is a time when everyone will live together in peace and harmony, it's not a tumultuous time."
"I think that I'm more fearful that the world's population will be more than what the planet's resources can support, and I'm fearful about the separation of weapons that might destroy us," says Kincaid, "I don't understand those who are looking for Jesus to float in on a cloud, but, who knows?"
And that can serve as the last word.
Off the
Beaten Path
by Kara Fitzgerald
Alternative or non-traditional religions and places of worship may not be high on the radar in Lexington, but they do exist.
The Bible Belt often weeds out anything that is not strictly in the Judeo-Christian tradition. So, while you see rows and rows of mammoth churches all over town, it's often difficult to locate other options and to explore a diverse sampling of spirituality.
The organizations below certainly don't count as secret cults or sects (you'll have to look even harder for the extreme and the truly bizarre) - no voodoo dolls here.
These are just some of the local, alternative places in town that openly welcome all people, regardless of race, class, gender, or sexual orientation....they're for anyone of any faith who has the desire to search for something a little off the traditional path.
Unitarian Universalist Church
3564 Clays Mill Rd, 223-1448
Unitarian Universalism has been around for 200-300 years. They have no creed or dogma, but rather have principles and ethics that are very similar to Judeo-Christian dogma. However, they don't require a belief in a supernatural being, nor do they discourage that either.
They sometimes look at the Bible or the Koran, but they use those texts along with literature, poetry, music, movies, news, etc. as sources of wisdom.
"I guess what is very untraditional about Unitarian Universalism is that we accept the validity of all faiths. It's open to everyone regardless of belief," says Reverend Cynthia Cain, "Within our congregation, you would find theists, non-theists, agnostics, people who prefer Eastern traditions, and liberal Christians who are Jesus followers I would say, but not necessarily tied to the idea of Jesus being the divine...of being God. We also have pagans and earth-oriented people."
Reverend Cain says the Unitarian Church appeals to people who want to have all of the good things about a church, such as a home and a church community, but have been turned off by a lot of the hypocrisy and what they see as a "narrowness" of orthodox churches.
"We're open to new revelation; we are always turning the next page and writing something new, so we're a very welcoming place for gay and lesbian and transgendered and bisexual people," says Cain, a practicing Buddhist.
Baha'i Faith
1741 Alexandria Drive, 276-2583
Baha'i is a worldwide religion, about 150 years old, which began in Persia (now Iran) and was founded by Baha'u'allah [translation "glory of God"]. Their faith includes a "precursor/forerunner" figure (much like John the Baptist in Christianity) to Baha'u'allah named The Bab, which means the gate. The 19 Day Feast (they meet every 19 days) includes a spiritual portion with prayers, a business portion, and a fellowship portion. Their world center is in Israel and the national center is in Illinois.
"We believe in the oneness of mankind, that we're all children of the same heavenly father. We believe there is only one God and there is really one religion...meaning all the religions come from God, but they're like stepson schools," says Glenda Ntamo, who has been of the faith for 29 years, "For the most part there are only two individuals [who] have written things down- Muhammed and Baha'u'allah, everything else was passed down by word of mouth."
The Baha'i Faith is quite democratic. They have elected bodies, such as the local spiritual assembly which is comprised of nine members. Every year delegates are elected and sent to the national convention, which elects a national body.
They meet on Wednesday nights at 8pm. Anyone who is interested in the Baha'i Faith is welcome.
Unity of Lexington
3499 Lansdowne Dr, 273-3494.
Regardless of your religious background, you're always welcome at Unity. Unity considers itself to be interdenominational because they respect all denominations' beliefs as being sacred and they also try to accept all religious beliefs as having merit.
"There [are] truths in all religions," says Reverend Dennis Skiles, "I would consider Unity to be a liberal open minded movement as opposed to a denomination. We were born out of the ideas of esoteric thought that come out of Emerson and Thoreau and the United States. Unity itself breaks down into what it considers a metaphysical Christian concept...the philosophy of metaphysics which would be more like Plato than Aristotle when it comes to a philosophy. Whereas the Orthodox Christian church holds more to the idea of salvation and Aristotle, we would be more in the area as seeing God as being rather than as a supreme being...God simply is."
Unity uses the Bible as their primary text, but approaches it through a metaphysical lens.
"An interpretation that is not literal....we look at the movement of souls within the Bible, which is a reflection of our soul journey on earth. We see our story written in the Bible," says Reverend Skiles.
Unity has been around for 110 years. Their home office is in Unity Village, Missouri.
Shambhala Meditation Center
315 W Maxwell, 225-4183
Shambhala has three gates: Shambhala training, which incorporates a meditation program; Dharmadhatu, the Buddhist gate; and Nalanda, which focuses on arts and education. The Shambhala gate and the Nalanda gate are compatible with anyone's religions.
"Our teacher, Chogyam Trunpa Rinpoche, established these centers to promote basic goodness and to influence people to give up aggression and to try to make the world a better place by starting with ourselves first," says Adele Prager, co-coordinator of the Nalanda Council, "Nalanda is a program that helps create the atmosphere of an enlightened society. We teach dharma art and we're concerned with how people arrange their living spaces."
Cafe Shambhala is on Saturday mornings at 9am. It's open to anyone who's interested in learning more about the center.