Branch
Rite of The Order of the Solar Temple

The sanctuary, at the full moon.

Robes, swords, incense, taped organ music, the Great Invocation recited aloud, and an apparition of the Masters at the climax. Members paid for their degrees and for the equipment; the equipment, police found in 1994, included projectors and speakers behind the cloth.

⏱ monthly, often at the full moon◌ initiates of the relevant degree only
What happensRobes and swords, taped organ music, incense, the Great Invocation recited aloud, meditation on light entering the body, and an appearance of the Masters
What it needsAn underground sanctuary hung with cloth — and, as police found in 1994, projection and sound equipment behind it
What it aims atContact with the Masters, and preparation of the body of light
Understanding it — context, not catechism: how this rite is held

The ceremonies were the product the order sold, and they were expensive to stage and expensive to attend. Members paid for degrees, robes, swords and travel. The sanctuary at Salvan was underground, hung with cloth, and equipped with projection and audio gear that produced the appearances of the Masters — hardware that Swiss police catalogued in 1994 and that some members had already found. The full-moon timing, the Great Invocation borrowed from Alice Bailey's Theosophical lineage, and the light meditation are all standard Western esoteric furniture; what was unusual was the production values and the price.

The same ground, other faiths

rites that share this one's ideas
Sound rightly spoken has power. Vedic Religion · core tenet Go deeper →
Sound is not a description of the thing. It is the thing. Hinduism · core tenet Go deeper →
The Divine Liturgy. Christianity Go deeper →
The inner audience. Taoism · the interior Go deeper →
Words have force. Shinto · core tenet Go deeper →
Meeting for worship. Quakerism (Religious Society of Friends) Go deeper →

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