2000 years ago, there were many kinds of esoteric groups, as there are today. A few followed the innermost secret teachings of Jesus which became known in some quarters as the Gnosis of Light, but sadly, most did not.

As words such as gnostic, gnostics and gnosticism, are relatively recent inventions, they were never used in ancient texts or inscriptions. The only word that was used by the ancients was, gnosis, a Greek word indicating a special kind of knowing or intuitive seeing (not 'knowledge', as many have incorrectly interpreted it). 

After the death of Jesus, for the next 250 years or so, all followers of the 'Jesus teaching' were persecuted. Then, the Roman Church predominated and became, with the help of the Emperor Constantine, the official church of the Roman Empire. 

From that time on, any esoteric group or church not affiliated with the Roman Church was condemned as being 'heretical' and anyone belonging to these non-conformist groups or churches were branded heretics (not gnostics) and savagely repressed with the backing of the Roman civil authorities and army. 

In more tollerant times, over the last century and a half, most of these 3rd and 4th century 'heretics' have been relabelled 'Gnostics' by the orthodox church, and it seems that those non-church-members interested or engaged in esotericism have readily accepted this nomenclature.

Even more dangerous, are those who have deliberately set out to use esoteric knowledge and occultism to entrap and manipulate sincere seekers after truth for their own sinister purposes. These are the neo-gnostic cult leaders and we feel a responsibility to cite a couple here, as a warning, but there are and will be many others. 

This page bears witness to the disturbing fact that there is absolutely nothing good, wholesome and true that the human mind and pain-body cannot corrupt, distort and use for some destructive purpose. This applies not only in the fields of politics and science, but, as we shall see below, even in the hallowed halls of religion and spirituality. 


The Wearers of the Blue Rope

Samael Aun Weor (1917 - 1977), (aka, The Avatar -- Samael, the Red Christ of Aquarius) was born Víctor Manuel Gómez Rodríguez, in Colombia, South America. He was raised a Catholic and influenced at an early age by the Jesuits. Later, he was a member for some years of Fraternitas Rosicruciana Antiqua (FRA) in Columbia.

Finally, he settled in Mexico and became a prolific author -- over 60 books! -- lecturer and founder of the 'Universal Christian Gnostic Movement' (UCGM).

It's said Weor gave complex lectures based on bits and pieces taken from, but not limited to, Buddhism, Judaism, Gnosticism, Catholicism, Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, and the writings of Manly P. Hall, Gurdjeff, Ouspensky, Blavatsky etc. He taught the "Doctrine of Synthesis" -- of all religions in both their esoteric and exoteric aspects.

Weor once wrote, “Religion comes from the Latin word ‘religare’, which means to link again the soul with God… This is precisely Gnosticism in its purest form, knowledge of divine kind, analytic and profound esotericism, transcendental occultism.”

This shows Weor's fundamental misunderstanding of the true Gnosis of Light which never seeks to 'rebind' (the correct meaning of 'religare') or reunite souls with 'God' (a dualistic concept) but to reveal the inseparable, essential oneness of all transient forms in the universe with the Eternal.

Weor's 'neo-gnosticism' promised special knowledge that may be attained through certain techniques -- whereby initiates "Deify" or "Christify" themselves. Among its more bizarre practices, the cult promoted a messianic expectation of the arrival of a UFO that will bring universal peace and love. The cult believes that Jesus was a forerunner of the interplanetary aliens they are expecting.

Many poor people with little education believed Weor's message and joined the cult in droves. Once they reached a certain level of commitment to the cult, a dress-code required each 'initiate' to wear a blue rope belt.

Weor's cult also advocated (insisted upon) Tantric sex -- without the release of sperm! The release of sperm during the sex-act was considered by the cult to be a great sin. Members were required to 'confess' in group meetings about their sexual activity and other personal matters.

In South America, UCGM members were reportedly encouraged to ingest a drug made of the hallucinogenic plant Yaje (Ayahuasca), It is said to have been administered by cult members to their very young children to bring on 'spiritual visions' etc.

UCGM is still a fringe cult in English-speaking countries, but very wide-spread in Latin America. There are hundreds of web-pages about it in Spanish. In almost every case, these Web pages were created by former members -- victims -- of the Weor 'Gnosis' cult. The following is a typical letters by a disillusioned cult member ...

"I belong to the gnóstic movement by many years. I have read (and many) books of the Samael and other teachers. I can say that many people in my family have been in the gnosis, and in all the groups are represented in here in Internet , much are missionaries who have started their own schools in far away places, and countries. The stories I hear are tragic. I think that the modern gnosis has been very badly, due to great hatred that the cults all have for each other and attract members who enjoy nonsense element of hates for others the same thing like this. As a family we do not have a challenge with each other for that reason. We see so much jealousy,irresponsible and ignorance in all the Samael Movements? i myself feel deceived and defrauded by that preaches Love and practices hatred as maximum expression. Who doubts this, that she looks for in Internet and find pain that is as much hatred in a web-site that is so called gnostic and spiritual. I feel defrauded. They try to end the psychological defects and at the same time they stimulate the excessive growth of such, with insults (justified or not) to which once were his more loved brothers. The the cult is difficult enough with respect to the sexual area, is here that the impact is great: with the hate and ignorance have caused innumerable divorces, very many undesired pregnancies, and sexual degeneration. Secrecy and pride they continue to do. My cousin in one group in U.S. that had abused one member to the hospital. What happened to the Gnositc Movement in past 25 yearswith this challenge and problem is almost unforgivable. Pray God pardons and illuminates to the gnósticos."

Since Weor's death in 1977, the neo-gnostic movement he started has split and fragmented many times. The splinter groups ended up in bitter competition with each other. This 'Christian' movement professed to promote love and well-being, but is more often now a vehicle for hate and vindictivenes. Ex-cultists have described the factional leaders as 'narcissistic sociopaths'!

At the close of the 20th century, the International co-ordinator of the UCGM in Columbia, Rabolu, died, leaving instructions that all UCGM groups should cease activities as the school had become fanatical and corrupted.

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UCGM in Australia

From Latin America, the Universal Christian Gnostic Movement (UCGM) set up small branches of the cult in Spain and several other European countries including the UK.

UCGM Australia was formally constituted in 1999 in Sydney by Mark & Edith Pritchard who had been brought to Australia in 1996 as UK UCGM 'missionaries'.

For a 'Pritchard' definition of 'attacker' and other cult terms see: Here

Later, Mark Pritchard would refer to himself as Venerable Master Beelzebub -- the only living god on earth and the only person to have a mandate from the 'White Lodge'.

In 2000, the Pritchards moved to Melbourne. Web sites were created that offered a series of online courses titled Astral Travel and Dreams, Searching Within, and Esoteric Wisdom in which his teachings were given as free downloadable pdfs.

Soon after, the Pritchard's activities came under scrutiny and were not approved of by UGCM UK or the main UCGM office in Spain. There was a stand-off for some time, then, the Pritchards dissolved UCGM Australia and reorganized as The Gnostic Movement, or, as it was commonly known, TGM.

Pritchard now claims, "It (TGM) was established in 1999 by former members of the Universal Christian Gnostic Movement, which was an organization founded by Samael Aun Weor in 1960. The Gnostic Movement considers itself the true heir of the work of Samael Aun Weor."

Pritchard also claims that his particular brand of 'gnosticism' which he refers to as 'universal spirituality', "... goes back to the ancient Egyptians who were the survivors of an even earlier civilization called Atlantis."

 Actually, as previously noted, the term "Gnosticism" was invented in the 19th century and the words 'gnostic' or 'gnostics' were never used before the 17th century.

There never was, until recent times when these neo-gnostics' appeared, a religion of "Gnosticism" or "Gnostic Churches". Even today, neo-gnosticism has no commonly accepted or agreed-upon cosmology or theology. Gnostic cult-leaders still 'mix and match' as Weor did back in the 1960s. 

Then, out of the blue, Pritchard pronounced himself as an arisen “master” and declared his name to be VM (Venerable Master) Beelzebub, A while later, he took out the VM., then later, perhaps feeling a little uncomfortable with the implications of this ugly name, changed the spelling slightly to Belzebuub (pronounced Bel-se-boob)

In Christian literature and folklore, Beelzebub is seen as an evil demonic being. The first references to Beelzebub appeared in the Bible as an epithet for Satan/the Devil. Beelzebub (Baal-Zebub) is an intentional mockery of Baal-Zebul ("Prince Baal"), one of the titles for the Canaanite god Baal. It was the demonization of Baal. Beelzebub is Hebrew for "lord of the flies" (Baal- "lord" + zebub "flies", as in fly plural).

This "Lord of the Flies"; with numerous archaic variants, was also a Semitic deity worshipped in the Philistine city of Ekron. As one of the seven princes of 'Hell', Beelzebul is believed to have caused havoc and ruin on earth through tyrants and despots, and caused men to worship demons, priests to lust, and cities to become jealous of other cities, leading to wars. One wonders what Mark Pritchard had in mind when he took this name with all its repugnant associations.

Cult members had hardly adjusted to this new development when their arisen Master resigned as the International Coordinator of The Gnostic Movement (and as a member), and created his own organisation -- yes, you guessed it -- "The Belzebuub Foundation."

The Pritchards modestly claim: "The Belzebuub Foundation was created to advance the timeless esoteric wisdom of spiritual awakening throughout the world as freely as possible, through the teachings of Belzebuub, today’s eminent living mystic and esoteric teacher." and that Belzebuub "... is the teacher providing spiritual guidance to the world today."

It's galling to note how they use innocent phrases like "timeless esoteric wisdom of spiritual awakening" to entice sincere truth-seekers into their pernicious cult.

Currently (Jan. 2012), Pritchard -- now Belzebuub, with his wife, Edith and mistress Angela, in an 'open marriage' arrangement, -- is residing in California, USA, on a religious leader visa (having had his organization there prudently registered as a ‘religion’) He no doubt got this idea from the Scientologists and also not a few of their mind-control techniques and methods.

It seems that old Weor/UCGM attitudes to sex continue in the Belzebuub cult. Belzebuub teaches a sexual practice he calls "Alchemy", another name for tantric sex (see above). A child born into his group recently was seen by the cult leaders to be the result of its parents' failure to disintegrate their egos of lust!

Belzebuub now has an official Web site, as well as a Belzebuub Foundation Web site. They also maintain a Blog site

Belzebuub is the author of a number of books on out-of-body experiences, dreams, self-knowledge, and awakening including A Course in Astral Travel and Dreams which became for a time a bestseller in its genre. The Pritchard's have their own publishing company in the USA -- Absolute Publishing Press

As with its UCGM progenitor, there are now a growing number of sites, blogs and pages on the Net giving information by/about ex-members or victims of the Belzebuub cult. Prominent among these are Gnosis Belzebuub & Astral Travel and www.movementsofgnostics.com/

With the tide of criticism mounting steadily against the cult, the Belzebuubs have now set up a special Web site in a vain effort to rebut attackers (see above) and rewrite their lamentable record. They call this site 'Gnostic Freedom' in much the same way as repressive dictatorships name their regimes 'The Democratic Republic of ... whatever". HERE to view their sad and frantic efforts.

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A Mother's Plea

Our family was not aware of Beelzebub’s teachings when our daughter first became involved with a new age spiritual group called The Gnostic Movement. Initially we thought it a harmless spiritual group and we supported her in her quest for self improvement. However, as her involvement increased (under what turned out to be the secretive teachings of its leader Mark Pritchard (aka: Belzebuub), we became more and more concerned.

It took us about a year to begin to recognise that this group appeared to have the hallmarks of a dangerous cult. I did some research into cults to try to objectively clarify our concerns and then wrote a letter to our daughter explaining what a cult was and how it worked.

I did this in the hope that she might be able to objectively recognise any comparisons with the teachings she was receiving and those associated with a dangerous cult. This is that letter...

Our darling daughter,

Will you please read the following information and see if any of it sounds familiar in any way.

Are you part of:

• A group that gains control by their members submitting to leadership, the leader a prophet -- a god.
• A group that has control over dress, activities, finances, time, possessions, relationships, the way you behave, what you say, how you say it and leaves you little time for private reflection.
• A group that works in groups, where everything is done in groups and where you are expected to show up with everyone else, that discourages critical thinking and rational thought and you must conform to group behaviour where you all nod in agreement and there is no intellectual debate involved.
• A group that has command over intimate matters that dictate sexual behaviour that tells you whom to date, whom to marry, when / when not, if/if not to have children and expect you to conform.
• Holds group trust and confession sessions where these sessions are used to build relationships of trust, this being done through disclosure of secret thoughts, temptations, desires in order to emotionally bind you with the leader and group members.
• A group that emotionally isolates you through information control, from friends and family members, one that has an ‘us against them’ attitude.
• Where the group’s beliefs are absolutely right and where there is no tolerance of other’s beliefs -- ‘we are the only ones who hold the truth’. A very dangerous attitude!
• Where the teachers encourage new members that they are guaranteed friendship, thus appealing to the lonely and socially isolated young.
• Where the group practices rules are often where you were taught what you must not say and need to learn what you can say, where you go over this frequently until you no longer need to think, until you are totally in tune with group ideals and ideas.
• That offers retreats where you are in an isolated environment physically and mentally and where the indoctrination of the group are reinforced instructively and through bonding.
• Where knowledge is revelation and where mystical insights are promoted over the objective world.
• Where critical thinking is discouraged, independent thought can be looked upon as selfish and rational use of intellect as evil.
• Material that is deliberately developed to convert others to their group and their belief system.
• Where once members joined, they’re isolated from external influences by being kept busy with group involvement.
• A group that is involved with distorted thinking or excessive giving, where certain members keep track of what you promised to give and keep you to your obligation.
• Where the more you give brings you close to 'god' and the more he will give back in return.
• A group that attempts to bring in the kingdom through the feeling that they hold the responsibility to change society.
• Where total commitment is expected and where members must donate, time, labour, property, money etc. in order to build the strength of the beliefs and their group leader.
• A group that incrementally brainwashes its members until they only identify with the group and break their ties with family and the rest of society.
• A group where individuality is sacrificed for group conformity, where conformity is the key.
• A group that promotes mystically altered states where the flesh is considered evil and the spirit is good.
• Where subjective experiences are accepted more quickly than constructive teaching.
• Where teaching techniques include relaxation, meditation, guided imagery, visualisation and deep breathing exercises designed to bring a person to an altered and highly suggestible state. Beware as these techniques can cause a psychological imbalance. What starts as relaxation becomes the opposite, promoting anxiety, the effects of which usually catch up later.

Does any of this sound familiar or ring warning bells?

The above information relates to cults and the way they operate. Unfortunately, to your father and me, the resemblance of these points to The Gnostic Movement are both striking and terrifying.

We had hoped that by gaining (outside) employment you would be able to at least partially escape the mind deadening influence this group is having over you.

Your family has all witnessed to varying degrees the changes in you and the influence and the hold this group has over you. We are terribly concerned at the state of your psychological well-being.

As I write this I feel my heart is about to explode. I am imploring you to try and critically go over this. Please do so as objectively as you can. We realise there are many paths to life but we do not believe this is the right one for you.

Your loving mother

I must say that now some seven or more years later, this letter was prophetic. In view of what we have learnt if I were to rewrite this letter of warning to our daughter I would not change one word. It describes exactly all that our family now knows about Belzebuub’s teachings and the Gnostic Movement of Mark Pritchard.

We have since tried to make sense (if that is at all possible) of this crazy situation we find ourselves in through further research and through speaking to as many others as we can, including ex-members, effected families and cult authorities.

~ This letter was originally posted at www.movementsofgnostics.com/

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Heaven’s Gate Suicides: a neo-gnostic tragedy

The sad fate of members belonging to the Heaven's Gate cult is a sombre warning that one could lose far more than relationships, money, property, self-respect and psycholgical health by involvement in an obsessive cult. It could cost you body parts ... and even your life!

In San Diego, California, in late March, 1993, Heaven’s Gate cult leader, Marshall Applewhite committed suicide with 38 of his hapless followers. He reportedly likened himself to 'Jesus Christ' and is on record saying that Jesus also had to leave his body and his identity to move on to the 'Kingdom of Heaven.'

This immediately reveals Applewhite's state of unconsciousness and the fatal error in his mind, as the gospel records indicate that Jesus taught that the kingdom of God (realm of being) is not a place somewhere outside us, and certainly not out among the stars, but a Presence always and already within us all ... waiting to be noticed!

The Heaven’s Gate cultists were persuaded that their bodies were merely "containers" that they had to leave behind in order to attain what they called the "Next Level" of existence in heaven.

This construct led to contempt and disdain for the human body, manifesting either in rigorous asceticism (the Heaven’s Gate cult discouraged sexual activity, and several male cultists, including Applewhite, had been castrated), or alternatively -- extreme licentiousness.

These tragic techno-groupies no doubt believed that they were on the cutting edge of New Age spirituality, but their half-baked belief system was really just another neo-gnosticic cult.

Neo-gnostic belief distorts the precepts of timeless wisdom and various scriptural teachings (even using their terminology but not understanding their real meaning) in order to bolster the notion that the body, subjects as it is to death and decay, was to be despised, and that the material world in general was to be regarded as evil.

This is absolutely contrary to our great nondual wisdom tradition that declares that the entire material universe is a manifestation of the One -- of Life Itself -- of 'God', if you like, so how could it be evil? Timeless wisdom teaches that to be truly 'spiritual' is to see the connectedness of all life and rejoice in its wondrous beauty and variety.

Misinterpreting ancient texts, the Heaven’s Gaters believed that they (or at least Applewhite) had heard the “call” from an alien spaceship shadowing comet Hale-Bopp, and that their souls would be transported to the ship when they checked out of their bodies. Canadian cult member, Erika Ernst, was cited by her sister as saying that some sort of extra-terrestrial being would return to earth to claim them one day.

The Heaven’s Gaters were caught up in an evil deception that is as old as the story of the Fall at Eden. In stark contrast to the primordial Gnosis of Light, the neo-nostic spirit is anti-creation and anti-life, but the "fruit of the tree of knowledge" remains as seductive as ever. "Your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods," the serpent still whispers.

It is still a diabolical lie. "Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction," Jesus warmed. "For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."

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