Announcement: Changes 2022 part 1 – “One of the Chrysalids”

My love for individualism and my longing for freedom are values I hold important, and they would never make me a “cult leader” in the modern sense of the word.

I trust democracy and I see it as the leader’s job to serve their community and guide them in the right direction. Sure, I have my areas of development and my challenges. By some standards, I’m demanding, and I expect a lot from my team. I don’t look through my fingers at pointless arsing around. Not everyone likes this approach (except when it doesn’t apply to them).

But as many may have noticed, I am not the leader who rides in the carriages that others pull. I am the leader in the front row of the team, pulling the carriages with you, showing you the direction the carriages are going next. I refuse to be the leader who sits at the end of the table, keeping a ridiculously long distance from others. We have tried it: isolating me to my own table. It was incredibly lonely, strange and distressing. Whenever the title has created a situation of isolation and separation, I have felt unnatural and uncomfortable. At times, simply ridiculous. I do not want that. Sure, as someone who needs her space I might at times voluntarily keep some distance. But only if it is something I need – not because a title creates an invisible wall. I am a Chrysalid, as are you, and my place is at the same table with you. That doesn’t mean I’m any less Luminary than I am. If I ever want my own table, I can always ask for it. 

It is self-evident to the inner circle that I am one among them. If Teleas are sitting on the floor, so am I. If my guest does not have a seat, I give mine and sit on the floor. When I host, I serve. I share my joy and sorrow with the inner circle.

However, the outside world gets the wrong picture because of the title of a cult leader if people do not care to find out the real side of things. And unfortunately, most of the time, people are more eager to grasp negative things in order to get something to gloat over and be horrified about. Bad news and gossip are valuable assets in the socialization of some people.

We will also use the term “cult” to an ever-decreasing extent. Not because we would not be a cult on some level – we are indeed a mystery cult or a pagan cult. However, we are not the kind of cult that some people perceive as modern cults, far from it. Most people seem to understand the meaning of the term and have been able to realize the pagan nuance of the word instead of the American connotation. But not everyone. There are those who genuinely imagine that my goal would be to hold cyanide festivals or otherwise harm people. Making such an argument is a bit like calling Ukrainian President Zelenskyi a Nazi: very far from the reality. So far that there must be an entirely different agenda in the background than the truth.

To avoid misunderstandings, we gently fade the term “cult” from our vocabulary. The spirit of the term will be closer to parodying and trolling humor than the modern definition. Or well. That’s what it’s always been like on some level. But it is appropriate to emphasize the humorous nuance for the future.

We do need to keep in mind that the Temple of Chrysalis was born from the slightly humorous, playful dialogue that ended up me asking Archon Zimri “Should I start a cult?”. When we said yes, we never meant those malicious or abusive cults. However, we did define that the Temple of Chrysalis is a socially positive human experiment; we would find out how a community like this works, and how much good could be done with the passion of cults, without any of the abusive parts. This most likely won’t change: we will always seek to find the loving power of a community that has a deep bond. A community that supports its members on their path towards individual self-improvement. 

But to protect the community from unfair vilification, I make my humble request to the Chrysalids that you would refer to me publicly in more truthful terms, such as founder or leader. In addition, please explain the Temple of Chrysalis as a society or community that explores alternative realities and the concept of reality. Of course, we will most likely be known as a cult for a long time to come, and that doesn’t matter. No one needs to be burned at the stake if the term slips accidentally. But I hope you will be aware of this in the future.

To those who feel attached to our original terminology, do not worry: This is our community. When we are together, I do not give a moth’s buttocks whether you use the term cult or cult leader, or something completely else. I know who I am, and I know that my intentions are good. My dream is to create something dazzlingly beautiful that will hopefully help thousands of people, something that remains when my time on Earth comes to its end. I know that to me and every Protos – the original members of the Temple – the meaning of the word cult is not what some people with their own agenda try to paint of it. Judging us based on a term that actually has a relatively positive meaning on the rising social media popular culture simply seems like one has not kept up with the modern world. That is fine; one can not know what one does not know. But if it is not caused by ignorance, judging us tells much more about the person judging, than it tells about us. 

I am still me. Your Luminary. But even more so, I am a Chrysalid. Even when I am not wearing the crown, I practice our system, like you. I am a Chrysalid. I am one of you, I am a part of the community. While my position will inevitably always be a little deviant, as a person, I am not above you, nor beneath you, but with you.

With love,