What is Damanhur Religion?

Damanhur is a unique spiritual and religious group whose beliefs are derived from several ancient sources: Celtic Paganism, Celtic Christianity, Egyptian and Greek Pagan religion. Influences from Gnosticism, the New Age and Theosophy are also present. They believe in an extensive pantheon of supernatural beings, consisting of a single, unknowable God. Intermediate or Primeval Deities of which nine are self-generated. The remainder have been created by humanity.

Entities including angels demons and nature spirits are revered in Damanhur religion. The first human was a Primeval Deity who suffered a fall and merged with a human body. One of the goals of Damanhur is to help individuals return to what they call the original "subtler" pre-fall state. In common with many New Age and occultic believers, they regard the earth as a living entity.

They believe that a series of synchronic lines traverse its surface. The community located their site at what they believe is a point of convergence of three such lines. These "rivers of energy surround the earth and link it to the universe." They believe that a major ecological disaster may occur in the near future. They view one of their major tasks as attempting to reintegrate the Earth and preventing the catastrophe. They believe that three "Mother worlds" were initially created; one each for humans, plants and nature spirits. They have developed techniques that allow individuals to contact what they call the "race minds" of humanity and of animals.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE:

Members of the Damanhur community live in homes containing 10 to 15 people -- adult citizens with their children. Although their eventual goal is self-sufficiency, many citizens hold jobs outside of the community. Many married couples have joined Damanhur and live communally with other couples. Single individuals have also joined the community. Many have entered into one, two- or three-year provisional marriages. Most of the latter are renewed at the end of their term. The result is a form of serial monogamy for some members, that is not unlike the lifestyle seen elsewhere in industrialized countries. Citizens abandon the use of their family names and adopt two new names when they join the community. The first is the name of an animal species, the second is of a plant. The Damanhur community has a "programmed births" project which attempts to time the arrival of children to meet astrological and economic criteria. They use magic and alchemy practices to promote a return to humanity's pre-fall state. Unique to Damanhur is "selfic" science -- the study of spiral-like forms. The most important activity of the community is the construction of its underground temple. The official name for the underground temple of the Damanhur faith is called "The Temple Of Man" or "Temple of Mankind."