On the way to work today, I listened to an episode of the Cults podcast, which was about the Australian group Hermes Far Eastern Shining, a group that teaches an Eastern-tinged variety of religious silliness. Their original leader, who claimed to have the same type of spiritual energy and ability as Jesus, died over a decade ago, but they’re still peddling their quackery. Their primary product seems to be magic wands. That’s not a joke: they sell magic wands, which are basically plastic tubes with a liquid that an Australian regulatory agency determined was nothing more than dyed distilled water.

One of their more inexpensive wands is the “Don’t Fence Me In Wand,” which sells for only $55.00. What can we expect of this marvel of medieval superstition?

“… Give me room, lots of room underneath the starry skies…” Like inhabitants of “Flatland”, the usual person is hemmed in, unable and unwilling to step over the ‘line’. We are constrained within one-dimensional and two- dimensional levels of existence, by self and other possession. The one-dimensional is the atheistic scientific model of the universe, in which it is insanely suggested that an individual’s behaviour could be predicted by simply knowing where all their molecules are at one time and somehow knowing where they will be at some future time. This abysmal view is utterly and deplorably fallacious, “Thank God”. The two- dimensional aspect of this is other possession particularly and ‘self-possession’.

This consideration of ‘don’t fence me in’ is focused in other possession. This other possession has many forms; some of these are concept possession, lower astral possessions, entity possessions, parental and sibling possessions, friends, possessions, place possessions, time possessions, black witchcraft possessions, programming possessions, dimensional possessions and so on. This is all the stuff of Television drama; struggling with father, mother, brother, sister, lover or some idea that torments us. Penetrating the illusion of these possessions can be very freeing, leaving us at last with our own self-possession, which is our own moral responsibility, under the banner of energy and feeling.

(Being ‘psychic’ is simply what we are to understand as feeling. (Energy we are to understand as ‘action.’) Exit stage right, Alice1 disappears down the rabbit hole…

I’m not sure I understand what this product description is exactly claiming because, like all religious poppycock, it’s long on poetic, esoteric nonsense and short of practical specifics. But at least they include instructions on how to use the wand:

The Wands can be carried with you throughout the day in your hand, pocket, handbag, briefcase etc. You can engage them at work, during exercise, recreational activities, meditation or at home. You can imbue a glass of water with the Energy of your Wand by tapping it to the side of the glass. Sip the water while holding the Wand and receive its energy.

Each Wand holds a specific intention of purification and transformation. The Wands are not influenced by other energies and so do not require ‘cleansing’, ‘clearing’ or ‘re-charging. They can be used personally, shared with others and used in your immediate environment.

You can also apparently hold it over someone’s head for some kind of special effect.

Another option, in the $1,500 price range, is to buy an “Energy House,” which holds several of these magic wands and makes you a particularly good reader.

“Energy Houses” — quotes very much intentional

If you’re already sold on the whole magic wand supersition, you can forego the tedium of adding them one at a time to your shopping cart and get a pack of 20 for a mere $2,250.

There’s also the “Food And Beverage Spiritualiser”

As our forms are lifted and transformed over time, so to is it necessary for the energy of the food and beverage that we receive. The Food and Beverage Spiritualiser brings a clearing and blessing energy to optimise the intensity of all that we ingest. In tern, this helps the energy of our food to combine with our forms more easefully and support us to be more like Light than flesh.

One of the original intentions of the Food and Beverage Spiritualiser was to help us awaken to the recognition that as we evolve, we must support our forms to incorporate and conduct the Eternal Current of Divine Light and Radiance.

In addition to the four golden, glass spheres holding a vast array of special Alchymeic Energies, the Food and Beverage Spiritualiser holds a clear Soul Fire Octahedron in the centre, with four diamond bezels in the four corners, sitting upon a spinning base.

Finally, there’s the ultimate magic-water machine, the Bubbler.

This beautiful piece of quackery will set you back $6,000 — I’m sure it’s worth it for all the amazing benefits.

At one point, the Australian government shut down the whole operation for obvious reasons, but they opened again, adding a lengthy disclaimer to the website. Among the choice weasle-word passages about making no health claims is this stunning admission:

What we offer has no scientific backing, evidence or support. It is a wholly ‘esoteric’ matter, completely outside of conventional scientific understanding. There are no scientific verifications for our work. Hermes Far Eastern Shining does not claim and will not claim that conventional worldviews provide any support for our work.

In short, they are admitting that there is no way to determine whether or not their products actually do anything. The further explain,

When you choose to work with our products, any results that you may experience cannot be anticipated and they may not be readily observable. Any results are up to the Divine and how well you understand and apply what is presented.

Some people do report many things to us – some of them truly inspiring things – but we want you to be clear that this is a matter between you and the Divine and that we are not interested in persuading anyone or suggesting that this will be your experience.

In other words, it might not seem to work at all, and if it doesn’t work, it’s likely your fault because you don’t have enough faith.

It’s bad enough that this group bilks gullible people out of thousands of dollars. It also does real harm to those in the cult:

One former devotee Jackie Gate, said she joined the group with her boyfriend when she was 31-years-old.

She said the ‘friendly’ group took her in and made her feel secure.

But not long after she joined, she said she started to notice its dark underbelly.

When she fell pregnant, Ms Gate said the group tried to turn her against her boyfriend and take control of her and her unborn child.

She said a member told her ‘you know this baby is yours and not the dad’s, no matter how much you say you will be together. You don’t need him, we will help raise your baby as one of us … don’t rely on a man for help’.

Ms Gate said this was a turning point for her and her boyfriend.

She told the group she needed to fly to the UK for a funeral, and immediately booked flights home to Sydney.

‘I stumbled across something that I thought looked wonderful, but felt dark,’ she said.

Another former devotee Anna Fitzgerald said she was ‘love bombed’ by recruiters and spent eight years with the group after she was initially showered with kindness.

At 50-years-old, Ms Fitzgerald left her life in the UK and moved to Australia where she was given the name Perplexity Swings This and That.

But after eight years of working for up to 16 hours a day, Ms Fitzgerald said she realised she was just a victim.

‘I realised I was being conned,’ she said.

Ms Fitzgerald said she hatched up a plan in 2011, and asked some shopkeepers to help her escape.

She was driven to a hotel in Coolangatta where she hid until her family sent money to get back home. (Source)

That people fall for this stuff is a testament to the susceptibility even in these times to fall prey to silly superstitions. Other groups have magical objects and special water, but at least you don’t (as far as I know) have to buy those: you get them after you’ve paid your dues in the organization!