Just like another poster wrote, the line between the higher control cult group and the genuine occult group is fine.
It comes down to intent and motive.
I just got out of a really horrible situation within an online community that did not have any checks or balances (no organisational structure).
The leader had a horrific narcissistic & dark triad style personality.
In these occult cults sustained repetitive Rituals (breathwork, long novenas, sacrifice blood rites;, prayers that are mix and match religious rites; (can be retraumatic for spiritual abuse surivivors) all create embodied experiences that reinforce belief via affective learning (Schjoedt et al., 2009).
Repetitive practices produce cognitive fluency and familiarity; increases perceived truthfulness of leader(Reber & Schwarz, 1999).
The ritual therefore functions as an epistemic cement in the brain of the participants: followers “feel” the practice work, which immunises them against contradictory evidence.
That is how charismatic authority and modern works within cultic dynamics reveal that compelling narratives concentrated on a single leader accelerates dependency in a cult dynamic: more so in a esoteric or magick template (Lalich & Tobias, 2006).
When the teacher or leader’s self-presentation comes across as unique or divinely chosen (such as the leader is a prophet receiving dreams, a conduit divining exclusive lineage, this creates conditions demanding unquestioning obedience, particularly when combined with abusive conditions likensocial isolation, emotional extremes and vetting rituals.
Banduras moral disengagement mechanisms (1999) explain how ethically problematic behaviour (apocalyptial themes, conspiracy lore, threats, us vs them, death wishes, curses, animal sacrifice) is rationalised: language reframes harm as justice or divine will; euphemisms and dehumanisation neutralise moral qualms; diffusion of responsibility occurs within the “Temple”.
This enables the followers to accept or enact increasingly transgressive acts.
Brief, corrective “inoculation” messages that expose common rhetorical tactics
the leader is the self determined mystical medium and gate keeper of the Gnostic knowledge who uses spirituality as a narcissistic supply source, spiritual narcissism and supply source,
“Only I reveal these mysteries.”
Then This leader uses dream-authority claims and secret-knowledge scarcity to create dependence”) or reduce susceptibility.
He suggests his ritual knowledge = proof of superiority.
“I lead Temple rituals to save humanity.”
Community framed as a mirror for his greatness “exclusive Temple mysteries,”
“my temple is saving the human race”
Splitting & projection: world divided into pure followers vs. inhuman enemies.
Moral disengagement: Justifies violent spiritual cursing (Psalms on repeat or repeating psalm 91 or Psalm 109, excessive death wishes on other occultists or the global elite) by reframing it as “divine justice”.
- divides into an us vs them mentality (follows are leveraged w fear and dele they are fighting a cause)
- Instrumental empathy:
Knows how to leverage communal fear (Illuminati or new world order, pandemics, child abuse conspiracies) however the aim is to heighten reliance on him rather than to ill ina intentionally illuminate any sincere truth on these issues or create genuine advocacy or awareness around these causes or issues in any meaningful way.
- Paranoid ideation: external enemies exaggerated into omnipotent threats:
sustains dependency of followers to leader and is commonly used in cults.
all these are Imho psychological educational framework and mental health bsckgrounddiagnostic criteria of psychopathy or antisocial personality disorder; charismatic; high sadism; glorification of violence; specifically lack of empathy and animal sacrifice; superficial affect and using other people
He uses animal sacrifice not as sacred ceremony but as cold, calculated displays, possibly to intimidate or demonstrate “power”.
His approach feels instrumental, transactional, and performative, serving an earthbound agenda of control, manipulation, or self-promotion rather than spiritual devotion.
This aligns far more with cult-leader narcissism and psychopathy than with genuine initiate humility or tradition.
This detachment from empathy and sanctity of life can potentially escalate to harming humans, particularly vulnerable individuals such as children, especially if the leader sees them as sacrificial tokens or vessels within their belief system or power structure.
This is consistent with narcissistic personality and potential ASP
In short, his public bragging and cold presentation is a major red flag that distinguishes him from legitimate practitioners and suggests a much more dangerous, self-serving, and predatory character.
Leaders with psychopathic traits and cultic control often use extreme abuse (physical, sexual, psychological) to break down autonomy and enforce loyalty.
It’s important to note PUBLIC glorified Ritualistic animal killing can be a form of desensitization, conditioning both the leader and followers to violence, increasing the risk of escalation.
Signs include lack of genuine empathy (performative empathy), cold, calculated language about “using” spirits and humans alike.
The invocation of suffering (“children trapped,” “hyper-violence,” “mind control”) without genuine moral conflict indicates emotional detachment.
Resorting to threats or violence, points toward poor impulse control and a capacity for coercion.
Also, his willingness to incorporate animal sacrifice and blood magic without apparent remorse aligns with callousness.
Omitting “signs” and rituals, partial revelations, and coded language keep followers in a state of dependency and anxiety. People feel they must stay “in” to fully understand and not lose access to power.
By mixing Christian psalms and ritual (baptism-like cleanings, prayers) with occult and daemonology, he targets ex-Christians who are spiritually disoriented but culturally conditioned to trust Christian liturgy; creating a false sense of safety and authority.
Followers are promised occult power, “elevation,” and protection, but simultaneously subjected to strict obedience, ritual purity rules, and psychological conditioning. Use of ritual trauma (animal sacrifice, nudity, blood rites), sensory deprivation or overload (midnight vigils, fasting), and secret knowledge to fracture prior identity and induce dissociation.
The secretive temple model, the requirement to “cut off old clothes” and “take new white clothes,” the strict ritual sequences and create identity restructuring and separation from prior support networks and amplifies confusion
I mean it goes on and on and on. But it wasn’t presented this way at all. If it was I wouldn’t be putting an entire thesis together in cyber cults because i found myself snared in one. But I did.
I would love to be in the community i was promised (a real life open table, non hierarchical and beautiful spirited place). I believe this can happen.
But it needs ironically, structure and for this to happen, people need to ironically be tested. For that I mean psychometric testing needs to happen to ensure that people can be healthy or sound. There needs to be a round table leadership style of leadership and not lacking structure and organisation which is what just happened and it was complete and utter bedlam. Which is ironic because I used to, before all of this, assumed the opposite. (That chaos or lack of rules = better for harmony and peace and that organisation leads to dogma). But I’ve worked in non for profits which had different styles of leadership that weren’t lead by one person and it worked 100000% better than this. Because nobody was in control over everything and that’s why. There was 5-6 people seeing the decisions equally and we all had to discuss things to come to anything before voting on a defining choice and it was much more balanced..
I truly may come off biased from this as im
All about collaborating and community but this experience wit this person left me deeply traumatised and I’ve thrown the last year into my academic studies of psych and social science to understand what happened to my brain as I was so deeply down a rabbit hole, and I had no idea until I started to break free because the leader and I had some issues because I started to see through his inconsistent methods. Among other things.
I must say other people had tried to talk to me or tell me things but he has this divide and conquers and tries to seperate all oeoooe within his precious little temple so he can’t have them talk to one another. I do know the 5 I spoke to over the years shared similar sentiments and I’m putting it all together a little bit too late. Whatever is done has to be the opposite of this because he’s pulling people from religious backgrounds and trauma / mental illness people and then siphoning their energy, or worse. People are dying. I mean being murdered or committing suicide in this “quasi temple cult” thing.
I’m not naming anything or anyone. But I’m truly on board with community and have been
just avoid doing this and you will exceed. If you donate anything be sure to connect people, which is what I want to do. That’s the one thing I respect about EA koetting (love or hate it) at least he connects the occultists that use that platform.
the individual I was involved with did everything in his power to keep people separated because that meant people wouldn’t be able to figure out HIS modus operandi.. connection is what human beings are wired to do and not just fuellling one persons magicial egregores or whatever thing they were funnelling so I’ll go and deal with my trauma now
