Message Received From
The Rt. Rev. Hon. Olivia Robertson, Co-Founder of the Fellowship of Isis
And the Rev. Cressida Pryor, Olivia’s Successor
November 29, 2012
All operations within the Fellowship of Isis are based on the principles of the Manifesto, which promote truth, beauty, healing, compassion, kindness and reverence for all life. All members act in accordance with the ideals of the Goddess Isis as the Compassionate, Loving Mother of All Beings. No act of submission, domination, exploitation, physical trial or ordeal, including physical or mental wounding or 'sacred sex working' and prostitution will be tolerated within the practice of the FOI. Activities which are not in alignment with the principles of the FOI Manifesto are grounds to revoke FOI Priestess/Priesthood and/or FOI Membership.
Speaking both as the co-founder of this Iseum and as a person with first-hand experience of abusive behavior in a previous spiritual context, I cannot stress enough how important the above statement is, and how timely. While such abuse is hardly a new thing, the internet has made it possible for the wider dissemination of information, and thus localized scandals spread far beyond the bounds of their influence; and so we hear of more and more of these cases than ever before. It's disgusting and disheartening, knowing that there are so very many people who exploit the sincere and the trusting and the inexperienced and the vulnerable, but that knowledge provides us with the tools we need to combat it, to be vigilant and root out not only those who are inclined to abuse but also the underlying structures that lay a framework for the abuse to be not only possible but tolerated or even accepted as somehow necessary or required.
What people choose to do in their own time is their own business, of course, and I do not read the above statement as condemning or forbidding people to engage privately in what might be seen in a different context as questionable or dangerous behavior; but it does forbid those activities in an FOI context. I would suggest that, if a person feels that any of the things listed above is vital to their spiritual expression, they seek out a path in which those elements are already present, and distance themselves from the FOI. We all agreed to the principles set forth in the Manifesto when we joined the FOI, and if upholding those principles is no longer possible, then the honorable thing to do is to step away from associating with the FOI.
(Again, I speak from experience. In the interest of disclosure I will admit that I was a part of a spiritual tradition which contained elements that I found to be exploitative, intrusive and dangerous. When I tried to modify those elements for my group's practice, I was told said elements were vital to the tradition's practice and that in removing or modifying them I could no longer claim to be practicing the same tradition. I disagreed, but eventually capitulated, coming both to the understanding I expressed above and also to the long-overdue realization that I did not want in any way to be associated with a tradition with such a questionable reputation!)
You may read further recent ethical statements from Olivia and Cressida by clicking here. Rest assured that the Iseum of the Mystic Isis is in complete agreement with these principles and will uphold them in both its online and real-time activities.
