A neo-pagan sect in which the leader had sex with her followers as a sacred ritual
Religion: Paganism
Denomination: Goddess Worship
Founded: 1970s
Location: United States
The Church of the Most High Goddess, a controversial new religious movement, was founded in 1984 in Los Angeles by Mary Ellen Tracy and her husband Wilbur Tracy, both former devout Mormons. Wilbur Tracy claimed to have received a divine revelation, involving “a brilliant light,” through which “knowledge was being poured in without voice.” He claimed that God appeared to him as an old man with a flowing white beard and long white hair during this experience. Mary Ellen Tracy, a classical scholar, assumed the role of High Priestess in this modern Egyptian neo-pagan church.
Central to the church’s practice were sexual rites, in which Mary Ellen Tracy, acting as the high priestess under the name Sabrina Aset, engaged in sexual intercourse with congregants, asserting it was a sacred act of spiritual cleansing. She publicly claimed to have engaged in sexual acts with over 2,000 men as part of these rituals, which she argued were integral to her religious duties and not acts of prostitution.
The church drew significant legal and public scrutiny. In 1989, both Tracys were convicted on charges related to running a house of prostitution, which authorities argued was merely being masked as a religious practice. This conviction was contested by the Tracys on the grounds of religious persecution, claiming their practices were a reconstitution of ancient Egyptian rituals that included sacred sexuality.
Following these events, the church faded from public view, with its website remaining as one of the few traces of its existence. The site features writings on goddess spirituality and sexuality, reflecting a narrative of resistance against patriarchal religious structures and celebrating the sacred erotic traditions of ancient societies.
Today, the Church of the Most High Goddess is largely inactive, with its legacy lingering in the realms of discussions on religious freedom and the boundaries of sexual practices within spiritual contexts.
mage via Podcast Addict
