Gallifreyan Tradition Society

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The Gallifreyan Tradition Society is a Doctor Who-inspired cultural reconstruction movement, once described by former Healer-President Cassandra Oakdown as an "almost cult,"[1] which was active from 2015 to 2018. The official page identifies them as "a cultural reconstruction organization, a spiritual movement, and a constantly expanding fan project."[2] They are often identified as having a focus on social justice.[3] In concept, the Society is meant to reconstruct and replicate the culture of the planet Gallifrey.

It originated in the fictionkin community and explicitly identifies with Pop Culture Paganism, although not all members are spiritually involved.[1] Some members of the Society have practiced deity work, notably Cassandra, who worked with Rassilon.

New Gallifrey

"New Gallifrey" is the name given to the potential physical home of the Society, with a focus on mutual aid and with the intent to "reestablish the Great Houses."[1]

Analog Theory

The Analog Theory refers to the belief held by some Society founders in the early stages that they were the founders of a new Time Lord society and would lead the "Intuitive Revolution, v2.0." They had denounced this belief by 2017, calling it "insane."[1]

Leadership

The Society's leadership has included the following positions and members:

  • Healer-President — Isapenguenikaesculaslungbarotad "Isa"[4]
  • Lady President — Romana[4]
  • Lord President — Cassandra Oakdown[5]
  • Patrician Chancellor — Cassandra of House Oakdown[6]
  • Junior Councillor — Raven[7]
  • Chancellor — Cassandra,[8] Shilo Greenwood[9]
  • Healer — Isa[8]
  • Healer-Advisor — Raven[10]

Great Houses

The Society was divided into several "Great Houses." These include House Petra, the Haven of Heroes;[11] and House Aesculus.[12]

Chapters

In addition to the Great Houses, the Society also includes six chapters: Prydon, Arcal, Patrex, Cerule, Scendles, and Drome.[13]

Code and Rules

The Society follows a code which is no longer available to read online. It includes the following pillars:

Virtues:

  • Tradition
  • Understanding
  • Discipline
  • Integrity
  • Loyalty
  • Respect

Flaws:

  • Apathy
  • Cruelty
  • Duplicity
  • Hypocrisy
  • False Morality
  • Abuse of Power
  • Cultivated Ignorance[14]

Holidays

Each (fictional) founder of Gallifrey has two months dedicated to them, with a festival day and a death day within each. A full calendar with traditions for each holiday is still available to read.[15]

Radio Free Arcadia

Radio Free Arcadia (RFA) was a podcast hosted by the Society's leadership.[16]

Religion vs. Organization

The idea of the Gallifreyan Tradition Society as a religion in the commonly understood sense of the word is an idea that the Gallifreyan Tradition Society itself has not held since 2015, and yet, it still persists as one of the public’s most prevalent stereotypes about our organization. It follows us everywhere we go like a bad penny– “isn’t GT that religion that worships Rassilon,” “GT is some weird otherkin religion that started on tumblr,” et cetera, et cetera. Saying that GT never claimed to be a religion would be a lie, as there was a period (the period when I found Jediism in early 2015 and thought “I could do that”) where I embraced, or at least did not reject, the label. But it isn’t a lie to say that GT has not claimed to be a religion for a very long time, or to say that I have no clue why this particular misconception keeps gaining traction.

So I’m going to address the biggest misconception right here: GT is not a religion. You’re thinking of Gallifreyan pop culture paganism, which can be practiced by everyone regardless of to what organizations they may or may not belong. Granted, a lot of the pioneering work on Gallifreyan pop culture paganism was done by members of the GT community, but that work was not ordered by GT, it sprung up independently and organically. And even if GT was commissioning or otherwise asking people to write about their spiritual experiences with Gallifreyan pop culture entities, that wouldn’t be an issue. As a rule, such things should be written down for posterity, unless they’re of a private or sensitive nature.

[...] So, yeah. GT’s not a religion, except maybe in the same way that Unitarian Universalism is a religion. We have a common set of values that can basically be summed up as “learn all the things, be kind, keep your promises, and be true to yourself.” We have traditions and ceremonies that aid in teaching these values, and that are constructed in such a way as to allow people of all spiritual traditions to feel comfortable participating. We don’t endorse any particular religious doctrine, even though people of a particular religious subtype tend to congregate in GT spaces. Spirituality is a part of what some people get out of GT, but it’s not the only part, or even the most important part. And even though some people might say that GT is a part of their religious life, myself included, reducing everything GT is to the opinions of an admittedly tiny part of its population is both reductive and dishonest.

ApprehensiveAcolyte[17]

Cult Accusations

The Society has been accused many times over the years of being a cult, with their Tumblr FAQ dedicating a question to the idea.

A cult? Really? Why, thank you for your opinion. Did you know that Cassandra Oakdown, the founder of the organization, is a cult survivor? Or that their most recent abuser started the cult rumor after he was friendzoned by them because he knew that after what they’d been through, that would hurt them the most? Perhaps instead of using “weird beliefs” as your sole criterion for labeling a group as a cult, you should consult one of the many, many checklists and tests that are freely available online for the purpose of answering that question accurately. If, after completing this step, you do have a legitimate complaint, please notify us. Ensuring a healthy environment free of abuse is one of our main concerns, and we want to be kept accountable.

FAQ[1]

The most significant cult accusation was in LB Lee's Cultiples series, published in 2019, which documents a history of harassment by the Society and by its founders in particular.

Another day, another set of misinformed and honestly slanderous accusations that I, a spiritual abuse survivor who literally has only ever tried to spread awareness, am a cult leader. Except the system making the accusations this time around apparently makes a good amount of money doing novel-length writeups on people they think are cult leaders, and while some of their claims seem legitimate, others… well. Let’s just say they’ve got a fairly low bar for what counts as cultish, due to the fact that all their experience with such things has been secondhand.

ApprehensiveAcolyte[18]

Wank and Harassment

Notable wanks in the Society have included the Toast and Trump wanks, as well as the Secretgal, HIY, and AUK harassment campaigns. These can be read about in detail in Cultiples. Former Chancellor Greenwood was said to be declared "Anathema."[19]

Further Reading/Meta

References

  1. ^ a b c d e FAQ on The Gallifreyan Tradition Society on Tumblr (via Wayback)
  2. ^ The Gallifreyan Tradition Society
  3. ^ About the Gallifreyan Tradition Society by thehiysystem on Amino
  4. ^ a b Post on Facebook (2018)
  5. ^ Patricianship post on Facebook (2016)
  6. ^ Our community has been rocked by scandal. post on Facebook (2017)
  7. ^ Radio Free Arcadia is live!! post on Facebook (2017)
  8. ^ a b We are pleased to announce post on Facebook (2017)
  9. ^ A brief primer post on Facebook (2016)
  10. ^ New Gallifrey Denounces Gallifreyan Tradition post by LB Lee (2018)
  11. ^ An announcement from Petra Eclipse on Facebook (2018)
  12. ^ Another post on Facebook (2017)
  13. ^ chapter things post by highly-caffeinated-cerulean on Tumblr (2017)
  14. ^ GT Study Group session 1: The Virtues, Flaws, and Doctrine document
  15. ^ Gallifreyan Holidays document
  16. ^ radiofreearcadia on mixlr
  17. ^ Please stop calling GT a religion. blog post (2018)
  18. ^ How to Not Be A Cult Leader blog post (2018)
  19. ^ Transparency Report: Deleted Threads by Patrician C. Oakdown on Academia Gallifreya (2018)
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