In 2023, journalist Zion Lights thought Extinction Rebellion had a cult problem; it did, just not the one she thought.
In 2023, journalist Zion Lights thought that Extinction Rebellion was brainwashing young people into performing crazy stunts. As a member of Extinction Rebellion, writes Zion Lights, I watched people being brainwashed into pulling outrageous stunts in the name of ‘saving the planet.’ 01.23.23 https://www.thefp.com/p/climate-activism-has-a-cult-problem
Zion Lights, born in 1984, would have been between 6 and 16 between 1990 and 2000, when 10 years of environmentalist Anarchy were taking place, and, without “leadership,” were carrying out a variety of risky and outrageous actions to halt open-cast mining, roads, and anti-nuclear submarine operations at Faslane.
Extinction Rebellion’s cult problem isn’t the young people being brainwashed; it’s the people who are grifting off the energy of the protest movement and the anxiety of the accelerating climate catastrophe. The Grift, like all Grifts, has nothing to do with helping us; it’s all about lining the pockets of those running them. The Grift is the pseudospirituality founded in cultural appropriation from indigenous people.
Extinction Rebellion Wasn’t Hijacked by These Grifters; They Were The Founders of the Movement. They Were Just Careful Not To Tell Anyone What Was Going On.
The Grift today is easier with social media; in fact, today it depends on Social Media and, increasingly, on AI. Social media creates a lack of accountability for people who like to think of themselves as shamans, as they use multiple platforms to say different things depending on who they think is listening. They are sluts to everyone with cash and loyal only to their fragile egos.
At the center of Extinction Rebellion UK’s cult was author Manda Scott, a self-styled shamanic practitioner who, with no experience of Nonviolent Direct Action until she sat outside the BBC: “This is the bringing together of my years’ work – and probably the bulk of my life’s work going on from here. It’s one part of my answer to Deep Adaptation (the rest of that answer is in the ACCIDENTAL GODS podcast and online portal, of which more soon). But at the core is this: I believe we’re at a point now where evolutionary change is not only necessary, but possible… that the next evolutionary step can be one of consciousness, made consciously — and that to get to the point where it’s possible (and it only takes one of us) we need to learn how to hone our intent, to open our heart-minds fully, to learn how to ask for help with every moment of our waking and sleeping lives — and to step into the void. None of this is easy, but if you do any kind of shamanic or other spiritual work, you’ll know that we are being offered help now more obviously, more clearly, more determinedly than ever before.” https://www.embercombe.org/stories/manda-scott-spirit-activism
The core of the cult is the ACCIDENTAL GODS podcast and online portal. The grift is the course in Celtic Shamanism: a blend of Core Shamanism, further sterilized (“I will make it safe”) by Scott, as part of a marketing ploy that depends on the stupidity of her future pupils.
Modern Neoshamanism is not a trance-based cultural tradition. It is a blend of rituals of dubious origins and cultural appropriation with spiritual visualizations: Some of the visualizations I have witnessed are, in actual fact, utter nonsense, with no foundation in any shared reality.
The absurdity that cutting coppice missed generations would have been laughed at and ridiculed in Pieter Brueghel’s time, so ridiculing it today is no different.
When Dr. Jem Bendell suggests that Preparedness could be more spiritual, he means more bullshitty culty, and unskilled.
Some of Extinction Rebellion’s actors have decided to ignore their own precepts: No shaming, Everyone is welcome, Be Kind, Respect: Zion Lights when she decided to leave Extinction Rebellion and Join George Monbiot in Supporting Nuclear power as a solution: “as part of my decision to focus on solutions for addressing climate change and air pollution instead of apocalypse, two of XR’s main spokespeople, Rupert Read and Donnachadh McCarthy, were incensed. They sent me angry messages, calling me a “shill,” a “sellout,” a “traitor” and a “climate denier.” They told me they were ashamed of me, that I’d betrayed the group. I blocked them from my phone, and then also on social media when they took the fight there.” https://www.thefp.com/p/climate-activism-has-a-cult-problem
Scott went on an outrageous toddler tantrum accusing me of writing unhelpful dytsopias while she churns out psuedo-spiritual toxic positivity. She calls Preparedness “Dystopian Survivalism” and like her friend Jem Bendell thinks storing food isnt helpful.
The Green Movements Spirituality is a Cult Based on Appropriation and White Middle Class Neocolonial Cultural Genocide Perpetuated by Angry Fragile Egos
The green movement’s cultural appropriation appears when Western environmentalists claiming spiritual connection to the earth adopt sacred indigenous symbols, rituals, and beliefs without permission or deep understanding. The counterculture in the US started this habit of pilferage from the people their ancestors genocided with TB-infected blankets, death marches, land theft, boarding schools, and wildlife extermination.
- Countercultural Roots: Early radical environmental groups, such as Earth First! in North America, often turned to indigenous traditions to find an alternative to industrial capitalism, but rather than learning to live off the land, they found indigenous wisdom easier.
- The Quest for Authenticity: Activists and participants in the New Age Movement viewed native cultures as inherently wise or closer to nature, leading to widespread emulation or “playing Indian,” but a refusal to learn their life skills.
- Generalizing Traditions: Instead of respecting specific tribal nations, participants often created a generic, westernized version of indigenous spirituality: Anthropologist Michael Harner created Core Shamanism, a safe, non-nature-based ritual cult aimed at the well-heeled middle class not wanting to get their hands dirty with the raw reality of nature
Core Conflicts and Harm
- Plastic Shamans: Non-native individuals frequently position themselves as spiritual leaders or healers, selling workshops and sweat-lodge ceremonies without community backing or lineage.
- Commodification: Practices such as harvesting white sage or digging up sacred items and artifacts turn complex religious customs into commercial products sold on online marketplaces.
- Psychedelic Tourism: Ayahuasca (South America) and Eboga (Gabon) tourism are driving these plants towards extinction. Also, there have been a number of deaths associated with unscrupulous “shamans” giving participants drugs that are not Ayahuasca.
- Disrespecting Closed Practices: Activities shared online via platforms like TikTok often strip sacred rituals of their original communal and ecological context. Other closed practices like Sundance are being sold as initiations into Neoshamanic healing practices.
Differing Perspectives between Western Grifters and Indigenous rights activists
- Cultural Exploitation: Many indigenous scholars and activists argue that borrowing sacred motifs is a form of intellectual colonialism that harms living traditions while ignoring the actual political and social struggles of indigenous communities and their history of brutal suppression by capitalism.
- Religious Evolution: Other observers suggest that mixing myths and symbols is a normal part of how human cultures change and evolve over time, making total condemnation difficult. I disagree; borrowing an object suggests it can be returned undamaged. Western White Plastic Shamans don’t borrow a tradition and return it; they borrow it and sanitize it for their own purposes. This is not borrowing; it’s theft.
Modern groups could practice nature-based spirituality without appropriation by focusing on local ecology, contemporary rituals, and genuine local ancestral traditions such as hedge laying and coppicing.
Rather than adopting the protected ceremonies of Indigenous cultures, these practitioners could cultivate a direct, reciprocal relationship with the physical environment around them.
- Learning the basic survival skills that every indigenous person learns to be able to live in their environment is the process that connects them to nature, the land, and the landscape
- Cultivating local reciprocity with the land through land-based skills and crafts, planting trees and wildflowers, and creating habitat for nature.
Authentic Earth-based spirituality does not rely on borrowed symbols; it grows from an intimate relationship with the local land and landscape
- Learning the Ecosystem: Groups build connection by learning the specific names of local plants, soils, watersheds, native wildlife, and landscape features
- Tangible Stewardship: Spiritual practice is paired with active conservation, such as cleaning local rivers, pulling invasive species, or supporting place-based ecological stewards, tree planting, and caring for the planted trees for at least 5 years until their roots are established
- Accurate Naming: If a group utilizes local flora (e.g., creating a bundle of local garden or wild herbs for cleansing), they name the plants accurately rather than calling it “smudging”—a culturally specific Indigenous practice. If it is used for pre-cleansing, during a ritual, or for general space cleansing, then simply call it that.
Designing contemporary localized rituals and giving them shared meaning and significance. Sometimes these things need to be written down so that shared meaning is remembered. Many facilitators create depth through human experiences that do not belong to any single culture. By incorporating polychronic time into contemporary localized rites, the preciousness of the moment is relaxed; a crying child or late arrival is not disruptive; it is part of the process
Some Plastic Shamans dismiss learning survival skills because “no one is going to live in a mud hut on a Welsh hillside” or “We are not going back, we can’t” (the panic is palpable). These excuses are deeply flawed; they are a rejection of decolonizing the mind and the brain:
“Decolonizing Cognition
When you learn ancestral or wilderness survival skills, you are actively decolonizing your cognitive habits. You shift your brain out of the stressful, hyper-focused “tunnel vision” of modern scheduling and open it up to the wide-angle, multi-layered situational awareness that has kept humanity alive for millennia.” https://solidarityprepping.co.uk/2026/07/10/what-is-solidarity-prepping-why-does-their-approach-to-collapse-survival-use-polychronic-thinking/
Plastic Shaman, who never learned any outdoor skills, easily loses their shit when their fragile ego is confronted with criticism of their ideas and the obstacles they place in their own path because of their inadequacies, preconceived notions, and the moneyed clientele they are cultivating.
Practitioners who collaboratively develop a non-monetized, selfless, community-based ritual traditions work well with:
- Universal Modalities: Group singing and dancing, such as the Hokey-Cokey; work songs, such as sea shanties; chants; and the development of group traditions.
- Seasonal and Lunar Cycles: Aligning gatherings with natural transitions—such as winter solstice meals, equinox seed plantings, and full-moon reflections/parties—allows groups to honor time and nature without cloning tribal traditions.
- Grief and Gratitude: Developing modern rituals to process ecological grief or express communal gratitude creates an authentic spiritual container rooted in the present day and zeitgeist.
Reconnecting with Personal Ancestral Roots
Many Western practitioners find that digging into their own heritage prevents them from reaching for someone else’s. However, practitioners who have spent vast sums on their training often expect a return of the same or more from their students.
- Reviving Pre-Christian Traditions: For individuals of European descent, this often looks like researching ancestral, earth-centered Pagan, Celtic, or Norse traditions. Traditions that didn’t write anything down are difficult to decipher, and so a culture of misappropriation prevails
- Acknowledging Historical Context: Recognizing that European earth-centered practices and traditional healers were historically suppressed should help modern seekers understand global patterns of colonization without trying to “play Indian” or adopt surrogate identities. But sometimes this recognition needs to be identified to them,
- Acknowledging Sanitization: Groups that lean heavily on open practices such as breathwork, journaling, silent forest bathing, movement, and unstructured time in nature. Are using sanitized practices and should acknowledge their limitations rather than doubling down on defending them
Structural Integrity and Transparency
For organized groups exploring ancestral spirituality, avoiding appropriation requires explicit boundaries in how they present their work:
| Practice | Respectful Approach | Appropriative Red Flag |
|---|---|---|
| Lineage & Origin | Clearly state what is contemporary, what is self-created, and what comes from a verified lineage. | Using vague marketing terms like “ancient secrets,” “shamanic activation,” “tribal wisdom,” “Lucid Dreaming,” and “Celtic Shamanism” |
| Titles & Roles | Use titles with integrity (e.g., facilitator, guide, teacher). | Self-assigning protected titles like “shaman,” “Shamanic Practitioner,” “medicine woman,” “Medicine man,” or “chief”. |
| Commercialization | Sell services based on actual facilitated techniques (e.g., breathwork instructor). | Selling certifications or initiations into Indigenous traditions without deep community relationship and authorization. |
Charity and Philanthropy are largely missing from New-Age Neo-Shamanic and Neo-Paganism Traditions
Practicing true material reciprocity means moving away from a transactional relationship with Indigenous knowledge and instead putting resources directly into the hands of Indigenous people who steward the land.
Because Indigenous peoples protect an estimated 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity despite making up less than 5% of the global population, supporting their work is one of the most effective ways to enact environmental change.
Identify Established Indigenous-Led Networks
Rather than trying to evaluate individual grassroots groups on your own, you can start with major, transparent, Indigenous-founded and Indigenous-managed coalitions that direct funds globally or regionally.
- Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN): Established in 1990, this alliance supports grassroots Indigenous communities tackling environmental justice, toxics, extraction, and climate change across North America.
- Indigenous Climate Action (ICA): An Indigenous-led organization that centers Indigenous rights and knowledge systems to develop real solutions to the climate crisis.
- Honor the Earth: Co-founded by Winona LaDuke, this group uses music, art, and media to raise awareness and direct financial tracking and grants to grassroots Native environmental groups.
- Nia Tero: A global non-profit that works in absolute solidarity with Indigenous peoples to secure guardianship of vital ecosystems.
- Sogorea Te’ Land Trust: An urban, Indigenous women-led land trust in California’s Bay Area that facilitates the return of Indigenous lands to Indigenous stewardship (a process known as rematriation).
Practice True Giving with Expecting Reward or Acknowledgment
True material reciprocity requires checking your intentions and ensuring your support removes barriers rather than adding them.
- Pay “Land Taxes” or Voluntary Tithes: If you live on stolen or unceded Indigenous territory, research the original stewards of your specific zip code using tools like Native-Land.ca. Many local Indigenous groups have created voluntary land taxes (e.g., the Shuumi Land Tax or Honor Native Land Taxes)in which non-Indigenous residents pay a monthly or annual tax directly to local tribal trusts to support land reclamation.
- Fund Intangible and Operational Costs: Donors often prefer funding “flashy” projects like planting trees. True allyship means providing unrestricted or operational funding so these organizations can pay legal fees for pipeline battles, cover operational overhead, or fund community youth workshops.
- Step Back and Amplify: Material reciprocity isn’t just about money; it is about capital and platform leverage. Instead of speaking for environmental justice at local rallies or on social media, use your platform to amplify the voices, open letters, petitions, and legal briefs written by Indigenous water protectors and land defenders themselves.
- Avoid Transactional Proposing: Do not offer conditional support (e.g., “I will donate if you teach me a ritual” or “I want to volunteer on-site so I can experience the culture”). True reciprocity means listening first, trusting the community’s self-determined needs, and giving with zero expectations of spiritual or cultural access.
Resources
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35782855
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