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Néo-Phare
Néo-Phare (lit. 'New Lighthouse') was a small French new religious movement, often described as a cult or doomsday cult, founded by Arnaud Mussy in January 2001. It formed through a schism with Phare-Ouest (lit. 'West Lighthouse'), which was founded by the esoteric writer André Bouguenec. Bouguenec's belief system incorporated Kabbalah and hermeticism, and he also proclaimed that he was God. Mussy joined the group in 1997, and Bouguenec died the same year. Viewing the original group as too rigid, Mussy and 20 members left the group and formed Néo-Phare.
After the September 11 attacks, Mussy predicted the end of the world, the time of which was repeatedly delayed after it failed to occur. In July 2002, a member killed himself and two other members were said to have attempted to kill themselves. Following this, Mussy was tried in France on the grounds that he had brainwashed his followers and was responsible for the suicide and attempted suicides. He was found guilty, and given a three-year suspended sentence and a €115,000 fine. The group was dissolved after Mussy was arrested; it only existed for a year and a half. It was the first time the anti-cult About–Picard law had been invoked, and the trial received a significant amount of media coverage.
Arnaud Mussy was born in Boulogne-Billancourt in 1968. He moved to Argentina in his 20s, but then returned to France. When Mussy was 22, he discovered the esoteric beliefs of fashion designer Paco Rabanne. Mussy had worked for France-Telecom and had a BTS degree in communication. The Scotsman described him as a "former hitchhiker". In 1997, he met the obscure esoteric writer and Breton mystic and freemason André Bouguenec (also known as Auguste Bouguenec; last name also sometimes spelled Bougenec). Bouguenec led the Phare-Ouest (lit. 'West Lighthouse') group, which had about 40 members. Phare-Ouest had been founded in 1989; Bouguenec believed that he was the reincarnation of Jesus, and developed a belief system, Kabbalah Française, derivative of Kabbalah, which involved numerology and linguistic elements, inspired by alchemical hermeticism. Bouguenec's claim to be god was supposedly proven with numerology; however, using his actual name did not fulfill this proof. He believed God to be androgynous. He preached for a kind of salvation that involved sex-complementary pairs, with the couples in the group representing the couples of Heavenly Jerusalem. He held ceremonies that established married couples as these "soulmate" pairs. Mussy joined Phare-Ouest in 1997; that year, Bouguenec died.
After Bouguenec's death, Mussy formed a schismatic group, later saying that he considered the members of Phare-Ouest to be too religiously rigid "like the Pharisees", but the psychologist Sonya Jougla attributes this to both internal conflicts and his ambition. In January 2001, Mussy, with 20 followers, formed Néo-Phare; most members were between the ages of 30 and 40, and largely couples with some children. Mussy and his twin brother Olivier, who was viewed as Saint Peter within the group, brought their wives and their mother-in-law into the group. Neither brother needed to work as their father had left them a large inheritance. The name Néo-Phare was chosen after the protagonist of the 1999 film The Matrix, Neo, as Mussy was a fan of the movie, in combination with the previous group's title. He interpreted esoteric meaning from some of the film's symbolism.
The 21 members (including Mussy) were visualized as 21 "apostles" (flipped from the Twelve Apostles), their task being to rewrite the Bible, which they viewed as having been distorted by the Catholic Church. They analyzed it through Bouguenec's ideas and numerology system. The group's mission was to rebuild the world after the apocalypse in a way that would align with their beliefs. Mussy said he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ (previously he believed he was James the Apostle). The group moved to two hamlets, with the core members living in Cellier, a small village close to Nantes, and the rest living in Olivier Mussy's home in Aigrefeuille. According to Olivier Mussy, the group lived cooperatively but not communally; members shared expenses and worked jobs half time, but maintained their own bank accounts. Early in the group's history, Mussy interpreted and taught Bouguenec's ideas, but he later began to fulfill a more messianic role.
Néo-Phare has been classified as a doomsday cult by the suicide researcher Loren Coleman. The anti-cult group UNADFI described them as having both apocalyptic and UFO religion aspects. After the September 11 attacks, the group became more apocalyptic in its thought. Mussy claimed that Bouguenec had foreseen the destruction of the Twin Towers, and the group interpreted the attack as a sign of the end times. Mussy said that Bouguenec had encrypted the date as 11/6 instead of 9/11 (inverting the number), and said that the attacks were a message from God to prepare for the end. He announced that the end of the world would occur on 29 December 2001. He believed the apocalypse would be positive—not a violent destruction of the world, but a rebirth of a more spiritual humanity.
In December 2001, Néo-Phare convened in a crypt near the tomb of Mary Magdalene in Vézelay and attempted to communicate with her spirit, which they referred to as the "Divine Mother" and conceived of as the "female archetype". Mussy mimicked Jesus on the cross while another member shouted out the French word beaucoup (lit. transl. a lot, many). The group also engaged in trance sessions, similar to Pentecostal Christian practice. The group often met at sacred sites, such as abbeys and historic castles, viewing them as locations of power. Mussy viewed the tomb of Francis II, Duke of Brittany (which was discussed in a book written by Bouguenec) in Nantes as the key to the apocalypse.
When the apocalypse date of 29 December 2001 arrived, nothing happened. Mussy then announced that the apocalypse would be 25 February 2002. After the announcement, he exerted more control over Néo-Phare's members, separating 3 or 4 couples and reassigning them to others according to their "energies"—an extension of Bouguenec's soulmate doctrine. Mussy said he was reuniting couples through this practice, not separating them, with the couples in the group representing the couples in Heavenly Jerusalem and all of the couples in the world.
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Néo-Phare
Néo-Phare (lit. 'New Lighthouse') was a small French new religious movement, often described as a cult or doomsday cult, founded by Arnaud Mussy in January 2001. It formed through a schism with Phare-Ouest (lit. 'West Lighthouse'), which was founded by the esoteric writer André Bouguenec. Bouguenec's belief system incorporated Kabbalah and hermeticism, and he also proclaimed that he was God. Mussy joined the group in 1997, and Bouguenec died the same year. Viewing the original group as too rigid, Mussy and 20 members left the group and formed Néo-Phare.
After the September 11 attacks, Mussy predicted the end of the world, the time of which was repeatedly delayed after it failed to occur. In July 2002, a member killed himself and two other members were said to have attempted to kill themselves. Following this, Mussy was tried in France on the grounds that he had brainwashed his followers and was responsible for the suicide and attempted suicides. He was found guilty, and given a three-year suspended sentence and a €115,000 fine. The group was dissolved after Mussy was arrested; it only existed for a year and a half. It was the first time the anti-cult About–Picard law had been invoked, and the trial received a significant amount of media coverage.
Arnaud Mussy was born in Boulogne-Billancourt in 1968. He moved to Argentina in his 20s, but then returned to France. When Mussy was 22, he discovered the esoteric beliefs of fashion designer Paco Rabanne. Mussy had worked for France-Telecom and had a BTS degree in communication. The Scotsman described him as a "former hitchhiker". In 1997, he met the obscure esoteric writer and Breton mystic and freemason André Bouguenec (also known as Auguste Bouguenec; last name also sometimes spelled Bougenec). Bouguenec led the Phare-Ouest (lit. 'West Lighthouse') group, which had about 40 members. Phare-Ouest had been founded in 1989; Bouguenec believed that he was the reincarnation of Jesus, and developed a belief system, Kabbalah Française, derivative of Kabbalah, which involved numerology and linguistic elements, inspired by alchemical hermeticism. Bouguenec's claim to be god was supposedly proven with numerology; however, using his actual name did not fulfill this proof. He believed God to be androgynous. He preached for a kind of salvation that involved sex-complementary pairs, with the couples in the group representing the couples of Heavenly Jerusalem. He held ceremonies that established married couples as these "soulmate" pairs. Mussy joined Phare-Ouest in 1997; that year, Bouguenec died.
After Bouguenec's death, Mussy formed a schismatic group, later saying that he considered the members of Phare-Ouest to be too religiously rigid "like the Pharisees", but the psychologist Sonya Jougla attributes this to both internal conflicts and his ambition. In January 2001, Mussy, with 20 followers, formed Néo-Phare; most members were between the ages of 30 and 40, and largely couples with some children. Mussy and his twin brother Olivier, who was viewed as Saint Peter within the group, brought their wives and their mother-in-law into the group. Neither brother needed to work as their father had left them a large inheritance. The name Néo-Phare was chosen after the protagonist of the 1999 film The Matrix, Neo, as Mussy was a fan of the movie, in combination with the previous group's title. He interpreted esoteric meaning from some of the film's symbolism.
The 21 members (including Mussy) were visualized as 21 "apostles" (flipped from the Twelve Apostles), their task being to rewrite the Bible, which they viewed as having been distorted by the Catholic Church. They analyzed it through Bouguenec's ideas and numerology system. The group's mission was to rebuild the world after the apocalypse in a way that would align with their beliefs. Mussy said he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ (previously he believed he was James the Apostle). The group moved to two hamlets, with the core members living in Cellier, a small village close to Nantes, and the rest living in Olivier Mussy's home in Aigrefeuille. According to Olivier Mussy, the group lived cooperatively but not communally; members shared expenses and worked jobs half time, but maintained their own bank accounts. Early in the group's history, Mussy interpreted and taught Bouguenec's ideas, but he later began to fulfill a more messianic role.
Néo-Phare has been classified as a doomsday cult by the suicide researcher Loren Coleman. The anti-cult group UNADFI described them as having both apocalyptic and UFO religion aspects. After the September 11 attacks, the group became more apocalyptic in its thought. Mussy claimed that Bouguenec had foreseen the destruction of the Twin Towers, and the group interpreted the attack as a sign of the end times. Mussy said that Bouguenec had encrypted the date as 11/6 instead of 9/11 (inverting the number), and said that the attacks were a message from God to prepare for the end. He announced that the end of the world would occur on 29 December 2001. He believed the apocalypse would be positive—not a violent destruction of the world, but a rebirth of a more spiritual humanity.
In December 2001, Néo-Phare convened in a crypt near the tomb of Mary Magdalene in Vézelay and attempted to communicate with her spirit, which they referred to as the "Divine Mother" and conceived of as the "female archetype". Mussy mimicked Jesus on the cross while another member shouted out the French word beaucoup (lit. transl. a lot, many). The group also engaged in trance sessions, similar to Pentecostal Christian practice. The group often met at sacred sites, such as abbeys and historic castles, viewing them as locations of power. Mussy viewed the tomb of Francis II, Duke of Brittany (which was discussed in a book written by Bouguenec) in Nantes as the key to the apocalypse.
When the apocalypse date of 29 December 2001 arrived, nothing happened. Mussy then announced that the apocalypse would be 25 February 2002. After the announcement, he exerted more control over Néo-Phare's members, separating 3 or 4 couples and reassigning them to others according to their "energies"—an extension of Bouguenec's soulmate doctrine. Mussy said he was reuniting couples through this practice, not separating them, with the couples in the group representing the couples in Heavenly Jerusalem and all of the couples in the world.