Anastasianism (Ringing Cedars)

Domain XIV · Western esoteric, divinatory & new spiritual movements · Vladimir Megre · 1996 · Russia

What it is

Anastasianism (also "Ringing Cedars", followers sometimes calling themselves "Vedrussians") is a Russian-origin new religious and back-to-the-land movement built on Megre's books. Their central figure, Anastasia, is presented as a hermit in the Siberian taiga with telepathy, teleportation,…

Format

• No hierarchy, recognised leaders, compulsory membership or fees; no institutionalised religious forms; readers form "fluid networks". Local authority figures exist and information spreads online; Telegram channels are central in German-speaking countries.
• Commerce: Megre's company sells cedar oil and other products under the series brand, separate from a non-commercial English-language Anastasia Foundation; communities market "traditional" and "organic" goods such as ivan-chay at premium prices. No published course or grade structure exists to…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Settlements range from a few families to hundreds of domains; many residents keep city jobs and housing; settlements are often registered as non-profit partnerships or farms because Russian law has no category for them. Movement statistics claim about 500 ecovillages in Russia; Megre reported about 400 initiatives in 2019, figures not independently verified. Germany: an estimated 800 followers in about 17…

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Core idea of change (as the movement holds it). Each family should obtain and pass down a "kin domain" (rodovoe pomestie) of "not less than one hectare", planted and lived on by the family, which restores a lost, pre-Christian "Vedic" way of life tied to land, kin and homeland. Readers expect that…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• ultimatums, attempts at forced removal. Working: contact is maintained and concrete risks are addressed.
• the client seeking your blessing or a debate partner. Working: the client uses therapy for their own goals.
• staying only because everything is invested. Working: the client knows their position and has independent advice.
• fear, control of money or movement, shunning of a gay relative. Working: choices become negotiated, not prescribed.
• loss of all outside ties, fear of punishment for questions. Working: the client keeps or rebuilds outside relationships.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.