THE SAINT JAMES PROJECT
tribes.tribe.net/stjamesproject
Silverstar Red Crow © 2007
Toad House & the Peace Garden,
McMinnville Oregon USA

The Saint James Project is the Shamanic Arm of the Red Witch Tradition, the Sabbats of Sophia and the Line of Sarah. This group has gone by many names over the years, but took the name of the St. James Project in the Spring of 2006. Why the name St. James? In capsulized form, James, the Brother of Jesus and the first Pope of Jerusalem was the Maker of Rules; James' position typifies how difficult a balanacing act Indigenous Shamanism is. When an individual opens to the importance of following rules, particularly spiritual Universal Law, one opens to self-rule and grows in power, with a firm foundation.

The journey of the individual who chooses to lead an upright life and struggles in the name of service on all three levels of human experience (body, mind and soul), has to balance the needs of humans and Spirits, quickly. Without rules, there are no codes of behavior and no clear paths to travel. Slow, murky decision-making skills and emotional paralysis are the by-products of spiritual anarchy; death to a Shaman! With rules, the Shaman, the community “balancer”, has a greater grasp of “One's Place in the Universe” and can move freely within a given structure. More specific information about Indigenous Shamanic WorldView and practices can be found here: tribes.tribe.net/stmichaelisknocking .

Time is not linear, particularly for a Shaman; a Shaman’s Ancestors, in many cases, is the Shaman herself. Reincarnation is not obtuse to the Shamanic Practitioner; reincarnation is at the core of belief and practice and is a cornerstone of personal history and power. Consequently, reincarnation will be discussed at great length here.

Of course, this Tribe is skewed to my personal way of life and the rules I hold dear. So, be prepared for a big, old woman’s fierce voice. I am not here for debate, I am here to share my beliefs and life experiences, whether 1st Century CE, 12,000 BCE or 2007 CE. They are all linked and the lessons learned are still alive and growing, despite humanity’s short-sidedness. If you are looking for a feel-good discussion about Jesus or a warm fuzzy chat about “The Secret”, this is probably not the place for you.

In the physical realms, I teach no more than three students per year, based-on a 4-year pledge, revolving around Red Road Protocol (see “Introduction to Red Road Protocol” under ALL POSTS here: tribes.tribe.net/toadlovers ). This process begins the last week of December, in preparation for a public Declaration of Intention on Imbolc (Feb. 1st). Hundreds of people query me each year, wanting to know how to do what I do. Generally, I do not take these people as students, rarely in fact. If you seem interested in trying or at least asking, please read my Shamanic Syllabus (tribes.tribe.net/stmichaelisknocking ), my BIG BOOK (tribes.tribe.net/redwitch ) and many of my articles before you even ask. I am headstrong, with a strident manner and no-nonsense-hard-work approach to life called TOILING. I am not a people-pleaser, know that now! I am always open to positive surprise, however, so follow your gut, it’s your greatest ally!

All are welcome to post on this Tribe if on-topic (SHAMANISM, REINCARNATION, KARMA, INDIGENOUS WORLDVIEW, 1ST CENTURY JESUS MOVEMENT/REVOLUTION), positive and respectful. All posts not fitting into these above mentioned categories will be deleted. If you are unafraid of hard work on all levels and use rules to the best of your abilities, then, perhaps this is the place for you; enjoy!

Further explanation of St. James follows in essay form…

“For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.”
James the Just, First Century CE

This website is dedicated to James the Just, the brother of Jesus, the first Pope of Jerusalem. Until recently, it was not even widely accepted that Jesus had siblings; though thousands in Southern France for example, for almost 2,000 years have believed Jesus was part of a large extended family, with a spouse and children of his own. Fortunately, the identity of much of the historical Jesus and the movement he helped to create in First Century Palestine survives, not just woven into the legends of many cultures in the Middle East, North Africa, India and Europe, but in the archeological record as well. In 2007, human technology has evolved to such a state that information and artifacts are being found at an astonishingly fast rate, wonderfully preserved. Many scholars can now understand the ramifications of such finds and are able to decipher the not-so hidden code lying therein. Finally, human science is backing-up the spiritual claims of millions worldwide; whether Coptic, Gnostic or Kabalistic.

So, what if Jesus had siblings, cousins, a spouse and children; what does that have to do with humanity and society in the now? So what if there was a real Jesus Movement propelled by the need for freedom, autonomy, equality, moderation and self-reliance? These questions, when addressed and fully answered to the best of present abilities, could change the face of organized religion as we know it. Why? Because if one digs beneath the invented history of Christianity, one that was brilliantly designed by the so-called “The 13th Apostle” (Paul), a person who never met Jesus and did not support his work before or after his death, one discovers a different story and society all together. A society that viewed women and men as equal, or least tried, where a couple could actually sit side by side, eye to eye and break bread with each other in the same room, in the same house, at the same time. So, what’s the big deal about eating a Simple Feast (a Holy Sacrament) or sharing a supper meal with a spouse of the opposite sex? To those in the 21st Century living in the Western World, the idea seems common and almost laughable. But, to a remote Taliban tribesman of Afghanistan in the year 2007, this concept of equality would be unthinkable.

The Jesus Movement was political at its core. The creators of this human experiment, John the Baptizer and his cousin Jesus, sought to liberate their people through a mass calling for change, using boycott, civil disobedience and tax evasion as their main tools of rebellion. They traveled the countryside, imploring community after community to rise-up, like the generations of the preceding three centuries, to topple their oppressors. John and Jesus were both adept scholars of Jewish Law, ritual and custom, using them all in tandem, to manifest prophecy and inspire core changes. They knew many things needed to change dramatically before the common person would rise to meet their oppressors face to face in battle, both figuratively and corporeally. The first step was to point out the need for the empowerment of women. Women were the backbone of this nation to come: the breeders, educators and nurturers for a new society. It was key to elevate women’s standing in the home, immediately making an impact on the structure of Jewish society as a whole. This was a radical step that would propel their revolutionary movement to the attention of all the heads of state of Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

How in the world did I receive this information? I will not lie to you and say that I dreamed it, made it up or read someone else’s book on Mary Magdalene and decided it all made sense and the pieces miraculously fitted together. I will tell you that I remember however, since I was a small child, consciously and specifically. I was there and I lived the revolution. I wasn’t a Messiah or head of state or even a fisherman. I was just a guy, a fallible man who gambled his entire being for the success of a mass-movement; human through and through. I was one of The 70, a group of extended family members and close friends who traveled and supported the work of Jesus, especially after the death of John the Baptizer at the hand of Herod Antipas.

The movement was hit hard by John’s death; it left Jesus in charge and people expected the world and heaven to co-operate to make manifest their dreams of a new, better, freer society. This is when The 70 became important, not only as servants for this social, political and spiritual liberation movement, but as direct aid to Jesus himself. Suddenly alone, Jesus was desperate to leave a powerful mark of change before the authorities did away with him as well. The remaining time of his ministry, would be constant movement, focus, agenda-driven; it all had to count! We all know how that chapter of the story ended. There are many views, some even close to what actually happened; most agree that Jesus died a terrible death and the movement also suffered terribly.

James was left in charge of the movement. He was the one appointed by Jesus to rally the troops, to carry-on, to inspire the continuance of social and religious change. It was up to James to redirect the movement into more of a community and family oriented lifestyle that was workable for the society as a whole, a class-free Jewish society. Part of James’ job was to map out the rules that were possible for each family to manifest fairness. He used charity as a tool to teach compassion, he used education as a tool for building self esteem and to bolster one’s faith in Self and Divinity in all forms, particularly human form. He had a thankless, difficult job and the cards were stacked against him.

The movement was co-opted quickly by another movement, Paul’s own Christ-movement, “illegitimating” the human Jesus, discounting his humanness and fallibility, replacing it with ascended Godlike power that was infallible and eternal. Paul and people like him obliterated the real Jesus and his family, obstructed what the movement was at its core and changed its original reason for existing. This lifestyle of equality and personal Divine Power was robbed, then changed by the ruling classes of society long before the Council of Nicaea, a group of Christian Bishops who mapped out what the accepted Gospels would be and the direction and purpose for the religion, its base of power and ideas of how to keep the new corporation afloat; in 325 CE. Notice that this once lifestyle of self-empowerment and a branch of Judaism had morphed into a new and different religion called Christianity, from Paul’s concept of the Ascended God of Heaven, the Greek model called Christos.

In 62 CE, James the Just, the leader of the revolution, the maker of laws, was stoned to death by the Sanhedrin (High Council of the Priest Class, in charge of Temple affairs) in Jerusalem. The Second Temple was sacked by the Romans four short years later, which started one of the largest diasporas in human history, flooding the known world with Jews and a new suddenly reinvented religion called Christianity.

The Jesus Movement revolution did not fair well with many rational thinkers and indigenous people through history on several continents. What about the women, the primary initial target of this movement? How many popes of the Church of Rome have been women and survived to tell the tale of their masquerade as men? None I am afraid.
So, why in the 21st Century do I share this information with people who will wrinkle noses and laugh at the importance of such ideas? Because the Jesus Movement was not entirely successful last time and now, we as a genus, have the opportunity to give this movement another try.

I truly believe that the much heralded “Second Coming of Jesus” is actually a mass-movement of change and liberation from old social models of oppression and subjugation, for all peoples, regardless of spiritual base. The true Jesus Movement has been dormant since the 4th Century CE, waiting, growing in power and steam, morphing for our times. It is about change on all levels, deliverance, not to another planet, to heaven or even the return to the All. It is about individual and collective responsibility, complete honesty and stewardship with dignity for all life forms. This is the undercurrent that can preserve the future of humanity. This movement can go by any name; it doesn’t matter, as long as we find the strength to rise as one force, all colors, genders and ages, and create a sense of future.

I plan on discussing the Jesus Movement in great depth on this website, including personal stories of revelation and inspiration. My knowledge base is radically different than those in the market place; reincarnation memory separates my reality from the commonly accepted story or the archeological findings of corporeal time. I have found one source that matches many of my memories of the First Century CE, The Jesus Dynasty by Dr. James D. Tabor. Tabor is a brilliant scholar and scientist and his work and that of his colleagues is extraordinary, blowing apart the accepted story of today’s three major religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

It is important to realize James’ model of a new, improved form of Judaism survived until the 4th Century CE, deep in the Palestinian desert, before time and authorities were successful in their demise. To them, the survivors, the followers of James and James himself, I dedicate this website. There is a piece of James the Survivor in all of us. Hear him now, when society demands core change and physical and emotional transformation!

My intent is to spark recognition within the Self of all who read this information, calling for a new worldview, enabling humankind to change, to evolve out of complacency and lethargy and elevate rudimentary survival skills. Change your world and the world changes; that is my seed of hope. Many thousands and millions like me are now in the body. We are dedicated to risking disapproval for positive change. Join me on this journey of re-discovery, empower yourself, risk disapproval for truth and care for all life in, on and above this beautiful planet of ours, including yourself, for you are DIVINE! The revolution is alive; its time to wake and feel the change. SO MOTE IT BE!

http://tribes.tribe.net/stjamesproject