Scientology's Galactic Overlord Xenu

Scientology's Creation Myth

A Chalking of the OTIII in front of the Greensboro Cult of Scientology.

NCanon / Wikimedia Commons

The Church of Scientology accepts that intelligent life exists throughout the universe and has for millions of years. Xenu, a galactic overlord, features prominently in their mythology. Xenu's actions have direct influence on how humanity on Earth has developed. However, this information is available only to Scientologists of considerable rank, in line with their acceptance of revealing the truth as followers are properly prepared.

Mythology of Xenu

75,000,000 years ago, Xenu headed the Galactic Federation, which was an organization of 76 planets that had already existed for 20,000,000 years. The planets were suffering a tremendous problem with overpopulation. Xenu's draconian solution to the matter was to gather large numbers of people, kill them, freeze their thetans (souls), and transport the frozen thetans to Earth, which they called Teegeeack. The thetans were left in the vicinity of volcanoes, which were, in turn, destroyed in a series of nuclear explosions.

Members of the Galactic Federation eventually rebelled against Xenu, fighting him for six years before he was finally captured and imprisoned on a planet that today is barren desert. Within the "mountain trap" on this unnamed world, Xenu still lives.

How the Story of Xenu Influences Scientology Belief

The thetans who were captured and exploded on Earth are the origin of body thetans. Each human has his or her own thetan, which Scientologists purify through auditing until the practitioner reaches a state of Clear. While a Clear's own thetan is now free of destructive engrams, his physical form is still inhabited by body thetans: clusters of these ancient, executed thetans.

Clears work with the body thetans through a system similar to auditing, assisting the body thetans to get past their own traumas, at which point they leave the Clear's body. All body thetans have to be so processed before a Clear can reach the state of Operating Thetan, wherein one's thetan is completely free of external limitations and can fully express its true potential, including operation outside of a physical body.

Public Acknowledgement Or Denial of Xenu

Scientologists are not made aware of Xenu until they have reached a stage known as OT-III. Those who have not reached this rank frequently actively avoid any materials that refer to Xenu, considering it improper and even dangerous to read them. Those who have reached the rank of OT-III often publicly deny the existence of the Xenu myth, although this might be more understandable in the light of the idea that such knowledge is dangerous to the unprepared.

The Church of Scientology has, however, effectively admitted to the mythology for many years. The Church actively pursues legal action against those who attempt to publish Xenu-related materials via copyright law. In order to claim copyright on a piece of material, however, one has to admit that the material does, in fact, exist and that they are the author of it.

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Beyer, Catherine. "Scientology's Galactic Overlord Xenu." Learn Religions, Aug. 25, 2020, learnreligions.com/scientologys-galactic-overlord-xenu-95929. Beyer, Catherine. (2020, August 25). Scientology's Galactic Overlord Xenu. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/scientologys-galactic-overlord-xenu-95929 Beyer, Catherine. "Scientology's Galactic Overlord Xenu." Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/scientologys-galactic-overlord-xenu-95929 (accessed March 28, 2024).