The Tenets of the Faith
The Santo Daime promotes a wholesome lifestyle in conformity with Mestre Irineu’s motto of Harmony, Love, Truth and Justice as well as other key doctrinal values such as strength, humility, kinship, and purity of heart.
1. We believe in the existence of an omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent God, whose principal attribute is universal cosmic love and who manifests throughout all creation.
2. We believe in the existence of an Imperial Kingdom of Divine Beings including: the Divine Eternal Father; the Divine Sovereign Mother; Lord Jesus Christ; the Patriarch St. Joseph; St. John the Baptist; Angels; Archangels and other hierarchies of Angels who, together with the illuminated saints make up the Celestial Court.
3. We dedicate special devotion to the Archangels Michael, Raphael, Gabriel and Uriel, and to the different spiritual beings of the Astral who emanate from the Holy Spirit, and serve Christ in illuminating human consciousness.
4. We respect the manifestations and the spiritual beings from the different native traditions of Africa and the American continents, ancestral spirits who are entities with healing abilities and immense wisdom.
5. We believe in the protection and guidance of these Divine Beings for the purpose of cleansing our emotional, mental and spiritual bodies.
6. We believe in the Holy Doctrine as received by Master Raimundo Irineu Serra, through an apparition of Our Lady in the form of the Queen of the Forest.
7. We believe that the Second Coming of Christ, symbolized by the second arm of our Cross of Caravaca, refers to the mission of Master Juramidam.
8. We believe that the Second Coming of Christ also has an esoteric meaning and must be interpreted with His presence that dwells within and can be experienced by each one of us.
9. We believe in the Divine purpose of the communion of our Sacrament, Santo Daime, in the search for self-knowledge which is revealed through the direct and personal experience with the manifested presence of the consciousness of Christ that dwells within each of us.
10. We believe that this Christic presence is experienced as an intimate counselor who teaches us how to become instruments of his peace and wisdom, realigning ourselves with our internal Divinity.
11. We believe that the Sacrament of the Santo Daime is a vehicle to the direct experience with the Divine and the Celestial Kingdom where the Divine Beings dwell.
12. We believe that the Sacrament of the Santo Daime is fundamental to the ritual of Santo Daime, since it provides the possibility to access the higher states of consciousness of genuine mystical experience.
13. We believe that the Daime Sacrament is a sacred marriage of the masculine and feminine principles, through the boiling of the Rainha leaf and the Jagube vine.
14. We believe that the tradition of the Santo Daime is based in the millenary traditions of the Incas and native pre-Colombian cultures and that it developed out of the direct communion with the Divine through this living Sacrament used by sages, clairvoyants and shamans from Antiquity.
15. We believe that this unbroken current of tradition culminated with Master Raimundo Irineu Serra, who denominated Ayahuasca – named after an Inca Prince, and the Sacrament of the peoples subjugated by the European conquest – into the Santo Daime.
16. We believe that our vegetal (plant) Sacrament is the vehicle of a Divine presence (known as Juramidam) which represents the spirit of Christ and reveals His doctrines and teachings through the mirações (state of visionary consciousness) and the hymns.
17. We believe that the hymns received by the Elders, masters and more experienced members of our religious faith are sacred and contain spiritual teachings of perpetual and universal value.
18. We believe that the principal messages of the hymns include the spiritual communion with the Divine; the praising of the celestial beings; the respect and compassion for our brothers and sisters; faith in the Divine Eternal Father and the Divine Creative Mother; and the respect and preservation of Nature.
19. We believe that the rites of this syncretic Doctrine allow the participants to experience a connection with the Divine in Nature, with the Universe and with the Superior and Internal being (higher self).
20. We believe in Redemption and Baptism in this true water of life that is the Santo Daime, for the remission of sins and the entrance into a new life.
21. We believe that the Santo Daime Doctrine is experienced by its followers as a Eucharist of Nature.
22. We believe that the making of the Sacrament is a sacred and initiatory process, to be performed according to rules handed down directly from the Queen of the Forest to Master Irineu.
23. The Santo Daime rituals are called “Works”, because through them we believe initiates have the conscious responsibility for correcting personal flaws and transforming themselves during the religious service.
24. We believe we have the responsibility to transform ourselves and to develop into more evolved and Christ-like beings.
25. We believe in the eternal life of the soul, in reincarnation and in the examination of our incarnations, in the light of the clairvoyance provided by the Santo Daime, to understand our Karma and to remove the obstacles for the evolution of our spirit.
26. We believe that in our “work” it is possible to obtain spiritual healing – since it is part of the natural process that one experiences in the search for one’s true Self and unity with the Divine.
27. We believe in the daily practice of prayer and meditation, in the practice of forgiveness, of charity, humility, and in the obedience to the spiritual teachings revealed internally through the communication with the Divine provided by the Santo Daime.
28. We believe in a sacred life in the context of a community dedicated to this goal. The community of the Santo Daime believes that living a religious life is more important than having religious experiences.
29. The community is viewed as a brother and sister hood and this familial relationship includes also a profound identification and empathy with the elements of Nature, the spiritual beings of the forest, rivers, oceans, the wind, the sun, the moon and the stars of the firmament.
30. We believe in the importance of preserving and respecting Nature, fauna, flora, and all living creatures.
31. We believe that harmony with Nature and other beings, as well as living a community life with ecological consciousness is part of the foundation of our spiritual Doctrine.
32. As individuals and responsible citizens, we believe in the respect and fulfillment of our responsibilities, civil and collective.
33. We recognize the right of an individual to choose his/her religion and/or spiritual path.
34. The adherence to the Santo Daime is voluntary. The initiation (official entrance into the brother/sisterhood) is also voluntary. The retirement from the Santo Daime is voluntary; no type of restriction applies. Proselytising is prohibited. The Santo Daime receives all who search spiritual comfort. The same principles are followed in all communities of the Santo Daime, independently of nationality, race, color or belief. The Santo Daime differs from other religions of masses by not searching for new followers. It assumes the charitable mission of not inviting, at the same time receiving, without discrimination, all who search.
35. Our religion, although a Christian confession, has eclectic roots and as such respects and sometimes incorporates into its teachings some elements from other main spiritual traditions of humanity.