International Center of Parapsychology and Scientific Research of the New Age

The International Center of Parapsychology and Scientific Research of the New Age, generally known under the name of Horus (in reference to falcon-god Horus which was the emblem of the group), was a New Age-oriented new religious movement founded in France in 1989 by Marie-Thérèse Castano, and ended in April 1997. This group had about 300 members. The community of the group was located in La Coucourde, in the Drôme department. In the 1990s, the group was often the subject of strong criticisms in the media, as former members and a 1995 report established by the Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France presented it as a cult. In 1997, the founder and several followers were sentenced to prison on grounds of duty to rescue, complicity in forgery and unauthorized practice of medicine. However, the group considered to be a victim of defamation and expressed its complaints particularly through its lawyer.