ICEFLU Responds to Advance Review Copy

As is customary with advance review copies, I distributed a small number to relevant parties ahead of the June 15 release. I confess I did not anticipate that sharing a copy with ICEFLU leadership would move quite so swiftly to institutional action.

Their response arrived this morning:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CÉU DO MAPIÁ, BRAZIL — April 1, 2026 — ICEFLU, in solemn assembly and after extensive consultation with churches worldwide, hereby announces a momentous transformation in the ceremonial symbols of Santo Daime.

Effective immediately, the Caravaca cross shall be retired from its central position in works, to be replaced by a symbol more faithful to our foundational principle of centro livre: the question mark ❔

The question mark signals not the absence of meaning, but rather the profound presence of epistemic humility. Where the cross has carried centuries of doctrinal claims, the question mark carries only invitation. Where the cross has become freighted with associations of suffering and exclusion, the question mark opens space for each person’s authentic encounter with the ineffable.

This is not a rejection of Christianity. Many daimistas find profound meaning in Christian teachings and will continue to do so. Centro livre has always welcomed practitioners of all faiths and none. What we now clarify is this: the symbol at our center must reflect openness rather than doctrine, question rather than answer, invitation rather than assertion.

Practical Implementation:

• All churches shall transition symbols by June 21, 2029 (the Southern Hemisphere winter solstice)
• Hymns, prayers, and works continue unchanged; only the central symbol evolves

Contact: ICEFLU Communications Office, Céu do Mapiá, Amazonas, Brazil

I am, naturally, gratified.

(It is April 1st. The press release above is aspirational fiction that appears in the book’s epilogue — where it is clearly labeled as such, footnoted, and followed by a hymn advising readers not to believe masters who appear before them. Pre-orders open June 15.)