The Cult of the Rain God

The Cult of the Rain God is a cult created by CTY students in the Intro to Philosophy course from LAN.23.1, and since then it has expanded to become a central part of both Carlisle sessions of 2024. The cult has over forty members, and choruses of "Praise the rain!" could be heard from almost anywhere on the Dickinson campus in 2024, as well as shouts of "PTRILTG" (meaning "praise the rain, I lost the game”). Read “Cult of the Rain God” at Memories:LAN for cult history.

Rule 1: PRAISE THE RAIN

Rule 2: Heretics will be sacrificed

The cult has a basic hierarchy, which is as follows, from most to least power:

Grand Priest - the highest in-person ranking within the cult. Grand Priests make the big decisions for the cult, and depending on which specific position they have (Torchbearer, Jarkeeper, Shadeholder, Swordwielder), perform special actions. To become a Grand Priest, a High Priest is selected to take the place of a preexisting Grand Priest on the second-to-last day of a session (when a Grand Priest is a nomore or a nevermore).

High Priest - the second highest in-person ranking within the cult. They choose certain priests and disciples to govern under them in order to keep the cult more organized. They spread the teachings of the cult, as well as recruit new members.

Priest - when a disciple has been a loyal member of the cult for a year, they become a Priest to educate the new disciples that come in every session.

Disciple - entry-level position within the cult. If an interested CTYer can answer four or five of the five questions of entry, they become a disciple and are expected to uphold the beliefs of the cult.

Honored Intern - a position created solely for Aaron Cushman. For a year he had claimed to be the Rain God, which made him the Sacrifice. But he eventually changed his mind. And he didn't deserve to be a disciple.

Intern - if you can only answer three out of the five questions of entry, you become an intern. Anything less and you aren't a part of the cult.

Sacrifice - Reserved for blasphemers and heretics; those who speak out against the cult. Previously Aaron Cushman, currently Alex (Hello Kitty shirt).

In addition to these positions, there are also The Fallen, which are the members of the cult who never come back to CTY. They technically have a higher ranking than everyone else, but because they aren't in-person members, they are only consulted for the most important decisions.

Questions of entry:

1. Who do we praise?

2. What do we say?

3. What is the name of our collective?

4. Where is our holy land?

5. What is our weapon of sacrifice?

Current members:

The Fallen: Mansen, Liam, Ned, Aster, Michelle, Sarah, Nathan Hyde, Katie, Ray, Aurora, Harper, Eli, Ellie, Anya, Annie, Alex Gonzalez, Aaron Cushman

Grand Priests: Sydney Schirripa, Spriet Gilbert

High Priest(s): Vivian Perry

Priests: Emery Oppenheim, Cameron Brenner

Disciples: Walter Strouse, Akhil "Kiki" Chawla, Leo, Zara, Zuri, Alyssa, Cerentha, Hazel, Divna, Strawberry, Sam, Ryan, Eli, Quinn, Finn, Emmy, Heath, Felix, Bruce, Oscar, Domna

Honored Intern: Aaron Cushman

Intern: Eli

Sacrifice: Alex (Hello Kitty shirt)