Sphinx Spiritual takes instruction from a council of entities that includes Leonardo da Vinci, Lady Di, Sir Francis Bacon, Mahatma Ghandi, an alien called Zootor, and married Mornington Peninsula couple Ian and Pearl Rogers. Forum posts dating back to 2012 allege that the organisation is run as a cult. And the operation goes back long before this – but it’s only now that former members have started speaking out.

Full research sources listed here. You can support us on Patreon, with a one-off donation, or grab some merch. Sarah Steel's debut book Do As I Say is available on audiobook now.

If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, contact Cult Information and Family Support in Australia, or the International Cultic Studies Association outside of Australia.

Credits:

Written and hosted by Sarah Steel

Music by Joe Gould

Links:

• Legislative Assembly Victoria Clerk of the Papers — Notices of Questions, Volume 4, Session 1988-92
• Legislative Assembly Victoria Clerk of the Papers — Notices of Questions, Volume 3, Session 1988-91
• ‘To strike a balance’: A History of Victoria’s Workers’ Compensation Scheme, 1985–2010 — by Marianna Stylianou, Monash University, June 2011
• WorkCare funds $2m lawsuit against ABC — by Paul Robinson, The Age, 17 November 1991
• Lengthy defamation case draws to close — by Paul Robinson, The Age, 22 March 1992
• ROUX AND OTHERS v AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING COMMISSION [1992] 2 VR 577 — BYRNE J., 13 Mar 1992, Victorian Reports
• Public Service ‘spy’ wins compo claim — by Gay Alcorn, The Age, 2 December 1990
• Who are the Council? - more than 7 Historical icons! — Sphinx Spiritual YouTube channel, 31 March 2023
• Inside the Sphinx Spiritual School — A Current Affair, 16 February 2026
• Inside the controversial spiritual school run by former detectives — by Sam Cucchiara, A Current Affair, 16 February 2026
• The 11 Spiritual Values - Revealed! — Sphinx Spiritual YouTube channel, 17 February 2023
• The Wisdom of Crazy Horse — Ian Rogers’ blog with posts dating back to April 2012, visited April 2026
• sphinxspiritual.com.au Ian and Pearl Rogers — Cult Education Institute forum posts dating from 22 September 2012
• Spiritual LoveMatch — various archived versions of the Sphinx Spiritual dating platform website between 2015 and 2018
• Pythagoras Investing — archived versions of the official website
• Stock Nostradamus — archived versions of the official website
• Everything you must know about Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning — by Amelia Swan & Brooke Grebert-Craig, Herald Sun, 4 January 2026
• Former student of Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning speaks after leaving controversial sect — by Brooke Grebert-Craig & Amelia Swan, Herald Sun, 5 January 2026
• The mystical Mornington Peninsula sect drawing in wealthy, single women — by Brooke Grebert-Craig & Amelia Swan, Herald Sun, 4 January 2026
• FYI - THIS IS VERY RARE! If you want to see a true High Maintenance relationship at work - look at Ian & Pearl! — Sphinx Spiritual Facebook post attributed to Ian Rogers, 21 May 2016
• Anyone come across the Sphinx Spiritual cult? — Reddit thread dating back to 13 January 2022
• A warning about a widespread, local "Spiritual School". — Reddit thread dating from 2 November 2025
• Posts by Jamie123 — Cult Education Institute forum posts about Sphinx Spiritual dating from 24 March 2024
• Sphinx Spiritual Surgery — Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning Facebook video, 4 July 2025
• Spiritual Surgery — Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning page about the modality, visited April 2026
• Parenting Spiritually: In support of your child — by Ian & Pearl Rogers, 2013

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