The Oracle Institute is a 501 educational charity founded in 2004 by Laura M. George and located in Independence, Virginia. Oracle operates a multi-faith spirituality school, an award-winning publishing house, the Peace Pentagonconference center, and programs that support pluralistic and progressive values. Oracle's stated purpose is to serve as "An Advocate for Peace and a Vanguard for Conscious Evolution," and its formal mission statement is an adaptation of Thomas Jefferson's Act for Establishing Religious Freedom. Oracle's spirituality school offers courses, conferences, and retreats which focus on the five primary religions, indigenous wisdom traditions, New Age philosophies, peace-building, social justice, and sustainability. In 2015, Oracle sponsored the "Building the New World Conference" at Radford University, which featured futurists Barbara Marx Hubbard, Jerome C. Glenn, and Charles Eisenstein. Oracle publishes books under its imprint, Oracle Institute Press. Genres include religion and spirituality, personal growth and social evolution, mysticism, the arts, and children's fiction. Oracle Institute Press has won two Independent Publisher Book Awards in the Religion category, the Young Voices Seal of Approval for children's fiction, and two Indie Book Awards in the Spirituality and Performing Arts categories. In 2012, after two years of litigation, during which Oracle was represented by The Rutherford Institute, Oracle achieved the right to build the "Peace Pentagon" along the New River in Grayson County, Virginia. The Peace Pentagon is an energy-efficient PassivHaus structure with a multi-faith sanctuary and conference facilities. In 2015, Oracle founded an intentional community called the "Valley of Light" for cultural creatives who live and work at the Oracle campus. The Valley of Light micro-community was inspired by the Federation of Damanhur, whose Ambassadors regularly visit the Oracle campus. The Valley of Light is a member of the Fellowship for Intentional Community.
Publications
Authors published by the Oracle Institute include Oberto "Falco" Airaudi, Yuval Ron, Patricia Albere, Valerie Tarico, and the Institute's main founder, Rev. Laura M. George, J.D.
The Truth: About the Five Primary Religions. Laura M. George. Winner of a 2006 IPPY Award. The Oracle Institute Press:
Trusting Doubt: A Former Evangelical Looks at Old Beliefs in a New Light. Valerie Tarico, Ph.D.. Winner of a 2011 IPPY Award. The Oracle Institute Press:
Deas and Other Imaginings: Ten Spiritual Folktales for Children. Valerie Tarico, Ph.D.. Winner of Young Voices Seal of Approval. The Oracle Institute Press:
Bral Talej: Damanhur Divination Cards. Shama Viola and Oberto Airaudi. The Oracle Institute Press: UPC 8032937910017
Dying to Learn: First Book of the Initiate. Oberto Airaudi with a Foreword by Laura M. George. The Oracle Institute Press:
Reborn to Live: Second Book of the Initiate. Oberto Airaudi with a Foreword by Alex Grey. The Oracle Institute Press:
Seven Scarlet Doors: Third Book of the Initiate. Oberto Airaudi with a Foreword by Barbara Marx Hubbard. The Oracle Institute Press:
Divine Attunement: Music as a Path to Wisdom. Yuval Ron with a Foreword by Zia Inayat-Khan. Winner of two Indie Book Awards. The Oracle Institute Press:
Evolutionary Relationships: Unleashing the Power of Mutual Awakening. Patricia Albere with a Foreword by Katherine Woodward Thomas. The Oracle Institute Press: