Editing Siderella (section)

== Beliefs and practices ==
Siderella is a [[UFO religion]],{{sfn|Abgrall|1999|p=95}}{{sfn|Mayer|1999|p=195}}{{sfn|de Gibon|1985|p=562}} and also a [[contactee]] group.{{sfn|Mauge|Clark|1990|p=115}} The French satirical newspaper ''[[Charlie Hebdo]]'' dubbed them a "psychopathosect".<ref name="S.1998">{{Cite news |last=S. |first=A. |date=1998-09-23 |title=Psychopathosectaire |work=[[Charlie Hebdo]] |location=Paris |language=fr-FR |issn=1240-0068}}</ref>{{sfn|Gałkowski|2019|p=78}} A "consciousness study group", it focused on practices aimed to expand human consciousness, and develop the "psycho-mental-spiritual evolution" of man.{{sfn|Silva|2017|p=108}} Their perspective was immaterial and heavily focused on extraterrestrial contact, worshiping UFOs.{{sfn|Silva|2017|p=108}}{{sfn|Ramet|1998|p=235}} They believed in a "purified and unified devotion" towards aliens and "the Supreme Being".{{sfn|Drogou|1998|p=124}} They drew elements from [[Buddhism]] and [[Tantrism]].{{sfn|Drogou|1998|p=124}}{{sfn|Abgrall|2000|p=62}} The group sought new members from university professors, using competitive tests,{{sfn|Picard|Fournier|2002|p=265}} and advertised with flyers including science-fiction drawings.{{sfn|Marhic|Kerlidou|1996|p=46}} They advertised in the [[New Age]] scene,{{sfn|Marhic|Kerlidou|1996|p=49}} and presented themselves as merely UFO enthusiasts.<ref name="Marhic1997" /> Mostly active in France,{{sfn|Gałkowski|2019|p=78}} they also had some members in Germany.{{sfn|Ramet|1998|p=235}} {{As of|1995}} they had an estimated 50 to 500 members.<ref name="Phénomèna1996">{{Cite magazine |date=1996 |title=Bloc-notes |magazine=Phénomèna |location=Aix-en-Provence |pages=17, 22–23, 27, 31 |language=fr-FR |issue=31 |issn=1157-4704}}</ref>

Members lived communally;{{sfn|Drogou|1998|p=124}} the group's activities centered around preparing for contact with aliens, and group sex,{{sfn|Abgrall|1999|p=95}} interpreted as "tantric transmutation".{{sfn|Abgrall|2000|p=93}} They also incorporated New Age beliefs and ones related to [[esoteric]] and initiatory societies, such as ones concerned with planetary degradation and "energy".<ref>{{Cite news |author=Devil |first=Nicolas Devil |last2=Bélair |first2=Michel |date=March 1977 |title="Les extra-terrestres" |trans-title="The Aliens" |url=https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2219920 |access-date=2025-06-01 |work=Mainmise |location=Sherbrooke |page=35 |language=fr-CA |via=[[BAnQ numérique]] |issue=68 |issn=1186-3161}}</ref>{{sfn|Abgrall|1999|p=269}} They incorporated crystals into their practice, and wearing them was recommended.{{sfn|Abgrall|2000|p=200}}{{sfn|Drogou|1998|p=124}} They also sold [[naturopathic]] medicine.<ref name="Brunschwig1994" /> They claimed to be able to telepathically communicate with beings from other dimensions, in an effort to achieve the "cosmic junction".{{sfn|Drogou|1998|p=124}} They believed in an impending apocalypse where members would be saved by aliens in a UFO craft and taken to [[Alpha Centauri]], though they presented themselves as more UFO-oriented than apocalyptic.<ref name="LaBelle1991" />{{sfn|Marhic|Kerlidou|1996|pp=47–48}} They were noted to use esoteric language.{{sfn|Marhic|Kerlidou|1996|p=49}}  They advocated initiating one's self into the "Unitary Science of the Intra-Universe".{{sfn|Marhic|Kerlidou|1996|p=47}}{{sfn|Drogou|1998|p=124}} Appel would, in a trance, "[[Channeling (New Age)|channel]]" messages from these space beings.<ref name="LaBelle1991">{{Cite news |last=La Belle |first=René |date=1991-01-30 |title=À la découvre des nouvelles religions: lllusion, canular, phares d'avion, vaisseau spatial? |trans-title=Discovering new religions: illusion, hoax, plane headlights, spaceship? |url=https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/4781393 |access-date=2025-06-01 |work=Le Canada français |location=Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu |page=B-7 |language=fr-CA |via=[[BAnQ numérique]] |issue=34}}</ref> There were concerns over how they treated women.{{sfn|Marhic|Kerlidou|1996|p=47}} A related commercial organization was SARL Transtar-Interal, the group's commercial outlet, who sold the group's products, including CDs, cassettes, member [[Sergio Macedo]]'s works, as well as an over 6000 page "bible" written by Appel.{{sfn|Marhic|Kerlidou|1996|pp=49–50}} They also sold courses for a fee. This was how the group raised funds.<ref name="Marhic1997" />{{sfn|Marhic|Kerlidou|1996|pp=49–50}} 

They were often described as a cult by media outlets, and other UFO organizations, including the organization SOS-OVNI which was critical of them.<ref name="Brunschwig1994" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=1996-11-12 |title=Les sectes récupèrent les OVNI |trans-title=Cults reclaim UFOs |url=https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2736310 |access-date=2025-06-01 |work=[[Le Soleil (Quebec)|Le Soleil]] |location=Quebec City |page=A15 |language=fr-CA |via=[[BAnQ numérique]] |issn=0319-0730 |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]]}}</ref><ref name="Gaetner2002">{{Cite magazine |last=Gaetner |first=Gilles |date=2002-09-18 |title=L'argent caché des sectes |trans-title=The hidden money of cults |url=https://www.lexpress.fr/societe/l-argent-cache-des-sectes_498058.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=2025-06-01 |magazine=[[L'Express]] |location=Paris |language=fr-FR |issn=0014-5270}}</ref> In 1995, the group was listed as a cult in the ''Cults and Money'' ({{Langx|fr|Sectes et argent}}) report of the [[Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France]].<ref name="Phénomèna1996" />{{sfn|Abgrall|1999|p=95}}{{sfn|Picard|Fournier|2002|p=265}} It was one of only 3 groups officially classified as "UFO cults" in France (listed as Siderella) by the report, being the only three exclusively [[ufological]] in nature.<ref name="Marhic1997" /><ref name="Phénomèna1996" />{{sfn|Abgrall|1999|pp=93, 95}} The other two were [[Raëlism]] and {{Lang|fr|l'École de la préparation à l'évacuation extraterrestre}}.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=1998 |title=Bloc-notes |magazine=Phénomèna |location=Aix-en-Provence |page=20 |language=fr-FR |issue=38 |issn=1157-4704}}</ref>{{sfn|Abgrall|1999|p=93}}