Editing Order of the Solar Temple (section)

=== Cosmic coupling ===
One important OTS practice was "cosmic coupling" or "cosmic marriage".{{sfn|Chryssides|2006|p=120}}{{sfn|Lewis|2004|p=302}} Following Di Mambro's reveal of a member's past lives, either Di Mambro or Jouret — though Jouret himself was forced by Di Mambro to separate from his wife due to "cosmic incompatibility"{{sfn|Bédat|Bouleau|Nicolas|1997|pp=108–109}} — forced apart married couples and put them with other members.{{sfn|Lewis|2004|p=302}}{{sfn|Palmer|1996|p=309}} A ceremony was performed bonding the "discarnate archetypal forms" of the paired members.{{sfn|Chryssides|2006|p=120}} Di Mambro himself was bonded with Bellaton in a ceremony (viewed as the reincarnation of [[Hatshepsut]]).{{sfn|Chryssides|2006|p=120}} Di Mambro claimed he did this as the will of the "Cosmic Masters".{{sfn|Lewis|2004|p=302}}

The goal of these cosmic couples was to birth seven or nine elite "cosmic children", one of whom was his daughter Emmanuelle (another included Tabachnik's son). According to Di Mambro, these seven children would form "the conscience of the new humanity" and were raised to fulfill this role.{{sfn|Clusel|Palmer|2020|pp=220–221}}{{sfn|Palmer|1996|p=310}} The "Cosmic Child" Emmanuelle was the subject of worship by group members; though her specific role in the group is unclear it was unique in the group.{{sfn|Hall|Schuyler|2000|p=129}} She underwent a special baptism of water from the [[Jordan River]] and Jerusalem-sourced chrismal oil.{{sfn|Hall|Schuyler|2000|p=129}} At the time of the mass suicides, there were only five cosmic children.{{sfn|Palmer|1996|p=310}} In splitting up a couple, Di Mambro explained to them that their "karmic cycle" had been fulfilled; they were reassigned to a new partner, whereupon they were sent off on a mission together.{{sfn|Clusel|Palmer|2020|p=243}}

These pairings often had large age gaps: Dominique Bellaton (in her 30s) was paired with Patrick Vuarnet who was 14 years younger and Thierry Huguenin's marriage was broken apart and his wife (in her 30s) was matched with Di Mambro's 14 year old son.{{sfn|Clusel|Palmer|2020|p=243}} Another cosmic couple had a 30-year age gap.{{sfn|Palmer|1996|p=309}} Bruno Klaus, upon leaving his wife at Di Mambro's order, declared: "The Masters have decided. I am going to live with another woman".{{sfn|Lewis|2004|p=302}} While marriage was idealized in the OTS, the leaders encouraged [[familialism|defamilialization]] through this practice.{{sfn|Palmer|1996|p=309}} Ex-members often complained they were forced into these cosmic unions, though other ex-members said the OTS did not intrude in their personal or family lives.{{sfn|Palmer|1996|p=309}}