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TikTok user Unicole Unicron is an aspiring cult leader who is getting a lot of attention on TikTok, an app dedicated to niche content from various weirdos. I love the app, but I’m a little concerned by Unicole’s beliefs about herself and the universe. They’re pretty messed up on a number of levels.
Unicole is gaining traction right now for a TikTok that’s being circulated on Twitter, because that’s how adults mostly find out about TikTok trends these days. In it, she talks about being a “Starseed.” Starseeds, Star People, or Indigo children are a Native American spiritual concept, according to Daily Dot, that encompass the idea of an alien spirit transferring to a human body. Like many beautiful ideas from Native culture, the starseed story was appropriated by a man named Brad Steiger, who wrote a great deal about UFOs and talked about starseeds in his book from 1976 called Gods of Aquarius.
And here is Unicole claiming to be one:
Wow I’m not depressed I’m actually a starseed
— Mormon Noah Cyrus (again) (@SexyNoahCyrus) August 10, 2020
“A lot of people ask me, ‘how do I know if I’m a starseed,” she says. “But nobody seems to ask, ‘what is it like to be a starseed?'”
She continues, “Starseeds are alien consciousnesses born into human bodies. Because of our unique energy signatures, we have pretty hard lives. Being a starseed is a super lonely experience. It feels like nobody understands you and it feels like your family is far away in space.”
She says that starseeds have a “super different energy signature” from a human, which means they’re frequently diagnosed with “severe mental illness” and have an “inability to go about life like nothing is wrong.” Starseeds can “see the corruption in place very clearly.”
How to fight this alienation and misdiagnosis? Join her cult! Which she very openly calls a cult. It’s even called “UNICULT.”
@unicoleunicronthere are many good cults, you just don’t hear about them. UNICULT principles are not dangerous, you’re just brainwashed to be afraid of a word.♬ join unicult – unicoleunicron
A lot of people took the opportunity of Unicole’s moment in the spotlight to dunk on her cultural appropriation and longing for attention (and disciples):
I thought a starseed was the sperm that wins?????
— angie in a pot (@teaxtarot) August 11, 2020
Isn’t this just Scientology with zoomer aesthetic?
— This guy fawkes (@underscoremarx) August 10, 2020
mfs say they a starseed but dont wanna STARt going to therapy so they can plant the SEEDs of their personal growth
— slushh :0 #hurenpop (@rayberrycrunch) August 10, 2020
This goes waayyyy far back before social media. This was a cult in the 70s that agreed to do a mass suicide because they genuinely thought they were going to leave planet Earth and their former selves to live out in space. It’s very concerning because it can lead people to harm.
— Shiny Kiiwii (@ShinyKiiwii) August 11, 2020
Insult one starseed and here comes the whole crew… pack it up Guardians of the Galaxy 😳
— David ! (@davidramirezz1a) August 9, 2020
It’s also a term that has apparently been used for autism, which has its own set of complications:
It’s a fairly negative thing, please stop using it if you’re not autistic.
And yes I’m autistic.— Morticia Addams 🦇🥀 (@scorpiomoonwtch) August 11, 2020
— Morticia Addams 🦇🥀 (@scorpiomoonwtch) August 11, 2020
This whole concept and Unicole herself is kind of a mess. She is on an app that is most enjoyed by young people, who may be feeling alienated and confused without yet thinking they’re literal aliens. I hope they find a better niche on TikTok before falling victim to her ideas.
