1994

The first FOI related website was created by Michael Artonn Starsheen, AU, in late 1994. The website was titled after his FOI centre “Lyceum of Isis of the Stars.” It was primarily a teaching site for his lyceum. By early 1995 there were several pages on the site devoted to the Fellowship of Isis, including a copy of the Manifesto and detailed information about the Star of Ishtar Tiamat Dragon Diagram. There was also a form on the site that could be printed out and sent to Olivia Robertson at the FOI Foundation Centre in Ireland to join the Fellowship of Isis. This was the way new members joined the FOI before decentralization. Olivia has stated that the Lyceum of Isis of the Stars website brought more people to join the Fellowship of Isis than any other vehicle during the period it was online.

All of the website content about the Fellowship of Isis was printed out in full colour and sent to Olivia Robertson, who reviewed and approved it all. She authorized the Lyceum of the Isis of the Stars website to post FOI materials onto the internet. Starsheen says, “I was fairly new to the FOI, having only joined in 1993. But I noticed that there was not an FOI presence on the internet at that time. Since I had a 15 year background in computers, setting up an FOI related site seemed the perfectly logical thing to do. All of my years in computer technology could be put to good use.”

Starsheen built the site entirely from scratch, everything had to be coded with html, because the website building programs that are generally available today did not exist then. Even the graphics on his site had to be created by hand - one pixel at a time.

The url for this website was: http://www.isis-of-the-stars.org/isis   It was deactivated in 2004.  A new Lyceum of Isis of the Stars website is currently under construction.  You can view it here: http://www.isisofthestars.org/

Caroline Wise, AU, and Steve Wilson, AU, both of London, UK, received authorization to create the First Official Central FOI Website in 1995. The website was published to the internet in 1996. It contained news of upcoming FOI events in London, including the first London FOI Convention, along with news and FOI events from other areas of the world.  This site featured information about animal welfare from the APB (Animal Protestors Bulletin) and environmental concerns.  A painting of Isis by artist Judith Page graced the main/index page of the website. The url for this former site was: http://www.cerbernet.co.uk/isis

Steve wrote an e-mail to Starsheen not long after the London based Official site was published onto the web. “I wish I had realized you had the FOI Manifesto on your site. I could have cut and pasted from your pages and not had to type and code the whole thing out by hand!”  For a time the site flourished, but due to time constraints and technical difficulties the first Official FOI Website became inactive in 1998.

1996 - 1999

Between 1996 and 1999 several FOI related sites were published on the internet. One of the earlier of these, FOI Chicago, was put up by Deena Butta, AU and Lord Seshmi, Pr. H., of Chicago. By February of 1999, listings in Isian News included the site of Rt. Rev. Tom and Rt. Rev. Claudia Weymeyer of Germany, The Nemeton of Dana and Tara Hedge College. The next few years would see the creation of many FOI related sites. Individual sites from more FOI centers, additional regional sites such as the one in Chicago and online discussion groups were being set up all over the world to create the network via the world wide web that the Fellowship of Isis enjoys today.

Rt. Rev.Olivia Robertson, Rt. Rev. Caroline Wise and Rt. Rev. Steve Wilson came to the mutual decision to transfer authorization of the Official FOI Website.  Authorization was granted July 23, 1999 to create the FOI HomePage, although Olivia writes in Isian News Number 94, Samhain, 1999: "The Homepage was put together and went online on May 18th 1999 ... We even found it at once in the library of Clonegal Castle."  This marked the beginning of the FOI HomePage.

Because of the rapid expansion of the Fellowship of Isis during the next several years through the internet, Olivia saw the need to decentralize the FOI presence on the web. She initiated the creation of a new Advisory Board within the Fellowship of Isis, under the aegis of the Temple of Isis, the legal branch of the FOI.  The board was named the Circle of Isis, and officially chartered on October 10, 2004. This Advisory Board was authorized to set up a global FOI website containing the full FOI liturgy on that date.

The first Circle of Isis site was published in late 2004. But due to technical difficulties with the database it was taken off of the internet in September of 2005. 

A new Circle of Isis website was launched on November 19, 2005.  This second COI site was the first FOI website to contain a complete hand typed version of the entire FOI Liturgy based on the original FOI Liturgy texts as published by Cesara Publications - the private publishing house of FOI co-founders, Lawrence Durdin-Robertson and his sister Lady Olivia Robertson.  This presentation of the liturgy by the Circle of Isis website has been authorized by Lady Olivia Robertson in person. This unique and positive contribution has been offered in the spirit of loving friendship and goodwill to the Fellowship of Isis community.

Present

Since 2004 several other new FOI global and regional websites have been authorized by Olivia.  Each of these sites offers a unique contribution to the Fellowship of Isis through the special talents of the respective website managers and website staffs. Olivia writes: "Each member of the Fellowship of Isis is valued, the work of each member is dedicated through She of Ten Thousand Names."

The FOI continues to grow, spreading Goddess awareness through a Rainbow Network via the world wide web.  As Olivia so often says: "The Fellowship of Isis was never meant to be a tree, it was meant to be a forest."

Thanks to Michael Artonn Starsheen, AU, for sharing information about the early days of his website.  Thanks also go to Steve Wilson, AU.

For a complete listing of FOI Global and Regional websites, please visit this page: Official FOI Sites, Services and Publications

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