The Project of Rebuilding Deir-e-Moqān
My heart is weary of the cloister and the robe of hypocrisy.
Where is the Deir-e-Moqān, and where is the pure wine? Hafez
What is Deir-e-Moqān?
From the memory of Persian mystics, Deir-e-Moqān, the “House of the Magi” or “House of the Sun” was a sanctuary for seekers of truth. It was not a place of rigid dogma, but a living retreat where wisdom, joy, and transformation flowed side by side.
In these houses, the pīr-e moqān (elder of the Magi) guided seekers on their journey of awakening. Deir-e-Moqān was the gathering place of the truth-seekers, where retreats and initiations were held, and where participants passed through the seven stages of the Arya-Mithra Path:
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Pāridan – the flight of the black bird, breaking old patterns.
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Payvand – the union of opposites, the harmony of water and heart.
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Paykar – the courage of the warrior, defending truth with fire.
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Pahlevan – the wisdom of the leader, rooted like the cypress.
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Parybanu – the passage through shadow, dream, and feminine power.
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Pīr – the awakening of the solar vision.
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Pīrūz – the liberation of the master, transcending dualities.
Practices were not limited to reading poetry or philosophy. They included meditations of dance and music, silence and rhythm, and the use of visionary plants that opened gateways into expanded states of consciousness. The Deir-e-Moqān was a school of becoming, where the human being was shaped through both discipline and ecstasy, until each stage of the Path was embodied.
Just as the Zurkhāneh formed pahlavāns (heroes of strength), Deir-e-Moqān formed seekers of wisdom, those who longed for truth (Arta), freedom (Āzādī), and the eternal flame of transformation.
The Project of Rebuilding Deir-e-Moqān
Today, the vision is to rebuild Deir-e-Moqān as a living tradition for our age, not a monument to the past, but a sanctuary of transformation for the present and future.
These new Houses of the Sun will once again host gatherings, retreats, and initiations where seekers walk the Seven Stages of the Arya-Mithra Path, Pāridan, Payvand, Paykar, Pahlevan, Parybanu, Pīr, and Pīrūz. Each stage will be lived through practice, from rebirth and union to courage, wisdom, shadow work, illumination, and final liberation.
Here, music and dance will become meditation. Silence will open the inner gates. Visionary plants and ancient methods of journeying will help seekers step beyond the ordinary mind into expanded states of being.
In this Deir-e-Moqān, there is no worship of distant gods and no rigid creed. Instead, there is friendship with Mithra, the eternal companion, walking side by side with humanity toward joy, truth, and self-liberation.
To rebuild Deir-e-Moqān is to reignite an ancient fire: to open once more a house for seekers of truth, where body, heart, and spirit awaken together, and where the human being rises beyond fear to discover their divine potential.
These sanctuaries will rise in Shiraz, Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad, Tabriz, Amsterdam, Lisbon, San Francisco, and beyond.