CACrown ArchivesHistory · sources · collections
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

Avatar Course

series of courses run by Star's Edge Inc.

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 7, 2026
Entity authorityQ113990462
Source-derived summary

The Avatar Course, often simply called Avatar, is a series of LGAT self-development courses founded in 1986 by Harry Palmer and run by his privately held company, Star's Edge, Inc., which trains and licenses Avatar Masters (teachers) to deliver the Avatar Course globally. The Avatar Course has been described by many as having cult like qualities.

Structure

The first version of The Avatar Course was released on 15 October 1986. As of 2008 the course had five sections: licensed Avatar "Masters" teach the first three; Star's Edge, Inc. teaches the two advanced sections.

The Avatar course in essence claims to identify and remove limiting beliefs ("belief management") so that students can become more effective in life.

Scientology origins

In 1975 the Elmira Mission incorporated under the name the Elmira Mission of the Church of Scientology and the following year it gained a license to use all Scientology trademarks and service marks held and controlled by L. Ron Hubbard. In exchange for that right, Palmer paid 10% of the Mission's income as a tithe to Scientology. Six years later Hubbard assigned his rights in all Scientology trademarks to Religious Technology Center (RTC), which the Church of Scientology had organized especially to own and protect all Scientology trademarks. RTC immediately increased the licensing fee.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Avatar Course” is series of courses run by Star's Edge Inc. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Avatar, Course and series, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1986, 2008, 1975—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1986. For this dossier, Avatar, Course and series is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “series of courses run by Star's Edge Inc” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q113990462. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1986, 2008 and 1975.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Avatar Course”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Avatar Course primary sources, Avatar Course archive and Avatar research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Avatar Course”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Avatar Course” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.