Staring at the Sun, Waiting for Mary

From this article Looking at the BVM can make you go blind...

An intersting report surfaces via the Irish Times. Recent supposed appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) have been following the pattern made famous at Fatima - namely word gets around, lots of people turn up and then they claim to see the sun dancing around in the sky. October the 31st saw 10 000 people attending and an earlier appearance on the 11th of October also saw large numbers. At both gatherings people claimed to see the sun shimmering, changing colour and dancing in the sky.

People are looking towards the heavens, watching suns dance and colors glimmer, and this is causing problems for some, who find they have to go to the hospital:

Well people are quite naturally looking at the sun attempting to get their own view of a miracle.  Some are then presenting themselves to University Hospital Galloway with vision problems.Dr Eamonn O'Donoghue, consultant opthalmologist reports that they have witnessed five recent cases of solar retinopathy (damage to the retina from prolonged exposure to the sun - i.e. from staring at it).  

From Damn Data!: The Fatima-BVM-UFO Connection

The excellent blog Cabinet of Wonders has an item by contributor "Emperor" concerning Fatima, UFOs and the BVM. He quotes Fatima-UFO-BVM writer Professor Joaquim Fernandes; pay Cabinet of Wonders a visit to find out more.

BVM Returns to Knock, Ireland?

Another BVM appearance, this time in Knock, Ireland, which is the site of a BVM visitation in 1879. Now, many have come from all over to see if she'll reappear in the same place. As seems to be the common response from the Vatican, no Church sanctioned words or representatives have lent support:

Coleman complained that the Catholic church had not made a priest available to recite the Rosary with him and the thousands gathered in waiting. Describing himself as "a visionary of our Blessed Mother", he said the visitation would only be visible "to people who come with an open heart".

Paralleling other BVM visitations, like Fatima, it's expected Mary will arrive in a "dancing sun."

Story here: Thousands await Knock's new Virgin Mary vision:Pilgrims have travelled to a rain-soaked corner of western Ireland hoping to witness a miracle

From L.A. Marzulli: Fatima the New Movie...Deception A go-go

On UFO Digest, new article on the new film Fatima and the event: "Fatima The New Movie ... Deception A go-go" from researcher L.A. Marzulli. Thanks to Lesley at The Debris Field for the link. Includes a clip of the movie.

Esoteric Connections in Mexican Wrestling

My new Trickster's Realm will be up sometime tomorrow for Binnall of America: Fun With Lucha Libre’s Esoteric Side. The column was inspired by the by now almost iconic photograph of two Lucha Libre wrestlers viewing an image of the Virgin Mary in a California restaurant.

While there at Binnall of America, be sure to read all the other great columns, and listen to the podcasts. As always, Tim Binnall offers the most interesting interviews -- and for free.

On Naveed's Realm: Deluge Myths

Naveed at Naveed's Realm is doing a nice series on deluge/flood myths. Have a look.

Blog Find: Virgin Mary (again)

I found a very nicely designed and presented blog that tracks appearances of the BVM's image on things like trees, truck windows, etc. It's called Virgin Mary (again). It's a useful resource, but it is definitely a skeptic blog; the blog author or authors have no patience with the phenomena. Here's an example from her post "Our Lady of Looks Like an Ordinary Potato:"

Usually I add some salt and pepper too. I use kosher salt most often. If a potato is actually an apparition of the Holy Virgin Mother of God with Perfectly Intact Hymen Covering Her Virtuous Virginal Vagina holding her son is that still kosher food? I know Jesus was always telling people “Eat me”, so I guess it would not be rude. If I nuked this potato and took it out onto the patio would that constitute eating out the Holy Virgin Mother of God with Perfectly Intact Hymen Covering Her Virtuous Virginal Vagina holding her son? So many questions!

Not for the delicate, certainly not for the religious and the faithful, and woos like myself probably won't like it either, unless you're like me and expect that kind of thing :)

Taking it to the People, Tricksters ...

My new Trickster's Realm column for Binnall of America will be up sometime tomorrow: Seeing the Virgin: Tricksters Take it to the People.

Fatima 1917: The Buzzing

From the "What's all this then?" blog:Fatima. 1917. The Buzzing.

Gabriella Ricciardi: "Telling Stories, Building Altars: Mexican American Women's Altars in Oregon

Telling Stories, Building Altars: Mexican American Women's Altars in Oregon by Garbriella Ricciardi. In Madras, Oregon, altars and beliefs.

Professor Dan Wojcik: "Spirits, Apparitions, and Traditions of Supernatural Photography"

I found this while searching on-line this evening for Marian apparitions in Oregon: Spirits, Apparitions, and Traditions of Supernatural Photography, from University of Oregon folklore professor Daniel Wojcik. With photos he has taken himself at Bayside, New York. Very interesting.

Keep UFO Hunters on Air

Lesley posted this on Women Of Esoterica, and I'm passing it along. Please sign the petition and keep UFO Hunters on the air!

Bill has just finished filming for Season 3 and I don't know if there will be a Season 4. Maybe you -- plus some pals -- can write to the network and let them know you would like to see more episodes:

http://www.history.com/global/feedback/contact.jsp?site=HistoryChannel.com&NetwCode=THC

or you can sign a petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/uf0hunt/petition.html

Either way, it can't hurt, and it just might help!

Keeping hope alive!

Thanks!

nb

richelle hawks: "Virgins and Saints Along the Mohawk"

Esoteric author, and contributor to Women Of Esoterica, has a neat Medussa's Ladder on Binnall of America: Virgins and Saints Along the Mohawk." It's a look at the west coast vs. east coast cultural differences in presenting Mary, as well as broader cultural representations.

One of the most visible cultural dynamics is the presence of the Virgin Mary. In upstate New York's Mohawk Valley, where I live, Virgin Mary statues and icons are everywhere: restaurants, atop buildings and institutions, gas stations, affixed to mailboxes on rural roads. The Blessed Virgin Mary hangs out in windows, looms large over cemeteries, and watches over her flock from backyard altars. She's always made of concrete or plaster.

This is not Mexico, and this is not the fantastical, glorious Virgen de Guadalupe; here, the Holy Mother is unadorned, plain. There are no bright plastic flowers, nor are there colorful candles in jars, no milagros. Generally, there is no sense of "shrinage."

By the way, don't forget you can download a free pdf collection of blog entries on the BVM that includes an article by richelle on the image of Mary in Utah.

Mexican Wrestlers and a BVM Image

There's a great post over at Cabinet of Wonders about Mexican wrestlers visiting a "shrine" of the BVM, who appeared on a griddle at the Las Palmas restaurant: Masked wrestlers declare BVM appearance a miracle. This has a lot of Fortean juxtapositions and history here; goes beyond a mere image of Mary on a potato chip kind of thing.

Mary on a Griddle

The BVM makes an appearance, this time on a griddle in Calexico ,

More here