Richelle Hawks' Medusa's Ladder: Patron Saint of UFOs

Richelle Hawks has a wonderful new colum (Medusa's Ladder) at BoA entitled Patron Saint of Flying Saucers. As usual, Richelle writes beautifully. In this article, Hawks writes about a lovely book find from 1925 that evokes flying saucers:

Considering it more closely, I was getting a strange, provocative, sci-fi, atomic age kind of vibe from it and it was a very peculiar feeling, quite anachronous. I knew from the book's feel, particular materials, fonts, and agewear that it was older, an interbellum relic. Inspecting the title pages, I was correct—1925. What could this more mod feeling be, then?
I sat down with the book and considered the feeling and the answer hit me suddenly in a flash of recognition—the bottom Saint-scene transformed before my eyes: it's a classic UFO form.
Inspecting it further, I found there were even corresponding details. The window/doors of the coliseum, are fairly close to the place where portholes are described, and there are even spectators in the places where UFO occupants have been described.
Richelle Hawks : Medusa's Ladder

Speaking of Richelle Hawks, saints, and UFOs, a reminder to readers that you can download a free collection of articles by yours truly on Mary and UFOs, including Richelle's article A New Vision:The Virgin Mary Tree of Salt Lake City

Y.UFOLOGY: The Third Secret of Fatima

Tina Sena at YUFOLOGY has a post about the Vatican's treatment of the "3rd secret" of Fatima. Makes sense to me!

Y.UFOLOGY: The Third Secret of Fatima

Philip Coppens: An icon for Mother Russia

Philip Coppens' An icon for Mother Russia:

The Virgin of Kazan is one of the most revered icons Russia ever knew. Its disappearance at the time of the Russian Revolution was a catastrophe, but its resurgence and its link with Pope John Paul II and Fatima has added a most recent chapter to one of the world’s greatest icons.

Fascinating history of the icon, politics, the Vatican's role, relationship to Fatima, maverick or hidden archeology, and BVM apparitions.

An icon for Mother Russia

Christians In Iraq Flee North Before Christmas

Ah, tolerance. . .

Christians In Iraq Flee North Before Christmas

Vatican Bank mired in laundering scandal - Yahoo! News

The Vatican says it's all a "misunderstanding"

VATICAN CITY – This is no ordinary bank: The ATMs are in Latin. Priests use a private entrance. A life-size portrait of Pope Benedict XVI hangs on the wall.

Nevertheless, the Institute for Religious Works is a bank, and it's under harsh new scrutiny in a case involving money-laundering allegations that led police to seize euro23 million ($30 million) in Vatican assets in September. Critics say the case shows that the "Vatican Bank" has never shed its penchant for secrecy and scandal.

Vatican Bank mired in laundering scandal

Virgin Mary squirting milk out of her breast in a priest mouth : Saint Bernard de Clairvaux lactation | Virtualost.com

Virgin Mary squirting milk out of her breast in a priest mouth : Saint Bernard de Clairvaux lactation | Virtualost.com

"Chrismakah" from Boing Boing

Chrismakah - Boing Boing

As the OP on Boing Boing comments, anyone from a blended family of Catholic, Jewish, etc. traditions can relate...

Angels and Aliens on C2C

On Coast to Coast tonight, discussion of angels and reptilians.


Angels and Aliens - Shows - Coast to Coast AM

"Homosexuality and Demonic Possesion"

On the Henry Makow site; this article by a guest contributor who relates a tale of being intentionally possessed by a French Jewish gay man:

The first gay men I met in Paris were show-business Jews. In my twenties, 25 years ago, I gravitated to the artistic world, completely dominated by Jews.
So I made the acquaintance of one of those Jews with whom I had sex (but no penetration I might add.) The next morning, I began to feel unwell with a pain down the spine, at the perineum exactly. This point, I learned much later corresponded to the first Shakra. My negative Kundalini was just starting, a phenomena I had never heard about.

Things just got worse and to this day, "Le Gall" continues to battle this possession, as well as experiencing paranormal activity. Lab tests came back negative for any type of disease or something that would explain his pains, etc. Doctors were little help; particularly Jewish doctors, who, Le Gal implies, were in on this vast conspiracy:

A year later, returning to Paris, I met a doctor, also Jewish, who abruptly told me that I was certainly suffering from an occult problem. Through the doctor, I met an old clairvoyant, who delivered the terrifying following diagnosis: the homosexual relationship had put me in contact with a demonic entity. . . I kept on seeing the same doctor, who insisted I was cursed and that it was my responsibility and no one else's. When I do think now that the other guy was not innocent at all...but, you know, remember that I only was a poor christian or goy.

Interesting account for the esoteric connections between sex, occult systems and religions. Those connections are a standard part of magical rites. But its disturbing for its clear anti-Semitism and religious fundamentalism. And it should be noted here that Henry Makow (who Jeff Rense regularly promotes on his site) is an over the top misogynist, bigot, flag waving, homophobic anti-Semite. In many ways he is funny, except he takes it all very seriously, as do many others, as reading the comments will tell you, and that's scary.

savethemales.ca - Homosexuality and Demonic Possession

Marian Apparition/Moon Goddess Thread on the JREF

I abhor skeptibunkies, but I do acknowledge my twisted fascination with their convoluted, surreal mind-sets on things, particularly paranormal and esoteric subjects. On the JREF (James Randi Educational Forum) message board, is a thread in the "paranormal/general skepticism" category: "Endorsing Our Lady of Fatima is endorsing the Moon Goddess." 

I haven't been following the thread closely, but did find the above message interesting for its mention of a "grey alien" and UFOs in connection with Marian apparitions; Medjugorje. Whether or not the person is a troll  or for real, who can say, but it's an interesting thread for its inclusion of aliens, greys, Mary as UFO/alien, and seemingly "rogue" messages and manifestations at Medjugorje.

Related posts: my articles at UFO Digest: Speculation on Mary as a Trickster
and BVM Apparitions, UFOs and Deceptions

William B Stoecker - Marian apparitions and UFOs - Unexplained Mysteries

Found the following article from 2008 on the Unexplained Mysteries site: William B Stoecker - Marian apparitions and UFOs - Unexplained Mysteries

Marian apparitions and UFOs

For centuries, thousands of people, mostly Catholics, have reported seeing and even speaking with a being they believe to be the Virgin Mary. Curiously, the being almost never clearly states that she is, in fact, the mother of Jesus; the witnesses tend to assume this. Her rather vague pronouncements and advice resemble that given out by "aliens" to ufo abductees. Sometimes the vision is accompanied by lights in the sky resembling ufos. Popes Leo XIII, Pius XII, and John Paul II have reported these visions, but most of the experiencers are ordinary people, often poor rural people, and often children: the same kinds of people who often report ufo abductions. Most, but not all, are in Catholic or at least primarily Christian countries. The Holy See has "confirmed" only a few of these, among them the Virgin of Guadalupe,St. Etienne le Laus, Paris, La Satelli, Lourdes, Fatima, Pontmain, Beauraing, Banneux, and Knock (Ireland). We shall examine Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fatima, and the (non confirmed) Medugorje events.

Brown Pelican Synchronicity

I wrote about our watching a brown pelican while on the coast over Thanksgiving on my blog The Orange Orb. I took some pictures but they didn't turn out well; couldn't distinguish too well the pelican, which was swooping, diving and hovering above the sea, from the many gulls. When I uploaded the photos I noticed a strange thing; a sharp object appeared in the sky, somethine we didn't notice while on the beach. It's pixalated, and hard to tell what it could be; camera glitch, or UFO/military-gov. object?

Writing away here at UFO Mary on various things (see posts below) including the suppressions of the church and "maverick" groups, I find the following item on a Mary contactee; St. Catherine Laboure, on the Brown Pelican Sociey of Lousianna blog.   

November 25th is her feast day.

St. Catherine's body is "incorrupt" and is enclosed in a glass coffin in Paris, at one of the places Mary appeared to her. 

On UFO Religions: Review of Nick Redfern's Final Events

I can't keep up with one of my favorite writers in the world of Forteana, Nick Redfern; he must be the most prolific writer in the area of UFO, Fortean, etc. research there is.  I haven't yet had the chance to read his recent work Final Events and the Secret Government Group on Demonic UFOs and the Afterlife (Anomalist Books, 2010) but cannot wait to do so. I've heard Nick discuss the book on various interviews; the book's subject matter is something I am very much interested in and it's at the top of my list of "next to read" material.

 Mike at UFO Religions did read the book, and wrote a review at his blog. Nick left a comment over there. So, enjoy!

Intercessors, Suppressions and Deserts

Earlier this month, on November 9, I wrote about the church's censoring of a "maverick" group Opus Sanctorum Angelorum. 

After the church moved in and cleaned up, the group was allowed to continue to exist in its new form, and, under its new authority: the church. I wrote:

Since 1992, the group has been under the authority of a Vatican appointed overseer, Dominican Father Benoit Duroux, who handed over his responsibilities to his fellow Dominican Fr. Daniel Ols in March 2010.
Something happened that caused Opus Angelorum to morph into something the Vatican could approve of, "obedience" being one cause for the Vatican's acceptance of the group:

Today, thanks to the obedience of its members, the Opus Angelorum can be considered to be living loyally and serenely in conformity with the doctrine of the Church and with canonical and liturgical law,” the Vatican said.

“Therefore, in its present state, the Opus Angelorum is a public association of the Church in conformity with traditional doctrine and with the directives of the Holy See.”

Today an Associated Press item reports on another renegade group: Intercessors of the Lamb. 

Intercessors of the Lamb was founded by Nadine Brown in 1980.  The group of men and women live frugally and devote themselves to prayer. The church decided to denounce the group; this is called "suppression" a formal term used by Catholics and scholars:

The church's split with the Intercessors -- known in Catholic circles as suppression -- is more about control over the groups' form and function, the scholars say . . . Suppression is typically reserved for floundeirng parishes and inactive church groups, but is occasionally used to silence wayward organizations.

On the Opus Angelorum site is the official letter from the church that details the current, approved state of Opus Angelorum, and reminds members of any ideas about straying away from official doctrine. "Suppression" hovers just around the corner:

In this letter, the Congregation at the same time warns Bishops of some former members, including priests who either left or were expelled from the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Cross and who “have not accepted the norms given by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and seek to restore what, according to them, would be the ‘authentic Opus Angelorum’, that is, a movement which professes and practices all those things which were forbidden by the above-mentioned documents.”

Brown was forced to resign from the religious organization she founded, and was forcefully removed from the premises. Brown writes:

Monday morning, October 4, 2010, Fr. Joe Taphorn, accompanied by two Douglas County Sheriffs, came to Mary’s House to present a letter to me from the Archbishop stating I was to vacate the property by noon, three and one half hours later. It was also stated that I was not to leave the Archdiocese of Omaha without specific permission from the Archbishop. However, two minutes before noon, word came that I had an extension and could stay until 2:00 p.m. the next day, October 5, 2010. In obedience, I complied with this and left the property the next day via taxi. Because I was given no money and had no place to go, a friend provided accommodations in an Omaha motel.

Since the Archbishop indicated that I could not leave the Archdiocese of Omaha without his permission, I requested permission a week later to make a retreat elsewhere. I was denied the permission and consequently was obedient to this directive as well. Because the other nine sisters and the one brother had informed their Superiors that they were taking sabbaticals, they were free to go anywhere and they chose to join me. Consequently, there is no disobedience whatsoever on the part of these former sisters and brother.

I found the part about the sheriffs interesting. Indeed, as I was reading the newspaper article in this morning's paper, I made a note: "what authority?" in response to the following:

Archdiocese officials said Brown resigned voluntarily after it raised issues with the way the group was being run. Brown claims she was forced out and escorted off the groups' property by authorities. [bold mine]

It seems money is very much an issue here. According to the newspaper article, Intercessors of the Lamb earned close to four million dollars, and "net assets ... more than six million." The group owns eithy six acres in Ponca Hills, Nebraska. (I did a quick scan of various Catholic blogs that are discussing this; one such is here, and also here.)


Both Opus Sanctorum Angelorum and Intercessors of the Lamb were started by women. Nadine Brown was a sister in the Contemplentives of the Good Shepherd before leaving the order to start Intercessors of the Lamb.  Both groups focus not on a single (and male) deity, but female representations, guides and go-betweens - intercessors - that are messengers between human and divinity. The church, as institution, has been cut out.  Brown closes her letter on the Intercessor website with this reminder:

In closing, let us continue to live as children of Mary, Mother of the Lamb, and her “fiat grace” to “do whatever He tells you” truly believing “that God makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him and who have been called according to His decree.”[bold, italics mine]

Brown's daily message for November 26, 2010 focuses on the "feminine dimension of our soul.":

This work of solitude is always the leading of the Holy Spirit. In Hosea 2:16 we read, “I will lead her into the desert and there I will speak to her heart.”  . . . The Church is the “her.”  We, each of us, are a “she” because of the feminine dimension of our soul.  “And there I will speak to her heart.”    Even when Jesus was with the woman at the well, He was there drawing her into that encounter with Himself, into that love.  He spoke to her of the Holy Spirit and the Father. And she was alone there with Him.  She was drawn there at noontime, which was not the time of day when women would normally draw water.  She was drawn there by the Holy Spirit for this encounter.  That is a solitary encounter.  That is a desert experience right there. “The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God, that there she might be taken care of …”  Rev 12:6

The desert setting and the feminine encountering spiritual forces -- "that is a desert experience right there...the woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God..." brings to mind many of the contactees, who had their encounters in the desert. In particular, I'm reminded of contactee Dana Howard,(Up Rainbow Hill, Over the Threshold, My Flight to Venus,) who had a deep passion for the desert, finding great peace there and where she had many meetings with the entity called Diane. (I wrote the introduction to Tim Beckely's Global Communication reissue of Over the Threshold on Howard's mystical ties to the desert.)

Another desert contactee is George Van Tassel, who was also pulled by the mystery of the desert. Van Tassel lived in the desert and built the Integreton, a bulidng that would facilitate meetings with extraterrestrails. Van Tassel's buliding was round:

"Angel Cloud Over Dome" via the Welcome to The Integratron site

 

And so is the Intercessors of the Lamb's building:

The angel cloud formation above The Integratron dome is interesting. The building, and Giant Rock, home to Van Tassel, sits on a powerful spot:

The location of the Integratron is an essential part of its functioning. Its placement was chosen based on a complex set of theories involving the earth's magnetic field and the Integratron's relationship to the Great Pyramid in Egypt and Giant Rock, the world's largest freestanding boulder. In 1947, Van Tassel began operating the Giant Rock Airport three miles away from the Integratron, and in 1953 initiated communications with extra-terrestrials after a physical encounter at Giant Rock.  He subsequently hosted 17 Spacecraft Conventions there for UFO enthusiasts. 

According to Van Tassel, the Integratron is located on an intersection of powerful geomagnetic forces that, when focused by the unique geometry of the building, will concentrate and amplify the energy required for rejuvenation and healing.  In 2005, a geophysicist measured the earth's magnetic field for up to 15 miles in every direction from the Integratron and then inside the dome.  She proclaimed that there is a significant, unexplainable spike in the earth's magnetic field in the center of the Integratron. ~ from the Welcome to The Integratron site.

American Academy of Religion and the Paranormal

Oh, this is good; I was delighted to come across this item.  The following article addresses the question of why academics who seriously study metaphysics, philosophies, and religions just won't go there when it comes to UFOs, telepathy, or the paranormal? Even disciplines like folklore won't go too near those subjects, and when they do, it's a bit gingerly. Whether it's folklore, cultural anthropology, or another field of study that enthusiastically delves into sacred mythic studies,  the paranormal-UFO-Fortean-world- of -the- plain-weird is, if considered at all, all too frequently bubble wrapped in layers of academic justifications. Meaning, an appropriate judgement and stance must be made about these things: alien abductions and aliens and UFOs aren't really seen or experienced as is; they are figurative, metaphorical, psychological illustrations of angst, shared cultural anxieties, disassociation between the masses and the infrastructure.

Often these disciplines have nothing to with psychology or psychiatry, yet  when exploring UFOs, for example, one must behave as if they have a legitimate reason for dissecting a supernatural experience within the framework of analysis. To be fair, religious experience is also treated this way much of the time; customs, beliefs, rites, of "the folk" are treated as quaint or interesting -- anything but "real."

In the following article by Mark Oppenheimer for the

New York Times The Burning Bush They'll Buy, but Not ESP or Alien Abduction these issues are brought to light. The yearly meeting of minds at the American Academy of Religion conference in Atlanta is the focus of the article, and what Dr. Kirpal at Rice University has to say about this exclusion of the paranormal and UFOs from academia:

According to Dr. Kripal, their omission is evidence of a persistent bias among religion scholars, happy to consider the inexplicable, like miracles, as long as they fit a familiar narrative, like Judaism or Christianity.
“There is resistance in the way our universities are set up, in the elite culture of higher education,” says Dr. Kripal, 48, who grew up in Nebraska and once planned to be a Benedictine monk. “Paranormal events completely violate the epistemologies around which we have formed our own knowledge.
“The sciences study objects and use mechanistic cause models to track them. The humanities specialize in subjectivity, meaning, consciousness, art, religion. Paranormal events violate that division. They clearly involve human subjectivity, and they clearly involve objects out there.”

 In other words, it is one thing to study a miracle a thousand years old — that seems a safe question for the historian or the theologian. But what to do with people who say they were abducted by a U.F.O. last week?

“The easiest way to deal with them is to dismiss them, or humiliate them, or claim they are fraudulent, or mistaken,” Dr. Kripal says.

Indeed, as we well know. While others may agree with Dr. Kirpal to a point, and, some disciplines do look into these areas, the difference is this:

Dr. Kirpal . . . is sympathetic to the possibility that the paranormal may be real — not just the product of people’s false perceptions.

Found image

Interesting blog; image of Mary with "Marian Apparitions Rule," from  A Leak in the Safe on tumblr.com

Vatican Says More Exorcists Needed

Today's Vatican news is interesting, by itself, but also in context of previous news items, like the Vatican's recent approval of Opus Sanctorum Angelorum ( see my blog post The Vatican and Opus Sanctorum Angelorum)

and the Vatican's announcement in September of this year that ET/aliens almost certainly exist.

Reading today's news alerts, we find this item about the church training would be exorcists here in the U.S.:

Overwhelmed with requests for exorcists, U.S. Roman Catholic bishops are holding a special training workshop in Baltimore this weekend to teach clerics the esoteric rite, the Catholic News Service reported.

The church has signed up 56 bishops and 66 priests for the two-day workshop that began on Friday, seeking to boost the small group of just five or six American exorcists that the church currently has on its books. Exorcists wanted: apply to Catholic Church (Reuters)

"Overwhelmed with requests for exorcists." It's interesting there has been an upswing in events that lead some to interpret them as demonic possessions, and in need of exorcists. Bishop Thomas Paprocki,(Illinois) was quoted saying that ". . . each diocese should have its own exorcist," and adding that he doesn't know why "there was increased demand for exorcisms, which he noted were rarely performed."  And yet, the Vatican has given approval to train more exorcists, which implies, heavily, that more exorcisms are needed, which also implies, Satan is ever more visible these days.

The New York Times suggests one reason for the increased need of exorcising priests in the U.S.: Catholic Church Needs Exorcists

But with numerous Catholic immigrants coming to the United States from nations where exorcisms are taken seriously, the church's handful of exorcists have become overwhelmed.

The training stresses the importance of addressing the psychological health of the patient victim possessed individual:

...the possibly possessed person must be checked out by a psychologist to make sure they are not mentally ill before a bishop will allow an exorcism to proceed.

But don't misunderstand, while I am no Christian, not religious, and don't believe in any mainstream religious dogma in any way, what some label, or believe to be "Satan," and "demonic," I believe exists. Labels and interpretation, framing within specific religious structures aside, there are negative energies afoot. Maybe some are even the very same ETs the Church has recently extended benign welcoming arms towards.

The world has gone exceedingly mad these past couple of years, no one can argue it hasn't. The questions of our own fears, confusions and  anxieties projected outwards as cause for these signals in our world are expected, eliciting all kinds of metaphysical and esoteric discussions. Or are these fears, confusions, and anxieties responses to the evil we encounter every day? Or some of both, most likely. It's not as simplistic and neat a thing to say, as the rational-skeptical-secular-humanist would, that we're disassociating or labeling pathologies as religious manifestations of demons. It's also not so literal that, yes Virginia, there is a Devil. No there isn't. But really, it's a moot point. There is evil, and nastiness, and negative energies, and entities with malevolent intent, and our own projected fears, all congealing together in a seething mass that we don't know how to control.

The Vatican knows this, and some within the domed infrastructure of seeming altruistic global goodness believe, some don't, but all agree on basic tenets that are innate components of that infrastructure: control, power, and the manipulation of knowledge.

9 Approved Apparitions

The nine Vatican approved Marian apparitions, according to this site.

Michael Naisbett: UFOs in Sacred Works of Art

From July of 2007, an article on UFO Digest by Michael Naisbett: UFOs in Sacred Works of Art. Surprising; it's not what you might assume. It's not a matter of disagreeing with the interpretation, exactly, it's more. . . of not seeing the forest for the trees, or, a case of "you say po-tay-toe, I say po-tah-toe." Meaning, the fact that interpretations, metaphors, and analogies in the Bible (along with numerous translations) present a religious picture, for the religious, doesn't negate the "ancient astronaut" theories.

The Vatican and Opus Sanctorum Angelorum

William Adolphe Bouguereau  (November 30, 1825 – August 19, 1905)

Le Printemps (The Return of Spring)

Gabriele Bitterlich created Opus Sanctorum Angelorum (Work of the Holy Angels) which was not approved of by the Vatican. Now, the Vatican has approved of the group. Why the official pronouncement now? It's possible the Vatican's views on ET (that ET exists, and that's okay) coincide with this recent announcement. Opus Sanctorum Angelorum believes in "spiritual warfare...between angels and demons." We can make an exchange: aliens for angels/demons. From the article Controversial angels’ order given Vatican OK:

Opus Sanctorum Angelorum (Work of the Holy Angels) was founded by Gabriele Bitterlich, an Austrian woman who claimed to have received visions of the angels, including their names and their functions in Heaven.

The Vatican began investigating the movement shortly after her death in 1978, when certain followers, including priests and nuns, began circulating sensational theories of “spiritual warfare” between angels and demons based on her visions.

Since 1992, the group has been under the authority of a Vatican appointed overseer, Dominican Father Benoit Duroux, who handed over his responsibilities to his fellow Dominican Fr. Daniel Ols in March 2010.

Something happened that caused Opus Angelorum to morph into something the Vatican could approve of, "obedience" being one cause for the Vatican's acceptance of the group:

Today, thanks to the obedience of its members, the Opus Angelorum can be considered to be living loyally and serenely in conformity with the doctrine of the Church and with canonical and liturgical law,” the Vatican said.

“Therefore, in its present state, the Opus Angelorum is a public association of the Church in conformity with traditional doctrine and with the directives of the Holy See.”

All is not rosy; there are still maverick believers out there who are seen as defying the church. In other words, they are not "obedient" --- meaning, these renegade followers of Opus Angelorum still follow the original teachings of the founder, Gabriele Bitterlich, and not the Vatican's version. As with Marian apparitions, which rarely get Vatican approval, the visions and prophecies of a (female) member of the church are rejected as heretical. The issue of Catholics practicing Opus Angelorum as originally intended is referred to as a "situation" by the Vatican, one that must be carefully monitored:

One Vatican official with close knowledge of the situation, told CNA that problems remain with some ex-members of the Opus Angelorum, including some ex-priests, who follow the original controversial practices of Bitterlich.

The official, who requested that his name not be used, said the Vatican is concerned that these ex-members may attempt to “deceive” Catholics into engaging in practices that the Vatican has prohibited, including referring to the angels by the names allegedly revealed to Bitterlich, and receiving Communion multiple times in one day.

In its letter, the Vatican warned bishops of “very discrete propaganda in favor of this wayward movement, which is outside of any ecclesiastical control, is taking place, aimed at presenting it as if it were in full communion with the Catholic Church.” Bishops, the Vatican said, must remain “vigilant” and “forbid” these activities.

Reverence, not worship, and Vatican authority and control, not personal direct communication between mortal and divinity.

Communitas and liminality is to only occur within the confines of church doctrine, and unto the Vatican. Personal, smaller, intimate occurrences of these two states are not divine or holy, not recognized by the Vatican, and are actively discouraged, as history has shown repeatedly with cases of Marian apparitions and other supernatural events within the Catholic construct. Personal mystical experience vs. church/doctrine/Vatican.

On JREF: "Endorsing Our Lady of Fatima is endorsing the Moon Goddess"

New thread on the uber-skeptic forum JREF (James Randi message boards) titled"Endorsing Our Lady of Fatima is endorsing the Moon Goddess" I'm not sure what the OP's intent or point is; and it's interesting he/she posted it on a skeptic forum -- a pathological skeptic forum, as the JREF is. The usual replies of snarky retorts, but an interesting idea from the OP. . .

Druids Recognized as a Religion

England has officially recognized Druidism as a bona fide religion.

Druidry is to become the first pagan practice to be given official recognition as a religion.

The Charity Commission has accepted that druids' worship of natural spirits could be seen as religious activity.
The Druid Network's charitable status entitles it to tax breaks, but the organisation says it does not earn enough to benefit from this.
The commission says the network's work in promoting druidry as a religion is in the public interest.

More here.

Blog Look

I just took a look at this blog's template, and realized how stuffy it is, as well as giving the wrong impression. It seems conservative and religious. No no no! This is not a religious or Catholic blog. Hmmm.... so, off to mess around with something new. Hopefully when you return to UFO Mary, there'll be a new look!

Vatican Believes Aliens Can Be Converted

Tina Sena at Yufology has an item about the Vatican's views on converting aliens. After all, we all be god's children!

The Living Goddess

Photos of the current Living Goddess, Kumari Devi (tradition of worshipping a young girl -- child -- as the embodiment of the sacred)Overview on Wikipedia. The child is only hostess to the divine until she reaches puberty:

A Kumari is believed to be the bodily incarnation of the goddess Taleju (the Nepalese name for Durga) until she menstruates, after which it is believed that the goddess vacates her body. Serious illness or a major loss of blood from an injury are also causes for her to revert to common status.

Pilgrims at Lourdes Evacuated After Bomb Threat

Thousands of pilgrims, including the sick and handicapped, were evacuated from the shrine of Lourdes yesterday during a bomb scare.
Police received a warning that four devices were about to go off among some 30,000 worshippers, priests and nuns congregating for midday mass.

Army bomb disposal experts and sniffer dogs spent three hours searching the grotto in the foothills of the Pyrenees, in south-west France, but nothing was found.

Authorities determined the bomb scare was a hoax; no bomb was found:

It was a cruel hoax,’ said a police spokesman. ‘Somebody wanted to cause as much disruption as possible to people already suffering illness and handicaps.’ Pierre Adias, spokesman for Lourdes, said: ‘We have no idea who is behind this. Bomb scares are not something you associate with Lourdes.’

But I sense there is more to this story that we are not hearing about, at least not for now. For example, how did authorities hear of the bomb threat?

Source: Mail Online

Divine Apparitions Subject on Coast to Coast Tonight

Tonight's subject on C2C: "Divine Apparitions." Kevin Cook is the guest, described as a " Paranormal researcher specializing in Catholic Mysticism."  George Noory is tonight's host.

Vatican to issue long-awaited sex abuse document

Vatican to issue long-awaited sex abuse document

Mike Dash: The Marian apparitions at Marpingen, "Germany. #1: the visionaries, the events of 1876, and their aftermath"

The Marian apparitions at Marpingen, Germany. #1: the visionaries, the events of 1876, and their aftermath

Fortean Mike Dash reviews a book that has been around for about twenty years on a 1876 Marian apparition:  Marpingen: Appartions of the Virgin Mary in Nineteenth Century Germany.

These apparitions were big news at the time. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims poured into the village to visit the apparition site and drink the waters of its miraculous spring; it was even predicted that Marpingen would become the "German Lourdes". This never happened; the village very slowly faded from people's memories, and the apparitions themselves were never formally investigated by the Catholic authorities, much less granted the Church's seal of approval – a process critical to the continuing popularity of "approved" vision sites such as Lourdes, Knock and Fatima. So obscure has Marpingen become, indeed, that I have never seen the events there mentioned in even the best Fortean surveys of religious phenomena

The following excerpt from the book contains themes consistent with other MA's, as Dash points out in his article. Children are the ones witnessing the sightings, there's a lady in white, dreams, etc.

Between the wood and the meadow was an area of wild meadow with thick bushes around it. It was here that Susanna Leist suddenly called out, bringing Katharina and Margaretha hurrying to her, and drew her friends' attention to a 'white figure'. When the girls reached home, agitated and frightened, all three described seeing a woman in white carrying a child in her arms. There is some dispute over the initial reactions of parents, siblings, and neighbours, but it is clear that the girls remained in a state of excitement. Margaretha slept badly and prayed a lot, Katherina dreamed of the woman in white, Susanna was reluctant to go to bed at all. The following day they returned to the spot and knelt down about 20 yards away to pray. According to their account, after they had said the Lord's Prayer three times the apparition appeared again to Margaretha and Katharina – although not to Susanna Leist, the original seer. 'Who are you?' they asked the figure in the local dialect, and received the reply: 'I am the Immaculately Conceived.' 'What should we do?' 'You should pray.' The children resumed their prayers, and the figure disappeared. ~ Marpingen p.xxii

Some other interesting elements in this sighting/apparition: "the devil," the lady dressed in black, appearing in a graveyard ... reminded me of the stranger "trickster like" descriptions of the Medjugorje apparitions.

Authorities responded negatively to both witnessess and the phenomonon itself, including putting police in the area where the sightings took place, military presence, a surreal "unlawful pilgrimage" , and much more, including putting the witnesses on trial. Nothing new in responses to witnesses to Marian Apparitions.

Mike Dash promises to bring us more insights into this overlooked apparation. Stay tuned. . .

Female Catholic Priest Ordained in Italy

 The Catholic Church is shifting; the systems of doctrine, dogma, and rule are being shaken, non stop. From a variety of angles and means, the Church is crumbling away-- possibly for a new Church, or the complete destruction? Who can say. There are plenty of Catholics who've left the official Church but remain culturally and spiritually bound and the following is one example:
Female priest ordained in Italy by rebel Catholics.

A 35-year-old Sicilian became the first Catholic woman to be ordained in Italy on Saturday.
Maria Vittoria Longhitano is a member of the breakaway Old Catholic church. But she was made a priest at the Anglican church of All Saints in Rome ‑ an act some in the Vatican are likely to see as provocative, not least because the organist at the service was dismissed by the Catholic hierarchy after deciding to change sex.
The Old Catholic church broke with the Vatican in the 19th century in protest at the adoption of the doctrine of papal infallibility. It is in full communion with the Anglicans.
Longhitano, who is married, told the congregation: "I have opened the way. Catholicism means universality, and without women it is mutilated." She said she was convinced the laity in Italy were "ready to welcome a female ministry" and that in her native Sicily people often asked her: "Why don't we have the joy of women priests?"
The first Italian woman to become a priest was Teodora Tosatti, who was ordained in 2006, but the service was held outside Italy, in Bonn, Germany.

Jesus in a Lung

Jesus in a lung.

Vatican to Officially Investigate Medjugorje Sightings

 The BVM has been making its appearance in Medjugorje since 1981. The visions have never been taken seriously by the Catholic Church, in fact, stern warnings have been issued by authoritarian religious rulers to not discuss, investigate, or take part in the apparitions. (Some other Christian denominations however take the sightings very seriously, considering them satantic.) But now the Vatican has decided to officially investigate the sightings:

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has begun formally investigating reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary at the Medjugorje shrine in southern Bosnia.

An international commission of inquiry headed by Italian Cardinal Camillo Ruini – a top adviser to the late Pope John Paul II – has been formed to study the case and report back to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican said in a statement Wednesday.

Source: Medjugorje Virgin Mary Sighting: Vatican Investigates Visions in Bosnia, Huffington Post.

Follow the Mystic Orb on UFO Mystic . . .

I am so jazzed and honored to announce that I'm now blogging at UFO Mystic, along with two other newer bloggers over there -- Lesley Gunter and Scott Corrales -- and of course, Greg Bishop and Nick Redfern and Craig Woolheater.

My first post over there is on those strange beams of light being reported: Beams of Light.

Scott Corales: UFOs: The Religious Approach

Researcher Scott Corales has an excellent post that looks at the UFO mystery with a fresh perspective, one that isn't often offered. . . UFOs: The Religious Approach.

Jellyfish UFOs, Fata Morgana and the Watery Depths

 Micah Hanks on Jellyfish UFOs and Fata Morgana
Another intriguing piece from Micah A. Hanks at The Gralien Report on a UFO case from 1954. In Attack of the Flying Gople: UFOs, Jellyfish and Arthurian Witches, Hanks discusses a UFO jellyfish sighting from 1954 off the Labrador coast, and its possible explanation.  As Hanks points out, the sighting seemed similar to the "Danish Flying Gople" and the sighting was, according to researcher UFO Martin Shough, a weather phenomena. But, as Hanks points out, and what I also like about Hanks perspective, the esoteric elements are too inviting to ignore:

The mirage phenomenon referred to here, in one of its various forms, has a rather Fortean name, “Fata Morgana,” which at present I find preferable due to its esoteric allusions. Fata Morgana refers to none other than Morgan Le Fay, the witch prominent in Arthurian legends and “fairy mistress of the of the salt sea.”

Fata Morgana/Morgan Le Fay, is responsible for marine imagery in the skies:

Tying Fata Morgana in with Howard’s sighting of a Jellyfish UFO, of particular interest here are legends that state how Morgan created “boats that fly above the sea and never approach the shore and caused golden castles to float in the air above the straits of Messina, ..."

Jellyfish UFOs
A search for "jellyfish UFOs" reveals dozens of stories and images of jellyfish type ufos seen in the skies.

A review of Russian researcher Paul Stonehill's  and Phillip Mantle's 2006 Mysterious Sky: Soviet UFO Phenomenon refers to:

In 1977 the 'Petrozavodsk Phenomenon' was notable for the number of different kinds of aerial craft that were observed with the launch of Kosmos-955 - spheres and jellyfish-like craft (which are again being observed in other parts of the world)

In the Watery Depths
Following the theme of the "fairy mistress of the sea" that Micah Hanks writes about, is the following encounter Stonehill and Mantle describe in Mysterious Sky, where Russian divers met up with strange beings in the water, encountering

'swimmers' - humanoid creatures three metres tall garbed in tight fitting silver suits with helmets, but minus any breathing equipment. It was decided to attempt to capture one of the creatures, but the seven divers sent to undertake this task were propelled back to the surface of the lake, consequently suffering from pressure changes resulting from the rapid ascent. Three of the divers died as a result, the remaining four becoming invalids. Similar creatures along with underwater UFOs have been reported in deep water lakes all over Russia.

 The Candy and Jellyfish Sky
Last July I had a UFO-jellyfish dream that I posted on my blog Saucer Sightings. I called it   The Candy and Jellyfish Sky. After observing the skies with a group of people we see large jellyfish above us:

Then I see several huge jellyfish in the sky swarming right above us. This is so amazing, so beautiful! They're about the size of orcas, they're dancing and swirling and "swimming" in the sky/clouds. I get everyone's attention and we watch the jellyfish, then it dawns on us that "Hey, wait just a minute . . . jellyfish don't belong in the sky!" I, we, quickly understand that the jellyfish aren't "real" jellyfish but UFOs. I suddenly seem to be full of knowledge that the jellyfish appearance is "how they cloak themselves" I tell everyone. "They've been doing this for years," I say.

After awhile, the Jellyfish UFOs morph into something else; candy, and most of the people are relieved. Believing that the UFOs weren't UFOs after all, just a fun, simple ad for candy in the sky. But I know better. Things take a surreal turn:

Oh," everyone laughs, relieved. "It's just an ad for candy!"

I can still see, faintly, a few jellyfish/UFOs in the sky, but they've gone dim and are in the background a bit. I tell everyone "No, you're wrong! That's what they want you to think! It's not real."

Someone says "Of course they're not real; it's a commercial for candy!"

Exasperated, I say "Not that! I mean, the jellyfish are real, it's the candy that isn't!"

"Why would the jellyfish pretend to be candy?" Someone asks me, suspiciously, as if I've somehow caused the whole thing. Worse, that I'm up to no good.

Somehow I know things I didn't realized I knew, as if the jellyfish are sending information to my head. "I mean, the government knows about the jellyfish, and they're using the candy to distract us from the jellyfish UFOs."

I end up in Trickster land to be sure, trying to out think the whys of the jellyfish mind:

Later, I briefly wonder why, if the jellyfish don't want to be seen, are they appearing as jellyfish in the sky? Isn't that contrary to where jellyfish reside? Then again, this reversal of jellyfish habitat might be so that we do pay attention. After all, they're aware that they will be denied, so appearing as jellyfish or some other out of place object would be sure to get noticed.

Which brings us back to what Micah has to say in his article about Trickster in relation to Fata Morgana/Morgan Le Fay.

"Stairway to Sirius: The (Pink) Star of the Sea

An excellent and different kind of post from Christopher Knowles's The Secret Sun on water symbolism, mermaid, etc. imagery to be "on the lookout for:

As I said on William Henry's show in December (and here as well) we need to be on the lookout for water symbolism this year, as well as mermaid/mermen and other symbols associated with Sirius in esoteric lore. The recent Serious Mysteries posts explored these memes in depth, particularly as they relate to James Cameron, who is obviously very deeply obsessed with both aliens and the oceans ...

This relates to the Marian symbolism in many ways, one being the current pop culture motif of goddess/Mary/Isis type imagery, and Mary herself as the "Star of the Sea":

Secret Sun readers are well familiar with the star Sirius and its identification with Isis, and that visual juxtaposition reminds us of Isis' title as the Stella Maris, or 'Star of the Sea', which sailors used to navigate by in ancient times. Later this role was assumed by the Virgin Mary, as we see in this dramatic illustration.

Women From Venus

Researcher Scott Corrales has translated my Women From Venus article into Spanish. Very nice! You can read it at his blog Arcana Mundi.

Visit The Orange Orb

http://orangeorb.blogspot.com

Painting: Sinister Spirit, or BVM?

Sinister Spirit, James Rich, acrylic

This is a painting by James Rich, who also happens to be my husband. It's always reminded me of the BVM, in fact, that's what I call it. Interesting that when he painted the painting, he gave it the title "Sinister Spirit." But for me, it  always had a decidedly BVM vibe. More of Jim's work on Alien Art Genre, and James Rich Studio.

The Vatican Secret Archives

Vatican Reveals Secret Archives

High-quality reproductions of 105 documents, 19 of which have never been seen before in public, have now been published in a book. The Vatican Secret Archives features a papal letter to Hitler, an entreaty to Rome written on birch bark by a tribe of North American Indians, and a plea from Mary Queen of Scots.

We naturally have to wonder at all the treasures not being revealed.