Alien Mary

Another alien-as-BVM artwork, or, BVM-as-alien. Artist unknown, found on Facebook (Lesley Gunter, another Queen of the Fortean Blog-o-sphere.)  I would like to credit the source -- if anyone knows the artist I'd appreciate the info.

Source unknown -- please comment if you know artist

Maritan Folk Art

I just love this . . . thanks to Lesley Gunter, who posted this on her FB page. 

"One night I camped in the mountains, and some extraterrestrials appeared to me. First I got scared but then, while the martians were looking for plants in the forest, I felt very peacefully. But when they flew away, the fear came back. I rushed to the tavern in the nearest village. I thank the Blessed Sacrament for the martians didn’t take me with them."

http://retablos.ru/en/martianos-monte/

Don't know the artist or source for this image -- if anyone out there knows, I'd appreciate the citation.

George Carlin Compares Religious Believers vs. UFO Belivers

 Oh you know I love this!

Dirk Vander Ploeg: Buddhists See UFO Intervention in 2012 | UFO Digest provides video proof of ufos, alien abduction and the paranormal.

UFO Digest publisher Dirk Vander Ploeg on Buddhist prophecy for 2012:Buddhists See UFO Intervention in 2012 | UFO Digest provides video proof of ufos, alien abduction and the paranormal.

Alien Nativity

 Aliens and a  Shamanic Santa, created by a Portland, Oregon artist:

Could you tell the difference between an alien visitation and being touched by an angel?

Could you tell the difference between an alien visitation and being touched by an angel?

Not all alien visitations look like a giant saucer descending from the skies. Sometimes aliens just look like visitors of a different kind, as in this classic story by Pat Cadigan. The other day, we featured Cadigan's essay about loving the Other — now here's her story "Angel," as featured in the new anthology Alien Contact.

(thanks to Tina Sena for link)

Vatican and ETs | UFO Digest provides video proof of ufos, alien abduction and the paranormal.

Vatican and ETs | UFO Digest provides video proof of ufos, alien abduction and the paranormal.:

It has generally gone unnoticed in mainstream Catholic literature that over the last two decades or so, the Vatican has publicly turned its attention to the subject of Unidentified Flying Objects and the possibility of the existence of extraterrestrial life on other planets. It is known that both Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI were given secret information about the existence of extra-terrestrial beings during their meetings with USA presidents, and maybe that is why the Vatican appears to be preparing itself to handle the biblical fall-out from the possible public disclosure of the reality of non-earthly intelligent entities.

“Paul” Versus “Grey Aliens and the Harvesting of Souls” on Truth Seeker Forum

A little bit of synchronicity in this item: “Paul” Versus “Grey Aliens and the Harvesting of Souls”Is it all True Series #203 Truth Seeker Forum. Yesterday I posted here on UFO Mary an item about demons and grays as "soul eaters."
From the Truth Seeker post:

Well the other side of the coin is a book I am now reading by Nigel Kerner called “Grey Aliens and the Harvesting of Souls,” our souls. Granted much of his book I feel is at best a theory backed by some loose data. But my gut feeling after 40+ years of personal research into non-human encounters is that I am leaning towards Kerner’s theory that these Greys are/were here to genetically modify us for their strange agendas.

I haven't read Kerner's book yet but plan to. One more to add to the ever growing list!

(thanks to Lesley for link.)

Fortean Researcher John A. Keel on Demon-ology

Two quotes from the esteemed Fortean researcher John A. Keel on demonology from his book Operation Trojon Horse:

Demonology is not just another crackpot-ology. ... Thousands of books have been written on the subject, ... The manifestations and occurrences described in this imposing literature are similar, if not entirely identical, to the UFO phenomenon itself. p. 215.
   
The Devil and his demons can, according to the literature, manifest themselves in almost any form and can physically imitate anything from angels to horrifying monsters with glowing eyes. Strange objects and entities materialize and dematerialize in these stories, just as the UFOs and their splendid occupants appear and disappear, walk through walls, and perform other supernatural feats. p. 216.
    

Just today I was talking with someone about demons and religions and spirituality...how demons and the Satan myth are variations on the concept of not only negative energies and entities, but "soul eaters" which, some UFO researchers theorize, the "grays" are.

Gaeilo, PIzza, and the Moon

Gordon Kaswell keeps a low profile in UFO World, which is too bad because he has a special knowledge and insight into the technological aspect of UFOs that is an area we can all benefit from becoming familiar with. Here's what Gordon commented on Facebook about Domino's Pizza in regards to a previous UFO Mary post: Some Catholics still insist Galileo was wrong.

 And speaking of things Catholic, for years I've found interesting/amusing the story of Domino's Pizza. (Say, what?) Really. The reason is that Domino's was started by a guy named Tom Monaghan, who is a devout Catholic. He and his brother bought a pizza parlor then called Dominick's. Monaghan bought out his brother's share, and changed the name to Domino's. The name change is intriguing because in Latin, "domino" means "lord"! Monaghan (who is quite wealthy) has been building a town in Florida named Ave Maria, and as a planned community, it's Monaghan's intention that only Catholics live there, and follow his rules (no porn, no abortions, etc.). Civil rights groups have been fighting this, but I haven't kept track of the story, and don't know the current status on the issue. Monaghan spends a lot of his money on Catholic charities, radio and TV broadcast media, etc.

Today I came across this article about plans Domino's has for opening pizza parlors on the moon. Specifically, the Japanese division of Domino's, as reported on by Discovery Magazine:

The Japanese arm of the company has announced today that it wants to build the first pizzeria on the lunar surface: Domino's Moon Branch.

"We started thinking about this project last year, although we have not yet determined when the restaurant might open," Tomohide Matsunaga, a spokesman for Domino's, told the UK's The Daily Telegraph.

Positively crazy and irresponsible of course; it's estimated the cost would be around $23 billion dollars. But, as Ian O'Neill, writer of the above mentioned article remarks, this is very likely just a publicity stunt by Domino's -- no such plans are being made. Which is a relief, of course. But pizza in space isn't new; as O'Neill points out, Pizza Hut delivered a pizza to the International Space Station in 2001.

Demonic Possession and Psychiatry: An Interview with Paul Schroeder | Paul Schroeder

Demonic Possession and Psychiatry: An Interview with Paul Schroeder | Paul Schroeder

Pilgrims Flock To Medjugorje For Anniversary

It's been thirty years since the first apparitions at Medjugorie took place, and the site is still active. As this article notes, the Vatican has not recognized Medjugorie as legit, though just last year they began an official exploration into the apparitions. More here, with pics:Pilgrims Flock To Medjugorje For Anniversary
UFO-Mary related posts:
Trickster-Mary-Devil in the Mysterious Valley?
Vatican to Officially Investigate Medjugorje
Researcher Mike Dash: "The Marian Apparitions at Marpingen, Germany #1"
Medjugjore Mary: How Tall is She?

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

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

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.

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.