Satanists unveil proposed statue for OK state capitol

An in your face bit of performance religious theater:

Satanists unveil proposed statue for OK state capitol: Will Satan be celebrated on the lawn of the Oklahoma State Capitol?
A devilish group based in New York believes it should be perfectly OK.
The group, which calls itself "The Satanic Temple," today unveiled its proposal for a monument it intends to erect next to another religious statue: a depiction of the Ten Commandments.
According to The Satanic Temple's application, the proposed monument features a large pentagram and “a 7-foot tall goat-headed Baphomet that sits cross-legged flanked by a child on both sides. The lap will serve as a seat for visitors.”

Earthquakes and the Pope: Trickster Theater

The world shared a global shudder of anxiety at the news that North Korea's earthquake yesterday was no "earthquake" but an earthquake due to a "nuclear test."

Checking the U.S. government's earthquake site, which I do several times a day, I see that Tonopah Nevada and surrounding area has had four earthquakes today. The largest being 5.1. That seemed very odd to me, so I Googled Tonopah, Nevada, to find that the area is a test range:

Tonopah, Nevada carries a legacy of being the home to the nation’s development and testing of smart bombs extending back to World War II where it was noted for its bomber bases. Follow the links to learn more about Tonopah’s role in our nation’s wars.

Not a coincidence.

And to really go down the rabbit hole, while I don't seriously think there is a connection between the above and the Pope's resignation, that last news item is a biggie. The Trickster Theater has been very busy these past few days!

Terry Colafrancesco: Medjugorje Cult Leader

In October of 2012, "JustinT" left the following comment on my post

Please do not link to Medjugorje com of "Friend of Medjugorje" / Caritas of Birmingham. The organisation is considered to be a cult, the priests of Medjugorje parish warned against them as well as Mother Angelica and EWTN.

Please read information about them at:

http://www.medjugorje.ws/en/articles/caritas-of-birmingham/

http://www.medjugorje.ws/en/articles/gravely-disturbing-testimonies-caritas-of-birmingham/

http://www.medjugorje.ws/en/articles/caritas-of-birmingham-a-friend-of-medjugorje-terry-colafrancesco-fleecing-money-deceptions/

http://www.medjugorje.ws/en/articles/a-friend-of-medjugorje-terry-colafrancesco-cult-leader-caritas-of-birmingham/

I responded that it's my blog and I'll post what links I want to post. But, curious, I followed the links JustinT left for me to explore. I've long known that there is a school of thought that believes Medjugorje is a cult, or of the devil, or that, any Marian apparitions/beliefs are "wrong" since Catholicism itself is "wrong" and not even Christian, according to some Christians. Since I'm not any of those -- Christian, Catholic (oy, the quibbling!) or of the devil -- I'm not concerned with the belief factor here. My approach to Marian apparitions, including Medjugorje, is purely Fortean. Which encompasses a lot of terrain.

However, if the information in the links JustinT provided is true, it is very disturbing information.  From the www.medjugorje.ws site: Caritas of Birmingham is not a Roman Catholic organization and the organization's leader Terry Colafranesco:

Terry Colafrancesco teaches to his group that black people are "niggers," which were created by God for servitude and were much better off when they were slaves.
Terry also teaches contempt for women as the carriers of the "spirit of Eve".

There's much more regarding interpretations and what amounts to downright mangling of Catholic doctrine.

The other links reveal more of the same, and worse.  Colafrancesco (who is based in Alabama)  does appear to be another psychotic religious cult leader. There are references to Colafrancesco being involved with the KKK.

The Medjurgorje website is full of unnerving information about Colafrancesco. Are the allegations true? Or is the site that JustinT recommended one with its own agenda regarding apparitions, Medjurgorje in particular?

"Andrew" has a Blogger blog: Exposing Terry Colafrancesco. 

Kresta in the Afternoon has a comprehensive site that deals with the history of the Medjurgorje sightings. Caritas of Birmingham is certainly mentioned but what is interesting, as is noted, is that one of the original women to see the apparition is involved in Colafrancesco's organization:

The Caritas group, however, is considered schismatic by the visionaries and priests at the pilgrimage center, in a part of what used to be Yugoslavia. On the “official” Medjugorje website we are warned that Caritas of Birmingham is a cult, something like a religious business, not approved.

But one of the visionaries, Marija, still comes regularly to Caritas in Birmingham, contributing to a local, in-house schism of an international cult that bespeaks a larger and ongoing schism with orthodox Catholicism.

This history of the Medjugorje apparitions is complicated and fascinating. Many reasons given by some Catholics to reject the Medjugorje events, including the seemingly non-Blessed Virgin tone of the apparitions:

Compared to approved apparitions of the Blessed Virgin, for example, at Lourdes and at Fatima, the alleged apparitions at Medjugorje contain numerous anomalous aspects:

In the initial appearances, the Gospa appears out of a cloud of light which gradually takes on the image of a young woman in her late teens. She has blue eyes and is wearing a gray dress. She looks like she is holding “something like a baby” in her arms, but none of the features of the baby can be seen. Her hands are shaking. She laughs. The visionaries are able to touch and kiss her, but her vestments are “steel to the touch.” When a lady doctor asked if she could touch her also, the Gospa agreed, but complained about “unbelieving Judases.”

There is definitely a Trickster aspect to the apparitions at Medjugorje. I wrote about some of these in 2008 here at UFO Mary in my post Trickster-Mary-Devil in the Mysterious Valley?. The event described does seem bizarre and not what we usually hear of in Marian apparitions:

The following is from the Angelus site, from Medjugorje Exposed: Today, we waited for the Virgin at Marija's; with me were Marija, Ivanka, and Jakov. We began praying at 6:20 p.m. The Virgin appeared right away. We asked her about the Franciscan Friars and sisters of our parish...We asked her about the man who saw Jesus in the street as he was driving people in his car. He met a man covered in blood—this man was Jesus—he gave him a blood-stained handkerchief telling him to throw it in the river. Going on his way, he met a lady—it was the Blessed Virgin Mary; she asked the driver for the bloodstained handkerchief. The man offered her a handkerchief belonging to him, but the Virgin asked for the bloodstained one: 'If he had not given it to me it would have been the last judgment for all!' The Virgin said this was true.) (from Vicka's diary dated September 4, 1981) The Trickster does seem to be strong in the Medjugore sightings in a crazy, conflicting, and bizarre yet very Fortean way.

There is a 2002 Associated Press item by Jay Reeves at the pathological skeptoid site Skeptic Tank.com (after all, the site calls the faithful "Virgin Mary Kooks") about a lawsuit brought against Colafrancesco. In 2006, Phillip Kronzer, a "cult fighter" was jailed for making "derogatory statements" about Colafrancesco:

Circuit Judge J. Michael Joiner sentenced Phillip J. Krozner to spend 15 hours in jail for contempt of court. Joiner found that statements Kronzer made about Caritas of Birmingham in a widely distributed letter violated terms of a confidnential settlement in a lawsuit involving Kronzer and Caritas. Kronzer is a San Jose, Calif., businessman who declared war on cults when his wife left him to join what he claimed was a cult. He repeatedly has claimed that Caritas is a cult.

As I searched for articles and information on Colafrancesco, I quickly realized there is a huge amount of material out there on him. It's clear that if you are interested in discovering more, there is more to be discovered. And, it will take you as deep as you want to go. Is Terry Colafrancesco a cult leader, and are the allegations against him true? I don't know. I do know that the Medjugorje phenomena is truly a Trickster phenomena, including the debate and actions surrounding Colafranesco.

 My related posts:

• Speculation on Mary as a Trickster, UFO Digest
• Trickster-Mary-Devil in the Mysterious Valley?

Lucha Libre Patron Saint, Folk Art

In Mexico, lucha libre -- the masked wrestlers -- recently had a celebration to honor their patron saint of their profession. That patron saint is the Virgin of Guadalupe, or Our Lady of Guadalupe. BBC News - Lucha libre wrestlers pay homage to their patron saint

Lucas Lorenzo, artist. From Sacred Art Pilgrim.

I found the Sacred Art Pilgrim site on Mexican folk art. Artist Lucas Lorenzo, along with family members, are "panel painters" -- painting on Masonite. (When I started painting decades ago I couldn't afford canvas but did have access to a lot of Masonite, which I used for painting surfaces. Both sides: the rough or back side had a texture that was oddly interesting to paint on.)

I wrote about Lucha Libre -- a topic I am curious about but really know very little of -- some time back for Tim Binnall's site. Seeing the Virgin; Tricksters Take it to the People, and Fun with Lucha Libre's Esoteric Side.

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.

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?

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

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.

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. . .

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. . .

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.

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.

Slightly Revised UFO Mary Download

It's still free, and it's still available, just a different color cover and the addition of Richelle Hawk's photograph that accompanies her article. Click on the BVM image in the menu on your right to get there.

From the JREF: The Latest Virgin News

From the James Randi site, The Amazing Randi comments on a letter he received from a fellow skeptic and anti-woo. (Randi comments on a letter: The Latest Virgin News.) The letter writer is astounded by the beliefs of "woos" in regards to a painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe. (For those unfamiliar with James Randi, he is a so-called skeptic, really, a pathological debunker. He's also an author and was a stage magician, and has been around for decades. His site is full of skeptic links and news, including a very busy and popular forum.) The letter writer describes a news item he saw about Our Lady of Guadalupe, where the religious can hear the heartbeat by putting their ear up to the painted pregnant Virgin, or see her eye move.

I'm not sure why this letter writer, as well as Randi's, responses bother me. It's not that I believe that the faithful can hear the heartbeat in the pregnant painted stomach, or that Mary's eye moves. I'm not even a Christian. So what do I care?

Part of it is simply the rude attitude on the part of Randi, the letter writer, and the ones who left comments. Insults and rudeness are a given in that crowd, and they feel perfectly justified, for they will tell you they have the right. When it comes to combating base superstition, anything goes, they say. Another reason it bothers me is because clearly, as with all things like this, things simply aren't so black and white. Much more is afoot, and sometimes it is magic, (or magick) sometimes it's devious aliens with advanced technology, it's a symbiotic dance between ourselves, our inner selves, and out there . . . it's many things, manifesting in many ways, through many things, including icons, religious symbols, . . .

There is a line most of draw in this context. I have no patience, or politeness, for those who use religion to persecute or oppress. Homophobics and misogynists, child abusers, and those who want to impose a theocracy on the rest of us deserve our outrage.

But that's a different context.

Rational explanations are given by some on the Randi forum for this vulgar display of relgious faith. A common one is that in times of cultural or political anxiety, people start believing weird shit. Sigh.

If one believes in aliens, one could say it's the aliens having fun with us. If one believes that the mind and spirit work together in fantastic ways, one could suggest that the eye of Mary really does move -- for them. Who can say?

Trickster-Mary-Devil in the Mysterious Valley?

Much has been written about the image of the Blessed Virgin disguised as something else: a terrestrial fairy, elemental, or ET, something from another dimension and so on. Some sort of entity that comes from a paranormal source, putting on a display for humans. Much debate about this idea, from outright rejection by religious literalists as well as UFO researchers, to a more integrated perspective, along the lines of Vallee, Swan, Keel, etc.

While "the Lady" is often reported as not saying she's the Mother of God, the assumption that she is is made by the religious ones she appears to. Her messages and actions are benign; although, some fundamentalists insist there is nothing good about BVM visitations; that it's the devil behind the sightings. Especially in the case of the Medjugore appearances; many Catholics and other religious writers hold that apparition up as a solid farce. No holy mother, but the devil for sure. Former Vatican exorcist Bishop Andrea Gemma calls the Medjugore apparitions "work of the devil . . . diabolical deceit" and attacks the decades long appearances at Medjugorje for being vulgar:

"In Medjugorje everything happens in function of money: Pilgrimages, lodging houses, sale of trinkets. . This whole sham is the work of the Devil. It is a scandal."

The following is from the Angelus site, from Medjugorje Exposed:

Today, we waited for the Virgin at Marija's; with me were Marija, Ivanka, and Jakov. We began praying at 6:20 p.m. The Virgin appeared right away. We asked her about the Franciscan Friars and sisters of our parish...We asked her about the man who saw Jesus in the street as he was driving people in his car. He met a man covered in blood—this man was Jesus—he gave him a blood-stained handkerchief telling him to throw it in the river. Going on his way, he met a lady—it was the Blessed Virgin Mary; she asked the driver for the bloodstained handkerchief. The man offered her a handkerchief belonging to him, but the Virgin asked for the bloodstained one: 'If he had not given it to me it would have been the last judgment for all!' The Virgin said this was true.) (from Vicka's diary dated September 4, 1981)

The Trickster does seem to be strong in the Medjugore sightings in a crazy, conflicting, and bizarre yet very Fortean way.

We're used to urgings to pray, become more virtuous, build places of healing, hope and sacred gathering, magical displays like rosaries turning to gold or silver, the scent of roses and cinnamon, swirling, dancing suns and brilliant light beams at play during BVM visits. Nothing devilish about that. The above example of Medjurgore gives us a different picture, one that is sinister.

Chris O'Brien, UFO and high strangeness researcher and chronicler of the highly anomalous events going on in the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado, mentions a strange tale of a BVM sighting in the mid 1800s in his book Secrets of the Mysterious Valley. The area was, and still is, a true paranormal hot spot; UFOs, cattle mutilations and other UADS (unexplained animal deaths), Bigfoot sightings (!), and much, much more. Stories about high strangeness events go back hundreds of years in that area.

What O'Brien mentions is in the context of a serial murdering gang. Besides the Fortean, paranormal, UFO weirdness in the area, there has always been severe tension -- and often still is, according to O'Brien -- between whites and Mexicans and people with Mexican-American heritage, (as well as between land barons, etc.) In the mid 1800s, Felipe Nerio Espinoza, no doubt fueled by the tragic murders of his family by whites during the war, set out to murder as many whites as he could, and managed to kill many people, cutting out their hearts, before being caught and killed himself.

A priest related that Felipe told him of a vision he had:
The Virgin Mary had come to him and commanded him to kill one hundred Americans for each of his (six) slain relatives. He wishe dto kneel at the altar and make a vow to do so . . .(p305 Secrets of the Mysterious Valley)

The priest said that he explained to Felipe that the Virgin would never say anything like that to anyone, and that "it was the devil, tricking him" (p305)

This "vision" could be considered the psychotic thoughts of a brutal killer; but is it possible other, unseen forces, had something to do with his actions? As O'Brien continues, that area of Colorado has a history of "Old Scratch" (the Devil) sightings and lore. O'Brien says that this entity appears even today, often appearing at "dances and/or social events." (p 311) O'Brien has never found an actual witness, but has interviewed plenty who insist that they "knew someone who was there" (p 311)

O'Brien wonders if there's a connection between Felipe's vision and the devil legends:
"It's difficult not to come to the conclusion that Felipes' "vision" was something akin to demonic in nature. What well-meaning benign spirit like our Blessed Virgin Mary would demand such retribution? (p 311)

Orbs and Roses and the Continuum: Richard L. Thompson

Orbs and Roses and the Continuum: Richard L. Thompson

I found excerpts from Richard L. Thompson’s book Alien Identities: Ancient Insights into Modern UFO Phenomena on the Watcher site. Interesting data on the 13th of the month, orbs, roses, and much more. In discussing the apparitions at Fatima, Thompson writes:

These phenomena included the appearance of a glowing, globe- shaped vehicle and the occurrence of a shower of rose petals that vanished upon touching the ground. Showers of flower petals are often mentioned in Vedic accounts of celestial visitations.[In other words, the rebel angels who pretended to be Vedic gods did the same things as the rebel angels who are now pretending to be Mary... perhaps they are the same rebellious entities? - ww] For example, here is an excerpt from the description of Krsna's rasa dance in the Bhagavata Purana:

The demigods and their wives were overwhelmed with eagerness to witness the rasa dance, and they soon crowded the sky with their hundreds of celestial airplanes. Kettledrums then resounded in the sky while flowers rained down and the chief Gandharvas and their wives sang Lord Krsna's spotless glories.

As for the aerial globe, one eyewitness, Mgr. J. Quaresma, described its appearance on September 13, 1917, as follows:

"To my surprise, I see clearly and distinctly a globe of light advancing from east to west, gliding slowly and majestically through the air...Suddenly the globe with its extraordinary light vanished, but near us a little girl of about ten con- tinues to cry joyfully: 'I still see it! I still see it! Now it is going down!'"

As many paranormal and UFO researchers have noted, “Mary” doesn't say she’s Mary; she appears as a being, an entity, interpreted as Mary. The children at Fatima saw an “angel” before Mary’s appearance:

Before their meetings with the lady, the three children also had encounters with an angel. At the time of the first encounter they were tending their sheep at a rocky knoll not far from their home. They saw across the valley a dazzling globe of light like a miniature sun, gliding slowly towards them. As it approached, the ball of light gradually resolved itself into a brilliantly shining young man, who seemed to be about fourteen years old

Thompson agrees that, like Vallee and others, Marian apparitions share a connection with UFO events. But Thompson takes a broader perspective; well worth reading. The following comment by Thompson is essential to approaching the UFO phenomena; one that researchers who think we should discard various elements because they’re embarrassing or kooky or just plain weird just heed:

Thus the UFO continuum might be seen as part of a larger mystical-humanoid continuum. Fatima would probably appear as a typical point in this larger assemblage.

I haven’t read the book, but plan to. The page I’m linking to, and where I got this material from, is from the Watcher site, which is a religious site dealing with UFOs.

http://www.mt.net/~watcher/october13maryfatima.html

Alien Image on Door

Usually it's Mary or another religious figure, like Jesus, that appears on furniture. This time it's an alien, so says a poster at UFO Magazine blog, The Green Room. Take a look; there are two images posted, the one shown here, and a larger one.

The first word that comes to mind is "paradelia" and that's fine, but while skeptics dismiss it as "just a case of . . ." as always, in these cases, it's not as simplistic. But that's for another day!

"Speculations on Mary as Trickster"

I wrote a piece for UFO Digest in August of 2007 on the idea of Marian Apparitions as some sort of Trickster phenomena. Can "Mary" be considered a Trickster? "Speculation on Mary as a Trickster."