An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural Read online

  Arnold, Kenneth

  A private pilot who reported that on June 24th, 1947, he had seen nine “crescent-shaped” flying objects while in his private plane near Mt. Rainier, Washington State.

  Kenneth Arnold, whose 1947 sighting started the UFO craze.

  He also described them as shaped like “boomerangs,” and said that their motion was similar to that of a saucer skipping (or skimming) when thrown flat across the water. The media simplified the motion description into a more attention-grabbing headline: “flying saucers.” This started the UFO craze, which has generated millions of words of fantasy fiction and is still very much with us, like the common cold.

  Artephius

  A Hermetic magician of the twelfth century, often confused with Apollonius of Tyana. He is said to have lived more than 1,025 years, at which age he wrote The Art of Prolonging Life. His own longevity was claimed to be accomplished by demonic aid. Sure.

  Arthur (King)

  Probably a totally mythical warrior/monarch/hero of Britain who is said to have reigned about A.D. 500. Arthur's legend is closely tied to the equally imaginary magician Merlin.

  There is some chance that the Arthur story may be based on that of a former Roman soldier, or on his eventual successor named Artorius. However, this area of early English history is quite uncertain, and much of it appears to have been created to satisfy prominent myths.

  Artorius

  See Arthur (King).

  Ascended master

  An adept or saint who teaches from another astral plane of existence by means of direct voice messages, dreams, or visions experienced by mystics. A doubtful premise.

  Asiza

  In Benin, formerly Dahomey, spirits that live in the forests and grant magical powers to humans.

  Asmodeus

  The king of the demons in Hebrew mythology, with three heads, goose feet, and a snake's tail. He can reveal to men the hidden treasures of the Earth and can make them invisible. His queen is Lilith.

  See also Adam and Satan.

  Asport

  The opposite phenomenon of apport. In this case, objects already present at the séance will vanish. Often it is valuable objects that vanish in the dark room and are not seen again by their owners.

  ASPR

  See American Society for Psychical Research.

  Association for Research and Enlightenment

  (ARE) Headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the ARE was founded in 1931 by Edgar Cayce (1877-1945). It is dedicated to perpetuating Cayce's teachings on spiritual healing, reincarnation and other notions. The center boasts a comprehensive library and a conference center associated with Atlantic University. The ARE promotes herbal remedies, baths, and fasting as methods to cure ailments, in the manner prescribed by Cayce.

  Astral body

  Said to be a duplicate of the human physical body, but composed of much “finer” matter than the denser, “real” body. It is supposed to experience the feelings on behalf of the physical body, and to communicate these matters to it. It leaves the physical body during sleep, or as a result of trauma such as injury or drug use. This notion appears to satisfy most of the questions about dreaming, death, or hallucination, without offering any proof or appeal other than the convenience of such an invention and the resulting lack of requirement for applied thought and/or research.

  Astral plane

  One of the fuzzy “places,” levels, or dimensions said by occultists to exist in parallel with the real world. A plane is often inhabited by demons, spirits, or other unworldly entities. Oz and Wonderland may be equivalents.

  Astral projection

  Traveling out of the body via astral planes, a notion probably derived from the experience of highly colorful and memorable dreams.

  Astrological sign

  See astrology, horoscope, and zodiac.

  Astrology

  The actual beginnings of astrology are lost in history. From the Old Babylonian period (1800-1700 B.C.) we have the first records of attempts to correlate such simple, basic problems as famine, death, or war with the positions of the stars and planets. These records were kept over a wide range of territory, from what is now Turkey to Iraq and Iran. The “Venus Tablets of Ammisaduqa,” recording the motions of the planet Venus, were themselves copies of earlier observations made in the time of King Ammisaduqa, tenth ruler of the First Dynasty of Babylon, circa 1626 B.C.

  In the earliest times, omens derived from astronomical observations were applied solely to the rulers or to matters of public welfare; it was some time before other, ordinary individuals were permitted, by law, to have forecasts made for them. In Rome, astrology was so popular at one period that Caesar Augustus (63 B.C. - A.D. 14) forbade its use as too dangerous to the proper conduct of government.

  Astrology was, in its beginnings, a genuine search for knowledge — an attempt to find, in the configurations of the stars and planets, some meaning for humans that might enable them to ascertain something about the future, as if that future were written, obscurely but gloriously, in the heavenly patterns that nightly present themselves to observers.

  Only five planets — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn — were known to the early observers. Since they were named after gods and were believed to represent the actual bodies of the gods, the movements of those objects against the background of mythical figures represented by the constellations seemed important. It was that relationship of god to “sign” that was the basis for the notion that the fortunes of humanity were to be found by examining the night skies.

  There were two divisions to astrology at first. Horary astrology dealt with measuring motions of the stars and planets and thereby predicting their configurations. This division eventually grew into astronomy. Horary astrology was essential for performing the second type, judiciary astrology, the popular aspect that offered — and still offers — predictions and trends to the clients.

  Such a notion is seductive because it seems to make life simpler. It attributes everything from interpersonal relationships to the destiny of nations to the stars. It appears to eliminate the understandable confusion offered by life, confusion created both by the advances of new technology and by highly specialized knowledge that are beyond the reach and comprehension of the average person, and it seems to remove the need for personal responsibility, handing it all over to fate but allowing a glimpse into the future that might provide some advantage.

  A medieval illustration of the correspondences between astrological signs and parts of the human body.

  Today, though we now understand much more about the true nature of the starry universe, many individuals still cling to the medieval notion that earthly events in their individual lives may be predicted from observations of the skies performed by experienced — and perhaps inspired — practitioners of astrology.This belief even extends into governmental offices, as in India, where in all walks of life astrology is taken quite seriously, to the point that a prominent Indian science adviser once complained to the American ambassador to India that a primary problem for his department was that they lacked a sufficient staff of competent astrologers. Even in the U.S. White House, a president and his first lady were actually arranging their official and personal schedules in accordance with the calculations of an astrologer who was retained by them. Prince Charles of England, a devout believer in many strange matters, has had his birth sign (Scorpio) worked into the design of his crown that he wears as Prince of Wales.

  Astrology has invariably failed to meet not only the practitioners' expectations, but any other simple test of the most basic effect, though the contrary is widely claimed by the believers.

  “Sun Sign” astrology — the kind that is found in the newspaper columns — may say that for one-twelfth of the entire population of the world, today is “a good day to pursue new fashion ideas” or that another twelfth of humanity will find this a day to “act boldly on property investments.” These probabilities would apply whether the reader is a Maori la
wyer, an Irish fisherman, or a Peruvian geologist.

  Opinions on astrology have been offered by persons all through literature and the arts. The philosopher/physician Maimonides (1135-1204) in his Responsa I, said, “Astrology is not a science; it is a disease.” Francesco Guicciardini (1483-1540), a papal adviser, wrote:

  How happy are the astrologers if they tell one truth to a hundred lies, while other people lose all credibility if they tell one lie to a hundred truths.

  The Italian pundit was flying in the face of his boss, who was, along with so many of his fellow popes, dependent on resident astrologers to provide him with advice.

  Dr. Erika Bourguignon, professor of anthropology at Ohio State University, refers to astrology as “a pseudoscience and a divinatory art,” and John Maddox, editor of the science journal Nature, has commented on astrology as it was dealt with in his publication:

  . . . one of the things we have published on astrology a few years back was a very carefully done study in California with the collaboration of 28 astrologers from the San Francisco area and lots of subjects — 118 of them altogether — and lunar charts were made by the astrologers. It turned out that the people couldn't recognize their own charts any more accurately than by chance. . . . and that seems to me to be a perfectly convincing and lasting demonstration of how well this thing works in practice. My regret is that there's so many intelligent, able people wasting their time and, might I say, taking other people's money, in this hopeless cause.

  (Sir Maddox was referring to the project of Dr. Shawn Carlson of San Diego, which tested astrology and was reported in Nature.)

  Though the Sun enters the sign Aquarius once every year, the new agers announced that in the 1960s the world entered the Age of Aquarius, though it is not clear, as with most notions of these folks, just what that means.

  The formal though perfunctory opposition of religion to astrology originates with the possibility that if one's fate is already determined in the stars, sin cannot exist because it is thus not a voluntary action. This is explained by some astrologers by the statement, “Astrology impels but does not compel.”

  A form of astrology that says that each planet governs the life of a person for a certain number of years is known as “alfridarya.” “Asterism” is a variety that deals only with the fixed stars, ignoring the Sun and planets.

  Though astrologers in general only claim to be able to predict the coming of disasters, those in Cambodia (called “horas”) are believed to also be able to avert them.

  See also horoscope and zodiac.

  Astronomy

  The genuine science that developed from astrology. Astronomy deals with the stars and planets and everything about them, such as their relative motions, composition, and distance. The Earth is included only so far as it enters into the cosmic scene as a planet. Astronomy has a long history of dependable, accurate forecasts, placing it among the royalty of sciences.

  Athame

  The black consecrated knife used, particularly by Western witches, and by others, to trace out the magic circle for invoking demons.

  Atlantis

  In his 1882 book Atlantis, the Antediluvian World, onetime lieutenant governor of Minnesota, U.S. congressman, and senator Ignatius Donnelly (1831-1901) revived interest in a fabulous “lost continent” first described by Plato (circa 427-347 B.C.) as having existed in the Atlantic Ocean area “beyond the Pillars of Hercules” (the Strait of Gibraltar) over ten thousand years ago. The reference is found in both of Plato's dialogues, Timaeus and Critias. The entire continent, about as large as Europe, along with its highly developed civilization, was destroyed in a night and a day by an explosion and resulting tidal wave, said Plato.

  The story, which Plato said originated in Egypt, just may be based on an actual cataclysm such as the one suggested by evidence discovered at the island of Santorini, north of Crete. It appears that about 1500 B.C. there was a volcanic explosion that should have decimated the area, and though that event does not satisfy the geographical location, copying errors might account for the differences. No evidence exists for a mid-Atlantic continent, and in fact we now know much more about the actual topography of the ocean bottoms, and Atlantis is simply not there

  It is interesting to note that Donnelly was also the genius who developed the notion that by examining Shakespeare carefully for a secret cipher, he had proven that someone else — Sir Francis Bacon — wrote the bard's work. It is a favorite crackpot idea still pursued by dilettantes who have tired of other fashionable conspiracy schemes.

  See also Bimini road.

  Augury

  A tool for prophecy, the word derived from the Latin avium garritus, meaning “speech of birds.”

  While prophecy in general often makes use of substances and objects such as dice, Tarot cards, or sky clouds to determine the future, augury is most specifically concerned with the appearance and arrangement of the revealed entrails of unfortunate birds, as well as the flight patterns of the more fortunate ones.

  In the latter system, the augur (the person who has this specialized wisdom) marks out with a wand the area of the sky in which he has chosen to observe the flight patterns, then divides that area into two left-and-right segments. If the birds fly to the left, it's bad news; to the right, good. When the omens appear satisfactory, the augur utters “Addixit,” Latin for “All right.”

  Augury is not at all a satisfactory process and is particularly unpopular with birds.

  See also anthropomancy and divination.

  Aura

  One new age claim that has received a great deal of attention involves the notion that humans are surrounded by some sort of a glow or “field” that is invisible to all but gifted psychics. The aura is of variable size, quality, and color, and occurs mainly surrounding the head, according to the aura seers.

  The variables are said to be indications of character, health, and emotions. Colors are particularly important:

  Pink means affection.

  Bright red means anger.

  Dark red means passion and sensuality.

  Yellow means high intellectual activity.

  Orange means selfishness, pride, and ambition.

  Brown means greed.

  Green means many, many different things.

  Blue means religion and devotion.

  Purple means psychic ability and occult power.

  In representations of Christian and Buddhist saints and other holy figures, the halo shown probably indicates the aura. When it surrounds the whole body, it is known as the aureola.

  Numerous tests of the existence of this phenomena have proved negative.

  Aureola

  See aura.

  Automatic writing

  A claimed phenomenon similar to that of the Ouija board. The operator holds a pen or pencil which is then said to move independently across a sheet of paper and write out messages from other living persons, from deceased persons, or from unknown discarnate entities.

  This idea has been popular with spiritualists from the beginning of that religion, and one Swiss spirit medium named Hélène Smith (née Catherine-Elise Müller, 1863?-?) even invented an entire written language which she used to relate details of Martian civilization to her sitters. Psychologist Theodore Flournoy examined Mlle. Smith's claims and found that this language was very similar to French, using the same syntax. Mlle. Smith's native tongue was French.

  Also known as “psychography.”

  See also ideomotor effect and planchette.

  Avenger bombers

  See Bermuda Triangle

  Azoth

  See philosopher's stone.

  B