| New Age beliefs List of New Age topics |
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Star people or starseeds are a variant of the belief in alien-human hybrids in New Age belief and fringe theory. [1] Introduced by Brad Steiger in his 1976 book Gods of Aquarius, [2] it argues that certain people originated as extraterrestrials and arrived on Earth through birth or as a walk-in to an existing human body.
Steiger described "Star People" in his 1976 book on contactees as "humans who come from a special gene pool linked to visits by extraterrestrials". [3]
They claim to channel human lifeforms and suffer helplessness and total amnesia concerning their identity, origins and life-purpose. [4] [5] The awakening process claimed to be experienced [6] is described as either a gradual series of realizations over time, or an abrupt and dramatic awakening of consciousness. Through the awakening process, they regain memories about their past, origins and missions. [5]
Washington Post journalist Joel Achenbach interviewed people who said they were starseeds from the Pleiades for his book Captured by Aliens: The Search for Life and Truth in a Very Large Universe, and noted the contrast with ufologists: "the starseed are precisely the kind of New Age figures the traditional ufologists can't stand. Ufologists look outward, toward the universe, for answers to the alien enigma. New Agers look inward." [7]
Advocates of the concept of star people/starseeds include Sheldan Nidle, who founded the Planetary Activation Organization. [6] There is an online following. [6]
Steiger recounted that Philip K. Dick had written to him in the late 1970s to say he thought he might be one of the star people, and that his novel VALIS contained related themes. [8] [9]
Extraterrestrial life, or alien life, is life which does not originate from Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected. Such life might range from simple forms such as prokaryotes to intelligent beings, possibly bringing forth civilizations that might be far more advanced than humans. The Drake equation speculates about the existence of sapient life elsewhere in the universe. The science of extraterrestrial life is known as astrobiology.
Raëlism, also known as Raëlianism, is a UFO religion founded in 1970s France by Claude Vorilhon, now known as Raël. Scholars of religion classify Raëlism as a new religious movement. The group is formalised as the International Raëlian Movement (IRM) or Raëlian Church, a hierarchical organisation under Raël's leadership.
Majestic 12, also known as Majic-12, and MJ-12 for short, is a purported organization that appears in UFO conspiracy theories. The organization is claimed to be the code name of an alleged secret committee of scientists, military leaders, and government officials, formed in 1947 by an executive order by U.S. President Harry S. Truman to facilitate recovery and investigation of alien spacecraft. The concept originated in a series of supposedly leaked secret government documents first circulated by ufologists in 1984. Upon examination, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) declared the documents to be "completely bogus", and many ufologists consider them to be an elaborate hoax. Majestic 12 remains popular among some UFO conspiracy theorists and the concept has appeared in popular culture including television, film, video games, and literature.
Ancient astronauts refers to a pseudoscientific set of beliefs that hold that intelligent extraterrestrial beings visited Earth and made contact with humans in antiquity and prehistoric times. Proponents of the theory suggest that this contact influenced the development of modern cultures, technologies, religions, and human biology. A common position is that deities from most religions are extraterrestrial in origin, and that advanced technologies brought to Earth by ancient astronauts were interpreted as evidence of divine status by early humans.
Ufology, sometimes written UFOlogy, is the investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by people who believe that they may be of extraordinary origins. While there are instances of government, private, and fringe science investigations of UFOs, ufology is generally regarded by skeptics and science educators as an example of pseudoscience.
Green fireballs are a type of unidentified flying object (UFO) that has been reported since the early 1950s. Early sightings primarily occurred in the southwestern United States, particularly in New Mexico. Although some ufologists and ufology organizations consider green fireballs to be of artificial extraterrestrial origin, mainstream explanations have been provided, including natural bolides.
Joel LeRoy Achenbach is an American staff writer for The Washington Post and the author of seven books, including A Hole at the Bottom of the Sea, The Grand Idea, Captured by Aliens, It Looks Like a President only Smaller, and three compilations of his former syndicated newspaper column "Why Things Are". He is a contributor to many publications, including Slate and National Geographic, where he is a former monthly columnist. Achenbach has been a commentator on National Public Radio's Morning Edition, and does occasional lectures and other speaking engagements. In addition to his work in the print version of The Washington Post, Achenbach was one of the first Post writers to have a significant presence on the Internet and formerly wrote the popular Post blog, "The Achenblog," which ended in March 2017.
A UFO religion is any religion in which the existence of extraterrestrial (ET) entities operating unidentified flying objects (UFOs) is an element of belief. Typically, adherents of such religions believe the ETs to be interested in the welfare of humanity which either already is, or eventually will become, part of a pre-existing ET civilization. Other religions predate the UFO era of the mid 20th century, but incorporate ETs into a more supernatural worldview in which the UFO occupants are more akin to angels than physical aliens, but this distinction may be blurred within the overall subculture. These religions have their roots in the tropes of early science fiction and weird fiction writings, in ufology, and in the subculture of UFO sightings and alien abduction stories. Historians have considered the Aetherius Society, founded by George King, to be the first UFO religion.
In ufology, Nordic alien is the name given to alleged humanoid extraterrestrials, purported to come from the Pleiades, who resemble Nordic-Scandinavians.
Brad Steiger was an American writer of fiction and non-fiction works on the paranormal, spirituality, UFOs, true crime and biographies. His books sold well to the public but were widely criticized by academics and skeptics for making far-fetched claims without scientific evidence.
William J. "Bill" Birnes is an American author, the incoming auditor for Solebury Township, Pennsylvania, the chairman of the board at Sunrise Community Counseling Center, and ufologist.
Marshall Vian Summers is an American religious leader and spiritual teacher who offers retreats, online broadcasts and events in the United States and abroad. He is the author of numerous books and podcasts, and is the founder of The Society for the New Message, a religious nonprofit organization established in 1992 which supports and makes available his books and teachings. He is the central figure within a new religious movement with an emphasis on the implications of exotheology for human evolution. Summers and his followers designate themselves the Worldwide Community of the New Message from God. His books are the basis for their beliefs and guiding principles, which break down categorically into warnings of extreme change and outside threat; and gifts of spiritual blessing and preparation for living in a world in decline.
Ancient astronauts have been addressed frequently in science fiction and horror fiction. Occurrences in the genres include:
Heaven's Gate was an American new religious movement known primarily for the mass suicides committed by its members in 1997. Commonly designated a cult, it was founded in 1974 and led by Marshall Applewhite (1931–1997) and Bonnie Nettles (1927–1985), known within the movement as Do and Ti. Nettles and Applewhite first met in 1972 and went on a journey of spiritual discovery, identifying themselves as the two witnesses of Revelation, attracting a following of several hundred people in the mid-1970s. In 1976, a core group of a few dozen members stopped recruiting and instituted a monastic lifestyle.
The interdimensional hypothesis is a proposal that unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings are the result of experiencing other "dimensions" that coexist separately alongside our own in contrast with either the extraterrestrial hypothesis that suggests UFO sightings are caused by visitations from outside the Earth or the psychosocial hypothesis that argues UFO sightings are best explained as psychological or social phenomenon.
Barry Downing born 1938 in Syracuse, New York is a Presbyterian minister and ancient astronaut proponent. His book The Bible and Flying Saucers in 1968, claims UFO phenomena are responsible for many of the events in the Bible.
The cultural impact of extraterrestrial contact is the corpus of changes to terrestrial science, technology, religion, politics, and ecosystems resulting from contact with an extraterrestrial civilization. This concept is closely related to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), which attempts to locate intelligent life as opposed to analyzing the implications of contact with that life.
According to the beliefs of certain New Age movements, Arcturians are a very advanced extraterrestrial civilization from the Arcturus star system who wish to share their knowledge and wisdom with the citizens of Earth. They are described as other-dimensional, advanced star beings. Arcturians are said to be loving and peaceful beings who are willing to communicate and work with any soul that wishes to travel with them to a higher level of consciousness.