Description

The Apparitions of Fatima and the UFO Phenomenon. A meticulous synthesis of history, science, and anthropology, Heavenly Lights establishes that the Fátima Incident of 1917 involved not Marian apparitions -- as is conventionally believed -- but rather, a series of close encounters with alien beings.

The first in a trilogy of fascinating exposés on the mysterious Fátima Incident, translated from Portuguese and Edited by Andrew D. Basiago & Eva M. Thompson, with a foreword by Dr. Jacques F. Vallée.

The first history of Fátima to be written by Portuguese historians based on the original documents, Heavenly Lights subjects all of the pertinent facts of the Fátima case to a sweeping evidentiary analysis that is at once thorough and fascinating.

In periodic passages describing parallels in ufology, the authors identify many relevant connections between the enigmatic events that took place at Fátima and numerous other episodes in the strange and storied annals of UFO history.

When it was first published in Portugal in 1995, entitled As Aparições de Fátima e o Fenómeno OVNI, the Jornal de Notícias heralded this work as "a literary success without precedent in the field of Portuguese ufological studies."

This new translation offers a powerful and convincing argument for mainstream ufologists and religious researchers alike to re-examine the actual evidence that at last explains the enduring mystery of the Fátima Incident.

Table of Contents

Authors & Contributors

Foreword

Introduction

PART I
PORTRAIT OF THE LADY WHO DESCENDED FROM THE SKY
Phenomena Associated with the Being of Fátima

1 - THE DAY OF MAY 13TH

2 - WHAT WAS THE BEING LIKE?

3 - WHO WAS THE BEING?

PART II
THE UNUSUAL THAT COULD NOT BE MADE UP
Phenomena Associated with Cova da Iria

1 - LIGHTNING

2 - "THE BUZZING OF BEES"

3 - THUNDER

4 - BIZARRE CLOUDS

5 - EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT

6 - ODORS

7 - LUMINOUS OBJECTS

8 - RAMPS OF LIGHT

9 - BREEZES

10 - ANGEL HAIR ["THE RAIN OF FLOWERS"]

11 - EFFECTS ON ANIMALS

12 - THE TESTIMONY OF THE "FOURTH SEER" &endash; THE SMALL, "TELEPATHIC"HUMANOID

13 - EXPERIMENTAL OBSERVATIONS OF THE EFFECTS OF MICROWAVES

PART III
THE DAY THE SUN DANCED IN THE SKY
Phenomena Associated with "The Miracle of the Sun"

1 - METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS ON THE DAY OF OCTOBER 13, 1917

2 - THE ANTECEDENTS OF THE "MIRACLE"

3 - THE FUNCTION OF THE CLOUDS

4 - A DESCRIPTION OF THE PHENOMENON

5 - CHROMATIC EFFECTS

6 - MOVEMENTS OF THE "SUN"

7 - THERMAL EFFECTS

8 - MECHANICAL BREAKDOWNS AND SUCTION EFFECTS

9 - SIMULTANEOUS CURES

10 - THE CREWMEMBERS OF THE "SUN"

11 - OBSERVATIONS ON THE SAME DAY

12 - ANALYSIS OF THE STATISTICS OF THE WITNESSES

13 - THE OBSERVATORIES: "EVERYTHING NORMAL"

14 - THE HALLUCINATION HYPOTHESIS

15 - MIMETIC ASPECTS OF THE "SOLAR" PHENOMENON

16 - THE PROCESS OF THE "MIRACLE" OR THE ANTI-ABSURD EXPLANATION

Other Works

Footnotes

Foreword

This book is the product of an analysis of perceived "apparitions," whether religious or profane in nature, and their interpretation in a rational, scientific context. Such an effort is long overdue. By bridging the gap between the vast domain of spiritual miracles (illustrated here by the Fátima events of 1917) and the equally immense amount of data recorded by investigators of unidentified flying objects, Joaquim Fernandes and Fina d'Armada have opened up an important new avenue of research. In the process, they tell the fascinating story of a global phenomenon that reaches far beyond the boundaries of Portugal and stretches through centuries of passion and puzzlement.

The facts they have uncovered bring new light to the age-old problem of unexplained aerial phenomena. This neglected area of research is fundamental to our understanding of the physical universe, of human consciousness, and of the role played by spiritual movements in shaping human history.

Consider the statement made by the three children of Fátima who, while watching their sheep on May 13, 1917, said they first saw lightning, and then, "As we arrived at the middle of the ranch, another flash of lightning struck again, and we saw a lady on top of an oak tree. We were very frightened at seeing the resplendency that enveloped her."

Now compare this statement with the report provided by the Arias family of Nicanor-Olivera, Argentina, who, on August 31, 1978, were awakened by an intense luminosity outside their house. An egg-shaped object, they said, hovered over a nearby eucalyptus tree. From one edge, the object emitted a circular light. At the end of this beam, they saw "two bulky beings" that carried, at chest height, a red light that "seemed to run as if falling from a small waterfall." The entities moved in a rigid fashion, like "floating travelers, seated on something."

The burden falls on the scientific community to explain why these seemingly absurd observations arise so often from frightened and sincere witnesses, and how they can have such a powerful influence on our belief systems. But what should the professional scientist or the curious amateur do when faced with events that seem to contradict everything we know about "normal" reality? The easiest path is a well-worn one, and that is to flatly deny the facts. Perhaps the witnesses are deluded individuals, or liars. Indeed, this accusation was made against the shepherds of Fátima, until the final sighting, when over 60,000 witnesses observed the luminous display, and the physical effects were such that no one could deny them any longer. The scientific consensus, and the majority view in educated circles, however, still hold that the events in question "must have been" ordinary, and mistakenly observed. This is certainly the most parsimonious assumption.

A second way of interpreting incidents like Fátima is held in respect throughout much of the world. It does not deny the facts but instead carefully reframes them within the structure of dogma and belief. This cosmology assumes that the witnesses were privileged to take part in a miracle, a signal sent uniquely to them from a divine level of such spiritual intensity that it would be folly to try to understand it, blasphemy to challenge the wisdom of its pronouncements. This is the religious path. In this view, God, or His messengers, are so far above the human level that we would display silly arrogance if we did more than record the events and cower in obedience before them.

For those who, like the authors of this work, refuse to follow either one of these convenient paths, the challenges become enormous. They involve detachment and critical analysis of difficult material; correlation of testimony from many independent parties; and confrontation between two sets of physical descriptions, namely, those of religious events, like Fátima, and those of more mundane but equally puzzling unidentified aerial phenomena, like the reports of the Arias family of Argentina. As the authors show, it is in this manner that genuine research can go forward. The result is a new awareness of the complexity of consciousness.

Modern laboratory research has shown that our perceptions are highly vulnerable to changes in our physical environment. They can be altered by drugs, hypnosis, and electromagnetic fields. They are shaped by language, culture, and education. They are subject to social pressure.

As we enter an age when the functions of the brain can be studied in real time with sophisticated instruments, academic research is beginning to seriously consider a range of consciousness phenomena that earlier scientists discounted. In this context, percipients of unusual events are becoming participants in a novel and exciting field rich in potential scientific breakthroughs. The authors of this book analyze such events, and they go on to establish relevant linkages between various classes of unexplained facts. Their work makes an important contribution to our understanding of the human condition and of the universe in which we live.

Jacques F. Vallée, Ph.D.

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