A new book by Jacques Vallee is must reading for
every serious student of UFOs and
paranormal phenomena and also - I would add - esotericist. His writings
are always intellectually challenging with new data and inside views from the
UFO research community. The Forbidden Science Journals are now into the fourth
volume, covering the decade 1990- 1999, subtitled The Spring Hill Chronicles. The
difference this time is that many diary entries deal with Vallee´s work as private
investor and venture capitalist. Somewhat frustating to readers, like me, who is
not fascinated by economy and high finance.
Giving a detailed and accurate review of this
massive work (551 pages) is a mission impossible. There are so many UFO
incidents, personalities, events, ideas, theories and personal memories and
anecdotes mentioned that makes it necessary to concentrate on a few themes. I´ve
always admired Vallee´s heretical thinking and lone wolf attitude. In Forbidden
Science, vol. 2 he gave this advice: ”The real phenomena continue to manifest
under our noses, and no special access
to questionable government documents is required to pursue a serious study”
(491). He reiterates this view in vol 4: ”The best work is always done by
lonely researchers with no money” (p. 404). Vallee deplores how ufology has
developed in the US with the misuse of hypnosis on abductees, beginning with
Hopkins´ Missing Time 1981, resulting in new myths and conspiracies.
Jacques Vallee, photo by Clas Svahn, June 2016
Vallee in no way deny the reality of abductions,
only the misuse of hypnosis and resultant credulity and is a harsh critic of
John Mack and David Jacobs. As in the other volumes there are many intriguing
close encounter and abduction cases mentioned in brief summaries, cases I
wonder if anyone ever followed up or documented. Vallee is especielly intrigued by the
possibility of covert intelligence operatives involved in psychological
experiments: ”Barbara knows another woman who found out under professional
therapy that she had not been abducted to a UFO at all; instead she had been
taken to a house in San Francisco, where her supposedly ”Alien” abductors also
turned out to be humans as they removed their fake faces in front of her. That
description sent chills through my bones, because it was one of the scenes in
my novel Fastwalker.” (p. 24). This case is reminiscent of the Alison MILABS case, Sedona, Arizona, documented by Nick Redfern. The theme of secret black
projects was introduced aleady in Messengers of Deception (1979). Vallee is
convinced there is both a real UFO phenomenon and government mind control
experiments. The mystery , of course is, ”but why? And cui bono?” (p. 179).
In 1995 American businessman Robert Bigelow founded
the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS), based in Las Vegas,
Nevada. He recruited a team of scientists, a.o. Jacques Vallee to research
various paranormal phenomena, including cattle mutilations and black triangle
reports. The investigations were for many years led by Colm Kelleher,
concentrating on a ranch in Utah where a plethora of strange phenomena were
observed. Vallee reports on the meetings, discussions, research and internal
problems of the group. He concludes: ”… we learned a lot in Utah from the work
on the ranch of Bob Bigelow. Thanks to enlightened support from him and from
Laurance Rockefeller, a small cadre of American scientists had begun to study
the pheonomena first-hand, at close range, over extended periods, and to openly
discuss their findings.”. (p. 485). The investigations at the Utah range were
later documented by Colm Kelleher and George Knapp in Hunt for the Skinwalker
(2006).
Jacques Vallee has all his life been a valiant exponent
for the serious and scientific study of UFOs and paranormal phenomena. Therefore
I was deeply surprised and troubled by this diary entry November 1, 1992: ”Planning
the move, I have disposed of three large crates of letters from readers that would
have been excellent raw material for somebody´s dissertation on the UFO mystery
and society´s reaction to it. I can hear future scholars cursing me, but
where am I to find the space for all
this? No University has any interest in it.” (p. 143). To me it is almost
incomprehensible that Vallee does not seem to realize the importance of saving
documents, especially correspondence. As I often have reiterated: Without
libraries and archives we have no history, only anecdotes, myths and hazy
memories. Without archives and libraries serious and scientific research
becomes very difficult and in some areas almost impossible. If we don´t learn
from history we will continue making the same mistakes or once again try to
reinvent the wheel. Jacques Vallee and his wife Janine were close friends of Brian
Myers and Tina Choate, who succeeded in getting hold of the APRO archives after
the death of Coral Lorenzen in 1988. The APRO archives is unique in UFO history
but unfortunately still not accessible nor digitalized, as far as I know.
Robert Bigelow tried to buy the archive without success. Jacques and Janine
visited Myers and Choate on July 28, 1992: ”Again, we saw the Apro files in
rows of filing cabinets, many of them still taped shut. The data for the years
1948 and 1949 was misssing; there was no file on Roswell. Many of the drawers
only contained clippings (labelled ”Features”) but others were full of data.”
(p. 128). Nowhere do I find a comment by Vallee that this archive should be saved
and made accessible to researchers.
When Anders Liljegren, Kjell Jonsson and I founded
AFU in 1973 Jacques Vallee was, besides John Keel, our foremost ideological
inspiration. We even quoted from Passport to Magonia in our first published
information sheet. His writings has deeply influenced my own research and
theories. Especially because to Vallee UFO research is part of a profound
spiritual quest to understand our existence and in this quest he, like his
colleague Allen Hynek, has turned to various esoteric traditions looking for
answers. It is here that I am faced with one of the great unsolved riddles in
his life and writings. In several diary entries Vallee mention his interest and
study of esoteric authors. Both Hynek and Vallee consider themselves as
belonging to the Rosicrucian tradition (p. 126). The Rosicrucian tradition often
referred to is Amorc: ”Yesterday, I visited Rosicrucian Park, taking along a
copy of Forbidden Science as a gift to their library. I spoke to Grand Master
Kristie Knudson who called me ”Frater”, apologized for being busy, and
delegated an instructor to take me through the temple.” (p. 196).
Among the names in the Rosicrucian tradition Vallee
recognize ”and pledge allegiance to” are Paracelsus, Flamel, Nostradamus and
Paschal Beverly Randolph: ”I have always felt – as did Allen Hynek – that the
objective of most esoteric groups such as the Golden Dawn, Amorc and masonry,
was intellectually and spiritually valuable. It is the execution that is flawed
because human and social structures prove incompatible with the ideals.” (p.
436). How come that Jacques Vallee, in his lifelong studies of Hermeticism and
Rosicrucians, never have found the core Esoteric Tradition as represented by
Helena Blavatsky, Alice Bailey and Henry T. Laurency? The Esoteric Tradition as
formulated by these authors constitutes the scientifically and philosophically most interesting
multiverse paradigm or theory to explain the multitude of intriguing phenomena
documented by many researchers. Of special importance is that Bailey and
Laurency also have solved the basic epistemological problem of how to
intellectually relate to the claims in esotericism. The esoteric worldview as
presented by these authors could be accepted as a reasonable working hypothesis
by any scholar or academic. Instead Vallee refers to the rather naive writings
of Amorc and the obscure occultist Pachal Beverly Randolph who was advocating
sex magic and drugs – the dark reflection of the Esoteric Tradition. In his
diary April 27, 1996 Vallee has an interesting discussion with a friend in
Paris: ”We spoke of Umberto Eco. I told her that his Foucault´s Pendulum danced
around the occult domain, but he completely missed the door that led inside.
She shrugged: ”He´s only an academic, an ethnologist,” she said. ”You can´t
expect him to understand the paranormal.” (p. 306). Jacques Vallee himself is
knocking at the door of the Esoteric Tradition. The problem is that he is
knocking at the wrong door.
These critical remarks are of little interest to
mainsteam ufologists not acquainted with esotericism, for whom Vallee is
basically a scientist and UFO investigator. Neither shall my comments be
understood as a denigration of his life and work. I have always admired and been
inspired by Jacques Vallee. He is definitely at the top of the ufological
Parnassus. The Forbidden Science Journals are not for the wider public but are
and will remain unique documents in the annals of UFO history.
Jacques Vallee is a
brilliant scientist, ufologist, esotericist and author but also a sensitive and
romantic soul. His love for Janine and their life at the Spring Hill retreat is
beautifully portrayed in many of the diary entries: ”As Allen did, I am guided
by the certainty that there is another level of consciousness and undiscovered
structures of reality, or rather ”meta-reality.” It is that higher level I have
been seeking, and occasionally finding in meditation at Spring Hill under the
night sky.” (p. 437).
