Passport to Magonia: On UFOs, Folklore, and Parallel Worlds

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Excerpted from wikipedia: Jacques Fabrice Vallée (born September 24, 1939 in Pontoise, Val-d'Oise, France) is a venture capitalist, computer scientist, author, ufologist and former astronomer currently residing in San Francisco, California. Here Vallée reveals is below mediocre methodology and inexistant critical thinking : He choses what he wants in a text (if the part about Agobard debunking the superstitions is deemed false, why the part where Agobard tells the very story should be deemed true ?) and doesn’t hesitate to privilege bad sources, as long as they confirm his pre established beliefs. Physical Analyses in Ten Cases of Unexplained Aerial Objects with Material Samples." Journal of Scientific Exploration, vol. 12, no. 3 (1998) pp.359–375. ISSN 0892-3310. Magonia is the name of the cloud realm whence felonious aerial sailors were said to have come, according to commonly-held beliefs denounced in the polemical treatise by Carolingian bishop Agobard of Lyon in 815, where he argues against weather magic. The treatise is titled De Grandine et Tonitruis (On Hail and Thunder).

There is a work that is widely known in the UFO community that often comes up in discussions, Jacques Vallée’s “ Passport to Magonia”. Here i shall analyse the main case from which the book gets its name. the reported behavior in thousands of abduction reports contradicts the hypothesis of genetic or scientific experimentation on humans by an advanced race; the humanoid body structure of the alleged "aliens" is not likely to have originated on another planet and is not biologically adapted to space travel; The people believed what their good father Agobard said rather than their own eyes, were pacified, set at liberty the four Ambassadors of the Sylphs, and recieved with wonder the book which Agobard wrote to confirm the judgement which he had pronounced. Thus the testimony of these four witnesses was rendered vain.”

I have not written this book for such people, but for those few who have gone through all this and graduated to a higher, clearer level of perception of the total meaning of that tenuous dream that underlies the many nightmares of human history, for those who have recognized, within themselves and in others, the delicate levers of imagination and will not be afraid to experiment with them."

So many of these accounts are beyond belief, which makes for great reading, but which Vallee reminds the reader, cannot be taken at face value. Didn't really connect with me. I guess what irked me most is Vallées very narrow, very human and less than spiritual view of the topic. You're not getting the whole picture if you just choose to look at a slice of reality that feels comfortable to you. Ask indigenous people about their perspective on nature spirits and you will get a very different picture. Don't rule anything out, because another theory seems to be the better fit. Keep an open mind. Find proof. If you cannot find proof, search deeper. Look into every direction. In the early 2000’s, Vallee co-founded a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. He also worked as a member of the scientific advisory board of Bigelow Aerospace and conducted private research for Bigelow and its partners, including the Pentagon’s now de-classified UFO program known as AATIP. The Heart of the Internet: An Insider's View of the Origin and Promise of the On-line Revolution. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Pub. Co. (2003). ISBN 978-1571743695.As an alternative to the extraterrestrial visitation hypothesis, Vallée has suggested a multidimensional visitation hypothesis. This hypothesis represents an extension of the ETH where the alleged extraterrestrials could be potentially from anywhere. The entities could be multidimensional beyond space-time; thus they could coexist with humans, yet remain undetected. http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/04z/z_0779-0841__Agobardus_Lugdunensis__Contra_Insulsam_Vulgi_Opinionem_De_Grandine_Et_Tonitruis__MLT.pdf.html

De Grandine et Tonitruis pp. 8-10: "Plerosque autem vidimus et audivimus tanta dementia obrutos, tanta stultitia alienatos, ut credant et dicant quandam esse regionem, quæ dicatur Magonia, ex qua naves veniant in nubibus, in quibus fruges, quæ grandinibus decidunt, et tempestatibus pereunt, vehantur in eamdem regionem, ipsis videlicet nautis aëreis dantibus pretia tempestariis, et accipientibus frumenta vel ceteras fruges. Ex his item tam profunda stultitia excoecatis, ut haec posse fieri credant, vidimus plures in quodam conventu hominum exhibere vinctos quatuor homines, tres viros, et unam feminam, quasi qui de ipsis navibus ceciderint; quos scilicet per aliquot dies in vinculis detentos, tandem collecto conventu hominum exhibuerunt, ut dixi, in nostra præsentia, tanquam lapidandos. Sed tamen vincente veritate, post multam ratiocinationem, ipsi qui eos exhibuerant, secundum propheticum illud confusi sunt, sicut confunditur fur quando deprehenditur". Vallée's opposition to the ETH theory is summarised in his paper, "Five Arguments Against the Extraterrestrial Origin of Unidentified Flying Objects", Journal of Scientific Exploration, 1990:Yes. Those high schoolers did crop circles in one night using just wooden planks (sorry, it’s in french, i know)... This is the only genuinely intelligent book on the flying saucer/ UFO myth that appears to have been written. However, even the most casual of UFOlogists may find this legendary piece disappointing. Almost every major case Vallee cites has been reported elsewhere, so there is no major revelation in this. The magic lies in Vallee's own interpretation of the data tying it into earlier myths specifically of fairies, goblins, and even religious miracles suggesting that something other than extraterrestrial visitors is going on. Passport to Magonia, with its well-reasoned theories, builds a bridge of considerations between the sightings and visitation stories of the past and the ones occurring in the present. Upon its release, some explorers of the weird simply couldn’t take it. The book was regarded not only as a radical departure, but as a betrayal by Vallee (8). Thankfully, that’s not so much the case today. Vallee admits that a few holdouts continue to completely reject his theories, but others are approaching ufology with more open minds: “Inspired by the notion of a link between ancient stories preserved by historians and the ‘modern folklore’ of UFO reports, a new generation of researchers has emerged, eager to advance the knowledge of the nature and impact of the observations” (9). Anatomy of a Phenomenon: Unidentified Objects in Space – a Scientific Appraisal. NTC/Contemporary Publishing (January 1965). ISBN 0809298880. Agobard’s manuscript is titled “ Contra insulsam vulgi opinionem de grandine et tonitruis”, which means “ Against the stupid popular belief about hail and thunder”. Yes, the source itself says the story is "stupid".

But as a conclusion, i’ll leave you with an analysis of Vallée’s own conclusions, that he kept pretty much for all his career. He does not believe in UFOs in the traditional way but in the psychic/interdimensional beings way. He resumed why he thought so in 5 points : Now I See You: The Role of Imaginary and Supernatural Friends in Fantastic Films and Television June 9, 2022 Bad reasoning, bad translations, bad sources and forgeries”, you now can see the title kept its promises... Not only that, he considered science had to be separated from religion, thus being a precursor of the Enlightenment, a millenia before it started.With the recent cultural spotlight on unidentified phenomena and the government’s alleged covering up this seemed like a perfect time to read deeper into UFOs beyond my childhood fascination with aliens. Given that I haven’t heard any followup from the congressional hearing (not that I am seeking it out) I’m assuming nothing came of it. One day, among other instances, it chanced at Lyons that three men and a woman were seen descending from these aerial ships. The entire city gathered about them, crying out they were magicians and were sent by Grimaldus, Duke of Beneventum, Charlemagne's enemy, to destroy the French harvest. In vain the four innocents sought to vindicate themselves by saying that they were their own country-folk, and had been carried away a short time since by miraculous men who had shown them unheard-of marvels, and had desired to give them an account of what they had seen. The frenzied populace paid no heed to their defense, and were on the point of casting them into the fire, when the worthy Agobard, Bishop of Lyons, who having been a monk in that city had acquired considerable authority there, came running at the noise, and having heard the accusations of the people and the defense of the accused, gravely pronounced that both one and the other were false. That it was not true that these men had fallen from the sky, and that what they said they had seen there was impossible. Vallee uses the first half of his book to expound on his theories and the second half to present an annotated chronicle of a century of UFO sightings (1868-1968). These sightings come from all over the world, but key similarities emerge. While most of the stories are too short and leave us hankering to learn much more about them, there is enough specific detail in each to make them and their experiencers seem convincing. Today, the Internet provides us with instant access to information about key UFO sightings. I marvel at the meticulous chronicling Vallee amassed without the benefit of modern-day data access. He dug up the info dirt the hard way. Even today, we should be most grateful for his efforts.