Orbs and Rods are They Really Paranormal?

Photo of Orbs By Henny van der Swaluwe courtesy of wikimedia commons 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orb_op_echtheid_controlren.JPG

The one thing we can almost always count on in most paranormal online groups, is photos of orbs and rods. What are orbs and rods one might ask and, how do they fit into the paranormal field? Well, an orb is best described as a round spot of light that is not visible but is captured on a still or moving film. They do vary in size, form, color, clarity, intensity and are a delight to a lot of amateur ghost hunters and a few professional paranormal research/investigation teams as well. However, most investigation teams will not document an orb as evidence on an investigation. Some do believe that an orb is the spirit of one who is deceased but has not crossed over to the other side yet and is still earth bound. Many people believe that an orb is energy of a deceased one's spirit, angel and sign of other paranormal entities. Orbs have also been known as globes, balls of light.

Alien "UFO" Rods at Harewood House, captured on a warm spring afternoon in 2005 

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alien_%22UFO%22_Rods_at_Harewood_House_-_geograph.org.uk_-_67473.jpg

Now let's move on to rods. What are rods? Well, in the world of the paranormal, rods are like orbs except for their shape. Also, rods seem to leave a tail of light behind them as they streak across the film area. Believers say that a rod is a intense amount of energy a type of strange bug we can´t see with our eyes or even beings of another dimension, also known as ultra-terrestials. Many believe that a rod is proof of the existence of the paranormal because rods seem to leave a trail of light behind them and they see to travel at very fast speeds. Rods are also captured mostly on moving film and camcorders. Rods are also know as energy rods, light rods and swimmers.

As I mentioned before, most investigation teams will not mark a orb or a rod as evidence of the paranormal. The reason for this is simply that, there are very many particles of dust in our air. We have very small particles of moisture, fungal spores, plasma, wood dust, plant material, skin cells, rock particles, sot and so on. We have also have seen insects that have shown up on film as orbs and rods, on top of this are the optical effects that cause orb or rod like shapes to appear. Being a paranormal investigator myself, I always decline to accept a rod or orb as evidence of the paranormal. As I said, there are just way to many particles of whatever in our air and, when one takes a photo, or taping a film the light from the flash and any other light source will be is reflected off of that particular particle whatever it may be.

I have several times been shown photos of orbs, and then when the orb in the photograph is blown up it seems to show images within them, more often then not I would say this is regular parodelia where our mind look at the uneven parts within the image and makes out patterns and organize them into figures in our mind, making them look like horned orbs, numbers of 666 and every other form on the earth can be found in this kind of orb footages.

To be honest about it, I have never seen any photo that would give me any reason to think  the orb or rod in the photo could be the energy of a spirit that is still earth bound. Like I explained in my entry What is Paranormal?, once the paranormal is proven, it will no longer be no more paranormal simply by the word's definition.

If anyone has any way to prove that an orb is of paranormal nature, PLEASE feel free to contact me at waikikiblogboi@gmail.com  If you only have a photo of something that says it has it's own light source then, please do not waste your time or mine. If you have a video of a speck of something that changes direction, pleas do not send me that either. Things like that have long been explained. I do not want to cause an orb war here and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If you have anything that can change my mind about orbs, please send it my way.

Of course just because orbs and rods are impossible to use as paranormal evidence does not mean that every orb and rod caught on photo or video is not of a paranormal origin, the problem lays in the fact that it is so many things a orb photo can be, and the same goes for rods.

The Battle For Los Angeles - The Most Documented UFO sighing in History.

I think that it is very safe to say that UFO's do exist. Mainly due to the fact that UFO's are any unidentified flying object. However, are UFO's evidence of aliens from another planet. Well, that remains to be seen. The first UFO sourced and recorded sighting was in the year 329BC by Alexander The Great. I am one who believes that we are not alone, and just like with the Drake Constant that postulate the probability of Life and civilizations in a galaxy, there has to somewhere out in deep space there be another planet that has some form of intelligent life on it. That life form could be more intelligent then ours or, maybe even not near our intelligence.

One of the UFO cases that has always held my interest is the one known as THE BATTLE FOR LOS ANGELES, back in Feb. 1942. That case like many other cases to the best of my knowledge, has never been solved.  The following link will take you to a investigative news story being broadcasted about the incident. The report was broadcasted on the 25 years anniversary of the Battle of Los Angeles. Click on the link and you can make up your own mind as to if it was a real UFO or was it a weather balloon as the government insist it was to this very day..
   


When you watch this video, try to remember anything in the air is a weather balloon to the government. The government said that, the Roswell Incident was also a weather balloon. The Roswell incident didn't take place until five years after the Los Angeles UFO incident and the government still insist it was a weather balloon ONLY after the U.S. Air Force had already said a UFO  had crashed. Here is the link to that story and you can make up your own mind on that story too

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/03/roswell-ufo-crash_n_1715663.html

I strongly suggest that if UFO research is your interest, You really should take a look at the Battle for Los Angeles video and read the article on the Roswell Incident. Lets just say that the LA incident was a weather balloon, Do you really think that the army and air force could Not shoot down a simple weather balloon? I will leave it up to you to decide for yourself !!

Extraterrestrial Contact
http://www.ufoevidence.org/

Did Robert Johnson Sell His Soul to Satan?

Tarot card illustration of Robert Johnson and the Devil by Philip Cheaney

This article for the Paranormal Corner was written by Jose Prado.

We've all heard the story of the famous Blues musician Robert Johnson, and how he supposedly sold his soul to Satan on the Crossroads in order to learn how to play the guitar. But the truth is far from it. Robert Johnson wasn't the one who made the pact on the Crossroads; it was another musician, a friend of his named Tommy Johnson who made the legendary deal on the Crossroads. And Tommy never claimed it was 'the devil' he made the pact to. He always told people even in interviews, that he made the deal with Papa Legba, the Vodoun God of the Crossroads, the one who opens and closes doors to things. To gain favor from a Deity or spirit of Doorways and Roads whether it be Legba, Hekate, or Ganesh will lead to prosperity and fame. But somehow they twisted the legend to say he sold his soul to Satan, is an outright lie.*

To further the lie they then confused Robert Johnson with his friend Tommy Johnson. Why would American historians confuse them? And why would they say either one of them sold their souls to the Devil? These are the reasons why.

1) America has a long history of racism and ignorance of other ethnic groups and cultures and more than likely white Americans in the 1920’s couldn't tell the difference between one black musician named Johnson and another.

2) Both Johnsons were Vodusants, that is to say, Voodooists, their religion was Voodoo, they believed in different spirit forces that ruled all things. [1]

But to white society in 1920's America it was all 'pagan' blasphemy mixed in with 'devil worship', they couldn't tell the difference. 

3) They were both Hoodoomen (Conjuremen, Conjure workers, Hoodooists, Rootworkers etc) they both practiced Hoodoo, the witchcraft of the Voodoo religion.

Contrary to popular belief, not all people who believe in Voodoo are witches. A Voodoo witch practices Hoodoo and is referred to by the above names. Voodoo is the religion, the stories of the Spirits/Gods/Divinities the prayers etc...Just as not all Catholics are priests or can bless things. Or not all Wiccans are witches. There is a clear line between a regular Vodusant and a Rootworker. But to white supremacist America, no one saw the difference. [2]

Many today still view it as Satanism. But these men, back then both openly admitted to practicing witchcraft. The controversy they stirred up must have been enough to have white Americans talking about ‘demons’ stirred up by blacks under every corner. Or then again, it may not have been that controversial since many white Americans already had such racist notions to begin with. If anything all it did was solidify those notions. With Tommy Johnson openly speaking of his pact to a Pagan God or Spirit? It was propaganda that racist America could use to spread to one another about the ‘heathen’ blacks. To them it was clear: a black blues musician sold his soul to Satan. Clearly to them a spirit or God from another religion is 'evil' and of Hell. And since Robert died of seemingly un-natural causes[3], it was said his death was due to the Faustian deal with Old Scratch (nickname for the Devil in New England and Pre-civil war America) who had come for his due.

4) Both Tommy and Robert were known Hoodoomen. In fact you'll even find Occult messages in Robert's lyrics about how his lover used Hoodoo to cheat at Gambling along with other hidden messages.

And since he wrote a song about Hell Hounds, to them it was proof he was consorting with Satan. Of course for all anyone knows, the song was a reference to something else. We know his song Crossroads was about hitch hiking on the Crossroads. But most people think it was referencing his non-existent 'deal'.

5) Both Tommy and Robert were friends, and both were Vodusants and Hoodoomen. So when one person talked about one of them it was probably inevitable the other would come up in conversation. So that may have started the confusion for white historians in the first place.

But despite popular legends and confusion, the facts are these:

* Robert Johnson did not make any deal on the Crossroads (that we know about, it would not have been odd for any Vodusant to make one with a spirit there)

* The one who made the deal was Tommy Johnson his friend.

* Tommy did not sell his soul to any spirit, let alone to Satan.

* Tommy Johnson made a pact (an unbreakable promise to a divine being) with the Vodoun Crossroads spirit (Or God as I believe him to be) Papa Legba to learn how to play the guitar.

* What he promised is unknown to us; pacts are sometimes secret and are between the spirit or Deity and the human.

* Whatever he promised, we can be sure of one thing: it was not his soul he gave away. Legba is a benevolent Divinity. Good spirits or Deities do not do things like that.

* Pacts could be promises of leaving offerings to a spirit or God when you have money, paying them tribute on special days like their feast day, wearing special colors, beads, or amulets or other things to signify your allegiance to them etc... Pacts are also not exclusive to non-christian religions. Plenty of pacts can be found in the Bible. Noah’s pact with God (Genesis 9:11-17) or God’s pact with Abraham (Genesis 15:1-4). Vows of chastity made by Christians are pacts with God. A pact is a solemn promise to a Deity or spirit that in exchange for a gift they will bestow upon you, you will reward them with something in return. A gift for a gift in other words.

But when people hear the word ‘pact’ they usually think of pacts with demons or the Devil. It is important for everyone to realize that it is not always so. In fact, infernal pacts are rare and nearly non-existent. In my work as a Pagan priest and exorcist I have only come across two such cases. So remember folks, next time you see a black shadow or apparition on the Crossroads at midnight don't be so quick to say its 'Satan' it could be anybody.

* Note: In some beliefs and stories it is Satan who is summoned on the Crossroads. So it's not impossible. I have met Hoodoo men/women who perverted the teachings of Hoodoo and summoned demons under Satan, and they did go to Crossroads or Cemeteries to make deals with them. But they do these things "under the table" or in secret. So don't expect people to openly say they are doing these things. Because they would be shunned as blasphemers by the rest of the community. No one would be dumb enough to openly admit they were doing that.

---

[1]  In Voodoo, a believer can either be Pagan and believe that some spirits are Gods like me, or a believer can be a Monotheist and view the spirits as messengers like the Angels in Christianity, doing God's work. Whether or not Robert and Tommy Johnson were Polytheist or Monotheist is not known

[2]  Some of us are divided on the issue, some believe you can not be a Vodusant without being a witch, others make a distinction. It's not racist to believe they are one and the same. It is racist to lump all other religions into one category for not being Christian

[3]  No one knows how Robert Johnson died. The stories range from demons having come for his soul to having been poisoned by the jealous husband of a woman with a beer bottle laced with strychnine. The next morning he is said to have been found convulsing on the floor.

Bibliography

Bartkowski, J. P. (1998). Claims-Making and Typifications of Voodoo as a Deviant Religion: Hex, Lies, and Videotape. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion .

Day, A. (2010). Satan Whispers: Bob Dylan and Paradise Lost. Cambridge Quarterly .

Haskins, J. (1990). Voodoo & hoodoo: Their tradition and craft as revealed by actual practitioners.

Hays, T. (2012, October Friday). Robert Johnson: Murder or Bad Whiskey? Retrieved from Criminal Element.com: http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/10/robert-johnson-murder-or-bad-whiskey-tony-hays-true-crime-historical-bottoms-up-music

Hurston, Z. (1931). Hoodoo in America. The Journal of American Folklore .

Kloc, J. (2010, June 21). Fact-checking the Life and Death of Bluesman Robert Johnson. Retrieved from Mother Jones.com: http://www.motherjones.com/riff/2010/06/music-monday-blues-robert-johnson-honeyboy-edwards

Lynn, J. (n.d.). Voodoo Spells. Powerful Papa Legba Crossroads Voodoo Spell Retrieved from Voodoo-Spell.Org: http://www.voodoo-spell.org/2012/05/powerful-papa-legba-crossroads-voodoo.html

Maximilian, J. R. (1921). Devil Stories : An Anthology.

Pascoe, P. (1996). Miscegenation Law, Court Cases, and Ideologies of “Race” in Twentieth-Century America. The Journal of American History .

Yronwode, C. (1995-2010). The Crossroads in Hoodoo Magic and The ritual of selling yourself to the Devil. Retrieved from Lucky Mojo.com: http://www.luckymojo.com/crossroads.html

The Haunted Furniture

In the house we rented while we were living in Tromsø, Norway,we had this one set of living room furniture, a Hutch, that radiated strange activity and all the photos here are of the actual furniture. We noticed the living room would always feel cold no matter how warm the house was or, how high we set the heat up, it always felt very cold in the living room. At times objects would come flying off the shelves of the hutch as we would walk by it.  The hutch would almost seem to toss objects at those passing by as if something with great force tried to literally toss and hit you with it. Many times items from the shelves would come crashing down onto the floor. To be honest, I hated even going into the living room.

later on when my brother stayed at the house, he too experienced the same things, items would move around on the shelves, items would come flying towards him and, it had this eerie coldness attached to it. One time my mother came over to visit and she stated that she felt like there was a young male spirit attached to the hutch, a young male driving a motorcycle. She didn't know why she felt that way but, she for some reason had a very strong feeling that somehow, that hutch was a haunted object and she felt it was haunted by a young motorcyclist.

I myself have seen the activity happen. Many times I would be working on the computer when I would hear a slamming sound and as I looked back toward the hutch, I saw where one of the doors slammed open. Once, it slammed open with such force that the door actually came off it's hinge.

The final display of force came on the day of moving out, my mother and brother had just finished emptying out everything from the hutch as my brother was close to it facing away, he heard it starting to make the creaking sounds again. As he glanced over to  the hutch, he watched the whole heavy piece of furniture falling towards him. Just in time he jumped out of its way only to watch it collapse down to the floor and splinter into a thousand pieces on the very spot he just had stood.


My mom and brother picked up all the pieces and as they were doing that, they found a photograph in the rubbish of what was left of this hutch. The photograph was of a young man who looked to be in his twenties, standing beside a motorcycle. They took the brass ornaments and kept them but burned the the smashed hutch outside. Upon returning to the house for the first time in years the living room felt warm, and my mother noticed the young male spirit entity was no longer felt in the house.