Nobody's Girl - A Review

 

Virginia Roberts Giuffre's memoir is a very important and disturbing read. This book is compelling and well written, but I needed to take frequent breaks while reading it. It is heartbreaking and triggering. I wept while reading the chapters dealing with her family life and horrific childhood. It should go without saying that no child should ever have to endure what she did. And yet no single adult in her life attempted to protect her. 

Nobody's Girl gives us a deeper insight into a very young Jenna as she was known to her loved ones. She loved animals, especially horses and dreamed of growing up to be a vet. Jenna loved music and climbing trees and above all she loved her little brother. She had so many hopes and dreams, like we all did, until they were crushed, beginning with the extreme trauma induced by her own father. This abuse started when she was just eight years old leading to a difficult adolescence and a vulnerability which monsters like Maxwell and Epstein could easily manipulate. They specifically targeted vulnerable children from lower income circumstances. 

Fuck all those who abused and enabled the cruel and violent treatment of Virginia Roberts Giuffre. We failed her and by we I mean a society that allows for the rich and powerful to live by a different set of rules than the rest of us.  And a society that fails to believe and protect victims while forcing them to relive over and over their trauma in the hope that someone will believe them. 

Epstein was not an anomaly as is clearly stated in Virginia's book. He was not an outlier in a world where the bulk of wealth and power is controlled by psychopaths. I say psychos because how else can one describe people who are heartless to the pain and suffering of children. How else can you describe a person who would inflict such cruelty on a child for their own disgusting pleasure.

In later chapters Virginia talks about her efforts to bring justice to her abusers. It was long and painful with her often being retraumatized on an International stage. I honestly don't know if I could have been so brave. Her life and the lives of her children were also threatened. And Epstein's death is very, very suspicious.  

We as a society need to keep demanding the complete release of ALL the Epstein files and every single one of those people that he recorded engaging in his Lolita massages must face criminal charges. And then there are those who knew or suspected something.  Epstein reportedly had nude or scantily dressed girls in his homes and in photographs even bragging about his conquests. How could anyone in his sphere not have known? I have no idea how these people can live with themselves.  :( 

Virginia Giuffre holds a photo of her younger self. By Emily Michot - Original publication: Miami Herald by November 8, 2022 

The world lost Virginia in April 2025 to suicide. Of course I knew this going into her book, but throughout my reading I wanted to hug her and to say to her how sorry I am for everything she endured right up to the very end of her life. And that I believe her.  I also wanted to tell her how much her bravery and courage has made a difference and will hopefully bring justice for other victims. So I lit a white candle in her honour and I did just that. 

Rest in power Virginia Roberts Giuffre. 

Happy Equinox! Merry Mabon!

Happy Equinox! Merry Mabon!  Autumn has arrived in my neck of the woods. At this time of year I like to spend time meditating on the Goddess who I share my name with and her stories. 

Mother and Daughter Artist Meinrad Craighead

Demeter was a goddess of grain and harvests in ancient Greece whose daughter Persephone caught the eye of Hades, god of the Underworld. When Hades tricked Persephone and took her back to the Underworld with him Demeter's grief caused the crops on earth to die and go dormant. By the time she finally recovered her daughter with the help of Hekate, Persephone had eaten six pomegranate seeds, which compelled her to spend six months of the year in the Underworld. These six months when Persephone is with Hades are the time when nature goes through its death cycle to be reborn again in spring. 

In modern interpretations of the story, Persephone is not compelled to stay in the Underworld. Instead, she chooses to stay there for six months each year so that she can bring light to the souls who spend eternity with Hades. I love this interpretation as it exemplifies her love and compassion and her agency within her own myth. 

Demeter and Persephone are both Life and Death Goddesses. 

My daughter Stephanie was born on the very first day of Spring and the irony considering my name was not lost on me.

May you Autumn be blessed and may you reap what you've sown. So mote it be! 

The Last Breath Before Death

 

From the back cover of the book: BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER

A missing brother … An imminent phenomenon …

Award-winning comic book illustrator and artist Jimmy Cochran is also a freelance reporter in New York City, specialising in the supernatural. Upon hearing that his estranged brother, Quentin, has gone missing with his best friend over in Germany, Jimmy becomes concerned — unable to shake off the feeling of foreboding and dread. Things worsen when he quickly learns that the missing two are in great danger from an unequalled evil, which is connected to an upcoming, ominous and phenomenal event.

A mysterious ‘man’ with a terrifying tale …

With time running out, Jimmy investigates further, in spite of the strong warnings and the danger to his own life — particularly after he is contacted by a peculiar and mystifying man with a horrific, nefarious past of his own, linked to old Serbian and German folklores and a sinister, secret brotherhood.

 In the The Last Breath Before Death author Alan Golbourn has created a genuinely frightening supernatural horror novel. The story becomes ever more creepy, dark and compelling as we travel with the protagonist Jimmy in search of his missing brother and friend. I do not want to include spoilers here, but I will say if you prefer reading novels where the vampires are unhinged monsters this will not disappoint.

I read this book in the dark days of winter while recuperating from a serious illness involving blood and the irony was not lost on me. Its very well written with characters that stick with you. I have followed the author on Good Reads and Amazon and look forward to any future horrors he creates! 

5 out of 5 

Amazon link to purchase 

Please note I am not affiliated with Amazon and make no money from sharing this link. I'm just adding it for reader's convenience. 

A review of How To Survive A Bear Attack: A Memoir

 

Sometimes its worth it to get outside of one's comfort zone. In this case its my listening headspace through an audiobook I may not have given a chance to under normal circumstances. I have to confess that I am not normally drawn to books like Claire Cameron's How To Survive A Bear Attack: A Memoir. I was unfamiliar with the author or her previous works so a memoir was not overly appealing. And then when I learned it involved her cancer journey I debated on giving it a pass because I am a cancer survivor and an admitted coward who is easily triggered. 

But I do love Algonquin Park, nature and bears. And I have been feeling nostalgia for my birth home Toronto so I thought I will give this one a chance and I'm sure glad I did!

Claire Cameron is a bestselling author who comes from my home town Toronto. In her memoir she talks about her early life in our shared city and dealing with the death of her Dad from a very aggressive form of skin cancer. Algonquin Park another place I know very well plays a large role in her working through her loss and grief. But as beautiful and healing as Nature is it can also at times be dangerous. 

The author takes us through her examination of a rare predatory bear attack and the death of two campers at a remote campsite in the park back in 1991. This investigation dovetails with her finding out that she has an aggressive cancer and genetic mutation that may cut her life tragically short. The two intertwine into a poignant reminder of the fragility of life, our need as stewards of this planet to respect and care for the wildlife we share it with and the enduring power of love.

The audiobook is narrated by the author and it was well worth my listening to it. Highly recommend. 

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada Audiobooks |Knopf Canada, via Netgalley, for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Link to the author's website and purchasing information here

My Journey with UFOs and UFOlogy

 

The giant red orb appeared in my life on November 4th 1990. I was an adult with another witness and we were mesmerized, shocked in disbelief and in awe. There are no adequate words when faced so abruptly and undeniably with the impossible. It changes you and my life was never the same again. In my book Cosmic Witch I describe it as an initiation into the uncanny.  

I had childhood encounters that I had chalked up to imagination or fever dreams, but experiencing a UFO as an adult forced me into rethinking everything I thought I knew about myself, our world and the very fabric of reality. But, what can an individual do with these new thoughts and feelings? I looked for community both in the UFO clubs like the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) and later Skeptics Canada. And while I met some nice people in both belief camps neither of these groups worked for me. So I struck out on my own patterning my investigations after my late friend Robert Moore and Jenny Randles UFO investigative handbook.

My first website chronicled my investigation into spook lights and appealed to witnesses of the paranormal including UFOs to share their encounters with me. And in those early days I was honored to connect with so many others that like me just needed to share their experiences in a safe space free of any judgments. I am still privileged to meet with others, but my role now is focused on being a keeper and steward of their experiences by preserving these through my online initiatives and database and less on investigation.  

What I came to realize through my research and investigation is that the simplistic cases were often easy to find mundane explanations for, but those that involve high strangeness, perhaps the majority, defy any easy explanations. 

This is where UFOlogy has often struggled.  Cases involving high strangeness are often neglected or worse ridiculed by the investigators themselves because the details are too mind-boggling to be acceptable to a “nuts and bolts” mindset. This has left us with the dominate hypotheses of it must be extraterrestrial (UFOlogy) or it must all be mundane (skeptic groups) and neither of these are satisfying. 

Branches of UFOlogy have also leaned too far into the idea of disclosure from the American government who has a history of playing dirty pool so to speak with the subject of UFOs. The recent revelations in the US Congress have provided the public with little to no tangible evidence for their claims and until such time comes we should be treating this as more myth-making that may or may not have some kernels’ of truth to them. The obvious risk is the creation of a state sanctioned belief system or narrative as to the nature of these cosmic mysteries. And human history should teach us the inherent danger in this. 

Keel and Vallee both advocated for multidisciplinary academic approaches decades ago. The Society for UAP Studies (SUAPS) and the Sol Foundation are currently fulfilling this role. I am cautiously optimistic about both initiatives, and hope at some stage they will include the arts.

While the academy is playing catch up on our subjects UFOlogy needs to evolve in order to remain relevant. It should be focusing more on the witnesses and the most unusual experiential reports in an ethical and supportive way. And less on debunking the easy cases which brings us no closer to understanding the nature of UFOs. 

North American UFOlogy also lacks in diversity. In order to more effectively explore the complexities of extraordinary experience it needs to reach out beyond its own colonial mindset and listen to the voices of Indigenous peoples and other cultures from around the world whose own experiences may not reflect the mainstream hypotheses, but are equally valid and important.  

I love the UFO. It has shaped my life in different ways sometimes painfully and unpredictably so, but always inspiring and keeping my sense of wonder alive.  The UFO has taught me that the Universe is a deeply rich and mysterious place where highly strange magical things can and do happen and for that I will always be grateful. 

Originally published to AP Magazine Dec. 2024 edition 

 Both Massimo and I are featured in the December 2024 issue of Alternate Perceptions Magazine! There is a wonderful review of Mike Fiorito's new book UFO symphonic Journey's Into Sound and an excerpt of Massimo's chapter. I write about my UFO journey including getting a bit spicy. Also features Bob Davis, Kathleen Marden, Nancy du Tertre, and Joey Madia. 

https://apmagazine.info/

Thanks so much to Brent Raynes editor of AP Magazine and good friend for the amazing work he does bringing us the high weirdness every month of the year go check it out!

A Review of the Short Story Best Ghost

 

I received a copy of this short story via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. The novelette follows two YouTube ghost hunting creators who run the "Best Ghost Hunters" paranormal channel and their encounter with an actual haunted house. The Old Mayor's Mansion is located in a town called Cemetery in the Hudson Valley. Hudson Valley really does have a reputation as a paranormal hotspot so it was a nice added touch to have the story unfold there. The story reminded me of the many ghost hunting shows that are on television and Youtube, which I am not really fan. But the story is well written and I'm happy I decided to give this one a read. I would recommend it to anyone who likes ghost hunters or the paranormal in general and would read the expanded collection of short stories especially during the spooky season.

Best Ghost By C.J. Daley  Published June 2024  My rating on GoodReads is 4 stars

#NetGalley #eBook #Paranormal 

Brockport New York Poltergeist

Artist conception of poltergeist activity as reported by Therese Selles, a 14-year-old domestic servant of the Todescini family at Cheragas, Algeria. From the French magazine La Vie Mysterieuse in 1911.

From the case files of Susan Demeter  

Brockport New York Poltergeist

 

Poltergeist phenomena are often very physically and psychologically destructive. It has been attributed to troubled ghosts of our dead or inhuman spirits and sometimes emotional turmoil and stress are suspected of creating PSI phenomenon as is suggested in the report that I investigated below. Or perhaps it is a combination of all of these factors? Is our beloved dead restless and responding to our emotional pain? Or is this an inhuman interaction? I’ll let you decide. 

The witness writes: 

"For nearly two years from 1991 to 1992 I went to live with my parents in Brockport New York. I was 24-25 at the time and was experiencing a great amount of emotional turmoil because of a recent arrest and lengthy court appearances. In addition I had a falling out with my wife at the time because of said arrest.

 

While at my parent's home I would on occasion hear loud explosions sometimes so violently loud that they would shake the house. My mother would hear them too, one time knocking on my bedroom door to inquire if I had been lighting off fireworks. My father had experienced these explosions too, but refused to discuss such (I think it unnerved him). I came out of my room one day to hear something like chains jingling in the small linen closet in front of me. Upon opening the closet the only thing I could find that could possibly make such a noise was a box of family silverware. However this was secured in a large wooden box which would have muffled the noise to the point that I doubt it could have been heard as clearly as I heard this.

 

The occurrences climaxed one day while I was home alone. I was upstairs in the loft when I heard something that sounded like a 300lb. safe being dropped below me in the kitchen. I proceeded to grab my father's 32  (rifle) from the adjoining bedroom as I thought someone may have kicked in the door downstairs. As I swept the house and began to descend the staircase I felt and heard pounding directly under my feet and then I felt something pass through me from my feet to my head, like a chill (it made me tingle). I checked the house inside and outside and from top to bottom, nothing was amiss.

 

I did not know what to do or who to turn to. I called a local psychic bookstore and talked to the person there. I explained the situation to them and told them that it was a brand new home that my parents had just built and that we had even had the builder come to inspect the home because of the occurrences, but he had no explanation. 

The woman I was talking to suggested that we could have built over an old grave site and to tell the presence to go to the light. So after getting off the phone with her I told this presence out loud several times to go to the light. Later that night while lying in my bed I heard directly over top of me, and only for a split second, a piercing scream so loud that it reverberated off of the walls. I lay in awe, and actually began to question if I had really heard what I had heard. The interesting thing was that we never had any further occurrences after this event.

 

I believe that I may have been unconsciously manifesting these happenings or that it could have been a manifestation of energy caused by disturbing the site the house was built on. From what I have studied over the years concerning poltergeists, the severe turmoil and uncertainty in my life may have very well been the catalyst that precipitated the happenings."

 

My thanks goes out to the witness for sharing these experiences with me.  It is interesting to note that when the witness took charge of the situation by speaking out loud and therefore empowering himself that the phenomena ceased. This is very much in keeping with my own findings and will often work to calm down a haunting.

A Book Review of Erosion By Lucya Starza

 ​Book Review: Erosion by Lucya Starza Moon Books May 2024

E​rosion is a gothic ​​novel set ​in an English seaside town in the Summer of 1987.  ​Alice is fresh out of University with big dreams of becoming a writer. Her desire for independence and some synchronicity leads her to meeting a new group of friends who become her roommates and a Summer job at a caravan (trailer) park. It is here that she hopes to find the inspiration to begin her first great novel.  But things never quite go as hoped for. The discovery of a mysterious grave and the bones within sets the stage for the magic and darkness that follows. ''It all began when we found the bones.''

​I was already an admirer of author Lucya Starza non-fiction titles and I was happy to hear she was writing a novel in one of my favourite genres. I bought a copy and waited until my own Summer vacation to give it a good read.  ​Erosion did not disappoint. It has a dark foreboding atmosphere with a group of intriguing and relatable characters.  I finished the book in two days as it's one of those stories that makes it nearly impossible to put down.

There are a few unanswered questions that I am left to ponder, which I dare hope may be revealed in a future novel? Hint, Lucya Starza ;)   

If you are a fan of  gothic mysteries, and​ especially if you feel a nostalgia for the 80s this novel is a fun read and I highly recommend it. ​ 5+

This review was originally published to Good Reads You can check out author Lucya Starza's A Bad Witch's blog here.

The Mister Entity Haunting

I am very excited to be a guest on Supernatural Circumstances this week with Morgan and Mike We discuss the terrifying true haunting of the Moffitt family and Mister Entity, soon to be adapted by Blumhouse films.  

I am happy to go on the record saying I believe this family. The case is one that is deeply weird and mind boggling, but so many elements ring true to me, not only as an investigator of the cosmic mysteries or an occultist, but from my personal experiences growing up in a haunted house with haunted people. 

Read Jessica Moffitt's account and view photos of the destruction here

Have a listen on Spotify or on all podcast platforms. And please do share your thoughts with me in the comments. 

#paranormal #haunting #podcasts #supernatural #ghosts #horror #EvelynPaglini #warrens #poltergeist

The Arrival of the Space Fairies

Fairy Rings and Toadstools by Richard Doyle, 1875

Blessed MidSummer 2024 friends! The year has gone by so quickly already and I'm excited to see what the second half of this year has in store. What can I say, I'm an eternal optimist. 

After drinking a nice brew of mugwort tea I made a connection yesterday between the magic of MidSummer eve and the arrival of the modern UFO almost eight decades ago. A connection I know that others have made before, but I thought I would share my thoughts with you here. 

The modern UFO era at least in North America began at MidSummer June 24th 1947 

Image credit Norio F. Hayakawa

Norio shared the image above on the Radio Misterioso Facebook group with the caption: 

"The modern-day era of “Flying Saucers” sighting reports practically started 77 years ago, on June 24, 1947, with still no solution in sight of this mysterious phenomenon !" 

MidSummer in European folklore is a time when the fairy folk are close at hand as they make their procession between our world and theirs. If UFOs are a living folklore for our current space-age era. Jacques Vallee among other scholars noted this in the 1960s-70s than this connection is truly fitting. 

It makes complete sense to me that these mysterious bedeviling space vehicles and their equally enigmatic pilots should enter our western world and imagination on this most auspicious day.  

My own earliest experiences with this phenomenon resembles encounters with elves and dwarves more than modern depictions of greys, so I'm very partial to the interpretation that UFO encounters are an extension of the fairy encounters described for centuries before. 

Flying Fairies Transport a Sleeping Prince Manohar back to His Palace Gulshan-i 'Ishq (Rose Garden of Love) 1743 Artist/maker unknown, Indian  Philadelphia Museum of Art 

 The above image is taken from the story of Gulshan-i Ishq. I found it through a web search for fairies + art + MidSummer and was immediately captivated. It portrays the fairies with stylised triangular wings, and dark, braided hair like temple dancers, beautiful and purposeful.  - Owlcation I am reminded at once of the fairy winds, which blow warm and carry us from our beds into the other realm. I also think of modern extraterrestrial abduction encounters. 

The story which translates to the Rose Garden of Love (roses - sub rosa - hidden knowledge) recounts "a North Indian Hindu love story recast as a Sufi tale for an Islamic court in south-central India. The poet creates a world filled with lush gardens and magical beings as star-crossed lovers face daunting challenges and painful separations before they can live "happily ever after"—a metaphor of the soul’s search for the divine."  Philadelphia Museum of Art 

MidSummer or June 24th is also St John's Day in the Christian calendar. 

St John's Day Bonfire 

"All over Europe "Saint John's fires" are lighted on mountains and hilltops on the eve of his feast. As the first day of summer, Saint John's Day is considered in ancient folklore one of the great "charmed" festivals of the year. Hidden treasures are said to lie open in lonely places, waiting for the lucky finder. Divining rods should be cut on this day. Herbs are given unusual powers of healing, which they retain if they are plucked during the night of the feast. In Germany they call these herbs Johanneskraut (St. John's herbs), and people bring them to church for a special blessing. In Scandinavia and in the Slavic countries it is an ancient superstition that on Saint John's Day witches and demons are allowed to roam the earth. As at Halloween, children go the rounds and demand "treats," straw figures are thrown into the flames, and much noise is made to drive the demons away." - Source: Catholic Culture 

As I ponder  the connection between UFOs, magic, fairies and the soul on this MidSummer in a mugwort tea haze, I cannot help but think that the ultimate message behind the UFO experience is that no matter where our life paths may take us or on our search for answers to these cosmic mysteries -  we are not and we never have been alone. 

Wishing whoever reads this a blessed Summer or Winter season filled with magic xx 

The Toronto Tunnel Monster

A digital sketch of the creature based on artist’s rendition of the witness description. Created by the author’s daughter Stephanie Darroch in 1999. 

 It was a warm summer’s day in August of 1978 when a Toronto man had an experience with a strange creature that would forever change his life. Ernest was described as a soft-spoken fifty-one years old at the time of his harrowing experience. 

Ernest and Barbara his wife of nineteen years had been raising a litter of kittens, when one of the kittens disappeared. Thinking the kitten had gotten outside and concerned for its safety he decided to search for it in the vicinity of their Parliament street apartment.

Close to the apartment he stumbled upon the opening to a small dark “cave” and he crawled approximately ten feet inside. This is where he said, “I saw a living nightmare that I’ll never forget.”

Only armed with a flashlight Ernest encountered a creature of unknown origin. He described the monster as “long and thin, almost like a monkey, three ft long, large teeth, weighing maybe thirty lbs with slate-grey fur.” However it was the eyes that truly stood out “orange and red, slanted.”

Ernest who would only allow for his first name to be printed spoke reluctantly with reporters as to what occurred next. 

The creature spoke to him. “I’ll never forget it,” he said. “It said, ‘Go away, go away,’ in a hissing voice. Then it took off down a long tunnel off to the side. I got out of there as fast as I could. I was shaking with fear.”

Ernest never approached the media with his story. He was afraid that people would think that he was “drunk” or worse “crazy” and felt that no one would ever believe him. 

The Toronto Sun newspaper found him after hearing about his experience from a reliable contact who worked with a relative of Ernest, one of the handful of people to who he had confided in about his experience. 

“I believe Ernie saw exactly what he says he did”, said Ernest’s wife Barbara. “He was terrified when he came back to the apartment and he doesn’t scare easily. “Look he’s been known to have a drink in the past - like most people and to occasionally tie one on, but he’s not a drunk and he wasn’t drinking at all that day.”

The Toronto Sun did question some of Ernest’s relatives and neighbourhood acquaintances. They found that all agreed with and supported Barbara’s evaluation of her husband.

Ernest accompanied by Sun staff returned to the location of his strange sighting in March of 1979. The cave’s entrance was located at the bottom of a narrow passageway between the building where he lived and the one next door. Together they found the remains of a cat, which was “half-buried in the tunnel.” The sad discovery reminded Ernest of “strange noises, like animals in pain,” that he had heard emanating from the tunnel prior to his frightening encounter.

Ernest showed the Sun reporter exactly where he saw the strange being. He stated, “The last I saw the creature it was heading off into the dark.” The passage seemed to drop down very quickly and go a long way back.

It was speculated that the tunnel in fact led to the sewer system and that the entranceway beside Ernest’s apartment was “an access point used by the creature to the surface.” Safety concerns promoted Toronto’s Sewer Department to thoroughly inspect the tunnel as it was feared that area children may in fact try to enter it.

Ernest’s story was very strange; however sewage employees did not ridicule or scoff at it according to the report made by The Toronto Sun at that time. 

One worker who was quoted in the paper stated, “People who work on the surface just don’t know what it’s like down there. It’s a whole different world. Who would have thought a few years ago that people would live in sewers, and yet that’s what they found in New York a few years back. Another was quoted as saying, “I don’t know what Ernest saw down there.” He also stated, “I’ll tell you one thing. If we could get in there, I sure as hell wouldn’t want to go down alone.”

It’s is interesting to note that the description of the creature provided by Ernest and an artist’s rendering which was included in the original Toronto Sun article resemble some current reports of another strange creature - the South American Chupacabara.     

Source:

The Sunday Sun - March 25th, 1979

I will always fondly remember and be indebted to the late Larry Fenwick who was the founder of the Canadian UFO Research Network- CUFORN for generously providing me with a copy of the newspaper article along with many other stories and reports.

This is an edited version of an article I wrote for my website the ParaResearchers of Ontario and originally published here. 

This article also appeared in the February 2024 edition of AP Magazine 

They died because they were women

December 6th is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada. Established in 1991 by the Parliament of Canada this day marks the anniversary of the murders in 1989 of 14 young women who were engineering students at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal. Their killer was a  violent misogynist as is evidenced in his ranting.  

We must never forget. They died because they were women.

Geneviève Bergeron

Hélène Colgan

Nathalie Croteau

Barbara Daigneault

Anne-Marie Edward

Maud Haviernick

Maryse Laganière

Maryse Leclair

Anne-Marie Lemay

Sonia Pelletier

Michèle Richard

Annie St-Arneault

Annie Turcotte

Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz

Every year I make a social media post of remembrance, but for some this year it is seemingly being censored. Maybe there is a word or phrase that the bots don't like? So I have decided to share my thoughts, remembrance, anger and grief here in my blog. 

I am adding the name and face of Giulia Cecchettin to the list of women. 

Giulia was a 22 year old Università di Padova engineering student and artist who was murdered by an obsessive ex-boyfriend on November 11th of this year. She had been planning her graduation party when she was attacked, kidnapped and killed. Her killer is a fellow engineering student  and he was reportedly angry that she was graduating ahead of him. Her kidnapping and murder has been front page news here in Italy for weeks now. And I see the parallel of the crimes committed against the female engineering students in Montreal and Giulia despite being separated by over three decades. Giulia Cecchettin was laid to rest by her family yesterday with over 10,000 supporters in attendance.  Her father and sister eloquently spoke out for change in the wake of this horrific tragedy. 

Gender-based violence must be stopped. Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation. In over thirty years nothing has really changed despite new laws that are not fully enforced. Every day women all over our world are killed because they are women, mostly by their intimate partners or ex-partners and other men who are close to them. 

Giulia was the 84th victim of femicide in my adopted home this year. 

She was not the last. 

#violenzasulledonne #violenceagainstwomen 

The following video is a recreation of a UFO sighting I had with a friend. I write about this sighting in my book Cosmic Witch and I refer to it as part of an initiation into magick. It was immense, intimidating, terrifying and life changing.   

Thank you so much to Fin Handley for helping to recreate what I have difficulty sometimes putting into words. The narration is me and will give you  a taste of what it is like to witness something so extraordinary and outside of our known reality. 

I would love to hear from anyone else who has had a similar experience. You can reach out here or through any of my socials. 

Mother Moon Synchronicity

 

Home. In 2019 I moved to Bologna Italy from my birth home Toronto, Canada. One of the things I brought with me was this calendar featuring the art of Betty Albert a Cree artist that I am very much drawn to. I also brought some prints and a couple of magnets featuring her artwork. They inspire and  comfort, a reminder of my birth place. 

Fast forward to Summer 2022 and after three very long years I am finally able to return to Canada for a visit and be with family. I also made a couple of new friends along the way. 

One of those new friends is Lee. We bonded over lemon treats, tarot and magic things, and when I returned to Italy I was determined to stay in touch with her so I sent her a postcard expressing my happiness that we had a chance to meet and hoped our paths would cross again. 

Winter Solstice 2022. I dont know what inspired me, but last week I took out the 2019 calendar  pictured above with Betty Albert's artwork and decided I would frame one. It was something random, and maybe I had thought of it before, but this was the day I did it. 

Approximately one hour later the doorbell rings and the postal carrier hands me a package from Lee! 

Its always exciting to get an unexpected surprise in the mail, but when I opened it I was floored. Inside was a Betty Albert print very similar to the one I just had framed. You can see it on the left. Lee had written that she had bought it a year before and when going through some things she saw it again and decided to send it to me. She had no idea I loved this artist, nor knew I collected her artwork, and certainly could not know it would arrive the very day I fished out the old calendar from storage so I could frame a print. 

Thank you Lee and Betty Albert for this wonderful mother moon magic. I am not sure what it means, but it is a lovely reminder that no matter how far away I will always be connected to Home.  

Link to Betty Albert's Art 

  

Crow Magic

 

In the heart of the Bolognese Mountains well hidden among very tall and old pine trees, is a seemingly abandoned mansion. The property is close to my home, but it was only in the past year that we discovered it by taking an alternative route through the winding mountain roads. And ever since I first laid eyes on the place I have been drawn to it, coming up with reasons to drive past even when it is the longer way to wherever.

This place has horror movie charm +++ yet I have always felt very peaceful there. Of course we’ve stopped by and had a look around safely from the outdoors as the place is in a state of heavy decay. Which is very sad considering it was built in the 1800s by one of the area’s most famous and eccentric characters. Count Cesare Mattei was an inventor who created a medical therapy: electrohomeopathy. This made the nobleman quite rich and he lived in a castle very close to where the abandoned mansion is located. The mansion was built as a place for medical and spiritual refugee and many of European super-rich sought private treatment there. It looks to have been abandoned for several years. 

Fast forward to Halloween 2022 and we are driving past the mansion. For some reason either because I was lost in thoughts or more likely chattering away about something I missed seeing the place as we had drove by. I realized this after we had passed and were higher up on the mountain, so my husband who was driving said there is no way you should miss your abandoned villa on Halloween and turned the car around. 

This time around I purposefully took a long look at the mansion when I saw above the main doorway a very large, and I mean an abnormally large crow standing on the ledge above the doorway. It was shuffling about and moving its wings as if ready to take flight. My mind went to she will swoop out in front of the car. It happened so quickly and as my mind was processing what I was seeing my husband said I thought I just saw a very large black bird moving around on the ledge above the doorway. And of course I was amazed that he saw her too! 

Some might think we saw the Goddess Morrigan or a cryptid or that we both had a bad case of pareidolia caused by the black casing of the floodlight near the door. We did go back two days later to investigate and noted the placement of the light. But if it was a trick of the eye why had this never happened before? 

Halloween is my husband’s birthday; the beginning of Samhain season, for some witches the ending and beginning of a new year. It is the season most associated with the Goddess Morrigan many a witch's patron diety. 

We were called to that place and even turned around specifically to witness the beautiful impossibly large black crow, a good omen, and reminder that our world is indeed a mysterious place. 

Blessed are the witches! 

"Wherever crows are, there is magic. They are symbols of creation and spiritual strength. They remind us to look for opportunities to create and manifest the magic of life. They are messengers calling to us about the creation and magic that is alive within our world everyday and available to us."  

~Ted Andrews

                                                               Blessed Samhain xo

Image Credits

With the exception of the photos of the mansion which are mine, excluding the drone image which I found uncredited on an internet search, the crow is from Wiki and the Witch image from TUMBLR. I do try to give credit to original creators whenever possible. 

Do you believe in ghosts?

I believe in ghosts. I am not certain that all things considered ghostly are actually our dead, but I do know weird stuff happens. I have lived in a few haunted places. And I have had communication with my deceased loved ones in synchronicity and while dreaming. Sometimes the dream messages are very specific, and always very comforting. My last dream of this nature involved my Oma, and I was shown a very specific place, which I had never been to before and that I visited a few days later. In the dream she had been standing at the top of a brightly decorated staircase, which was identical to the entrance way of an ancient house that I was visiting the next day, and when I arrived there I recognized it immediately from the dream. I wrote it down in my journal for remembrance and because her appearing just there had a significance that I was able to recognize as magical.

Photo of my ancestor honouring table.

Swedish UFO flap and Nuclear Power Plants

Several nuclear power plants around Sweden were simultaneously visited by mysterious lights and objects this past Friday January 14th 2022 at approx 8:30pm resulting in numerous reports and even a police chase. 

Daniel Petersson and his family were driving southward on highway E6 when they first spotted a large light near the Ringhals nuclear power plant. At first the family thought a plane may have been in trouble and they began to film the large, bright light. The Petersson's video can be seen on local Swedish media here. A security guard also witnessed what he thought might be a large drone and quickly notified the authorities.

Still taken from the Petersson's video of the mystery light.

Google map of the location

A 2011 view of the Ringhals power plant. 

Ringhals is the largest nuclear power plant in Scandinavia, and has had two of its four reactors shutdown. Reactor 1 was permanently taken offline on December 31st 2021, two weeks before this incident.

The power plant has been in operation for 44 years, but has had a history of safety concerns promoting extra monitoring from the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority and protests from Greenpeace and local citizens.

Roughly at the same time as the Petersson sighting other mysterious lights began appearing at nuclear power plants around Sweden namely Forsmark, Oskarshamn and Barsebäck, the last one being fully decommissioned. 

Police at Forsmark also witnessed the UAP and using helicopters and police drones attempted to intercept it for up to an hour, and to no avail!  "The first observation from the patrol was made at 20.51 and we lost contact with the drone 22.10," says Petra Blomqvist, press spokesperson for the police. "According to the police, there is still no indication that the drone has landed inside the area of the nuclear power plant or that any object has been released from it."

All incidents were investigated by police and public statements were made by each with some at first denying the possibility of drones being the cause particularly of the Ringhals and Barsebäck events. The armed forces were also notified and so far no explanation has been provided other than the possibility of military drones by the Swedish Minister of Defence. 

These sightings of mystery lights and drones are similar to American ones from a couple of years ago that were never satisfactorily explained to the public either. 

In 1990 I witnessed a large red UFO hovering over a nuclear power plant in Pickering Canada, so these types of nuclear-related sightings are very much of interest to me. I have written about nuclear power plant and nuclear missile UFO sightings my own experience, and evolving ideas on why these locations are the scenes of UFO events.

While I do not think the psycho-social hypothesis is a perfect coverall explanation for all UFO sightings, including these types of events, I do think it would be foolish not to consider the wider social context in which these UAP appear.  

We do know that UFOs appear at times of great social upheaval. Consider the UFO waves in Europe and Russia during the late 80s and early 90s as the USSR collapsed, and the so-called Foo Fighters appearing during WWII to both military and civilian witnesses. I could give many more examples, but I would encourage those interested in examining UFOs from this angle to read Eric Ouellet's Illuminations: UFOs as a Parapsychological event. 

With this in mind it must be noted that these current incidents came one day after Sweden's military started patrolling the main town on the Baltic Sea island of Gotland amid increased tensions between NATO and Russia, and a recent deployment of Russian landing craft in the Baltic. Something that has been extremely troubling to many European citizens amid the ongoing stresses of living through the pandemic. 

It should also be noted these incidents coincide with Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg's 178th Friday School Strike. 

If these mysterious Swedish lights and drones are UAP what may these events be trying to tell us? Are they an outward cry for help from a population experiencing tension and prolonged anxiety from Russia, climate change,  and the Pandemic? 

This was in no way covert. These incidents all occurred at the same time and on the same day and were witnessed by many people including police who unsuccessfully chased at least one object.  

Why appear over several nuclear power plants simultaneously and including ones not operational if not to simply and absolutely get the attention of authorities?  

These reports are nearly identical to a wave of drone sightings in France occurring in 2014-15 that involved sensitive nuclear submarine sites, nuclear power plants, and government buildings. It should be noted that this period also had acts of terrorism in France, creating a lot of anxiety in France and Europe at the time.   See news items here and here. 

We will likely never know.  

As always I love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment if you have some ideas on these mystery lights and drones. 

Further reading and sources. 

News Items are in Swedish.

https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/halland/har-fastnar-det-mystiska-skenet-pa-film

https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/uppsala/stor-dronare-flog-over-forsmark-polisen-utreder-brott

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/43901/mysterious-drone-incursions-confirmed-over-swedens-nuclear-facilities-this-weekend

Update: An unknown "drone' (it seems drones are the new weather balloon) was also reported by several witnesses over the Swedish parliamentary buildings at the same time the UAP activity was occurring over the nuclear power plants. These events are very overt, whatever these things may be. 

Update January 29th: Two weeks later more than 200 reports of mysterious lights and drones over Swedish skies and police have ruled out any foreign involvement. In other words is not the Russians or the Chinese.  

https://www.urdupoint.com/en/world/swedish-police-rule-out-foreign-powers-behind-1458594.html

UFO activity and Nukes

UFOs and nukes seem to go together. Twice I have seen UFOs near or hovering over a nuclear power plant and I am not alone in having this type of experience.  UFOs or UAP to use the more modern and trendy term are also seen at nuclear missile sites. And have disarmed them that at least once that I'm aware of. 

The question comes to mind why does the phenomenon appear at nuclear sites? And often enough that this has been noted by many UFO investigators? 

Nuclear energy and nuclear weapons are not the same thing. But both terrify most of us.  And maybe the answer to why they are so frequently seen at nuclear sites lies somewhere in our collective fear? Are these manifestations in the sky a result of our own terror? Does it provoke or invoke the phenomenon we witness like a cosmic answer to our subconscious cry for help? A modern version of the gods answering our prayers, only in a more scientifically believable format for the age of rationalism and information?

Some food for thought. 

Images taken from a South Korean protest against the use of nuclear power plants. Protesters are wearing traditional masks which are reminiscent, at least to me, of the Greys. 

After I initially shared this blog I was alerted to some research dating back to the 1980s that very much echoes my thoughts.

"Stephen Weart understood the point as far back as 1989 in his Nuclear Fear: A History of Images, ufos are transmutational symbols; a psychological, creative act of mythopoesis

“Awesome modern technology, said the UFO stories, must be accompanied by a full-scale transmutation of civilization and everyone within it.”

The Atom wields deep meaning in the explosion of inner forces within the individual.

See “So What does it All Add to” pp. 7-11 in"

http://www.astronomyufo.com/UFO/SUNlite6_6.pdf

Hat tip to Mrherr Zaar of the Radio Misterioso  FB group for the above information and link. 

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