by James Randi
The three general aims of the alchemists — transmuting base metals into gold, prolonging life indefinitely, and manufacturing artificial life — failed to be met. Very few alchemists obtained any success of any kind at all, but friar Nicolas Flamel (1330-1418) of Paris, who claimed to have found the secret of transmutation, is said to have died very rich. In the year 1400, the cautious Henry IV of England passed a law against the “art of multiplication,” which meant creating gold or silver by alchemy. If it took place, Henry wanted in on it. A subsequent Henry, the Sixth, took a different tack in 1455 when he granted four commissions to scoundrels who assured him they could produce all sorts of gold.
Nicolas Flamel, an alchemist who was said to have made wondrous discoveries, and who did die rich.
But along the way, alchemists made many genuinely valuable contributions to knowledge, though such fundamental discoveries as the chemical elements and the manner in which they form compound substances escaped them. Their basic “elements” were fire, air, earth, and water, and they believed that all substances were combinations of sulfur, mercury, and common salt, which they said were themselves composed of the four “elements.”
In modern times, there was great excitement among those who still clung to belief in alchemy when it was determined that all real elements are composed of the same particles (electrons, protons, neutrons) in different ratios; the immediate assumption was that the long-sought process of transmutation was at last possible. True, elements are now transmuted, an atom at a time, by high-energy bombardment with subatomic particles, but this is as similar to the notions of the alchemists as space flight by rocket is to attaining earth orbit on a pogo stick.
Eventually, when the nonsense and misinformation were boiled out of alchemy, it became chemistry.
See also elements and Paracelsus.
Alexander
(mentalist, 1880-1954) Billed in 1900 as “The Man Who Knows,” Claude Alexander did a regular oriental-style magic act in the first half of his stage show, but regardless of the high quality of his conjuring, the audience was impatiently waiting for his question-answering second half.
Mentalist Alexander, “The Man Who Knows.”
Dressed in a turban and oriental robes, Alexander asked that questions be written out by his audience on slips of paper, which were then folded up, collected, and spread out on a table before the artist. He held each in turn to his forehead, appeared to divine what the question was, and then provided an appropriately veiled and provocative answer. In spite of the obvious fact that he was a conjuror and trickster, the audience ate up his every word and wanted more. This constitutes both a tribute to his skill and an indication of the great lack of judgment on the part of the spectators.
See also one-ahead method.
Alfridarya
See astrology.
Alpha Project
See psychokinete.
American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR)
Founded in 1885 in Boston by the psychologist William James to study and record supernatural, occult, and, particularly, survival-after-death claims, and modelled after the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) in London, the ASPR became independent of the SPR in 1905. It underwent many political crises and changed leadership and locality many times. The secretary in 1887 was Richard Hodgson, a leading investigator of psychic claims.
It is currently headquartered at 5 West 73rd Street, New York City, NY, 10023, and has an adequate library and study facilities where members pursue various chimera.
Amulet
(from the Arabic hamulet, meaning, “that which is suspended”) A charm (which see) designed more for protection than for conferring power or strength, which is the function of the talisman. Now often made of plastic and sold in spooky shops or at airport souvenir stands to nervous passengers. Usually worn on a cord or chain about the neck.
Ancient Astronauts
There is a theory that thousands of years ago, civilizations from other star systems visited Earth and gave early Man information to assist in his development. The idea seems to be that folks used to be pretty slow-witted and had to have help to develop such clever stuff as the wheel, bricks, and cudgels.
Evidence has been offered by many writers, particularly by best-seller Von Däniken and none of it is convincing when the actual facts are determined and examined even casually. The theory is presently promoted by tabloid newspapers, sensationalist journals, UFO periodicals, and other fringe-science entities, but holds little interest for serious researchers.
Angels of Mons
On September 29, 1914, the London Evening News published a charming fiction story by Arthur Machen titled “The Angels of Mons.” The story told of the patron saint of England, St. George, appearing at the Battle of Mons, Belgium (August 23, 1914), in company with a troop of thoroughly English angels wielding longbows and raining arrows on the enemy, thus aiding the British troops in their retreat from that famous encounter.
The story was so attractive that it was distributed internationally and was soon being treated as fact. Some veterans of Mons even began saying that they had personally seen the angels at the battle.
Today the legend is still believed due to its uncritical, periodic revival and the restatement and improvement of the tale by journalists, and mystics cite it to prove the support of God for the Forces of Good.
Animal Magnetism
The conviction that the life process itself has a measurable “substance” to it is common to many cultures. This term has come to be used, inaccurately, as a catchall one for the mystics' “life force,” anima mundi or “élan vital.” It loosely resembles the oriental idea of qi as well. The specific term was developed by Anton Mesmer to explain the force he believed was at work to bring about the hypnotic/hysterical effects he induced in his subjects.
This is a somewhat different though equally imaginary entity from that referred to by Christian Scientists as M.A.M. (for “malicious animal magnetism”) which their founder, Mary Baker Eddy, believed was poisoning her, transmitted into her body by her enemies. It appears that she adopted the idea from Phineas Parker Quimby, a “magnetic healer,” the originator of the wild theories upon which Christian Science is based.
Anima Mundi
The “soul of the world” idea accepted by mystics like Paracelsus and many others. It is an expression of the concept that there is a sort of all-pervading spirit that is the “vital force” behind all life and energy.
See also animal magnetism.
Ankh
Egyptian hieroglyph, also known as the “looped cross,” representing the glyph for “life.” A large stone or metal figure of that shape was often shown being carried in the right hand of Egyptian gods. The smaller version is often worn as an amulet or charm, and is just as effective as any other such device.
Anthropomancy
A useless system for determining the future by tearing open living human beings and examining their entrails. The slightly more acceptable variety of this is augury, in which a bird is the victim. Anthropomancy, at least, is not known to be currently in use.
Anthroposophy
A philosophy developed by Hungarian architect/artist/occultist Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) that consisted of ideas very similar to those of H. P. Blavatsky, whose Theosophical movement Steiner had embraced in 1899. In 1902 he became secretary of the German branch of the Theosophical movement, but by 1913 he had broken with them and had formed his own group.
A true mystic, Steiner claimed, as Blavatsky had, to be able to consult the Akashic records. He discovered spirits of all sorts everywhere and determined whether they were beneficial or malevolent. He was a devout believer in astrology, a trait he shared with the German poet Goethe, of whom he was a great admirer. He edited Goethe's nature writings for publication.
Steiner's architectural designs, very distinctive indeed, are organic in appearance and can be found in many locations in Germany and the Scandinavian countries. The pleasant, natural lines and fea
tures of his designs are truly beautiful and appealing.
In 1919, he developed the Steiner Schools (in some parts of the world known as Waldorf Schools, named after the German brand of cigarette known as Waldorf-Astoria) to teach his ideas such as “bio-dynamic agriculture” and “eurythmics,” a method of dance intended to portray music by movement. His educational method encourages children to seek out nature spirits and to merely observe, rather than closely examine or test, situations. Steiner came up with the notion that humans live their lives in seven-year cycles, and his educational plan is geared to that idea.
To whatever extent the schools adapt Steiner's teachings on a more realistic and useful basis, the Steiner Schools treat retarded children through their clinics (known as Camphill Villages) that are supported by the system.
Apollonius of Tyana
(also known as Balinus, A.D. 3-98) A Greek philosopher/mystic, contemporary with Jesus Christ, who is said to have traveled as far as India in search of magical knowledge. He studied the ideas of Pythagoras and was credited with prophecy, raising the dead, invisibility, bilocation, and other miracles, and his disciples claimed that after his own death, he rose, alive, and ascended bodily into heaven. In Asia Minor, temples were dedicated to him as a minor god.
However, most of the detailed information on Apollonius comes from the writer Philostratus, and his rendition is generally believed to be pure fiction.
Applied Kinesiology
This is a claimed diagnostic technique also known simply as AK. It consists of having the subject stand with a test substance in one hand, while the other arm is stretched straight out from the side of the body. The operator places his palm upon the outstretched arm and presses down with a certain force, attempting to depress the arm and judging the degree of the force required to accomplish this effect. He then compares it with the amount of force needed to depress the arm when the test substance is not being held by the subject in the other hand, or when a “bad” substance is held.
It is claimed that when a harmful substance is being held, the arm depresses easily; when a beneficial or harmless substance is present, the force needed is much greater, since the body is now not weakened by the vibrations of the negative substance.
The effect observed is entirely due to the expectations of the operator, and this can clearly be shown by appropriate “blind” testing procedures, in which the operator is kept ignorant of the expected result. As evidence that the AK idea is pure sympathetic magic, it is enough to know that promoters claim that while refined sugar can be clearly shown in a very dramatic manner to be a “bad” substance by this method when actual sugar is placed in the hand, the same strength of effect is also brought about by simply having the subject hold a scrap of paper with the word “sugar” or the chemical formula C12H22O11 (sucrose) written on it in place of the actual substance. Believers in AK have no problem rationalizing the absurdity of such a claim.
In the United States, in response to our increasing demand for nonsense, expensive courses are now being offered to doctors and dentists in which AK is taught to them as a diagnostic tool, and many otherwise sensible medical professionals have taken these courses and have accepted the effect as genuine.
AK has been tested thoroughly, and has always been found useless.
Apport
(incorrectly, aport) A substance or object said to be transferred from one physical location to another without passing through normal space-time. The process of “beaming up” in science fiction would satisfy this definition — so far, an entirely mythical notion.In spiritualism, an apport is any object or substance brought into the séance room by apparently supernatural forces. Even scents perceived by the sitters are said to be evidence of apports. Lamar Keene, a reformed spiritualist from the Florida area, said of this “evidential” material:
I just bought cheap stuff from the local stores, took off the stickers and took it in to the séance. It didn't need any sleight-of-hand at all. I just threw it all up in the air when the lights were out, and the sitters scrambled to get some of it. Everyone was happy!
See also asport.
Aquilaeus
See bezoar.
Aquinas, St. Thomas
(1225?-1274) A remarkable Christian philosopher known as Doctor Angelicus, who expressed himself extensively on theology, metaphysics, and mysticism. His Summa Theologica is one of the basic writings of Christianity. As with all such important historical figures, a certain mythology has developed about his life story, and certain sections of the Summa Theologica are the work of writers who took over when Aquinas died before completing it.
See also Devil and witchcraft.
Arcanum, The Great
The mysterious, all-encompassing “secret” that is said to explain and permit all magical forces, powers, and knowledge to be achieved. Not known to have been revealed to anyone, as of this writing.
Archangel
It is popularly believed that there are only two orders of angels: ordinary, standard angels, and the archangels, sort of super-angels. Ah, but dutifully poring through the Bible, we find there are actually nine varieties. In ascending order, they are Angels, Archangels, Principalities, Powers, Witnesses, Dominions, Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim. So there! In the Bible, however, only two references are made to the higher rank. At one point, Michael is called an archangel, and later it says that at a certain moment, “the Lord shall descend from heaven . . . with the voice of the archangel.” It is thus unclear what the rank means, though archangels are doubtless just as real as regular angels.
In the Koran, four archangels are listed: Gabriël, in charge of revelations, Michael, the warrior, Azraël, who brings death, and Azrafil, whose only function appears to be standing by with a huge horn to sound the Last Trump.
In the Bible, archangel Michael is described as a militant sort who slays a dragon, is called a “prince,” is in charge of human virtue, and is in command of nations. A busy angel.
ARE
See Association for Research and Enlightenment.
Arigó, José
(1918-1971) Brazilian José Pedro de Freitas took the name Arigó when he achieved fame in 1950 as a native healer. He claimed to be able to operate on the human body without making incisions, though in some cases he did use a simple, unsterilized pocketknife. Arigó said he had the spirit of “Dr. Adolfus Fritz” whispering in his right ear. This German “medical student” is supposed to have died in the 1800s, though there is no trace of evidence that such a person ever existed.
Arigó would hand out illegibly scribbled prescriptions to his patients. The only person who could read these was his brother-in-law, who fortunately owned the local pharmacy and thus filled all prescriptions produced by Arigó. A medical team headed by Dr. Andrija Puharich, admittedly unable to understand the prescriptions, issued a statement saying that Arigó — an uneducated man — had never made an error in the issuing of a prescription or in the name of a registered trade name of a drug. That incredible statement was offered as proof of the validity of Arigó's claims.
Though it was reported that patients felt no pain or discomfort when operated on by Arigó, Puharich's own films show them reacting very strongly to incisions to excise simple boils and lipomas.
Arigó was convicted in Brazil of the illegal practice of medicine in 1957, was then pardoned, and was again convicted in 1964. He died in a truck accident at the age of fifty-three.
Armageddon
Although commonly used as a designation for the end of the world, this name actually applies to a real geographical location in Israel near Mount Carmel, about five miles from the coastal city of Haifa. It was the site of several important battles in ancient history.
According to the predictions of St. John in Apocalypse, a battle between good and evil will take place there at some unspecified time, producing a river of human blood “to the height of a horse's bridle” for a distance of two hundred miles. Assuming that (a) all the blood were to be drained from each vic
tim's body at the same moment, that (b) the “river” is only ten feet wide and does not flow at all, and that (c) the horse is rather small, it would mean that some three hundred sixty million persons would have to be slaughtered during this battle, all simultaneously. Since the area cannot itself hold that number of persons standing shoulder to shoulder, it appears that St. John's figures are poorly arrived at. But perhaps that is one of the properties of a miracle.
