“THE ASSASSINATION OF THE LOCH NESS MONSTER” and More Strange True Tales! #WeirdDarkness

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IN THIS EPISODE: You probably saw the title of this episode and immediately thought, “Whaaa?” Well, I’m going to tell you one of the most ridiculous stories I’ve ever heard that is 100% true. The Axis powers of World War II tried to kill the Loch Ness Monster. (The Assassination of the Loch Ness Monster) *** As far back as time is recorded, mankind has had a fascination with Sirius, the Dogstar. But what is so special about it aside from the fact that it’s one of the brightest stars in our sky? Might there be an extraterrestrial connection as well? (Why So Serious About Sirius?) *** UFO reports come in constantly to police stations and online sites dedicated to the subject of Ufology – practically on a daily basis. And many sightings are by people you would consider above reproach such as law enforcement, scientists, military, numerous sightings by pilots… but when you head out into space and see a UFO, as is what happens with astronauts’ reports, that’s something you take a much closer look at. (Code Word: Santa Claus) *** Jimmy Logue left his wife after only two years of marriage. Without first getting divorced, he married another woman – whom he badly mistreated, so she left him. But he had already started an affair with her sister, so he married her next – now on his third wife. He abused her as well. He was also a career criminal – spending half his life living off the spoils of his thievery, the other half behind bars when caught. So it probably comes as no surprise that he was suspect number one when his third wife was found murdered. (A Romance In Crime) *** (Originally aired December 05, 2020)

SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE…
BOOK: “The Sirius Mystery: New Scientific Evidence of Alien Contact 5,000 Years Ago” by Robert Temple: https://amzn.to/2JDnD27
BOOK: “The Secret Teachings of All Ages” by Manly P. Hall: https://amzn.to/3mNlkbo
“Why So Serious About Sirius?” by Gregg Prescott, M.S. for Message To Eagle: https://tinyurl.com/y2v4gqsd
“The Assassination of the Loch Ness Monster” by Blake Stilwell for Military.com: https://tinyurl.com/y2kpzrn5
“A Romance in Crime” by Robert Wilhelm for Murder by Gaslight: https://tinyurl.com/y584we6w
“Code Word: Santa Claus” by Tim Swartz, for Mysteries Magazine (no longer online or in print)
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PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT:

Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.

SHOW OPEN=====

Welcome, Weirdos – (I’m Darren Marlar and) this is Weird Darkness. Here you’ll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved and unexplained.

Coming up in this episode…

As far back as time is recorded, mankind has had a fascination with Sirius, the Dogstar. But what is so special about it aside from the fact that it’s one of the brightest stars in our sky? Might there be an extraterrestrial connection as well? (Why So Serious About Sirius?)

UFO reports come in constantly to police stations and online sites dedicated to the subject of Ufology – practically on a daily basis. And many sightings are by people you would consider above reproach such as law enforcement, scientists, military, numerous sightings by pilots… but when you head out into space and see a UFO, as is what happens with astronauts’ reports, that’s something you take a much closer look at. (Code Word: Santa Claus)

Jimmy Logue left his wife after only two years of marriage. Without first getting divorced, he married another woman – whom he badly mistreated, so she left him. But he had already started an affair with her sister, so he married her next – now on his third wife. He abused her as well. He was also a career criminal – spending half his life living off the spoils of his thievery, the other half behind bars when caught. So it probably comes as no surprise that he was suspect number one when his third wife was found murdered. (A Romance In Crime)

You probably saw the title of this episode and immediately thought, “Whaaa?” Well, I’m going to tell you one of the most ridiculous stories I’ve ever heard that is 100% true. The Axis powers of World War II tried to kill the Loch Ness Monster. (The Assassination of the Loch Ness Monster)

If you’re new here, welcome to the show! While you’re listening, be sure to check out WeirdDarkness.com for merchandise, to visit sponsors you hear about during the show, sign up for my newsletter, enter contests, connect with me on social media, plus, you can visit the Hope in the Darkness page if you’re struggling with depression or dark thoughts. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com.

Now.. bolt your doors, lock your windows, turn off your lights, and come with me into the Weird Darkness!

STORY: THE ASSASSINATION OF THE LOCH NESS MONSTER=====

Propaganda, misinformation, fake news: call it what you like, there are many reasons this kind of meddling in foreign affairs is still so common. But the primary reason is that it works, both at home and abroad.

Misinformation campaigns are why some people think carrots are good for vision or that a human trafficking ring was run out of a D.C. pizza joint. If those stories sound absurd, strap in for a blast from the past, as the Axis powers of World War II try to kill everyone’s favorite lake monster.

World War II was arguably the apex of propaganda and information campaigns. Every nation fighting the war used propaganda at home and abroad to further their war aims, either as a means to rally the populace behind the war effort or to demoralize the enemy.

All it took was a little bit of knowledge about the enemy and a whopping lie to take the wind out of their sails.

Before the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943, a female radio announcer who broadcast swing music and demoralizing messages from Berlin told members of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment that they were jumping into a trap and they’d all die. The troops actually loved the show “Axis Sally” (as she came to be called) put on, but it was for the music, not the message.

The Axis powers attempted to exert influence on enemy populations as well their own. Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels wrote in 1940 that the Loch Ness Monster was just a made-up thing, designed to boost tourism revenues. In a German a newspaper, he cited the Loch Ness Monster as a reason the people of the United Kingdom were weak.

The Loch Ness Monster has been a cryptozoological and biological mystery since as far back as 1933 when reports of a strange creature of unknown origin, size or shape began coming from the loch.

If the people of England and Scotland were dumb enough to believe there was a dinosaur swimming around their lake, Goebbels reasoned to the German people, they were too dumb to win the war.

Benito Mussolini, the dictator of Fascist Italy, took the anti-lake monster rhetoric to a new level. In the newspaper Popolo D’Italia, he published the story of an Italian pilot on a bombing run across the UK in 1941. He claimed the pilot had dropped his bombs into the lake and hit none other than Nessie herself.

He even saw the body float to the surface before flying off.

Not to be outdone, the story was picked up by Allied newspapers in the British Commonwealth, specifically Australia’s the Daily Mail, who rewrote the story as a joke of monumental proportions. They even printed a counter-story.

Nessie, according to the Daily Mail, not only survived the attack, but was now considered a war hero to boot. According to the story, local J. Macfarlan Barrow and his son were walking along the loch one day after the alleged bombing and saw the monster swimming away at high speed, confidently shrugging off the Axis attack.

Keep calm and carry on.

STORY: A ROMANCE IN CRIME=====

Jimmy Logue was a professional thief whose life of crime spanned more than forty years. He was born in Philadelphia in 1835 and was arrested there for larceny at age 10. After his release became an apprentice to Joe Keyser, a noted Baltimore pickpocket. He eventually graduated to bank robbery and became quite accomplished at it, when he wasn’t caught. Logue spent much of his time living a life of prosperity, the rest he spent behind bars.
His personal life was just as erratic. At age 23 he married Mary Jane Andres and left her after two years. Without the formality of a divorce, he married Mary Gahan soon after. She already had an illegitimate son who took his father’s name, Alphonse F. Cutaiar. Logue mistreated Mary, so she left him, went home to her father and died in 1869. Before Mary Gahan left him, Logue had taken up with her sister Johanna. Jimmy Logue and Johanna Gahan were married in the lockup of the Central Police Station in 1871 as Logue was preparing to serve a seven-year sentence at Cherry Hill Prison for burglary.
Johanna waited for him, and after his release, they went to live at the Occidental Hotel in New York City. Logue had plenty of money in bank accounts throughout the city, and with his partner Peter Burns he resumed his career of robbery and burglary.
Logue was still in contact with his stepson, Alphonse Cutaiar, and agreed to set him up in business as a barber. He bought a house Philadelphia, 1250 North Eleventh Street, and outfitted the first floor as a barbershop. For a while, he and Johanna lived there along with Cuitaiar and two employees of the barbershop.
In February 1879, Jimmy and Johanna left Philadelphia and returned to New York City. Logue left Johanna there and went on a “thieving expedition” to Boston with his partner George Mason. Upon his return, he was astonished to find that Johanna had disappeared. Cutaiar told Logue that Johanna had returned to the Philadelphia house, had gotten drunk the previous Saturday night, told him “I’m off,” left the house and did not return. It was well-known that Logue frequently beat Johanna, and many believed that she couldn’t take it anymore and left him.
Logue began to search for Johanna and even placed an advertisement in Philadelphia newspapers, offering a reward of $500 for information as to her whereabouts. He thought that she had run off with Peter Burns and traveled to Denver looking for them. Johanna’s brother, Peter Gahan, believed that Logue’s actions were all for show to hide the fact that he had murdered Johanna.

Logue was arrested again for robbery and disappeared after serving his sentence. Nothing more was thought about Johanna’s disappearance until 1893 when workmen were doing repairs to the kitchen of 1250 North Eleventh Street unearthed the skeleton of a woman under the floorboards. Around the bones of a finger was a wedding ring inscribed “J.L. to J.L.” Police soon learned that fourteen years earlier, the house belonged to Jimmy Logue and his wife Johanna who disappeared in 1879. Johanna’s sister, Ella Sides and brother Peter Gahan identified the skull by some peculiar formations of the teeth and were also able to identify other objects found with the body. A handkerchief was tied around the neck of the skeleton; the Police believed that Johanna had been strangled. Suspicion naturally fell on Jimmy Logue, and the Philadelphia Police began a manhunt.
On the evening of March 5, 1895, an old man stopped at the house of Philadelphia Coroner Ashbridge. When Ashbridge answered the door, the man said, “I am Logue—James Logue—, and I want to give myself up, as I understand there is a warrant out for me.”
Logue had spent at least eight of the intervening years in prison. He said he had been in Chicago when he learned of the warrant and returned to Philadelphia as soon as he could get some money. The coroner took Logue to the station house where he was formally arrested. The police decided to keep the arrest secret, so they booked him as “William Casey” and held him on the 6th floor of City Hall. The newspapers soon learned that the “mysterious prisoner” on the 6th floor was none other than Jimmy Logue, charged with murdering his wife.
Logue denied murdering Johanna and gave the police a detailed account of his trip to Boston including hotels where he and Mason stayed and a theater where they saw the play “Robinson Crusoe” while in Boston. The police were skeptical until detectives went to several hotels and found their signatures on hotel registers and verified that that “Robinson Crusoe” was playing in Boston in February 1879. Jimmy Logue’s alibi was true.

Alphonse Cutaiar became the prime suspect in Johanna’s murder. Detectives traced Johanna’s jewels to him, and it was learned that around the time of her death, he had melted gold and silver in crucibles and sold the product. Under questioning Cuitaiar tried to pin the murder on Logue. This story was not believed, and questioning continued until he admitted Logue knew nothing of Johanna’s death.
Cutaiar then made a confession of sorts. He said that on the night of February 22, 1879 he found Johanna drunk. Fearing she might go back to New York where Logue would beat and abuse her, he carried her upstairs, put her on the bed with her clothes on then tied her feet and hands and wrapped a clothesline around her body. He left her there and went downstairs. When he returned he found that she had rolled over on her face and smothered under the bolster. He was afraid to tell anyone what had happened so he took her watch and jewels then hid the body under the floorboards in the kitchen.
In April 1896, Alphonse F. Cutaiar was tried for killing Johanna Logue. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to hang, but in June 1897 Cutaiar’s advocates, convinced the Board of Pardons to commute his sentence to life in prison.

BREAK=====

When Weird Darkness returns… As far back as time is recorded, mankind has had a fascination with Sirius, the Dogstar. But what is so special about it aside from the fact that it’s one of the brightest stars in our sky? Might there be an extraterrestrial connection as well? We’ll look into it, up next.

STORY: WHY SO SERIOUS ABOUT SIRIUS?=====

Since ancient times and across multiple civilizations, Sirius, the dog star, has been surrounded with a mysterious lore.

Esoteric teachings of all ages have invariably attributed to Sirius a special status and the star’s importance in occult symbolism is an attestation of that fact.

What makes Sirius so special? Is it simply due to the fact that it is the brightest star in the sky? Or is it also because humanity has an ancient, mysterious connection with it? We’re about to look at the importance of Sirius throughout History and secret societies and will describe the symbolism surrounding it.

Sirius is located in the constellation Canis Major, also known as the Big Dog and is therefore known as the dog star.

It is over twenty times brighter than our sun and is twice as massive. At night time, Sirius is the brightest star in the sky and its blue-white glare never failed to amaze star gazers since the dawn of time. No wonder Sirius has been revered by practically all civilizations. But is there more to Sirius than meets the eye?

Artifacts of ancient civilizations have revealed that Sirius was of great importance in astronomy, mythology, and occultism.

Mystery schools consider it to be ‘sun behind the sun’ and, therefore, the true source of our sun’s potency. If our sun’s warmth keeps the physical world alive, Sirius is considered to keep the spiritual world alive. It is the ‘real light’ shining in the East, the spiritual light, whereas the sun illuminates the physical world, which is considered to be a grand illusion.

Associating Sirius with the divine and even considering it as the home of humanity’s ‘great teachers’ is not only embedded in the mythology of a few primitive civilizations: It is a widespread belief that has survived (and even intensified) to this day.

We will look at the importance of Sirius in ancient times, analyze its prominence in secret societies and we will examine these esoteric concepts as they are translated in popular culture.

It was revered as Sothis and was associated with Isis, the mother goddess of Egyptian mythology. Isis is the female aspect of the trinity formed by herself, Osiris and their son Horus. Ancient Egyptians held Sirius in such a high regard that most of their deities were associated, in some way or another, with the star. Anubis, the dog-headed god of death, had an obvious connection with the dog star and Toth-Hermes, the great teacher of humanity, was also esoterically connected with the star.

The Egyptian calendar system was based on the heliacal rising of Sirius that occurred just before the annual flooding of the Nile during summer.
The star’s celestial movement was also observed and revered by ancient Greeks, Sumerians, Babylonians and countless other civilizations.

The star was therefore considered sacred and its apparition in the sky was accompanied with feasts and celebrations.

The dog star heralded the coming of the hot and dry days of July and August, hence the popular term ‘the dog days of summer’.

Several occult researchers have claimed that the Great Pyramid of Giza was built in perfect alignment with the stars, especially Sirius. The light from these stars was said to be used in ceremonies of Egyptian Mysteries.

This ancient people (Egyptians) knew that once every year the Parent Sun is in line with the Dog Star.
Therefore, the Great Pyramid was so constructed that, at this sacred moment, the light of the Dog Star fell upon the square ‘Stone of God’ at the upper end of the Great Gallery, descending upon the head of the high priest, who received the Super Solar Force and sought through his own perfected Solar Body to transmit to other Initiates this added stimulation for the evolution of their Godhood.

This then was the purpose of the ‘Stone of God,’ whereon in the Ritual, Osiris sits to bestow upon him (the illuminate) the Atf crown or celestial light. North and South of that crown is love, ‘proclaims an Egyptian hymn.’ And thus throughout the teaching of Egypt the visible light was but the shadow of the invisible Light; and in the wisdom of the ancient country, the measures of Truth were the years of the Most High.

Recent scientific discoveries relating to the Great Pyramid and its mysterious ‘air shafts’ have lead researchers to further confirm the importance of Sirius within the pyramid.

A fascinating aspect of Sirius is the consistency of the symbolism and meanings attached to it. Several great civilizations have indeed associated Sirius with a dog-like figure and viewed the star as either the source or the destination of a mysterious force. In Chinese and Japanese astronomy, Sirius is known as the ‘star of the celestial wolf’. Several aboriginal tribes of North America referred to the star in canine terms: the Seri and Tohono O’odham tribes of the southwest describe the Sirius as a ‘dog that follows mountain sheep’, while the Blackfoot call it ‘Dog-face’.

The Cherokee paired Sirius with Antares as a dog-star guardian of the ‘Path of Souls’. The Wolf (Skidi) tribe of Nebraska knew it as the ‘Wolf Star’, while other branches of knew it as the ‘Coyote Star’. Further north, the Alaskan Inuit of the Bering Strait called it ‘Moon Dog’.

In 1971, the American author Robert Temple published a controversial book entitled The Sirius Mystery where he claimed that the Dogons (an ancient African tribe from Mali) knew details about Sirius that would be impossible to be know without the use of telescopes.

According to him, the Dogon understood the binary nature of Sirius, which is, in fact, composed of two stars named Sirius A and Sirius B. This lead Robert Temple to believe that the Dogons had ‘direct’ connections with beings from Sirius. While some might say ‘you can’t be Sirius? (sorry), a great number of secret societies (who have historically held within their ranks some of the world’s most influential people) and belief systems teach about a mystic connection between Sirius and humanity.

In his book, “The Sirius Mystery: New Scientific Evidence of Alien Contact 5,000 Years Ago” (which I’ve linked to on Amazon in the show notes), Robert Temple reveals the connection between the Sirius star system and the secret traditions of an African tribe.

In Dogon mythology, humanity is said to be born from the Nommo, a race of amphibians who were inhabitants of a planet circling Sirius. They are said to have ‘descended from the sky in a vessel accompanied by fire and thunder’ and imparted to humans profound knowledge. This lead Robert Temple to theorize that the Nommos were extraterrestrial inhabitants of Sirius who traveled to earth at some point in the distant past to teach ancient civilizations (such as the Egyptians and Dogons) about the Sirius star system as well as our own solar system.

These civilizations would then record the Nommos? teachings in their religions and make them a central focus of their Mysteries.

The Dogon’s mythology system is strikingly similar to the ones of other civilizations such as the Sumerians, Egyptians, Israelites and Babylonians as it includes the archetypal myth of a ‘great teacher from above’.

Depending on the civilization, this great teacher is known as Enoch, Thoth or Hermes Trismegistus and is said to have taught humanity theurgic sciences.

In occult traditions, it is believed that Thoth-Hermes had taught the people of Atlantis, which, according to legend, became the world’s most advanced civilization before the entire continent was submerged by the Great Deluge (accounts of a flood can be found in the mythologies of countless civilizations).

Survivors from Atlantis traveled by boat to several countries, including Egypt, where they imparted their advanced knowledge. Occultists believe that the inexplicable resemblances between distant civilizations (such as the Mayas and the Egyptians) can be explained by their common contact with Atlanteans.

“Was the religious, philosophic, and scientific knowledge possessed by the priestcrafts of antiquity secured from Atlantis, whose submergence obliterated every vestige of its part in the drama of world progress? Atlantean sun worship has been perpetuated in the ritualism and ceremonialism of both Christianity and pagandom.
Both the cross and the serpent were Atlantean emblems of divine wisdom. The divine (Atlantean) progenitors of the Mayas and Quich’s of Central America coexisted within the green and azure radiance of Gucumatz, the ‘plumed’ serpent. The six sky-born sages came into manifestation as centers of light bound together or synthesized by the seventh and chief of their order, the ‘feathered?’ snake.

The title of ‘winged’ or ‘plumed’ snake was applied to Quetzalcoatl, or Kukulcan, the Central American initiate. The center of the Atlantean Wisdom-Religion was presumably a great pyramidal temple standing on the brow of a plateau rising in the midst of the City of the Golden Gates. From here the Initiate-Priests of the Sacred Feather went forth, carrying the keys of Universal Wisdom to the uttermost parts of the earth.

From the Atlanteans the world has received not only the heritage of arts and crafts, philosophies and sciences, ethics and religions, but also the heritage of hate, strife, and perversion. The Atlanteans instigated the first war; and it has been said that all subsequent wars were fought in a fruitless effort to justify the first one and right the wrong which it caused. Before Atlantis sank, its spiritually illumined Initiates, who realized that their land was doomed because it had departed from the Path of Light, withdrew from the ill-fated continent.

Carrying with them the sacred and secret doctrine, these Atlanteans established themselves in Egypt, where they became its first ‘divine’ rulers.

Nearly all the great cosmologic myths forming the foundation of the various sacred books of the world are based upon the Atlantean Mystery rituals” according to Manly P. Hall in his book, “The Secret Teachings of All Ages” (which I’ve placed the Amazon link to in the show notes).

Is Thoth-Hermes-Trismegistus the equivalent of the Dogon’s Nommos, who are believed to originate from Sirius? Ancient texts concerning Hermes describe him as a teacher of mysteries who ‘came from the stars’. Furthermore, Thoth-Hermes was directly connected with Sirius in Egyptian mythology.

“The dog-star: the star worshipped in Egypt and reverenced by the Occultists; by the former because its heliacal rising with the Sun was a sign of the beneficient inundation of the Nile, and by the latter because it is mysteriously associated with Toth-Hermes, god of wisdom, and Mercury, in another form. Thus Sothis-Sirius had, and still has, a mystic and direct influence over the whole living heaven, and is connected with almost every god and goddess.

It was ‘Isis in the heaven’ and called Isis-Sothis, for Isis was ‘in the constellation of the dog’, as is declared on her monuments. Being connected with the Pyramid, Sirius was, therefore, connected with the initiations which took place in it.? (Helena Blavatsky, Theosophical Glossary)

The Trismegistic treatise’ The Virgin of the World? from Egypt refers to ‘the Black Rite’, connected with the ‘black’ Osiris, as the highest degree of secret initiation possible in the ancient Egyptian religion, it is the ultimate secret of the mysteries of Isis.
This treatise says Hermes came to earth to teach men civilization and then again ‘mounted to the stars’, going back to his home and leaving behind the mystery religion of Egypt with its celestial secrets which were some day to be decoded.” Robert Temple, The Sirius Mystery

Interpreting the mythology of ancient cultures is not an exact science and connections are inherently difficult to prove. However, the symbolic link between Sirius and occult knowledge has constantly appeared throughout History and has seamlessly traveled through the ages. In fact, it is as revered today as it was millenniums ago. Modern secret societies such as the Freemasons, the Rosicrucians and the Golden Dawn (which are considered to be Hermetic Orders due to the fact their teachings are based on those of Hermes Trismegistus) all attribute to Sirius the utmost importance. An educated look at their symbolism provides a glimpse at the profound connection between Sirius and occult philosophy.

To claim that Sirius is ‘important’ to Hermetic Orders would be a gross understatement. The dog star is nothing less than the central focus of the teachings and symbolism of secret societies.

The ultimate proof of this fact: many secret societies are actually named after the star.

In the tarot: The seventeenth numbered major trump is called Les toiles, (French for The Star), and portrays a young girl kneeling with one foot in water and the other on land, her body somewhat suggesting the swastika. She has two urns, the contents of which she pours upon the land and sea. Above the girl’s head are eight stars, one of which is exceptionally large and bright. Count de G’belin considers the great star to be Sothis or Sirius; the other seven are the sacred planets of the ancients. He believes the female figure to be Isis in the act of causing the inundations of the Nile which accompanied the rising of the Dog Star. The unclothed figure of Isis may well signify that Nature does not receive her garment of verdure until the rising of the Nile waters releases the germinal life of plants and flowers.

In Freemasonry: In Masonic lodges, Sirius is known as the ‘Blazing Star’ and a simple look at its prominence in Masonic symbolism reveals its utmost importance. The Masonic author William Hutchinson wrote about Sirius: It is the first and most exalted object that demands our attention in the Lodge.? The same way the light of Sirius made its way into the Great Pyramid during initiations, it is symbolically present in Masonic lodges.

The Ancient Astronomers saw all the great Symbols of Masonry in the Stars. Sirius glitters in our lodges as the Blazing Star. (Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma)

“(The Blazing Star) originally represented SIRIUS, or the Dog-star, the forerunner of the inundation of the Nile; the God ANUBIS, companion of ISIS in her search for the body of OSIRIS, her brother and husband. Then it became the image of HORUS, the son of OSIRIS, himself symbolized also by the Sun, the author of the Seasons, and the God of Time; Son of ISIS, who was the universal nature, himself the primitive matter, inexhaustible source of Life, spark of uncreated fire, universal seed of all beings. It was HERMES, also, the Master of Learning, whose name in Greek is that of the God Mercury.” (Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma)

In Freemasonry, it is taught that the Blazing Star is a symbol of deity, of omnipresence (the Creator is present everywhere) and of omniscience (the Creator sees and knows all). Sirius is therefore the ‘sacred place’ all Masons must ascend to: It is the source of divine power and the destination of divine individuals. This concept is often represented in Masonic art.

To achieve perfection, the initiate must successfully understand and internalize the dual nature of the world (good and evil; masculine and feminine; black and white, etc.) through alchemical metamorphosis. This concept is symbolically represented by the union of Osiris and Isis (the male and female principles) to give birth to Horus, the star-child, the Christ-like figure, the perfected man of Freemasonry who is equated with the Blazing Star.

The Egyptian hieroglyph representing Sirius has been esoterically interpreted to be a representation of this cosmic trinity.

This concept is so crucial for Freemasons, that it was embedded in some of the most important structures in the world.

As stated by Albert Pike previously, the Egyptian god Horus and the star Sirius are often associated. In Masonic symbolism, the eye of Horus (or the All-Seeing Eye) is often depicted surrounded by the glittering of light of Sirius.

Helena Blavatsky and Alice Bailey, the two main figures associated with Theosophy, have both considered Sirius to be a source esoteric power. Blavatsky stated that the star Sirius exerts a mystic and direct influence over the entire living heaven and is linked with every great religion of antiquity.

Alice Bailey sees the Dog Star as the true ‘Great White Lodge’ and believes it to be the home of the ‘Spiritual Hierarchy’. For this reason, she considers Sirius as the ‘star of initiation’.

This is the great star of initiation because our Hierarchy (an expression of the second aspect of divinity) is under the supervision or spiritual magnetic control of the Hierarchy of Sirius. These are the major controlling influences whereby the cosmic Christ works upon the Christ principle in the solar system, in the planet, in man and in the lower forms of life expression. It is esoterically called the ‘brilliant star of sensitivity.’ (Alice Bailey, Esoteric Astrology)
Not unlike most many esoteric writers, Bailey considers Sirius to have a great impact on human life.

“All that can be done here in dealing with this profound subject is to enumerate briefly some of the cosmic influences which definitely affect our earth, and produce results in the consciousness of men everywhere, and which, during the process of initiation, bring about certain specific phenomena.
First and foremost is the energy or force emanating from the sun Sirius. If it might be so expressed, the energy of thought, or mind force, in its totality, reaches the solar system from a distant cosmic centre via Sirius. Sirius acts as the transmitter, or the focalising centre, whence emanate those influences which produce self-consciousness in man.” (Alice Bailey, Initiation, Human and Solar)

To conclude…

From the dawn of civilization to modern times, from remote tribes of Africa to the great capitals of the modern world, Sirius was and still is seen as a life-giver. Despite the disparity between cultures and epochs, the same mysterious attributes are given to the dog star, which can lead us to ask: how can all theses definitions synchronize so perfectly? Is there a common source to these myths about Sirius?
The dog star is invariably associated with divinity and is regarded as a source of knowledge and power.

These connections are particularly evident when one examines the teachings and the symbolism of secret societies, who have always taught about a mystical link with this particular celestial body.

Is there a secret link between human advancement and Sirius? Unlocking this secret would mean unlocking one of humanity’s greatest mysteries.

BREAK=====

Up next… UFO reports come in constantly to police stations and online sites dedicated to the subject of Ufology – practically on a daily basis. And many sightings are by people you would consider above reproach such as law enforcement, scientists, military, numerous sightings by pilots… but when you head out into space and see a UFO, as is what happens with astronauts’ reports, that’s something you take a much closer look at. And that’s what we’ll do, when Weird Darkness returns.

STORY: CODE WORD – SANTA CLAUS=====

Unexplained aerial phenomena have been reported over the years by many intelligent and credible people, including police officers, scientists, astronomers, military personnel, pilots, and even astronauts.
For instance, during the first American orbital flight in February, 1962, astronaut John Glenn, piloting the Mercury capsule, saw three objects follow and then overtake him at varying speeds. Glenn then observed what he called glowing “snowflakes” or “fireflies” that swirled around his capsule. NASA officials surmised that the fireflies were bits of ice that had become detached from the sides of the capsule.
Later Mercury astronauts also reported the same phenomena, radioing back to NASA that more “fireflies” could be produced when they tapped on the side of the capsule.
Three years later, in June, 1965, astronaut James McDivitt on Gemini 4 photographed and filmed a cylindrical-shaped object with an antenna-like extension. McDivitt said the object was silvery in appearance and was approximately ten miles away. “It looked like a beer can with a pencil sticking out of it at an angle,” McDivitt described.
After splashdown, the film was sent from the carrier to be processed. When the NASA photo interpreter released three or four pictures of the UFO, a few days later, McDivitt stated that the quality of the photo was so bad that it failed to reproduce what he had seen.
NORAD suggested that the object might have been a satellite called Pegasus which was 1,200 miles away at the time, even though the object McDivitt had sighted appeared to be much closer.
Then during December’s Gemini 7 flight, astronauts Jim Lovell and Frank Borman radioed Mission Control that they had a “bogey” in sight as well as many illuminated particles. NASA suggested that the bogey and particles were fragments from the launching of Gemini 7, but this is impossible if they were traveling in a different orbit from Gemini 7, as the astronauts described.
In 1966, during the flight of Gemini 10, two red glowing objects captured the attention of astronauts John Young and Michael Collins as they circled the Earth. They had ventured further into space than any other human at the time, and suddenly both astronauts were amazed to see that two glowing objects now occupied the same orbital path as themselves.
The official verdict attributed the objects to space junk discarded from an unmanned Saturn rocket that had been launched earlier that month. But the astronauts were adamant these were not stars and it is difficult to imagine how a manmade device could maneuver in the erratic way the objects did when they suddenly left orbit and quickly disappeared from sight.
Because of the unwanted media attention generated by the Gemini UFO reports, NASA instructed its astronauts to never use words such as “bogey” or “UFO” if they sighted something unidentified. Instead, they were to use the code-word “Santa Claus” when informing Mission Control of unusual activity around their capsules. Additionally, Mission Control stopped allowing the networks to hear live broadcasts from the astronauts. Instead, they initiated a five-second tape delay, possibly to quickly prevent astronauts from accidentally broadcasting any unexpected UFO encounters.
This edict came just in time for the Apollo missions to the moon, where both astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin supposedly saw UFOs shortly after their historic landing on the moon in July, 1969.
According to former NASA employee Otto Binder, unnamed radio hams who bypassed NASA’s broadcasting outlets picked up this message from Apollo 11: “These babies are huge sir…enormous…oh, God, you wouldn’t believe it! I’m telling you there are other spacecraft out there…lined up on the far side of the crater edge…they’re on the moon watching us.”
These stories were repeated in various UFO magazines, but it was not verified until 1979, when Maurice Chatelain, senior engineer for NASA contractor North American Aviation, confirmed that Armstrong had indeed reported seeing two UFOs on the rim of a crater.
“The encounter was common knowledge in NASA. In fact, all Apollo and Gemini flights were followed by space vehicles of unknown origin. Every time it occurred, the astronauts informed Mission Control, who then ordered absolute silence.”
The late astronaut Leroy Gordon “Gordo” Cooper Jr. said in 2000 that the government “swept under the rug” the truth about unidentified flying objects.
One reason why Cooper was so insistent that UFOs are real was his own personal sightings in the 1950s while assigned to a jet fighter group in Germany. While stationed there in 1952, formations of metallic-looking circular objects passed over the Air Base on an almost daily basis.
UFOs continued to haunt Cooper when he was transferred several years later to Edwards Air Force Base Flight Test Center in the California desert. In 1957, he was one of an elite band of test pilots in charge of several advanced projects, including the installation of a precision landing system. He had a camera crew filming the installation when they spotted a flying saucer. They filmed it as it flew overhead, then hovered, extended three legs as landing gear, and slowly came down to land on a dry lake bed.
The camera crew managed to get within 20 or 30 yards of the landed disc, filming all the time. It was a classic saucer, shiny silver and smooth, and about 30 feet across. As they approached, it took off and disappeared into the clear sky.
After the footage was forwarded to Washington, the movie “vanished,” never to surface again. When the Air Force later started Operation Blue Book in 1952 to collate UFO evidence and reports, Cooper says he mentioned the film evidence, but the film was supposedly never found.
Rumors persist that American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts continue to see UFOs while in space. As many of NASA’s programs are funded by the Department of Defense, most astronauts are subject to military security regulations and are forbidden to publicly speak about their sightings.
Hopefully, as time goes by and more astronauts retire, they will choose to publicly discuss their UFO encounters. Only then will the public get a better idea of the kinds of strange mysteries that await us in the deep, dark reaches of outer space.

SHOW CLOSE=====

Thanks for listening (and be sure to stick around for the bloopers at the end)! If you like the show, please share it with someone you know who loves the paranormal or strange stories, true crime, monsters, or unsolved mysteries like you do! You can email me anytime with your questions or comments at darren@weirddarkness.com. WeirdDarkness.com is also where you can find information on any of the sponsors you heard about during the show, find all of my social media, listen to audiobooks I’ve narrated, sign up for the email newsletter, find other podcasts that I host including “Church of the Undead”, visit the store for Weird Darkness merchandise, and more. WeirdDarkness.com is also where you can find the Hope in the Darkness page if you or someone you know is struggling with depression or dark thoughts. Also on the website, if you have a true paranormal or creepy tale to tell, you can click on TELL YOUR STORY. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com.

All stories on Weird Darkness are purported to be true unless stated otherwise, and you can find links to the stories or the authors in the show notes.

“Why So Serious About Sirius?” by Gregg Prescott, M.S. for Message To Eagle
“The Assassination of the Loch Ness Monster” by Blake Stilwell for Military.com
“A Romance in Crime” by Robert Wilhelm for Murder by Gaslight
“Code Word: Santa Claus” by Tim Swartz, from the now defunct Mysteries Magazine

WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright, Weird Darkness.

Now that we’re coming out of the dark, I’ll leave you with a little light… “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” – 1 John 4:8

And a final thought… “Fill your mind with truth; fill your heart with love; and fill your life with service.” – Thomas S. Monson

I’m Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me in the Weird Darkness.

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