During the last eight years, world-changing events have repeatedly caught Americans by surprise despite the ample warnings that preceded them. From the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington to the failure of the levees in New Orleans to the financial meltdown on Wall Street, we saw warning signs but did not prepare.
This pattern suggests why I was not surprised to learn, only hours ago, that an alien craft will appear in the skies over Alabama sometime tonight, will remain for three days to prove the existence of extraterrestrials, and will remove the veil that has prevented human souls from being who we really are.
The message—actually more a missive of hope than a warning per se—comes courtesy of “Cosmic Beings known as the Federation of Light,” as channeled by Australian medium Blossom Goodchild. Originally revealed on Goodchild’s blog, on August 1, 2008, the message specifies the date of their arrival as October 14, 2008, and promises a peaceful stay. It begins thusly:
O LEADERS, GOVERNERS, POLITICIANS AND
ALL PEOPLE OF EARTH ….
We wish it to be understood that on the 14th day of your month of October in the year 2008 a craft of great size shall be visible within your skies. It shall be in the south of your hemisphere and it shall scan over many of your states.
We give to you the name of Alabama.
It has been decided that we shall remain within your atmosphere for the minimum of three of your twenty four hour periods.
During this time there will be much commotion upon your earth plane. Your highest authorities will be intruding into ‘our’ atmospherics that surround our ship. This ‘security field’ is necessary for us, as there shall take place a ‘farce’ from those in your world who shall try to deny that we come in LOVE.
KNOW OF THIS
WE COME TO ASSIST YOUR WORLD.
WE DO NOT COME TO TAKE OVER.
WE DO NOT COME TO DESTRUCT.
WE COME TO GIVE YOU HOPE.
I learned of the message on Monday, October 11, from a 70-something, self-described ex-hippie named Herb who frequents the East Atlanta coffee shop where I often study. Perhaps noticing the text on Buddhism sitting beside me, he asked, out of the blue, something like, “So do you know about the cataclysmic event that’s gonna happen tomorrow night?”
“Which one?’ I responded, thinking he was referencing the economy, or the election, or the environment, or just about anything else that has been in the news recently. Instead, he summarized Goodchild’s prophecy (though he could not remember the medium’s name) and advised me to watch the skies.
With a gaunt face, hawk-nose, and long gray hair pulled tight against his head, Herb chain-smoked Camels (we were sitting outside) and sipped an iced coffee while attempting to explain the coming visitation. He himself was not quite sure what to expect. Going beyond Goodchild, he speculated the ship’s arrival might change the earth’s vibrations, affects its chakras, and perhaps even stop the globe from spinning. One thing he was clear about, however, was that the ship would not be bashful about proving the existence of extraterrestrials, and they would allow no earthly force to stop them.
Governments “don’t want it to be known,” Herb said. “Tough shit. It’s going to be known anyway.”
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Predicting religious cataclysms is nothing new. In probably the best known American example, 19th century Baptist preacher William Miller proclaimed that Jesus would return between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844. When Christ did not appear, Miller and uncovered a mistake in his reasoning and offered a revised date: October 22, 1844. It became known as The Great Disappointment.
Such are the risks of prophesying a specific date.
Since their emergence in the 1950s, UFO-religions have also shown an apocalyptic bent, a tendency fueled by the threat of nuclear annihilation, social unrest, environmental collapse and fears about a host of other man-made problems. In The End of the World as We Know It, a study of apocalyptic belief, Daniel Wojcik notes that UFO adherents tend to believe that extraterrestrial beings are trying to save humanity, or some portion of it, by offering rescue from the earth or warning us to stop destroying it.
Via Goodchild, the Federation exhibits a similar concern:
Friends of earth. Do not be afraid. We beseech you to TRUST that we come to bring the downfall of those who have misintentions for the well being of your planet.
If we do not intervene now…as has been planned for eons of your earth time…then we fear it would be too late.
Later, the Federation adds:
For too long your world has lived under a cloud that most of you have been unaware of. If you were to KNOW the Truths of what has been hidden from you, you would be appalled and in great disbelief.
It is time for your souls to be allowed to be who they are.
The veil is to be removed.
Until Monday afternoon, I was only dimly aware of this religious world, though certainly curious. A few minutes into our conversation, I asked Herb if he could give me the address of the website from which he claimed to get his information. He pulled out his cell phone:
“Freddie!” he said to an unseen interlocutor. “Will you find me what that website for the saucer, the prophecy, for tomorrow night – the 14th?” He paused, then yelled: “THE SAUCER! All I want is access to the information so I can give it to someone else.” He then recited the web address of a YouTube video.
It was my own searches, however, that turned up Goodchild’s website, which suggests a spiritual world that extends far beyond UFOs. In addition to the extraterrestrial Federation of Light, Goodchild channels a Native American spirit called White Cloud, on whose behalf she has written three books and published a series of guided meditations. Available on CD, the meditations aim “to help us tune into our higher selves,” the site states. With nods to Spiritualism, New Thought, and New Age mysticism, Goodchild seems to participate in the eclectic, combinative spirituality typical of UFO faith; Wojcik notes that UFO believers draw on sources as diverse as theosophy, Asian religions, science fiction, Scientology, Mormonism and Christianity.
Certainly, the October 14 prophecy seems to have resonated with the broader UFO community. A Google search for “Blossom Goodchild” yielded 50,200 hits at last check, and YouTube contains dozens of videos that promote the October 14 prophecy and speculates on its import—one asks believers to carry their cameras today to record proof of the visitation. Equally significant, mediums channeling different extraterrestrial beings have chimed in, claiming that they have received their own confirmations of this evening’s cosmic denouement.
Not all the attention appears to have been good. Goodchild’s most recent blog post notes that she has chosen to remove “all comments that do not come from LIGHT and LOVE,” and complains of an unwanted profusion “of religious arguments, deeply offensive swearing, bible fanatics claiming me to be the devil and much much more.”
With October 14 dawning around the world, new messages have also arrived in the last several hours, like this one from an anonymous poster:
Any last minute regrets, Blossom?
It’s not too late to back out now and say it’s all a hoax.
I truly hope this event turns out as you predicted. God knows how much humanity needs a kick up the arse!
History or disappointment beckons!
Others accused Goodchild of profiteering on stupidity, while some posters kept their insults simple—“u r all nutters,” read one; “light love peace f**ing morons,” read another.
Interestingly, though, some believers were beginning to reinterpret the message, even before its failure. One poster, Carolyn from Arizona, put it this way:
THANK YOU BLOSSOM!
I will never have a way to repay you this wonderful feeling of love I have felt through out all these past days!.
I don’t care anymore if the spaceship comes or not because I understand now what love is all about and what we need to do in order to ascend.
A ship or extraterrestrials won’t solve our problems, we are the ony ones with the power to change our realities!
Thank you Blossom for this proof of love you have given us all!
I tell you girl you are one in a million!
GOD BLESS YOU MY DEAREST!
Carolyn, AZ, USA
Just as some Millerites recovered from disappointment, reinterpreted their beliefs, and founded the Seventh Day Adventists, it seems likely that Goodchild’s beliefs will also continue in some form. Such is the way of strong, millennial faith.
For his part, Herb was confident as he prepared to leave. He didn’t want to say too much because he didn’t want to cloud my eyes—or his—with preconceived notions about what was to come.“Yeah, it’s gonna be interesting,” he mused. “Because when there’s so much damn smoke there’s gotta be fire. And if it’s gonna make things clear, and it’s gong to dispel controversies, then it should be beneficial in some way.”
