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Passport to Magonia: From Folklore to Flying Saucers
It is readily acknowledged that our time has surpassed all epochs in history for the accumulation of technical knowledge, physical power over our environment, and economic might. It is less often pointed out, however, that our age has generated, and continues to generate, mythical material almost unparalleled in quantity and quality in the rich records of human imagination. More precisely, people have very frequently reported the observation of wonderful aerial objects, variously designated as flying saucers, unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and so on; among these narratives descriptions of landings made by these craft are commonplace; and that quite a few accounts purport to inform us of the physical characteristics, the psychological behaviour, and the motivation of their occupants. But investigators have neglected to recognize one important perspective of the phenomenon: the fact that beliefs identical to those held today have recurred throughout recorded history and under forms best adapted to the believer's country, race, and social regime. If we take a wide sample of this historical material, we find that it is organized around one central theme: visitation by an aerial people from one or more remote, legendary countries. The names and attributes vary, but the main idea clearly does not. Magonia, heaven, hell, Elfland - all such places have in common one characteristic: we are unable to reach them alive, except on very special occasions. Emissaries from these supernatural abodes come to earth, sometimes under human form and sometimes as monsters. They perform wonders. They serve man or fight him. They influence civilizations through mystical revelation. They seduce earth women, and the few heroes who dare seek their friendship find the girls from Elfland endowed with desires that betray a carnal, rather than purely aerial, nature. These matters are the subject of Passport to Magonia, Jacques Vallee's seminal master-work that changed our understanding of the UFO phenomenon. An instant classic when first published in 1969, the book remains a must-have resource for anybody interested in the topics of UFOs and alien contact, as well as those fascinated by fairy folklore and other paranormal encounters.
374 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1969
691 people are currently reading
5605 people want to read
About the author
Jacques F. Vallée
66 books387 followersExcerpted from wikipedia: Jacques Fabrice Vallée (born September 24, 1939 in Pontoise, Val-d'Oise, France) is a venture capitalist, computer scientist, author, ufologist and former astronomer currently residing in San Francisco, California.
In mainstream science, Vallée is notable for co-developing the first computerized mapping of Mars for NASA and for his work at SRI International in creating ARPANET, a precursor to the modern Internet. Vallée is also an important figure in the study of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), first noted for a defense of the scientific legitimacy of the extraterrestrial hypothesis and later for promoting the interdimensional hypothesis.
In mainstream science, Vallée is notable for co-developing the first computerized mapping of Mars for NASA and for his work at SRI International in creating ARPANET, a precursor to the modern Internet. Vallée is also an important figure in the study of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), first noted for a defense of the scientific legitimacy of the extraterrestrial hypothesis and later for promoting the interdimensional hypothesis.
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December 13, 2017
Jacques F. Vallee was one of the first scientists to closely study UFO phenomenon. He goes beyond a simple examination and compares it to the fairy religions and mythologies from the past. Passport to Magonia is one of his most well-known works.
Vallee also mentions, in the new preface that he wrote for the book in the early '90s, of the difficulties that he had compiling the thousands of eyewitness accounts that are included in Passport to Magonia. I suppose with the easy connections to the internet that are available now, that I hadn't considered how laborious it would be to gather all of that information together in the time before computers.
At the very least, Passport to Magonia can be admired for its thoroughness in the section: "A Century of UFO Landings." It is approximately 150 pages of account after account of UFO encounters. The amount of information, types of witnesses and manner of UFO phenomena is truly mind-boggling.
Some of the standout examples for me are: Juan Diego's tilma and the sky anchor that was left behind in 1211 a.d. at a church in Cloera, Ireland. And, Aleister Crowley's run in with two gnomes or aliens.
Vallee cites the book, Magick Without Tears, for the Crowley experience. It makes me so curious- I may just have to look into it.
So many of these accounts are beyond belief, which makes for great reading, but which Vallee reminds the reader, cannot be taken at face value.
He reminds us of our inability to understand the accounts even as he seeks to understand them. Futility, thy name is Passport to Magonia?
Readers who enjoy UFO literature will probably enjoy this classic book. Vallee doesn't provide the answers, but he has crafted a framework for UFO exploration beyond the usual acceptance or denial of a puzzling and reoccurring phenomena.
Vallee also mentions, in the new preface that he wrote for the book in the early '90s, of the difficulties that he had compiling the thousands of eyewitness accounts that are included in Passport to Magonia. I suppose with the easy connections to the internet that are available now, that I hadn't considered how laborious it would be to gather all of that information together in the time before computers.
At the very least, Passport to Magonia can be admired for its thoroughness in the section: "A Century of UFO Landings." It is approximately 150 pages of account after account of UFO encounters. The amount of information, types of witnesses and manner of UFO phenomena is truly mind-boggling.
Some of the standout examples for me are: Juan Diego's tilma and the sky anchor that was left behind in 1211 a.d. at a church in Cloera, Ireland. And, Aleister Crowley's run in with two gnomes or aliens.
Vallee cites the book, Magick Without Tears, for the Crowley experience. It makes me so curious- I may just have to look into it.
So many of these accounts are beyond belief, which makes for great reading, but which Vallee reminds the reader, cannot be taken at face value.
He reminds us of our inability to understand the accounts even as he seeks to understand them. Futility, thy name is Passport to Magonia?
Readers who enjoy UFO literature will probably enjoy this classic book. Vallee doesn't provide the answers, but he has crafted a framework for UFO exploration beyond the usual acceptance or denial of a puzzling and reoccurring phenomena.
October 5, 2015
This is THE book- it's a masterpiece in the ufology sub-genre in fact- that made me fall in love with Vallee and his work in the field of ufological studies and research. Always taking an open-minded, objective and scholarly approach in his quest and devotion to the scientific study of ufology- all qualities, by the way, which have become his trademark, making Vallee indeed one of those rare gems since he was originally trained as a scientist- He received his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the Sorbonne, followed by his earning his Master of Science in astrophysics from the University of Lille. Professionally he started as an astronomer at the Paris Observatory in 1961, before he finally moved to the United States in 1962 and began working in astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin, at whose MacDonald Observatory he worked on NASA's first project making a detailed informational map of Mars. In 1967, Vallée received a Ph.D. in computer science from Northwestern University.
Passport to Magonia is rare in that It combines both mythology and folklore to the subject of UFOs to build not only a fascinating and informative background but also an extremely convincing case- one that is both original as well as a well-researched thesis and one that's difficult not to (if not outright totally agree 100 with his thesis immediately) credence to.
A HIGHLY recommended as well as enjoyable book; a scholarly book that should be required reading for anyone interested in the field of ufology!!
Passport to Magonia is rare in that It combines both mythology and folklore to the subject of UFOs to build not only a fascinating and informative background but also an extremely convincing case- one that is both original as well as a well-researched thesis and one that's difficult not to (if not outright totally agree 100 with his thesis immediately) credence to.
A HIGHLY recommended as well as enjoyable book; a scholarly book that should be required reading for anyone interested in the field of ufology!!
October 25, 2011
Read this back in grade school - as a kid who read lots of flying saucer books starting in third grade or so, this book was one of two (I wish I could remember the name of the other) that really had an impact on me and shifted me out of the classic "metal ships/nuts and bolts" school of thought by focusing on how much overlap there was between folklore and 20th century UFO reports - NOT in a CHARIOTS OF THE GODS mode, but in an actual folkloric sense. Fascinating and probably helped me not becoming a UFO crank and instead fostering my interest in forteana, folklore and Anthropology. I should re-read this.
January 1, 2023
This was a ground-breaking cultural work, exploring the overlap between traditional folktales (such as encounters with fairies, elves, angels, etc.) and more contemporary encounters with what are often called UFOs or a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomena).
A common feature in fairy stories is a parallel world, and an element of missing time. Vallee very convincingly suggests that an experience such as this is always viewed within the framework of the current cultural context.
A fascinating book, that opened up a whole mysterious field. If the phenomena is one of parallel dimensions, the story we tell ourselves about that encounter changes according to our cultural expectations.
Vallee is not an author prone to make absurd speculations, and is very readable.
Bonus fun fact: there is a character in the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" based on this author.
A common feature in fairy stories is a parallel world, and an element of missing time. Vallee very convincingly suggests that an experience such as this is always viewed within the framework of the current cultural context.
A fascinating book, that opened up a whole mysterious field. If the phenomena is one of parallel dimensions, the story we tell ourselves about that encounter changes according to our cultural expectations.
Vallee is not an author prone to make absurd speculations, and is very readable.
Bonus fun fact: there is a character in the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" based on this author.
April 20, 2011
This author documents and discusses the UFO/alien phenomenon, and fully acknowledges its existence, without succumbing to the temptation to speculate. The author makes four major points: 1) Modern UFO/alien accounts are extremely similar to events recorded throughout human history describing manifestations of gods, angels, demons, fairies, dwarves, giants, monsters, etc. The similarities are so striking that most or all of these manifestations appear to have a common origin. 2) Science is an approach, not a set of findings, so there is no reason that this topic cannot be scientifically investigated. And the best way to study these phenomena is to avoid speculation and to collect and publish available data (i.e., eyewitness reports and related physical evidence). Also, it is useful to examine the effects that UFO/alien experiences have upon those involved as well as those who read about them. 3) Humans appear to be incapable of creating a theory that satisfactorily accounts for all of the UFO/alien evidence and eyewitness reports. Every explanation proposed so far falls short of providing a believable and comprehensive understanding of these phenomena. 4) UFO/alien phenomena demonstrate properties of both physical reality as well as psychic construction. Overall, this book is a major contribution to the field of ufology as well as science in general. Skeptics and believers alike will not be disappointed.
January 9, 2024
The UFO phenomenon can no longer be ignored. More than thirty high-ranking government officials and whistleblowers have come forward with testimony. Laws forcing the US government to hand over UFO records and materials are blocked in the Senate, and thousands of witnesses around the world attest to these occurrences. I understand the reluctance of most people to investigate the subject due to the stigma around it. The space is full of disinformation, sensationalists trying to make a buck, and charlatans with no basic scientific knowledge.
Jacques Vallée distinguishes himself from the noise by uniquely applying a scientific approach to the phenomenon, analyzing the supposed controlling intelligence behind the crafts and their purposeful behavior in a historical context. His credentials are impeccable, from co-developing the first Mars mapping for NASA to contributing to ARPANET, a precursor to the modern Internet. Additionally, he served as the inspiration for the French scientist depicted in Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
Vallée asks: Are the reports by the witnesses a modern development, or have human beings carried stories about supernatural beings throughout history? Passport to Magonia, including the appendix, provides thousands of cases (Alexander Hamilton was a witness of a close encounter) that show the UFO phenomenon is not new. Vallée handles the material in a very logical and rational manner. He finds a striking resemblance between the testimonies of UFOs and their occupants and an earlier belief in the fairy-faith and ancient stories in religious texts and folklore. He highlights that the entities described as the pilots of the craft are virtually indistinguishable from the elves, sylphs, and lutins of the Middle Ages.
But how can it be that witnesses from different times and places with no apparent connections report the same behavioral patterns in the occupants of UFOs and the ancient entities found in folklore and fairy tales? Is a natural force influencing this situation? Are these tangible entities or figments of the imagination?
When answering these questions, absurdity is what comes to mind. The remarkable assertion would be that these reports are merely products of imagination or fabrication. Passport to Magonia is about recognizing patterns and not drawing conclusions about stories that have persisted for years, and the similarities are striking. In interviews and his books, Vallée's ambiguity and refusal to jump to conclusions may leave you frustrated. He systematically dismantles any supposed conclusions one might draw, exposing our ignorance in the process. Just let the data speak for itself.
His narrative suggests that the UFOs and their alleged 'visiting' inhabitants may not come from another planet or solar system. The daring proposition is that they could be something much closer to us, and their complexity might surpass initial assumptions.
The book was written in 1969, and Vallée lays down his interdimensional hypothesis about the phenomenon later in his trilogy ("Dimensions," "Revelations," "Confrontations"). His lab work with Stanford professor and Nobel Prize nominee Garry Nolan shifted his research to analyzing materials dropped by UFO crafts and the physical traces that they leave behind. It is probably the only public work that is worth keeping an eye on right now.
I would recommend suspending any judgment and preconceived ideas and reading Vallée's work for a better understanding of what reality is. You will end up with a lot of questions and few answers. Unfortunately, most scientists are still afraid of the stigma and having their reputation destroyed by investigating UFOs.
Do not wait for a government authority for full disclosure. As Vallée says, “The Pentagon does not own the universe.”
Jacques Vallée distinguishes himself from the noise by uniquely applying a scientific approach to the phenomenon, analyzing the supposed controlling intelligence behind the crafts and their purposeful behavior in a historical context. His credentials are impeccable, from co-developing the first Mars mapping for NASA to contributing to ARPANET, a precursor to the modern Internet. Additionally, he served as the inspiration for the French scientist depicted in Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
Vallée asks: Are the reports by the witnesses a modern development, or have human beings carried stories about supernatural beings throughout history? Passport to Magonia, including the appendix, provides thousands of cases (Alexander Hamilton was a witness of a close encounter) that show the UFO phenomenon is not new. Vallée handles the material in a very logical and rational manner. He finds a striking resemblance between the testimonies of UFOs and their occupants and an earlier belief in the fairy-faith and ancient stories in religious texts and folklore. He highlights that the entities described as the pilots of the craft are virtually indistinguishable from the elves, sylphs, and lutins of the Middle Ages.
But how can it be that witnesses from different times and places with no apparent connections report the same behavioral patterns in the occupants of UFOs and the ancient entities found in folklore and fairy tales? Is a natural force influencing this situation? Are these tangible entities or figments of the imagination?
When answering these questions, absurdity is what comes to mind. The remarkable assertion would be that these reports are merely products of imagination or fabrication. Passport to Magonia is about recognizing patterns and not drawing conclusions about stories that have persisted for years, and the similarities are striking. In interviews and his books, Vallée's ambiguity and refusal to jump to conclusions may leave you frustrated. He systematically dismantles any supposed conclusions one might draw, exposing our ignorance in the process. Just let the data speak for itself.
His narrative suggests that the UFOs and their alleged 'visiting' inhabitants may not come from another planet or solar system. The daring proposition is that they could be something much closer to us, and their complexity might surpass initial assumptions.
The book was written in 1969, and Vallée lays down his interdimensional hypothesis about the phenomenon later in his trilogy ("Dimensions," "Revelations," "Confrontations"). His lab work with Stanford professor and Nobel Prize nominee Garry Nolan shifted his research to analyzing materials dropped by UFO crafts and the physical traces that they leave behind. It is probably the only public work that is worth keeping an eye on right now.
I would recommend suspending any judgment and preconceived ideas and reading Vallée's work for a better understanding of what reality is. You will end up with a lot of questions and few answers. Unfortunately, most scientists are still afraid of the stigma and having their reputation destroyed by investigating UFOs.
Do not wait for a government authority for full disclosure. As Vallée says, “The Pentagon does not own the universe.”
April 7, 2017
A must read for any student of the paranormal. Vallee takes modern-day UFO reports, the airship sightings of the 1890s, fairie lore, etc., and places them in a cultural context. Basically, according to Vallee, we are dealing with the same phenomenon; however, secondary characteristics of the phenomenon are able to change in a way to be understood by the cultures of different places and time periods.
January 11, 2021
I had this recommended to me after finishing watching Hellier late last year. While it definitely was intriguing in the way it explored the similarities in phenomenon between fairy encounters of old and UFO encounters more recently, I can't say it quite hit that same "Wow" factor that Hellier gave me. Still, many of the stories were fascinating - not sure what I believe at this point, but it's all very interesting to consider. The second half of the book has hundreds of encounters between the mid 19th and mid 20th century to consider in light of the themes mentioned in the first half of the book.
June 22, 2019
This book is rightfully considered to be a classic within the Fortean field. The author, Jacques F. Vallée, was a consultant upon Project Blue Book and colleague of J. Allen Hynek. He is an esteemed professor even today, and one of the most level headed individuals to take on the UFO field. This book is the first where he formulates the beginning of a challenge to the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis. Perhaps, this book dares to say, the UFOs and their 'visiting' inhabitants are not in fact from another planet or solar system. Perhaps they are something closer to home, and far more complicated than they appear to be.
The subheading of this book is "From Folklore to Flying Saucers" and that sums up the contents very well. Vallée presents the idea that there is no true difference between the phenomena of angels and demons, fairies and elves, djinn and dwarves and the UFO inhabitants. He lays out compelling arguments, comparing and contrasting the stories of those who went to the Otherworld of Magonia and returned and those who were spirited away by flying saucers. He compares the humanoids encountered by people throughout the ages, and how familiar they are if only one has an eye for folklore and history. Perhaps, after all, they are the same. If they are the same thing, what does that mean?
This book doesn't exactly dwell upon what it would mean for the phenomena to have been the same over millennia, but the mere fact that this book considers it is important enough. Throughout Vallée's career he did delve deeper into the idea and I truly look forward to reading more about it. For a beginning book, however, this is a fascinating one. If possible, I recommend getting a later addition of it as the introduction was a great read that truly highlights why this book is important and deserves to still be read.
Especially nowadays when the material concept of UFOs has truly overtaken the field and cheapened the more interesting and telling psychological and sociological implications of the phenomena.
The subheading of this book is "From Folklore to Flying Saucers" and that sums up the contents very well. Vallée presents the idea that there is no true difference between the phenomena of angels and demons, fairies and elves, djinn and dwarves and the UFO inhabitants. He lays out compelling arguments, comparing and contrasting the stories of those who went to the Otherworld of Magonia and returned and those who were spirited away by flying saucers. He compares the humanoids encountered by people throughout the ages, and how familiar they are if only one has an eye for folklore and history. Perhaps, after all, they are the same. If they are the same thing, what does that mean?
This book doesn't exactly dwell upon what it would mean for the phenomena to have been the same over millennia, but the mere fact that this book considers it is important enough. Throughout Vallée's career he did delve deeper into the idea and I truly look forward to reading more about it. For a beginning book, however, this is a fascinating one. If possible, I recommend getting a later addition of it as the introduction was a great read that truly highlights why this book is important and deserves to still be read.
Especially nowadays when the material concept of UFOs has truly overtaken the field and cheapened the more interesting and telling psychological and sociological implications of the phenomena.
February 13, 2024
2.5 stars, rounded up to 3. Not the best reading experience. As much as this topic deeply interests me, Vallée was able to make it extremely boring. It felt like he spat out UFO story after another, and there was little framework for his thesis until the very end. And that end, he basically says: It's weird! Weirder than we think!
As a science fiction nerd who loves first-contact stories, the absurdity of non-human entities makes more logical sense to me. Vallée is pointing out that the scientific way UFOs now present to us, is based upon a fairy tale we tell ourselves about them. It's almost like we co-create this phenomenon based upon our cultural heritage, or something extremely knowledgable and all-powerful is tweaking a base experience to fit all cultures. It's pretty wild and I think it's a cool path to go down, imagination-wise.
How factual it is? Ehh? His book doesn't exactly need to be 100% scientifically accurate for this theory to work. And really, it doesn't feel like a fully fleshed-out theory, but a seed for one. He's throwing out possibilities, more like. It'll make me think, and probably lead some cool scifi ideas, but a majority of the book feels unneeded.
As a science fiction nerd who loves first-contact stories, the absurdity of non-human entities makes more logical sense to me. Vallée is pointing out that the scientific way UFOs now present to us, is based upon a fairy tale we tell ourselves about them. It's almost like we co-create this phenomenon based upon our cultural heritage, or something extremely knowledgable and all-powerful is tweaking a base experience to fit all cultures. It's pretty wild and I think it's a cool path to go down, imagination-wise.
How factual it is? Ehh? His book doesn't exactly need to be 100% scientifically accurate for this theory to work. And really, it doesn't feel like a fully fleshed-out theory, but a seed for one. He's throwing out possibilities, more like. It'll make me think, and probably lead some cool scifi ideas, but a majority of the book feels unneeded.
April 29, 2022
The Fae folk and the Grays—perhaps they are really the same thing seen through two different mythologies? Jacques Vallee seems to think so, although he remains agnostic about the nature of the beings themselves— are they more-than-psychological projections or mind games courtesy our neighbors from the multiverse? Whatever the case Vallee is convinced they're not visitors from Mars and they aren’t merely hallucinations. Whatever the UFO phenomenon is, Vallee argues that it didn’t start in 1947 and has perennial parallels in the folklore and religious mythologies of many cultures. Vallee is scientifically oriented and is not given to enjoyable Fortean speculation in the style of John Keel, although he is playful. This comes out in the lengthy Appendix (which I will read through later and reference) of most major UFO landings reported from 1868 to 1968. Overall a very enjoyable read that I would recommend to people interested in UFOs or folklore.
November 9, 2025
I have one material update to this review, which is that I read a biography of J. Alan Hynek (The Close Encounters Man by Mark O'Connell) in which the author quotes Hynek saying that the French scientist in Spielberg’s Close Encounters film was inspired not by Jacque Vallée as I previously had thought but in fact by another French scientist/ufologist- Claude Poher! I made some slight changes to my original review below to adjust for this information:
Vallée is careful to state at the outset that Passport to Magonia “is not a scientific book.” (p. 11) Be forewarned, that is a bit of a shell game on his part, and I would say this is one of the most sophisticated and in fact one of the most scientific of all the books I’ve read so far on UFOs. It might also be one of the most misleading. I see on the back of the book that Vallee is now living as a “venture capitalist” in San Francisco. The author is also fairly familiar it seems with the workings of defense and intelligence agencies. There are numerous suggestions of sinister connections here I would say. For all of the foregoing reasons, it is important to read this book with caution. There is much here to disturb the modern (differentiated, ‘dissociated’?) consensus reality, even some rather repulsive references to demonology reminiscent of that fave 70s horror film and book The Exorcist, which was written (or so I’ve read) in part as an attempt to ‘prove’ the existence of the supernatural and hence the existence of God. I have seen 1 documentary (UFOs the Secret History) that suggests Vallée’s intention here is to debunk rather than to support the ‘reality’ of the UFO phenomenon. From a certain angle this is correct I now see, as Vallée ultimately states in his conclusion that the type of wild speculation popular in the ufology mythos (and which perhaps to a degree Vallée had a hand in popularizing!) does not have “a scientific leg to stand upon!” (p. 161) Certainly we “could . . . imagine that for centuries some superior intelligence has been projecting into our environment . . . various artificial objects whose creation is a pure form of art.” (p. 161) We could also fantasize that UFOs are “a natural phenomenon whose manifestations border on both the physical and the mental.” In this context, Vallée even speculates that “human dreams can be implemented, and this is the mechanism by which UFO events are generated, needing no superior intelligence to trigger them . . . [but] it would stop short of explaining the traces left by such phenomenon.” (p. 161) I’m not sure in this context what “traces” he means exactly and it is interesting that the word here is ‘traces’ rather than ‘evidence’. After offering up many accounts (some of which you can Google online and discover have already been debunked), Vallée as I said admits that none of his own wild speculations are “scientific” in the least. He describes this work as “philosophical” but perhaps, given his description of UFOs as “objects . . . of art”, a better way to frame it would be as ‘artistic’. Here is one update for you though- as I indicate above I had previously thought that Steven Spielberg included a fictionalized version of Vallée’s character in the blockbuster film ‘Close Encounters’ - but this turns out not to be accurate according to a biography of J. Alan Hynek, which quotes Hynek as stating that the actual basis for the French scientist in the film was Claude Poher! I have heard a credible rumor that Vallée is not too happy about this. One could imagine why- with the famous director Truffaut cast in the role you get artistic credibility atop the scientific. In our modern differentiated society this kind of stacking has some social relevance perhaps. Piling up the social subsystems within which you have some weight is no easy feat. Maybe Alan Dershowitz too approaches this type of status, with legal credibility alongside filmic portrayals, not to mention the scandalous allegations. Carl Sagan had pop culture credentials but was rejected by both Harvard for tenure and the National Academy of Sciences for membership. Like much of the mythos, the material here stumbles about in the twilight realm between a generalist’s sensibility and the specialist’s knowledge. This is perhaps why Vallée’s appeal for “sociologists” to “tackle the problem” (p. 136) speaks to me. Still one may get the (social) impression of Vallée (from a variety of sources) that he lends a certain and nearly scientific credibility to the endeavor, even though technically he is located outside of the academy (in the strictest sense of his professional role in society as opposed to his credentials). I began reading this book with a credulous frame of mind, and I was surprised to find credulous accounts within, which have been debunked as I said. I now see that Vallée correctly indicates his primary concern as the ‘reports’ themselves rather than the underlying veracity. This is a sociological view (and a scientific one) that any communication about UFOs has meaning in society even if it is a hoax. For this reason I will not detail the multiple examples of likely hoaxes within these pages. Perhaps some of these Vallée included innocently enough (especially in these pre-Internet days of yore) but the way this book is written feels somewhat deceptive by its conclusion. Why include a case as ‘fact’ if you know (or even reasonably suspect) it to be a hoax? One possible reason I can imagine to include obvious hoaxes in a credulous manner would be to serve as disinformation, which is a definite risk in this field. Circa 1968 to write such a detailed book about UFOs for purposes of disinformation would have been quite cutting edge. Then again this book is one of the foundational texts for any review of the ufology literature, so it was by that measure quite cutting edge regardless of the intentions of its author. A bit of research into the mythos indicates there is much in common between ufology, ‘misinformation’ and counterintelligence. Any time I hear of a ‘venture capitalist’ with connections to the defense or intelligence communities, it makes me nervous. In fact a bit of digging into other nefarious characters associated with ‘new age’ ideas from the seventies led me to discover that Ira Einhorn, the notorious new age guru cum murderer actually worked for Vallée’s computer company- the book about this crime The Unicorn’s Secret seems to indicate that Vallée continued to associate with Ira Einhorn even after the latter was under indictment for the murder of his girlfriend (whose mummified body was found stuffed in a steamer trunk in Einhorn’s apartment over a year after her disappearance). Though Einhorn maintained his innocence and did a kind of publicity tour appealing to friends and business associates (including Vallée apparently), the ‘Unicorn killer’ as he was called in the press eventually fled to France to avoid trial! Vallée himself suddenly appears a bit of a mystery. However, the question I have is different and hopefully more scientific. Simply put, will ufology ever entirely cross the line into the realm of scientific respectability? Despite a handful of PhDs who fall into the ‘ufologist’ bucket, and Avi Loeb’s latest project notwithstanding, I would say that ufology as a ‘scientific’ endeavor stubbornly refuses to achieve escape velocity from the orbit of folklore or religious studies. What exactly does that say about ufology or folklore or even our modern differentiated society? Having read a few of these books now, I can say (as any ufologist would) that the sheer volume of encounters commands attention and I would agree that, from the perspective of sociology at the very least, the jury is still out. Despite my inherent mistrust of Vallée based on his background and some of these rumors floating about (rumors and gossip perhaps are a bit like UFOs in the social sense), I remain fascinated by this book. The seductive quality of Vallée’s narrative is simply the power of re-enchantment, which I find to be a common desire of modern man. Modern re-enchantment comes in a variety of forms, in every type of media from the old print format of supermarket tabloids to classic horror films to the retelling of various ‘urban legends’ and yes - in the form of credulous UFO books. Vallée here has written a book that pretends to be credulous but is ultimately highly skeptical, and I find that this approach makes it highly susceptible to misinterpretation. We all inherently want to believe. Within the frame of folklore then, this is one of the better books on ufology, and whether you trust Vallée’s motives or not, a classic in the genre.
Vallée is careful to state at the outset that Passport to Magonia “is not a scientific book.” (p. 11) Be forewarned, that is a bit of a shell game on his part, and I would say this is one of the most sophisticated and in fact one of the most scientific of all the books I’ve read so far on UFOs. It might also be one of the most misleading. I see on the back of the book that Vallee is now living as a “venture capitalist” in San Francisco. The author is also fairly familiar it seems with the workings of defense and intelligence agencies. There are numerous suggestions of sinister connections here I would say. For all of the foregoing reasons, it is important to read this book with caution. There is much here to disturb the modern (differentiated, ‘dissociated’?) consensus reality, even some rather repulsive references to demonology reminiscent of that fave 70s horror film and book The Exorcist, which was written (or so I’ve read) in part as an attempt to ‘prove’ the existence of the supernatural and hence the existence of God. I have seen 1 documentary (UFOs the Secret History) that suggests Vallée’s intention here is to debunk rather than to support the ‘reality’ of the UFO phenomenon. From a certain angle this is correct I now see, as Vallée ultimately states in his conclusion that the type of wild speculation popular in the ufology mythos (and which perhaps to a degree Vallée had a hand in popularizing!) does not have “a scientific leg to stand upon!” (p. 161) Certainly we “could . . . imagine that for centuries some superior intelligence has been projecting into our environment . . . various artificial objects whose creation is a pure form of art.” (p. 161) We could also fantasize that UFOs are “a natural phenomenon whose manifestations border on both the physical and the mental.” In this context, Vallée even speculates that “human dreams can be implemented, and this is the mechanism by which UFO events are generated, needing no superior intelligence to trigger them . . . [but] it would stop short of explaining the traces left by such phenomenon.” (p. 161) I’m not sure in this context what “traces” he means exactly and it is interesting that the word here is ‘traces’ rather than ‘evidence’. After offering up many accounts (some of which you can Google online and discover have already been debunked), Vallée as I said admits that none of his own wild speculations are “scientific” in the least. He describes this work as “philosophical” but perhaps, given his description of UFOs as “objects . . . of art”, a better way to frame it would be as ‘artistic’. Here is one update for you though- as I indicate above I had previously thought that Steven Spielberg included a fictionalized version of Vallée’s character in the blockbuster film ‘Close Encounters’ - but this turns out not to be accurate according to a biography of J. Alan Hynek, which quotes Hynek as stating that the actual basis for the French scientist in the film was Claude Poher! I have heard a credible rumor that Vallée is not too happy about this. One could imagine why- with the famous director Truffaut cast in the role you get artistic credibility atop the scientific. In our modern differentiated society this kind of stacking has some social relevance perhaps. Piling up the social subsystems within which you have some weight is no easy feat. Maybe Alan Dershowitz too approaches this type of status, with legal credibility alongside filmic portrayals, not to mention the scandalous allegations. Carl Sagan had pop culture credentials but was rejected by both Harvard for tenure and the National Academy of Sciences for membership. Like much of the mythos, the material here stumbles about in the twilight realm between a generalist’s sensibility and the specialist’s knowledge. This is perhaps why Vallée’s appeal for “sociologists” to “tackle the problem” (p. 136) speaks to me. Still one may get the (social) impression of Vallée (from a variety of sources) that he lends a certain and nearly scientific credibility to the endeavor, even though technically he is located outside of the academy (in the strictest sense of his professional role in society as opposed to his credentials). I began reading this book with a credulous frame of mind, and I was surprised to find credulous accounts within, which have been debunked as I said. I now see that Vallée correctly indicates his primary concern as the ‘reports’ themselves rather than the underlying veracity. This is a sociological view (and a scientific one) that any communication about UFOs has meaning in society even if it is a hoax. For this reason I will not detail the multiple examples of likely hoaxes within these pages. Perhaps some of these Vallée included innocently enough (especially in these pre-Internet days of yore) but the way this book is written feels somewhat deceptive by its conclusion. Why include a case as ‘fact’ if you know (or even reasonably suspect) it to be a hoax? One possible reason I can imagine to include obvious hoaxes in a credulous manner would be to serve as disinformation, which is a definite risk in this field. Circa 1968 to write such a detailed book about UFOs for purposes of disinformation would have been quite cutting edge. Then again this book is one of the foundational texts for any review of the ufology literature, so it was by that measure quite cutting edge regardless of the intentions of its author. A bit of research into the mythos indicates there is much in common between ufology, ‘misinformation’ and counterintelligence. Any time I hear of a ‘venture capitalist’ with connections to the defense or intelligence communities, it makes me nervous. In fact a bit of digging into other nefarious characters associated with ‘new age’ ideas from the seventies led me to discover that Ira Einhorn, the notorious new age guru cum murderer actually worked for Vallée’s computer company- the book about this crime The Unicorn’s Secret seems to indicate that Vallée continued to associate with Ira Einhorn even after the latter was under indictment for the murder of his girlfriend (whose mummified body was found stuffed in a steamer trunk in Einhorn’s apartment over a year after her disappearance). Though Einhorn maintained his innocence and did a kind of publicity tour appealing to friends and business associates (including Vallée apparently), the ‘Unicorn killer’ as he was called in the press eventually fled to France to avoid trial! Vallée himself suddenly appears a bit of a mystery. However, the question I have is different and hopefully more scientific. Simply put, will ufology ever entirely cross the line into the realm of scientific respectability? Despite a handful of PhDs who fall into the ‘ufologist’ bucket, and Avi Loeb’s latest project notwithstanding, I would say that ufology as a ‘scientific’ endeavor stubbornly refuses to achieve escape velocity from the orbit of folklore or religious studies. What exactly does that say about ufology or folklore or even our modern differentiated society? Having read a few of these books now, I can say (as any ufologist would) that the sheer volume of encounters commands attention and I would agree that, from the perspective of sociology at the very least, the jury is still out. Despite my inherent mistrust of Vallée based on his background and some of these rumors floating about (rumors and gossip perhaps are a bit like UFOs in the social sense), I remain fascinated by this book. The seductive quality of Vallée’s narrative is simply the power of re-enchantment, which I find to be a common desire of modern man. Modern re-enchantment comes in a variety of forms, in every type of media from the old print format of supermarket tabloids to classic horror films to the retelling of various ‘urban legends’ and yes - in the form of credulous UFO books. Vallée here has written a book that pretends to be credulous but is ultimately highly skeptical, and I find that this approach makes it highly susceptible to misinterpretation. We all inherently want to believe. Within the frame of folklore then, this is one of the better books on ufology, and whether you trust Vallée’s motives or not, a classic in the genre.
August 31, 2025
read the whole book but still no idea what this man was on a bout tbh
December 24, 2023
Makes the case that ancient encounters with fairies, angels, demons, etc. are too similar to modern UFO and alien encounters to be reasonably put into different categories. This means the modern phenomenon of UFOs is not new at all; we've been seeing Strangers for thousands of years now.
Through the repetition of many examples the author convinces the reader that dismissive interpretations of these phenomena are woefully inadequate to explain what's going on. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and at this point (1968! So much more information has come out since then!) the extraordinary claim is the one that says these reports are all simply imagined or made up.
Through the repetition of many examples the author convinces the reader that dismissive interpretations of these phenomena are woefully inadequate to explain what's going on. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and at this point (1968! So much more information has come out since then!) the extraordinary claim is the one that says these reports are all simply imagined or made up.
June 7, 2024
I wish I had read this book years ago. I am beyond impressed with the level of research and ability to discern common motifs between modern UFO encounters with timeless tales of interactions with demons, fairies, little people, etc.
Though Vallee does not (in this book at least) offer much in the way of positive conclusions, I think he does a fantastic job undermining the idea that the "ufonauts" are "regular" organic lifeforms from other planets. (He is also convincing that these encounters cannot be chalked up wholesale to mere fraud and hallucinations.) As many people have started to realize and talk about in the popular discourse in the last few years, this phenomenon seems best explained by the idea of spiritual/interdimensional entities (or, less plausibly in my opinion, a series of kind of psychic projections of what Jung called the "collective unconscious" of mankind). Vallee's work was thus far ahead of its time (originally written in 1968).
Though Vallee does not (in this book at least) offer much in the way of positive conclusions, I think he does a fantastic job undermining the idea that the "ufonauts" are "regular" organic lifeforms from other planets. (He is also convincing that these encounters cannot be chalked up wholesale to mere fraud and hallucinations.) As many people have started to realize and talk about in the popular discourse in the last few years, this phenomenon seems best explained by the idea of spiritual/interdimensional entities (or, less plausibly in my opinion, a series of kind of psychic projections of what Jung called the "collective unconscious" of mankind). Vallee's work was thus far ahead of its time (originally written in 1968).
January 1, 2024
La edición en español del año 2021 de la editorial Reediciones Anómalas está llena de errores de tipeo. Además de que es mala la traducción al español también. Por eso las tres estrellas, si no le hubiera dado cuatro.
April 30, 2017
I read this as a teenager. Vallee seems to think that accounts of fairies, gnomes, pixies, etc., are really sightings of aliens. Interesting...
November 19, 2023
I'm not totally sure how i feel about jacque vallees perspective. His Review and catalogue of UFO throughout history is expansive and impressive. Novice ufologists tend to believe sightings began in 1947, but his Review makes it clear there was various types of sightings before that in the 30s, in the late 1800s and then many cultures folklore for thousands of years. All of this, i agree is a necessary wider context to study the Phenomena of ufo.
Where i'm skeptical is not on these various types of ufo encounters, but rather this seeming perspective that the meaning of the diversity of perspectives on ufo is relativistic and depends on a cultural and historical lens of the moment. As if to suggest, this is a mystery that cannot be solved, as mysterious as reality itself.
That may be a logical assumption if all these Phenomena are truly one Phenomena appearing to us in many different ways. For example, he focused a bit on a wave of sightings and encounters in 1897 of a mysterious and advanced airship staffed by humans but beyond any known technological capability. I detect vallee implying this 1897 Phenomena being the same as many others such as the flying saucer. It's appearance in the form of an airship may have made sense to the minds of rural midwesterners so it appeared in a way that made sense to them.
Lifewise our modern, pre-space age sensibilities leads us to perceive the Phenomena as alien creatures from another planet.
I agree that our current context and beliefs shape our understanding and perceptions. I also agree that we are hindered in our ability to understand the Phenomena if we have misunderstood the very nature of our reality.
But perhaps the complexity of the Phenomena ties to that piece about not understanding something of our reality more so than not understanding the Phenomena. It has been noted, for instance, that flying saucers come in many different details variations and with occupants that are sometimes grey skinned aliens and sometimes other beings and sometimes strange humans. That bizarre feature is enough for many ppl to dismiss it as confabulated nonsense. But widely acknowledged is the physics that saucers are able to express, beyond our understanding.
Suppose for a moment that this vein of physics that is not yet understood is benefitted by this shape of a disc. Key, maybe, to intergalactic, interdimensional and/or time travel is an engine we don't understand, materials unknown to us, and a shape (same logic applied to other repeated shapes like triangles).
Just as a flying objects must be shaped in certain ways to be aerodynamic. Perhaps there is another type of dynamic necessary for another type of travel.
Why do i postúlate this? Well because access to this type of other, unknown science as a secret principle of reality means that all sorts of possible species, realities and future possible versions of ourselves, could access it and intermittently encounters us incidentally, intentionally or with a variety of motives.
What i'm getting at is Valee is linking varieties of myth and encounters as one Phenomena. If the mechanisms underpinning reality are not what we thought and there is an unknown way of traveling through reality then that exposes us to a universe, possibly a multiverse, of Phenomena. The 1897 airship Wave and flying saucers may be linked by a Phenomena of physics but perhaps it is not one chameleon like species appearing in different ways.
But excellent thought provoking work. Half the book is an appendix of many reports accounts.
Where i'm skeptical is not on these various types of ufo encounters, but rather this seeming perspective that the meaning of the diversity of perspectives on ufo is relativistic and depends on a cultural and historical lens of the moment. As if to suggest, this is a mystery that cannot be solved, as mysterious as reality itself.
That may be a logical assumption if all these Phenomena are truly one Phenomena appearing to us in many different ways. For example, he focused a bit on a wave of sightings and encounters in 1897 of a mysterious and advanced airship staffed by humans but beyond any known technological capability. I detect vallee implying this 1897 Phenomena being the same as many others such as the flying saucer. It's appearance in the form of an airship may have made sense to the minds of rural midwesterners so it appeared in a way that made sense to them.
Lifewise our modern, pre-space age sensibilities leads us to perceive the Phenomena as alien creatures from another planet.
I agree that our current context and beliefs shape our understanding and perceptions. I also agree that we are hindered in our ability to understand the Phenomena if we have misunderstood the very nature of our reality.
But perhaps the complexity of the Phenomena ties to that piece about not understanding something of our reality more so than not understanding the Phenomena. It has been noted, for instance, that flying saucers come in many different details variations and with occupants that are sometimes grey skinned aliens and sometimes other beings and sometimes strange humans. That bizarre feature is enough for many ppl to dismiss it as confabulated nonsense. But widely acknowledged is the physics that saucers are able to express, beyond our understanding.
Suppose for a moment that this vein of physics that is not yet understood is benefitted by this shape of a disc. Key, maybe, to intergalactic, interdimensional and/or time travel is an engine we don't understand, materials unknown to us, and a shape (same logic applied to other repeated shapes like triangles).
Just as a flying objects must be shaped in certain ways to be aerodynamic. Perhaps there is another type of dynamic necessary for another type of travel.
Why do i postúlate this? Well because access to this type of other, unknown science as a secret principle of reality means that all sorts of possible species, realities and future possible versions of ourselves, could access it and intermittently encounters us incidentally, intentionally or with a variety of motives.
What i'm getting at is Valee is linking varieties of myth and encounters as one Phenomena. If the mechanisms underpinning reality are not what we thought and there is an unknown way of traveling through reality then that exposes us to a universe, possibly a multiverse, of Phenomena. The 1897 airship Wave and flying saucers may be linked by a Phenomena of physics but perhaps it is not one chameleon like species appearing in different ways.
But excellent thought provoking work. Half the book is an appendix of many reports accounts.
April 26, 2025
UFO stands for Unidentified Fae Obviously.
I'm going to need everyone I know to read this. What a fantastic book. I've long been a fan of Vallée's ideas and discourse but this is my first time reading one of his books and needless to say I'll be making my way through the rest of his library. It's not a scientific book, but it catalogues historical accounts of the phenomenon with a curator's care and attention to detail. Very far from a 'true believer', the book remains fairly agnostic about the veracity of many tales and does not claim to have the answers behind the phenomenon. Instead, Vallée seems only to be willing to point out the most strange recurrent elements of encounters throughout history and folklore and ask the deeply important question "why?". On one level it draws connections and asks if encounters with Fae and Roswell Grey's are the same phenomenon, but deeper than that I think, it addresses the notion that anomalous encounters might all be part of an aspect of reality we are simply.not currently equipped to truly comprehend. The accounts are incredible and their patterns paint a truly bewildering and unnerving portrait of human history with anomalous encounters. Written very well, and a delight to read too.
5 Trickster Encounters out of 5
🛸🛸🛸🛸🛸
I'm going to need everyone I know to read this. What a fantastic book. I've long been a fan of Vallée's ideas and discourse but this is my first time reading one of his books and needless to say I'll be making my way through the rest of his library. It's not a scientific book, but it catalogues historical accounts of the phenomenon with a curator's care and attention to detail. Very far from a 'true believer', the book remains fairly agnostic about the veracity of many tales and does not claim to have the answers behind the phenomenon. Instead, Vallée seems only to be willing to point out the most strange recurrent elements of encounters throughout history and folklore and ask the deeply important question "why?". On one level it draws connections and asks if encounters with Fae and Roswell Grey's are the same phenomenon, but deeper than that I think, it addresses the notion that anomalous encounters might all be part of an aspect of reality we are simply.not currently equipped to truly comprehend. The accounts are incredible and their patterns paint a truly bewildering and unnerving portrait of human history with anomalous encounters. Written very well, and a delight to read too.
5 Trickster Encounters out of 5
🛸🛸🛸🛸🛸
February 1, 2018
This book is a fascinating read and it well deserves its place in my ufology book collection. It is considered to be a classic seminal book on the subject and after reading it, I can see why. If I had to choose between this book that was originally published in 1969, or his 1988 book called Dimensions, I would choose the latter. The reason being because Dimensions contains much of the material from Magonia and more. What Magonia does have that Dimensions doesn't is an excellent catalogue of cases contained at the end of the book. For me, this is another five star book from one of the most important men in the field of serious ufology.
May 22, 2021
The author is an investigator who broke all the rules with his thoughts and ideas on UFOs. This is one to grab for anyone that wonders what is out there.
Read
February 8, 2023Best description of UFO phenomena I've read so far.
March 19, 2025
rating: 4/5 stars
~
when the fae folk appear you know you're gonna have a *time*
~
when the fae folk appear you know you're gonna have a *time*
February 12, 2021
His essay is a fascinating introduction to the phenomenon, setting up the basis for the second part of the book documenting 'a century of UFO landings' which has the profound effect of really giving you a thorough account of the phenomenon, the sheer amount of cases, and especially the similarities (such as sightings of 'men in diving suits' and the impact on witnesses) is eye opening to say the least. It is true that little can be proved at this stage as to an explanation of the phenomenon, and that it is, of course, impossible to verify the fairy tales of old, but what Vallee is interested in is patterns and how the unexplainable causes of today perhaps have kinship with that of the old. I feel Vallee's argument could have fallen away if it wasn't for the incredible cases that fill the second half of the book, and really brought the thing home.
August 19, 2019
This is an odd, odd book, but an interesting one. It's basically divided into halves: in the first half, Vallee compares UFO close encounters to older stories of fairies and elves, while the second consists of a long list of UFO encounters with dates and other pertinent information.
Other than to note that stories of fairies and UFOs contain many similarities, Vallee doesn't really come to any conclusion -- in fact, he makes it quite clear that coming to a conclusion isn't what he's interested in. As such, it's suggestive and evocative, but that's about it. The list of sightings has been superseded by more recent lists, but it's still an interesting historical record. I wouldn't recommend starting here, but if you're interested in the unexplained, this book is an interesting addition to the record.
Other than to note that stories of fairies and UFOs contain many similarities, Vallee doesn't really come to any conclusion -- in fact, he makes it quite clear that coming to a conclusion isn't what he's interested in. As such, it's suggestive and evocative, but that's about it. The list of sightings has been superseded by more recent lists, but it's still an interesting historical record. I wouldn't recommend starting here, but if you're interested in the unexplained, this book is an interesting addition to the record.
May 21, 2024
VALLEE DRAWS PARALLELS BETWEEN UFOS, FAIRIES, ELVES, AND MYTHS
Jacques Fabrice Vallée (born 1939) is a French astronomer, computer scientist, ufologist, and author. He also was the person who served as the model for ‘Claude Lacombe’ in the movie, ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind.’
He wrote in the Preface to the 1993 edition of this 1969 book, “The reader of 1993 probably will take it for granted that accounts of landings were easy to come by when I decided to compile [this book] in 1968… it may come to a surprise to such reader that the compilation of the present study required several years of active detective work, startling from obscure sources and relying on a network of dedicated friends in various countries for follow-up investigation of the cases involved, whenever possible… The reality is that in the mid-sixties … the matter of UFO landings was anathema… the UFO organizations themselves fought to censor such accounts… the leaders of such groups… felt that exposing the reality and bizarre nature of UFO landings would prejudice their case for the opening of Congressional hearings.”
In the Preface to the original 1969 edition, he wrote, “This book is an attempt to build a bridge---a tenuous and fragile one---between a fancy and a myth. It is not a scientific book… It is not a documentary, unless the dreams of children at play and the cries of women burned alive can be documented… This book is a tribute to all the people who dared preserve a dream… If we take a wide sample of this historical material, we find that it is organized around one central theme: visitation by an aerial people from one or more remote, legendary countries… Magonia, heaven, hell, Elfland---all such places have in common one characteristic: we are unable to reach them alive, except… on very special occasions. Emissaries from these supernatural abodes come to earth, sometimes under human form and sometimes as monsters. They perform wonders. They serve man or fight him. They influence civilizations through mystical revelation. They seduce earth women, and the few heroes that dare seek their friendship find the girls from Elfland endowed with desires that betray a carnal, rather than purely aerial, nature.
“This book is an attempt to build a bridge between two clusters of rumors, observations, and reports on the one hand, the claims of men and women are alive today and state they have observed such beings; and, on the other, the large body of similar data that has come to us through tradition… The public is greatly interested in the possible scientific solutions to the flying saucer problem… But this book does not answer this need… this is not a scientific book. It aims only at the documentation of a recurrent myth; namely the myth of contact between mankind and an intelligent race endowed with apparently supernatural powers… I am not trying to solve any problem, promote any theory, to provide any reassurance, or to support any belief… But if I can bring a few pieces of information to the attention of people who need them, then my task will be over.”
Later, he summarizes, “Perhaps I have now succeeded in evoking in the reader’s mind a new awareness: the suggestion of a possible parallel between the rumors of today and the beliefs that were held by our ancestors, beliefs of stupendous fights with mysterious supermen, of rings where magic lingered, of dwarfish races aunting the land… Today we have the unique opportunity to witness the reappearance of this current… colored, naturally, with our … preoccupation with ‘science,’ our longing for the promised land of other planets. A new mythology was needed to bridge the stupendous gap beyond the meaningless present. THEY provided it. Bu who are they? Real beings, or the ghosts of our own ridiculous, petty dreams?” (Pg. 48-49)
Later, he observes, “Of course, the UFO myth has not yet reached such romantic proportions, but we are perhaps not quite far from it, at least in certain rural areas, where strange flying objects have become a source of terror to people traveling at night, and where the rumor that ‘invaders’ might be around has gained interest, if not support.” (Pg. 105)
He summarizes, “It is reasonable to draw a parallel between religious apparitions, the faith-faith, the reports of dwarflike beings with supernatural powers, and airship tales in the United States in the last century, and the present stories of UFO landings? I would strongly argue that it is---for one simple reason: the mechanisms that have generated these various beliefs are identical. Their human context and their effect on humans are constant. And it is my conclusion that the observation of this very deep mechanism is a crucial one. It has little to do with the problem of knowing whether UFOs are physical objects or not. Attempting to understand the meaning, the purpose of the so-called flying saucers, as many people are doing today, is just as futile as was the pursuit of the fairies… The phenomenon has stable, invariant features, some of which we have tried to identify and label clearly.” (Pg. 148-149)
He argues, “There is a tendency among the believers to gather into large, very formal organizations, where they waste all their energy and, sometimes, a good deal of money, with practically no visible result. It is clear that such organizations answer a psychological need rather than a genuine desire to discover the answer to an interesting intellectual problem… Instead, these groups generate so much internal bitterness and so many interorganizational feuds that they prove to be serious obstacles to independent researchers who are simply trying to get firsthand data and do not care to support one particular personality or theory against another.” (Pg. 158)
He concludes, “To conclude, let us remark that the density (timewise) of UFO manifestations is not decreasing. Let us also not that knowledge of the structure of time would imply superior knowledge of destiny… Perhaps I should remind the reader of two points… (1) the relativity of time in Magonia… and (2) that astonishing little remark made by a sylph to Facius Cardan, which antedates quantum theory by four centuries: ‘He added that God created [the universe] from moment to moment, so that should He desist for an instant the world would perish.’” (Pg. 163)
This book will be of considerably less interest to those studying UFOs than some of his other books; but it will interest those seeking more ‘creative’ explanations of UFO phenomena.
Jacques Fabrice Vallée (born 1939) is a French astronomer, computer scientist, ufologist, and author. He also was the person who served as the model for ‘Claude Lacombe’ in the movie, ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind.’
He wrote in the Preface to the 1993 edition of this 1969 book, “The reader of 1993 probably will take it for granted that accounts of landings were easy to come by when I decided to compile [this book] in 1968… it may come to a surprise to such reader that the compilation of the present study required several years of active detective work, startling from obscure sources and relying on a network of dedicated friends in various countries for follow-up investigation of the cases involved, whenever possible… The reality is that in the mid-sixties … the matter of UFO landings was anathema… the UFO organizations themselves fought to censor such accounts… the leaders of such groups… felt that exposing the reality and bizarre nature of UFO landings would prejudice their case for the opening of Congressional hearings.”
In the Preface to the original 1969 edition, he wrote, “This book is an attempt to build a bridge---a tenuous and fragile one---between a fancy and a myth. It is not a scientific book… It is not a documentary, unless the dreams of children at play and the cries of women burned alive can be documented… This book is a tribute to all the people who dared preserve a dream… If we take a wide sample of this historical material, we find that it is organized around one central theme: visitation by an aerial people from one or more remote, legendary countries… Magonia, heaven, hell, Elfland---all such places have in common one characteristic: we are unable to reach them alive, except… on very special occasions. Emissaries from these supernatural abodes come to earth, sometimes under human form and sometimes as monsters. They perform wonders. They serve man or fight him. They influence civilizations through mystical revelation. They seduce earth women, and the few heroes that dare seek their friendship find the girls from Elfland endowed with desires that betray a carnal, rather than purely aerial, nature.
“This book is an attempt to build a bridge between two clusters of rumors, observations, and reports on the one hand, the claims of men and women are alive today and state they have observed such beings; and, on the other, the large body of similar data that has come to us through tradition… The public is greatly interested in the possible scientific solutions to the flying saucer problem… But this book does not answer this need… this is not a scientific book. It aims only at the documentation of a recurrent myth; namely the myth of contact between mankind and an intelligent race endowed with apparently supernatural powers… I am not trying to solve any problem, promote any theory, to provide any reassurance, or to support any belief… But if I can bring a few pieces of information to the attention of people who need them, then my task will be over.”
Later, he summarizes, “Perhaps I have now succeeded in evoking in the reader’s mind a new awareness: the suggestion of a possible parallel between the rumors of today and the beliefs that were held by our ancestors, beliefs of stupendous fights with mysterious supermen, of rings where magic lingered, of dwarfish races aunting the land… Today we have the unique opportunity to witness the reappearance of this current… colored, naturally, with our … preoccupation with ‘science,’ our longing for the promised land of other planets. A new mythology was needed to bridge the stupendous gap beyond the meaningless present. THEY provided it. Bu who are they? Real beings, or the ghosts of our own ridiculous, petty dreams?” (Pg. 48-49)
Later, he observes, “Of course, the UFO myth has not yet reached such romantic proportions, but we are perhaps not quite far from it, at least in certain rural areas, where strange flying objects have become a source of terror to people traveling at night, and where the rumor that ‘invaders’ might be around has gained interest, if not support.” (Pg. 105)
He summarizes, “It is reasonable to draw a parallel between religious apparitions, the faith-faith, the reports of dwarflike beings with supernatural powers, and airship tales in the United States in the last century, and the present stories of UFO landings? I would strongly argue that it is---for one simple reason: the mechanisms that have generated these various beliefs are identical. Their human context and their effect on humans are constant. And it is my conclusion that the observation of this very deep mechanism is a crucial one. It has little to do with the problem of knowing whether UFOs are physical objects or not. Attempting to understand the meaning, the purpose of the so-called flying saucers, as many people are doing today, is just as futile as was the pursuit of the fairies… The phenomenon has stable, invariant features, some of which we have tried to identify and label clearly.” (Pg. 148-149)
He argues, “There is a tendency among the believers to gather into large, very formal organizations, where they waste all their energy and, sometimes, a good deal of money, with practically no visible result. It is clear that such organizations answer a psychological need rather than a genuine desire to discover the answer to an interesting intellectual problem… Instead, these groups generate so much internal bitterness and so many interorganizational feuds that they prove to be serious obstacles to independent researchers who are simply trying to get firsthand data and do not care to support one particular personality or theory against another.” (Pg. 158)
He concludes, “To conclude, let us remark that the density (timewise) of UFO manifestations is not decreasing. Let us also not that knowledge of the structure of time would imply superior knowledge of destiny… Perhaps I should remind the reader of two points… (1) the relativity of time in Magonia… and (2) that astonishing little remark made by a sylph to Facius Cardan, which antedates quantum theory by four centuries: ‘He added that God created [the universe] from moment to moment, so that should He desist for an instant the world would perish.’” (Pg. 163)
This book will be of considerably less interest to those studying UFOs than some of his other books; but it will interest those seeking more ‘creative’ explanations of UFO phenomena.
January 18, 2016
Compré este libro porque lo vi patrocinado en el TL de Twitter de una banda que me gusta mucho, sin saber que de verdad tiene algo de fama, Vallée es uno de los primeros investigadores del fenómeno OVNI y este es un de los primeros libros en donde se trata el fenómeno y sus extraños ocupantes sin suponer que son visitantes de otros mundos (cue theremin music)
Y en ese sentido es muy interesante, Vallée habla de los diversos folclores de varias culturas, con un cierto sesgo hacia los escoceses, irlandeses e ingleses, y te entretiene mucho con las míticas historias que cuenta en el libro, heck, hasta el relato de la virgen de guadalupe lo hace interesante y todo esto lo empieza a entremezclar con esos relatos de naves flotantes de tanto de siglos de ayer y hoy y te lo envuelve en un paquete bonito para decirte que siempre ha sido lo mismo.
Y eso es otra cosa a favor del libro es que no es como un programa de alienigenas ancestrales donde ALIENS DID IT todo el tiempo, sino que el solo te presenta lo que encontró y te dice cual es su teoría al respecto pero ya está en ti creerlo o no, lo cual lo hace bastante único en cuanto al género.
Así que si te llaman la atención los fenómenos paranormales, ya empiezas a encontrar paralelos entre estas realidades y las de Dostoyevsky o simplemente buscas algo quirky que leer, este es tu libro.
Y en ese sentido es muy interesante, Vallée habla de los diversos folclores de varias culturas, con un cierto sesgo hacia los escoceses, irlandeses e ingleses, y te entretiene mucho con las míticas historias que cuenta en el libro, heck, hasta el relato de la virgen de guadalupe lo hace interesante y todo esto lo empieza a entremezclar con esos relatos de naves flotantes de tanto de siglos de ayer y hoy y te lo envuelve en un paquete bonito para decirte que siempre ha sido lo mismo.
Y eso es otra cosa a favor del libro es que no es como un programa de alienigenas ancestrales donde ALIENS DID IT todo el tiempo, sino que el solo te presenta lo que encontró y te dice cual es su teoría al respecto pero ya está en ti creerlo o no, lo cual lo hace bastante único en cuanto al género.
Así que si te llaman la atención los fenómenos paranormales, ya empiezas a encontrar paralelos entre estas realidades y las de Dostoyevsky o simplemente buscas algo quirky que leer, este es tu libro.
January 25, 2023
I fluctuated on this book, but ultimately this is the author's attitude toward skepticism:
"I have not written this book for such people, but for those few who have gone through all this and graduated to a higher, clearer level of perception of the total meaning of that tenuous dream that underlies the many nightmares of human history, for those who have recognized, within themselves and in others, the delicate levers of imagination and will not be afraid to experiment with them."
I wanted to be open-minded on this, because there are some interesting cultural parallels and I think this sort of anthropology is a perfectly viable approach. But ultimately I end up judgmental myself: this book is for people who are too credulous about human nature and seek a meaningful vibe over analysis.
Contains more Batman references than I expected for a 1969 book about UFOs.
"I have not written this book for such people, but for those few who have gone through all this and graduated to a higher, clearer level of perception of the total meaning of that tenuous dream that underlies the many nightmares of human history, for those who have recognized, within themselves and in others, the delicate levers of imagination and will not be afraid to experiment with them."
I wanted to be open-minded on this, because there are some interesting cultural parallels and I think this sort of anthropology is a perfectly viable approach. But ultimately I end up judgmental myself: this book is for people who are too credulous about human nature and seek a meaningful vibe over analysis.
Contains more Batman references than I expected for a 1969 book about UFOs.
May 24, 2015
An undoubtedly important book in UFO lore, but no longer a must read. It shows a clear link between ancient folklore and modern ufology, but in this modern era of paranormal research that is a near-accepted fact. While this may be the book that helped shape that view, it now feels like a long read proving something that is already proven. The appendix is interesting but has not been updated, not including anything that happened in recent decades. Still, a good, though not vital read, but an important book.
December 19, 2009
Vallee's thesis is that there are folkloric parallels between UFO reports and phenomena of the mythic past -- encounters with the Fair Folk, zeppelin sightings in the 1890s, religious apparition, etc. While there's an interesting kernel to his theory, I'm not quite sure some of the sources he draws from are meant to be taken in a spirit of anything besides allegory -- Ezekiel and the Wheel, for example.
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