Passport to Magonia: From Folklore to Flying Saucers

Vallee 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 Vallee’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 Vallee ultimately states in his conclusion that the type of wild speculation popular in the ufology mythos (and which perhaps to a degree Vallee 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, Vallee 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), Vallee 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’. You can see why Spielberg included a fictionalized version of Vallee’s character in the blockbuster film ‘Close Encounters’ - 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 Vallee’s appeal for “sociologists” to “tackle the problem” (p. 136) speaks to me. Still one may get the (social) impression of Vallee (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 Vallee 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 or otherwise explainable in mundane terms. For this reason I will not detail the multiple examples of possible hoaxes or explainable encounters within these pages. Perhaps some of these Vallee 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. Vallee himself suddenly appears a bit of a mystery. However, the sociological (scientific) question I have is different. 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 anyone of Vallee’s status (stature) within society, I remain fascinated by this book. The seductive quality of Vallee’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. Vallee 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 Vallee’s motives or not, a classic in the genre.

Jacques Vallee moved on to a new phase in his thinking with this book. From ETH and “nuts and bolts,” to something much more complex and mysterious (while not discounting entirely ETH or “nuts and bolts” views), Vallee explored new themes and went where most ufologists (and government officials) fear to tread.The problem restated: Would alien beings really travel light years just for a brief visit to take a few plant samples, to play peekaboo with some hapless witnesses and military jets, to say and do bizarre and silly things no sane person would believe, only to disappear in a flash without properly announcing themselves or meeting the President on national tv? Really?Or are these beings denizens of some other dimension, or even our own planet? Could it be that they are up to something entirely different? Why do they seem so furtive, so mischievous, and so shy (most of the time)? Why are they sometimes malicious, sometimes benign, and sometimes benevolent? Why not just come out of the shadows and reveal themselves openly? There must be some powerful reason why this is so, some rule or commandment that even they dare not break.Vallee explains his thesis:“I have not written this book for such people [the materialist], but for those few who have gone through all this and have 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.” (page 156).Why can’t our magisterial scientists get to the bottom of this mystery? Why can’t they answer our questions? Why do they and their government paymasters refuse to recognize openly the alien presence among us? Is it that they are desperate to maintain their stranglehold on civilization and their power over the human mind?Basically, Vallee contends that “they” have always been with us, around us, beneath us, and above us. They seem to take many forms and to wear many masks. Perhaps this earth is just as much theirs as it is ours, if not more? As far back in time as anybody cares to trace the evidence, and in every historical age, there are stories, reports, testimonials, myths and legends, and sacred texts, which contain material which betrays their presence and activities. Vallee includes a cross section of evidence from ancient to modern examples. He contends that each historic age has had its magic and miracles, its poltergeists, fairies, leprechauns, pixies, and djinns, ghosts and goblins, to say nothing of gods and goddesses, all interacting with humans in various ways. There have allegedly even been ancient flying machines, especially well described in the Vedic literature of India as “vimanas.” Such flying machines have been observed in other historic ages, e.g., the 1890’s in the United States, and right up to our own time, though they suspiciously seem to morph to just outpace the earthly technology of the time period in question.When seen in the light of long ages of time and the tales time tells us, an awesome and mysterious presence unfolds before us. Though we are not privy to its many secrets, we can observe carefully, and we can sense things. We can look beyond our noses, beyond the material, beyond the “nuts and bolts.” We can use our intuition. We can expand our scientific thinking to take UFOs into account. But the authorities and scientists in our society work feverishly to stop us from doing this. As Vallee complains:“What is the use of pursuing a story of science if it cannot be applied to the rational analysis of such phenomena? In a time when the young are encouraged to follow with enthusiasm the progress of space exploration, why should the subject of life in the universe be a forbidden topic?”Vallee also takes most ufologists to task for their simplistic thinking, i.e., that “Unidentified flying objects…. leave physical traces and behave like space probes. It is obvious to them the UFOs are scientific devices having nothing to do with the mystico-religious context of medieval apparitions, and nothing to do with the creatures studied by Kirk, since—as we have just seen — these latter appear and vanish at will.” Vallee theorizes that “This view is no longer tenable.” (pp. 75-76).What, exactly, are UFOs? Apparently, that is not for us to know. Someone in the vast cosmological hierarchy has decided to deny us that knowledge. The manifestations of UFOs and other paranormal phenomena among us, however brief or bewildering, are like displays of power meant to teach (or program?) us, perhaps to humble us, certainly to mystify us. They also seem to be reflections of some timeless connection with human beings.The trouble is that most of us live in a state of amnesia. We cannot remember this connection, nor can most of us face it rationally when it is thrust upon us. To complicate matters, our materialist rulers stand firmly in the way of our recovery from this amnesia. They also play tricks on us quite as much as do the UFOs.This book will remain a useful tool and a milestone in ufology for a long time to come, a sort of “scripture,” if you will, created for intrepid souls, to correct their misconceptions and to help them to take the first halting steps to greater knowledge.

This book is a lot! It is scientific and well researched, it requires someone who wants to get into the sciencey aspect, but it also gets into some very weird aspects of the paranormal and shows how over the years, demons, fairies, UFO and alien encounters share similar things and how over the years things may have evolved with understanding of humans from ancient times into the more modern times.It's good, but it isn't for everyone. I admit, I didn't get too far into it cuz it has a lot to go through!

A foundational source in ufology. The shift from seeing flying saucers from outer space to something longstanding and local is documented here.