Crop Circles -> Home
"They are like dreams, to interrogate them is to force them to lie, to interpret them is to diminish their richness, to explain them is to misunderstand them. Crop circles are like mouths that speak to us of the strangeness and depth of things, speak to the heart more than the head, and to the soul more than the heart."
Patrick Harpur ("Field of Dreams?", 128)
"They called us 'a superior intelligence'."
Doug Bower.
The Truth is Out There, Believers Advise.
Canada Reaps Bumper Harvest of Crop Circles.
Jim Bronskill
Southam News
Source: Ottawa Citizen
www.ottawacitizen.com/national/000205/3548132.html
Judy Arndt, Circles Phenomenon Research Canada / This is a portion of an impressive 11-circle formation discovered near Neilburg, Sask.
They inspired aboriginal celebrations, prompted reports of bizarre electrical malfunctions and may have even made people nauseous.
It was a bumper year for Canadian crop circles in 1999, those strange patterns that seem to magically appear in farmers' fields each summer.
A new report says 20 circular and geometric figures were discovered in six provinces last year, a 33-per-cent increase from 1998.
Some of the largest and most impressive formations ever seen in Canada showed up in Prairie fields, says the annual report of Circles Phenomenon Research Canada, compiled by group director Paul Anderson.
"In short, 1999 was a banner year for crop circles in Canada, and may indicate that we need to be keeping a closer eye on what is going on in the fields of our farmlands."
CPR-Canada relies on members, farmers, the media and other contributors for information about circles. Some have dismissed the circles as elaborate hoaxes, particularly following recent admissions from British pranksters who used wooden planks to craft patterns in grain fields.
However, Mr. Anderson's organization notes some patterns show evidence of altered plant and soil composition. Some circles have turned up in remote locations during stormy or moonless nights. And there are eyewitness accounts of shapes being formed.
Circles appeared last year across North America as well as in Britain, the Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands and Israel. In Canada, 10 circles were discovered in Saskatchewan, the country's primary locale of crop oddities since the 1970s, when the phenomenon was first documented. Four turned up in Alberta, three in Ontario and one apiece in British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.
The longest crop formation to date in Canada - almost 100 meters - was one of two patterns to appear in wheat fields on the New Credit Reserve near Hagersville, Ont., last July. Members of the native community held ceremonies in the fields to mark their appearance.
CPR-Canada investigators reported malfunctioning camera equipment in and around the formations, a common phenomenon at circle sites sometimes attributed to high electromagnetic frequency emissions. Some people also experienced headaches or nausea.
A complex, swirling pattern was discovered in early September near Neilburg, Sask.
Researcher Judy Arndt visited the site with her husband, taking several measurements and photographs.
"We can't judge the authenticity of this formation, but we can say this: it was consistently neat," she later reported. "There were no signs of breakage of the stems."
Two "perfectly circular" patterns in a blueberry field were discovered in August by a farmer near Tignish, P.E.I.
The RCMP investigated a formation consisting of a teardrop and diamond shapes in a corn field near Lowville, Ont., and reportedly collected samples for lab testing.
An amateur researcher heard an unusual humming sound around the formation, recorded odd compass movements and found a white cobweb-like material under flattened stalks.
In most cases, says the report, there was no direct evidence of a hoax, such as footprints in the circles or tracks leading in or out of the patterns.
The report acknowledges the percentage of phoney circles is "a source of heated debate" among researchers, but contends that pranks are usually obvious upon close examination.
The Canadian group says laboratory studies have repeatedly found unexplained physical anomalies in samples taken from many crop circles, including swollen, stretched or split nodes on plant stems, dehydrated or shrunken seeds, and significant changes in growth rate.
In the early years, much pioneering research was carried out by well known circles researchers such as Colin Andrews, Pat Delgado, Terence Meaden and others. The military were taking a keen interest. There was not much talk of hoaxing and questions were even being asked in Parliament. People didn't have answers to more and more questions being asked. Many theories were being developed. People began to look outside established thinking to search for solutions. Could the symbols in the fields point us to better understanding of science? Were they coded secrets for free, or zero point, energy systems? Were they hinting at higher levels of consciousness that humans have been losing through the ages? All these questions, and more, could worry those in power who want to hold the power over the population. However, if something really was occurring in the fields, and it wasn't all a hoax, then what would be the best way to hide it from the public. Other than paying farmers to quickly destroy circles or to ban pilots from flying around the countryside, the most tried and tested method of dismissal is to ridicule and rubbish the subject. Give the population snippets of carefully prepared propaganda so that they get confused. Feed them so much information from different sources that their senses get desensitised. Hide a true fact between two lies so that people are unsure what the real facts are.
By 1990 circles research was at a peak. Even the BBC sponsored a 24 hour vigil at Bratton Castle under the name Operation Blackbird. Although the whole project was scheduled to last up to three weeks with constant round-the-clock surveillance including infra-red and night vision cameras, radar and huge media coverage there was surprisingly a result on only the second day. The BBC urgently contacted Colin Andrews for a statement who, with hindsight, made the mistake of excitedly proclaiming an event of great, great significance before he actually had the chance to visit the newly formed circle on the ground. Was this the BBC (and Governments') ploy to destabilise and undermine serious research. After all, when Colin and Pat eventually got to the location on the ground it was so obviously a hoax, even to the extent of placing a sinister looking board game and zodiac symbols in the center and a couple of bits of convenient wire. By lunchtime the hoax was all over the National News and Colin was, unfortunately, made a laughing stock. However, an enquiring individual may ponder as to why the hoax was so clearly marked out as being a hoax, why was Colin pressed for a statement before he had a chance to visit the formation? After all, even a novice researcher would have immediately spotted this obvious hoax on entering the formation on the ground? Was the BBC trying to hammer the first nail into the coffin of serious crop circle research. I spoke to Colin recently and he made the following comments exclusively to Enigma. "Whilst Pat and I were making our way to the field following the statement I made on Breakfast TV that day, we noticed about ten military jets in a hold circuit approx. 10 miles east of the site. At the exact moment we were commanded by the BBC to enter the field with cameras running, the jets grouped into formation and swooped directly over our heads, in what appeared to be a very deliberate act - it made the whole event seem almost 'carnival like'."
Meanwhile Dave Barrett of BBC Wiltshire Sound Radio, revealed that the MoD had placed a "D" notice on their live transmissions from the site, until later in the day - presumably when any government conspiracy had been completed.
Colin also exclusively revealed to me that a senior BBC employee instructed a leading "Blackbird" researcher to hand a fake video tape to Nippon TV for analysis - the original tape which recorded a second crop circle event, was never seen again! Also, and even more sinister, was that Colin made five confidential phone calls on his "government owned" mobile telephone as he was on his way to Bratton, on his own during the early hours. Nobody was ever told who these phone calls were made to, yet they appeared in Jim Schnabel's book some years later - Schnabel being a known CIA contractor.
What the motives behind all these events were, is anyone's guess but none the less, a percentage of the population lost interest in crop circles.
The cynic could argue that by debunking the project on the second day it would defuse the growing media frenzy and public curiosity into the circles in order to contain any future, more interesting, results that might occur. Of course, through the dedication of circles researchers like Colin Andrews, serious research continued - even though the BBC and global media had tried to fool the public into thinking it was all one big hoax. 1990 and the following year turned out to be major milestones in the history of crop circles with many hundreds of formations appearing - not only in the UK but all around the world. As more and more people visited crop formations for the first time, more people had first hand experience of the continuing mystery - even if the 'powers that be' did try to dampen public enthusiasm via debunking stories in the national media. If there is one thing that you can't deny it's your own, first-hand, felt in the heart, personal experience of anything - thus the subject refused to die.
In 1991 the circles continued to appear in record numbers and major formations appeared all over the country. However, by this time the growth of the New Age movement must have been seriously worrying the global manipulators. There was talk of the raising of consciousness, freedom from 20th century thinking and people were starting to question age-old beliefs in science and religion. A global shift was taking place (perhaps the true meaning behind the crop circles?)
According to the 'croppies', people were waking up to the environment around them, refusing to take government claims at face value, noticing the damage being done to the world by global corporations and oil companies etc. and to coin a quote by David Icke, daring to step outside the "hassle free zone". This no doubt concerned the powers that be, but if the entire subject of crop circles was a hoax then surely, if the hoaxers stopped hoaxing, the circles would stop - but they didn't. Hoaxers and debunkers couldn't predict the genuine phenomena so a dichotomy developed. Because the hoaxers couldn't simply say "it's all been a bit of a wind-up. We've finished now because we fooled you", and go home - the circles would continue to appear, thus hoaxers had to continue to issue their claims and counter-claims, even though to date not a single hoaxer has ever been caught (see article in this issue about last years hoaxing efforts by the BBC). The only way to effectively debunk and defuse something as public and noticeable as crop circles was to muddy the waters. As stated earlier, hide the truth between two lies, make a few circles, film a few hoaxers, publish a few "we made them" type stories and generally defuse public opinion to all those without their own personal experience (which of course no amount of media disinformation can deny).
On Monday September 9th 1991, the day after the first international crop circle conference was held at Glastonbury, the Today Newspaper issued the famous headline that forever changed the course of crop circle research; "The Men who conned the world", proclaiming two sexagenarians; Doug Bower and Dave Chorley, as perpetrators of the entire crop circle mystery using nothing but planks, ropes and a baseball cap (modified with a bizarre sighting device made from a bit of wire). Their claims resonated around the world within days and resulted in the majority of the population believing them - even though they provided no proof of their claims - other than a couple of hastily made formations for TV. I remember at the time I wrote a long, detailed letter to The Today newspaper pointing out flaws in their article and offering my own research for their scrutiny, even offering to test some circles for them. Obviously The Today newspaper wasn't interested in real research - I didn't even receive a reply! I'd have thought they'd love the chance to 'ridicule' another researcher who claimed to have scientific evidence. On the other hand, I might have been onto something and revealed their scam for the con it was. They were happy to just fool the public so that another percentage of the population lost interest in the circles.
Since 1991, although serious crop circle research has continued, there is no denying that the initial bubble of excitement has burst. A number of the original researchers, such as Terence Meaden and Pat Delgado have taken a back seat to concentrate on other interests.
However, this by no means indicates that the subject is dead. Indeed my argument is that the mystery, and message, is more important than any of the proponents whether old stalwarts or newcomers. The crop circle subject is much like peeling an onion. It consists of many layers. As soon as you think you've unravelled one, another will appear before you. However, these multi layers are non-linear - you never know where they may take you. One moment you could be investigating sacred geometry and mathematical theorems, the next unearthing mysteries of the ancients, musical ratios or human aura fields. Each signpost seemingly points to the next in a haphazard rambling kind of way. I suppose you could describe it a bit like a game of snakes and ladders. You never know if you are going to whiz ahead or stumble back. However, we all perceive some future, obtainable goal.
Like symbolism, I believe the message of the crop circles is also two fold; There is often an easily recognized part yet a second, hidden, part remains to be discovered by the dedicated seeker of the truth - just like secret societies and small groups of people through the ages have used symbols with which to communicate to others 'in the know'. For instance, boy scouts used to carve secret codes on tree trunks for others to see where their secret den may lie. Freemasons used, and still do, elaborate symbols with hidden meanings coded within them (take a look at the US dollar note or most modern multi-national Oil company logos for examples of this). The casual observer may recognize the symbol, but only the person you intended to receive the message will spot the hidden meaning.
Is this ultimately a way to decode the crop circles? Many believe so. Hoaxers may see shapes in the fields and try to imitate them - simply copying or emulating the shapes that have come before, or trying to pre-empt the latest circular theory or idea of the researchers. Some would see and copy perhaps a six sided symmetrical shape or odd shaped pictogram. However, by studying the sacred geometry of particular formations researchers have discovered that the geometry is slightly out, or non-symmetrical. However, rather than being a fatal mistake, this can actually reveal an even more complex geometry, which fits perfectly on a 'higher' level.
For instance, one crop circle I investigated back in 1993 at the base of Telegraph Hill (near Winchester, Hampshire) displayed a rather lop-sided geometry (fig.1) which I fed into the computer only to reveal a very high degree of accuracy when the shape was viewed as a three dimensional tetrahedron rotated in space (fig.2). I am planning future articles on the nature of sacred geometry.
Above all, crop circles have taught us to open our minds and our hearts, to look within for answers as well as without. We are all capable of observing the world around us and we may all see the same thing, but what we feel and perceive is unique to us as individuals. This is what I believe the government is frightened of. They don't want people to become the unique individuals that everyone is capable of. What if someone discovered that there is a free alternative to oil and coal? What if someone dared to question the science taught at school? What if crop circles were capable of giving hope and new ambitions to people, enabling them to set themselves free of the mundane, government manipulated society around them? I would argue that this is EXACTLY what the crop circles are doing - and that is why the government would rather you were sitting at home watching East Enders and worrying about going to work tomorrow in order to pay the mortgage, petrol and bills that the government is taxing so highly in order to keep themselves in control and you part of the system.
You CAN do it!
I would dare you to think differently, break away from normality and become a member of the "unique and special individual" club. Welcome to the future - whatever you decide to make it!
IMPORTANT: I give this article to show how New Age ideas used the crop circle topic. There is nothing scientific in there, nothing valid or true.
