Category: P

Paleontologist and Roman Catholic priest. Born in Sarcenat, France, he entered the Jesuit order in 1899 and was ordained in 1912. He served as a stretcher bearer in World War I, during which was decorated for gallantry, and received his doctorate from the Sorbonne. Deeply interested in evolution theory, Teilhard sought to convince the church…

The reading of messages that are implicit in the structure of the great pyramids of Egypt and, latterly, attributing magical influences to pyramid shaped objects. The idea that the Great Pyramid of Giza was constructed according to a very precise quantitative plan and that its measurements encode messages about future events for posterity has been…

Supposed standard unit of measurement used in the construction of the Great Pyramid. In 1864 Charles Piazzi Smyth, Astronomer Royal of Scotland and a professor at the University of Edinburgh, published a book entitled Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid. In it Smyth proved to his own satisfaction that the Great Pyramid of Egypt was…

A branch of developmental psychology concerned with aiding people usually business managers to make the most of their abilities during the pursuit of their professional careers. Psychosynthesis is an approach to human development that was developed by Roberto Assagioli in 1910. It is both a theory and a practice where the focus is to achieve…

The investigation of the range of phenomena held to be paranormal, established as a held of enquiry in the late 19th century. In the mid-19th century, an epidemic of paranormal phenomena that is, happenings that defy explanation by any established and understood mechanism, lying outside what is accepted as normal science was generated by a…

Either (1) photography of psychic or paranormal phenomena such as ghosts, spirits, and fairies; or of cryptozoological or mythic animal species; or of questionable technological wonders like flying saucers; or (2) photography claiming to have been produced by psychic or paranormal means, as for example in thoughtography, kirlian photography, or aura photography. When photography was…

Stories of psychically gifted individuals using their abilities to aid people and law enforcement, find missing items and persons, solve crimes, and bring criminals to justice can be found in many societies and in most historical periods. These range from the biblical tale (Samuel 9) of Saul Ending lost livestock after consulting a seer in…

An approach to archaeology that uses pseudoscientific and often paranormal methodology, as opposed to modern scientific site-finding and site-surveying procedures that apply geographical, statistical, and technological skills. Archaeology (from the Greek meaning “study of ancient things”) is a comparatively young discipline dating from the rediscovery and first excavations of Pompeii in the 18th century. Initially…

A term derived from combining psi, the shorthand for Parapsychology, and electronics, to describe the application of electronics to Psychical research. The early such instruments were the original Hieronymous machine and the improved version of it developed by John Campbell, Jr., in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Since then, more-sophisticated devices have been devised.…

A religious phenomenon, generally associated with Judaism and Christianity, but found throughout the various faiths of the world since the earliest times. Prophecy is derived from an inspired person believing he or she is the deliverer of a message from the deity. The message is usually ascertained through visions, dreams, or the casting of lots.…