Paris (CNN) -- The specter of a mass suicide tied to the widely predicted end of the world in December 2012 has prompted a warning from a government official in France, where people are already gathering at a place believers predict may provide the only escape from the apocalypse. Georges Fenech, president of French government agency Miviludes, which observes sect movements and warns the public of potential risks, told CNN that he had alerted French public authorities, including the prime minister, to the issue. "We fear that this message of fear could have serious consequences on fragile members of the French population," he said.
The small southern mountain village of Bugarach is prophesized by some to be one of the few places, if not the only place, that will survive the devastation.
According to Miviludes, settlements in the surrounding area have been established by members of the American Ramtha School of Enlightenment. The head of this presumed sect, Judy Zebra Knight, claims be in contact with Ramtha, a Lemurean warrior who fought the residents of the mythical Atlantis 35,000 years ago. She has delivered messages about the 2012 apocalypse in front of thousands of followers in the United States, according to Miviludes. The coordinator for the Ramtha School of Enlightenment in France, Valerie Sautereau, says that group has no apocalyptic beliefs and no link with the village of Bugarach Suicide resulting from apocalyptic beliefs has already occurred in France in recent years. In 2002 a suicide and several suicide attempts occurred in the town of Nantes within a small circle of people who believed the end of the world was imminent. "We know from history and experience that apocalyptic discourse can lead to tragedy," Fenech said. "This is why we have taken measures to notify police and other public authorities in order to monitor the situation." In the late 1990s there was a series of 74 suicides in the late 1990s in France, Switzerland and Canada by followers of the Order of the Solar Temple. "Around 500 000 French people belong to cults. They affect all kinds of people from all kinds of social backgrounds, including children." Fenech added.
There are growing concerns for the village of Bugarach, which also is known on Internet sites as an "alien garage" where extraterrestrial visitors supposedly wait beneath 4,000-foot Pic de Bugarach. Properties are being bought in surrounding isolated areas and construction of bunkers with underground tunnels and food supplies has also been noted, according to Miviludes, France's Interministerial Mission of Vigilance Against Sectarianism. "If we see thousands of people arriving it will not be safe," Fenech said. "It's a mountainous area with dangerous mountain roads which would need to be closed. "I have visited the site. People are really worried. It's a tiny village which is receiving thousands of visitors. They hold processions, pray, leave objects. It is essential that we anticipate dangers and take precautionary measures." He expressed concern for a "climate of fear facilitated by the Internet." The supposed Apocalypse 2012 has already taken on global significance, with around 2.5 million websites dedicated to the phenomenon. The theories are based on interpretations of the Mayan calendar, which it is said ends on December 21, 2012. Several other astrophysical events have been predicted for this time, including an equinox alignment of the planets.
Scientists dismiss the idea.
"There are no planetary alignments in the next few decades." NASA says in a Q&A page on its website. "Earth will not cross the galactic plane in 2012, and even if these alignments were to occur, their effects on the Earth would be negligible. ... Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012." The president of the French society Suicide Ecoute, Isabelle Chaumeil Gueguen, said the organization has so far received no calls "related to the apocalypse predicted for 2012." However, she added, "it's certainly true that people who are mentally unstable can react strongly to dramatic announcements in the press. If it begins to be mentioned a lot in the media, especially on television, we can expect to have calls about it. "People of a weak mental disposition are also much more likely to be influenced by cults, and messages spread by social networking sights can be equally dangerous."
The village of Bugarach, population 189, is situated 24 miles southwest of Carcassonne in the Aude department, southwestern France.
The Telegraph :
The farming village is in the region of the Cathar castles, situated on spectacular rocky outcrops. Regarded as heretics by the Catholic Church, Cathars sought refuge in these castles in the 13th century when Pope Innocent III launched a full scale crusade against them. The village lies next to the Pic de Bugarach, a rocky peak which, at 1230 metres, is the highest point of the Corbières range of hills. The peak is dwarfed however by the nearby Pyrenees and offers splendid views of the range. Made of limestone with galleries of caves beneath it, the peak is a geological oddity, since its top layers are millions of years older than its bottom ones, making it an "upside down mountain". The peak of Bugarach has been shrouded in mystery, with various claims that it houses aliens in cavities beneath the rock. The internet abounds with tales of the late President François Mitterrand being curiously heliported onto the peak, of mysterious digs conducted by the Nazis and later Mossad, the Israeli secret services. There is talk of the area, near to the Cathar castles, holding the Holy Grail or the treasure of the Templars. A visit to Bugarach is said to have inspired Steven Spielberg in his film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind – although the actual mountain he used is Devil's Tower in Wyoming.
Nostradamus, the French apothecary from Provence, is said to have stayed in the area and found the "vibrations" of Bugarach to be positive. Others say Bugarach is where Jules Verne found the entrance and the inspiration for A Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Bugarach is in the Languedoc-Roussillon, the world's largest wine growing region.
Bugarach est un joli village de l’Aude, au pied de l’imposante montagne du même nom, qui est le point culminant des Corbières (1230m), et le lieu de pas mal de croyances modernes très diverses et étonnantes. En 25 ans, dans ce pays cathare propice aux mystères et légendes – le trésor de l’abbé Saunière à Rennes-le-Château par exemple – la montagne est devenue mythique. Beaucoup de gens disent y avoir été témoins de phénomènes paranormaux, avoir vu des ovnis, prétendent que le Bugarach abrite un gigantesque garage d’engins extraterrestres ou recèlerait un trésor incommensurable. L’énergie formidable qui naît du Bugarach, qui procure un ressourcement très net aux personnes qui en effectuent l’ascension, viendrait du vortex tellurique qui en jaillit et met en communication la Terre et le Ciel. De surcroît, il serait le lieu où les élus seraient sauvés de la fin du monde, laquelle interviendra, comme chacun le sait d’après le calendrier maya, le 21 décembre 2012. C’est pour bientôt ! Ce documentaire explore la naissance et la persistance de ces mythes modernes.
Avec : Jean-Pierre Delord, maire de Bugarach ; Marie-France Garraude-Pasty et Alain Pasty, auteur de Une déchirure dans l’espace-temps aux éditions du Temps Présent ; Thomas Gottin, auteur de Le phénomène Bugarach : naissance d’un mythe aux éditions L’Œil du Sphinx ; Pierre Guillien, géobiologue ; Yves Lignon, mathématicien ; Nicolas Marlin, libraire à Rennes-le-Château ; Philippe Marlin, éditeur à L’Œil du Sphinx ; Jean-Luc Rivera, organisateur des Rencontres de l’Imaginaire de Sèvres ; Genny Rivière, auteur de L’Appel du Bugarach aux éditions des 3 monts ; Et la voix de Jean-Louis Dumiot-Mendy.
Production : Olivier Chaumelle Réalisation : Rafik Zenine
Thème(s) : Information| Société| Bugarach| fin du monde| mythe
Bugarach, France A village in southern France is thought by some to be the one place where it may be possible to survive the Doomsday of the end of the world – an event they expect on 21 December 2012.
Bugarach, a tiny ancient village on the French side of the Pyrenees is extremely hard to find and you have to make a special effort to get there. And that is apparently just what a variety of esoteric groups, “new-agers” and doomsday cults are doing or planning to do. According to an ancient Mayan calendar, at some point towards the end of 2012, the world will come to an end. It is not clear how that will happen, but apparently humanity does not stand a chance – except for those who seek shelter in the area surrounding Bugarach. Just 200 people live there all year round, but doomsday believers and spiritual groups are convinced the village has magical powers, thanks to the local mountain – the Pic de Bugarach. For years, rumours have circulated on the internet that extra-terrestrials live in the mountain, and come the apocalypse, the top will open and they will emerge with spaceships, and rescue the local inhabitants.
UFOs
Sounds ridiculous, right?
A special parliamentary committee has warned that sects may be considering mass suicides in 2012, on French territory. It has pointed the finger at some of the people spending time around Bugarach and elsewhere in the Pyrenees. The authorities say some individuals have bought land in the mountains, with the intention of building bunkers, where they can survive the end of the world surrounded by their acolytes, or even die together. I have to admit while I was in Bugarach I saw no spaceships or mysterious priest-like figures. Just a painting on a wall depicting UFOs picking a human off a mountain top, and some sleepy dogs basking in the sun rather fed up at being woken up by yet another foreign journalist. A four-man crew from German television was also wandering through the village, looking for signs of the near end of the world. They too came away empty-handed, and rather puzzled by all the fuss.
Strange rituals
It has to be said that the local population is not exactly thrilled to see the media stomping through the village and most are not talking.
Their shutters are tightly shut to keep out both the searing heat, and pesky reporters asking questions about UFOs. One who was willing to talk was Valerie Austin, a retired British schoolteacher who came here 10 years ago to get away from it all. She said she believed she had a rational mind, and just could not see how anyone could take seriously the idea that the mountain might be some sort of underground, UFO car park. But the local mayor, Jean-Pierre Delord, told me groups that could be called sects are heading to the mountain top and taking part in strange rituals. Others, dressed in white outfits, have also been seen holding furtive gatherings in the forest near the village. He says it is frightening his constituents and he also shakes his head in disbelief. He said, with ghoulish humour, if it really is the end of the world next year, he has no desire to be left on his own in the village. It will not be much fun – he would rather die with the rest of civilisation. And at the nearest estate agency, about 10 miles (16km) from the village, Jacques Fargier says he has sold some big properties to some strange types that could be characterised as sects. In fact, teasingly, he said that there would be no point in anyone heading to the village looking for a property safe haven, because there was not much on the market and building permission was very hard to obtain in this stunning part of the world.
Mystical energy
Doomsday or not, there is no question that the countryside around Bugarach has a very powerful hold on many visitors with esoteric inclinations.
In the next valley there is another tiny village, Rennes le Chateau, that has been swamped by tourists for several years, after the hugely successful writer, Dan Brown, revealed in The Da Vinci Code an ancient rumour that the local priest became rich overnight. According to the legend, he found proof that Mary Magdalene and Christ may have been lovers. He was bought off by the Catholic Church to keep the truth secret, and then buried his wealth near the village. Every year, spiritual travellers come to soak in the energy they say comes from the mountain. They are convinced something very strange happened here. This arid and remote region has a rich history. Brutal religious wars and border conflicts between France and Spain have marked the land. Ransacked castles dot the landscape. A low cost of living, artisan economy, and air of mysticism lingering over the mountainous terrain, has attracted misfits and a large community of hippies to the region for years. For the local restaurants and bed-and-breakfast owners, there is no doubt the strange tales and magic energy said to be inside the mountains are extremely good for tourism. But they admit too many visitors in white tunics holding secret gatherings at night is not the kind of business they are keen on.
We hope that the most people coming In the Doomsday Village of Bugarach will know what he can expect.
The small village of Bugarach, in southern France, has attracted the attention of a government agency to oversee the sects because of the constant mass of people visiting it believed to be the only place in the world that will survive the Apocalypse in 2012.
Published by atraccion1982 in Christianity on June 17, 2011
A report by the agency, Miviludes, released Wednesday, notes that the picturesque village near Carcassonne should be monitored closely in the days prior to December 21, 2012, when many believe the world will end, according to an ancient Mayan prophecy .
Miviludes was created in 2002 to control the activity of sects, after a law passed last year criminalize fraud or abuse of vulnerable people through pressure techniques as those used in religious rites.
Surrounded by legends for years, Bugarach and rock, the peak Bugarach have attracted many visitors to the New Age movement in recent months, driving up property prices but also the threat of financial scams and psychological manipulations, said Miviludes in his report.
“I think we have to be careful. We should not become paranoid, but seeing what happened in Waco, United States, we know that this kind of thinking can influence vulnerable people,” said council president, Georges Fenech, a Reuters.
Waco, Texas, made headlines in 1993 when federal agents raided the headquarters of “Davidian movement” led by David Koresh, beginning a siege that lasted 50 days. The building was on fire when the troops finally tried to enter, leaving 80 dead.
Bugarach, with a population of just 200 inhabitants, has always been considered magical, partly because of what locals defined as a “mountain upside down”, where layers of rock from the top are older than the base.
The Internet is an infinite number of myths about the place: the mountain is surrounded by a magnetic force, which is the site of a hidden alien base until it contains an underground access to another world.
Now, many see the village as the last refuge from the proximity of the “End of the World.” Alerted to the arrival of visitors by Mayor Bugarach, Fenech went to the area and found six settlements in the surroundings created by members of the Ramtha School of Enlightenment.
Other “gurus” and messianic groups have organized conferences payment in hotels in the region, according to Fenech. “This is big business,” he told Reuters.
Founded by J.Z. Knight, the school says the lessons follow mystic Ramtha, Lemurian warrior who fought against the residents of the mythical Atlantis 35,000 years ago and claimed to discover the secret of immortality.
The report says his goal is not to stigmatize the movement, but to inform the public about “groups or individuals whose speech doctrine or follow the theory of the ‘end of the world’.”
A mayor in France frustrated and asked for military assistance to repel the UFO hunters who kept coming into its territory PICTURESQUE BUGARACH. Not only that, he was also upset to face the influx of people who believe the region one of the few areas on Earth that will survive the apocalypse. Picturesque Bugarach in the Aude region in southern France. A small, peaceful village inhabited only 189 people.
However, in recent months, settlers disturbed the peace of the residents who believe the foot of the mountain Pic de Bugarach, whose height 4,000 feet, is a hive of aliens. Rumors circulated that the aliens settled in a location beneath the mountain, waiting for the end of the world, and save some lucky person. Some also considered the mountain is sacred and will be spared from the devastation on December 21, 2012, the end of the Mayan calendar. “If suddenly 10,000 people are coming tomorrow, villagers are less than 200 people would be overwhelmed,” said Jean-Pierre Delord as published the Daily Mail, Wednesday, December 22, 2010. “I have informed the authorities and we want the army to be handling it. If necessary, the military came here in December 2012. “According to him, the population increased anxiety when I discovered a site in the United States to sell tickets to Bugarach.” They do business, organize the people for religious tourism, pray, and meditate here, “he said. Told Delord, people started coming to the area when a local resident reported UFO sightings. “He claimed to see aliens and hear the hum of their aircraft under the mountain. “The rumors are strengthened allegations that the French astrologer, Nostradamus once lived in the region in the 16th century. Also the issue of discovery of a mysterious Nazi excavation there.
When a north breeze dissipates a haze upon tip of a Corbières, emerges, stately as well as secret, a impiety of Bugarach. The crawl poise a vegetable initial riddle: because do we verbalise of a “inverted plateau “? And even when a object luminous radiance full flanks of limestone, an aura of poser still hangs in a blue sky of a Aude.
“ Bug ” , such as internal call it, has not accomplished sketch attention. It is called “sacred mountain” . They contend it emanates a singular energy, absolute as well as unifying. It would be a single of “chakras” a “Mother Earth” , that “vibratory rate” volume some-more any year. They additionally contend it would residence an subterraneous bottom for UFOs. Humans improvising “mediums” explain to have come in to hit with a aliens who have invested (not us, shame). Finally, a little disagree that it would be a single of a integrate of places where land group would tarry a finish of a world, that likely by a Mayan calendar, that ends Dec 21, 2012.
short, simply sort “ Bugarach ” upon a poke engine to find a enigmatic heated wake up stirred by a tip rise in a Corbières. Culminating during 1231 m, a Bug as well as crystallizes all fantasies. Already in a open solstice, Mar 21, hikers intrigued asked us in their path: “Did we notice something strange?” . The summer solstice additionally attracts a share of extraordinary as well as fauna brand new age . “Marches in conscience” , “walking initiation” , initiatives freshness … for those who can means it.
he captivate of Pic is growing, to a discomfit of a mayor of Bugarach as well as many residents, who fright not being means to carry out a liquid of visitors in Dec 2012. Rommie, owners of a desirable cottages of a Presbytery with her husband, Sander, does provoke anyone. “Most business come to nature, to a Cathar castles. From time to time, a little come for energy, for Bugarach. we similar to starting up for a great view. But about energy, we do not know “.
a initial riddle, a answer is simple: by image tectonics, limestone strata comparison than 135 million years have arisen over precision in in between fifteen million years, reversing a sequence of a geological layers. Otherwise, it is insincere that a geographical upon all sides of a rise has catalyzed a visionary currents already during work in a area.
Who has not dreamed, in fact, a value of a Abbé Saunière, a clergyman mysteriously enriched after starting work in his church in Rennes-le-Château, a integrate of miles from there? (To visit!) Who did not let his aptitude ramble to follow a query of a final Cathars, a preferred as well as undiluted retreat upon a tops of breezy Corbières? (Surveying a busted castles in tall winds is a singular experience!)
At a tip of a peak. RICHARD DAVID
No need nonetheless enigmatic beam to entrance a tip of a peak, that is value a glance, even a many Ampoules led pragmatic. A label or phone call to a House of Nature will do. The trail many Ampoules led taken from a neck of a Linas, 6 km from Bugarach. In reduction than dual hours, we have been right away during a top, considering a Pyrenees as well as a Mediterranean Sea. The approach called “the window” sneaks nearby a hole in a stone face. More air, permitted to great walkers, it takes dual hours from a pour out of Mathieux. The adore of upon foot will do a complete double back from a village. Between 6 as well as 7 hours, together with breaks. The event for a great travel in in between sky as well as earth.
Pic de Bugarach...is there a 2012 story in this area of France ???
Bugarach
What does Bugarach in France have to do with 2012, armageddon, the end of the world, or prophecy and predictions of the apocalypse ?
In a series of posts on 2012 prediction review over the next weeks we look into this small French community hoping to find out how Bugarach has become a player in the 2012 phenomena.
We hope to answer how UFO's and religious sectarian cults meld Bugarach to the end of times....somehow.
We hope to discover some interesting facts about locals of this small France community and facts about expats and hippies who have found interest in the Pic de Bugarach which is an elevation in the Pyrenees Mountains.
We hope to identify who the cultists are who claim that this area of France is the safe haven that will carry them through 2012 alive.
We hope to discover how Atlantis and Lemuria, the lost continents of long ago eras, come to play a role in the growing relation between Bugarach and 2012.
We hope to discover how more down to earth people who believe these legends and religious convictions are a dangerous proposition that could lead to the death of followers are dealing with the relationship between 2012 and the small France community of Bugarach.
Where is Bugarach and the Pic de Bugarach ?
The image below may be a beginning for the reader to follow up on.....
Future posts on Bugarach on 2012 predictions review may also serve to answer some of your questions on why suddenly this area of France is making 2012 news.
Bugarach, http://bit.ly/vJJs3i mysterious village in the south of France, linked to the Rennes-le-Chateau mystery. The only place where you can survive the end of the world on 21.12.2012. So they say.
The winding banks of the Aude and the sparsely populated countryside that surround its headwaters in the Haut Raze would have offered ample shelter for the Cathars and it is said their faith survived in secret for long years amidst its wild hills and shadowy valleys, even unto the present day. Over the course of the centuries a series of bizarre and fantastical rumors began to accrue about the region and the brooding cone of Mount Bugarach, the dormant volcano that dominates the densely wooded landscape, standing sentinel over Galamus Gorge and the gateway to the Corbieres.
The labyrinthine limestone caverns and smoldering internal fires of the oddly shaped mountain, a have fuelled both the hot springs of Rennes les Bains and the imaginations of countless visitors over the years including the science fiction writer Jules Verne who is said to have holidayed on the volcano's flanks. The celebrated author makes several veiled references to the area in his work, ranging from the subterranean voyages of Journey to the Centre of the Earth and The Black Indies to the alchemical chicanery of Carpathian Castle. The mountain, also known locally as the Pech de Thauze or the 'Crossroads of the Four Winds' provides both the name of one of the lead characters, the flamboyant Captain Bugarach, in Verne's all but unreadable maritime opus Clovis Dardentor and the inspiration for the 'eagle's nest' – the home of Robur the deranged aeronaut in Master of the World.
Over the course of the 20th century the tales of faery's, will o' the whisps’ and woodland elementals gave way to phantom airship sightings and common or garden UFOs. During the late eighties the region was considered a prominent 'window area' and a 24 hour 'skywatch' was established on Laval Dieu, the jagged spine of rocks facing the slumbering volcano. When I first visited the area in the early nineties I was introduced to the occupant of an isolated farmhouse near the headwaters of the River Sals, a wild eyed individual named Jean de Rigney who had been convinced the mountain harboured an underground UFO base and had produced countless fuzzy recordings of what he insisted were extraterrestrials moving about beneath his floorboards. More recently this tendency to blur the lines between ancient history, popular mythology and outright science fiction has been given added impetus by the work of French pseudo historian Michel Lamy who suggests that not only does Mount Bugarach conceal an entrance to the hollow earth and the lost kingdom of Agartha but that Esclarmonde d'Alion and her immortal cohorts are related to Vlad Dracule, the bloodsucking Count of Carpathia and the book they guard, the mythic 'Book of the Seven Seals' is the real life inspiration for American fantasy author H.P.Lovecraft's equally mythical 'Necronomicon’. All of which would be frankly laughable were it not for the unsettling fact that certain elements of these claims actually check out.
Samples of saline water drawn from the stream beside Jean de Rigney's house proved on further analysis to contain unusually high levels of radiation and references to 'earth lights' and hidden underground passageways extend back to well before the 20th century UFO flap. A close reading of Lamy's text indicates that he is cross referencing not so much the work of Lovectraft himself but the George Hay / Colin Wilson hoax Necronomicon first issued in 1978. The provenance of the so-called 'Hay Necronomicon' has been widely discredited, not the least by Colin Wilson himself who admitted to perpetrating the hoax in an article entitled "The Necronomicon, the Origin of a Spoof", which first appeared in Crypt of Cthulhu and was later reprinted in Black Forbidden Things", edited by Lovecraft scholar and enthusiast Robert Price. What Wilson fails to point out is that his 'spoof' seems to have been lifted wholesale from the work of French occultist Eliphas Levi who in turn was drawing upon some of the cornerstone texts of the European esoteric tradition. Certain aspects of the central ritual outlined in the 'Hay Necronomicon' as a method of 'opening the gates' so that the 'Great Old Ones' might return to Earth and complete the 'clearing off' of the human race correspond a little too closely for comfort with the local mythology of the Haut Razes – not the least of these being the 'Crossroads of the Four Winds' itself – the 'Gate of the Winter Wind', 'The Gate of the Summer Wind', 'The Gate of the Rushing Torrents' and 'The Gate of the Whirling Air' closely linked to the four cardinal points and that confounding cabbalistic puzzle box commonly known as the 'Cube of Space'.
It was not until the spring of 2008 that I had the opportunity to return to the area with fellow esoteric scholar and long term Shadow Theatre irregular Miss Scarlett to check out some of the increasingly wild and woolly claims first hand...
Testimony of Scarlett Amaris – Haut Razes - March 2008.
Our very strange journey began from this single phrase, “We might also compare the book closed by the seven seals of the Apocalypse, depicted in the church of Bugarach next to the Grail chalice, to that secret book called the Book of Seals, which was solemnly opened on the Cathar feast day of Bema.“ The phrase appears in a new translation of The Secret Message of Jules Verne by Michel Lamy, which we had picked up the day before in the bookstore in Rennes-le-Chateau. Considering how close it was to Easter Sunday, which was supposedly around the Cathar holy day of Bema, we decided to take a quick trip and have a look for ourselves.
The village of Bugarach is very small, and lies within the view of the majestic volcano that has been host to so many legends, everything from UFO’s in the 80’s, to death by 'inexplicable dehydration', and instances of people disappearing only to return with their hair bleached completely blond. We quickly found the church, which was actually open. Stepping inside, the first thing that we noticed was the overwhelming scent of laurel, a well known symbol of the resurgent Cathar faith, which had been reverently laid out on all the various altars. There was only one depiction of Christ in the church which seemed to be dedicated to Mary, or more likely Stella Maris, our lady of the seas. The presence that it gave off was overwhelmingly feminine. We walked straight up to the end altar, which dominated the far side of the building. To our complete surprise a plaque of the grail cup did indeed hang over each door on either side of the altar and next to that, by a couple of stained glass windows in which the faces had been strategically whitened out, were two more plaques portraying the lamb resting on the book of the seven seals. We couldn’t help but notice how the mountain illustrated in the background of the plaque bore more than a slight resemblance to Bugarach, itself. We tried the doors, and had a go at rummaging around the altar, but found nothing else open or hidden in that area
The mayor of Bugarach, Jean-Pierre Delord stands on the outskirts of the village
The Telegraph :
The mayor of a picturesque French village has threatened to call in the army to seal it off from a tide of New Age fanatics and UFO watchers, who are convinced it is the only place on Earth to be spared Armageddon in 2012.
By Henry Samuel, Paris 5:00PM GMT 21 Dec 2010
Bugarach, population 189, is a peaceful farming village in the Aude region, southwestern France and sits at the foot of the Pic de Bugarach, the highest mountain in the Corbières wine-growing area. But in the past few months, the quiet village has been inundated by groups of esoteric outsiders who believe the peak is an "alien garage". According to them, extraterrestrials are quietly waiting in a massive cavity beneath the rock for the world to end, at which point they will leave, taking, it is hoped, a lucky few humans with them. Most believe Armageddon will take place on December 21, 2012, the end date of the ancient Maya calendar, at which point they predict human civilisation will come to an end. Another favourite date mentioned is 12, December, 2012. They see Bugarach as one of perhaps several "sacred mountains" sheltered from the cataclysm. "This is no laughing matter," Jean-Pierre Delord, the mayor, told The Daily Telegraph.
"If tomorrow 10,000 people turn up, as a village of 200 people we will not be able to cope. I have informed the regional authorities of our concerns and want the army to be at hand if necessary come December 2012." Mr Delord said people had been coming to the village for the past 10 years or so in search of alien life following a post in an UFO review by a local man, who has since died. "He claimed he had seen aliens and heard the humming of their spacecraft under the mountain," he said. The internet abounds with tales of the late President François Mitterrand being curiously heliported on to the peak, of mysterious digs conducted by the Nazis and later Mossad, the Israeli secret services. A visit to Bugarach is said to have inspired Steven Spielberg in his film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind – although the actual mountain he used is Devil's Tower in Wyoming. It is also where Jules Verne found the entrance and the inspiration for A Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Recently, however, interest in the site had skyrocketed, said the mayor, with online UFO websites, many in the US, advising people to seek shelter in Bugarach as the countdown to Armageddon commences. "Many come and pray on the mountainside. I've even seen one man doing some ritual totally nude up there," said Mr Delord. Sigrid Benard, who runs the Maison de la Nature guesthouse, said UFO tourists were taking over. "At first, my clientele was 72 per cent ramblers. Today, I have 68 per cent 'esoteric visitors'," he said. Several "Ufologists" have bought up properties in the small hamlet of Le Linas, in the mountain's shadow for "extortionate" prices, and locals have complained they are being priced out of the market. Strange sect-like courses are held for up to €800 a week. "For this price, you are introduced to a guru, made to go on a procession, offered a christening and other rubbish, all payable in cash," said Mr Delord. Valerie Austin, a retired Briton from Newcastle who settled in Bugarach 22 years ago who said the alien watchers were spoiling the village atmosphere. "You can't go for a peaceful walk anymore. It's a beautiful area, but now you find people chanting lying around meditating. Everybody has the right to their own beliefs, but the place no longer feels like ours." She said alien watchers planted strange objects on the mountainside. Recently she found a black virgin statuette cemented to the rock face. Although she described the alien claims as "total rubbish", she said there was nevertheless something special about the place. "It has a magnetic force in the scientific sense of the word. There is a special feeling here, but if I really believed the world were about to end, I'd have a whale of a time over the next two years" rather than look for salvation, she said.
In December 2012, a legion of apocalyptic New Age believers will either join the ranks of aliens, or feel very stupid. For the time being though, they're content just to occupy the small, wine-country village of Bugarach, France and wait for the end of the world.
According to believers from across the globe, the village of Bugarach is the only location in the world that will be spared during the Mayan-predicted apocalypse of 2012. Despite scientists asserting with a high level of confidence that the Mayan calendar simply starts over, the New Age followers who have flocked to the town insist that aliens living beneath the mountain near Bugarach will save them when the world ends.
With a steady stream of almost 20,000 visitors per year, alien-scientists and fanatics alike have come to the foot of the mountain, or alien garage as they like to call it, to pray, learn and engage in bizarre ritual. Overrunning natives of Bugarach, the real estate market in the area has even increased in value as many alien-followers have purchased homes and cottages in the area.
Over the last 1000 years, a number of sources have stated that caves below the mountain existed. However, there is little hard evidence that aliens reside in these caves, and the New Age following around the town is beginning to concern locals. The mayor of the town even issued a statement saying he would not hesitate to involve the army if things in Bugarach got out of hand. A French group has also placed the town under watch, suspecting that mass suicides might take place before the predicted apocalypse....
Que va-t-il se passer aujourd'hui 11 novembre 2011, autrement dit le 11/11/11 ? Les superstitieux de tous poils et autres paranoïaques à l'esprit encombré de symboles secrets vont être dans leurs petits souliers.
Cette suite de nombres va-t-elle provoquer une catastrophe, porter chance ou, plus certainement, être un jour comme les autres ? Sur Internet, les avis divergent.
Perturbés, les chantres de la Méthode Holistique préviennent : « Le 11 novembre 2011 à 11h11 GMT, nous nous rassemblerons en un seul cœur, une seule âme, une seule pensée profondément aimante... »
Comique, le programme de Florian Gazan, animateur radio qui annonce via Twitter : « Le 11-11-11 à 11h11 et 11 secondes, j'ai prévu de lire 11% de la page 11 du magazine Onze. Histoire de voir ce qu'il va se passer... »
Partout des signes, des symboles, des prédictions mais nulle part l'évidence : le 11, c'est aussi le département de l'Aude.
Et personne pour faire un lien avec Bugarach et Rennes-le-Château !
Et si le 11/11/11 à 11 h 11 seuls les Audois s'en tiraient ? Je ne suis pas spécialement crédule, mais ce vendredi étant férié, je vais en profiter pour aller revoir quelques amis carcassonnais et chauriens. On ne sait jamais...
A mountain near Rennes-le-Château is becoming a focal point for unwanted 2012 hype. But the true mysteries and enigmas of Bugarach are fare more interesting, with a real-life Indiana Jones character who dug for the Ark of the Covenant!
On December 21, 2010, the English newspaper “The Daily Telegraph” drew attention to the tiny French village of Bugarach, population 200, and the saga of the end of the Mayan calendar which will occur on December 21, 2012.
The mayor of Bugarach, Jean-Pierre Delord, announced that his tiny village was becoming a refuge for “esoterics” who believed that the village played an important role in the 2012 scenario, maybe as a place of salvation, or where the apocalypse might be played out, where alien beings might intervene or even rescue those present. He and the locals were unhappy with this development, which was upsetting the villagers’ tranquillity. As France has a sad past of cults committing mass suicide, Delord felt people should hear his warning that these “esoterics” might do something similar in the near future.
Bugarach is indeed a tiny village, sitting in the shadow of the “Pic de Bugarach”, rising 1230 metres above sea-level and the highest mountain in the Corbières region – though dwarfed by the Pyrenees that rise to the south. The earliest recorded mention of the mountain was as Burgaragio in 889 AD, which is also known as Pech de Thauze. From a geological perspective, Bugarach is an oddity, an “upside down mountain”, as its tops layers are millions of years older than the lower strata. It is as if someone shot the mountain in the air, flipped it around, and then it landed again. Today, the village that sits on its slopes is somewhat quaint – the French school system has statistics which reveal that the suicide rate amongst teachers in the village is the highest in France! – and on a rainy day, Bugarach does exude an energy that can be hard to take. However, when the sun is out, it is lovely and the castle that is almost collapsing and the multi-coloured church make it apparent that this village has existed for hundreds of years. The mountain has always inspired the imagination of so many, including the French father of science fiction, Jules Verne. The mountain is made of limestone, which means it has several caves and galleries, which are rife with local legends and also provide the perfect backdrop to let one’s imagination veer off. And that is what has happened, on numerous occasions. If you leave the local folklore behind and go on the Internet, as “The Daily Telegraph” reported, it “abounds with tales of the late President François Mitterrand being curiously heliported onto the peak, of mysterious digs conducted by the Nazis and later Mossad, the Israeli secret services. There is talk of the area, near to the Cathar castles, holding the Holy Grail or the treasure of the Templars. A visit to Bugarach is said to have inspired Steven Spielberg in his film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” The locals will indeed confirm that they believe strongly that Spielberg in his search for an enigmatic mountain to host the finale of his movie considered Bugarach as a film location, but in the end opted for Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. His choice might seem quite logical, knowing that many locals report many enigmatic UFO sightings around the mountain – though few of these have been properly investigated.
The story of Bugarach and 2012 was picked up and expanded by “The New York Times” in their January 31, 2011 edition, making it a story that brought it to the attention of the world’s media.
But despite Bugarach’s recent somewhat-fame, it will no doubt always play second fiddle to the nearby village of Rennes-le-Château, which went on to inspire so many, including the likes of Dan Brown, who wrote “The Da Vinci Code”. Indeed, the man who put Rennes-le-Château on the map, Noël Corbu, lived in Bugarach when he learned of the estate of the enigmatic priest Bérenger Saunière. He sold his home in Bugarach and moved his family to the nearby village, where he began to promote the mystery of the “billion dollar priest”. For Franck Marie, an “esoteric” writer who has lived in the region for many years, Bugarach has a “natural cave system which without a doubt was occupied by our earliest ancestors, in the Magdalene Era”. He also proposes that there was a link between the mystery of Saunière and Bugarach, seeing it as a “spiritual treasure” that was linked with “primitive Mankind” – some type of esoteric knowledge that has been passed down over time. Marie believes that the site was placed under the protection of certain initiates that kept part of the cave system secret. Bugarach has therefore definitely deserved the distinction of being a mystery location in its own right. It had been called “the sacred mountain” – though few know why – before Saunière ever set foot in Rennes-le-Château in 1885. It not only inspired Spielberg, but also Jules Verne, who created a character “Captain Bugarach” for his “Clovis Dardentor” (1896). Michel Lamy is the author of a book on Jules Verne, in which he explores the possibility that one of the founding fathers of science fiction was aware of certain esoteric knowledge about the mountain that he worked into his novels. Specifically, that Verne wrote about Bugarach in relationship with the existence of an underground – lost – civilisation. But even Lamy is at a loss to explain why Verne would have become so enchanted with Bugarach – unless, of course, he was fully aware of the local legends, which he merely transcribed into his novels, or maybe he was even one of those initiates and protectors of the “sacred mountain”?
But whereas there might be people who protect the enigma of Bugarach – for no-one really knows why it has been labelled a sacred mountain for centuries – there is the enigmatic story of a man who came to Bugarach to uncover its secrets, meeting his death while doing so. Both on the internet and locally, wild variations of the story circulate. Here is the truth. Daniel Bettex was a Swiss citizen who was a security officer at Geneva airport. Bettex frequented the south of France on his holidays and was enchanted by its beauty. Eventually, he contacted the local Cathar organisation that had been founded by Déodat Roché, the mayor of nearby Arques, and which tried to research and promote Catharism, the religion destroyed by Church during the so-called Albigensian Crusade of the 13th century. In his correspondence with the organisation, he enquired about places where he could help them with research. He desired remote locations, so that he was left undisturbed. Roché thus advised him to study the sector of Bugarach, which had been little prospected by other members of his organisation, even though it was known that the Cathars were familiar with the village. To this end, Roché also recommended to Bettex that he contacted Lucienne Julien, the then secretary of the organisation, and use her as his liaison with the organisation. The latter thus maintained a close correspondence with Bettex, as he progressed in his Bugarach research. Over the ensuing years, Bettex leafed through files while he was in Switzerland, and when he descended to the South of France during his summer vacations, he explored and dug. He also studied the old registers that existed, which had details of mining activities and which contained information on the underground network that existed in this limestone environment – and learned how much – or how little – had been explored. Bettex also uncovered a work on the mythology of the mountain, written by a university student during the Second World War. The author had been called up for military service and his fate seems to have been unknown. The thesis referenced several legends and myths, with some of the legends going back as early as the 15th century. It was clear that Verne was not the first to invent a mythology about this mountain – that was many centuries older. Of course, such a compendium is not an archaeological report. But the stories did show a superposition between various myths and locations around the mountain… locations that people, for generations, were linking with an entrance to a mythical underground world. Bettex wondered whether he could be the one who would locate the entrance and finally reveal its existence. Would he prove that Verne was not a science fiction writer, but had written a factual account – was there an entrance to the Centre of the Earth?
Bettex was able to find one of the entrances listed in the account, but found it was blocked. He re-opened it, to find that it led to a peaceful underground river, which was deep, but possible to navigate. He also found that there was a type of quay or landing, in an L-shape, which suggested that this was not the result of a geological event, but was manmade – purposefully built. But by whom, when and for what? Those were questions he could not answer. He had taken photographs of this and other voyages in the belly of the mountain, as he explored its known and less known and sometimes even forgotten caves. He showed them to Julien, who reported that there were several stone structures inside the underground cave system, proving they were once inhabited. But it proved little else. Bettex had also entered the local derelict castle. He spent a great amount of time in the basement of the castle, work he carried out with the full knowledge and participation of the owner and the relevant authorities, even though in those days, there was far less paperwork to cope with. There, he found several stones with graffiti, some of which was clearly in the shape of a container and a stretcher, a scene suggestive of the Ark of the Covenant being carried on a stretcher. Could the graffiti mean that the mountain was the resting place of the Ark? A rumour circulates all the quicker if it is known as a secret. Thus, one statement went that Bettex was searching for the Ark of the Covenant, that he had now located it, as evidenced by his photographs and the graffiti: it was under Bugarach! A related rumour ran that General Moshe Dayan, the head of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, had become personally interested in Bettex’s research. With such notorious Israel officials now apparently interested in him, Bettex’s local profile went up with several points… and the rumour of the Ark of the Covenant underneath Bugarach became more and better known. One rumour had it that Moshe Dayan contacted Bettex personally, warning him, advising him, to stop everything if he discovered the artefact and especially not to touch anything. Bettex must surely have been familiar with his Bible, which clearly spells out the dangers of touching the Ark.
Daniel Bettex took a long time to decide where precisely he would carry out his major excavation. Once he had done so, he made sure that he could work in all solitude, undisturbed by tourists or locals who became more and more interested in him. But throughout, he kept Lucienne Julien informed of his progress; she meticulously retained all correspondence. This private correspondence makes it clear that he was looking for an old cavity, whose entrance had become lost and which was located in the side of the mountain. After his death, rumours had it that his investigations had involved a filled-in mine, whereas others spoke of a low cave. In truth, no-one knows for sure – or where precisely it is located. Some even believe there was a secondary access to this system from inside the basement of the castle! He did indicate to Julien that he thought that there was a connection between the inexplicable graffiti, the remains of a hearth inside the castle and the entrance of a mining installation whose collapse had been intentional – but the mine seemed to have been outside of the village.
In 1988, everything accelerated. He told Julien that it would take him a few more months of work, but that his research had also made it clear that it would lead to a fabulous deposit, exceeding anything that she or anyone could imagine… it would be an amazing revelation. Bettex was normally calm and methodical, true to the Swiss stereotype, but now he was excited if not manic. He next visited Julien, to tell her that he was almost at the end of his research. At most, four or five days separated him from reaching his final goal. He told her that within the week he would be back, carrying with him part of the treasure. “You will be immensely rich!” But instead, three days later, Julien learned that Bettex had been found dead in Bugarach. There were – as could be expected – various versions of his death and its cause. For some, a cave had collapsed, causing severe injuries and ultimately his death. Others believed that he had left Switzerland with serious cardiovascular problems, which resulted in his death once he laboured in the South of France. Other rumours had it that he was stricken on the spot – instantaneous death by whatever. Some even said that his body had inexplicably dehydrated, either as the cause of death, or afterwards. Others argue he was able to walk to one of the gardens of the first houses of Bugarach, where he collapsed, apparently the victim of a violent heart attack. So many things have been and are being said about the death of Bettex, but we only truly know that he died, in mysterious circumstances, according to his own testimony very close to finding his lifetime’s ambition. If he did find something, he took the secret with him.
Bettex’s death definitely triggered a reaction from the authorities. Lucienne Julien planned, several months after Bettex’s death, to continue his work on site, using members of her Cathar research organisation. She informed the Ministry of Culture of her intentions, as Bettex before had informed them of his. She had to resend her application several times, before she received a reply, which stated that it was out of the question that such research was to be carried out. She would afterwards learn that rubble and concrete had been cast inside the basement of the castle, in order to block any possible cavity forever. Another location in the village was subjected to a similar fate. But as the cement settled, the question rose whether Bettex only found death, or something else in Bugarach. Could an accidental death have such repercussions that the authorities decided to concrete the place over? France has never been the Mecca of health and safety regulations, and the circumstances of Bettex’s death were nebulous enough not to imply that the precarious state of the castle had caused his death. More than two decades on, little about Bettex’s death and his quest is known. He has become one in a long line of seekers who went in search of, but did not find the answer as to whether there is a real reason why Bugarach is called the “sacred mountain”. What we do know, is that as 2012 approaches, another layer of mystery is piled on top of this Magic Mountain. Maybe this renewed attention, will finally bring about sufficient interest and insight into its past…
The followers of the New Age faith believe that mountainous village of Bugarach would be spared in the 2012 apocalypse.
Bugarach is located at the foot of Pic de Bugarach, a 1,230-meter (4,040 ft) mountain peak and the highest summit in the Corbières mountains. The peak is also called the "upside down mountain" since its top layers are older than the lower layers due to uplift of the Pyrenees.
Surrounded in legend for centuries, Bugarach has become a focal point for many Apocalypse believers as rumours have circulated that its mountain contains doors into other worlds, or that extraterrestrials will return here on Judgment day to take refuge at their base.
Residents of the tiny southern French hamlet, population 194, are witness to a rising influx of Doomsday believers convinced it is the only place that will survive judgment day, December 21, 2012.
This has set in motion French government agency Miviludes into top gear monitoring sect movements and suicide attempts at the village of Bugarach, which is believed to be the escape route to doomsday events.
Ever since the word is out about the village as the possible escape route, it has begun attracting thousands of visitors who come to pray and participate in processions though the mountainous area with dangerous roads and curves is not equipped to accommodate the huge numbers.
Also known as "Alien Garage", it is believed that extraterrestrial visitors live somewhere 4,000-foot beneath the mountain here and that it serves as the escape route, if and when apocalypse or the end of the world ever happens.
Despite denials from NASA and the global scientific community denying the Apocalypse 2012 theory, it has taken the Internet world by storm as the day coincides with December 21, 2012, apparently stated in the ancient Mayan calendar.
Take a glimpse of the mountainous village of Bugarach and the peak of Bugarach:
CNN has just reported 2012 Aliens are said to be residing Inside a Bugarach France Mountain. Bugarach has a population 189. The claim is ancient lost civilizations of Lemuria & Atlantis are from here. At times UFOs fill the sky above this area. This local mountain allegedly hides a gateway to aliens who sail aquatic able spaceships on a vast interior mountain lake.
Today’s blog is once more about the “famous” mount Bugarach.
By now, in almost every newspaper or magazine, articles about this mountain have been published and what is it that makes this mountain so special?
First of all, it has a certain energy that is quite noticeable when being in the neighborhood. It looks magnificent in its’ surroundings because of being alone-standing.
It has a grandeur to it because of the many rock formations and of the striking feature of its flattened top which according to some, resembles a face of a person lying down.
But these days Bugarach is “made” famous because of the stories around and about 2012; instigating that this spot might be a special spot when things will start to disintegrate, or so they say.
From that vintage point it would be a nice thought to find out what these “relief seekers” are looking for: we all know that what is needed to get through to the next level (Aquarius?) is knowledge and understanding about ourselves: our motivations, our drives, our urges and desires etc. So rather then looking for the Bugarach outside we might as well look for our own Bugarach inside our personal environment and inside ourselves. We have special energy spots, we have places where we connect easily and others where connection seems so hard to make and maintain.
Taking time out to visit our personal Bugarach would be good preparation for the turbulent times that have begun to come over us…..
Mystery and suspense currently surround the village of Bugarach. Situated 75 kilometres from the Mediterranean and 110 from the Spanish border, it lies at 460m above sea level but is completely overshadowed by the Pic de Bugarach, a mountain in the foothills of the Pyrenees, which rises to 1230m. The first mystery is the weather and its vagaries. Roussillon is the hottest and driest region of France but in the week we were there in early June, there was some sun but in general it was cool and overcast, and it rained heavily on some days. We even lit the fire on the one day we stayed at home … which was cosy and comforting, but not really what one expects. But it is the human beings who really complicate things. One set of mysteries is the latest gossip in the village among the expats and the locals. Further, completely inexplicable ones are put about by those who believe that 2012 will see the aliens landing on the mountain or being released from their home within it. And some of us thought next year was going to be dominated by the Olympics!
As you can see, this is a spectacular landscape, by turns majestic, rural or domestic. The villages are inhabited by a mixture of local people, French second-home owners and a positive pot-pourri of expatriates attracted by the life style, the inexpensive and decent quality wine, the arts and the mystic fringe. Others will relate immediately to the wild life, especially the raptors, or the remnants of former times – whether the Cathar castles or, as in the picture below, the Roman aqueduct below Antignan, which still carries water from one side of the valley to the other.
Needless to say, Janet’s and my reason to be here was at least in part wine-related. We had a long-standing invitation to stay with a member of Andover Wine Friends who has a house in Bugarach. This was a great offer and enabled us to get a really good insight into the wine scene in Roussillon and the most southerly parts of Languedoc. Wine has been made here since at least Roman times and the climate is excellent for robust and characterful reds, decent whites, some sparkling wine from one area, as well as the style which is said to be have been invented here, the vin doux naturels, These are alcoholic wines, mostly drunk before or after a meal, sweet but not overly so, capable of developing over many, many years. The last twenty five years of so has seen a new direction for the region, away from its role solely as the provider of inexpensive wines of colour and substance. In the past these provided blending material to improve wines from cooler, more northerly areas or just cheap quaffing wines. Roussillon can still provide inexpensive everyday wines but now, with the advent of private wineries and inward investment, also wines at medium to high quality levels. It is a fantastic zone to visit – even without the prospect of alien invasions. The main articles from our visit will appear in the next few weeks on the French regions pages of this website.
The tiny French hamlet of Bugarach is known for its serenity and quaint charm.
But in recent months, the village -- which boasts a population of a mere 189 people -- has been besieged by tourist hordes comprised of New Age followers who are convinced a nearby mountain will help them escape the end of the world in 2012, the BBC is reporting.
Mayor Jean-Pierre Delord says these visitors believe the world will end on Dec. 21, 2012, or the end of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the ancient Maya calendar. In addition, the myth of a 2012 doomsday is reportedly supported by claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth, according to the U.S. space agency NASA. That theory, in turn, became linked to dates in the Mayan calendar.
The Telegraph reports that many of the tourists see Bugarach -- which reportedly inspired both Steven Spielberg's hit film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and Jules Verne's classic novel "A Journey to the Center of the Earth" -- as one of perhaps several "sacred mountains," or an "alien garage" somehow sheltered from the cataclysm.
"I'm worried because the population of our village is only 200 people and... we risk having a flood from all the corners of the earth," Delord told RTL radio. "There are already some websites in the U.S. with some people selling tickets for trips to Bugarach. They are doing some business, and people are already organizing visits and prayer and meditation workshops," he added.
Residents seem to feel similarly. "There is a special feeling here, but if I really believed the world were about to end, I'd have a whale of a time over the next two years rather than look for salvation." Valerie Austin, a British woman who's lived in Bugarach for 22 years, told the Daily Mail. "It's a beautiful area, but now you find people chanting lying around meditating."
Bob Thiel , LA Church History & End Prophecy Examiner December 22, 2010
COGwriter
Last year Sony released its 2012 movie. Sony invited this Examiner to Century City (near Hollywood) to watch the press pre-release preview. The movie was number 1 when it first opened. It is did fantastically well in overseas markets like China (see Chinese Pleased With China’s Portrayal in Sony’s 2012 Movie, Indonesia Less So) and Russia (see 2012 a Hit in Russia).
The movie portrays Los Angeles, India, the Vatican, and other places being destroyed by a flood, two years from now. The main ones that survive, survive on what could best be described as flotilla of modern versions of Noah’s Ark.
Because the date of the start of the “Mayan flood” is two years from now, it is making the news again. There was something in the news yesterday about a village in France that many believe will survive 2012.
Notice the headline:
French village which will ‘survive 2012 Armageddon’ plagued by visitors
Essentially, since the area is isolated and some consider the village of Bugarach is in “sacred mountains”, the 189 residents there are concerned that thousands will descend upon it in about two years and overwhelm the local population. It has been getting a lot of visitors who are checking it out, just in case they wish to flee there.
Now, unless the French village is bombed or some major disaster strikes it, I believe it will survive December 21, 2012 and be fine on December 22, 2012 (though possibly a bit crowded). Yet, I believe that the same is true for Los Angeles, India, the Vatican, and other places that Sony’s 2012 movie shows will be destroyed by flood.
Why?
Because the world will not end in a flood (Genesis 9).
Now, in Sony’s defense, the movie it produced was based on one particular interpretation of a centuries old Mayan prophecy.
In the 16th century Mayan writing known as the Chilam Balam there is the following:
But when the law of the katun has run its course, the God will bring about a great deluge again which will be the end of the world. When this is over, then our Lord Jesus Christ will descend over the valley of Jehoshaphat beside the town of Jerusalem where he redeemed us with his holy blood (José Hoíl J, Roys R. The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel. Roys Publisher, 1933. Reprint Forgotten Books, 1967, p. 62).
Since the Mayan calendar ends when one of the katuns is finished (December 21, 2012), some interpret that the world will end in a flood that begins that date, and that presumably all we see by December 22, 2012 until most drown.
But notice that the particular Mayan prophecy, which by the way is the most explicit one about the world ending in a flood (prior to the 16th century the Mayans did not write, but essentially used a picture written communication system which 21st century scholars interpret in various ways), says that Jesus will return. As it turns out, the book that mentions Jesus the most, the Holy Bible, has this to say about a disasterous flood:
8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: 9 "And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. 11 Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." (Genesis 9:8-11, NKJV)
So, no, the world as we know it will not be destroyed by December 22, 2012. Los Angeles residents do not need to live in fear that their county will be destroyed like the 2012 movie portrays. The Bible is clear that the world will not be destroyed by a flood.
However, it is likely that when the world does not end in a flood, that on December 22, 2012 scoffers will rise up and discount all prophecy. Because of misinterpretations of 2012 and certain media, hype, many will doubt Bible prophecy. Notice that the Apostle Peter warned about this:
1 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), 2 that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, 3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? (2 Peter 3:1-13)
So, no, we in Southern California do not need to go to French mountains to survive the end of the world and return of Jesus Christ on December 21/22, 2012. But yes Jesus will return and the world as we know it will end. But that will not be for a few years later. You do not need to go to France in two years, but please do not scoff at Bible prophecy, as it will come to pass.
Some items of possibly related interest may include:
End of Mayan Calendar 2012–Might 2012 Mean Something? Are there Mayan calendar predictions for change in 2012? Changes were centuries ago predicted by the Hopi Native Americans. Do Mayan/Hindu/Hopi/Buddhist/New Age/Nostradamus prophecies have any value here? Why might Satan have inspired this date? Does the Dresden codex show destruction of the earth by flood? Can the great tribulation start before 2012? How might Barack Obama be involved in 2012? 2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect This is a link related to a book by Bob Thiel (COGwriter). This link also has YouTube videos. This book documents and explains hundreds of prophecies. And since it was published, world events have aligned with at least 14 predictions in the book and many more will to come to pass. It clearly explains much of what will and will not happen in 2012 and the signs that believers need to be looking for. 2012 y el surgimiento de la secta secreta 2012 libro del Dr. Thiel en Español. 2012 und das Auftreten der geheimen Sekte (German Edition) 2012 Buch von Dr. Thiel in deutscher Sprache. 2012 e o Surgimento da Seita Secreta (Portuguese Edition) 2012 livro do Dr. Thiel em Português. Este livro documenta e explica centenas de profecias. E desde que foi publicado pela primeira vez, pelo menos 14 já começaram a acontecer.
A myth surrounds the Bugarach mountain and its supposed magnetism. Some people plan to take refuge there on Dec. 21, 2012.
By MAÏA de la BAUME Published: January 30, 2011
BUGARACH, France — The rocky mountain of Bugarach, rising just over 4,000 feet in the Corbières Mountains, in one of the poorest and least populated areas of France, has long attracted hikers and nature lovers who like to wander its gentle slopes in search of rare species of orchids.
But in recent years, the mystic beauty and remoteness of the mountain has lured another, less common variety of hiker. Residents call them “the esoterics,” people who believe that the end of the world is coming — don’t forget to mark your calendar — on Dec. 21, 2012.
Last month, the mayor of Bugarach, a tiny village at the foot of the mountain in the southern district of Aude, alerted the local authorities after he read on Internet forums that believers in the apocalypse planned to take refuge here in 2012.
“Some Web sites in the U.S. were selling tickets to come here,” said Jean-Pierre Delord, the mayor. “We are 200 locals; we don’t want 2,000 to 3,000 utopians showing up in Bugarach.”
Some French and international Web sites devoted to the apocalypse claim that the mountain of Bugarach is a sacred place that will protect them from the end of the world. Some even believe that, on doomsday, they will be spirited away by a group of aliens who live under the mountain. The date in question is when a 5,125-year cycle in the Mayan calendar supposedly comes to a close.
A local innkeeper, Sigrid Benard, who offers rooms only in the summer, said she had received numerous calls from people wishing to reserve rooms and mobile homes from the beginning of December 2012 to the end of January.
“People know I’m closed in the winter,” Mrs. Benard said. “But those people said they wanted to come three weeks before the apocalypse and book the week afterward to see what happens.”
Many here, including the mayor, do not want to see Bugarach transformed into a safe haven for those he called “apocalypse believers and lunatics.” They point to an increasing presence of “esoterics,” who settled in Bugarach around the year 2000 and who are also attracted to the tranquillity, the low price of real estate and the history of the area.
“Those people belong to a New Age circle of influence,” Mr. Delord said. “Today, they do business on pure fables; they build inns and organize collective therapies.”
One of the esoterics is a former teacher named Jean. With a wise look and linen pants in winter, he resembles a neo-hippie. He recently settled in a yurt in the forest near Bugarach with hopes of building what he calls “the civilization of the heart.”
“The apocalypse we believe in is the end of a certain world and the beginning of another, a new spiritual world,” Jean said, refusing to give his last name because of the increasing local controversy.
“The year 2012 is the end of a cycle of suffering,” he said. Bugarach is “one of the major chakras of the earth, a place devoted to welcome the energies of tomorrow.”
For other people around France, Bugarach is not just a quaint village with a mountain.
“We all know that aliens are there for thousands of years,” said Paul Ponssot, the owner of a Paris-based bookstore specializing in esoteric literature. “They may be the forces who will help us get through 2012.”
In the little town, even the most pragmatic visitors acknowledged the special atmosphere of the place, silent and vibrant.
“Bugarach is like California in the ’60s,” said Didier Gromaire, a social worker from Chambéry who spent three months in Bugarach last year. “Things appear more clearly here; when you arrive, you feel that this is the beginning of a new life.”
Bugarach and its surroundings still bear significant traces of medieval religious sects and orders, including the Cathars, who built remarkable castles nearby.
A few miles away sits the village of Rennes-le-Château, whose supposedly hidden treasures have inspired many international authors, including Dan Brown, author of “The Da Vinci Code.”
The peak of Bugarach has long been called “the sacred mountain”; geologists say that soon after the mountain was formed, it exploded and the top landed upside-down. The mountain is also said to have inspired French authors like Jules Verne in “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” and American filmmakers like Steven Spielberg in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
Several reports circulating on the Internet even suggested that former President François Mitterrand visited the peak by helicopter, that there was often a halo of cloud shaped like a spaceship around the summit and that planes never flew over the mountain because of supposed magnetic waves.
“People built an entire myth around the magnetism of the mountain,” said Jean-Luc Lamotte, 60, a retired businessman who owns a house nearby.
Some residents say that they sometimes see parades of people, their arms crossed in an X shape, climbing the peak with figurines of the Virgin Mary in their hands.
Ismo Nykanen, a Finnish journalist who settled in Bugarach with his family a few years ago, said he once spotted several groups of people, some dressed in white, some naked, carrying a ball and a golden ring hung by a thread.
“They stay several months during the summer in campers parked at the bottom of the peak,” Mr. Nykanen said. His teenage daughter, Elsa, said she once saw a truck with a message spray-painted on its door: “Collective suicide: Bugarach 2012.”
Cristina Breiner owns a guesthouse in the nearby village of Rennes-les-Bains. She was recently brought by a friend to a meeting of local esoterics.
“They dress like ordinary people and strongly believe that someone in the sky is sending them messages,” Mrs. Breiner said.
Mayor Delord is trying to figure out how to curb new influxes of utopians in the area, especially with the apocalypse coming. In a country where the government lists at least 30 movements preaching the apocalypse, the mayor’s concerns are not abstract.
“If it happens as in Mr. Spielberg’s ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind,’ ” Mr. Delord said, “it would be necessary to call in the army.”
Pech de Thauze is better known as Bugarach – the name of the village that sits at the bottom of its slopes. Bugarach is an impressive mountain, which has always spoken to the imagination of the local people. But today, its mystery has been eclipsed by another village, that of Rennes-le-Château, which in distance is close, but in interest, has attracted most of the attention. Still, Bugarach has its own mystery, specifically the mysterious adventures of one Daniel Bettex, who came to the site, went on underground expeditions… and eventually lost his life in these endeavours.
Geological make-up
The entire region is limestone, and hence there are numerous caves. Bugarach has its fair share of underground caverns, some of which are unknown to the general public, some of which are known to certain “initiates” and some which have perhaps never been discovered. It is an area with large underground salt deposits, specifically in the neighbouring Rennes-les-Bains, whereas Rennes-le-Château is often said to have a large underground water tank, which might go as deep as several hundreds of metres. The underground network is complex, largely unexplored, and runs for miles. It is known that an underground river near Bugarach is connected as far west as Salses… no doubt before entering into the Mediterranean basin. The river does not appear on any maps, but underneath the surface, it runs its course.
Science fiction
Michel Lamy is the author of a book on Jules Verne, where he explores the possibility that one of the founding fathers of science fiction was aware of certain esoteric knowledge that he worked into his novels. Verne wrote about Bugarach and the existence of an underground civilisation. Lamy wondered whether he could find this access… The tradition of entrances giving way to large subterranean networks sits within the pagan Celtic religion, in which hollow hills were deemed to be entrances to “other worlds”, specifically the realm of the fairies. These hills were not really hollow – but that is what they were labelled; other traditions described them as crystal or glass-like. Lamy also referred to the work of Nicholas Roerich, who wrote: “After a hard voyage, if you did not lose your road, you arrive at the salted lakes. This passage is very dangerous. You will arrive then at the mountains of Bogogorch. There an even more perilous track starts…” We can only wonder about the similarity between BoGogoRCH and BuGaRaCH (the capitalisation is taken from the work of Michel Lamy).
The people of the underground
The famous underground world with its divine, otherworldly ruler exists in legend, where he ruled over a people that were sheltered from the piercing eyes of Mankind. The notion may seem strange, but the Fortean literature – and comic books such as Yoko Tsuno – is replete with stories of strange, otherworldly and/or alien civilisations hiding underneath the Earth’s surface. Some have even spun theories suggesting that the Earth itself is hollow – that this “fact” is known to a select few and thus part of a major conspiracy… and that this hollow earth would even be a hiding place for the Fourth Reich – surviving Nazis from World War II. It is part of the mystic lore of Bulwer-Lytton in The Coming Race, in which these subterranean people use a mysterious power source, “vril”, which will one day leave its obscure hidings and enter into the light – making us into their slave race.
More science fiction
Verne drew the reader’s attention towards Bugarach, using many of the toponyms in the area in his novels. There is the reference to a “Clovis Dardentor”, which has been explained as being of interest to the mystery of Rennes-le-Château. In this novel, the hero seeks a fabulous treasure which he can find only by using geographical data and a select few documents. Alas, the deposit is impossible to locate – very much like Saunière’s. Verne was not the only author with such an interest. There is Maurice Leblanc, Gaston Leroux, George Sand, Andre Malraux, Louis Fédié, Henri Boudet, Daniel Réju, Serge Hutin, Luc Alberny, to quote only those. It is a long list, but when one looks beneath the surface, it becomes clear that these authors belonged to various initiatory organisations, some obscure, others better known. But in all cases, the references are few and far between. Though clear works of fiction, they are nevertheless clearly “manmade”, written by a human being, conscious of what he is writing. Can it therefore be really a coincidence? Instead, is it certain knowledge that these authors are able to pass into the public conscience, who is unaware of it, and even those who are looking will never be able to say more than observe “the coincidence”, which is all that we can do here… but is it not like the magician, who is sworn to secrecy not to reveal his act, but who can nevertheless hint and point at the mechanism of his profession… so that those who are observant, will see and learn?
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