Monday, March 2, 2026
Stakeout
OK, this was creative. I asked Gemini to make an illustration of how Brahman becomes seven rays in seven colors and then angels. This was the result! For whatever reason, the AI gave the rays the names "Will, Wisdom, Light, Harmony, Science, Devotion, Ceremonial Order". Freely based on Alice Bailey? And - wait for it - in the lower righthand corner you can see people with telescopes outside "Älta Observatory"?!
There is a suburb of Stockholm named Älta, and while there is no observatory there, there is a weather station (Älta väderstation). Judging by on-line maps, it really is close to a lake, although I have no idea how it actually looks like. Probably not as a cozy Swedish summer cottage...
But sure, the idea of "observing" Brahman and the Seven Rays on location in Sweden does have a certain intrinsic appeal.
Sunday, March 1, 2026
Tetrad
There is a "blood moon" (a kind of lunar eclipse) this Tuesday. Doomsdayers on-line are already connecting it with the US attack on the Iranian regime, Gog and Magog, and (surprise) the end of the world as-we-know-it.
Now, read the articles linked below. They are from 2018, when similar apocalyptic fantasies were projected onto an earlier "blood moon". This because of some apocalyptic-mongering book from 2016 about "a tetrad" of such lunar eclipses.
Point being: we´re still here, and "blood moons" (including their alleged "tetrads") have entirely natural explanations. So no, the world won´t end this time either. Let me guess? The next time there is a bloody eclipse (next year, say) I will have to repost these links to debunk it *again*?
Blood moon myths and conspiracy theories
Still waiting for the apocalypse
How many times do I have to repost this link, do you think?
Gog and Magog: Israel´s Mysterious Northern Foes
Also, see this (from my own blog):
No coke in Doha
Jag kan förstå att någon måste mellanlanda i t.ex. Qatar. Som den gamle popparen Dr Alban i artikeln länkad här nedan. Det är svårare att förstå folk som bor på lyxhotell i t.ex. Dubai under en rätt så uppenbar internationell kris i närområdet. Jag menar, varför i all sin dar åker man just *dit* på semestern?!
Epstein Fury
For the record, I don´t think Trump is attacking the Iranian regime cuz Epstein something-something. Even during his (rhetorically) most peaceful period, he always had an aggressive posture against Iran. Something he had since at least the 1980´s! Of course he can use it to deflect attention from the Epstein files, but so what? Other dynamics are at play here. Obviously.
Saturday, February 28, 2026
Nothing-burger
Did anyone really think that "the Truth about Trump/Epstein" would surface when Bill and Hillary Clinton were deposited by the Congressional sub-sub-committee so-and-so? LOL.
Friday, February 27, 2026
John the Baptist: resurrected?
More on Jesus and the resurrection. Sequel to the recent blog posts on the topic.
How likely was it that Jews would have expected an executed Messiah-pretender to have been resurrected? How would they have interpreted visionary experiences of a dead person? In other words, how unique was the resurrection belief in context of 1st century Judaism in Palestine?
Christian apologists Craig and Wright suggest it was unique, but "Skeptical Agnostic" begs to disagree. Interesting!
Ignoble lies
Influential evangelical-fundamentalist Church leader John MacArthur (who recently passed away) was apparently a "mental health denialist". He didn´t believe ADHD, OCD, PTSD or depression were real things?! Or, to be more precise, he seems to have believed they were forms of negative thinking you can somehow out-God away (or out-Church away).
For some time now, I´ve been baffled by the fact that many conservative Christians in the affluent West seem unaware of things such as autism or flatly deny it. Obviously, if people like MacArthur were preaching against the very concept of mental illness, that´s part of the explanation.
Maybe this is a case of "positive thinking" and some kind of Christian or Protestant perfectionism coupled with the American craving for success in this world. Of course, there might also be a (perhaps legitimate) worry that Big Pharma and Big Shrink just wants to sell you their shit for profit and hence over-medicate. Or over-charge you for lifelong therapy?
Still, the outright mental illness denialism in these clips doesn´t strike me as a very good solution to the problem...
True conspiracy
I´m not a big fanboy of John MacArthur, but this joke is actually funny. And who knows, maybe it´s even true!
Apokalypsis
I just saw a triumphalist Christian video pointing out that Muslim birth rates are falling. Which isn´t even true, since they are still far above replacement level in many Muslim nations. Now, do Christian nations...
Exactly.
Äppelskrutt
 |
| - Äpplen? Vilka jävla äpplen? |
Hur ska man tolka det här? Att SVT öppet tar ställning för regeringens mest kontroversielle minister, eller vad? Ha ha, nu kommer anmälningarna att hagla stenhårt. Valkampanjen senare i år kanske blir väldigt intressant, trots allt...
Leif GW anklagar SVT för äppelaktion
I accuse
So the French left cracks anti-Semitic jokes, while their far right condemns anti-Semitism? The world is literally insane...
Dreyfus, something something.
CIA syndrome
A real conspiracy in the making? Did the CIA buy a secret Russian weapon, enhanced it and tested it on site in Cuba? You know, against the US embassy staff...
Fortunate
Dr Robert talks about his darshan at the Srirangam temple in India, where an idol of Vishnu gazes at an elephant, a horse and the backside of a cow (on cows, the backside is apparently the sacred side!) before humans are even admitted in its presence. The mummified body of Ramanuja is in the same temple. Since Robert is a Shaiva, indeed an Aghori, I didn´t expect him to talk about a highly orthodox Vaishnava temple, but there you go.
Drabbad
Drabbades själv av detta typ vid lunchtid. Ville nämligen kolla upp några, ähum, vägmärken...
Vägmärket ovan är förresten ren fantasi från AI-verktyget Gemini.
Transportstyrelsens datasystem ligger nere - tusentals drabbade
Olycksrisk
Försökte få Gemini att ändra datumet till "2026", men av någon avledning vägrar AI-verktyget att göra så. Fast "1 april" låter ju logiskt, LOL.
Både mellanårsval i USA och svenska val senare i höst. Ja, jäklar.
Pizza and grape soda
 |
| Credit: The Fourth Way |
I´m not so sure. Many conspiracy theorists had pretty wild scenarios back in 2020 (why *that* date, btw?) which didn´t come to pass.
For instance, that the COVID pandemic wasn´t real. Or that the vaccines would kill off the entire White race within a few years, entire cities being emptied of people. Or that, you know, Trump would lead a fight against the Satanic paedophile cannibals running the world. How well did *that* little prediction turn out?
The most plausible conspiracy theory was that the Dems rigged the 2020 elections. After all, everyone cheats in America. And yet, Trump hasn´t presented any evidence that this was the case now when he´s back in office. Instead, he has been more busy trying to derail the Epstein Files. Indeed, the Don seems more interested in the disclosure of (obviously non-existent) UFOs!
Are there true conspiracies? Of course there are. See above! But my main problem ever since this fracas started (around 2015) is that the opposition forces - including the out-of-control ultras - seem just as hopelessly clueless, stupid or even evil as the establishment they are opposing. They are decadent, too.
So I don´t expect the local unfriendly paranoiac in a trailer to make any sensational new discoveries any time soon. Except maybe by chance. And even then, they would have no idea what to do about it.
Maybe it´s time to bug out and take to the hills...
Marxism-Islamism
Overheard on the interwebs: "Islam is a political ideology masquerading as a religion. Communism is a religion masquerading as a political ideology." Not entirely accurate, in my estimation.
Both are religions. :P
Into the land of bones
Afghanistan is popularly know as "the graveyard of empires". That´s why at least a dozen empires managed to conquer it, right? So the British, the Russians and the Americans failed? That simply means THEY ARE GAY!
Here we go again
All-out war between Pakistan and the Taliban in Afghanistan? Here we go again. War-wise, that is.
Let´s see if the Islamic Republic can defeat the Islamic Emirate. Frankenstein´s monster and all that...
Tash is greater
Jay Dyer (!) discusses C S Lewis´ "Chronicles of Narnia", specifically "The Horse and His Boy", seeing it as a veiled criticism of Islam.
The human experience
Some scary shit I just read on Wikipedia...
Capgras delusion or Capgras syndrome (CS) is a psychiatric disorder in which a person holds a delusion that a friend, spouse, parent, other close family member, or pet has been replaced by an identical impostor.
Fregoli delusion or Fregoli syndrome (FS) is a rare mental disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief that different people are in fact a single person who changes appearance or is in disguise. The syndrome may be related to a brain lesion and is often of a paranoid nature, with the delusional person believing themselves persecuted by the person they believe is in disguise.
Cotard's syndrome, also known as Cotard's delusion or walking corpse syndrome, is a rare mental disorder in which the affected person holds the delusional belief that they are deceased, do not exist, are putrefying, or have lost their blood or internal organs. Statistical analysis of a hundred-patient cohort indicated that denial of self-existence is present in 45% of the cases of Cotard's syndrome; the other 55% of the patients presented with delusions of immortality.
Syndrome of subjective doubles is a rare delusional misidentification syndrome in which a person experiences the delusion that they have a double or Doppelgänger with the same appearance, but usually with different character traits, that is leading a life of its own. The syndrome is also called the syndrome of doubles of the self, delusion of subjective doubles, or simply subjective doubles. Sometimes, the patient is under the impression that there is more than one double. A double may be projected onto any person, from a stranger to a family member.
Reduplicative paramnesia is the belief that a familiar person, place, object, or body part has been duplicated. For example, a person may believe that they are in fact not in the hospital to which they were admitted, but an identical-looking hospital in a different part of the country.
Clonal pluralization of the self is the belief that there are multiple copies of oneself, identical both physically and psychologically, but physically separate and distinct.
Truman Show delusion, also known as Truman syndrome or Truman disorder, is a type of delusion in which the person believes that their life is a staged reality show, or that they are being watched on cameras. The term was coined in 2008 on film boards by brothers Joel Gold and Ian Gold, a psychiatrist and a neurophilosopher, respectively, after the 1998 film The Truman Show.
Somatoparaphrenia is a type of monothematic delusion where one denies ownership of a limb or an entire side of one's body. Even if provided with undeniable proof that the limb belongs to and is attached to their own body, the patient produces elaborate confabulations about whose limb it really is or how the limb ended up on their body. In some cases, delusions become so elaborate that a limb may be treated and cared for as if it were a separate being.
Somatoparaphrenia differs from a similar disorder, asomatognosia, which is characterized as loss of recognition of half of the body or a limb, possibly due to paralysis or unilateral neglect. For example, asomatognosic patients may mistake their arm for the doctor's. However, they can be shown their limb and this error is temporarily corrected.
Yes, I do want to talk to "the manager"!
The forgotten branch
The quest for the only true religion continues...
This is a long presentation (taped on location in Oman) about Ibadism, the "forgotten" third branch of Islam alongside Sunnism and Shiism. Ibadism is the dominant form of Islam in the Sultanate of Oman at the Arabian peninsula.
The Ibadis were originally something as strange as the moderate faction of the Kharijites (the "anarchists" or "ultras" of the Muslim world). Their most important doctrine was that Muslims who commit major sins or even repeated minor sins aren´t really Muslims and should therefore be excluded from the umma. This even goes for the imams - unless he is sinless, the imam can´t be a legitimate ruler. This marked the Ibadis out from both the Sunnis and the Shias. The former believed that even sinful rulers should be obeyed for pragmatic reasons, while the latter denied that imams could sin at all. It seems the purist attitude was balanced with a more tolerant-pragmatic one in practice, which distinguished the Ibadis from the Azariqa, the militant Kharijites who believed that all "Muslim" sinners should be killed?!
Today, the tolerant and supposedly peaceful side of Ibadism is emphasized, with Oman having freedom of worship for various immigrant communities and also for the Sunni and the Shia. However, the video says relatively little about modern Omani history, perhaps because it isn´t particularly "tolerant". Oman is an absolute monarchy and it´s interesting to note that the Sultanate was often in political or even military conflict with the Imamate, despite both nominally being Ibadis. The British Empire and the black gold (you know, oil) lurks in the background...
Still, an interesting contribution.
Anvisningsmärke
Den här bara dök upp i mitt flöde. Är inte tillräckligt "autistisk" för att spana efter olika typer av trafikskyltar, men E14 (som det här anvisningsmärket tydligen kallas) är uppenbarligen okänt för de flesta. Det betyder "rekommenderad hastighet upphör".
Tack så mycket.
Thursday, February 26, 2026
Länkar till Damaskus
Den här bloggen är som bekant tvåspråkig, så här kommer en svensk uppföljare till det förra blogginlägget (som var på engelska). Vad sägs om det? Länkar till en av våra "ofrivilliga grannbloggar".
Det här är ett centralt stycke (om Lena Einhorns Jesus-bok): "Hennes metod är egendomlig. Trots att hon tror att Nya Testamentet bygger på en medveten lögn har hon en egendomlig tilltro till alla dess enskilda detaljer. Det är utifrån dessa detaljer – som ses som bokstavligt sanna – som hon bygger upp sin indiciekedja. Varför ett verk, som bygger på en medveten lögn om den döde och uppståndne Jesus kan vara så tillförlitlig i sina minsta detaljer kan hon inte förklara. Än mindre kan hon förklara varför ett verk som bygger på denna lögn samtidigt så beredvilligt skulle lägga in antydningar, för att hjälpa den misstänksamme läsaren att genomskåda lögnen…"
Har noterat att i stort sett alla konspirationsteorier om Jesus är uppbyggda på just detta sätt. Och kanske alla andra (orimliga) konspirationsteorier också? (De rimliga brukar som bekant vara sanna!) Här är i vart fall länkarna.
Twins and doubles
Not the best video on the topic, tbh. Watch it as entertainment.
For some reason, the atheist content-creator doesn´t mention the Jewish conspiracy theory that the disciples stole the body, which at least according to the Gospel of Matthew was the original skeptical explanation for the alleged resurrection of Jesus. Strangely, he thinks the "twin theory" (that Jesus had a brother who was his identical twin) is the most plausible, when it´s clearly a Gnostic allegory. The impostor theory is also highly unlikely. Did the impostor fool every single one of Jesus´ disciples, including his brother James? Or were they all in on it?
People in the commentary section also point out that Holy Koolaid missed the ancient aliens angle. "It´s low-tier but fun to argue". Yeah, maybe, but there *are* some New Religious Movements which un-ironically do believe that the Christ was cosmic. He actually was an alien from outer space! So be careful what you argue for in jest...
Unless the resurrection actually happened in the "traditional" fashion, there are three likely explanations IMHO. The first is that everything is a teaching story or myth. The second is that the disciples had really potent hallucinations. We could charitably call them "visions". The third is that the resurrection was a genuine paranormal phenomenon. Maybe the astral body of Jesus appeared to the apostles? In the two latter cases, the theology surrounding the resurrection may have been different from later accounts. Perhaps there wasn´t any contradiction between belief in a bodily resurrection of some sort and physical remains left behind in a tomb? (The Jehovah´s Witnesses seem to have a roughly similar belief today.)
Or it´s aliens. All the way up.
Ozzy forever
Overheard on the interwebs: "So, first John MacArthur dies and then Ozzy Osbourne. And you might be wondering, how is it that you could even be uttering these two names within the same breath? How different they were! You know, one was this massive rock star up on stage influencing millions of people, mumbling a bunch of nonsense, and the other one was Ozzy Osbourne."
Blizzard of Ozz
ChatGPT has answers to every conceivable question, I mean, dude!
Were Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath Satanists or anti-Satanists?
Short answer: They were not Satanists — and in many ways their message was anti-Satanic.
Let’s separate image from belief.
🎸 Black Sabbath
Formed in 1968 in Birmingham, the band developed a dark, occult aesthetic that shocked late-60s audiences.
Their name was inspired by a horror film:
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Black Sabbath (starring Boris Karloff)
But their lyrical content often gets misunderstood.
The Song “Black Sabbath”
On their 1970 debut album:
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Black Sabbath
The title track describes a terrifying encounter with a demonic figure. The tone is not celebratory — it’s fearful.
Geezer Butler (the bassist and main lyricist early on) has explained that the song was inspired by a frightening experience involving occult materials. The point was horror and warning — not praise.
🎤 Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy cultivated a shock-rock persona — especially during his solo career. Biting the head off a bat in 1982 cemented his “Prince of Darkness” image.
But:
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He has repeatedly denied being a Satanist.
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He was raised in the Church of England.
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He has said he believes in God.
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He has worn crosses throughout his career.
His use of dark imagery was theatrical — part horror, part rebellion, part marketing.
🧾 Lyrical Themes: Anti-Satanic?
Many early Sabbath songs actually have moral or cautionary themes:
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“After Forever” openly references belief in God.
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“Lord of This World” critiques Satan as a deceiver.
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“War Pigs” condemns warmongering political elites.
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“Children of the Grave” is anti-war and pro-peace.
There’s more apocalyptic Christianity than occult devotion in their catalog.
In fact, some early critics accused them of being Christian moralists disguised as occultists.
🧠 Why the Confusion?
In the late 1960s–70s:
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Occult imagery was culturally provocative.
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Bands used horror themes to differentiate themselves.
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Media panic amplified “Satanic” accusations.
Later, during the 1980s “Satanic Panic,” metal bands were frequently accused of promoting devil worship regardless of lyrical content.
⚖️ So What Were They?
Satanists?
→ No evidence supports that.
Occult-curious?
→ Some early fascination, especially via Geezer Butler reading occult literature.
Using horror imagery artistically?
→ Absolutely.
Often morally cautionary in tone?
→ Yes.
Ironically, many of their songs portray evil as terrifying, destructive, and spiritually dangerous — which is closer to traditional Christian demonology than to Satanism.
If you’d like, we could also explore:
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The difference between theatrical occultism and real Satanism
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How metal’s use of “darkness” compares to earlier Romanticism
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Or how later bands (like early Norwegian black metal) differed ideologically
Given your interest in religion and symbolism, the archetypal “Prince of Darkness” motif in modern music could be a fascinating angle.
His song "Suicide solution" was accused of promoting suicide, but Ozzy himself claimed it was anti-suicide.
Yes — that controversy became one of the most famous metal moral panics of the 1980s.
🎵 Suicide Solution
From the album:
💿 Blizzard of Ozz
By:
🎤 Ozzy Osbourne
What the Song Was Supposed to Mean
Ozzy and bassist/lyricist Bob Daisley have said the song was about alcohol abuse, not suicide advocacy.
The phrase “Suicide Solution” was intended as a play on words:
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“Solution” = a liquid (alcohol)
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Alcohol as a slow form of self-destruction
Ozzy has stated it was partly inspired by the death of AC/DC singer
Bon Scott
who died in 1980 from acute alcohol poisoning.
In interviews, Ozzy repeatedly said the song was meant as a warning about drinking yourself to death.
The Lawsuit
In 1984, the parents of a California teenager who died by suicide sued Ozzy, claiming the song contained hidden subliminal messages encouraging suicide.
The case went to court in 1986.
The judge dismissed it, ruling:
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There was no evidence of subliminal messages.
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Lyrics are protected under free speech.
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There was no demonstrable causal link.
This case became one of the early cultural flashpoints in what later became the 1980s “Satanic Panic” around heavy metal.
Why People Thought It Promoted Suicide
Several factors:
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The repeated line “Suicide is the only way out” (taken out of context sounds direct).
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Ozzy’s dark public persona.
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The broader cultural fear of heavy metal at the time.
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Lack of nuance in media coverage.
But in context, the lyrics describe addiction trapping someone until they feel there’s no way out — not prescribing suicide as a solution.
Was It Anti-Suicide?
Ozzy has consistently said yes.
However, there’s an important nuance:
The song is dark and ambiguous. It doesn’t clearly say, “Don’t do this.” It depicts despair vividly.
That ambiguity made it easy to misinterpret.
Broader Pattern
This mirrors the earlier accusation that
Black Sabbath
were Satanists — where horror aesthetics were mistaken for endorsement.
In both cases:
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Darkness was treated as advocacy.
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Artistic depiction was conflated with moral encouragement.
If you're interested, we could explore:
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Whether art depicting despair increases or decreases harmful behavior.
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How moral panic works psychologically.
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Or how heavy metal’s engagement with death compares to older religious “memento mori” traditions.
Länge leve det fria och självständiga Sverige!
Vi behöver en fransk general på tronen! En som *inte* allierar sig med Ryssland...
The way of silence
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| Credit: The Fourth Way |
The less you say, the more you hear. And the more you know, the less you say...
Inversion
I´m a bit surprised by the large number of atheists on-line who naively assert that Satanists never harm anyone. Christians (especially the Catholic Church) are guilty of sexual abuse and what not. Satanists never are.
That is, people who *are explicitly named after an evil being in Christian/Western mythology* are actually harmless, while people claiming to follow the good guy are evil?! Yeah, I´m sure that´s the case. Or maybe not, since this sounds exactly like...Satanist inversion.
When does naivety cease being an excuse? If one group of evil-doers claim to be good Christians, why is it so bloody inconceivable that people who openly brag about being transgressive actually are so?
What a time to be alive
This guy again! ;-)
The content-creator Jay (who believes in the channelled scripture known as the Urantia Book) is happy about Trump´s promise to disclose information about UFOs and aliens. Jay believes that most aliens are benign. Our planet ("Satania") is quarantined by the angelic aliens due to Adam´s and Eve´s fall. Maybe Trump´s disclosure means that the quarantine is finally over?
Jay also criticizes Christians for thinking that everything that isn´t strictly "Biblical" simply must be demonic in nature. He predicts that many Christians will get their faith shaken by the impending revelations from the Pentagon archives. Perhaps a gradual disclosure process will lessen the impact?
I admit that I don´t share Jay´s optimism. What will actually happen is...nothing at all. Or more disinfo from the military. Besides, what makes us think that the government knows anything important at all about the vast cosmic expanses? Let alone Havona.
Men Charles de Gaulle hade rätt...
Den här idioten vet inte hur man använder svenska idiom, och tydligen kan ingen på redaktionen tala om det för honom. Det idiom han använder ("tiden har sprungit ikapp X") betyder *raka motsatsen* till vad han tror! Pinsamt.
Men...
Han verkar ha rätt i sak.
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Surrealism
Den här surrealistiska teatern kommer visst att fortsätta ett tag till...
En intressant detalj som TH inte kommenterar (men som framgår av tabellen) är att Venezuela inte ens deltog i omröstningen. Varför? Observera också att Israel faktiskt röstade för resolutionen. Lyssnar de inte på Trump längre? Eller uppfattas denna resolution som mindre viktig?
Tatzelwurm
Years ago, I actually read a book which took the Tatzelwurm seriously and proposed that it could be a cryptid, perhaps a large and largely unknown species of lizard. Think the Gila Monster, but much more agile. Reading more about it, I think it´s *much* more likely that we´re dealing either with local folklore (think dragons) and/or misidentified mammals. Why else would the "lizard" have the head of a cat? Of course, the book in question also took "de Loys´ ape" seriously, so there´s that...
Can you tell me about the Tatzelwurm?
The Tatzelwurm (also called Stollenwurm or Bergstutzen) is a creature from Alpine folklore, especially associated with parts of:
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Austria
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Switzerland
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Bavaria in Germany
Its name roughly means “claw worm” or “pawed worm” (from German Tatze = paw, Wurm = worm/serpent).
🐉 What Does It Look Like?
Descriptions vary, but most accounts agree on a few features:
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Long, serpentine or lizard-like body
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Very short body compared to a snake — sometimes described as stubby
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Two forelegs (sometimes four) with claws
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Cat-like or reptilian head
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Reported length: 1–2 meters (3–6 feet)
Some witnesses claimed it had:
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A wide mouth with sharp teeth
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Piercing eyes
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Smooth or scaly skin
It’s often described as aggressive and dangerous.
📜 Folklore & Reported Encounters
The Tatzelwurm appears in Alpine folklore dating back to at least the 18th century, though stories may be older. It was said to:
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Live in mountain caves or rocky crevices
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Attack livestock
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Poison or suffocate victims with breath or venom
There are scattered 19th and early 20th century reports from peasants and hikers claiming sightings in the Alps.
One famous alleged sighting occurred in 1828 near the Austrian Alps, where a man reportedly died after claiming to have encountered one. Later, in the early 1900s, some naturalists tried to investigate reports, but no physical evidence was ever found.
🧠 Possible Explanations
Scholars and skeptics have proposed several theories:
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Misidentified animals
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Large salamanders
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Escaped exotic reptiles
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Distorted sightings of martens or other Alpine mammals
-
-
Folkloric dragon survival
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It may be a regional echo of European dragon legends.
-
-
Cultural fear-symbol
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Mountain dangers personified: avalanches, crevasses, wild animals.
-
🐲 Is It a Cryptid?
Yes — in modern terms, the Tatzelwurm is classified as a cryptid (a creature reported in folklore but lacking scientific evidence), similar in category to:
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Loch Ness Monster
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Mokele-mbembe
However, unlike those, it is specifically rooted in Alpine mountain culture rather than lakes or jungles.
🔎 Cultural Meaning
In Alpine regions, the Tatzelwurm represents:
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Fear of wild, untamed nature
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The mystery of mountain caves
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A remnant of medieval dragon imagery localized into rural folklore
It’s less a “monster hunt” creature and more a regional mythic animal — somewhere between a dragon and a salamander.
If you’d like, I can also:
-
Compare it to medieval dragon symbolism
-
Explore its Jungian/archetypal meaning
-
Look at how it relates to other Alpine spirit beings
-
Or examine whether it could connect to older Indo-European serpent myths
Which direction interests you?
Could it be a misidentified large lizard (something like the Gila Monster in the United States)?
That’s a very reasonable hypothesis — and it’s one that has often been suggested.
Short answer: it’s unlikely, but not impossible in isolated cases.
Let’s break it down.
🦎 Comparison to the Gila monster
The Gila monster (found in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico) matches some Tatzelwurm descriptions:
Similarities
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Thick-bodied
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Large head
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Short, powerful legs with claws
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Venomous bite (which could explain “poison breath” folklore)
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Somewhat slow but intimidating appearance
Key problem:
Gila monsters are desert reptiles. They do not live in cold Alpine climates.
The Alps (in Austria, Switzerland, and Germany) are far too cold for such reptiles to survive naturally.
🌡 Climate Problem
Large lizards are ectothermic (cold-blooded). Alpine regions have:
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Long, cold winters
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Snow cover
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High elevations
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Short warm seasons
Even Europe’s largest native lizards (like wall lizards or green lizards) are much smaller and prefer warmer habitats.
A stable breeding population of something Gila-sized in the Alps would be biologically implausible without modern climate change — and even then, survival would be difficult.
🦎 What About Escaped Exotics?
This is more plausible in modern times:
-
A privately kept exotic lizard escapes.
-
Someone sees it.
-
Local folklore interprets it through existing myth.
However:
-
Most Tatzelwurm reports predate exotic pet trade.
-
Many accounts describe creatures longer than any Gila monster (sometimes 1–2 meters).
🐉 More Likely Biological Candidates
If it was a real animal, possibilities might include:
1. Giant Salamanders (misidentification theory)
Europe does not have giant salamanders like Asia does, but large amphibians can look very strange when glimpsed briefly.
2. Distorted Mammal Sightings
A rearing marten, otter, or badger seen briefly in rocky terrain can look surprisingly serpentine.
3. Folkloric Amplification
A small lizard + fear + retelling = dragon-like creature over time.
🧠 Psychological & Folklore Layer
The “two-legged serpent” motif appears in medieval European dragon imagery. The Tatzelwurm may be:
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A regional survival of dragon iconography
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A mountain adaptation of the pan-European “wyrm”
The name itself (Wurm) already places it in that mythic category.
⚖️ So Could It Be a Gila-Monster-Type Animal?
Biologically stable Alpine population?
→ Extremely unlikely.
Occasional misidentified reptile?
→ Possible but weakly supported.
Myth emerging from distorted sightings + dragon folklore?
→ Much more probable.
If you're interested, we could go deeper into:
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Whether Europe ever had large lizards in historical times
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The evolutionary plausibility of a cold-adapted reptilian cryptid
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Or whether Alpine folklore preserves older Indo-European serpent myths
Which direction would you like to explore?
Whether Europe ever had large lizards in historical times.
Short answer: Yes — but not in the time period relevant to Tatzelwurm legends.
Europe has had very large reptiles in deep prehistory, but not in recorded human history in the Alpine region.
Let’s break it down carefully.
🦎 1. Deep Prehistory (Millions of Years Ago)
In the Miocene epoch (about 23–5 million years ago), Europe was warmer and supported large reptiles.
Giant Monitor Lizards
Fossils show that relatives of modern monitor lizards once lived in Europe. One famous example is:
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Varanus priscus (more commonly known from Australia, but related forms existed in Europe)
Europe had monitor-like lizards during warmer climatic periods, when subtropical ecosystems extended much farther north.
However:
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These disappeared long before humans.
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Climate cooling during the Ice Ages wiped out large reptile populations in Europe.
🦎 2. During the Ice Age (Pleistocene)
By the time humans were present in Europe (last 300,000 years):
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Large reptiles were already gone.
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Cold-adapted mammals dominated (mammoths, cave bears, etc.).
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Reptiles were limited to small, cold-tolerant species.
There is no fossil evidence of large lizards surviving in Ice Age Europe.
🦎 3. Historical / Medieval Europe
In recorded history:
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The largest European lizards are species like the green lizard (Lacerta viridis), typically under 40 cm.
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Europe has no native monitor lizards.
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No fossil or archaeological evidence suggests survival of large reptilian species into Roman or medieval times.
If something Gila-sized had existed in the Alps 1,000 years ago, we would expect:
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Bones in caves
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Mentions in Roman natural histories (e.g., Pliny)
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Physical remains
None exist.
🌍 4. Climate Barrier
The Alps (in Austria and Switzerland) have been cold for tens of thousands of years.
Large ectothermic reptiles:
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Cannot regulate internal temperature.
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Struggle in long freezing winters.
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Require warm basking environments and extended active seasons.
A hidden relic population surviving Ice Ages in Alpine caves would be biologically extraordinary — and would require a unique physiology unlike any known lizard.
🧬 5. Could a Cold-Adapted Large Reptile Evolve?
Theoretically?
Yes.
Realistically?
Extremely unlikely.
To survive Alpine winters, such a reptile would need:
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Extreme hibernation ability
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Deep geothermal cave habitats
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Very low metabolism
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A stable breeding population
No fossil record supports such a lineage.
🐉 Why the Legends Persist
Even though large lizards didn’t survive historically in Europe, Europe did preserve:
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Dragon myths
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Wyrm legends
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Serpent-killing hero stories
The word “Wurm” in Tatzelwurm already places it in that mythic lineage.
It’s much more plausible that:
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Small reptiles or mammals were misidentified.
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Dragon imagery survived in localized folklore.
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Mountain dangers became personified as a clawed serpent.
🔎 Bottom Line
Did Europe once have large lizards?
→ Yes — millions of years ago.
Did they survive into historical times in the Alps?
→ There is no fossil, archaeological, or textual evidence that they did.
Is the Tatzelwurm a survival of prehistoric reptile fauna?
→ Extremely unlikely.
If you'd like, we could explore something more speculative:
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Could Ice Age cave ecosystems hide unknown vertebrates?
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Or how dragon mythology may preserve distorted memory of prehistoric megafauna?
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Or whether similar “two-legged serpent” beings appear in Indo-European myth patterns?
Given your interest in comparative religion and symbolism, the mythic continuity angle might be especially interesting.
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