1. The Profound Impact of Elvis's Early Life and Trauma:
- Poverty and Epigenetic Trauma: Elvis grew up in extreme poverty in the South during the Great Depression. Conner emphasizes that "poverty is epigenetic it does it's something that is passed down it does cause trauma it does break you uh break the psyche." He compares the living conditions to those found in North Korea today.
- The Loss of His Twin, Jesse: The stillbirth of his twin brother, Jesse, 35 minutes before Elvis, had a lasting and profound psychological impact. Conner discusses the concept of the "twinless Survivor," stating that such individuals often experience "incredible psychic uh trauma... it's almost like half a person and lives this life of guilt." He draws parallels with Philip K. Dick, noting that the loss can drive individuals to become "a Seeker explore the bigger questions of Life."
- Overprotective Mother (Gladys) and "Lethal Enmeshment": Gladys's overprotectiveness, stemming from the loss of Jesse and the inability to have more children, led to a "lethal enmeshment" where Elvis was treated as a "substitute spouse." This stifled his ego development, resulting in a complex personality: "one second they're extremely they're like a very wise and old but the other time they want to play and they're very irresponsible." This also contributed to tendencies towards artistic expression, workaholism, self-destruction, and addiction.
- Early Mystical Experience: Conner recounts a story where Elvis's father witnessed a strange blue light and silence over their house during Gladys's labor, coinciding with Jesse's stillbirth. This introduces the theme of "cosmic fate" and questions of free will.
2. Elvis as a Spiritual Seeker and His Engagement with Mysticism:
- Jesse as a "Daimon" and Motivation: The memory of Jesse became a driving force for Elvis, pushing him to understand the meaning of life and leading him into "Mystic of cult Traditions." Jesse became a "voice in his head," almost like a "daimon" or spiritual guide (drawing on Hellenistic concepts of a higher self).
- Pentecostalism and the Roots of Rock and Roll: Elvis's upbringing in Pentecostalism heavily influenced his music. Conner explains how the ecstatic and shamanistic nature of Pentecostal church services, with practices like speaking in tongues, provided a foundation for the energy and expression of rock and roll. The term "rock and rolling" in the 1940s was associated with the intense energy of these services.
- Gladys's Mystical Side: Gladys herself had a mystical side, with accounts of seeing "shadow people" and experiencing premonitions. She also seemed to pass on a "witch blood" lineage.
- Astral Travel and Healing: As a teenager, Elvis confessed to his girlfriend June Juanico that he could astral travel and that his mother had taught him. He also believed in and practiced physical healing through the "laying of hands."
- UFO Encounters: Elvis had multiple witnessed UFO encounters, demonstrating an early interest in the subject. He read UFO literature and believed these beings were superior and telepathic, even suggesting they were preventing nuclear war.
- Symbolism of Jewelry and Clothing: Elvis's jewelry, including the Ankh, cross, and Star of David, reflected his interest in various spiritual traditions. His stage suits often incorporated Mayan and Egyptian designs, and he was heavily influenced by his childhood hero, Captain Marvel (Shazam), whose lightning bolt symbol became his own "Taking Care of Business" (TCB) logo.
- Raising Collars as a Spiritual Teacher Symbol: Elvis raised his collars on stage after reading a book about great spiritual teachers who often had this characteristic. He saw it as a way to embody a spiritual presence.
3. Elvis's Eclectic Spiritual Beliefs and Practices:
- Beyond Traditional Christianity: While raised Christian, Elvis developed a more syncretic and mystical worldview. He had issues with the Southern church's condemnation of his fame and with the Catholic church's perceived secrecy.
- Interest in Reincarnation: Elvis believed in reincarnation, influenced by Eastern philosophies and Gnostic ideas. He thought that one's progress in each life determined their ultimate fate.
- The Bible as Code: Elvis viewed the Bible not as literal scripture but as a "code to unlock the Divinity of every person," studying it through Kabbalistic and numerological lenses.
- Influence of Larry Geller: His meeting with hairdresser Larry Geller in 1964 marked a significant turning point, leading to deeper exploration of metaphysics and occult literature. Geller became a spiritual confidante and introduced Elvis to numerous esoteric texts.
- Favorite Spiritual Books: Conner mentions the Bible (as a coded text), Joseph Benner's "The Impersonal Life" (introducing the concept of the cosmic Christ), and Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet" as particularly influential. Elvis was a voracious reader of occult and spiritual texts.
- Meditation and Ceremonial Magic: Elvis was an avid meditator and practiced ceremonial magic, including "ceremonial sex magic" with Ginger Alden to expand consciousness and achieve "Christ Consciousness."
- Belief in Christ Consciousness: He believed in techniques to enhance one's Christ Consciousness and connection to the Divine.
4. Elvis as a Cultural and Spiritual Archetype:
- Breaking Racial Barriers: Elvis was open-minded and saw all cultures as equal. His love for Black music and his friendships with Black individuals helped to break down racial barriers, despite facing criticism in the South.
- Liberating Women and Redefining Masculinity: Conner argues that Elvis's music and persona liberated women, allowing them to embrace their sexuality and objectify men. He also presented a more vulnerable and moody form of masculinity, alongside figures like James Dean.
- The Trickster Archetype: Conner posits that Elvis embodies the "trickster archetype" rather than the king. The trickster is associated with innovation, danger, liminal spaces ("crossroads"), and societal change. Elvis existed at the crossroads of music, race, and cultural shifts.
- Elvis as the American/Western Shaman: Conner draws a compelling parallel between Elvis and the shaman figure. Like a shaman, Elvis sought spiritual gifts, medicine, and art, bringing them to the "tribe" (his audience). He also experienced the shaman's burden, with his health and well-being deteriorating under the pressure of his role, leading to addiction.
- Ecstatic States on Stage and the Egregore: Elvis's performances often involved entering altered states of consciousness, influenced by his Pentecostal background. He connected with his audience through an "egregore," a collective energy that could manifest through him.
- No Belief in Coincidences: Elvis saw deeper meaning in events, exemplified by his instant connection with Larry Geller.
5. Elvis's Final Years and Lingering Presence:
- Belief in His Imminent Death: Towards the end of his life, Elvis seemed to have a premonition of his death, confessing it to close associates.
- Symbolism of His Death: Conner suggests that the circumstances of Elvis's death, including his attire and the last book he read ("The Real Face of Jesus"), might have had symbolic significance, hinting at a "Magic Ritual."
- Enduring Legacy and "Sightings": Elvis's presence continues to be felt, with reported sightings, dream appearances, and near-death experiences. Conner places him in a pantheon of enduring figures like Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Bigfoot, suggesting a continued "living" presence in the collective consciousness or other dimensions.
Quotes:
- "your destruction is also your salvation the arons hold the keys to your Enlightenment and as Yung said the bigger the light the bigger the shadow the the longer the Shadow" (Discussing the duality of Elvis's fame).
- "a man can do what he will but he cannot will what he will" (Schopenhauer's quote reflecting on fate, applied to Elvis's life).
- "poverty is epigenetic it does it's something that is passed down it does cause trauma it does break you uh break the psyche" (Highlighting the impact of Elvis's upbringing).
- "twins are connected in the womb they play in the womb and uh when one twin dies the other one is almost like half a person and lives this life of guilt" (Explaining the "twinless Survivor" concept).
- "Jesse became his reason to understand life which later led him Into the Mystic of cult Traditions" (On the impact of his brother's death).
- "glattus always said we are all equal in God's eyes to them it was your actions that mattered" (Illustrating Elvis's upbringing regarding equality).
- "I carry Heaven and Hell in my hands and I have to be careful how I balance them out" (Elvis's own words on the duality within him).
- "this is the sound I've been looking for all my life this is the this is it this is Magic this is spiritual Perfect Blend of black and white music" (Sam Phillips's reaction to Elvis's impromptu performance).
- "he was still seeking still reading still meditating still doing his magic changing matter and moving clouds and moving objects he was still very much into a shaman uh role" (Describing Elvis's continued spiritual practices towards the end of his life).
Early Life & Influences:
- Birth and Loss of Twin (January 8th, year unspecified, likely early 1930s): Elvis Presley is born in Tupelo, Mississippi, 35 minutes after his stillborn identical twin brother, Jesse. The home birth, due to poverty, is a traumatic event.
- Impoverished Upbringing (Great Depression Era): Elvis grows up in abject poverty in the South, experiencing homelessness and food scarcity. His father spends time in jail.
- Family Background: Elvis comes from a lineage of sharecroppers and bootleggers. His mother, Gladys, is described as having "witch blood," premonitions, and encounters with "shadow people."
- Pentecostalism and Gospel Music: Elvis and his stillborn twin Jesse are exposed to ecstatic Pentecostal church services with music and altered states of mind in the womb. This deeply influences Elvis's musical sensibilities.
- Gladys's Overprotectiveness: After being told she couldn't have more children, Gladys becomes extremely overprotective of Elvis, leading to a "lethal enmeshment" where he becomes a substitute spouse, hindering his ego development.
- Early Interest in Mysticism (Teenage Years): Elvis and a girlfriend, Jun Juano, read The Prophet by Khalil Gibran. He confides in her about his ability to astral travel, claiming his mother taught him. He also believes in and practices healing.
- Cherokee and Other Ancestry: Elvis is believed to have Cherokee, Jewish, Welsh, and Scottish ancestry on his maternal side.
- Gladys's Premonitions and Belief in Demons: Gladys always felt Elvis was doomed and believed their family had demons.
Rise to Fame and Inner Turmoil:
- Early Musical Career (Mid-1950s): Elvis auditions at Sun Records and initially struggles. However, during a break, he spontaneously performs "That's All Right, Mama" in a unique style, leading Sam Phillips to sign him. This marks the beginning of his rock and roll career, heavily influenced by gospel and blues music.
- Breaking Racial Barriers: Elvis openly embraces black music and culture, facing criticism and even danger for his associations and style. He believes in racial equality, influenced by his parents' ethics and his own experiences with poverty alongside black communities.
- Initial Spiritual Comfort from the Bible: Elvis initially finds comfort and guidance in the Bible, taking it more literally.
- Death of Gladys Presley (1958): The sudden death of his mother in her early forties devastates Elvis. He receives only two weeks of mourning leave from the Army.
- Army Service in Germany: While stationed in Germany, Elvis's spiritual interests begin to evolve. He discusses reincarnation with a German fellow at his hotel.
Exploration of Mysticism and Spirituality:
- Meeting Larry Geller (1964): A chance encounter with hairdresser Larry Geller, who shares his interest in mysticism, sparks Elvis's deeper spiritual awakening. Geller becomes a close friend and spiritual advisor.
- Extensive Reading on Occult and Spiritual Topics: Elvis becomes an avid reader of books on metaphysics, religion, Eastern philosophies (yoga, Buddhism), theosophy (Madame Blavatsky), and Western esoteric traditions (Kabbalah, numerology, ceremonial magic). He has a collection of around 20 occult books that travel with him.
- Belief in Reincarnation: Elvis develops a belief in reincarnation, influenced by his readings and experiences. He has his own interpretation, suggesting that those who don't spiritually progress may eventually dissolve into matter.
- View of the Bible as Code: Elvis shifts his perspective on the Bible, viewing it as a coded text containing mystical insights and a key to unlocking inner divinity. He studies it through mystical Jewish lenses.
- Influence of Joseph Benner's "The Impersonal Life": This book introduces Elvis to the concept of the "cosmic Christ" and the idea that everyone has a spark of divinity within.
- Interest in Ascended Masters and Ancient Wisdom: Elvis reads about ascended masters, Freemasons, and other figures believed to be part of an enlightened lineage working to better humanity. He hopes he might also be called to such a role.
- Practice of Meditation and Ceremonial Magic: Elvis actively practices meditation and engages in ceremonial magic rituals. He also believes in and practices healing.
- Experiencing "Electricity" and Connection to Audience: Elvis describes feeling a powerful "electricity" coursing through him during performances, connecting him to the audience, reminiscent of the Holy Spirit possession in Pentecostalism.
- UFO Encounters (Early to Mid-1960s onwards): Elvis has multiple witnessed encounters with UFOs and is a keen follower of UFO literature, including Erich von Däniken's Chariots of the Gods. He interprets biblical accounts like Ezekiel's vision as UFO sightings.
- Symbolism of Jewelry and Clothing: Elvis's jewelry, including the Ankh, cross, and Star of David, reflects his eclectic spiritual interests. His stage costumes often incorporate symbolism from different cultures (Egyptian, Mayan) and are inspired by his hero, Captain Marvel/Shazam, whose lightning bolt logo he adopts.
- Raised Collars as Spiritual Teacher Symbol: Elvis raises the collars of his jumpsuits after reading a book about great spiritual teachers in history who all had this fashion.
Later Life and Spiritual Aspirations:
- Conflicts with Memphis Mafia and Priscilla: Elvis's deepening spiritual interests and withdrawal from material pursuits cause friction with his inner circle, who fear his changing behavior and the influence of Larry Geller. They orchestrate Geller's removal.
- Near-Quit Attempts for Monastic Life: Elvis considers leaving his career to become a Christian or Hindu monk in the 1960s.
- Reconnection with Larry Geller (1970s): After his divorce from Priscilla, Elvis reconnects with Larry Geller and resumes his full-time pursuit of mysticism.
- Belief in the Trickster Archetype: Miguel Conner posits that Elvis embodies the trickster archetype, a figure of innovation and change who exists at the crossroads and can be both a giver and a destroyer.
- Comparison to the Shaman Archetype: Conner also suggests Elvis fits the archetype of the Western shaman, a spiritual troubleshooter who brings gifts and healing to the "tribe" (his audience) but ultimately suffers personal breakdown due to the immense pressure.
- Last Days and Final Book: In his final days, Elvis reads a book about the real face of Jesus. Conner interprets his death as a possible "Magic Ritual" based on his attire and the symbolism of the bathroom.
- Continued "Sightings" and Legacy: Despite his death, Elvis continues to be "sighted" in dreams and near-death experiences, suggesting his enduring presence as a mythic figure.
Cast of Characters with Brief Bios:
- Miguel Connor: Writer, voiceover artist, and host of the podcast Aeon Byte. Author of The Occult Elvis, the book being discussed in the interview.
- Allison Denlop Shanes: Host of the podcast ADX-Files.
- Elvis Presley: Iconic American singer and actor (1935-1977). Rose from poverty to become a global superstar. Deeply influenced by gospel and blues music, he later developed a strong interest in mysticism, spirituality, and the occult.
- Gladys Presley: Elvis Presley's mother. Described as overprotective after the death of Elvis's twin. Believed in mystical phenomena and had premonitions. Her early death deeply affected Elvis.
- Jesse Presley: Elvis Presley's identical twin brother, who was stillborn 35 minutes before Elvis. His death had a profound and lifelong impact on Elvis, leading to feelings of guilt and a search for meaning.
- Vernon Presley: Elvis Presley's father.
- Jun Juano: Elvis's girlfriend in his teenage years. They shared an interest in reading The Prophet, and Elvis confided in her about his astral travel experiences.
- Sam Phillips: Founder of Sun Records, the record label where Elvis Presley began his career. Recognized Elvis's unique sound and potential.
- Sunny West: Elvis Presley's bodyguard who witnessed one of his UFO encounters.
- Priscilla Presley: Elvis Presley's wife. Her relationship with Elvis was complicated by his deep attachment to his mother and his later spiritual pursuits. She was part of the effort to distance Elvis from Larry Geller.
- Captain Marvel/Shazam: A comic book superhero who was Elvis Presley's childhood hero. The character's lightning bolt symbol became Elvis's personal logo.
- Khalil Gibran: Author of The Prophet, a book that Elvis read and discussed in his teenage years.
- Larry Geller: Elvis Presley's hairdresser who became a close friend and spiritual advisor, introducing him to a wider range of mystical and spiritual teachings.
- Joseph Benner: Author of The Impersonal Life, a book that significantly influenced Elvis Presley's understanding of spirituality and the "cosmic Christ."
- Manly P. Hall: Esoteric philosopher and author of The Secret Teachings of All Ages, another book Elvis read.
- Madame Blavatsky: Co-founder of the Theosophical Society. Elvis was drawn to her writings and even felt she resembled his mother.
- Paramahansa Yogananda: Indian guru and author of Autobiography of a Yogi. Elvis was interested in his teachings and briefly considered joining his ashram.
- Helena Blavatsky: (Note: This appears to be a repetition and likely refers to Madame Blavatsky mentioned above).
- Robert Johnson: Legendary blues musician whose life and talent are often associated with the myth of making a deal with the devil at a crossroads. His death date coincidentally aligns with Elvis's.
- Colonel Parker: Elvis Presley's manager. He was reportedly concerned about Elvis's increasing interest in spirituality.
- Lisa Marie Presley: Elvis Presley's daughter. The source mentions her passing in the context of a potential "dark lineage" in the Presley family.
- David Bowie: Iconic musician born on January 8th, a date also shared by Elvis Presley.
- Roy Batty: The main antagonist in the film Blade Runner, whose fictional "birthdate" is also January 8th.
- Malcolm Queen: President of the Glasgow Theosophical Society, mentioned as a speaker at an event.
Key Concepts and Themes
- Fate vs. Free Will: Explore the extent to which Elvis's life trajectory was predetermined by circumstances of his birth (poverty, death of twin), parental influence, and cosmic forces versus the choices he made.
- Twinless Survivor Syndrome: Understand the psychological impact of losing a twin in utero and its potential manifestations in Elvis's life, such as seeking behavior, artistic drive, self-destructive tendencies, and difficulty connecting with others.
- Lethal Enmeshment: Analyze the effects of his mother Gladys's overprotectiveness and the dynamic of their relationship on Elvis's ego development and adult life.
- Pentecostalism and Gospel Music: Examine the influence of Elvis's early exposure to Pentecostalism and gospel music on his musical style and stage presence, including the concept of "rock and roll" originating from ecstatic church practices.
- Mystical and Occult Interests: Investigate Elvis's lifelong fascination with mysticism, the occult, Eastern religions, UFOs, and various esoteric traditions, including specific figures and texts that influenced him (e.g., The Prophet, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, Madame Blavatsky).
- The Daemon/Higher Self: Understand the Hellenistic concept of a personal spiritual guide and its potential role in Elvis's life and motivations.
- The Trickster Archetype: Analyze how the concept of the trickster, distinct from the Christian devil, as a figure of innovation, duality, and liminality, can be applied to understanding Elvis's persona and impact.
- Elvis as American/Western Shaman: Explore the parallels between Elvis's life and the role of a shaman, including his artistic gifts, healing abilities (believed), connection to the spirit world, and the personal cost of carrying the "tribe" (his audience).
- Reincarnation: Understand Elvis's belief in reincarnation, influenced by various mystical traditions, and his unique perspective on its purpose and consequences.
- Symbolism in Elvis's Life: Analyze the significance of symbols in Elvis's life, such as the ankh, cross, Star of David, Captain Marvel's lightning bolt, and the raised collars on his jumpsuits.
- Elvis's Views on Religion and Spirituality: Examine his evolving views on Christianity, his criticisms of organized religion, and his embrace of a more personal and eclectic spiritual path.
- Influence on Social Change: Analyze Elvis's role in breaking down racial barriers in music, his impact on women's liberation and sexual expression, and his contribution to broader cultural shifts in the 1950s and beyond.
- The Role of Key Relationships: Understand the influence of significant figures like Gladys Presley, Jesse Garon Presley, Larry Geller, and Priscilla Presley on Elvis's life and spiritual journey.
Quiz
- Describe two significant ways Elvis's impoverished upbringing in the South impacted his life, according to Miguel Conner.
- Explain the concept of "twinless survivor" and provide one example of how this might have manifested in Elvis's personality or behavior.
- According to the interview, what was the original context of the phrase "rock and roll," and how did it relate to Elvis's background?
- Briefly describe the Hellenistic concept of a "daemon" and how it might have related to Elvis's understanding of himself.
- What evidence suggests that Elvis had a significant interest in UFOs, beyond tabloid rumors, according to Miguel Conner?
- Name two specific symbols that were important to Elvis and briefly explain their potential significance to him.
- How did Elvis's view of the Bible evolve over time, and what perspectives influenced his interpretations?
- According to Miguel Conner, in what ways did Elvis's background and personality align with the archetype of the "trickster"?
- Explain the parallels drawn between Elvis and the figure of a "shaman" in the interview.
- Briefly describe how the appearance and personality of Helena Blavatsky might have resonated with Elvis, according to Miguel Conner.
Quiz Answer Key
- Elvis's impoverished upbringing caused him significant trauma and likely contributed to mental and physical health issues due to the epigenetic effects of poverty. It also created a deep-seated drive to escape poverty and care for his family, which fueled his ambition.
- The "twinless survivor" syndrome describes the profound psychic trauma experienced by an individual whose twin dies in the womb, often leading to a feeling of being incomplete. In Elvis's case, this might have contributed to his lifelong search for meaning, his intense artistic expression, and potential difficulties in forming deep connections.
- The phrase "rock and roll" originally referred to the ecstatic and physically expressive nature of Pentecostal church services in the South during the 1940s, where people would move and shake energetically. Elvis and his twin Jesse were exposed to this "energy" in the womb.
- A "daemon" in the Hellenistic tradition is a higher self or spiritual guide that helps individuals throughout their lives, guiding them towards their intended path. Elvis likely saw his intuitive urges, his connection to music, and perhaps even the voice of Jesse as forms of this guidance.
- Miguel Conner cites accounts from established biographies, Priscilla Presley, the Memphis Mafia, and family friends as evidence of Elvis's UFO encounters. He also notes Elvis's familiarity with UFO literature and his interpretations of biblical texts like the vision of Ezekiel as UFO sightings.
- The ankh, an Egyptian symbol, represented Elvis's interest in Egyptian mysticism and potentially ideas of life and immortality. The lightning bolt, inspired by his hero Captain Marvel (Shazam), became his personal logo and symbolized "taking care of business" with a powerful, almost divine energy.
- Initially, Elvis took the Bible literally and found comfort in it, particularly during his youth. Later, influenced by occult studies and figures like Larry Geller, he came to see the Bible as a coded mystical text containing symbolic truths and insights into human divinity, drawing on Kabbalistic and Gnostic interpretations.
- Elvis embodied the trickster archetype through his innovative and boundary-breaking music that blended genres, his androgynous style that challenged gender norms, his ability to bridge cultural divides, and the inherent duality of his persona – both celebrated and self-destructive. He existed at the "crossroads" of various cultural and musical influences.
- Elvis shared several characteristics with the shaman archetype, including his artistic and musical gifts, a perceived ability to heal (through the laying of hands and the emotional impact of his performances), a connection to altered states of consciousness during performances (akin to entering the spirit world), and ultimately, a personal decline potentially linked to the immense pressure and energy he carried as a cultural icon.
- Miguel Conner suggests that Helena Blavatsky, a key figure in Theosophy, physically resembled Elvis's mother, Gladys Presley. This resemblance could explain Elvis's immediate fascination with Theosophy and Blavatsky's teachings, stemming from his deep and complex attachment to his mother.
Essay Format Questions
- Analyze the interplay between fate and free will in the life of Elvis Presley, drawing upon the concepts discussed in the interview. Consider the influence of his birth circumstances, family dynamics, and his personal choices in shaping his destiny.
- Explore the significance of Elvis Presley's interest in mysticism and the occult. How did these beliefs manifest in his life, his career, and his understanding of himself and his place in the world?
- Discuss the argument that Elvis Presley can be understood through the archetype of the trickster and/or the shaman. What aspects of his life, personality, and cultural impact support these interpretations?
- Examine the profound influence of Elvis Presley's mother, Gladys, on his life and spiritual development, considering both the positive and negative aspects of their relationship as described in the interview.
- Evaluate Elvis Presley's role as a catalyst for social change in areas such as race relations and cultural norms during his lifetime. To what extent did his background and personal beliefs contribute to these impacts?
Glossary of Key Terms
- Epigenetic: Relating to or arising from nongenetic influences on gene expression. In the context of poverty, it suggests that trauma and hardship can leave biological markers that are passed down through generations.
- Twinless Survivor: An individual who was part of a twin pregnancy where the other twin died in utero or shortly after birth. This can lead to unique psychological and emotional experiences.
- Lethal Enmeshment: A term used to describe an extremely close and overbearing parent-child relationship where the parent smothers the child's individuality and healthy ego development.
- Pentecostalism: A modern Protestant movement that emphasizes direct personal experience of God through the Holy Spirit, often manifested in spiritual gifts like speaking in tongues and divine healing.
- Gnosticism: A diverse set of religious and philosophical beliefs that emphasize spiritual knowledge (gnosis) as the key to salvation, often involving a distinction between a lower, material world and a higher, spiritual realm.
- Daemon (in Hellenistic thought): A benevolent or guiding spirit; a higher self or inner divine spark that can influence an individual's life and choices.
- Trickster Archetype: A figure found in mythology and folklore across cultures who is characterized by their cunning, deception, boundary-crossing behavior, and ability to bring about both chaos and positive change.
- Shaman: A person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the realm of spirits, typically entering into a trance state during a ritual, and practicing divination and healing.
- Kundalini: In Hindu philosophy, a dormant spiritual energy located at the base of the spine that can be awakened through spiritual practices, leading to higher states of consciousness.
- Egregor: A psychological concept referring to a non-physical entity that is created and sustained by the collective thoughts, emotions, and energies of a group of people focused on a common purpose.
- Astral Travel: An esoteric belief in an out-of-body experience where the "astral body" separates from the physical body and travels to other realms.
- Theosophy: A system of esoteric philosophy and metaphysics that seeks to understand the fundamental nature of reality, often incorporating elements from various religious and spiritual traditions, emphasizing spiritual evolution and the interconnectedness of all things.
- Christ Consciousness: A spiritual concept referring to a state of enlightenment and unity with the divine, often associated with the teachings of Jesus Christ but also seen as a universal potential within all beings.
- Kabbalah: A mystical interpretation of the Hebrew Bible, aiming to uncover its hidden meanings through symbolic and numerological methods.
- Numerology: The study of the mystical significance of numbers and their supposed influence on human life and events.
- Ascended Masters: In Theosophy and related spiritual traditions, enlightened beings who were once human but have evolved beyond the cycle of reincarnation and now serve as spiritual guides for humanity.
- Avatar: In Hinduism, a deliberate descent of a deity to Earth, or the material appearance of a deity on Earth. In a broader sense, a manifestation or embodiment of a particular quality or concept.
Main Themes and Important Ideas/Facts:
This interview with Miguel Conner, author of "The Occult Elvis," delves into the esoteric and mystical influences that shaped the life and career of Elvis Presley, going beyond the typical narratives of his musical impact and personal struggles. Conner argues that Elvis's background, personal traumas, and spiritual inclinations led him to explore occult traditions, shaping his worldview and even his public persona.
1. The Profound Impact of Elvis's Early Life and Trauma:
- Poverty and Epigenetic Trauma: Elvis grew up in extreme poverty in the South during the Great Depression. Conner emphasizes that "poverty is epigenetic it does it's something that is passed down it does cause trauma it does break you uh break the psyche." He compares the living conditions to those found in North Korea today.
- The Loss of His Twin, Jesse: The stillbirth of his twin brother, Jesse, 35 minutes before Elvis, had a lasting and profound psychological impact. Conner discusses the concept of the "twinless Survivor," stating that such individuals often experience "incredible psychic uh trauma... it's almost like half a person and lives this life of guilt." He draws parallels with Philip K. Dick, noting that the loss can drive individuals to become "a Seeker explore the bigger questions of Life."
- Overprotective Mother (Gladys) and "Lethal Enmeshment": Gladys's overprotectiveness, stemming from the loss of Jesse and the inability to have more children, led to a "lethal enmeshment" where Elvis was treated as a "substitute spouse." This stifled his ego development, resulting in a complex personality: "one second they're extremely they're like a very wise and old but the other time they want to play and they're very irresponsible." This also contributed to tendencies towards artistic expression, workaholism, self-destruction, and addiction.
- Early Mystical Experience: Conner recounts a story where Elvis's father witnessed a strange blue light and silence over their house during Gladys's labor, coinciding with Jesse's stillbirth. This introduces the theme of "cosmic fate" and questions of free will.
2. Elvis as a Spiritual Seeker and His Engagement with Mysticism:
- Jesse as a "Daimon" and Motivation: The memory of Jesse became a driving force for Elvis, pushing him to understand the meaning of life and leading him into "Mystic of cult Traditions." Jesse became a "voice in his head," almost like a "daimon" or spiritual guide (drawing on Hellenistic concepts of a higher self).
- Pentecostalism and the Roots of Rock and Roll: Elvis's upbringing in Pentecostalism heavily influenced his music. Conner explains how the ecstatic and shamanistic nature of Pentecostal church services, with practices like speaking in tongues, provided a foundation for the energy and expression of rock and roll. The term "rock and rolling" in the 1940s was associated with the intense energy of these services.
- Gladys's Mystical Side: Gladys herself had a mystical side, with accounts of seeing "shadow people" and experiencing premonitions. She also seemed to pass on a "witch blood" lineage.
- Astral Travel and Healing: As a teenager, Elvis confessed to his girlfriend June Juanico that he could astral travel and that his mother had taught him. He also believed in and practiced physical healing through the "laying of hands."
- UFO Encounters: Elvis had multiple witnessed UFO encounters, demonstrating an early interest in the subject. He read UFO literature and believed these beings were superior and telepathic, even suggesting they were preventing nuclear war.
- Symbolism of Jewelry and Clothing: Elvis's jewelry, including the Ankh, cross, and Star of David, reflected his interest in various spiritual traditions. His stage suits often incorporated Mayan and Egyptian designs, and he was heavily influenced by his childhood hero, Captain Marvel (Shazam), whose lightning bolt symbol became his own "Taking Care of Business" (TCB) logo.
- Raising Collars as a Spiritual Teacher Symbol: Elvis raised his collars on stage after reading a book about great spiritual teachers who often had this characteristic. He saw it as a way to embody a spiritual presence.
3. Elvis's Eclectic Spiritual Beliefs and Practices:
- Beyond Traditional Christianity: While raised Christian, Elvis developed a more syncretic and mystical worldview. He had issues with the Southern church's condemnation of his fame and with the Catholic church's perceived secrecy.
- Interest in Reincarnation: Elvis believed in reincarnation, influenced by Eastern philosophies and Gnostic ideas. He thought that one's progress in each life determined their ultimate fate.
- The Bible as Code: Elvis viewed the Bible not as literal scripture but as a "code to unlock the Divinity of every person," studying it through Kabbalistic and numerological lenses.
- Influence of Larry Geller: His meeting with hairdresser Larry Geller in 1964 marked a significant turning point, leading to deeper exploration of metaphysics and occult literature. Geller became a spiritual confidante and introduced Elvis to numerous esoteric texts.
- Favorite Spiritual Books: Conner mentions the Bible (as a coded text), Joseph Benner's "The Impersonal Life" (introducing the concept of the cosmic Christ), and Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet" as particularly influential. Elvis was a voracious reader of occult and spiritual texts.
- Meditation and Ceremonial Magic: Elvis was an avid meditator and practiced ceremonial magic, including "ceremonial sex magic" with Ginger Alden to expand consciousness and achieve "Christ Consciousness."
- Belief in Christ Consciousness: He believed in techniques to enhance one's Christ Consciousness and connection to the Divine.
4. Elvis as a Cultural and Spiritual Archetype:
- Breaking Racial Barriers: Elvis was open-minded and saw all cultures as equal. His love for Black music and his friendships with Black individuals helped to break down racial barriers, despite facing criticism in the South.
- Liberating Women and Redefining Masculinity: Conner argues that Elvis's music and persona liberated women, allowing them to embrace their sexuality and objectify men. He also presented a more vulnerable and moody form of masculinity, alongside figures like James Dean.
- The Trickster Archetype: Conner posits that Elvis embodies the "trickster archetype" rather than the king. The trickster is associated with innovation, danger, liminal spaces ("crossroads"), and societal change. Elvis existed at the crossroads of music, race, and cultural shifts.
- Elvis as the American/Western Shaman: Conner draws a compelling parallel between Elvis and the shaman figure. Like a shaman, Elvis sought spiritual gifts, medicine, and art, bringing them to the "tribe" (his audience). He also experienced the shaman's burden, with his health and well-being deteriorating under the pressure of his role, leading to addiction.
- Ecstatic States on Stage and the Egregore: Elvis's performances often involved entering altered states of consciousness, influenced by his Pentecostal background. He connected with his audience through an "egregore," a collective energy that could manifest through him.
- No Belief in Coincidences: Elvis saw deeper meaning in events, exemplified by his instant connection with Larry Geller.
5. Elvis's Final Years and Lingering Presence:
- Belief in His Imminent Death: Towards the end of his life, Elvis seemed to have a premonition of his death, confessing it to close associates.
- Symbolism of His Death: Conner suggests that the circumstances of Elvis's death, including his attire and the last book he read ("The Real Face of Jesus"), might have had symbolic significance, hinting at a "Magic Ritual."
- Enduring Legacy and "Sightings": Elvis's presence continues to be felt, with reported sightings, dream appearances, and near-death experiences. Conner places him in a pantheon of enduring figures like Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Bigfoot, suggesting a continued "living" presence in the collective consciousness or other dimensions.
Quotes:
- "your destruction is also your salvation the arons hold the keys to your Enlightenment and as Yung said the bigger the light the bigger the shadow the the longer the Shadow" (Discussing the duality of Elvis's fame).
- "a man can do what he will but he cannot will what he will" (Schopenhauer's quote reflecting on fate, applied to Elvis's life).
- "poverty is epigenetic it does it's something that is passed down it does cause trauma it does break you uh break the psyche" (Highlighting the impact of Elvis's upbringing).
- "twins are connected in the womb they play in the womb and uh when one twin dies the other one is almost like half a person and lives this life of guilt" (Explaining the "twinless Survivor" concept).
- "Jesse became his reason to understand life which later led him Into the Mystic of cult Traditions" (On the impact of his brother's death).
- "glattus always said we are all equal in God's eyes to them it was your actions that mattered" (Illustrating Elvis's upbringing regarding equality).
- "I carry Heaven and Hell in my hands and I have to be careful how I balance them out" (Elvis's own words on the duality within him).
- "this is the sound I've been looking for all my life this is the this is it this is Magic this is spiritual Perfect Blend of black and white music" (Sam Phillips's reaction to Elvis's impromptu performance).
- "he was still seeking still reading still meditating still doing his magic changing matter and moving clouds and moving objects he was still very much into a shaman uh role" (Describing Elvis's continued spiritual practices towards the end of his life).
Conclusion:
Miguel Conner's interview provides a fascinating perspective on Elvis Presley, portraying him not just as a musical icon but as a deeply complex individual shaped by trauma and driven by a profound spiritual quest. The interview highlights Elvis's engagement with occult traditions, his unique worldview, and his role as a cultural and potentially spiritual archetype. Conner's book, "The Occult Elvis," promises to delve even deeper into these often-overlooked aspects of Elvis's life and legacy.
Frequently Asked Questions: The Occult Elvis
1. What were some of the significant early life experiences that Miguel Conner argues shaped Elvis Presley's destiny and character?
Miguel Conner highlights several key factors. Firstly, Elvis's impoverished upbringing in the Deep South during the Great Depression, marked by homelessness and scarcity, instilled deep trauma and influenced his later life. Secondly, the stillbirth of his twin brother, Jesse, just before Elvis's birth, created a profound sense of loss and guilt, leading to a lifelong search for meaning and a feeling of being incomplete – a phenomenon Conner refers to as "twinless survivor syndrome." This often manifests in artistic drive, workaholism, and self-destructive tendencies. Lastly, his mother Gladys's overprotective nature, stemming from the loss of Jesse and the inability to have more children, resulted in a "lethal enmeshment" that hindered Elvis's ego development, creating a complex personality that was both wise and childlike, responsible and irresponsible. Conner also introduces the mysterious blue light incident during Jesse's birth as a potential sign of cosmic fate.
2. How did Elvis's Pentecostal background influence his music and his understanding of spirituality?
Elvis grew up deeply immersed in Pentecostalism and gospel music, which Conner argues were fundamental influences on the birth of rock and roll. The ecstatic, shamanistic nature of Pentecostal church services, with speaking in tongues and altered states of mind, instilled in him a sense of powerful spiritual energy. The term "rock and rolling" itself originated from this context, referring to the energetic and sometimes sexually charged atmosphere of these religious gatherings. Elvis, along with other early rock and roll pioneers, essentially blended the fervor and musicality of Pentecostalism with secular themes, creating a "mystical Christianity" infused with sensuality. This background likely contributed to his charismatic stage presence and his ability to connect with audiences on an emotional and perhaps even spiritual level.
3. The FAQ mentions that Gladys Presley had a mystical side. Can you elaborate on the types of experiences she reportedly had?
While concrete details are scarce due to limited record-keeping in the rural South during that time, Conner mentions that Gladys Presley was believed to have "witch blood" and a second sight. She reportedly experienced seeing "shadow people" while walking at night and had other unrecorded mystical experiences and premonitions. There was also a family belief in healing, which Gladys and Vernon practiced on a young Elvis with the laying on of hands, seemingly curing his illness. Additionally, while pregnant with the twins, Gladys felt a constant urge to attend church, even unconventional outdoor gatherings characterized by ecstatic behavior, which suggests a heightened spiritual sensitivity.
4. Elvis was known for wearing jewelry with various religious and mystical symbols. What significance did these symbols, such as the ankh, cross, and Star of David, hold for him?
Elvis's jewelry choices reflected his deep interest in diverse spiritual and mystical traditions. The ankh was particularly significant, representing his fascination with ancient Egypt and Egyptian magic. His wearing of a cross, a Jewish Star of David, and clothing inspired by Mayan and Egyptian designs indicates an open and inclusive spiritual outlook, rather than simply keeping his options open. Conner suggests that Elvis genuinely believed in the power of these symbols. Furthermore, his adoption of the lightning bolt symbol, inspired by his childhood hero Captain Marvel (Shazam), a figure with connections to Hermetic and mythological deities, also reveals an engagement with occult archetypes. In his later years, raising his collar was a conscious decision based on his reading about great spiritual teachers in the East and West, who often had this characteristic.
5. The concept of the "trickster" is discussed in relation to Elvis. How does Conner apply this archetype to his life and legacy?
Conner argues that Elvis embodies the archetype of the trickster, a figure found in various cultures who is innovative, often dangerous, amoral, and operates at the crossroads of different worlds. Elvis's music and persona broke down racial and cultural barriers, representing a significant and sometimes controversial shift in society. He stood at the intersection of black and white music, Southern and national culture, and tradition and modernity. Conner also connects the trickster archetype to the blues tradition and the idea of making deals at the crossroads for power and talent, as in the legend of Robert Johnson. He suggests that Elvis, like the trickster, experienced both great success and ultimate downfall, implying that this archetype inherently carries the potential for both creation and destruction.
6. Conner draws a parallel between Elvis and the figure of the "shaman." What are the key similarities he identifies?
Conner posits that Elvis functioned as a modern, Western shaman or "spiritual troubleshooter" for American culture. Like a traditional shaman, Elvis ventured into the "spirit world" (through music, meditation, and perhaps altered states) to bring back gifts – musical innovation, emotional release, and a challenge to societal norms. He also seemingly possessed a capacity for healing and sought higher states of consciousness. However, Conner notes the tragic parallel where, like shamans burdened by the spiritual and psychic weight of their tribe, Elvis's own health and well-being deteriorated, leading to addiction and an early death. The tribe (his audience and society) benefited from his gifts but ultimately left him a broken figure.
7. What were Elvis's evolving views on the Bible and other spiritual texts throughout his life?
Initially, Elvis held a more literal interpretation of the Bible, finding comfort in it. However, following his mother's death, it ceased to provide solace. He then turned to Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet." Later, through his association with Larry Geller, Elvis became deeply interested in the occult and esoteric traditions. The Bible then transformed for him into a coded mystical text, which he studied through Kabbalistic and numerological lenses seeking deeper meaning. He also became an avid reader of other spiritual texts, including Joseph Benner's "The Impersonal Life," which introduced him to the concept of the cosmic Christ, and works by Madame Blavatsky and Manly P. Hall. He believed in reincarnation and saw the Bible as a guide to unlocking the divinity within each person.
8. Did Elvis achieve the spiritual enlightenment he seemed to be seeking in his later years?
While his life ended tragically, Conner suggests that Elvis did reach a certain level of spiritual understanding. Even in his final years, marked by declining health and addiction, Elvis remained a dedicated seeker, reading, meditating, and practicing esoteric rituals. Conner points to Elvis's apparent premonition of his own death and the symbolic elements surrounding his passing as evidence of a deeper spiritual awareness. Furthermore, the enduring presence of Elvis in cultural memory, with ongoing "sightings" and his continued iconic status, aligns with the idea of figures who transcend death and live on within the collective consciousness, similar to religious and mythological archetypes.
Elvis grew up, and it seems that I've read quite a bit of the book now. Um, it seems to have both made and broken him at the same time. I felt the effect of his mother's overprotectiveness, as well as the death of his twin, in the background of his life. Yeah, I think that's it. Uh, it's hard to sometimes wrap your head around it, but it's more or less the concept that your destruction is also your salvation. The arrows hold the keys to your enlightenment, and as Jung said, the bigger the light, the bigger the shadow—the longer the shadow. And of course, there's the theme of the book that I cover a lot, and that is fate. Do we really have free will? There's a saying by Schopenhauer that keeps swimming in my head, and it's almost driving me crazy—or crazier. A man can do what he will, but he cannot will what he will. Elvis might be the greatest case study because, yes, growing up in abject poverty in the South during the Great Depression, he was sometimes homeless. Sometimes all he had to eat was water and cornbread. His father was in jail. As somebody said, his people in Tupelo, Mississippi, lived on the wrong side of the tracks. It was brutal, and as we are finding out, poverty is epigenetic. It is something that is passed down; it does cause trauma; it does break you, break the psyche, and induce mental and even physical health issues. Studies have been done, and Elvis came from a long line of sharecroppers and bootleggers—just people that the world had forgotten. You know, situations you'd only see in North Korea today. That's what it was like in the South in America. As you mentioned, the death of his twin, Jesse, who was born 35 minutes before him, was stillborn. They had to have the child in the house because they couldn't afford a doctor or a hospital, so they had to get help from family and a midwife and so forth. That was a huge traumatic experience for Elvis. Research again has shown that there's a concept called a twinless survivor, where when a twin loses another twin during birth, it causes incredible psychic trauma to the individual. People used to say, "Well, twins are close," and later on, if one dies, it's terrible. But no, twins are connected in the womb; they play in the womb. When one twin dies, the other one feels almost like half a person and lives this life of guilt. Compare Elvis to another individual who lost his twin, Philip K. Dick. When asked about the death of his twin, Jane, he said, "I guess I got all the milk." It's a huge guilt, but it also causes an individual to really become a seeker and explore the bigger questions of life, which Elvis was always doing, as my book shows. Why was I born poor? Why did I get to be rich? If I'd been born rich, we could have been at the hospital, and Jesse would have survived. It tormented him, and that's what happens to twinless survivors, including Philip K. Dick, Liberace, and others. Twinless survivors tend to be very driven, very artistic, but they're also very self-destructive; they have a tendency toward addiction. They cannot connect with other human beings, whether it's the opposite sex or in friendships. This was his fate from when he was born: poverty, twinless survival, and then, as you mentioned, his mother, Gladys. Can you really blame her? She lost a child. But then later on, she went to the hospital, and the doctors told her she could not have more children. So she became, yes, what we call today a helicopter parent, but I think the term is a lethal enmeshment, where you smother the child so much that you make that child the substitute spouse, and you don't allow this child's ego to grow. So these children are always in a state of flux; one second they're very wise and old, but the other time they want to play and are very irresponsible. Like a twinless survivor, they have a tendency toward artistic expression, they're workaholics, and yes, they are self-destructive and have a tendency toward addiction. So as you can see, it's almost like, was there fate for poor little Elvis, or was everything set? Of course, I show in the book the famous story where his father, while Gladys was in labor, went outside to have a cigarette. This blue light came over the house, and suddenly, everything went silent. He suddenly couldn't hear the coyotes or the wind or anything, and he freaked out and ran inside. Then Jesse came out dead. Then I bring up the concept of cosmic fate too. So yes, is there any free will, Allison, or is it set? It's a question, isn't it? I also wondered, you know, about this twinless survivor thing—if a twin didn't know that they were a twin. Well, would the survivor still be impacted? I would say so. I think unconsciously it certainly would. You would know in your gut, probably. At the same time, it's a positive side because Jesse became his reason to understand life, which later led him into mystic cult traditions and to become, you know, a seeker, a philosopher, if you would. But Jesse also became his consciousness; he would dream about Jesse. Jesse became a voice in his head; it became almost like his Dæmon or guardian all through his life. I mean, Jesse was really the reason why Elvis did so much of what he did, just like Jane was the reason Philip K. Dick wrote all he wrote. They were both trying to find the answer to why. Yeah, and when we say Dæmon there, explain what Dæmon was. Yeah, it's a classic Hellenistic concept that all of us have a higher self—a sort of spiritual guide—and this guide helps us out through our lives and makes sure that we get to where we need to get. Plato talks about a Dæmon. I think it's in the Symposium. That was considered, yes, a mystic. Well, in Hellenistic times, it was just a normal concept that we all had a higher self, and in some schools, the goal is the reunification of our higher and lower selves—the complete Hess—so that we may transcend or finish our mission down in this world. Okay, okay. Yeah, it was interesting reading about Jesse and Elvis—this idea of them in the womb and listening to this Pentecostal music. So it was almost in his blood by the time he was born. Yes, yes, I think so too because most people don't understand how much Pentecostalism and gospel music really influenced rock music. In fact, it's just an extension. Gladys had that witch blood that Elvis would inherit, so she had a second side. She saw shadow people and had premonitions—who knows where they got it from? And when she was pregnant, she didn't even know she had twins. She had this urge to always go to church every night, and the church could be at the little building or sometimes outside. It was not what we think of as church; it was very shamanistic. People would play, and people would shake, and you'd start bumping into each other until you went into an altered state of mind, speaking in tongues for hours and hours. As somebody said, it was a non-drug banya. People back then used to say, "You know, these Pentecostals, they're starting to mix Jesus and sex," because it was pretty ecstatic, if you know what I mean. In fact, the idea of leaving your seed at church in the 40s—that was called rock and rolling. Eventually, that's what Elvis and Jesse went through every day while they were in the womb—just this energy and people summoning the Holy Spirit and so forth. So it just made sense that when he was born, this would be with him. Yeah, I didn't know until reading your book that that's where we got the expression "rock and roll" from. I didn't know that. I'm sure many people out there listening will be, "Wow!" In fact, there's a lot in your book that made me go, "Huh, why did I not know these things?" Yeah, these individuals—the founders of rock and roll, whether it's Johnny Cash, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, or Elvis Presley—they were just Pentecostal preachers who took this, and again, they found a way, like Prince or David Bowie, to sort of mesh sex and Christianity, mystical Christianity, into one little package. You know, the carnal procreations of ancient times—the Gnostics would have been very proud of them, and they got away with it. They did. You said, too, that Gladys had these mystical or psychic experiences. But what kind of things did she encounter? There's not a lot recorded. She was kind of disliked and feared in the little town of Tupelo, so we don't have exact accounts. There's one encounter where she would see again these shadow people while walking at night and other mystical experiences, but nothing solid. Again, one thing about record-keeping in the South during the Great Depression is that you've got to dig deep, and I dug into some of the biggest biographies, and I got as much as I could get. Yeah, you sound...oh, there is one, of course. Yeah, again, I have to think—when Elvis was a teenager, or he was just getting big, he was hanging out with his girlfriend, June Juanico, and they both loved to read "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran. He confessed to her, they were sitting by a lake—they just visited a friend who had leukemia. One thing about Elvis—rich or poor—he was a very caring person. He had a shadow side, but he told her that he was able to astral travel and go to the stars and planets, and he taught her how to do it. June was like, "Well, where'd you learn this?" He said, "My mother taught me." But he said, "Don't tell anybody because here in the South, we would get into trouble." And there's a healing, too—they certainly believed in healing, which Elvis learned to do. Physical healing. There was one time when Elvis was really sick, again, too poor to go to the doctor. Gladys and Vernon did the laying of hands, and within a few hours, Elvis's fever and everything was gone. Wow, Elvis was a descendant of Indian blood, is that right? Yeah, there are accounts that he did have Cherokee blood, yes. His maternal great-great-grandmother was Jewish, but he also had Welsh and Scottish background. Again, record-keeping is hard, but that sort of stew, I think we can confidently lean on. Something certainly motivated him through the family line. As I think these things can...I thought it was a demon. She always thought Elvis was doomed; there was no way he was going to survive. She said that the family had demons. Again, we see it—Gladys died young, abusing pills and alcohol. Elvis, and of course we've seen what happened to poor Lisa Marie—there was something dark. But again, that darkness brings gifts, right? Prometheus brings fire that could burn you. You can make deals with the devil, but you've got to give him his due. So that was the lineage of Elvis. And he had UFO encounters, what? Yeah, yeah, I did not know this. I'm an Elvis fan. Yes, yes! And mind you, for your listeners or viewers or whatever Secret Service is listening in, I don't use—you and I know that Elvis tabloids, I mean, conspiracies were a cottage industry before us. You know, was Elvis an alien? Did Elvis get beamed down? I only use the biographies of established individuals: Priscilla, the Memphis Mafia, family friends. In many of these UFO encounters, there are always a group of people, and they were there, so they're witnesses. So this is not tabloid conspiracy theory—this is again, there were people there. He had one, two, three, I think four UFO encounters. And even then, he was a UFO fanatic; he had read "Chariots of the Gods" by von Däniken. He read the UFO literature; he was one of those first people that set up—you know the vision of Ezekiel in the Bible? He's like, "Those are UFOs!" He drew them as UFOs. He read "The Book of Enoch." He believed that these aliens were far superior to us and could communicate telepathically, and they were stopping us from nuking ourselves. Again, he was thinking this in the early to mid-60s, so he was ahead of the proverbial curve, if you know what I mean. He sure was. Did he ever get abducted by any of these, or did he just observe from a distance? Well, there is a good anecdote. One of them was at his Bel Air mansion in California. He was out there, I think it was with his bodyguard, Sunny West, and they were just sitting. One thing Elvis people don't forget is that he was an introvert. If you ask his brothers, as they say, he loved just to sit outside and stare at the sky—maybe astral travel or just sit around and sort of be by himself. That was like when he was really centered. One night, he's just outside with his bodyguard, and a light comes from the sky. They both look up and say, "Oh, it's a helicopter or a plane." Then they look at each other and say, "Wait, there's no sound." It's flooding—the entire trees are being flooded with this light, and it's moving at an incredible pace. Elvis tells his bodyguard, "Go inside and get all the other people so we can see this." Sunny West runs in, and the Memphis Mafia comes out, and Elvis is gone. They're looking at each other like, "Oh shit, he got abducted. We're going to lose our jobs." Right? So they're running around, screaming for Elvis. Finally, he says, "I'm over here!" and he went to his neighbor's yard, just looking at the sky. He's like, "Ah, you know, the UFO left." He had a few of those. Oh dear, yeah. Oh, that's a good one. That's a good one. Tell me about the symbolism of Elvis's jewelry. Well, he obviously, as I say in the book, and you can see in the cover, the ankh was very important to him. I go into detail in the book about his connection to Egypt and his love for Egyptian magic. In fact, Memphis is based on an Egyptian city, obviously. And that's strange, Allison, because in the state of Tennessee, everything is named after either a native word or a Civil War hero. People go in the Southerner's place, “Why do you call it over an Egyptian Town?” Freemason? I mean, nobody really knows. People assume it's because Memphis overlooks the Mississippi in the United States, and in Egypt, Memphis overlooks the Nile. But Memphis means An-ṭawi, the city of two lands. People said Memphis, Tennessee, is the city between two worlds—the South and the North. But anyway, Egypt, I show in my book, is very, especially Egyptian mysticism, was important to Elvis, so he always wore the ankh; he always wore a cross, a Jewish symbol. If you look at his suits, he was always wearing different Mayan suits, Egyptian suits—all that. So in the late 60s and 70s, when he could let loose when he no longer had to worry about the conservative movements, he was almost this space-age creature. A lot of his suits were based on, of course, Captain Marvel Jr. and Captain Marvel. We know him today as Shazam, but that was his hero, and that was very important to him. Shazam, or Captain Marvel, has a lightning bolt that became a symbol for Elvis—for his logos, his trademark, which was "Taking Care of Business." He had the lightning bolt. So Captain Marvel or Shazam was very important, and for people who read comic books, Shazam was this being who was a mixture of Hermes, Hercules, and Zeus. I mean, he was this amalgamation of all these gods and Solomon, so he was a very occult figure—Captain Marvel—but he was a very big influence on Elvis, of course. Elvis— that was his hero, that was one of his inspirations while he was growing up in poverty in the 30s and 40s in Mississippi. And if you've seen the Baz Luhrmann film, they do cover this—how comic books were one of the reasons why Elvis was able to continue going and become who he was. And here's another interesting side note: you see with Elvis in his Vegas persona, people think, "Oh, he's trying to be Captain Marvel or Napoleon." But he read a book once, I forgot the name of the book, about the great spiritual teachers in history, in the East and West. You notice one common factor: they all had their collars raised. He was like, "Aha! I want to be a big spiritual teacher!" So that's why Elvis had his collars up. I don't think when you're saying that he had an ankh, a cross, and a Star of David that I don't think he was just keeping his options open, that's what he told me. I think all these things—I know I think flippantly, maybe people might say that or think it—but I think that he actually maybe did believe in their power. Oh, yeah, yeah, no doubt. He wouldn't have worn that, of course. Yeah, yeah, he practiced certain ceremonial magic rituals; he was an avid meditator, he was an avid healer. There are reports he'd be doing a Vegas show, and he'd stop, and he'd do Tibetan Buddhist prayers. So yeah, he was an avid reader, and he believed in all this—the magic and the mystic in the Western esoteric tradition, but he also believed in, you know, practicing these disciplines; he practiced ceremonial magic. Yeah, he had some sort of—it might have been more new age, but with Ginger Alden, he would practice this sort of ceremonial sex magic with her too, and it was always to expand the mind. You know, he believed in this Christ consciousness. Okay, he believed in any technique that would increase your Christ consciousness, make you more holy and divine, if you would. I'm learning so much in the book. My hero—and I love as well that there was no prejudice. He had no prejudice; he saw blacks as equal to whites. And I think that was, wasn't that unusual in his part of the world? Yes and no. I mean, we criticize Gladys for the damage she did to her son, but they were very good parents as far as metaphysics and ethics. They always said, you know, Gladys always said, "We are all equal in God's eyes." To them, it was your actions that mattered, and Elvis always took it to heart. He saw, you know, he was poor, but the Blacks, the Lithuanian Jews—I mean, that part of Mississippi—didn't matter who you were; you were poor and you were in trouble. So these groups learned to lean on each other and at least work with each other. Later on, he fell in love with Black music, and he started dressing up in the Black style. In Memphis, that got him in trouble; people would call him the n-word and he didn't care, dressing up in pink suits and collars. He didn't care; he dated a Black girl in high school, almost got beat up by the sheriffs for doing that. But he was able to make some excuse like, "Oh, she's just my singing partner." So Elvis was very open-minded, and he loved all cultures. Whether it was Italian opera or Greek Orthodoxy, he always felt they all had something to give to the world and they were all equal in his eyes. He had some problems with Scientology—he had a lot of problems with Scientology—and he was very angry at the Southern church for, when he became famous, they turned on him; they called him, you know, the devil had possessed him and he was immoral. He got very angry, and that's when he realized that the idea of hell was ridiculous and a judgmental God was ridiculous, and he broke away from that. He had issues with the Catholic Church because he thought the Vatican was hiding secrets. But 99% of him was very open-minded and kind and wanted to tap into other traditions. Yeah, and I mean, if he'd never had Black friends, he probably might not have listened to Black music. We would perhaps have had a very different Elvis. Yeah, yeah, but I think it was inevitable where he grew up. I mean, he grew up again on the outskirts of town, if you know what I mean, so that was his culture and that's what he liked. Elvis was always one of those—if he liked something, there was no power on Earth that was going to stop him; he just didn't care. If he thought something had value, he was going to tap into it. His generation—the silent generation—was worried about post-war America, thought things were getting kind of stale and old, and they wanted new stuff. They wanted Black music; they wanted Mexican fashion and culture; they wanted to see about Eastern traditions. You know, the beat writers and others—they wanted to see what other traditions were in the East that they could experience. So it was a turning point for the United States in the 50s, and Elvis was really at the head of bringing a lot of these things back. You know, and that includes women's liberation. Elvis's music probably, as I say in the book, released the Kundalini of so many women and allowed women to be comfortable in their sexuality and their thoughts and their choices. And it also allowed men to be more vulnerable because he and James Dean showed that you could be kind of vulnerable and moody and still be masculine. So he was ahead of the curve but also a pioneer in a lot of these issues that we don't give him credit for, if you know what I mean. I love that bit in the film "Elvis." It's on Netflix. Just, well, actually I don't know if it's off Netflix now, but it was on Netflix, and the girl sitting in the audience, and I think it's...he's looking at her and watching her, and she is just going loopy trying to contain, you know, this sexual tension contained inside her. And this is something very, very unusual for the time. Yeah, he liberated women, and it's very true; that's how the concerts were. He almost got killed, like the Maine ads, you know, ripping down seats. That's how it was. But again, it was sort of a—it’s not just sexual; it was psychic. It was soul liberation. Women realized they could have power; women realized they could objectify men in the same way men objectified women, and that was fine because that gave them an edge, power, objectivity. So Elvis was very, very important for that, definitely. And you mentioned the trickster devil, and it's very different from the idea of the Christian devil. To explain, yeah, that one—sometimes it's hard to explain because I go into so much detail. But yeah, the blues, which, again, we talked about gospel music and Pentecostal, but we've got to talk about the blues, which also Elvis tapped into. And I think of the blues as the shadow side and gospel as the light side. Elvis himself said, "I carry heaven and hell in my hands, and I have to be careful how I balance them out." But the blues, especially in those days, was really tapping into African animism, into the energies, the plight of the African Americans, and all that. Elvis loved that; he thought it was the most sincere and touching form of art. Whether it was blues or gospel, obviously, Christian Blacks hated the blues, but others really loved it. But the blues—yes, there are many songs in the blues talking about the devil, but as you said, it's not the Christian devil, the Prince of Darkness. This is more of a trickster devil based on African gods or the trickster archetype, which Jung talks about, which is global. This figure again, he's very Promethean; you can make deals with him, but he also might burn you or double-cross you. He's beyond morals; he can be your helper one second but also your destroyer, and there are many tales of folklore and songs about that in the South with the blues. The devil exists in the crossroads, which is that liminal place where magic happens, where you're in between worlds, and this crossroads liminal place obviously exists in many traditions—from Indians to Gnostic to Greek to Scandinavian. And this is where the trickster exists, but that's where the gifts are for the shaman or the magician who dares to interact with this being, this trickster, this devil. And I say that Elvis went there and was able to find his power, you know, through music and meditation and all that. The most famous example is Robert Johnson, who's considered the father of modern blues. And the story is, you had this guy who had no talent, disappears for two weeks, comes back, and he's like the best guitarist that people had seen in history. People in Mississippi and Clarksdale, which I visited, are like, "He must have made a deal with the devil because there's no way in two weeks or whatever that he suddenly became this genius." Later on, he would die at a young age—nobody knows, but he was either murdered or passed away while he was playing in some bar. He died on the same day that Elvis died. So I make all these connections, and I show that Elvis too had gone to the crossroads, and he himself was the lord of the crossroads because I spend a lot of time talking about how Elvis really represents not the king archetype but the trickster archetype. You know, the one that brings innovation—dangerous innovation that is there when the world changes. I make the argument that describes Elvis to a tee. Yeah, so you're saying that the trickster not only made Elvis but was his downfall. Yeah, it's always that way. An early death is that way. Although, as I also talk about in the book, I mention that Elvis was also an American shaman, or a West shaman. The shaman is a spiritual troubleshooter of the tribe; he is the one who goes into the spirit world looking for gifts, medicine, art, insights, and he brings it to the tribe. He is the one that mentally, physically, and spiritually heals the tribe. The shaman is very musically prone, very cross-dressing—very ambiguous. Yeah, very trickster-like. But in many cultures, especially the circumpolar cultures, what happens to the shaman as he's healing the tribe, as he's leading the tribe to enlightenment and better health and all that, his health begins to break down. He becomes addicted to drugs because of the weight, the pressure of carrying your tribe and leading your tribe spiritually and psychically. Shamans often end up as these broken down, sometimes overweight, bloated, drug-addicted figures that are on the side of the road—a fragment, a fraction of what they used to be. The tribe is like, "You know, we feel bad for you, but that was your job." In a way, Elvis really represented that. You said that he was looking for higher states of consciousness. Do you think that he was in an ecstatic state when he was on stage? He would have to be, because again, if he came from the Pentecostal tradition and you were out there, you had to be in an altered state. And not just an altered state, but connecting to your audience. I talk about the egregore, which is sort of a group tulpa where all your energies are joined together and you create a being in itself. And this being sometimes will come and represent or go into the leader—the main shaman or leader of the group—and that was certainly Elvis. Even when you saw, yeah, the Baz Luhrmann movie of him shaking his hips and all that, that was anxiety; that was something that just came over him. In fact, he almost didn't become a rock star because he went to Sun Records and was auditioning. Who was the name of the owner of Sun Records? God, I'll have to look it up. The famous guy—the founder of Sun Records. But he was bombing all day; he just couldn't get any of the music right. Sam Phillips was like, "Well, let's wrap it up. I'm going to go to the back and put things away." And Elvis picked a rhythm and blues song. He went to the devil, and he just started playing it out of nowhere. He started playing this very obscure song called "That's All Right, Mama." But instead of just playing it, he started doing the Elvis shakes and all that, just belting out the song. Then Sam Phillips, who was in the other room, said, "This is the sound I've been looking for all my life. This is it. This is magic. This is the perfect blend of black and white music!" And he went out and signed him. So therefore, and yeah, I mean, people who’ve seen Elvis live know how he could just go into another state of mind. Sometimes it was drugs; sometimes it wasn’t. Who knows? I mean, again, it’s a trickster, and our rock stars tend to be tricksters. Yeah, did Elvis experience the Holy Spirit possession that goes on in the Pentecostal Church? Did he experience that? He always talked about that feeling of electricity coursing through him. Again, electricity—taking care of business. He would feel this electricity coursing through him, and this electricity going into the audience. So I have no doubt he would have felt it. That’s an incredible image. I think, in fact, that image is on the cover of your book as well. That “S of H,” is it not, in your book? Or is it from the photo? Am I looking at a different thing? Maybe. Maybe it’s the photo that I did for your advert; it’s got the lightning stuff on it. Um, is this your book here at the side of you? Is that it there? That’s what we’re looking out for, folks, when hopefully you go into your local bookshop or on Amazon or whatever. Yeah, so I think though he definitely played an integral role in breaking the barriers that separated whites and blacks, as we've spoken about. He also believed in reincarnation. Mhm, that was a surprise to me as well, because I had in my head that Elvis is Christian—that's it, he'll believe in Jesus and the resurrection. I didn't think for one minute reincarnation would come into it. Yeah, it was something that he almost came out logically, I would say. We're talking even the late 50s—when he was in the Army, he was already talking to a fellow at this hotel when he was a soldier. He would go down to see this German fellow and he would talk about reincarnation, the possibilities. And again, later on, he would talk to bodyguards about reincarnation, and of course, later on, when he became really involved with yoga and Madame Blavatsky and all these other occult exemplars, it was pretty much, yeah, I think it was pretty much a given. He had his more or less own take, which is closer to, let's say, the Gnostics, the Sethian Gnostics. He thought that yes, we all reincarnate, but if you don't get better—if you keep screwing around through all your lifetimes, you know, picking Netflix every time you reincarnate instead of doing the work of the Holy Spirit—eventually you're going to run out of time and dissolve into matter or you're going to go up. So he thought, ultimately, yeah, we reincarnate, but it's your choice which way you're going to reincarnate. Yeah, what was his view of the Bible? He thought the Bible—he didn't take it literally too much. He was very into, for a while, Kabbalah and numerology, so he thought the Bible was mostly code. It was a code to unlock the divinity of every person. So he read the Bible a lot, and he studied it. He studied it through mystical Jewish lenses and so forth to see what, again, what kind of code and insights he could get from it. When it was always his favorite book, but after Gladys died—in '58, I believe, right before he went into the Army, or as he was going into the Army—it stopped giving him comfort. He used to take it literally, and he leaned back on Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet" to give him comfort. But then later, when he got out of the Army and he met Larry Geller, they started learning about the occult, and the Bible became again this sort of living mystic tome that he would lean on. Yeah, he seemed to believe that God had put him on this path to bring him to a higher realm—that's what he hoped. That's what he hoped, yeah. I mean, he read a lot about, again, the ascended masters and Freemasons and other figures who thought that maybe all these persons, like Jesus, Muhammad, Zoroaster, or Moses, were perhaps part of this enlightened lineage that was put on Earth to make a better world and to help humanity. He hoped that perhaps—he never claimed he was, but he hoped that he could be. That was when he had, you know, the most famous singer in the world, millions of dollars. You know, he had everything, but he was not happy. He said, "Well, maybe I'm not happy because there's that other step to become, you know, a spiritual leader—somebody who can help humanity evolve and be better." So that was what he certainly hoped for. Yeah, because that was going to be my next question. Was he saying that he himself was now on his way to becoming another avatar like Jesus or Buddha? Yeah, but he was very humble. He said, "If I'm called, I'll be so happy. It'll solve a lot of my problems, you know, all the suffering with Jesse and my poverty. If I'm called to be a figure like Muhammad or Jesus, that would mean all this I've sacrificed so much as the shaman, but I can fully help the entire world move through the next stage, especially in the time of nuclear bombs and all these precarious issues happening at the time." He really wanted to go that way. And you mentioned that he didn't believe in coincidences, it would seem. I got to the bit— in fact, I got—I read a bit more than this, but I got to the book where he has a hairdresser called Larry Geller, and he became a spiritual coach. Their interests were so similar that it's like Geller was heaven-sent, almost. You know what they say: when the pupil's ready, the master will appear. And Elvis was ready. I think it was '64, and he was a movie star. Elvis's movies are painful, but he was getting paid—I think back then a million dollars a movie, which today is like $10 million a movie, plus 50% of the tickets—and all his movies were profitable. So he went from singer to really one of the highest-paid Hollywood stars. And again, he had everything you would want; he was engaged to Priscilla, had his mansion, you know, Hollywood royalty, but he was miserable. He hated every moment. By pure coincidence, he was going to get his haircut or get done for some event or a movie. His normal barber or hairdresser said, "Oh, I can't do it anymore, Elvis. I'm finding my dream of opening my own salon in Hollywood, but I've got somebody that can really help. His name is Larry Geller." And Elvis said, "Fine." Larry Geller shows up at his house—they're in his bathroom, and Elvis's bathroom is like its own house. So remember that; it's like something you and I could only dream of, probably, the size of our house. You know, they just met, and Geller's cutting his hair. Elvis gets this weird idea, and he looks and goes, "Larry, who are you?" Geller could have said anything, right? He could have said, "You know, I'm just a hairdresser, and I know this," and gone into some shallow banter. But Geller, for some reason, felt, "Well, I'm into the bigger questions of life, mysticism," and just said it right there. Elvis looked and said, "That's what I'm looking for!" You know what I mean? Suddenly, they spend hours talking about metaphysics and religion. The next day, Larry Geller brings all these books, and Elvis just kept—he just, you know, it was the beginning of a very good friendship and the beginning of Elvis's true mystical awakening beyond the Bible. Did he have a favorite spiritual book? A favorite? Yeah, I would say the Bible again as a coded mystic, you know, the way you and I read it—metaphorically, mythically. The second one would be Joseph Benner's "The Impersonal Life," which was a very popular book in those days and kind of gave Elvis the idea or the notion of the cosmic Christ, which finally crystallized what he thought Jesus would be—that we all have a spark of Jesus within us and it's up to us to be saviors and nurture this Christ consciousness. We’re all fragments of the divine that have fallen into the world and forgotten—very Gnostic too and Hindu. It was sort of a perennial philosophy stuff, and that was just perfect for Elvis because then he understood, "I’m part of the divine; I’m no better than anybody, but I have my role, and this is all a wonderful illusion we’ve fallen into." I mention again Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet" was probably number three. He loved Manly P. Hall's "The Secret Teachings of All Ages." But he must have read thousands of books; wherever he went, whether it was Hollywood or Vegas, he always had a group of workers carrying about 20 books of the occult, and he read them all, highlighted them, and had book discussions. I don't know if you’ve seen the last Elvis movie, Priscilla, oh, Sofia Coppola directed it, and it does have 10 minutes with Elvis having, like, a group of people and he's discussing books. He's saying, "What do you think of this passage?" and that, so check that for that scene. But yeah, that’s how he was. I will. The Memphis Mafia—they weren't too happy with the more, you know, philosophical, religious, spiritual subjects that Elvis was getting into. No, no, because it did change him. He was becoming a different person. He almost quit twice to become a monk—a Christian monk—and then also a Hindu monk—to go to Yogananda's ashram and retire there in the 60s, still, you know, in his late 20s. So he did change, and again, bringing back that movie Priscilla, there's a scene where he's reading a book on spirituality in bed, and Priscilla's like, "Hey, you want to be intimate?" and he's like, "No, I'm too spiritual!" You know, for Elvis to turn down love! He was like—and so Priscilla hated it because he was becoming more withdrawn from the material world. But he also was very anointing; he wanted everybody to be spiritual and meditate with him. So instead of having parties and writing motorcycles with his friends in the Memphis, it was more like, "Let's meditate!" We meet people like that, right? They get spiritual, and they just annoy you. So he was driving everybody crazy. He was withdrawing, and his manager, Colonel Parker, was like, "Oh, it's a spiritual kick!" But it wasn't going away after a few years, and Parker was like, "Okay." So Colonel Parker and Priscilla and the Memphis Mafia created this concerted campaign to drive a wedge between Elvis and Larry Geller. They planted all this BS to make him look like he was another gold digger, and Priscilla put a lot of pressure on him about, "You’ve got to choose, you know, your fiancée or meditating for six hours a day." Eventually, Elvis caved; he did separate from Geller, but he secretly started studying and met his occult stuff without anybody knowing. Then in the 70s, he reconnected with Geller; he was divorced from Priscilla, and then he went back to, you know, full-time mysticism. Yeah, he got there in the end. Yeah. Um, do you think that Elvis was bipolar? You've said that he had a bipolar essence. I think so, yeah, especially when you look at—I am a manic-depressive rapid cycler, the worst kind. Thank God I've gotten all the help I've gotten, and that's what makes me sad because Elvis did not have the therapies that we have today. We can bitch all we want, Alison, but there are a lot of options today, whether it's traditional medicine or holistic medicine. I’m very lucky; I've been able to get my demons in control—heaven and hell. But when you read about his mother, Gladys, she was an extreme mood person; you never knew. And she could drag you down if she was in a dark mood, but she could uplift you if she was in a good mood. Elvis was the same; he said he had such a beyond human ability to read the room and read minds. He could switch how people felt just by his presence in the room. So if he was in a dark place, everybody would start shaking and feeling bad. If he was jolly, everybody felt like they were walking on water. So I personally think that he probably was manic-depressive and he got it from Gladys, but again, I have no—that is my speculation; that’s all it is. Um, I don't know if you mentioned this before, but someone thought that Helena Blavatsky looked like Gladys Presley. Very much so. That was one of his downfalls. As much as Gladys abused him, he was truly, you might say, in love with her. Again, he was the kind of pseudo or fall husband in the relationship, and Vernon got sidetracked. There were times when he was a teenager—16 and sleeping in bed with his parents; that’s how bad it was. I don’t know if there was anything strange that happened; it was all emotional. But when she died, it was a huge blow to Elvis, almost as much as Jesse because, again, she was only in her early 40s. It was sudden, and Elvis becoming famous was never about him; he wanted to have money to take care of his mother, his father, his cousins, his friends, his family—people in his community. That’s all he cared about. I mean, as you know, he spent money like it was no big deal. He would shoot television sets and crash cars; you know he had no materialistic bone in his body, so when he became a rock star, he did it for his mother who hated it. She hated having Elvis popular; she kind of wished they could live back as they did before. But regardless, she passed away, and he was destroyed. The Army only gave him two weeks to mourn, and then he was shipped off to Germany. Now think of the psychic damage that must have done to him—he was only, I think, 21, 22; he was a kid. So he became always unconsciously obsessed with his mother. Like Jesse, she was always alive. And you wonder—people wonder, well, why was he attracted to Priscilla when she was only 14? Take a guess. She looked like his mother. And if somebody looked like his mother, he would become immediately attached to her for life. Blavatsky—he was looking at some books, saw Blavatsky, and said, "Oh my God, she reminds me of my mother." He became obsessed with Theosophy. Demarta—she was the successor of Yogananda, and she ran his ashram in California. He went to meet her just to talk to his spiritual leader. She reminded him of his mother; he was sold on Yogananda and his system. And that was the reason why sometimes he did this fate—free will. I don't know. And it became a problem because he was so attached to his mother he could not have sex with a woman who had children, so that became a huge wedge with Priscilla once they had their first child. He couldn't. He just couldn't do anything to do with mother figures; he had to worship them in a very platonic way, if you know what I mean. So, oh, that’s awfully strange, isn't it? It was a very strange thing going on there; it doesn't sound healthy at all. It wasn't; it was doom. And I remember, he didn't have the therapy that we have today or the insights; you know, he didn't have access to the stuff we have, and unfortunately, he never got—you know, he never could have figured out, "I have a problem with the mother archetype or lethal enmeshment or manic depression." He didn't have that, and you know, so he was tormented by these things. Gosh, awful. Yeah, here's a coincidence: Ian thinks that I look like Helena Blavatsky! Very much so! My husband, he thinks I look like—well, there you go! Maybe, yeah, maybe the reincarnation of Elvis! We had this—we got this picture of the Glasgow Theosophical Society; it's quite a big picture of Helena Blavatsky, and it used to sit in front of this very ornate wooden chair. And you took a photograph of me, I think I put something over my head the way that she has something over her head, and he took a photo, and it would have loved you! Um, my brother is also born on the 8th of January; that’s another coincidence. Oh wow! And is married to a lady called Gladys. Oh wow! I know! I thought you would like that. I thought you—I know who else is born January 8th—two other very important figures, which I connect to Elvis in my next book. One is David Bowie and the other is Roy Batty from "Blade Runner," the main villain. If you look, when he was built—January. I wonder if Ridley Scott was reading little Elvis or David Bowie! Maybe, maybe! And I’ll tell you something: my brother is very shy—well, he’s not that shy when you get to know him—but he sings like Elvis. Oh wow! My dad sang like Elvis; they had that same sound, probably the same range, that kind of thing, you know? He is a very talented singer. Um, but I think karaoke is as far as he wants to take it, but I think he could go further, but we shall see. But, um, we have reached the end of what for me has been an incredible ADX Files! Miguel, thank you so much for joining me today! Oh, the pleasure is all mine. It was fun talking to you again! Fun talking to you too. Thank you very much! Thank you very much! And well, viewers and listeners, if you're in Glasgow, don't forget that Supernatural Secrets Scotland—the group that I run—is having a coffee morning on the last Saturday of the month. It’s at 11:15; we’ll get you as much tea, coffee, cakes, and biscuits as you want. And we've also got a speaker this month. It’s Malcolm Queen, the president of the Glasgow Theosophical Society, and he’s going to be talking about tarot. And that’s at 17 Queen’s Crescent. After that, I am going to be opening—it’ll be the very first meeting of my church, Our Lady of the Mystic Rose, and we’ll be doing after the mass, healing—a bit of self-healing we’ll be working on the first time. And if you're interested in anything like that, you're welcome to come along. Um, tickets for the Scottish UFO and paranormal conference are available now on Eventbrite, and you can find out more by going to the conference website: scottishparanormalconference.wordpress.com. And until next time, ADXers, there’s more to life than what you know, so keep seeking! See you next time!