Zoe Wassilko-Serecki (born July 11, 1897 in Czernowitz, died November 26, 1978 in Vienna) was an Austrian occultist and astrologer.[1][2][3]
Early life
editShe was born in 1897 to Stephan Graf Wassilko von Serecki and wife Rosa.[1] Her paternal grandfather was the Privy Councilor and Governor of the Duchy of Bukovina, Baron Alexander Wassilko von Serecki. The Wassilko family were Austrian Empire-born ethnic Romanian nobility.
In 1900, Stephan and his family moved to Vienna where her father pursued a career in the civil service.[1] In 1918, her father and his brothers were elevated to the status of "Count", and Zoe was described as a Countess.[1]
Career
editShe achieved international fame for her supposed investigation into Eleonore Zugun and the so-called Talpa poltergeist. In 1926, at the invitation of Harry Price, Zoe traveled with the girl to London.[4]
In 1927, she was a founding member of the Austrian Society for Psychical Research.[5] By 1935, she had joined the Nazi party, and in April 1938 correspondence discussing unification of her Austrian society with its German counterpart, she wrote "Poor Winterstein is unfortunately not an Aryan, even in the best possible case he cannot remain the president of the society".[6]
She served as Vice-President of the Austrian Astrological Society.[7] In 1949, she became its president, a position she held until 1978.[7] In 1955, an English translation of her work appeared in American Astrology which argued for the space animal hypothesis: that reports of flying saucers or UFOs might be caused not by technological alien spacecraft or mass hysteria, but rather by animal lifeforms that are indigenous to Earth's atmosphere or interplanetary space.[8] That, in turn, inspired Ivan T. Sanderson who became a vocal proponent of the hypothesis.[2][9][3] In 1986, years after her death, her "space fish" theory was featured in the writings of Vincent Gaddis.[10][11]
In 1973, she was recognized by Society for Psychical Research of Great Britain.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Houran, James (May 10, 2004). "From Shaman to Scientist: Essays on Humanity's Search for Spirits". Scarecrow Press – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Who 'Discovered Space Animals'?", Civilian Saucer Intelligence of New York Newsletter, (December 15, 1957)
- ^ a b Mullis, Justin (February 8, 2023). "Jordan Peele's 'NOPE': cryptids in the clouds?". aiptcomics.com.
- ^ "13-Year-Old Girl Psychic Puzzles Europe's Leading Scientific Minds". November 2, 1926. p. 11 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Storm, Jason Ananda Josephson; Josephson, Jason Ānanda (May 16, 2017). "The Myth of Disenchantment: Magic, Modernity, and the Birth of the Human Sciences". University of Chicago Press – via Google Books.
- ^ Wolffram, Heather (May 10, 2009). "The Stepchildren of Science: Psychical Research and Parapsychology in Germany, C. 1870-1939". Rodopi – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c Britain), Society for Psychical Research (Great (May 10, 1973). "Journal of the Society for Psychical Research". Society for Psychical Research. – via Google Books.
- ^ Lewis, James R. (December 1, 2000). "UFOs and Popular Culture: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Mythology". Bloomsbury Publishing USA – via Google Books.
- ^ Kripal, Jeffrey J. (November 14, 2017). "Secret Body: Erotic and Esoteric Currents in the History of Religions". University of Chicago Press – via Google Books.
- ^ "Fired-up people catch writer's attention". September 29, 1986. p. 62 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Fired-up people catch writer's attention Cont". September 29, 1986. p. 72 – via newspapers.com.
Further reading
edit
- Peter Mulacz (March 1999) "Elenore Zungun: The Re-Evaluation of a Historic RSPK Case" The Journal of Parapsychology, Vol. 63 (pp. 15–45)