Amskaya - No 001 - 1986 01

Magazine Overview

Title: AMSKAYA
Issue: No. 1
Date: January 1986
Publisher: The STAR Fellowship

This issue of AMSKAYA, the newsletter of the STAR Fellowship, serves as a re-launch and a look back at the organization's origins and aims. It commemorates the 25th anniversary of an article by Tony Wedd, who founded the STAR Fellowship with the goal of establishing contact with extraterrestrial visitors, rather than merely collecting sightings.

A Forgotten Anniversary: The STAR Fellowship's Re-emergence

The lead article, "A FORGOTTEN ANNIVERSARY," highlights the 25th anniversary of Tony Wedd's initiative to create an organization focused on contact. The STAR Fellowship, though small, is remembered for its publication connecting flying saucer sightings with ancient ley lines. The current issue suggests that the time is right to revive the Fellowship due to the ongoing rejection and ridicule of extraterrestrial visitor theories.

The article touches upon the "Earth Lights theory," which posits that lights seen in the sky could be natural phenomena caused by Earth's fault lines. While acknowledging this theory's potential to explain some sightings, the authors maintain that a percentage of cases still represent visits from outside Earth, which is the core interest of the STAR Fellowship.

Diffusionist Theory and the STAR Fellowship

This section features an article by J. A. Dunkin Wedd, originally published in the January/February 1961 issue of "Flying Saucer Review." Wedd proposes a "Diffusionist Theory" variant, suggesting that if space travel is possible, then humanity must exist on all habitable planets, and that there is fundamentally only one race of Man. He argues that sightings, landings, and contacts are logical progressions, and that the reluctance to accept this is rooted in human pride. Wedd uses examples from George Adamski and other contactees to support his hypothesis, including the idea that Earth might be a "penal" or "quarantine" world.

The article revisits the classic Diffusionist Theory, which proposed that humans spread across Earth via ships, and updates it with the concept of space travel, suggesting that man is found throughout space. It speculates on the origins of cultivated plants, ancient artifacts found in coal, and biblical stories like Elijah's fiery chariot and the encounter of Abraham and Lot as potential evidence of space visitors.

The STAR Fellowship's Aims and Activities

Jimmy Goddard, in his introduction, mentions the original STAR Fellowship's annual rally and plans to hold another on Saturday, May 31st. He also notes the magazine's name, "Amskaya," is thought to be the space people's word for a seven-point star emblem.

An article titled "SKYWAYS AND LANDMARK'S REVISITED" discusses Tony Wedd's 1961 work that first linked flying saucers and leys. A revised edition of this work is available, including new survey results and ideas on alignments, energies, and formative fields.

The newsletter details the STAR Fellowship's multi-level purpose: to finance a travelling exhibition, to provide a library for studying evidence and contactee claims, and to offer a "badge of welcome" to space visitors, signifying expanded loyalties beyond Earth.

Communication Experiment and Our Heritage

A "COMMUNICATION EXPERIMENT" is announced for Sunday, February 16th, at 10:00 p.m., involving a group telepathic attempt to communicate with space people. Members are encouraged to participate by mentally projecting the message: "THE STAR FELLOWSHIP WELCOMES YOU PLEASE RESPOND."

"OUR HERITAGE: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE STAR FELLOWSHIP - PART I" by Philip Heselton provides background on the Fellowship's founder, John Anthony Dunkin "Tony" Wedd. It describes Wedd's inspiration from Desmond Leslie's lecture on George Adamski, his interest in unorthodox subjects, and his move to Kent. The article highlights Wedd's non-judgemental approach to contactee claims and his belief that those who hoax would eventually trip themselves up.

Wedd's background as a designer is mentioned, along with his interest in the "free energy" coffee pot described by contactee Reinhold Schmidt. The article explains Wedd's search for an organization to help him understand space people and his decision to submit an article to "Flying Saucer Review" to counter the prevailing anti-contactee stance.

Membership and Future Plans

The STAR Fellowship's structure is described as informal, with badge holders gaining access to the exhibition and library. Plans include lending exhibition material to groups for "Space Weeks" and developing "free energy" machines, starting with "Wenceslas Boots." The long-term vision includes opening a "Space Centre" in London.

Future developments mentioned include a potential Christmas Greetings card with UFO significance and the possibility of releasing records of Bernard Byron's songs. The fundamental object of the Fellowship remains the idea of "Welcome."

The First STAR Rally

The response to Tony Wedd's "Flying Saucer Review" article was positive, leading to the first STAR Rally on Saturday, May 27th, at Chiddingstone. This event involved digging up a field to investigate an old track supposedly connected to leys and flying saucer theories, marking the first known suggestion of a link between UFOs and leys in print.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are contact with extraterrestrial beings, the exploration of unconventional theories like leys and diffusionism, and the promotion of a welcoming attitude towards space visitors. The STAR Fellowship's stance is clearly pro-contact and open-minded, emphasizing research, education, and the idea that humanity is not alone in the universe. The editorial tone is one of earnest inquiry and a desire to bridge the gap between skepticism and belief, advocating for a scientific approach to understanding these phenomena.