OMNI

Magazine Overview

OMNI Magazine, December 1985 issue, Volume VII, featuring a cover story on "New Birth Technologies" including "Male Pregnancy," "Prenatal Learning," "Ideal Sperm Donor," "Choices in Childbirth," and "Man Made Womb." The cover art depicts a cracked egg revealing a starry cosmos within, set against a cloudy sky.

Anti Matter

The "Anti Matter" section opens with a stark prediction attributed to Ruth Montgomery: "When the earth shifts on its axis at the turn of the century, only one in seven will survive." This sets a tone of impending global catastrophe.

Ruth Montgomery's Claims

The article introduces Ruth Montgomery, a psychic known for her 14 books, who was formerly a syndicated Washington politics columnist. Montgomery claims to receive information from "Guides," described as souls from the spirit plane who have had many previous lifetimes. She asserts that a planetwide cataclysm is imminent, leading to the death of most of humanity.

Montgomery's Guides have reportedly urged her to write about UFOs, resulting in her book "Aliens Among Us." In this book, she describes "spiritually advanced" aliens who visit Earth. According to the Guides, these aliens "spacelings" travel by disassembling their bodies and equipment into energy that moves faster than light, reassembling upon arrival. They allegedly use flying saucers primarily for transporting hardware.

Montgomery claims to have identified two dozen individuals who have either encountered UFOs or lived as aliens. An example given is Joseph Ostrom, who vacationed in Crete in 1978 and dreamed of meeting a tall, thin man who took him to a flying saucer.

UFO Update

The "UFO Update" section expands on the alien theme. It mentions that for 25 years, Montgomery and her Guides offered occult teachings on reincarnation and the spirit plane. However, they have recently shifted focus to UFOs. The article also touches upon other esoteric claims, such as a group of mystics in Manhattan led by Frederick Von Meirers. Von Meirers, an heir, claims that three beings materialized in his hospital room and revealed secrets, including the need to prepare Earth for a coming cataclysm. These beings allegedly revealed that the Earth will shift on its axis at the turn of the century, causing widespread destruction through falling objects, freezing, or flooding, with only one in seven surviving.

The article notes that Von Meirers has spent time building a "chromosomic healing device" based on instructions received through automatic writing. The salon of mystics he leads claims to remember past lives on a planet in the star-system Arcturus.

Skepticism and Future Outlook

The article concludes by acknowledging the lack of proof for these claims before the predicted end of the world. However, Montgomery offers a test of her psychic abilities: her Guides predict that President Reagan will leave office in poor health before the end of his term. The author, Owen Davies, suggests that even liberal Democrats might wish the President a healthy tenure based on Montgomery's other forecasts.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The December 1985 issue of OMNI Magazine heavily features speculative and futuristic themes, particularly concerning new reproductive technologies and extraterrestrial encounters. The "Anti Matter" and "UFO Update" sections, along with the cover story, highlight a fascination with the unknown, paranormal phenomena, and potential global shifts or cataclysms. The editorial stance appears to be one of exploring and reporting on these fringe topics, presenting claims from psychics and alleged experiencers, while also subtly acknowledging the lack of empirical evidence. The inclusion of Ruth Montgomery's predictions and the details about her book "Aliens Among Us" suggest a focus on channeling and psychic communication as sources of information. The magazine also touches upon the intersection of science and spirituality, as seen in the discussion of advanced alien technology and Von Meirers's "chromosomic healing device."