It seems to be a very fundamental part of human nature to look for something greater than themselves to hold in awe and veneration. This "godspell" is what has led to humanity creating gods and religions since the beginning of human existence. Even discounting the Sumerian legends of the Annunaki there has arisen in the past half century or so, a number of "religions" using the possibility of UFO's and extra-terrestrial entities as divine or spiritual beings bent on "saving" humanity from itself.

Many of these religions have their basis in what their devotees claim are telepathic communications between them and the "star beings" from other worlds and dimensions. While the details, and the entities involved, vary from one religion to the other, there does seem to be a common thread of hope. Most messages seem to be warnings to humanity to alter their behavior towards one more in keeping with harmony and peace while turning away from the greed and callousness that so easily foments hatred and war. Some of these religions include the belief that these "aliens" will ultimately return to us and fix the problems we "unenlightened" humans have created.

Blending elements of Christian mythos with Sumerian legends, the Raëlian Church is purportedly the largest of these UFO religions. Founded in 1974, they believe humans were scientifically engineered by a race they call the "Elohim" and that many of history's greatest spiritual leaders such as Jesus, Moses, and Buddha, were actually Elohim sent here to help instruct humans in proper behavior. That Raëlism encompasses a very open and accepting idea about human sexuality between consenting adults and this is a major drawing card for recruiting new members among younger people. While women are a minority in the Raëlian Church, the "Order of Angels" was started in 1990 and is dedicated "for femininity and refinement for all of humanity." They sponsor exhibits featuring their beliefs including the alien source of crop circles as well a cloning.

The Aetherius Society barely post-dates the American Roswell incident. Founded by George King in London, England in 1955, the Aetherius Society beliefs are similar to the "Ascended Master Teachings." Their primary divergence from these occult traditions is in their insistence on the dangers of atomic science. They feel that humanity is too immature to be working with "the fundamental energy of creation." They too believe such spiritual leaders as Buddha, Jesus, and Krishna were "Cosmic Masters" from another world sent to Earth to help humanity. While believing in a monotheistic god, they also feel that there is intelligent life on many planets throughout space and that they are universally friendly to our young species.

Another of the most notorious UFO religions is Heaven's Gate. Along with the belief that the planet Earth is due to be "recycled," they believe the only way to survive is to leave it for the "Next Level." Begun in the early 1970's by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles, the group went through several changes in the early years. Finally, in a combination of ancient astronaut and New Age beliefs the group came to profess the human body as merely a vehicle for the ascending spirit.

They believed "to be eligible for membership in the Next Level, humans would have to shed every attachment to the planet. This meant that all members had to give up all human-like characteristics such as their family, friends, sexuality, individuality, jobs, money, and possessions," according to the sociologist, Robert Balch who wrote frequently about Heaven's Gate. On March 26, 1997, thirty-nine members of Heaven's Gate committed suicide in the belief it was the only way their souls could be transferred to a spaceship they believed was hiding behind the passing Hale-Bopp comet.

Humans seem to always be able to find "god" in whatever is around them. That the technologically advanced cultures of our day have developed UFO religions to help them cope with the mystery that these enigmatic sightings bring about is normal. Faith and belief are strong and powerful motivators within humans so it is not strange that a possible "advanced" race of beings could be construed at some level as "gods." We are still waiting for the aliens to weigh in on what they feel about these religions based upon their possible existence.

There has been much interest over the centuries about the "prophecies" made by the 16th century almanac writer Nostradamus (born Michel de Notredame.) Popularly believed to be a doctor, he in fact failed and dropped out of the medical school of his day. He also refused to accept the title of "prophet" even during his life. This was mostly to save himself from persecution by the Inquisition and the Catholic Church, which held a great deal of both spiritual and secular power at the time. According to the pre-eminent Nostradamus expert, Peter Lemesurier, the most likely method Nostradamus used in formulating his oblique and rambling "quatrains" was bibliomancy and knowledge of history.

Bibliomancy was very popular in the 16th century. One found the ideas for their work by opening a book at random and using the first word or sentence to begin. And as any student of history knows, new political leaders will arise and be compared to past leaders and some of them will be assassinated. Predicting new wars is easy since warfare has always been a popular human pastime. What goes around comes around and just a quick calculation of where the astrological elements are when one event happens will give a distant future time when "everything repeats itself again."

Then there is the method of writing that Nostradamus used. It was a combination of archaic, even in his day, French, Spanish, Latin, and Hebrew, along with coded references, and mystic sounding sensationalism to appeal to the readers of his almanacs, most notably the French Royal Court. Then can be added the problems caused by typesetters that were sometimes careless in their setting and did not follow the copy given them.

An example from the most likely candidate for a prophecy of alien invasion, Verse 72 of the Tenth Century is the phrase "Du ciel" usually translated as "from the sky" when the same phrase is used frequently by Nostradamus to mean "from the region." In the same Verse, the corrected word "deffraieur," meaning "provider" was initially replaced by a typesetter with the word "d’effrayeur," which means "of terror." Finally, Nostradamus did not give the dates in his writings based on the traditional calendar years but dated them from the time of the first Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. So the year 1999 in the Verse would actually figure out to 2324 A.D.

Translation can also add to the confusion of trying to determine what the supposed prophecy said. In its original form Verse 72, Century Ten says:

L'an mil neuf cens nonante neuf sept mois,
Du ciel viendra un grand Roy d'effrayeur,
Resusciter le grand Roy d'Angolmois,
Avant apres, Mars regner par bon heur.

In the book "The Complete Prophecies of Nostradamus" by Henry C. Roberts it is translated thusly:

In the year 1999 and seven months
From the skies shall come an alarmingly powerful king,
To raise again the great King of the Jacquerie,
Before and after, Mars shall reign at will.

Peter Lemesurier translated the Verse as:

When 1999 is seven months o'er
From thereabouts shall a great hosting King
Restore the King from Angoumois once more,
Who'll reign propitiously once come the spring.

And Google Translate gives us this version:

The year one thousand nine hundred ninety nine seven months
From the sky will come a great King of Terror,
Life the great King of Angolmois,
Before after Mars to reign by good luck.

There are numerous other translations and just as many varying interpretations. Many believe this prophecy denotes the return of the Annunaki and the subsequent restoration of their rule on Earth, complete with the restarting of the wars they were so frequently party to among themselves as chronicled in many of the ancient Sumerian cuneiform texts. It didn't seem to happen in 1999 A.D. although the faithful may look for it to occur in 2324 A.D.

People love puzzles and it is quite likely that much of Nostradamus' writings were for the entertainment of his readership as they sought their own interpretations of his oblique words. No one has been able to point to any of these predicted happenings before they occurred. It has always been through the process of looking for some clue in the Verses that correlates to a past event that any supposed meaning is determined. It is much like the process of pattern recognition the brain uses to see images in the clouds.

Did Nostradamus predict UFO's and extraterrestrial alien invaders? We will most likely have to wait until they make a public landing or re-establish their rule over us humans before someone can look through the prophecies and find the one that sounds most fitting for the event, then they can say with self-assurance that he did indeed predict it.

Our clearest record of a long-term alien presence on our planet is contained in the thousands of cuneiform clay tablets written by the ancient Sumerians. These records tell not only of their alien-inspired culture but also contain information about the "gods" who created them and lived among them for thousands of years before moving off-planet to let the human species develop on their own. Zechariah Sitchin is not the only person who can translate these texts. There are a handful of other people who have also done so. It is in the interpretation that these men differ.

The academic mythologists read these matter-of-fact tablets and say the Annunaki were just ancient "fairy tales." Joseph Campbell considers them tales of Jungian archetypes while Julian Jaynes labeled them as schizophrenic hallucinations. Only Sitchin has interpreted them as a straightforward documentation of what these ancient people saw and knew and lived with on a daily basis.

These records of the "gods" were right alongside the daily inventory lists, marriage and deed records, and other daily life documents a civilized culture needs to keep up with itself. Then there are the tablets that contain accurate astronomical data on the movement and composition of our solar system that includes information about the outer planets that can only be seen with telescopic equipment. Increased research in archeology and other scientific disciplines is slowly disproving the mythology and giving clues as to the fact of the alien reality from our past.

Astronomically it is known now that the wobble and variations in the orbits of Pluto and Charon can only be caused by an as yet undiscovered outer planet. Recently another object, larger than Pluto, was discovered in the Kuiper Belt around the major planets' orbital area. Eris proves that there is still much to be discovered on the far edges of our solar system. Even further out is the debris field called the Oort Cloud of material. It is from this distant area most of the comets originate from. It is also speculated that a search for the Annunaki's homeworld should start here and most likely already has.

Since the finding of the IRAS, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, from the mid 1980's found what could be considered a tenth planet, facts have been harder to find. It is known that the Naval Observatory was constructed at great cost in Antarctica. In 1992 Harrington and van Flandern of that Observatory published their opinions that what they were observing was indeed another planet and that it could well be an "intruder" planet from outside our own solar system. What makes this discovery so important is that Harrington had originally invited Sitchin to help him go through the ancient Sumerian information so he would know where he needed to look to locate this planet!

On a technological level the proof of an ancient advanced technology existing on our planet can be found through the growing catalog of ooparts (Out Of Place Artifacts in Relation to Time and Space) that have been unearthed. Everything from human footprints criss-crossing dinosaur tracks in Texas to the nearly 5,000 year old electrical batteries discovered in Iraq point to a presence on the planet that far precedes human existence. One can include the exacting stone architecture of ancient monuments that we cannot match even with our modern building techniques. And there is the 1889 discovery by Sir Flinders Petrie of the ancient gold processing plant at Mt. Horeb in Africa, which showed that monoatomic gold superconductors were known and created many thousands of years ago.

And there is the growing genetic evidence that points to the elusive "missing link" between proto-humans and Cro-Magnon homo sapiens as possibly existing only in the laboratories of the Annunaki. The Sumerian texts place the location of the genetic laboratories of Enki and Ninhursag in Africa, coincidentally in the same area and within the same time frame as our discovery of the origins of the mitochondrial DNA that runs through the entire human population.

This location, incidentally, is right near the ancient African gold mines of the Annunaki, adding to the proof of the tale that they originally created us as a slave/worker class to do the mining that had grown so wearisome to the Annunaki themselves. There is as well the evidence that evolution often takes millions of years to create major change in a species. Homo sapiens sapiens went from origin to our modern level of social and mental development in a mere quarter of a million years, much too quickly for natural selection and mutation to have worked.

It may be humbling to some and an outrage to others to think that we are not necessarily the greatest beings in the galaxy. It may be more comforting to some to have originated in some mythical "creation" than to have been the result of a genetic breeding program of an unknown alien race of beings. But a hard truth should always be better than a comfortable lie and as evidence piles upon evidence, it is up to all humans to contemplate the possible alien connection surrounding our very existence.

About 6,000 years ago something that was as amazing as it was illogical occurred on planet Earth. An advanced, culturally complex and intelligent human culture sprang full-blown into recorded history. Without passing through more primitive stages of evolution, trial and error, and slow-growing learning, Sumeria started its existence already formed and set in its ways. The Sumerians themselves wrote, as they were suddenly able to do, that they did not develop their culture themselves but were merely the inheritors of what was given them by their "Lords," ancient, long-lived beings whose very name, Annunaki, translates as "Those who from the heavens came down." They credit the creation of human civilization, human knowledge, and, in fact, humans themselves, to alien beings who came from another planet.

There are few people on Earth who have the knowledge to read and translate the cuneiform writing of these ancient people. Of the handful, it is impossible to avoid the work of Zecharia Sitchin. The great controversy surrounding his work is not his translations of the Sumerian texts but his interpretation of them. Sitchen views the words as being literal; for instance, when they say a "god" came to visit a temple he interprets it that "someone" did show up. He does not second-guess the meaning of an author 6,000 years ago and say they were only speaking metaphorically.

With the knowledge we can learn from these ancient people, we can begin to see a pattern develop that gives good indication for these literal interpretations. The Sumerians considered Earth the seventh planet, as their alien "gods" referred to it for being the seventh planet in towards the sun with Pluto being the first, Uranus the second, etc. That these ancient people knew of these outer planets without the aid of telescopes indicates someone from the outside had informed them. Our own science did not "rediscover" Pluto until 1930.

Another concept the Sumerians retold from their alien gods was that the Earth and the Moon were created as we know them today from a collision between two planets that had been thrown together because of the gravitational disturbance of the passage of their own planet, Nibiru, when it was first captured by our Sun. Until recently, this idea had been scoffed at but new studies indicate that this is a most likely reality. Two sources of further study can be found at: the June, 2000 edition of "Spatium" the magazine of the International Space Science Institute, and in a recent article from ScienceDaily.com on June, 7, 2010. Again, ancient people without advanced technology knew of a thing we are only beginning to find proof of.

The Sumerian aliens stated they had sent a mining colony to Earth over 400,000 years ago. That there were spacefaring beings on the planet so long ago could help explain the existence of so many of the mysterious Out Of Place Artifacts in Relation to Time and Space (OOPARTS) that have confused and confounded the "academically established" order of human evolution.

The ancient Sumerian texts also state that these aliens grew tired of working the mines themselves and commissioned their genetic scientists to create a "worker class" from indigenous beings. Of the various species of homo erectus available for manipulation, Neanderthal man has been shown to be related to us, homo sapiens sapiens. There has yet to be discovered the mysterious "missing link" that connects the two lines together. Could that be because the "link" is the product of an alien genetics laboratory rather than the slow process nature takes to evolve a species?

According to the Sumerians, the aliens finally left Earth so their "creations" could develop on their own. There is, however, the caveat that they would return sometime to see how well that experiment worked. This is the basis of many modern religions. It also gives rise to the question of whether or not the aliens left representatives behind to watch the development of man. Are they still watching or have they over the centuries taken a more direct, although hidden, hand in the affairs of humanity? And through all this is the question, "What will happen when/if these ancient Sumerian aliens DO come back to reestablish their rule over a planet and a species they may feel they own by right of having been here long before us?

We will be investigating these and many more questions about the Annunaki as time progresses.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of UFO's and the potential extraterrestrial connection with them, it is a common experience to have questions about UFO's brushed off by government channels. The average citizen is aware that they will generally get nothing more than the usual run-around and "not a threat to national security" line. The question is, how high in government ranks must you be in order to get a straight answer about UFO/extraterrestrial information? History has shown that it must be higher than the highest office in the land; even Presidents get the run-around.

Shortly after the Roswell incident, Harry Truman appointed General Robert Landry to coordinate with the CIA to keep him updated on the UFO phenomena. Even after the 1952 UFO sightings over Washington, D.C. Mr. Truman had to admit to a reporter of the New York Times that, "Oh yes we discussed it with every confidence that we have with the military an' they never had been or never were able to give me a concrete report on the subject!"

President Dwight Eisenhower tried to avoid the subject of UFO's as much as possible despite being possibly the first of our Presidents to actually see one in 1952. There is also the persistent rumor that his mysterious Palm Springs vacation in 1954 was to meet with alien diplomats and the "dentist" story was a cover for his overnight disappearance from view. Either way, "Ike" didn't say.

John F. Kennedy also asked about UFO's after allegedly seeing a 60 foot metallic object flying around while he was sailing near Cape Cod. His public response when asked about what he had found out was the ubiquitous, "The US Air Force assures me that UFO's pose no threat to National Security."

As the Vice-President in 1961, Lyndon Johnson had advised a Ufologist that he might have better luck asking NASA about the phenomena than the military. By 1969 this advice may have been outdated as he was filmed and photographed in attendance with not only the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the head of NASA, James Webb, but also the Governor of Pennsylvania the day after the supposed joint recovery of a crashed UFO near Texburg, PA by NASA and the Airforce. Everyone else was left with rumor and speculation.

Richard Nixon had indicated a desire to go public with UFO information and had commissioned the TV producer Bob Emenegger to research and use data from the archives of Norton Airforce Base to create a documentary exposing the truth of the phenomena. This film was to include what has been reported as a landing by a UFO at Holloman Airforce Base. Somewhere down the line the project was assigned to limbo.

Before becoming President, Gerald Ford had urged Congress to investigate the UFO phenomena for itself although he and Congress were ultimately led to the notoriously biased conclusions of the Condon Committee Report. As President, Mr. Ford's inquiries always met with the same results as President Kennedy before him. All those who could have enlightened the topic merely stated that there was no threat to national security. It should be noted though that among his sources were his then advisers, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, while George H. Bush was head of the CIA.

Mr. Bush continued his policy of information denial with President Jimmy Carter. Carter had gone on record publicly that he had seen a UFO personally and wanted to find and disclose all the government had on the subject. Mr. Bush, still at the helm of the CIA, told him that the information was on a "need to know" basis and the mere curiosity of a President of the United States did not constitute a "need to know." Despite this stonewalling by those who were supposedly in positions subservient to the Supreme Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and the top Executive Officer of our country, Mr. Carter used the Freedom of Information Act to release a lot of UFO information and documentation. Roughly half of all the information available was made so during his Administration.

Ronald Reagan was another of our Chief Executive Officers who had witnessed UFO's in our skies. While he never disclosed whatever he may have discovered about the facts behind the phenomena, he did on numerous occasions make references to the possibility of alien existence and its potential repercussions on humanity. Bill Clinton was also interested but, as he answered a question about whether they had actually found alien bodies at Roswell, answered, "If the US Airforce did recover bodies they didn't tell me about it either."

President George H. Bush had already made his stance on what he felt people needed to know about UFO's abundantly clear while still Director of the CIA. His son, George W. Bush, obviously following his father's lead, made no comment while leaving it to his Vice President, Dick Cheney to provide this flippant response to a question about UFO information he might be aware of: "Well if I had been briefed on that I'm sure it would probably be classified and I wouldn't be able to talk about it!"

If the top power positions in our nation are not allowed to discuss the reality behind unknown craft that can come and go as they please, then who is it in a position of power above them that is issuing the planetary gag order? With the paranoia the military displays when even a small commercial aircraft wanders too close to restricted areas, how can the comings and goings of such mysterious craft as UFO's NOT be a concern of national security? If even our Presidents can be told to mind their own business about the UFO phenomena, how can we not feel there is a grave danger lurking behind the secrecy surrounding their origins and purpose with Planet Earth and its inhabitants?