The IQ Paradox: Are Humans Getting Dumber?

 

Could it be that we are growing less intelligent as a species? The notion may seem absurd, yet recent research suggests this might be our reality.

This story begins with the discovery of a trend known as the Flynn Effect, named after the researcher James Flynn. Throughout the first part of the 20th century, Flynn observed a steady rise in IQ scores, suggesting that each generation was becoming smarter than the last.

This trend sparked numerous theories attempting to explain this intellectual blossoming. From improved nutrition and healthcare to advancements in education, each played a role in sculpting a more intelligent society.

However, an intriguing twist occurred in this intellectual narrative. A pair of researchers from the Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research in Norway found that this upward trend in IQ scores has taken a U-turn.

Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, revealed that instead of becoming smarter, we might be becoming dumber.

Their research involved the analysis of IQ test results from young men entering Norway's compulsory military service between 1970 and 2009. They examined an impressive 730,000 test results.

The findings were startling. Scores declined by an average of seven points per generation, a clear reversal of the Flynn Effect observed over the previous 70 years.

Yet, amid this gloomy revelation, a ray of hope emerged. The researchers noticed differences between family groups.

This observation suggested that the decline might not be entirely due to genetic factors, but could be influenced by the environment.

Lifestyle changes, such as modifications in the education system and a shift from reading to playing video games, might be contributing to this decline.

This revelation isn't exclusive to Norway. Similar trends have been observed elsewhere.

A British team found IQ scores falling by 2.5 to 4.3 points every decade since the end of World War II.

Meanwhile, researchers in the US discovered that diet could influence IQ. Children consuming more meat and fish tended to have higher IQs and better sleep quality, another factor influencing adult intelligence levels.

In summary, the once-celebrated Flynn Effect, the steady rise in IQ scores over the generations, seems to be on the decline.

The reasons behind this are complex, ranging from potential genetic factors to environmental influences such as changes in education, lifestyle and diet.

While these findings might seem disheartening, they serve as a reminder that intelligence is a multifaceted attribute influenced by a myriad of factors.

It is a call to action for us to better understand these factors and how we can optimise them for the betterment of future generations.

First published 21st November 2023

The History of Runes

I was asked: I have a question about the Viking Runes - was it the Serpent families who created them and how old are they? 

Runes are more than ancient letters. They are a bridge to the minds and spirits of our ancestors. Carved in stone, wood, bone and metal, runes carry a history of writing, magic, mystery and wisdom that stretches back over 2,000 years.

We are told that Runes were born among the Germanic peoples of Northern Europe.  And that the earliest known runic inscriptions date to around 150 CE. But in truth they were used much further back than this. The Serpent Bloodline used them primarily as magic talisman's but also each family were given one to represent their clan, and they were used as markers to identify that tribe, worn on jewellery, carved into stones etc. Each family saw they Rune as protective and magical.

The word “rune” comes from the Old Norse rún, meaning “secret” or “whisper”.

In more modern times the runes became known as Elder Futhark  and consisted of 24 characters.

The Elder Futhark was used across much of Northern Europe for several centuries.

Runes were carved onto stone monuments, weapons, tools, jewellery and everyday items.

They could mark ownership, record events, invoke protection or carry magical intent.

Each rune had a name, a sound, and a meaning.

Runes were not only for writing, they were also used in magic and spiritual practices.

People carved runes for protection, healing, success in battle, fertility, safe travel and more.

Runic poems and charms, like the Merseburg Charms, show how powerful and sacred they were considered.

Around the 8th century, the runic alphabet was simplified to 16 characters - the Younger Futhark.

This version was used mainly in Scandinavia and is the futhark most people know today.

Runes continued to be used for inscriptions in Scandinavia long after Latin letters became common.

They were carved on church walls, grave stones, wooden objects and household items.

In some places, they remained in use into the 20th century.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, interest in runes was revived through folklore, archaeology, occult traditions and Norse mythology.

Today, runes are used for divination, meditation, magic and personal growth by people all over the world.

Runes are not just letters from the past.

They are symbols of a living ancient wisdom - a connection to nature, the divine and the deeper mysteries of existence.

To learn runes is to open a door to the past, and even, to a deeper understanding of yourself.

Why the true history and timeline of Runes, like most things, is distorted.

Before 0 CE, there were simply years that we now label as BCE - “Before Common Era”. But there is an important detail that often surprises people:

There is no year 0 in the traditional BCE/CE calendar.

The sequence goes:

2 BCE → 1 BCE → 1 CE → 2 CE → 3 CE

So the calendar jumps directly from 1 BCE to 1 CE.

Why did this happen? I can hear you saying.

The dating system we commonly use today developed from a Christian calendar created many centuries after the period it was trying to date.

In the 6th century CE, a Christian monk and scholar called Dionysius Exiguus was asked to calculate dates for Easter. He proposed numbering years according to the presumed birth of Jesus Christ.

He called the years after Christ's birth Anno Domini, meaning “in the year of our Lord”. This eventually became the AD system.

The intention was essentially:

Before Christ → BC

After Christ → AD

Later, historians began using the more religiously neutral terms:

Before Common Era → BCE

Common Era → CE

But Dionysius did not include a year zero.

Why not? You might ask.

The concept of zero as a number was not being used in the same way in European mathematical and calendar systems at the time. Roman numerals, which were widely used in Europe, didn't have a standard numeral for zero.

So instead of:

2 BCE → 1 BCE → 0 → 1 CE → 2 CE

the system became:

2 BCE → 1 BCE → 1 CE → 2 CE

This can make calculations involving ancient dates surprisingly awkward.

But there is another fascinating problem.

Dionysius was trying to determine the year of Jesus's birth, but modern historians believe his calculation was probably wrong.

Most historical estimates place Jesus's birth somewhere around 6-4 BCE.

That means, rather strangely, Jesus may have been born several years “before Christ” according to the calendar that was later created to date his birth!

This wasn't because people at the time thought they were living in the wrong year. The calendar system simply didn't exist yet.

And this is an important point:

The year did not actually “restart”.

Nothing happened in history where everyone suddenly reached a particular day and declared, “This is now year 1.”

Different civilisations had their own calendars and systems of counting years.

The Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, Jews, Chinese and many other cultures all had their own ways of recording time.

For example, Romans might identify a year by naming the consuls who held office. Other cultures counted years according to the reign of a king or emperor.

The Christian AD system gradually spread through medieval Europe and eventually became the international civil calendar we use today.

So when we say something happened in “500 BCE”, we're applying our modern dating system retrospectively.

The people living in 500 BCE wouldn't have thought:

“I am currently living in 500 BCE.”

They would have had their own way of identifying the year.

This becomes particularly interesting when we go back to the question about runes.

The earliest known runic inscriptions date to around the 2nd century CE, although the origins of the runic writing system was developed much earlier.

So when we say the Elder Futhark was used from approximately 150–800 CE, we're translating ancient history into our modern calendar system.

And there is an even deeper point here.

Human beings didn't suddenly begin measuring time at the beginning of the Common Era.

People had already been watching the cycles of the Moon, Sun and seasons for thousands of years.

They had been recording eclipses, solstices, equinoxes, harvests, reigns, migrations and religious festivals long before the CE calendar existed.

In fact, some of humanity's oldest monuments appear to have been connected in some way with observing the heavens.

So the “beginning” of the Common Era is simply the point from which one particular dating system eventually began counting.

And that distinction is important.

Time itself didn't restart.

Our numbering system did.

If you want to know more about the cycles of time, I have various other videos covering this topic.

The Eerie Truth About Liminal Spaces

Have you ever walked into a place that should have felt completely ordinary, yet something about it felt strangely wrong? 

Maybe you have stood in an empty school corridor after dark, walked through a deserted shopping centre, seen an abandoned swimming pool, or found yourself alone in a hotel hallway late at night.

Nothing is necessarily frightening. 

There may be no obvious danger.

And yet, you feel it.

That strange sensation that something is different.

As though the place is familiar, but somehow unfamiliar at the same time. As though you have stepped into a world that looks almost exactly like your own, but follows slightly different rules.

You might even experience a peculiar feeling of nostalgia for somewhere you have never been.

This is the strange phenomenon known as a liminal space. But perhaps there is more to liminal spaces than simply empty rooms and unsettling photographs.

Possibly they fascinate us because, on a deeper level, they reflect something within ourselves.

The word liminal comes from the Latin word limen, meaning threshold. And a threshold is a fascinating thing. It is neither one room nor the other. It is the place between them.

When you stand in a doorway, you are technically still in one space while already entering another. A threshold represents transition. And this is the essence of liminality. To be liminal is to exist between states.

Between what was and what is yet to come. Between one identity and another. Between certainty and uncertainty. Between the familiar and the unknown. And perhaps this is why certain places can affect us so deeply.

We recognise them. But something is missing.

A railway station without passengers. An airport without travellers. A school without children. A hotel corridor with every light switched on, but not a single person anywhere.

A playground at night. A swimming pool with the water perfectly still. A supermarket after closing time.

These places were designed for movement, noise and human activity. When that activity disappears, something peculiar happens. The architecture remains exactly where it was. The lights still glow. The doors are still there. The chairs remain in their places. The signs still tell us where we are. But the human presence has vanished.

And suddenly, something ordinary becomes uncanny.

Our brains are remarkably good at recognising patterns. We know what a school should sound like. We know what an airport should feel like. We know what a shopping centre should look like when people are moving through it. When we encounter the same environment without the activity we associate with it, our expectations are violated.

The result can be an unsettling mixture of familiarity and unfamiliarity. It is familiar enough for us to recognise. But unfamiliar enough to make us question what we are seeing. And perhaps this explains why liminal spaces can produce such complicated emotions.

They are not always frightening. Sometimes they are beautiful. Sometimes they are peaceful. Sometimes they are deeply nostalgic. And sometimes they can make you feel strangely sad.

You may look at a photograph of an empty playground and suddenly remember childhood. You may see an old hotel corridor and feel as though you have been there before, even though you know you haven't. You may look at an empty swimming pool and experience a strange longing for a memory that doesn't actually belong to you.

It is almost as though the image has unlocked something that was already hidden somewhere inside your mind. And this is where things become particularly interesting. Because liminality is not simply an internet aesthetic.

The idea of liminality existed long before people began posting mysterious photographs of empty corridors online. Anthropologists have used the concept to describe periods of transition in human life.

Arnold van Gennep famously explored transitional stages surrounding rituals and important changes in identity. Later, anthropologist Victor Turner developed the idea of the liminal state further.

A person entering a rite of passage might temporarily exist between identities. They are no longer who they were. But they have not yet become who they will be. They are in between.

And that in-between state can be mysterious, uncertain and transformative.

Think about how many experiences in life actually resemble this. There can be a period between childhood and adulthood. Between leaving one home and finding another. Between ending one relationship and beginning a new chapter. Between losing an old identity and discovering a new one. Between knowing exactly what you believe and realising that everything you once believed may need to be reconsidered.

These periods can be uncomfortable. But they can also be incredibly powerful. Because when the old version of your life has disappeared, but the new version has not yet taken shape, you enter a kind of psychological liminal space.

You are standing on the threshold. And possibly this is one reason why liminal imagery can feel so emotionally powerful. We are not simply looking at an empty corridor. We are looking at a visual representation of something we have all experienced. The feeling of being between worlds.

There is another fascinating aspect to this.

Many ancient cultures placed enormous importance on thresholds. Doorways, gates, crossroads, caves, bridges and borders often carried symbolic meanings. They were places where one thing became another. A doorway could represent the boundary between the known and unknown.

A cave could represent entering the darkness and emerging transformed. A crossroads could represent a moment of choice. A bridge could represent passage from one state to another.

Even in mythology, the threshold is rarely just a physical location. It often represents a psychological or spiritual transition.

And presumably this is why the imagery of the doorway appears so often in stories about magic, dreams and the supernatural. The doorway is the simplest symbol of entering somewhere else. You leave one environment behind and cross into another. The old world is on one side. The unknown is on the other. And you are standing directly between them.

This idea also appears in dreams. Dreams themselves can feel profoundly liminal. You can be somewhere that seems completely real, even though the laws of reality have changed. You may recognise a house that does not exist. You may walk through a city you have never visited while somehow knowing exactly where you are. You may meet people you have never seen before but feel that you have known them forever.

The dream world occupies its own strange territory between conscious awareness and unconscious experience. Quite possibly this is why liminal spaces sometimes feel dreamlike. They activate something very similar. They take an ordinary environment and remove enough of its expected context that it begins to resemble the logic of a dream.

And then there is the phenomenon of déjà vu. That peculiar feeling that you have experienced something before. You enter a room and suddenly feel that you have already been there. You walk down a street and experience an inexplicable familiarity. You hear a sound and feel transported somewhere else.

Science has explanations for déjà vu involving memory and the way the brain processes familiarity. But the emotional experience itself can still feel incredibly mysterious. And when déjà vu occurs within a liminal environment, the sensation can become even stronger. It can feel as though you have briefly stepped through a crack in ordinary reality.

This may help explain the fascination with photographs of places that appear almost real but somehow impossible. The internet has given this phenomenon a particularly famous form through what is known as the Backrooms.

The Backrooms began as an internet horror concept based around an image of an endless, strangely familiar yellow interior. There are no obvious people. No clear destination. No reassuring explanation. Just seemingly endless rooms.

The horror comes largely from the uncertainty.

Where are you? How did you get there? Where does the corridor lead? And possibly most importantly, why does this place feel so familiar?

The Backrooms transformed the idea of liminal space into a form of digital mythology.

But underneath the horror is something much older. The fear of becoming lost between worlds. The fear of entering somewhere without knowing how to leave. The fear of crossing a threshold and discovering that you cannot return to the place you came from.

And conceivably this is why liminal spaces can be so fascinating even when they are not frightening. They represent possibility. A doorway can lead somewhere terrifying. But it can also lead somewhere extraordinary.

A crossroads can represent confusion. But it can also represent freedom.

An empty room can represent loneliness. But it can also represent a blank page.

And an unfamiliar path can represent danger. But it can also represent transformation.

Maybe this is why some liminal spaces feel strangely peaceful.

An empty beach before sunrise. A deserted train station in the early morning. A quiet hotel corridor. A mist-covered road. A swimming pool illuminated at night.

There is something about these environments that temporarily removes us from the ordinary rhythm of life. No crowds. No conversations. No expectations. Just silence.

And in that silence, we become more aware of ourselves.

Perchance liminal spaces are compelling because they give physical form to an emotional experience that is difficult to describe. The feeling of not quite belonging to the world you have left behind, while not yet knowing where you are going next.

We often think that uncertainty is something to escape. But transformation requires uncertainty. Before a seed becomes a plant, there is a period hidden beneath the soil. Before dawn, there is darkness. Before a new identity emerges, the old one may have to fall away.

And quite possibly the most profound liminal spaces are not physical places at all. They are moments in our lives. The moment before making an important decision. The moment after leaving something behind.

The strange period when you realise that you have changed, but nobody else has noticed yet. The moment when an old belief no longer makes sense, but you have not yet discovered what you believe instead. The period when your life appears empty because the things that once filled it have disappeared.

These moments can feel frightening because we naturally want certainty. We want to know where we are going. We want to know what happens next. But the liminal state does not provide those answers. It asks us to remain at the threshold. To tolerate the unknown. To allow something new to emerge.

Plausibly this is why the ancient symbolism of thresholds has survived for thousands of years. A threshold represents possibility. You are not trapped in the old world. You have not yet entered the new one. You are standing between them.

And potentially that strange feeling we experience when looking at a liminal space is not simply fear. Maybe part of us recognises it.

Because somewhere deep within our own lives, we have all stood in that doorway. We have all been between chapters. Between identities. Between places. Between relationships. Between versions of ourselves.

And potentially the unsettling emptiness of the liminal space is really a reflection of that moment when the familiar has disappeared and the future has not yet revealed itself.

So the next time you find yourself somewhere strangely quiet, somewhere that feels familiar yet unfamiliar, somewhere that seems suspended outside ordinary time, don't immediately dismiss that feeling.

Look around. Notice the silence. Notice the emptiness. Notice the strange sense that you are standing somewhere between one world and another. Because maybe you are.

Not necessarily in a supernatural sense. But symbolically. Psychologically. or even spiritually.

You are standing on a threshold. And thresholds have always fascinated humanity because we have never truly known what waits on the other side.

Presumably that is what makes liminal spaces so haunting.

They remind us that the world we know is not the only way of experiencing reality.

Sometimes the most mysterious places are not distant planets, ancient ruins or forgotten temples.

Sometimes they are ordinary places that have somehow become extraordinary. A corridor. A doorway. A staircase. A deserted station. A road disappearing into the mist. A room waiting for someone to enter.

Places that exist between one moment and the next. Between memory and imagination. Between the familiar and the unknown. Between what we were and what we are becoming.

They are liminal spaces. Places on the threshold. And quite possibly, in one way or another, we are all living in one.

Esoteric Maximalist Art Featuring Hamsa, Evil Eye, Sacred Heart & Botanical Designs

 

Discover the Beauty of Maximalist Mystical Home Décor and Esoteric Art

If you love maximalist design, dark academia, gothic décor, bohemian interiors, and mystical home accessories, you'll appreciate a world where symbolism, nature, and ancient traditions come together in beautiful, meaningful artwork.

My collection is inspired by esoteric art, occult symbolism, alchemy, sacred geometry, hermetic philosophy, Gnosticism, mysticism, and the rich visual language of folklore, mythology, and spiritual traditions. Every design combines intricate detail with vibrant colour, creating pieces that celebrate both beauty and symbolism.

Throughout the collection you'll discover timeless protective symbols such as the Hamsa Hand, Evil Eye, Sacred Heart, celestial suns and moons, stars, botanical illustrations, flourishing roses, wildflowers, vines, leaves, herbs, peacocks, feathers, and other natural elements that have inspired artists and mystics for centuries.

The artwork blends influences from Victorian botanical illustration, Art Nouveau, vintage engraving, medieval manuscripts, Renaissance ornament, folk art, witchcore, cottagecore, goblincore, gothic romanticism, and maximalist interior design, resulting in richly layered patterns full of symbolism and storytelling.

Whether you're decorating a cosy reading corner, a meditation room, an eclectic living space, or simply searching for distinctive statement pieces, these designs are created for those who appreciate mystical aesthetics, spiritual symbolism, occult décor, esoteric gifts, and alternative home décor.

The collection features artwork on a growing range of products including furniture, chairs, tables, storage pieces, home décor, wall art, cushions, blankets, clothing, shirts, hoodies, dresses, bags, accessories, and unique lifestyle products, allowing you to surround yourself with meaningful art wherever you are.

Every illustration celebrates the harmony between nature and the symbolic world. Delicate roses, flourishing florals, intricate botanicals, medicinal herbs, sacred plants, celestial motifs, alchemical emblems, potions, and protective talismans come together in elaborate compositions that invite closer inspection. The more you look, the more hidden details emerge.

If you're drawn to alchemy, occult symbolism, mystical illustration, sacred hearts, Hamsa art, Evil Eye décor, witch aesthetic, esoteric gifts, spiritual home décor, botanical art, floral maximalism, ornamental design, vintage-inspired illustration, or symbolic artwork, I hope these creations inspire your imagination and help you create a home filled with colour, character, and meaning.

Art has always been more than decoration. Symbols carry stories, flowers represent renewal, sacred hearts express devotion, alchemical imagery reflects transformation, and protective emblems such as the Hamsa and Evil Eye remind us of hope, resilience, and the enduring human desire to find beauty and meaning in everyday life.

Explore the collection and discover maximalist mystical designs inspired by nature, folklore, symbolism, alchemy, and the timeless traditions of esoteric art.

Find my store here - Purple Peacock Store

The products can be shipped worldwide, and they are created on demand in a location near you.

Cats In Popular Culture - The Eerie Rh Negative Blood Connection

There is a question that no one asks because it sounds ridiculous:

Why do people love cats so much?

Not merely appreciate them, but adore them with an almost religious fervour. Why are millions of people willing to rearrange their lives around animals that knock objects from shelves, wake their owners before dawn, shed on every available surface and behave with supreme indifference to human wishes?

Why are cat videos among the most watched forms of entertainment on the internet? Why do cat memes proliferate endlessly across every social platform? Why does every culture seem to possess legends, artwork and stories devoted to felines?

The official answer is simple:

Cats are cute.

This report proposes an alternative explanation.

Cats are not merely pets.

They are vectors.

And humanity has been preparing itself to welcome them for thousands of years.

This report concerns a protozoan parasite and a series of observations which, if interpreted in the most alarming manner possible, suggest that humanity may be participating in the global propagation of a parasitic organism without recognising that it is doing so.

The scientific facts contained herein are accurate and publicly available.

I will also talk about the eerie reality that connects all of this to Rhesus negative blood.

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At the centre of this lies a microscopic parasite called Toxoplasma gondii.

The scientific establishment recognises it as one of the most successful parasites on Earth. It is estimated that a large proportion of the world's human population has been infected at some point, though prevalence varies considerably between regions.

Most infected people never know they carry it.

Most never exhibit symptoms in the early stages.

Most continue their lives normally.

The parasite may remain inside the body for years and can form tissue cysts, including in the brain and muscles.

No reliable method exists to determine how many people around you are carrying dormant cysts at this moment.

You should consider that number carefully.

Then consider the number of cats.

The organism reproduces sexually only in members of the cat family. Domestic cats and wild felines are what scientists call its definitive hosts.

This means that, from the parasite's perspective, cats are not incidental.

They are the destination.

---

The parasite's life cycle, according to established science, is extraordinary.

Science recognises a disturbing fact.

Cats are not merely one host among many.

They are the parasite's definitive host.

Toxoplasma gondii can reproduce sexually only inside the intestines of felines.

Without cats, its life cycle is incomplete.

With cats, its opportunities become nearly limitless.

A cat infected with Toxoplasma gondii may shed microscopic eggs, called oocysts, in its faeces for a limited period, usually after initial infection.

These oocysts can contaminate soil, water and surfaces.

Other animals become infected by accidentally ingesting them.

Humans may also become infected through:

• Contact with contaminated soil or cat litter and then touching the mouth.

• Eating undercooked meat containing tissue cysts.

• Consuming contaminated water or unwashed produce.

• Rarely, through organ transplantation or blood transfusion.

• From mother to unborn child if infection occurs during pregnancy.

Once inside the body, the parasite spreads and forms microscopic cysts, particularly in muscle tissue and the brain.

Then it waits.

For years.

Possibly for life.

Reptilian Truth Revealed - My Final Say

What if everything you've been told about the reptilians is true?

What if the most powerful people on Earth really aren't human?

What if they've hidden themselves in plain sight for thousands of years, manipulating governments, controlling banks, starting wars and shaping civilisation itself?

Millions of people genuinely believe this.

According to the theory, a race of shape-shifting reptilian beings exists alongside humanity. They are said to occupy positions of immense power - politicians, royalty, celebrities, billionaires and religious leaders. They supposedly disguise themselves in human form, occasionally revealing their true reptilian appearance through brief 'glitches'.

Supporters of the theory argue that these beings are not merely extra-terrestrial, but interdimensional. That claim conveniently answers one of the biggest questions: if they're everywhere, why doesn't everyone see them?

The answer, believers say, is frequency.

Only people whose consciousness has been awakened - or who are somehow 'tuned' to the correct frequency - can perceive them. Everyone else is effectively blind.

This explanation has become one of the theory's greatest strengths. Anyone who disagrees simply hasn't awakened yet. Anyone asking for evidence is told they're still asleep.

It's a belief system that protects itself.

Then there are the stories of underground cities. Secret tunnels beneath the Earth. Ancient bloodlines. Ritual sacrifice. Hidden symbols. Secret societies. Royal families descended from dragons. Governments working with non-human intelligences.

Individually, each claim sounds extraordinary.

Together, they create a complete alternative version of reality.

And for many people, it feels more convincing than the official explanation of the world.

But where did these ideas actually come from?

Did humanity discover a hidden truth?

Or were we gradually taught a fictional story until it felt like history?

Because when you trace the reptilian narrative backwards, something fascinating begins to emerge.

Long before millions believed reptilian rulers existed, popular culture had already introduced the idea.

The 1983 television series V portrayed seemingly benevolent aliens who concealed their true reptilian forms beneath human skin while secretly infiltrating governments and institutions.

Then came the movie They Live, where ordinary people discover that hidden rulers can only be seen through a special pair of sunglasses, revealing an unseen reality hidden in plain sight.

A decade later, The Matrix popularised another powerful idea - that humanity lives inside a carefully constructed illusion, unaware that unseen forces are harvesting and controlling them.

Other examples include:

• Doctor Who – The Silurians and Sea Devils are ancient reptilian humanoids living beneath the Earth, hiding from humanity until circumstances bring them into conflict. The idea of intelligent reptilian beings secretly sharing the planet predates many modern conspiracy narratives.

• Star Trek – Various reptilian species appear throughout the franchise, including the Gorn, reinforcing the cultural familiarity of reptilian humanoids.

• Stargate SG-1 – The Goa'uld are parasitic beings posing as gods and secretly manipulating human civilisation, introducing another version of hidden non-human rulers.

• The Arrival – Features extra-terrestrials disguised as humans while quietly infiltrating society.

• The Elder Scrolls – Includes the Argonians, an intelligent reptilian race, demonstrating how widespread reptilian imagery has become in fantasy.

• Ancient Aliens – Although not specifically about reptilians, it popularised ancient astronaut concepts that later merged with reptilian narratives online.

By the late 1990s, audiences had already spent decades consuming stories about hidden races, disguised aliens and unseen rulers. Whether coincidence or influence, the imagery was already deeply embedded in popular culture.

Each story explored hidden rulers, concealed realities and the idea that only a select few can perceive the truth.

Then, during the 1990s, one man began arguing these weren't fictional metaphors at all.

David Icke took concepts that looked remarkably familiar from science fiction and presented them as literal reality. Shape-shifting reptilian bloodlines. Interdimensional entities. Ancient alien rulers manipulating human civilisation.

Rather than inventing entirely new ideas, Icke brought together New Age spirituality, UFO beliefs, ancient astronaut theories, esoteric symbolism, anti-establishment politics and science-fiction imagery into one coherent worldview.

That synthesis is arguably what made the reptilian theory so compelling to many people.

His books reached millions.

His lectures filled theatres.

His ideas spread across the internet until they became one of the world's most recognisable conspiracy theories.

But ideas have consequences.

For some, belief in reptilian conspiracies remains harmless entertainment.

For others, it becomes something far darker.

In 2021, Matthew Taylor Coleman murdered his own two young children because he had become convinced they carried 'serpent DNA' and would grow into monsters. He believed he was saving the world.

For most people, the reptilian conspiracy remains exactly that - a conspiracy theory.

Some find it entertaining. Others see it as an alternative explanation for world events. Many discuss it online without ever acting upon it in any meaningful way.

It's important to make that distinction.

Believing in a conspiracy theory does not make someone violent.

Millions of people hold unconventional beliefs and never harm another person.

But history also shows that when conspiracy narratives become fused with severe paranoia or psychosis, the results can be catastrophic.

Perhaps no case illustrates this more tragically than that of Matthew Taylor Coleman.

Coleman appeared, outwardly, to be living an ordinary life. He was a surfing instructor from California, married with two young children.

Then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, family members later described dramatic changes in his behaviour and beliefs. He immersed himself in online conspiracy material, including QAnon and theories involving hidden elites, secret plots and what he described as "serpent DNA."

According to court documents, Coleman became convinced that his wife possessed reptilian or serpent ancestry and that his two children had inherited this bloodline. He believed they would eventually grow into monsters who would threaten humanity.

To him, this wasn't a metaphor.

It wasn't a symbolic belief.

It was reality.

In August 2021, he drove his two children across the border into Mexico. There, he killed them with a spearfishing gun.

After his arrest, Coleman reportedly told investigators that he believed he had been chosen to save the world and that killing his children was the only way to prevent unimaginable evil.

The horror of this crime is difficult to comprehend.

What makes it even more disturbing is that Coleman appears to have believed he was acting morally.

When someone becomes convinced that the people they love are no longer truly human, ordinary moral boundaries can begin to collapse.

History has shown this repeatedly.

Not just in conspiracy theories, but in cults, extremist movements and episodes of severe mental illness.

Once a person sincerely believes they are confronting hidden monsters rather than human beings, almost any action can be reframed as an act of protection.

The Coleman case has often been cited in discussions about the dangers of online radicalisation, but mental health experts caution against overly simplistic conclusions.

There is no evidence that belief in reptilian conspiracies alone causes violence.

Rather, the case appears to involve a complex interaction between pre-existing psychological vulnerabilities, conspiratorial thinking and delusional beliefs.

In other words, the conspiracy did not act in isolation.

It became woven into a much larger psychological crisis.

Coleman was not the first person to incorporate reptilian ideas into delusional thinking.

Psychiatrists have documented numerous cases in which individuals experiencing psychosis or severe paranoia came to believe that family members, neighbours or public figures had been replaced by demons, aliens, reptiles or other non-human entities.

The specific identities change with culture and technology.

Centuries ago, people spoke of witches.

Later, demons.

In the twentieth century, extra-terrestrials.

Today, some people describe reptilian shapeshifters.

The underlying psychological mechanisms often remain remarkably similar, even as the stories themselves evolve.

Researchers have also observed that modern conspiracy theories can become incorporated into existing delusions because they provide ready-made explanations for frightening experiences.

Someone struggling to make sense of overwhelming fear may encounter a complete narrative online -one that explains why they feel watched, why the world seems unreal, or why people around them suddenly appear different.

Every unexplained event becomes another piece of evidence.

Every disagreement becomes proof that others are still "asleep."

Every request for evidence is interpreted as further confirmation that the conspiracy is working.

This is one reason some psychologists describe certain conspiracy systems as self-sealing.

The belief itself contains explanations for why contrary evidence should be rejected.

If no evidence is found, it has been hidden.

If someone disagrees, they have been deceived.

If predictions fail, the plan has changed.

The theory adapts, preserving itself against almost any challenge.

None of this means that everyone interested in conspiracy theories is mentally ill.

Far from it.

Most are not.

Nor does it mean governments, corporations or powerful individuals never deceive the public. History contains many genuine conspiracies that were once dismissed before later being proven true.

The crucial difference lies in evidence.

Healthy scepticism asks, "What supports this claim?"

Delusional thinking often begins with the conclusion and interprets everything else through that lens.

This distinction matters because ideas have consequences.

Not simply because they can be true or false, but because they shape how we see other people.

If we begin to view neighbours, family members or political opponents as less than human - as demons, monsters or shape-shifting creatures - we risk crossing a line that history has shown can have devastating consequences.

The Divine Feminine Living Grail - What Science Is Discovering Today

The alchemists taught that Nature conceals her greatest mysteries in plain sight. What the uninitiated reject as common or impure, the Adept recognises as the vessel of hidden life. Thus the Emerald Tradition declares that the Stone is found not in distant mountains but within the living temple itself.

Among the deepest mysteries of the feminine was the blood of the monthly cycle. To the vulgar eye it appeared to be merely that which was cast away, but to the initiate it represented unrealised creation  -the womb preparing itself for incarnation before returning its unused potential to the Earth. It was regarded as the mystery of life before birth, the Red Vessel from which all flesh might have emerged.

The Gnostics spoke of the Divine Spark hidden within matter, fragments of the Pleroma imprisoned in the world of generation. The Great Work of the alchemist was not merely to transmute lead into gold but to awaken that dormant light concealed within the body itself. The human being was understood as a microcosm of creation, and every sacred fluid became a symbol of the hidden currents through which life, consciousness, and spirit flow.

Some esoteric traditions also revered the secretions associated with feminine arousal as symbols of living water - the receptive principle through which creation is nourished and made fruitful. In this symbolic language, these fluids represented abundance, fertility, and the union of opposites, echoing the Hermetic maxim that all true generation arises from the harmonious marriage of complementary forces.

To the alchemist, these mysteries were never simply biological. Blood was more than blood; water was more than water. They were outward signs of invisible realities. The Red Work (Rubedo) signified the awakening of perfected life, while the sacred waters purified and prepared the vessel for illumination. Together they expressed the eternal cycle of dissolution, purification, death, and rebirth.

The ancient adepts would say that the greatest treasure was never hidden in stone temples or royal vaults. It was concealed within life itself, awaiting those with eyes to see and ears to hear. For the true Philosopher's Stone is not merely a substance to be possessed, but a state of consciousness awakened through understanding the sacred correspondence between the human vessel and the divine order from which it came.

Modern science approaches these questions through a very different lens. Researchers have identified stem cell - like populations in menstrual fluid and are investigating their potential applications in regenerative medicine. These discoveries have prompted renewed interest in the remarkable biology of the female reproductive system.

Menstrual blood-derived stem cells are highly proliferative, multipotent mesenchymal-like stem cells found in the uterine lining. Because they can be easily and non-invasively collected during a regular period using a menstrual cup, they provide a highly promising, ethical source of cells for regenerative medicine.