Abstract
From before Christ until present day, rulers have relied on the supernatural in order to make pertinent and wise decisions for the country and their people. United States presidents, European leaders, and Asian leaders have often put their faith in the supernatural. They have relied on this strange phenomena for numerous reasons, ranging from personal gain, better insight, and other ways in order to become better rulers for the people who they serve. In North America, a few US Presidents including Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton relied on seances to connect to the outer world, astrology, and psychics in their own individual manners to achieve personal goals and better outcomes in their political endeavors. In Europe, rulers from Greece , specifically the Spartans and Russia, including Stalin, Nicholas II and Brezhnev entrusted supernatural beings to help predict their future decisions and allow for their rise to power. In the far east of Thailand, China, and Japan, several leaders followed superstitions, religion, and even earthly spirits to guide them in their pursuit for glory.
Introduction
In today’s environment, political leaders rely on analysts, advisors, and elected officials in order to make wise decisions that benefit people and provide them with guidance and positive outcomes. In addition, they also depend on cabinet members with different experiences and skill sets, lawmakers, and those that represent Congress to make informed decisions. This is natural for people to do in order for rulers to make decisions that are productive and are beneficial for people. Although it may seem absurd today, rulers in the past have trusted the supernatural in order for them to make choices to effectively rule. In numerous cultures around the world dating back from before Christ until present day, several political leaders and rulers have relied on the supernatural for future predictions in their rise to power, and even for personal comfort.
US Presidents
According to Christine Aprile in an article published in 2011, the earliest US president who relied upon the supernatural was Abraham Lincoln. After the death of their 11 year-old son, Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd, were in deep grief and solitude (Ranker, 2014). Subsequently, his wife started having seances in the White House to be with their son. At first, Abraham Lincoln was opposed to people coming over for seances for his wife because he believed that nothing could bring back their long-lost son (Ranker, 2014). The content of the seances was never officially disclosed, but people close to the president said that he was trying to communicate with his dead son because he felt guilty that he never spent enough time with him before his son tragically died from the measles (Ranker, 2014). Later in one of the seances, the spirits also were reported to advise Lincoln to bring his troops together on the battle front and stay united (Ranker, 2014). This supernatural advise to Lincoln lead to victories in Vicksburg and Gettysburg. In the end, Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, and it was at that point that his wife had little hope left in these meetings and eventually called them off to recuperate on her own (Ranker, 2014).
Ronald Reagan was another US president who relied on the supernatural according to a journal article titled “Social Influence on Paranormal Beliefs” published by the University of South Carolina. His wife started having seances in the White House. At first, her husband disapproved of the seances and use of astrologers, and did report that none of his political decisions are influenced by astrology (Markovsky, 2001). Yet as time passed, he did allow Nancy Reagan to use predictions of astrologers to help them in making important decisions that affected the nation (Markovsky, 2001). Joan Quigly became Nancy Reagan’s astrologer after the two met on The Merv Griffin Show in the 1970s and reportedly gave astrological advice during Reagan’s bid for the Republican nomination in 1976. (Markovsky, 2001).
After reaching the White House, the Reagans requested Quigly’s horoscope readings even more, which included elaborate horoscope charts that indicated when it was good and bad for the president to participate in his important meetings and events (Markovsky, 2001). Nancy would provide her with the president’s itinerary on a daily basis, and then Joan would inform them of the best time for the president to go on various events that occur outside the White House, including international summits around the world, press conferences, announcements, and even the flight schedule of Air Force One (Markovsky, 2001). Shortly after Reagan was shot by John Wayne Hinckley, Nancy learned through Merv Griffin that Quigley had told him that Reagan’s chart showed that this would be a bad day for him (Markovsky, 2001). She could have warned him that his life was in danger. Of course, this was after the fact of the shooting. Nancy Reagan even had special private phone lines to talk to Joan on the phone which was installed in the White House accordingly. “I was the Teflon in what came to be known as the Teflon presidency” (Markovsky, 2001). Quigley later wrote, taking credit for the timing of his actions that would prevent criticism. Later in a New York Times article, it was reported that President Reagan had a superstitious streak (Markovsky, 2001). He would often discuss lucky numbers in his speeches and even joke about the ghost of Abraham Lincoln living in the White House.
In addition to Ronald Reagan, another US President who relied on the supernatural was President Bill Clinton. President and Mrs. Bill Clinton had counseling meetings with prominent psychics and New Age gurus (Ellis, 2016). In late 1914, President Clinton and his wife, Hillary, invited a group of well-known self-help authors to Camp David to assist them to find answers after the Democrats’ disheartening loss to the Republicans in the 1994 congressional elections (Ellis, 2016). One of the authors was Jean Houston, co-director of the Foundation for Mind Research which studies psychic experience and altered consciousness (Ellis, 2016). The Clintons also met with another psychic, Marianne Williamson, who popularized the New Age movement and supported her book a ‘Course in Miracles’, even allowing her to stay in the White House to discuss strategies of healing America (Ellis, 2016). Also, during Bill Clinton’s presidency, his Secretary of Defense William Cohen became involved in the concept of remote viewing which is a type of ESP that the US government agencies used to collect military and intelligence secrets (Ellis, 2016). This program employed psychics to picture secret extremist training sites of Libya, in order to decipher new Russian submarine designs and try to locate US hostages held by foreign kidnappers (Ellis, 2016).
European Rulers
Besides North America, European rulers from Greece, and Russia, also entrusted the supernatural. Greek city states and political leaders in 7th century BC frequently consulted with the oracle at Delphi, which was established as a shrine of Apollo. The mouthpiece of Apollo at Delphi is his priestess known as the Pythia (Pham, 2005). When making her predictions, she sits on a high three-legged stool, with male priests right next to her. The Delphic oracle depended on the support of its followers (Pham, 2005). In so far as political consideration do influence the answers, the Delphi would guide those decisions. One example of an important question was posed by the king of Lydia, Croesus, who asked the Delphi “Should I make war on the Persians?” The response was, “if you make war on the Persians, you will destroy a great realm” (Pham, 2005). This prediction then influenced Croesus to attack the Persians, and they ended up losing the war (Pham, 2005). The reliance on religious prophecy continued on with the King of Sparta in 388 B.C.,
and motivated his political decisions and military expeditions (Pham, 2005). On several occasions, the decision to declare war was postponed as a result of negative omens. (Ellis, 2016).
Besides Greek rulers, Joseph Stalin, a famous Russian leader, was obsessed with the esoteric and kept with him a staff of personal witches, astrologists, and palmisters. (Gehler, 2000). He asked his colleague Sergei Kirov in 1930 to locate a specialist in the field of magic defense. (Gehler, 2000). He knew of someone named Natalie Lvov, who was a “hereditary witch” (Gehler, 2000). She was summoned to Moscow on the order of Stalin and even had a separate living space in the heart of the capital (Gehler, 2000). The duties of the witch included primarily to give advice to the leader for protection from magical effects and protect him against negative influences of his political opponents (Gehler, 2000). For this reason, she recommended that he avoid revealing his true date of birth to the astrologers so they would not be able to obtain information and use for their purposes, including foreign policy (Gehler, 2000). On advice of Lvov, he avoided pictures and pose for artists. The majority of portraits and photographs of the leader imprinted his counterpart (Gehler, 2000). She also held special rituals, trying to influence the political opponents of the leader; as a result, they eventually lost to Stalin (Gehler, 2000).
Another Russian leader who entrusted in the supernatural is Nicholas II, a prominent Tsar who consulted Rasputin, known as a royal healer. (Kernbach, 2017) Rasputin lived in St. Petersburg in 1903 and became well known to the aristocrats who became obsessed with mysticism and occult practices. (Kernbach, 2017) Rasputin developed a close relationship with the Imperial Family, and he won the trust of Tsar Nicholas II by helping his son Aleksey who was suffering from hemophilia. (Kernbach, 2017) The Tsar and his wife Alexandra heard about Rasputin’s healing powers and decided to bring him to the palace. They trusted Rasputin to help their son survive and make sure that he would take the throne and allow the continuation of Imperial Russia. (Kernbach, 2017) The Tsar continued to consult with Rasputin while making official decisions, even when trying to avoid a war with Germany. (Kernbach, 2017) The Tsars were not the only political figures who expressed positive opinions of Rasputin. Other leaders that publicly supported Rasputin included General Voeikoff and prime minister Boris Sturmer. By having Rasputin on their side, they believed this would increase their power and security in their leadership positions. (Kernbach, 2017)
In addition, another Russian leader named Leonid Brezhnev believed in the supernatural and trusted a Russian faith healer named Eugenia Davitashvili, known as Juna (Bunce, 1983). He brought her from Georgia to Moscow, and she lived near Kremlin (Bunce, 1983). Juna used bioenergy for medical purposes and supposedly saved Brezhnev from death many times (Bunce, 1983). After she stopped being his personal healer, he later passed away a few months later. Juna also predicted the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, the 1991 August coup, and the disunion of the Soviet Union (Bunce, 1983). She subsequently assisted several high level officials and public figures, such as Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin (Bunce, 1983). Although considered unconventional and against the Academy of Science in Russia, Boris Yeltsin was also involved in seeking advice from psychics during his political leadership (Bunce, 1983).
Far East
Moving from the European region to the Far East, superstitions and the supernatural are often used by leaders of Thailand, China and Japan. Numerous Thais have relied on the supernatural. People there will tell you that ghosts and spirits are still believed to wander around the streets and live in buildings. (NYTimes, 2010) Important business decisions often require consultations with a fortune teller. (NYTimes, 2010) Cabinet ministers and military officers are at times very concerned with numerology and advice from the shamans, that politics in Thailand could be described as the black art of the possible. (NYTimes, 2010) According to this black magic, the Thais build spirit houses that are specifically used to protect the ghosts.(NYTimes, 2010) Each year, Thais collectively spend about 1.9 billion baht, around $63 million, on visits to traditional fortune tellers. “People still queue up for famous fortune tellers. They trust that it will be more human,” said Pichit Virankabutra, who is the curator of an exhibition on ghosts in the Thailand Creative and Design Center in Bangkok. (NYTimes, 2010)There are supernatural-related phenomenon that influence even the highest levels of government. Furthermore, newspapers in Thailand often include rumors and stories about politicians holding secret ceremonies in order to remove bad luck. (NYTimes, 2010) In a book published two years ago, a renowned Thai fortune teller recalled his meeting with one of the country’s powerful generals, Sonthi Boonyaratglin. (NYTimes, 2010) They met in January 2006, a time of political instability. Warin Buawiratlert, who was the fortune teller, told the general, “There must be a coup.” The general responded with, “Who is going to do it?” the general asked. (NYTimes, 2010) The fortune teller then expressed to the general that he was the reincarnation of an 18th century warrior, so that he had no choice but to go through with it. Nine months later, Mr. Boonyaratglin achieved his fortune, and ultimately overthrew the government. (NYTimes, 2010)
In addition to the Thai people believing in the paranormal, the atheist Chinese Communist Party controls the beliefs of its citizens by disallowing members to rely on “superstition.” (Wu, 2018) The cultural revolution in the 1960s and 1970s aimed to eliminate people’s beliefs in Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and folk customs by creating a campaign to dismiss old ideas, culture, and customs. (Wu, 2018) Despite the disruption of spiritual beliefs when Buddhist temples, statues, and historical sites of were viciously destroyed, these cultural beliefs are still ingrained in the Chinese people’s way of life, as people look at Buddhas, spirits, and Gods during these difficult and challenging hardships. (Wu, 2018) Numerous officials believed that a superior force is in control of their fates, in which they searched for ways to foretell or alter their lives in a positive direction. During the 1990s, Zhou Yonkang, who was a security czar, was the manager of the China National Petroleum Corporation and on one occasion, he invited a senior monk to perform a face reading for him, which is one way to foresee one’s future fate. (Wu, 2018) After the reading, the monk believedthat Mr. Yonkang will have good fortune with lots of money and health. In a decade, he eventually became a part of the Politburo Standing committee, which acts as the CCP’s largest decision-making body. (Wu, 2018) Subsequently, Li Chuncheng, who was Zhou’s ally and Sichuan party secretary, was severely penalized for using funds that belonged to the public to move his own ancestral tomb from its original location in northern China to Dujiangyan, in which he stated that he was forced to move it as a result of a recommendation provided by a Taoist feng shui master. (Wu, 2018) Former party leader Jiang Zemin also regularly asked for advice from Wang Lin, who was a qigong master who was presumed to have supernatural powers. (Wu, 2018) Mr. Lin frequently advised many Jiang faction officials on how to improve their fortunes, and he even told one of the railway ministers that if he placed a mountain rock inside his office, he would never fail at life aspects. (Wu, 2018) In challenging times, Jiang prayed to the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in hopes of salvation. He discovered a nun in Beijing and requested a copy of the “Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra” and proceeded to copy th
e sutra by hand, which is treated as an act of devotion and merit in Buddhism. (Wu, 2018)
In addition to Chinese rulers, Japanese leaders also connected with the supernatural and believe that Gods and spirits live in the world around them. They trust the Shinto, the Way of the Gods and give a spirit to many aspects of nature including mountains, streams and trees. (USHistory, 2010) These deities, known as “kami,” are friendly to humans and are considered to watch over human affairs and avoid natural disasters. (USHistory, 2010) This way of Shinto influenced Japanese leaders with myths and legends, encouraging national and political unity. The Japanese believed that the sun is the goddess Amaterasu. (USHistory, 2010) Later generations of Japanese emperors then assumed their divinity and right to lead the people, but tracing their imperial lineage back to Amaterasu. (USHistory, 2010) They presumed that as leaders they were direct descendants of the sun goddess, and as emperor, they became a Living God. (USHistory, 2010) In addition to the Shinto beliefs, the Japanese leaders also followed several aspects of Buddhism and also Confucianism in 7th century C.E. (USHistory, 2010) These ethical and humanitarian teachings of Confucius influenced political theories and became the main ideology of Japan. (USHistory, 2010)
Conclusion
In conclusion, beginning from before Christ until our present day, numerous rulers from diverse cultures and backgrounds, have relied on the supernatural in order to seek advice and future predictions for both themselves and their people. Despite skepticism and criticism, these rulers have entrusted in mysticism, the paranormal, and superstitions with a similar goal to make successful political decisions, increase their power, and ultimately become better leaders. Starting with the US presidents in North America, European leaders of Greece and Russia, and leaders of Thailand, China, and Japan of the Far East, each ruler had faith in the supernatural in their own individual way from goals of personal support all the way to protecting their country to the best of their ability.
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