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An Interview with Barbara Hand Clow

Barbara Hand Clow is the author of several books including Catastrophobia, The Pleidaian Agenda, and Liquid Light of Sex.

Connie: Hi, Barbara, tell me how you come up with the idea for Catastrophobia?

Barbara: As a kid I was educated by my Cherokee grandfather about earth changes and "Turtle Medicine", the history of the planet in relation to earth changes. This is a lifetime work, and now science has finally caught up to what my grandfather taught me. Science is now verifying the information he gave me.

C: I was fascinated with your mention of Immanuel Velokovsky's work. I read two of his books about 30 years ago.

B: His books influenced the popular mind to an extreme degree. Worlds In Collision and Earth In Upheaval were the first break with Uniformitarian Theory, which was a theological model that had been in place for 150 years. As science started to emerge theologians kept trying to control the dynamic and our very definition of God. The issue of catastrophe was "How could God allow that to happen?" As Pleistocene remains were discovered theologians tried to make it look like the devastation happened over a very long time period, but gradually science proved it happened 11,500 years ago. Velokovsky, though many of his ideas were wrong, changed public mind which eroded the orthodox paradigm. Paradigms are often broken by the public first. Now science is in agreement with the catastrophic theory model.

C: I just read the chapter about Chiron and was fascinated with how it fits into this work, too. Your book on Chiron is one of my favorites.

B: I became fascinated with Chiron when it was sighted. Allan and Delair, the Oxford scientists, theorize Chiron assumed it's orbit 11,500 years ago based on astrophysics. I suggest the cataclysm caused our supreme wounding . And it turns out that the little planetoid that influences the wounded healer complex went into it's orbit at the time of the cataclysm. They think that the current axial tilt of 23 degrees occurred at that time. And, I think it's a strong case because it was the advent of farming. No one has been able to explain why farming started at that time. The axial tilt would have created seasonality which would have created a need for farming. I think it's one of the strongest theories for why farming started.

C: You said the ideas in Catastrophobia fit with the 9/11 event in New York?

B: My book talks about the global elite and how they discovered that people change archetypally or symbolically. The book posits that the global elite have more power on the planet than others do. I don't think there is anything surprising about this idea. There's a natural tendency for people to want to take control. But this cataclysm seems to have created a huge power complex because of the need for people to survive after this cataclysm 11,500 years ago. The book suggests that the struggle for power and control are reaching an apex at this time. I'd say 9/11/2001 has all the classic elements of a global elite event, even the numerology: flight 11, 9/11/2001.

C: Where do we go from here?

B: My book works with the idea that we are in a cycle with the Mayan calendar which is based on human beings regaining their multi-dimensional consciousness on this planet and that the global elite does not want us to become multi-dimensional, and therefore free people. So the struggle is intensifying to shut us down. Certainly 9/11/2001 was a massive shut down in people's consciousness.

A major theme in the book is that a galactic and, therefore, an earth cycle that has a catastrophic cycle every 30,000 years. The book posits that the last catastrophic event was 11,500 years ago. Therefore, we are in the early stages of a period of peace. In the meantime we are obsessed with the end of the world when in fact that is not what's going on. We've displaced our fear of the future to events that are probably not real and we're not noticing that WE are destroying the planet.

C: So what we need to do is use the Chiron energy and heal ourselves and the planet?

B: Right, because when people are afflicted with post-traumatic stress syndrome and catastrophobia, they use drugs, alcohol and anger to stuff fear. Certainly, 9/11/2001 was triggered by anger that was created on the planet by our country. This event may not have happened if we had not created so much anger around the world. So if we deal with our inner anger and duality we might be able to stop an energy on the planet that becomes so devastating.

C: I feel that it is up to each one of us to make something happen by healing our own anger. Do you feel that is still possible?

B: Yes, in fact it's possible that when we have more perspective on this it may turn out to be an amazing transformation. First of all, I don't want to take away from the suffering. We lost a neighbor down the street from our house. The pain of this is just awesome. I'm amazed at the degree to which people have a real subtle understanding of this. I'm not seeing people go black or white on this. People are deeply thoughtful. This may push buttons in people that are so deep that they may actually go to that next level they need to go to.

Back to whether there can be something positive with an event of this nature. Sometimes an event of this nature can really change us at a fundamental level. Even if evil powers have certain intentions here, they may not be able to get away with it. The out come may be entirely different. I'm not pessimistic. I just don't think we know the outcome.

C: So you see there is a big possibility of do healing from this event?

B: Yes. Also, a fundamental block for Americans has always been that we are always safe and everybody else can suffer. As long as we are fine everything is ok. And people who believe that about themselves are going to perpetrate all kinds of stuff on other people and have no sensitivity to what they are doing or to other people. It is not fair that others always suffer and we don't.

C: If you think of this planet as all one big family, one brother might have one idea and another brother have another idea and a sister have a totally different idea and all think their ideas are right. A lot of philosophies say that in the age of Aquarius people will become peaceful and everybody will be on the same wave length and I guess I don't see that with humans.

B: That has nothing to do with the Age of Aquarius. That has to do with the basic condition of humanity itself.

I heard a Middle Eastern scholar say something that was wonderful. He said "the weird thing that happens to Americans overseas is that they not only come in and try to control everybody and run their economies and tell them what to do with their women, but they even expect the people in those countries to like them!" I thought "Whoa!"

C: Is there anything else you would like to say?

B: I think the real value of Catastrophobia is that it is such a long look at the last 20,000 years of history based on earth changes and cycles that affect us all so intensely. After all, it is pretty amazing how much the weather and conditions of the planet affect us as individuals. But it deals with things over a long time and in depth. Reading this book might look like it is the last thing you want to do, but I think it is the right thing to do. Before this whole thing hit we had become an amazingly shallow and trivial culture. And I think that is over. I think we may go back into a deeper look at things. Especially to look at what is going on with the middle-eastern cultures. My book has some good information about that region that is very relevant-that area is so juicy!

C: Barbara, thank you for taking time to talk to me today.

Connie Hill works at New Renaissance Bookshop and is a local astrologer. She can be reached at 503-542-4330 ext. 1287 or gmnite@yahoo.com.