Well there was the episode of Ark's two baseball hats as one possible example of timeline changes. I expect most Forum members are familiar with this tale.
I am also aware of two other related occurrences where the timeline seemed to have been tweaked by mysterious forces. This does, of course, require one to rely on the honesty and integrity of the persons claiming that such time changing events really happened but, if true, it does offer a tantalising glimpse into the operation of parallel timelines.
The two events I refer to occurred during a remarkable treasure hunt for an artefact known as "The Heart of the Rose", as narrated by the authors Graham Phillips and Jodi Russell in their book Strange Fate, which I have quoted from on other threads (MJF: search on Biddulph Grange). There were two particular events that occurred on the authors' treasure hunt that involved first a major date change and second a change in the history of a specific object. I will deal with each event in turn, although the timeline changes involved may have been linked.
Strange Fate is in some ways a sequel to Phillips' earlier book The Green Stone that saw him and a group of fellow psychic treasure hunters find a mysterious green stone that supposedly once belonged to Queen Mary Stuart, better known to history as 'Mary Queen of Scots', around whom a group of recusant Catholic activists would form, some of whom would later go on to become involved in the notorious Gunpowder Plot that sought to assassinate Mary's Protestant son James I and put on the throne his young daughter Elizabeth. Mary arranged for the Green Stone to be smuggled out of her prison before her execution at the hands of her cousin Elizabeth I and it was then protected by the recusant Catholic group referred to above.
The Green Stone would subsequently be linked to a mysterious mid-19th century secret society called the Order of Meonia, which met at the Victorian mansion of Biddulph Grange in Staffordshire, central England. Even by Victorian standards this English country House is highly unusual for in its gardens it has several shrines, which include a Chinese pagoda sanctuary, a Celtic Glen and a mock Egyptian tomb where the Order of Meonia is said to have held meetings at which they performed strange ceremonies and conducted mysterious rites.
Phillips tells us that in 1871 a lady called Mary Ann Heath came to live at Biddulph Grange becoming the lady of the house. She was held in high esteem as a clairvoyant and spirit medium, even as a child, and the Order of Meonia had been founded after she had discovered a lost relic when she was only seven years old. She would grow up to become the leader of the Order or society in 1865. The lost relic she found as a child appears to have been a mysterious, unspecified, ancient artefact, which the members of the society believed to harness extraordinary mystical powers. It was referred to only by its enigmatic name, the "Heart of the Rose". After Mary's early death from typhoid in 1872, the leadership of the Order seems to have passed to her sister in law, Laura Heath. The society would continue until 1897 when on 16th January that year a mysterious fire swept through the mansion, gutting much of the building. Although no one was harmed by the fire, so much of the society's occult paraphernalia was lost in the blaze that the group could no longer continue and Laura Heath disbanded the group having first ensured the safety of its prized relic, the Heart of the Rose (although it turns out there may have been more sinister reasons behind the disbandment of the group). However, no one was aware of what happened to the Heart of the Rose and its whereabouts seems to have been completely lost to history and human memory. Moreover, no one even seemed to know what the relic was. Phillips and his fellow researcher, the Californian based Jodi Russell, therefore decided to try and track it down.
Although Phillips's quest took place in 2022/23, this was not his first encounter with Biddulph Grange, which had been rebuilt after the fire by Laura's husband Robert Heath. He would later sell it and it became for a while an hospital until in 1988 it was purchased by Britain's National Trust (a leading conservation body), which completely renovated the gardens and shrines and opened them for public viewing. Phillips first became acquainted with Biddulph Grange in 1981 when he visited it to investigate occultism during the Gothic revival in the 19th century. Phillips had become fascinated by the story of the Order of Meonia and the charismatic young lady who had inspired its founding. However, in the course of his research, he discovered an earlier society of the same name, which was thought to have been founded by the Elizabethan astrologer Dr John Dee and had existed in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, being headed until his death by the Elizabethan courtier and explorer Sir Walter Raleigh (MJF: this link is interesting since John Dee also had connections to Sir Francis Bacon and both men are suspected of being leading lights in the Rosicrucian movement, which emerged in the early 17th century). Phillips learned that the Elizabethan order had taken its name from a location regarded as being the birthplace of Western occultism: "Meonia" also spelled "Maeonia" was an ancient kingdom in what is now Turkey but was then known as Lydia. Phillips reasoned that the Victorian Order of Meonia had also associated themselves with the occult traditions of this ancient land.
Having set the background, where do the time shifts come into the story?
During one of their visits to Biddulph Grange, Phillips and Russell found a free standing information board in a tearoom with historical material and old photographs relating to the house and its gardens. Phillips pointed to an old photograph which showed the Grange just after the fire in 1897 that had reduced its centre to a smouldering shell. Jodi Russell read out aloud the plaque beneath it. "
Biddulph Grange after the fire of 1897." Afterwards, whilst wandering around the Grange's extensive gardens doing investigative work, Jodi Russell had a turn and passed out just before a sudden crash of thunder. Whilst unconscious, she had a vision involving a young Mary Heath. Once she had come to, Phillips took Jodi back to the tearoom for a cup of refreshing tea. Phillips believed this was the one room in the house that had remained unchanged since before the fire. They were subsequently joined at their table by one of the Grange's tour guides. Phillips whilst talking with the guide about the house casually mentioned to her that the tearoom was the one room unchanged since the 1800's. The guide shook her head and said "
No, it was completely redecorated after the fire of 1896." Jodi quickly shot back saying "
You mean 1897". The guide frowned and said "
The fire was in 1896". Phillips then chipped in saying as politely as possible that it was 1897, not wishing to embarrass the woman by her mistake. At this point, Jodi went over to the information board she and Phillips had studied earlier. She read the plaque again and said "
It says here that ..." and then stopped mid-sentence. Phillips rushed over to join her. Jodie then screwed up her eyes and said "
This is crazy. This does say that the fire occurred in 1896." Phillips said "
No way. We both read that caption just an hour ago. It said 1897. I've been researching Biddulph Grange for years: I have seen the original newspaper article, everything; it's always been 1897." Jodi then asked the guide whether the plaque had just been changed but the guide said that nobody had altered it since she had worked there. They then went to the gift shop and studied all the literature concerning the Grange, its gardens and history but they all gave 1896 as the year of the fire. It made no sense to them. Jodi gave a laugh but there was little humour in it and she opined "
Unless, like Alice through her looking glass, we're in another reality."
It would be easy to dismiss this story as the creation of two authors wishing to embellish their book with a fantastical occurrence to add further mystery to a tale relating to a mystical object, but this was by no means the end of the matter. A short time afterwards, Phillips and Russell would visit a local historian called Edith Murrrow who was a retired university lecturer in medieval history and regarded as one of the leading authorities on the history of Biddulph. Although their discourse mainly concerned questions Phillips had about the nearby Spring Wood Priory, which had allegedly been founded as a Knights Templar foundation in the early 12th century by local lord and crusader Ormus le Guidon, she also discussed the history of Biddulph Grange with them. In passing, Edith mentioned that the fire at the Grange in 1897 began when a candle was mysteriously knocked over but she thought this was just a rumour since no cause for the fire was ever established. However, Edith pointed out that her grandmother had maintained that it was caused by lightning. There was a storm that night and one maid who lived in one of the Grange's outbuildings had claimed that she saw the lightning strike. A little later, Jodi suddenly interjected by asking Edith to confirm what year the fire had happened. A rather shocked Edith confirmed that it was 1897. Jodi staring intensely at Edith said "
You're sure? The literature at Biddulph Grange says 1896." Edith fumbled through her folder on Biddulph and produced a copy of the same old photograph they had seen at Biddulph Grange. Edith said she had written the date of the fire on the back of the photograph and turned it over to show them. It said "January 16, 1897." Jodi then explained that she and Phillips had also thought the fire had been in 1897 but every piece of information on-line, in books and in the literature at Biddulph Grange now said it happened on January 16, 1896. Edith said firmly "
No, that's not right" and went over to the bookcase and pulled out a book to consult. She flicked open a page and her eyes opened wide with surprise. She then opened other books, thumbing through them with increasing urgency before speaking. When she did, her voice was quavering. "
That's not possible."
They all say the fire occurred in 1896, but I know these very same books recorded the event exactly a year later, in 1897." She then returned to her folder and produced her notes, all confirming the fire occurred in the year she believed it had happened, which was 1897. Sitting back in her armchair she looked decidedly unwell. She said "
That's impossible. I know I'm right." Edith had dropped her notes on her coffee table. Jodi went over to look at them and found that according to everything Edith had written herself, the fire had occurred in 1897. Phillips (whose own private notes still had the fire occurring in 1897) and Russell quietly left Edith who sat there in silence, seemingly oblivious to their presence.
So, there you have it, an example of the Mandela Effect, which seemed to effect physical and digital records but not those strangely of the three people who believed in the unchanged timeline. As I said above, you can dismiss this account if you wish, although it involves three people one of whom was an independent, accredited historian. Moreover, Phillips is putting his reputation on the line as it would be easy for sceptics to unpick all this - one visit to Edith Murrow would do it. However, this was not the only example of the Mandela Effect in operation during the two authors' quest. The next example involved even more people and related to something Phillips had been involved with intimately and had knowledge of first hand. It occurred on a visit to a museum, one which oddly Dr John Dee, the alleged founder of the Order of Meonia, had a strong connection to.
The Meonia Sword
The second time shift or alteration in the timeline occurred when Phillips and Russell visited the Tudor House Museum at Upton-upon-Severn. The time shift in question revolved around the Sword of Meonia, which Graham Phillips and his colleague and fellow researcher
Andrew Collins had found back in 1979 after a psychic quest led them to its hiding place. This was a short ceremonial dagger more than a sword and it turned out to be one of seven that had been cast for the Elizabethan Order of Meonia. Along its blade was inscribed, in Elizabethan English,
Meonia fore Marye - Meonia for Mary, Mary being Mary Queen of Scots. Phillips wrote about the discovery of the sword in his book
The Green Stone and Collins, his co-finder, wrote about it in his book
The Seventh Sword. Collins, who for me is in some ways a better researcher than Phillips, delved deeply into the Order of Meonia and its possible links to the Rosicrucians and into the operations of its later Victorian offshoot, which is a whole other story in itself that deserves a separate post. However, what matters to us here is what happened to the sword after its discovery.
Since the sword was found on land belonging to the Earl of Coventry, Graham Phillips handed the sword over to his estate in 1982. Andrew Collins repeatedly wrote to the Earl asking him if he would release the sword back into his group's possession since it was not really of any antique value and was of far more use to them than it was to the Earl. However, the Earl refused to respond to Collins' letters or answer his appeals. As a matter of interest, over time Collins's group would find five further Meonia Swords leaving one still unaccounted for; hence, the title of his book
The Seventh Sword. To this day, Collins is still seeking after it. In
Strange Fate, Phillips briefly tells Jodi the history of how he and Collins had found the sword. He then told her that the Earl of Coventry had kept the sword for many years, locked away in his ancestral home. When he died in 2002, the National Trust took over his house but the sword remained in the possession of one of the late Earl's estate managers. However, Phillips then told Jodi that someone at the National Trust had just emailed him to say that the sword had been given to a nearby museum and was now on public display. This made Jodi remark at the time that the Trust's email was a remarkable synchronicity, which, given what transpired soon afterwards, proves to have been something of an understatement.
The National Trust told Phillips that the sword was now exhibited in a museum in Upton-upon-Severn, some 40 miles south of the city of Birmingham. Phillips learned that what was now the museum had originally been three separate dwellings, the central section being a rectory and the home of the local parish priest, whose church stood directly across the street. On entering the museum, Phillips and Russell found the sword wall-mounted in a glass-covered display case. One of the museum's members of staff overheard Jodi talking to Phillips about the sword's discovery and the part Phillips had played in it and introduced himself to Phillips. Phillips asked whether he could take the sword out of the display case. The staff member went away and came back with three other staff members, one of whom had a key. In the end it proved too difficult to remove the sword without dismantling the entire display first. So Phillips simply touched the artefact, the first time he had done so in 40 years. At this point, a white-haired man in an ill fitting three piece suit who appeared to have been a visitor chimed in saying "
It's strange the sword should end up here. I gather it belonged to an occult society of the Elizabethan era. This building was once the home of the most famous Elizabethan occultist - Dr John Dee. This was the rectory for the church across the street. In the 1550's Dee was its priest." Phillips had not known this and after the gentleman left he checked using his phone to confirm that indeed Dee had been the local parish priest between 1553 and 1555. The four members of staff had not known this fact either. This left Jodi to remark what were the chances of the Meonia Sword ending up where the very person who started the Order of Meonia happened to live.
Jodi then asked the staff members how the sword had come to be at the museum. She was told by one of them that "
The Earl of Coventry donated it to us as he was one of our trustees." This remark left Phillips perturbed and he blurted out "
Lord Coventry donated the sword to the museum! Didn't he die in 2002. I thought the sword had only recently been exhibited [
MJF: keeping in mind the email Phillips had just received from the National Trust]? A staff member responded "
The display you see now has only just been assembled but the sword has been on display here for years. Lord Coventry gave it to the museum in the 1980's." Phillips then got on his phone and called various people involved with the sword's discovery. Two of them remembered the sword being in the Tudor House Museum since the 1980's and two of them remembered it always being at Lord Coventry's home of Croome Court and then in the possession of his estate manager.
Phillips then reminded Jodi of the Mandela Effect that might have explained away the dating of the Biddulph Grange fire but for him, he felt the dating of the transfer of the sword to the museum went way beyond this. He said "
It's possible to mix up the recall of a news event or to misremember a date, but something as detailed as the sword being in two places simultaneously." Jodi then reminded Phillips of the curious synchronicity of the gentleman just happening to be there at the right time to tell them about John Dee's connection with the place.
Well you could argue that there had been a misunderstanding over the fate of the sword after it had been handed over to the Earl of Coventry. Perhaps the Earl had not responded to Andrew Collins' letter because he had already handed the sword over to the museum in his capacity as one of its trustees and, having done so, had not wanted to cause an issue. However, the fact that two other people closely connected to the sword's discovery believed, like Phillips, that the sword had been retained by the Earl in his possession only to be handed over to his estate manager after his death in 2002 does seem to lend support to his claim. Then there is the synchronicity of the National Trust email to Phillips telling him that the sword had been given to a nearby museum and was now on public display, which led Phillips to visit the museum. Why bother to send the email if the sword had been handed over to the museum 40 years earlier?
Before Phillips and Russell finally discovered the hiding place of the Heart of the Stone, they would have further woo woo moments and experience further synchronicities, which may be something that people who are highly psychic like Phillips and Russell are more likely to encounter, especially when on a psychic treasure hunt. Indeed, Russell (with her rock star husband) had experienced similar synchronicities and woo woo moments, when she had joined Phillips on an earlier quest to locate the lost Knights Templar relics that had once been held at the Templar preceptory at Herdewyke in Warwickshire, England. On that occasion they found not just gem stones that might have come from the ancient breastplate of the Israelite High Priest but also part of an ancient stone slab that had strange runic-like markings on, which even the British Museum could not identify. Phillips and the Russells (who still maintain ownership of the slab) wondered whether it could have been one of the tablets on which the Ten Commandments had been written, which had been famously stored in the Ark of the Covenant - for more on the Herdewyke Treasure see:
The Ark of the Covenant 7.
As with the synchronistic appearance of the old gentleman at the museum, Phillips had a similar strange encounter with an older man during his quest for the Templar treasure. Like some old episode from the
Twilight Zone TV show, Phillips found himself alone in an old country parish church looking for clues when he heard footsteps behind him and turned to find an older gentleman who he immediately took to be the parish verger from his appearance and familiarity with the church. Phillips had noted that the old church had a creaky wooden door and wooden floorboards yet he had heard no footsteps from behind him nor the sound of the door opening. The man seemed to be very knowledgeable about the local area and was able to help Phillips by imparting to him vital information that would help Phillips and his friends to locate the treasure. When Phillips subsequently enquired after the man, having located the treasure items, he learned that the man most definitely was not the church verger nor did anybody at the church know of a parishioner answering his description. Like the gentleman at the museum, was it just surreptitious good fortune the man had been there at the time Phillips had visited the church and was thus able to give him the vital information he required to succeed in the treasure hunt or was it something else?
I shall leave it up to the reader to decide whether these could have been genuine examples of the Mandela Effect or time shifts in action.
