Is Mother Shipton a Myth?

"A Legendary Myth or a Legendary Woman?" 

~ Susan Larison Danz, creator of MotherShipton.com 

 

 

Mother Shipton is quite regularly described as “legendary”, and while that designation is accurate, using it without further analysis skirts around the most pivotal question:  Did Mother Shipton ever exist at all?  

 A legendary figure can be real or imaginary.  

In an attempt to once again reawaken this blog, which is taking its time in reawakening, this post is the first in a series that will step through the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the MotherShipton.com website, the partner site of this blog (as MotherShipton.com was previously ShiptonProphecy.com before the namesake site miraculously fell into my hands).  The MotherShipton.com History page, more detailed than the FAQs or what can be conveyed in this post*,  begins with this question: “A Legendary Myth or a Legendary Woman?”.  

An award-winning professor and researcher who is unfortunately rarely mentioned in most explorations of Mother Shipton is Dr. Arnold Kellett (1926-2009).  Dr. Kellett often wrote about the area where Mother Shipton was said to have lived, as this was his home.  He invested many years and significant effort in locating evidence of her existence.  His explorations were successful, as he did indeed surface evidence persuasively pointing in the direction that she was real.  This evidence had very little to do with the mythological stories repeatedly told about her.
 

I had hoped to communicate with Dr. Kellett while he was still living, but he passed away before I had a chance.  It is a privilege to recognize him on MotherShipton.com, the site bearing her name.



* Even with the detailed information it already provides, the MotherShipton.com History page has much more expanding to do.  

 

 

Mother Shipton: A Glimpse of the Truth

"On page after page after page regarding Mother Shipton, you will find repeated 'facts' from a very early account of her life created at a time when all sorts of fantastic stories were being concocted about 'witches'. Unfortunately, these things have been repeated for so very long that their dubious origins have been obscured." 

~ Susan Larison Danz, creator of MotherShipton.com

 

 

What do we really know about legendary 16th century prophetess Mother Shipton? Why are so many inaccurate stories propagated about her?  

In a recent episode of The Frontier Beyond Fear broadcast, host Susan Larison Danz shared some of her research from her 15+ year The Prophetess Legacy project and viewable on her website MotherShipton.com.  

Listen to the episode Mother Shipton: A Glimpse of the Truth on your favorite podcasting platform: 

Blog Talk Radio

iHeartRadio

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Audacy 

 

Historical Mother Shipton drawing in the Public Domain.

 

Repetition is Not Verification

“A lie can travel half way around the world 

 while the truth is putting on its shoes.”

 ~ Mark Twain

 

 

As this blog reawakens, perhaps there is no more important topic than addressing the repetition of information about Mother Shipton, information which is not verifiable - and even patently false.  Often this is unintentional, as so much unverifiable information about Mother Shipton has been propagating for centuries, it is very difficult to discern with accuracy.  This started well before the internet era, though the time in which we live exacerbates the problem.

The website MotherShipton.com (originally ShiptonProphecy.com) exists to approach the questions we must face in as balanced a fashion as possible, using the most reliable sources available.  It has also become its own research endeavor in the nearly 15 years it has existed, exploring new ideas based on the clues that can be observed.

Many stories about Mother Shipton are highly entertaining to share, and that is why they have been repeated, the repetition gifting them with the appearance of authenticity.  Many of these stories originated in the days when people enjoyed reading fantastic stories about "witches".  Is that where you would like to place your trust?  The only authentic aspect of these stories (which have many variations) is people have chosen to share and (sometimes) believe them.  Some of these stories are fun, and it's OK to share fun stories, but if we really want to know what might be true, that is a different focus.

The FAQs page on MotherShipton.com is a helpful place to start.

This post contains a historic drawing associated with stories about Mother Shipton.

Lighting the Path

Feeling the utterly unnecessary urge to explain the huge stack of books in my arms, I told the librarian at the counter last summer that I was writing a book.  I hoped to finish by Winter.

Obviously accustomed to warding off the locals, she whipped out a mantra about not being able to take most new books into her little library, even from authors nearby.  I hadn't asked.  I didn't care.  I told her it really didn't matter to me. 

And then she said something rather unexpected and deep, a knowing look in her eyes:  "Have you fallen out of love with your book yet?"

Speechless, I can't remember what I said in response.

Yet the weight of her words remained.  Long after the weight of those books.  I carried the weight of those words for several weeks.  I carry their weight in this moment.

As anyone stopping by this blog knows, this project has been a long time in development, with many promises and pauses in between.

Have I fallen out of love?  Obviously...yes...

I used to only talk about Mother Shipton at events (and not about other prophetesses)...until I began to realize much of what has been written about her is false (see Facing the Forgeries).

As I said months ago, I finally had to come to terms with the truth.

Fallen out of love?  I'd say so.  I all but omitted Mother Shipton from my Expo presentations when I used to dedicate the entire hour.

And then it happened last summer.  An unannounced gift, the web domain name MotherShipton.com magically fell into my hands.  So did all the related names (.org, .net, .info, you name it).  They all came to me effortlessly, without even asking, without even looking, without even giving it a thought.  And of course they arrived by Design.

And so I have a responsibility.

I must be true to the words I choose to write...for her sake...for the memory of the real Mother Shipton...as truthful, open and balanced as I can possibly be, on the very site that bears her name.

Meanwhile, it's not the first roadblock I've encountered, as "The Prophetess Legacy" project goes far beyond Mother Shipton.

"Have you fallen out of love with your book yet?"  The words hang upon my heart.

Yes, I have fallen out of love.  I have fallen out of love with the darkness.

When you take it upon yourself to study prophecy, you had better be prepared (I wasn't).  It is brutal.  It is bloody.  It is graphic. It is death, destruction and damnation in just about every imaginable way. 

Do I want to write a book filled with blood and death?  Obviously...No.

I would call that definitely falling out of love with a book, a book so very heavy it fell into the abyss.

But what about the Love?  And the Light?  Ah, yes, they do exist in prophecy.  And in fact, perhaps that is precisely the point.

So what kind of book exactly is re-emerging in my hands?  What kind of web site and blog?  Let me just say none of it will be what I expected...

And I'm writing here, right now, in this very moment.  That's a good sign.

My last Expo presentation a few weeks ago had the most raptly attentive audience yet.  I didn't focus on the darkness at all.  I focused on the Light.

Yes, I'd say that's a sign I'm falling back into Love.

Perhaps soon I'll take you with me...

Transcending the Shackles of Skepticism

"Impossible things are happening every day."
~ Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella

I realize updates to this fledgling blog have been far too few and far between, but now that my whirlwind Fall conference schedule has settled down, I intend to shift that in the weeks and months to come. And I will soon give everyone a glimpse into just what I have been presenting at recent conferences in Los Angeles, Portland and San Diego.

I have to say that it has been particularly gratifying that the attentive conference audiences so far claim to have heard very little about Mother Shipton prior to my seminars, if anything at all. This just motivates me to get more information out online as quickly as possible, and yes, I will continue my speaking schedule too.

I am particularly looking forward to presenting at the Los Angeles Conscious Life Expo in February, where many of the top prophecy researchers and spiritual authors in the world present keynotes and panels every year. No, I'm not doing a keynote or panel (not this year anyway ;-), but having the opportunity to speak (a good time slot too - 7 PM Friday, Feb. 11) is like being Cinderella at the Ball. I guess I'll just thank my "Fairy Godmother" Shipton as my inspirational muse. And I can only begin to imagine the "glass slippers" I may scatter about, ready to be discovered by the "royalty" in attendance.

Visit ShiptonProphecy.com for a continually updated 2011 event schedule, including details on the Los Angeles event, scheduled appearances at Body Mind Spirit Expos in March in Seattle and April in Portland, upcoming magazine articles, and much more to come...

And now I would like to address the topic of this blog entry, a topic that has already come up at my presentations to date ~ Transcending the Shackles of Skepticism.

I think it could be quite successfully argued that few historical prophetic figures have been impacted more by skepticism than Mother Shipton, to the point of confident declarations that she never existed at all.

I must admit that I was quite surprised to pick up Sharan Newman's popular new book The Real History of the End of the World (2010) just to discover a preface in which the author states Mother Shipton was "invented by a journalist in the eighteenth century", calling the Mother Shipton phenomenon a "franchise" of concocted prophecies, then boldly stating "There never was a Mother Shipton", with no references cited or further exploration of the possibility.

If Mother Shipton was concocted in the eighteenth century, then one wonders why a nobleman named Viscount Scudamore had the following among letters written to him, this one dated Sept. 6, 1666, regarding the infamous Fire of London: "The city abandoned to the fire and thousands believing in Mother Shipton's prophecy" (as surfaced through the exhaustive research of British historian Dr. Arnold Kellett).

And when a prince watching the fire casually mentioned "Shipton’s prophecy was out" (as reported by Samual Pepsys - a historical reference cited in multiple sources, including Kellett's work), it’s clear this legendary seer’s words were common knowledge of the time, the Shipton name needing nary an introduction. Once again I must applaud Dr. Arnold Kellett for having the courage and tenacity to dig for information others have casually dismissed. And I intend to do much the same.

To be fair, however, it is true that quite a convincing case can be made for many prophecies being concocted in the name of Mother Shipton, something multiple writers have chosen to point out, including one author in particular with a very real motive to calm the populace in 1881 (the year people were panicking over a prophecy attributed to Mother Shipton regarding the end of the world). Many of the prophecies thought to be fraudulent are often dismissed so quickly that most researchers don't even bother to give them a second glance. I'm not so easily diverted.

And it is also true that unless we can travel back in time, what this likely illiterate commonwoman actually did say may never be known with certainty. Indeed it is almost impossible to prove definitively the existence of any number of historical figures or what they actually said. Mother Shipton was not a noblewoman, nor was she a scholar or prolific writer like Nostradamus. One must look at just how strong a case for her existence can be put together from the historical evidence we do have (and it is not lacking in strength).

Yet how does one actually go about proving beyond a doubt that someone of such influential impact (impact which can indeed be proven) did NOT exist at all? Where is THAT evidence? People have been dismissing Mother Shipton for centuries. Part of the problem is that it is true one particularly controversial writer, Richard Head, someone who might be considered a tabloid journalist in the 1600's, made up fantastic stories about Mother Shipton to accentuate her witch-like attributes. Many things written about Mother Shipton can certainly be cast in significant doubt, nor is it likely she said all the things many have attributed to her. But that doesn't mean one must be obliged to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Indeed it is within the mysterious landscape surrounding Mother Shipton that the true prize is to be found, and I admire Dr. Arnold Kellett for dedicating ten years of his life to search for substantial information instead of quickly succumbing to the skepticism of so many of his colleagues. There must have been some merit to his work, as he was awarded the Bramley History Prize for his efforts, as well as other formal recognitions. I don't necessarily find every one of his assumptions or conclusions to be open and shut cases, but some of them are quite compelling. His work has motivated me to dig even further in certain areas, and I actually wanted to ask him some questions, just to sadly discover he passed away last year. You can learn more about Dr. Kellett's in-depth research in his book Mother Shipton: Witch and Prophetess (2002).

Why can unhindered skepticism shackle the truth? Because it often slams the door shut on honest inquiry before inquiry even begins. How many timid discoverers have been hindered by the unabashed mockery of colleagues? Science is filled with examples of those bold enough to persevere through that skeptical smokescreen to paradigm altering truths. It really is unfortunate that the process of academic and scientific discovery (far beyond anything having to do with Mother Shipton) has so often been hampered by the outright hostility of skeptics, who don't even want certain doors to be opened. One wonders just what they are so very afraid to discover beyond those doors?

As a person who chooses to balance spirituality with science (as I actually believe they will some day be definitively proven to converge), I choose not to be shackled by the chains of skepticism. Even so, I aim to present a balanced case, one that will unflinchingly explore and discuss what many skeptics have had to say and also ask the questions perhaps they never dared to contemplate. At times, I'll play "skeptic's advocate" myself, coming up with every possible way of looking at what is in the historical record, including the skeptical point of view.

The reality of my own spirituality frees me to look at Mother Shipton in some ways historians (and so-called "rationalists") might not choose to pursue at all, just because they presume certain things about the nature of reality, presumptions that are not necessarily a given. But my firmly grounded scientific background also allows me to explore the logic of each and every conclusion skeptics have made, what references and evidence they cite, and yes, also acknowledge when they have a good point.

Stay tuned for much more to come in 2011, including audio and video excerpts from recent conference appearances, as well as a substantial boost in the content of ShiptonProphecy.com. The detail to be provided online regarding Mother Shipton will be at a depth far beyond what will appear in my upcoming book on prophetesses in general (due out later in 2011) - The Prophetess Legacy ~ Feminine Voices of the Divine. Although books have their merits, "electric avenue" is where the real game of information exchange is heading, and nothing can compete with its progressive, interactive immediacy.

The last few months have taught me that no matter how busy I become, I must not allow myself to become distracted from "electric avenue" again. Mother Shipton's mysterious voice clamors for expression here. It will not wait much longer.

~ Susan Larison Danz

The Journey to "Electric Avenue"

"We're gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we'll take it higher"
~ Eddy Grant

The above song randomly came on the radio the other day, as I contemplated publishing online some of the most interesting information I'm discovering about Mother Shipton, revered by some as one of the greatest prophetesses who ever lived, rejected by others as a myth.

Conventional wisdom might say I should wait to publish my book due out in 2011, The Prophetess Legacy ~ Feminine Voices of the Divine, a book about many prophetesses, including Mother Shipton.  But I'm not a conventional writer, nor do dollar signs dictate my every move.  I have been writing online for a very long time, and clearly that will continue (visit my other blog Building Bridges to the Dawn for a glimpse).

Anyone who chooses to study Mother Shipton in any serious way will soon discover it's not a straightforward task.  The internet is filled with inaccurate information, site after site after site, including Wikipedia.  And if you go to the effort to find books on Mother Shipton, including those written centuries ago, you will soon realize why.  People have been making up stories and/or misconstruing information about Mother Shipton for centuries, from the very first book known to be written about her, more than 100 years after what is thought to be the time of her death. 

Some authors have clearly had an agenda to discredit her; others have viewed her as a marketing opportunity, and still others have simply been misled. Like some age-old game of telephone, the stories keep repeating themselves in old and new ways, growing and growing and growing, to the point that many skeptics and serious scholars question whether this legendary Englishwoman ever existed at all.

It is the intent of my new web site ShiptonProphecy.com (still under construction) to set the record straight, revealing some rather startling discoveries in the process, discoveries I feel can no longer wait.  This blog (also referenced from ShiptonProphecy.com) will discuss my research (still very much ongoing) and will welcome the questions, comments and insights of others. 

I have decided to call myself an "intuitive researcher".  With a background in both science and spirituality, I appreciate the art of consciously combining intuitive guidance with solid, logical detective work.  Indeed such historical detective work has ALWAYS involved some degree of intuition, whether the researchers have been aware of this or not, but I choose to document the process openly.  I listen very closely to intuitive clues and then logically follow where they lead.

I'm also not afraid to discuss the spiritual aspects of my life and my research openly, no matter how many times skeptics no doubt will choose to scoff.  If they can disprove my theories in a logical, methodical, statistically sound way, I welcome the input.  It is precisely such skeptics who wrote Mother Shipton off long ago, just because they didn't bother to separate the wheat from the chaff, the truth from the fraud.  They saw fraud, and many immediately wrote everything off as fraud. Yes, there is fraud in the historical record, no doubt about that, but there is also a fascinating trail of truth, if one chooses to take the time to follow it.

Many in the spiritual community already familiar with Mother Shipton will at first be disappointed (or reluctant to accept) that a number of historically-justifiable facts do indeed strongly suggest that Mother Shipton didn't actually say a great deal of what has been attributed to her, nor is everything written about her story likely to be true.  Even what has been said to be her name (often reported as Ursula Soothtell, Ursula Southeil, and many variations thereof) can be called into question, as can popular reports of her birthplace and heritage.  What we hope to discover is the REAL Mother Shipton, a Yorkshire woman of the 16th century whose voice yearns to be heard once and for all, in as accurate a fashion as realistically possible. 

And yet there is more...there is the mystery surrounding the words attributed to this woman, the mystery of their eerie prescience to the present day, and it is primarily because of the mystery I am here right now, writing spontaneously in this blog, not dutifully working on my book instead.  The mystery simply cannot wait, including how I have already managed to intuitively decipher some prophecies in entirely new, historically verifiable ways. Soon we will explore the mystery together...