Project Stargate

What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘Stargate’? Perhaps, as most people would say, something connected to space. You would be wrong if you thought so. The name has a much darker meaning. Beginning in the 1970s, the Stargate Project was the name of a secret unit of the US military. It was dedicated to psychic phenomena and how it could be used as military intelligence.

Basically, the purpose of the project was for the army to use psychic powers to be able to gather information telepathically. Even after all their efforts over 20 years, the unit was disbanded due to its “uselessness.” It lasted a relatively long time considering the controversy surrounding it.

It has been said that the US military interest in psychic powers was motivated by Soviet action during the Cold War. It was rumored that the Soviets were spending millions each year on psychological research. The CIA decided to investigate the possibility of using psychic powers for intelligence gathering, and so Stargate began.

The aim was to use people called “viewers” to see not only current events happening far away but also to see into the future. At first, the research took place in Stanford Institute and began with the viewers attempting to see things the researchers could verify. They reported a 65% minimum accuracy rate. While some thought that was good enough, groups of researchers kept trying to perfect the accuracy rate.

When it began, it was designed very strategically and scientifically. The aim was to try to prove that the viewers were not affected by outside influences. Once the viewers had gone through the necessary testing, they were promised they would go on a mission, and get to prove their psychic skills.

At first, the program contained 22 individuals, but when those people left the program, they were not replaced. Eventually, the program was reduced to three people, before it was finally closed.

Some participants were taken more seriously than others. One, for example, was Pat Price. He was a police officer who was used as a viewer on multiple occasions. He reportedly used his mind to see Soviet Union machinery, which he would then draw out for the researchers. Those drawings matched up with CIA photos they had at the time, and so he was taken very seriously by those who believed in the experiments.

Another participant was Ingo Swann. He had an interest in psychic powers concerning aliens and extra-terrestrial life. He also created the idea of “controlled remote viewing.” This idea was for viewers to be given a set of geographic coordinates and then “see” what was there.

Swann’s talents, however, included being able to see planetary features on other planets and space objects as well.        

Over time, the group changed names several times. In 1995, it was decided by the CIA that the program had no hope of being used for any operations. It was cancelled and the army stated that it never intended to use the method it had been experimenting.