On December 5, 1988, a CIA psychic known only as viewer #32 used a "remote viewing" technique to visualize the location of the Ark of the Covenant.
CIAThe first page of the declassified CIA files detailing their search for the Ark of the Covenant using psychic help.
In accordance with the Central Intelligence Agency’s long tradition of dreaming up bizarre and outlandish covert operations, declassified files have recently brought new attention to the agency’s Project Sun Streak, a 1980s operation designed to use psychics to find targets of interest.
During this operation, a psychic claimed to have had a vision that allowed them to locate the famed Ark of the Covenant, the religious relic believed to have once held the original Ten Commandments. Thought to have gone missing during a Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in the 6th century B.C.E., the Ark has been a coveted item among treasure seekers and archaeologists for centuries.
Now, CIA documents have detailed one clairvoyant’s unusual search for one of the most sought-after artifacts in human history.
Declassified CIA Files Reveal The Agency’s Search For The Lost Ark Of The Covenant
Wikimedia CommonsMoses and Joshua bowing before the Ark of the Covenant.
In the 1980s, the CIA initiated Project Sun Streak, an operation to locate objects using psychics who could visualize these targets from far away. As part of the project, psychics would “project their consciousness” to distant places and provide details about objects, people, or places of interest.
In August 2000, documents were declassified that revealed that the CIA had once used a psychic to locate the Ark of the Covenant, a Biblical artifact that was said to have been used by Moses to hold the original stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments.
Wikimedia CommonsThe Ark of the Covenant supposedly holds the original stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments.
For centuries, historians and archaeologists have attempted to locate the Ark of the Covenant. According to legend, it was constructed out of wood, covered in a layer of gold, and molded to fit long poles for easy carrying.
The Ark is believed to have been placed in the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, which was destroyed in the 6th century B.C.E. Since then, it has been missing.
However, a CIA claimed to have finally relocated this legendary religious relic in 1988, during a psychic session.
What Do The CIA Files Say About The Ark Of The Covenant?
CIAA page from the declassified CIA files describing the Ark of the Covenant.
On December 5, 1988, the CIA instructed an individual known only as “remote viewer #32,” a psychic involved in Project Sun Streak, to locate an unspecified item that would later be identified as the Ark of the Covenant.
Joe McMoneagle, a U.S. Army chief warrant officer and the first person to do psychic remote viewing sessions for the CIA (though he was not the psychic for this session), told The New York Post that the psychics involved in this operation were not told what exactly their target was and were guided through the process by an additional person.
During this session, the psychic described a vision of being in a dark and damp underground chamber somewhere in the Middle East that was near several mosques and filled with Arabic-speaking men. While the edges of the room were lined with mummies, in the middle sat a large container.
“Target is a container,” the CIA documents reported. “This container has another container inside of it. The target is fashioned of wood, gold, and silver. Similar in shape to a coffin and is decorated with seraphim.”
Wikimedia CommonsA 1728 illustration of the Ark of the Covenant.
The psychic even drew an illustration of the Ark with four seraphim, a type of angel recognized in both the Jewish and Christian religions, on each of its corners.
Additionally, the psychic described the item as being a spiritually significant relic with ties to humanity’s origins. “There is an aspect of spirituality, information, lessons and the historical knowledge far beyond what we now know,” the psychic told CIA agents.
Meanwhile, the psychic’s description came with ominous warnings. Despite being in a room along with a group of men, the Ark of the Covenant was left undisturbed — because opening it could bring grave consequences.
“The target is protected by entities and can only be opened by those who are authorized to do so — this container will not/cannot be opened until the time is deemed correct,” the psychic explained. “Individuals opening the container by prying or striking are destroyed by the container’s protectors through the use of a power unknown to us.”
Criticism Of The CIA’s Project Sun Streak And Its Findings
Wikimedia CommonsCIA documents show that they used a psychic to try to locate the Ark of the Covenant in 1988.
Since its declassification, Project Sun Streak has been heavily criticized, even by the psychics involved.
“If someone claims that remote viewing proves the existence of something, such as the Ark of the Covenant, they must produce the Ark to substantiate their claim,” Joe McMoneagle explained. “I would challenge the entire practice session as bogus. No one attempted to ascertain the ground truth of the material, and everything said was accepted on its unknown and unverified merit.”
Since no definitive proof of the Ark of the Covenant’s existence has ever been publicized, this episode may simply remain yet another entry in the CIA’s large catalogue of strange and outlandish secret operations that amounted to little, or nothing at all.
After reading about the CIA’s hunt for the Ark of the Covenant, dive into the story of the search for Jesus’ tomb. Then, read about the history of the Holy Grail.
