The Mary Celeste

Updated: Apr 23, 2021

As the short video above explains, the Mary Celeste was found floating 400 miles east of the Azores islands on December 4, 1872, headed by Captain Benjamin Spooner Briggs, in choppy waters, perhaps notably during the rainiest time of year there. He was accompanied by his wife, child and a hand-selected crew of 7 men. Briggs was 1/3 owner in the ship carrying 1701 barrels of a kind of denatured alcohol (ref. 'isomers') and it's master. He was a religious of honorable reputation and someone who abstained from drink (a 'teetoler' as the session would produce).

Image: the Mary Celeste, Cumberland County Museum and Archives

The mystery revolves around the disappearance of Briggs, his family and the whole crew. Nothing was left disturbed on the ship when found by Captain David Morehouse aboard the Dei Gratia who took her in to Gibraltar. Six months supply of food was still intact, the barrels of alcohol remained, and the ship itself took on 3 1/2 feet of water, but that was not an unmanageable amount. Items taken were the chronometer, the sextant (p. 8) , some papers, (p20a: "reports - nature, copy, reticulated"), and the lifeboat.

Some of the most popular theories involve a sea monster, a sea-quake (the islands are historically volcanic), mutiny, abandoning ship, fear of the cargo because of a flash explosion, pirates, and the unlikely decision to escape and lead life in a different place. The theory I would put worth, at least based on details gleaned from this session, is that of pirates and/or capture. I would also submit that bad weather as likely toward the end of this journey. Though it was well past the era of pirating, the practice did see a resurgence for a time in the 1820's and 1830's until the Treaty of Paris in 1856. However, see page 20a again, which describes 'faded glory', and the words: mired, de-stabled, raid, infiltrated, stolen, taken, tired, covered ground, sad, separated, deputy and destruct. Some pirating in places did continue, just like today. On page 19 there is timing, agent, assault, marked, delivered, rugged, manipulated, isolated, cordoned, dilapidated, mirrored, detained, trained, container. We also see the words astern, able, abler (able to sail), undertow, agenda, ambush, aid, take.

It's possible the ship saw stormy weather and the crew fell into trouble, which caused them to accept aid. It's also possible that the crew were either left to the lifeboat and then drown or they were taken by undesirables. Could the daily reports have been taken or altered to conceal a crime or the final whereabouts of the crew? More words that describe weather are: float, impact, shaken, movement, circular, tossed, strewn, abrupt, evaded, storm, wake, intense, magnitude. There is also a drawing that depicts a tall structure or figure with what could be wind and wave and the words: windy, pulsing, ghost-like, change, pattern, push-pull, wave.

When the ship was built it first held the name of the Amazon. On its maiden voyage, her captain, Robert McClellan, fell ill and died. He was given a final quiet trip in a small open boat. The ship ran aground and suffered wreckages and even underwent a full rebuild. After the Mary Celeste was found a bounty for 1/6 the amount of her worth was given to those that found her. In its final plight, it was sunken to the bottom of the sea by thugs seeking to collection insurance money as a settlement. Because of suspicions, a trail was held. The men were found guilty but were let go. However, fate did not have such a gentle heart on them. One died in poverty within three months, one was murdered, and the other went mad.

Was there a curse on the ship? It's hard to say, but this single session does at least mention something paranormal and there were definitely some strange vibes at one point.

During my relaxation I already began to see clear underwater visuals that involved bubbles, a floating see creature (could have been a kind of jellyfish), a metal sort of grate, and so forth. Of course, drawings don't necessarily do these things justice.