At a June 1999 catastrophism conference, hosted by Professor Emilio Spedicato at the University of Bergamo in Italy, numerous scholars from diverse fields of study addressed the gathering. Alan Alford, author of Gods Of The New Millennium, for example, gave a lecture on the Nefilim and Anunnaki. Flavio Barbiero (Centro Camuno di Studi Preistorici, Capodiponte, Italia) discussed the possibility that Antarctica could have been the Lost Atlantis. "Abstracts" of each lecture were printed in a program guide, distributed upon registration for the conference. Here is the "abstract" of the lecture given by David Talbott, who is a Kronian Velikovskian "revisionist" and self-appointed expert successor to Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky in terms of "The Saturn Theory" about which David produced a videotape called Remembering The End Of The World. I find it most interesting that David Talbott addressed this conference, but unfortunately he is terribly wrong when he refers to this "planetary object" as Saturn -- yet "in general" I think that he makes some very good points in this summary of his lecture.

When you read this "abstract", think Planet X Nibiru or Cosmic Tree or Night Sun, not the Planet Saturn.

QUOTE

Certain themes of myth occur on every continent. One universal tradition concerns a former Golden Age, a period of cosmic harmony subsequently lost. In the general tradition, the Golden Age means a timeless epoch before the arrival of discord and war, before the linkage of heaven and earth was broken. Many traditions recall the absence of seasons or any time-keeping references, while the land produced abundantly without any need for human labor.

This is a distinctive myth, with crucial connections to other themes. Why did all of the early cultures connect to the Golden Age with the rule of a "king of the world" -- a prototype of kings ruling in the sky before a king ever ruled on earth? And why the early astronomical link of this figure to the remote planet Saturn?

Another tradition recalls a "world-ending" disaster, when the Golden Age collapsed and the heavens fell out of control. The specific forms of the catastrophe vary. A rain of fire and gravel, as in the cataclysms of Ragnarok. A great deluge. The death or displacement of a primeval sun. A cloud of chaos demons enshrouding the world in darkness. Or the spiraling serpent or dragon, whose attack throws the heavens into chaos.

But where are the events in our familiar world that can illuminate the repeated stories? A comparative approach will establish that the subject is not a local disaster. Specifically, this archetypal catastrophe -- an event whose re-occurrence ancient races feared above all else -- was that which brought the Golden Age to its violent conclusion.

The origins of ancient mythology; the birth of the first civilizations; a violent history of the solar system -- these are the primary themes of the "Saturn Theory", a new way of viewing the myth-making epoch as a whole, based on cross-cultural analysis. Astronomers and astrophysicists, historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, and students of ancient myth and religion should reconsider the most common assumptions about ancient history.

The underlying principles of the theory are :

1. Major changes in the planetary order, some involving Earth-threatening catastrophes, have occurred within human memory.

2. Through myth, ritual and symbol around the world, our ancestors preserved a global record of these tumultuous events.

3. The first civilizations arose from ritual practices honoring, imitating, and re-living extraordinary natural occurrences.

4. The dominant powers of the ancient rites were planets moving close to the earth.

The planetary model we offer carries one advantage which other theories based on ancient testimony lack. It is specific enough to be falsified on its own ground (ancient testimony). We will propose some simple ground rules permitting researchers to test the hypothesis and draw reliable conclusions.

UNQUOTE

"The Golden Age" ended on 15 June 762 BCE with the departure sequence of "the gods" for their winter's hibernation at the Oort Cloud.

As I have written elsewhere, David Talbott does not believe in the existence of the Planet X Nibiru because he does not believe in the attendant idea of "ancient astronauts"; and ultimately that is why he cannot see the hidden truth of The Cosmic Tree.

Within the framework of the overall Velikovskian School, moreover, David Talbott's "theory" is dubious. Dr. Velikovsky explicitly stated that "The Saturn Catastrophe" occurred long before the Israelite Exodus from Egypt and the contemporaneous Santorini Cataclysm, in 1587 BCE. Dr. Velikovsky attributed the cause of this Exodus Catastrophe to "The Birth Of Venus" -- the Planet Jupiter ejected a large ball of gas and fire at high speed, and this "comet-like" object grazed the Earth before finally solidifying and stabilizing into its current orbit as the Planet Venus. Well, if Venus did not exist before 1587 BCE, then how could Venus be included in computer animations of "The Saturn Theory" which predated it? It is inherently illogical, and I am surprised that David Talbott didn't realize that "anomaly" before going to the trouble and expense of producing his slick videotape with all its glitzy computer animations. I noticed his little "chronological discrepancy" immediately.