Palm Leaf Mary

And now for your daily pareidolia. (Well, weekly pareidolia, at least.)

Manny Duenas of Sacramento was cutting down some old palm leaves in his yard -- on Palm Sunday, no less -- when he happened to look at one of the leaves in his hand and saw an image of the Virgin Mary cradling baby Jesus in her arms.

Duenas says: "God is out there and maybe these are one of the messages that they send."


Actually, I don't so much see the Virgin Mary figure, but I definitely see an outline of the state of Illinois. Maybe it's some kind of message being sent to us by the Illinois Cornflake.

Pareidolia Religion

Posted on Thu Mar 20, 2008


Comments

I have no idea what the state of Illinois looks like so I would have just eaten that cornflake without even blinking.
Posted by Nettie  on  Thu Mar 20, 2008  at  04:21 AM
Illinois is shaped like an irregular blob, which means every cornflake looks pretty much like the state of Illinois.
Posted by Kathleen  on  Thu Mar 20, 2008  at  07:38 AM
'Duenas says: "God is out there and maybe these are one of the messages that they send." '

Hmm, it's too bad for Manny he didn't find an image on that palm leaf of a grammar book chapter on subject and verb agreement.
Posted by Big Gary, linguistic dilettante  on  Thu Mar 20, 2008  at  11:11 AM
In the movie "Ghostbusters" there is the dialog exchange concerning end times with the comment that maybe it is the end times with all the dead rising. I don't remember the exact exchange, I haven't watched the movie in ages, but I wonder if all the sightings of Jesus and the Virgin Mary in all the various whatever items have something to do with the times.

It's the end of time! Save yourself by donating all your money and worldly possessions to a worthy cause! Send them to me and I'll make sure they reach a worthy cause.
Posted by Christopher Cole  on  Thu Mar 20, 2008  at  11:11 AM
Ok, let's suspend any disbelief for a moment and go with the assumption that God is indeed sending messages in palm leaves and closet doors and fogged up double-pane windows.

People who see these things always say it's a message... but what's the message? What message does a collection of splotches that look like a woman holding a baby convey? Hold your babies? Don't hold your babies? Hold your babies near trees?
Posted by Crazy Ivan  on  Thu Mar 20, 2008  at  11:37 AM
Crazy Ivan, I was thinking more along the lines of merely "I am present, even in the ordinary" instead of something like "Hold your baby next to a palm tree." Of course, it could just be that people are scared for one reason or another and want some reassurance.

I still say you need to rid yourself of all your worldly possessions and give them to some deserving charity. I can do that for you, for a small fee of course.
Posted by Christopher Cole  on  Thu Mar 20, 2008  at  03:47 PM
Actually, the image looks more like an angry Wookie. His head is at the lower right, and he's looking toward the end of his arm, which is extended to the upper left.
Posted by Big Gary  on  Fri Mar 21, 2008  at  12:10 PM
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