Editing Billy Meier

{{Short description|Swiss author and founder of a UFO religion}}
{{Infobox person
| name         = Billy Meier
| image        = Billy meier.jpg
| alt          =
| caption      =
| birth_name   = Eduard Albert Meier
| birth_date   = {{birth date and age|df=y|1937|2|3}}<ref>figu.org: [http://www.figu.org/ch/ufologie/kontaktberichte Kontaktberichte] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522200855/https://www.figu.org/ch/ufologie/kontaktberichte |date=2022-05-22 }}</ref>
| birth_place  = [[Bülach]] in the [[Zürcher Unterland]], Switzerland
| nationality  = [[Switzerland|Swiss]]
| death_date   =
| death_place  =
| education    =
| alma_mater   =
| occupation   = Author, [[Ufology|ufologist]]
| known_for    = [[Contactee]]/[[UFO cult|UFO religion]]
| organization = ''Freie Interessengemeinschaft für Grenz- und Geisteswissenschaften und Ufologiestudien'' (Free Community of Interests for the Border and Spiritual Sciences and Ufological Studies) (FIGU)
| children     = 4
| parents      = {{Plainlist | Julius Meier| Berta (Schwengeler) Meier }}
| website      = {{URL|www.figu.org}}
| footnotes    =
}}
'''Eduard Albert Meier''' (born 3 February 1937), commonly nicknamed "'''Billy'''", is the founder of a [[UFO religion]] called the "Freie Interessengemeinschaft für Grenz- und Geisteswissenschaften und Ufologiestudien" (Free Community of Interests for the Border and Spiritual Sciences and Ufological Studies) and alleged [[contactee]] whose [[unidentified flying object|UFO]] photographs are claimed to show alien spacecraft. Meier claims to be in regular contact with [[extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] beings he calls the Plejaren.<ref name="ProtheroCALLAHAN2017" /> He also presented other material during the 1970s such as metal samples, sound recordings and film footage. Meier claims to be the seventh reincarnation after six prophets common to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: [[Enoch]], [[Elijah]], [[Isaiah]], [[Jeremiah]], [[Immanuel]] ([[Jesus]]), and [[Muhammad]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theyfly.com/articles/Clarification_of_a_Defamatory_Claim.html|title=Clarification of a Defamatory Claim|author=Hans Georg Lanzendorfer|website=TheyFly.com|access-date=12 February 2018|archive-date=27 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027101359/http://www.theyfly.com/articles/Clarification_of_a_Defamatory_Claim.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Meier has been widely characterized as a fraud by [[skepticism|skeptics]] and [[ufology|ufologists]], who suggest that he used models to [[hoax]] photos claimed to show alien spacecraft.<ref name="Lewis2002">{{cite book|author=James R. Lewis|title=The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lk8_ARNz-dYC&pg=PA653|year=2002|publisher=Prometheus Books, Publishers|isbn=978-1-61592-738-8|pages=653–}}</ref><ref name="Kurtz">{{cite book|author=Paul Kurtz|title=Skepticism and Humanism: The New Paradigm|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q34zdaoq0xIC&pg=PA57|publisher=Transaction Publishers|isbn=978-1-4128-3411-7|pages=57–}}</ref><ref name="Nickell2010">{{cite book|author=Joe Nickell|title=Camera Clues: A Handbook for Photographic Investigation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZMCQ7YHw4CgC&pg=PA165|date=29 September 2010|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=978-0-8131-3828-2|pages=165–}}</ref><ref name="Albanese2006">{{cite book|author=Catherine L. Albanese|title=A Republic of Mind and Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical Religion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nwJqem2oNN8C&pg=PA502|date=1 December 2006|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=0-300-13477-0|pages=502–}}</ref> Meier's prophecies repeatedly blame [[Jews]] (whom he refers to as "gypsies") for future atrocities.<ref>Eduard Gugenberger: ''Esoterische Ufologie''. In: [[Helmut Reinalter]] (Hrsg.): ''Handbuch der Verschwörungstheorien.'' Salier Verlag, Leipzig 2018, S. 104 f.</ref>

== Background ==
Meier was born in the town of [[Bülach]] in the [[Zürcher Unterland]]. Meier left public schools before finishing 6th grade. In his teens he was convicted multiple times of minor offenses. In 1953, he was convicted of thievery and forgery and sentenced to a prison term in [[Rheinau, Switzerland|Rheinau]]. After escaping from the facility, Meier illegally crossed the border and joined the [[French Foreign Legion]]. He went AWOL from the Legion to return home. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Korff |first=Kal K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JDszAu42uOwC |title=Spaceships of the Pleiades |date=2010-08-05 |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn=978-1-61592-441-7 |language=en}}</ref> In 1965, he lost his left arm in a bus accident in [[Turkey]].<ref name="ProtheroCALLAHAN2017">{{cite book|author1=Donald R. Prothero|author2=Timothy D. Callahan|title=UFOs, Chemtrails, and Aliens: What Science Says|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DI8uDwAAQBAJ&q=Billy+Meier+bus+accident&pg=PA149|date=2 August 2017|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-02706-1|pages=149–}}</ref> Some time later, he met and married a Greek woman, Kalliope Zafiriou, with whom he had three children. The nickname "Billy" came by way of an American friend who thought Meier's cowboy style of dress reminded her of [[Billy the Kid]].<ref name="billythekid">{{cite AV media |people=Zanotti, Bob (Interviewer) |date=June 1982 |title=Billy Meier – UFO Contactee |medium=Audio recording |website=Switzerland in Sound |url=http://www.switzerlandinsound.com/audiotext32/ufo.mp3 |access-date=October 12, 2013 |format=[[MP3]] |time=0:17:35 |publisher=Bob Zanotti |location=Biglen, Switzerland |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202070548/http://www.switzerlandinsound.com/audiotext32/ufo.mp3 |archive-date=February 2, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Alleged extraterrestrial contacts ==
Meier claims his extraterrestrial encounters began in 1942, at the age of five, when he met an elderly Plejaren man named Sfath.<ref name="Sfath">{{cite web |url=http://www.figu.org/ch/ufologie/die-plejaren/portraits-der-kontaktpersonen |title=Portraits der Kontaktpersonen |website= figu.org |publisher=FIGU |location= Schmidrüti, Switzerland |access-date=October 17, 2013 |archive-date=January 15, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210115140610/http://www.figu.org/ch/ufologie/die-plejaren/portraits-der-kontaktpersonen |url-status=live }}</ref>  After Sfath's death in 1953, Meier said, he began communicating with an extraterrestrial woman (though not a Plejaren), Asket. He said all contact ceased in 1964,  then resumed on January 28, 1975, when he met Semjase,<ref name="Sfath" /> the granddaughter of Sfath, and shortly thereafter another Plejaren man, Ptaah.  Other extraterrestrials have since allegedly joined the dialog as well.

Meier founded ''Freie Interessengemeinschaft für Grenz- und Geisteswissenschaften und Ufologiestudien'' ("Free Community of Interests for the Border and Spiritual Sciences and Ufological Studies"), a non-profit organization based on his alleged contacts with Semjase, in the late 1970s and established his Semjase Silver Star Center. The organization's headquarters is in Switzerland.<ref name="Chryssides2012">George D. Chryssides. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=WA12nHRtmAwC&pg=PA312 Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements]''. Rowman & Littlefield; 2012. {{ISBN|978-0-8108-6194-7}}. p. 312–.</ref><ref name="Lewis2002" /><ref name="Melton1996">{{cite book|author=J. Gordon Melton|title=The Encyclopedia of American Religions| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FicvAAAAYAAJ|year=1996|publisher=Gale Research|isbn=978-0-8103-7714-1}}</ref><ref name="Reece2007">{{cite book |author= Gregory L. Reece|title=UFO Religion: Inside Flying Saucer Cults and Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s4MAAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA147|date=20 August 2007 |publisher= I. B. Tauris|isbn=978-0-85771-763-4|pages=147–}}</ref><ref name="Hammer2003">{{cite book|author=Olav Hammer|title=Claiming Knowledge: Strategies of Epistemology from Theosophy to the New Age|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EZYsPQgBNioC&pg=PA391|date=1 September 2003|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-13638-X |pages=391–}}</ref>

== Photographs, films ==
[[File:Billy Meier UFO 66.jpg|thumb|One of Meier's photographs of "a beamship floating beside a tree".]]
Meier's photographs and films are claimed by him to show alien spacecraft floating above the Swiss countryside.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.figu.org/ch/ufologie/strahlschiffe |title=''Strahlschiffe (UFOs)'' |website=FIGU Switzerland |publisher=FIGU |location=Schmidrüti, Switzerland |access-date=October 17, 2013 |archive-date=January 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119141823/https://www.figu.org/ch/ufologie/strahlschiffe |url-status=live }}</ref> He calls the alleged [[Spacecraft|spaceship]]s "beamships" from Plejaren. According to Meier, the Plejaren gave him permission to photograph and film their beamships so that he could produce evidence of their extraterrestrial visitations. Some of Meier's photos are claimed by him to show prehistoric Earth scenes, extraterrestrials, and celestial objects from an alleged non-Earthly vantage point. Meier's claims are widely characterized as fraudulent by scientists, skeptics, and most [[ufology|ufologists]], who say that his photographs and films are hoaxes.<ref name="ProtheroCALLAHAN2017" /><ref name="Gulyas2013">Aaron John Gulyas. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=-Xjju6G_0c0C&pg=PA138 Extraterrestrials and the American Zeitgeist: Alien Contact Tales Since the 1950s]''. McFarland; 6 May 2013. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-7116-4}}. p. 138–.</ref><ref name="Lewis2002" /><ref name="Kurtz" /><ref name="Albanese2006" /><ref name="Nickell2010" /><ref>{{cite journal |last=Nickell |first=Joe |author-link=Joe Nickell |date=March–April 1996 |title=Spaceships of the Pleiades: The Billy Meier Story |journal=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=48–49 |location=Amherst, New York |publisher=[[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry|Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal]] |type=Book review |issn=0194-6730}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iigwest.com/investigations/meier/ufopix.html |title=Photo Comparison |website=[[Independent Investigations Group]] (IIG) |publisher=[[Center for Inquiry|Center for Inquiry-Los Angeles]] |location=Hollywood, California |access-date=October 17, 2013 |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126045459/http://www.iigwest.com/investigations/meier/ufopix.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In interviews with author Gary Kinder, Meier admitted to using models to recreate scenes after his wife showed photos of incomplete models he thought he had destroyed by burning.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kinder |first=Gary |title=Light Years: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL EXPERIENCES OF EDUARD MEIER |year=1987 |isbn=978-0871131393 |edition=1st |pages=225 |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Press |language=English}}</ref> During a 2017 art exhibit about conspiracies, many of Meier's photographs were shown. Photography curator Gordon MacDonald commented on examinations from the 1970s that the photos weren't doctored saying "Just because photographs are real – ie real images made with a real camera – doesn't mean they are of what the person says they're of."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sooke |first=Alastair |title=The strange photographs used to 'prove' conspiracy theories |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20170216-five-photographs-used-to-prove-conspiracy-theories |access-date=2022-09-21 |website=www.bbc.com |date=16 February 2017 |language=en |archive-date=2022-09-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921021509/https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20170216-five-photographs-used-to-prove-conspiracy-theories |url-status=live }}</ref> One of Meir's photographs is notable for being the background of the "I want to believe" poster in [[The X-Files]] before an intellectual property lawsuit forced producers to change the poster background to a different photo in the fourth season of the series.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lang |first=Jamie |date=2025-01-21 |title=‘I Want to Believe’ Documentary About Ufology’s Most Controversial Figure, Billy Meier, Unveils Key Creative Talent (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2025/film/global/i-want-to-believe-documentary-billy-meier-1236279773/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=The X-Files “I Want to Believe” Poster’s Origin Story |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/126715/x-files-i-want-believe-posters-origin-story |access-date=2025-04-13 |work=The New Republic |issn=0028-6583}}</ref>

In 1997, Meier's ex-wife, Kalliope, told interviewers that his photos were of spaceship models he crafted with items like trash can lids, carpet tacks and other household objects,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Clingbine|first1=Graham|title=Disclosure: The Future is Now|date=30 October 2015|publisher=Troubador|page=341}}</ref> and that the stories he told of his adventures with the aliens were similarly fictitious. She also said that photos of purported extraterrestrial women "Asket" and "Nera" were really photos of Michelle DellaFave and Susan Lund, members of the singing and dancing troupe [[The Golddiggers]].<ref name="BMUR">[http://www.billymeieruforesearch.com/photos-and-videos/outer-space-pictures-asket-nera-semjase/outer-space-pictures-asket-nera-semjase-summary/ Outer Space Pictures – Asket-Nera-Semjase – Summary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610060413/http://www.billymeieruforesearch.com/photos-and-videos/outer-space-pictures-asket-nera-semjase/outer-space-pictures-asket-nera-semjase-summary/ |date=2017-06-10 }} billymeieruforesearch.com, retrieved March 20, 2017.</ref> It was later confirmed that the women in the photographs were members of The Golddiggers performing on ''[[The Dean Martin Show]]''.<ref name="ProtheroCALLAHAN2017" />

== Media ==
Billy Meier's story is documented in ''Contact'', written and directed by Larry Savadove in 1987.  The film is narrated by [[David Warner (actor)|David Warner]], featuring UFO researchers Lee Elders and Wendelle Stevens.

== See also ==
* [[List of alleged extraterrestrial beings]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|http://www.figu.org|name=FIGU}}&nbsp;— Billy Meier's official website
* {{IMDb title|qid=Q128789759|title=Contact (1987)}}

{{UFOs}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meier, Billy}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:21st-century apocalypticists]]
[[Category:Ancient astronauts proponents]]
[[Category:Antisemitism in Switzerland]]
[[Category:Channellers]]
[[Category:Contactees]]
[[Category:Founders of new religious movements]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Prophets]]
[[Category:Self-declared messiahs]]
[[Category:Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion]]
[[Category:UFO writers]]
[[Category:Swiss amputees]]
[[Category:Swiss religious leaders]]
[[Category:Ufologists]]
[[Category:UFO photographs]]