Above a Volcanic Vortex during the Birth of Earth – During 2018 I was on the island of Oahu filming a project about Hawaiian spirituality. It was a privilege working with native Hawaiians Glenn and Christopher, who are priests of Hawaii’s ancient religion. Their vast knowledge of Hawaiian mysticism earned them the title “Kahuna,” which means expert.
These Kahuna took me to several ancient temples known as Heiau (Hay-OW), which are built of short stone walls a few feet high. Heiau are open with no roof because they doubled as observatories where the Hawaiians studied the stars at night. The ancient Hawaiians’ knowledge of astronomy rivaled that of the Chinese, Egyptians, Babylonians, and Mayans.
The Kahuna revealed many heiaus are built atop an energy vortex. Vortexes are whirlpools of electromagnetic energy and hubs which hold and emit more electromagnetic energy than other spots on earth. Many believe other ancient sacred structures are built atop vortexes like Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza, England’s Stonehenge, Peru’s Machu Pichu, and the Yucatan’s Mayan Pyramid of Chichen Itza.
Not all sacred temples are made by humans—some are forged by akua (gods). The ultimate heiau is Kilauea, one of earth’s most active volcanoes on Hawaii’s Big Island. The Kahuna explained, “Kilauea is sacred to the goddess Pele. She is not the goddess of fire, she is fire. Pele is not the goddess of the volcano—she is the volcano.” I respect the beliefs of others no matter how different they are from mine. In Hawaii, when it comes to Pele, even the non-native residents respect her.
Under “normal” circumstances, there’s always a lava flow trickling into the Pacific. But just before we arrived, Kilauea erupted on a magnitude not seen in decades. This created a rare opportunity. My manager Rocky, our native Hawaiian cameraman Vince and I flew to the Big Island. Rocky booked the special helicopter used by Nat Geo, Smithsonian, ABC News, and other major media outlets. This chopper was faster and more maneuverable than bulky tourist helicopters.
At Hilo Airport, Rocky, Vince, and I met the three-man crew. These guys were the helicopter equivalent of Top Gun. The pilot, Ryan, trains US Military helicopter pilots.
The co-pilot Mike is a Hawaiian legend. During a scuba accident, he risked his life by sacrificing his own oxygen supply to rescue fellow divers. They survived, but he sustained the bends (decompression sickness), which resulted in severe neurological damage. Doctors said he’d never walk again. Miraculously he did. Aided by crutches, he greeted Vince and me on the tarmac.
The engineer Rob controlled audio-visual including the helicopter’s state-of-the-art HD camera with a 2100mm lens. This sophisticated equipment even impressed our award-winning cameraman, Vince.
These four tough guys were the best of the best. I was honored to work with them.
Quarters onboard were cramped. Vince and I could barely fit into the passenger compartment with the engineer. The pilot politely told Rocky despite her petite physique, there wasn’t room for her. Rocky rolls with the punches, but I’ll never forget the look of disappointment on her face.
The chopper went airborne. Even 30 miles from Kilauea we saw the eruption’s impact. Rivers of lava flooded into the ocean boiling seawater forming enormous pillars of steam that billowed above the coastline.
Hawaii’s tropical weather changes rapidly, but the volcano intensified this volatility. Molten lava is 2,000° Fahrenheit which within seconds can melt a car, not to mention a helicopter. As this intense heat soared skyward it clashed with the higher cool winds causing ultra-hazardous atmospheric turbulence.
“Hang on guys!” the pilot exclaimed as we were thrashed by fierce wind and driving rain causing rapid shifts in our altitude.
Wham! I was overwhelmed by nausea. Normally I don’t get airsick, but I’ve also never been in a helicopter flailing all over the sky above an erupting volcano. I struggled to hold down my breakfast. As the Psychic Explorer and host of the show I was being filmed. I had to appear dashing, confident, and smile at the camera while saying profound things. Then there was the crew—no way was I going to upchuck pancakes in front of them. Despite hellfire or highwater—and I was hovering over both, I held those pancakes down.
We approached Kilauea. Vince slid open the door to film. Even at 3,000-foot altitude we felt the searing heat wave from the 2,000° lava. The entire team was awe-struck. The dark gray pumice of the volcano’s cone was a stark contrast to the bright orange-red lava bubbling furiously in its caldera. Massive rivers of lava flowed mercilessly toward the boiling sea incinerating everything in their path.
As we circled Kilauea I asked, “Can we fly directly over the volcano?”
“Only if we want to get incinerated,” the pilot replied.
Meanwhile, lethal projectiles of molten rock, called lava bombs shot from the caldera in all directions. Days before a lava bomb crashed into a tourist boat off the coast injuring dozens.
For miles in every direction steam flew upward from huge cracks in the earth. Inhaling smokey acrid air didn’t exactly soothe my nausea.
Through steam, smoke, ash, and rain we saw devastation everywhere. Forests, neighborhoods, and a geothermal power plant were charred to smoking cinders. The Kahunas’ words filled my head, “Pele’s wrath is unleashed on humans who encroach upon her sacred being. When Pele is calm, life is serene in Hawaii, but when Pele is angry, the earth shakes, cracks open and lava spews forth from her volcano.”
Volcanologists theorized that deep drilling to extract steam necessary to run the geothermal powerplant destabilized the subterranean structures around Kilauea thus triggering the eruption. The researcher in me wanted to embrace the volcanologists’ theory. But circling Kilauea’s eruption I felt this was more than just a geological reaction to drilling. Other forces were at work. Something more intense, more potent.
I’ve encountered a wide array of non-human spirits including elementals so named because they’re aligned with nature’s elements of earth, air, fire, and water. Is Pele the Big Kahuna Elemental who from her heiau Kilauea wields the forces of earth, air, fire, and water into a massive energy vortex?
Co-pilot Mike asked, “Mark, as a psychic medium, do you feel the consciousness of Pele. Is she angry?”
The turbulence surrounding me gave way to the serenity I experience during spirit communication.
“Mike, I feel something more complex than anger. It’s the pain of violation—and a sense of desperation to give birth to a new world. Pele is angry, yet at the same time, she’s enduring the pain of child birth.”
When we landed back at Hilo, everyone was exhausted. The pilot said, “Man with all the turbulence up there, I thought I was going to hurl.” All the guys admitted they almost threw up too. I never felt more manly in my life.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Pele embodies this in her dual nature of destruction and creation. Kilauea’s fiery lava was destructive, but when cooled in the sea it created new land which enlarged the Big Island. We witnessed the ultimate energetic duality—the power of creation itself, which hundreds of millions of years ago forged new land among the seas, created the continents and gave birth to earth.
Mark Anthony, JD Psychic Explorer® (The Psychic Lawyer) is a fourth-generation psychic medium and Oxford-educated trial attorney. Mark travels to mystical locations in remote corners of the world to examine Ancient Mysteries and Supernatural Phenomena. Mark Anthony the author of the multiple award-winning Pulitzer considered best seller THE AFTERLIFE FREQUENCY. His other bestsellers are EVIDENCE OF ETERNITY and NEVER LETTING GO.
FREE OFFER: Mark Anthony conducts free on-air readings on his livestream show THE PSYCHIC & THE DOC on Thursdays at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT. Find out how to tune in and join us:
To schedule a reading with Mark, visit his website: