All language subtitles for oracles.and.prophets.s01e07.1080p.web.h264-cbfm_track3_[eng]

(ambient music)

- [Narrator] Throughout history,

the allure of prophecy has
captured the human imagination,

drawn to the shadowy realm

between the known
and the unknown.

Cultures across the
globe have yearned

for glimpses into the future

and insights into
the human condition.

- In the early 20th century,

a mystic named Wolf
Messing emerges,

able, apparently, to
read the minds of people

and predict future events.

- [Narrator] In the
depths of ancient China,

a mystical text takes shape,

one whose wisdom will
echo through millennia.

- The I Ching, or
Book of Changes,

has been revered as
a powerful oracle.

Its complex system of
hexagrams has guided emperors,

philosophers and seekers
alike in their quest

for wisdom and foresight.

- [Narrator] And on
the windswept plains
of North America,

a sacred prophecy
awaits fulfillment.

- The White Buffalo
prophecy is something

that many Indigenous
people believe in.

And when a white
buffalo is born,

it's a hope of our
culture coming back

and our spirituality
coming back.

(buffalo mowing)

- [Narrator] Are these
merely coincidences

and cultural myths,

or do they represent
a deeper connection

to forces beyond
our understanding?

(mesmerizing music)

In the shadow of
Nazi-occupied Poland,

Polish mystic Wolf Messing is
locked in a cold, damp cell.

His crime?

A prophecy that has
enraged the Fuhrer himself.

The heavy footsteps
of Nazi guards echo

through the corridor,

a constant reminder of the
200,000 Reichsmark bounty

on his head.

While his situation
appears dire,

this is not the first
time Messing has faced

seemingly insurmountable odds.

- Wolf Messing really
is an unusual character

of the 20th century.

- There are these kind
of incredible stories

that are coming
out from Messing,

where through his
power of persuasion,

he's able to do these
kind of incredible feats.

For example, in one story,

he's jailed by the Gestapo,

and he claims to have been able

to kind of use his
persuasive tactics,

this kind of power of
persuasion, to get out of jail.

- [Narrator] This escape
is just one chapter

in a life filled with
remarkable claims.

- He not only speaks

of meeting the likes
of Einstein and Freud,

but he makes daring
predictions about the future,

one which leads the Nazis
to throw him into jail.

- [Narrator] But are these
tales rooted in truth

or carefully crafted illusion?

- He leads a life

that almost seems to be
something out of a fantasy book.

It's difficult to distinguish
between what is real

and what has been
entirely fabricated.

But he tells stories of
having started in a circus.

He then goes on
to meet the Nazis.

He's imprisoned by the Nazis.

He escapes from the Nazis.

He then ends up in
the Soviet Union.

He becomes a kind of
sorcerer to Stalin.

Who knows what the truth is

between what Messing
made up about his life

and what actually happened?

- Who exactly is this man,

and what exactly are the
powers that he possesses?

Was he really able to
outmaneuver Hitler's secret SS

with the powers of his mind?

- [Narrator] According
to most accounts,

Wolf Massing is born in 1899,

in a Jewish shtetl near Warsaw.

- Messing grows up in Poland
in really dire poverty.

He is from a Jewish background.

It's a poor Jewish family

that suffers discrimination,
social exclusion.

- A time when Eastern Europe

in particular was
changing rapidly.

The forces of modernization
were putting pressures

on everybody.

- Despite his father's dreams
of him becoming a rabbi,

Messing believes he
is destined for a life

that far exceeds
his humble origins.

- Particularly families that had

such a strong
traditional backing,

it must have put a lot of
pressure on young people

to make decisions about whether
they were going to conform

or whether they were
going to take part

in the new opportunities

that the 20th century
was presenting to them.

- [Narrator]
Fleeing the confines

of traditional expectations,

Messing leaves home with
an unshakable belief

in his own destiny.

The 11-year-old runaway
reportedly boards
a train to Berlin.

- Imagine this, Wolf
Messing is just 11 years old

and he hops on a
train to Berlin.

Now that would be
crazy in any time.

But this is a kid
who is rejecting

his traditional upbringing.

He's rejecting the life that
his father was offering to him.

And he goes in the completely
opposite direction.

He goes to a foreign
city to start a new life.

- [Narrator] Without fare money,

Messing hides under a
seat to avoid being seen.

But when the ticket
inspector discovers him,

Messing faces a critical moment.

- We have this image of
Messing boarding a train

as an 11-year-old with no ticket

and trying to escape a life
and find something new.

But because he has no ticket,

he knows he could be found out.

- [Narrator] Thinking quickly,
he picks up a scrap of paper

from the floor.

Handing it to the inspector,

he focuses intently
on willing the man

to see it as a valid ticket.

To the young boy's amazement,

the inspector examines
the piece of paper,

punches it and hands it back.

- This is when he really
discovers the skill he has.

That skill, of course, must
be one of being able to,

in a very strong way,

project a reality that other
person should not accept.

- Messing is one
of these children

who has a very powerful
sense of imagination,

almost creating an
imaginary world.

You know, the sort of person
who has invisible friends

as a child.

The question is, to what
degree, is this true?

To what degree, is this false?

To what degree, is
Messing locked forever

into this strange
childhood character?

- [Narrator] This anecdote
will become the cornerstone

of Messing's legend,

and Messing himself will cite
it as the first manifestation

of his mystical abilities.

Whether or not
they're real, however,

has long been a
topic of speculation.

- You can imagine how
someone might think,

"Well, maybe they believe it

because they're more
connected to it,

and maybe we lose our connection
to the spiritual world

as we age."

And if you accept
that sort of notion,

then if you're going looking
for psychic abilities,

maybe that's the place to look.

- [Narrator] But, is it possible

that Messing's abilities have
a more logical foundation?

- So at the crux of
all of these stories

is this kind of
power of suggestion

and this ability and this
kind of persuasive ability

that Messing claims to have,

which is that merely by kind
of suggesting something,

people are, you know,
likely to believe it,

and they're able to kind of act

based on these small suggestions

or these small kind of
nudges of their behavior.

- [Narrator] Extensive research
has shown that suggestion,

including subtle changes
in language or questioning,

can significantly influence
an individual's perception

or memory of events,

altering their subjective
experience of reality.

It has even shown the ability
to create false memories.

- When Messing is sort of
wearing this confidence

and wearing this honesty
when he's being deceptive,

that confidence and honesty
is a force of suggestion,

and it's basically
telling that other person,

"No, no, I'm cool.
Everything's okay.

This is normal. There's
nothing to see here."

And that's really
Messing's power,

is the ability to
not alert suspicion.

- [Narrator] In Berlin, Messing
struggles to make ends meet.

While out delivering a
package as an errand boy,

exhausted and
malnourished, he collapses.

At the hospital, doctors
reportedly pronounce him dead.

- He is considered
dead for three days.

Now, it's actually
not implausible that
this could happen.

A misdiagnosis of death was
not completely unheard of

at the turn of the century,
and in the 19th century.

Medical science as we
know it was in its infancy

at that point in time,

very little was known about
conditions like comas.

So it is plausible, at
least, that that happened.

- [Narrator] As the story goes,

signs of life were
miraculously detected

while examining Messing's body.

The doctor, Professor
Abel, revives the boy.

Three days after presumed
dead, he awakens.

- Doctor Abel takes an
interest in young Wolf.

He believes that Wolf
has the potential

to have psychic abilities,

and he begins to train him
in these psychic powers.

- [Narrator] According
to Messing's biography,

Doctor Abel takes the
young boy under his wing

as his telepathy teacher,

believing he possesses
otherworldly talents.

They meet routinely
for psychic training

as the doctor attempts to
draw out new variations

of Messing's abilities.

- It's interesting to think
about that at that time,

there wasn't quite
the same distinction

between the
paranormal and science

the way we understand it today.

At the turn of the century,

there was very
little that we knew

about how the
human brain worked.

And it wasn't
completely abnormal

to actually be exploring
that from the point of view

of someone who was
a respected doctor.

- [Narrator] By
his teenage years,

Messing claims to have become
proficient in his techniques,

but his life will reach
a true turning point

at the age of 14,

when he begins to
turn his abilities

into a profitable career.

- And so at some point,

he decides to leave home and
to try and find his fortune.

And in doing so, he ends
up joining a circus.

- [Narrator] Messing
details his work

in one of the leading
circuses in the world.

- The Circus Busch,

which was a traveling circus

that traveled throughout Germany

and much of Central
Europe including Italy,

and during that time,

we know that Harry Houdini
actually was also a member

of this same circus.

And it's during that time

that Wolf Messing perfects
his skill as a mentalist

and gains a reputation
as a powerful psychic.

- [Narrator] Messing's
performances supposedly evolve

from simple mind reading tricks
to complex demonstrations

of telepathy and hypnosis.

Soon, his perceived
ability to read minds,

find hidden objects,

and even influence
people's thoughts,

is captivating
audiences across Europe.

- The interesting thing
about the circus phase is,

you know what a great
training ground they extend.

If you're trying
to build a skill,

then what builds it is
practice and feedback.

And so this opportunity
to kind of do readings

on a bunch of different people
and to get their feedback

and to find out what
seemed to work well,

what impressed
people, what didn't,

this is the context in
which a skill can develop.

(mesmerizing music)

- [Narrator] Blending his
alleged telepathic abilities

with captivating stagecraft,

Messing draws increasingly
large audiences across Europe

as his reputation as a psychic
entertainer begins to grow.

As his fame reaches new heights,

so do the tales of
Messing's integration

into a new realm of society.

- After World War I,

Wolf Messing's reputation

as a mentalist and
psychic continues to grow.

Messing frequently talks

about interacting with
famous celebrities.

He later would suggest

that he had met
Marilyn Monroe, Gandhi.

- [Narrator] In Vienna,
Messing reportedly meets

with two of the greatest
minds of the time.

- He says that he met
Einstein and Freud in Vienna,

where he performed
a mind-reading
exercise on Einstein

and apparently
astounded them both.

- [Narrator] However, this
account goes unmentioned

by both of these
meticulous scientists.

Could it be a grandiose lie
to help Messing's reputation?

Or, if true, what tactics
could he have used

to convince such
intelligent minds?

Some of Messing's
abilities are attributed

to reading muscles,

a concept similar to what
modern mentalists call

cold reading.

- Somebody wants you to tell
you something about themselves,

maybe something they
even sort of know.

And they want to see if
you can make predictions

or you can tell them
things about themselves.

If you give them something
general and vague

and then you're very
attentive to their feedback,

vague enough that if that
person starts to go, "Yeah,"

or if they look puzzled,
if they look puzzled,

go somewhere else.

And so it's not just about him
projecting the non-verbals,

it's about him reading
the non-verbals as well.

- [Narrator] Could this skill,

combined with the
power of suggestion,

create the illusion
of mind reading?

- Whether or not Wolf Messing
had true psychic abilities,

there is no doubt that
he was incredibly skilled

at feats of mentalism, cold
reading, and suggestion.

And it takes years of practice.

And some people will
never be able to do it.

This is perhaps his
true superpower.

Not necessarily real
psychic ability,

but something to be
respected nonetheless.

- [Narrator]
Messing's interactions

with the intellectual
elite would pale

in comparison to a fateful
confrontation that would pit him

against the most notable
figure of the era.

(tanks rumble)

In 1937, as Hitler's
Third Reich tightens

its grip on Germany

and casts an ominous
shadow across Europe,

Wolf Messing makes a
bold public prophecy.

- Messing makes the
astonishing claim

that he predicted that
if Hitler turned east,

then either defeat or,
according to another account,

the death of Hitler
would be the result.

He then told people
that he knew for a fact

that Adolf Hitler was so
enraged by this prophecy

that he put a bounty
on Messing's head.

- [Narrator] By 1939, Europe
is on the brink of conflict.

Adolf Hitler has demonstrated

his aggressive
expansionist policies

with the annexation of
Austria and Czechoslovakia.

And, now, his eyes are set
on Messing's home country.

- So in the years leading up
to the invasion of Poland,

Wolf Messing's homeland,

the world had been doing
everything that it could

to prevent a second World War.

Britain, for example,
had taken on a leadership

under Chamberlain
of appeasement,

trying to give
Hitler just enough

so that he would
hopefully be appeased

and not actually go further.

It didn't work.

Hitler secretly made
a deal with Stalin,

with the Molotov-Ribbentrop
Pact in the summer of 1939.

That was all Hitler needed.

And in September of 1939,

the German armies
marched east into Poland.

- [Narrator] On September 1st,
1939, Germany invades Poland,

marking the official
start of World War II.

As the Nazis occupy Warsaw,
Messing is forced to flee.

- During the 1930s,
the world had watched

as Nazi Germany had
increasingly placed restrictions

on Jewish people,

what they could do,
where they could live.

Outside of Nazi Germany,

people feared that
if Hitler expanded,

that those same policies
would come with him.

So it must have been
absolutely terrifying

for Wolf Messing as a Polish Jew

watching his country
be annexed by Hitler.

- In 1945, Hitler and
his forces are defeated

as Nazi Germany surrenders
unconditionally,

marking the end of
World War II in Europe.

- Adolf Hitler has
committed suicide.

The Reichstag is on fire.

The Soviet Union has
taken over Berlin.

And at that point,

Wolf's Messing's
prediction about Hitler

had finally come true.

- [Narrator] Following his
escape from Nazi clutches,

Messing flees eastward
to the Soviet Union,

where his reputed powers draw
the attention of a figure

whose iron will shapes
the destiny of millions.

- Wolf Messing comes to the
attention of Josef Stalin,

who's gotten wind

of this man's supposed
remarkable psychic abilities.

So, according to Messing,

Stalin challenges him to prove

that he actually can do
what he says that he can.

He tells Messing that
he has to find a way

to get into his country house

without any of the proper
paperwork or permissions.

According to Messing,

he does this by
pretending to be the head

of the Soviet secret
police, Beria,

and he manages to pass through
all the security checkpoints,

convincing the guards
that he is this man

by using his psychic ability.

- I think we can say with
a fair level of certainty

that this would have
been an impossible task,

or at least a very,
very difficult task

to do with the mere power
of suggestion or persuasion.

- [Narrator] Messing's influence
is said to have extended

beyond tricks and performances

into the very highest levels
of Soviet national security.

- Another claim that we hear is

through this kind of
impressing of Stalin,

Messing is actually able
to gain a high position

within the Soviet
intelligence agency

and works with
intelligence officers

to train them in his kind
of techniques of suggestion

and muscle reading,
cold reading,

and is in Stalin's
employ in that way.

- The true nature
of Messing's role

in Stalin's inner circle
remains shrouded in obscurity,

much like the feared
leader's regime itself.

- He claims that he ends up
holding a position in the KGB,

that he is training
KGB operatives in
psychic techniques,

that he is helping
Stalin see the future.

Now, the only bit of credence
one might give to this is

that Stalin, of
course, was well-known

for his massive paranoia.

Anything could set him off.

And it's just about feasible

that somebody like Messing
might appeal to Stalin,

who really wanted to know
what everybody was thinking,

especially those closest to him.

- [Narrator] As Messing's
reputation grows,

so does the weight of Stalin's
decisions on the world stage.

- There's going to be so
many different decisions

that Stalin is faced with,

both in the war and in
the postwar rebuild.

It's kind of the
height of his power

and the height of his
kind of decision making.

And this is the point in
which Messing is trying

to involve himself in
Stalin's inner circle.

- [Narrator] Could Stalin,

a man known for his
protagonism and distrust,

really have relied on a
supposed psychic for guidance?

- Who is Stalin turning
to in these times,

and what type of decision-making
forces is he looking for?

During the Cold War,

we see this kind of
scramble from all angles

to kind of gain either
a foothold in this
kind of escalation

and also just kind of gain some
sort of reputational power,

whether that be kind
of material gains

or kind of reputational gains.

And so Messing
becomes this kind of,

just another figure
in the mythos

of what the Soviet Union
would like to put forward.

- [Narrator] Wolf Messing's
legacy as a psychic

and mentalist continues to
captivate people's imagination

long after his death in 1974.

- So we don't actually know

whether Josef Stalin
met Wolf Messing

or whether they
had a relationship.

There is absolutely zero

independent historical
documentation to prove that,

that this relationship existed

or that Messing had any role
within the Soviet government.

All of this comes from
Messing's account alone.

- Messing's enduring
legacy was to push

to the extreme the
human potentialities,

while also blurring
the distinction

between the explainable
and the unexplainable.

- [Narrator] While
Messing's showmanship,

and supposed ability to
foresee world changing events,

captivated the 20th century.

Another form of divination with
ancient roots has held sway

over the psyches of
millions for millennia.

In 1046 BCE, King Wu of Zhou
stands at the edge of his camp.

His army of over
45,000 is poised

to challenge the
mighty Shang dynasty.

Across a field,

a force of 170,000 enemy
troops stands waiting.

In this moment of uncertainty,

the ancient wisdom of
the I Ching looms large.

- Throughout history, divination
has played a vital role

in ancient Chinese warfare.

- The story is that
Wu's father, King Wen,

is the person who first
developed this system

of the 64 hexagrams.

The hexagrams are designed

to represent everything
in the universe.

- [Narrator] King
Wu gives the signal.

His outnumbered
forces surge forward,

catching the Shang
army off guard.

- On the eve of the battle,

the Wu army is vastly
outnumbered by the Shang.

The king consults the I Ching,

and he learns that for victory,
he has to strike right now.

The battle that unfolds is
like a prophecy fulfilled.

The Shang army is caught
completely off guard.

The troops flee, some
of them defect to Zhou,

and the last Shang emperor is
forced to retreat in defeat.

- [Narrator] As the dust
settles, a new era dawns.

The Zhou dynasty rises,

its victory inexorably linked

to the ancient wisdom
of the I Ching.

- This pivotal moment
in Chinese history marks

more than just a
military triumph.

It represents the ascendance
of a new philosophical

and divinatory tradition.

- [Narrator] From
mythical emperors

to battlefield strategies,

the I Ching is woven into the
fabric of Chinese history.

But what is this oracle,

and what powers does
it truly possess?

The I Ching, also known
as the Book of Changes,

is one of the oldest
and most revered texts

in Chinese culture.

For over three millennia,

it has shaped philosophy,
art, literature,

and even governance in China.

- I Ching is not merely a book,

but the embodiment
of Chinese wisdom.

And it permeates all
aspects of Chinese thinking

and Chinese culture.

- The I Ching has existed
for thousands of years,

but we still don't
really know the origin

of this divination system.

- [Narrator] The I
Ching has evolved

into a comprehensive guide

for understanding the
principles of change, destiny,

and harmony in the universe,
using a system of 64 hexagrams.

- The traditional approach
involves asking a question,

using yarrow stalks
or tossing a coin,

and this generates a hexagram

which can be used to
answer that question.

- The hexagrams are
symbols made of six lines.

And the lines are
either straight across
or broken in two.

And these represent the
two fundamental forces

in the universe according to
Daoist philosophy theology,

yin and yang.

- The diviner then
interprets those hexagrams

based on a text,

that explains what each of
the hexagrams stands for.

- [Narrator] Typically,
the hexagrams convey

archetypal situations
or states of being,

which gives its users a glimpse
of their own destined path.

- By combining the
forces of yin and yang

in all of these different,
you know, permutations,

you have a set of symbols

that kind of represent
like the coding, almost,

of the entire universe.

- [Narrator] Over centuries,

it has been consulted
by emperors, scholars,

and ordinary people alike,

seeking guidance on matters
ranging from state affairs

to personal dilemmas.

- The interpretation of the
I Ching is, at this point,

a practice with a very,
very long history.

And with a long history, of
course, you get variations.

- [Narrator] At the heart

of the I Ching's divination
process lies a paradox.

The ancient oracle relies
on seemingly random methods

to generate its
profound insights.

- There's this idea
that within divination,

generally speaking, randomness
is extremely important

because it can either
bypass rational thought,

and you can glimpse
the energy at play

within that random moment.

But there's also this belief

that there is no such
thing as randomness.

- [Narrator] But the
elements of chance

and confirmation bias
can raise doubts.

- It is said that, you know,

something that is so
random can't actually have

any true kind of explanatory
or predictive power.

And it's by this kind
of act of interpretation

that is where the kind of
prediction is coming into play.

And there's this very
subjective kind of moment

in which the person is
looking at the randomness

and making a
subjective judgment,

and that can have things
like confirmation bias

or kind of different forms
of suggestion there as well.

- [Narrator] The perceived
accuracy of a reading

could also be closely
linked to the Barnum Effect,

a phenomenon where
vague statements seem
personally relevant

to many people.

- I believe that the choice

of how you engage
with the I Ching,

whether you use coins,
whether you use stalks,

whether you don't use either,

the power is in the
person asking the question

and the technique that they
are bringing to the book.

- [Narrator] Throughout
Chinese history,

the I Ching is
frequently consulted

by emperors and officials
as a way to interpret omens,

determine auspicious dates
for important events,

and guide policy decisions.

Among the many figures
that are said to be drawn

to its wisdom is Confucius,

one of China's most
revered philosophers.

- Confucius is a
very important figure

in Chinese history and culture.

He's a scholar, a philosopher,

and ends up being
kind of instituted

as this founding father of
Chinese social morality.

- Confucius was
fascinated by I Ching,

which he kept on bamboo tablets.

And so much so did he
read through these tablets

that the binding had to
be changed numerous times.

- [Narrator] Some accounts
credit the philosopher

with the writing of "Ten Wings,"

a series of commentaries
that transforms the I Ching

from a divination manual

into a comprehensive
philosophical text.

- The question of what
Confucius actually contributed

to the I Ching is a subject
of scholarly debate.

He is believed by many to
have written the "Ten Wings,"

which are these textual
interpretations.

This is part of how Chinese
scholarship has functioned.

You know, for a
very, very long time,

there will be these kind
of foundational texts,

sometimes of somewhat
mysterious or legendary origins,

but over centuries.

- [Narrator] For Confucius,

the study of the I Ching
is not just scholarly,

but deeply personal.

- At the age of 50,

Confucius muses that he could
spend the rest of his life

studying these ancient texts.

- [Narrator] As the I Ching
evolves throughout history,

it sets the stage for centuries
of intellectual exploration.

In the 18th century,

the I Ching forms an
unlikely connection

with the future of
modern computing,

forged through the mind of
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz,

a polymath whose work
would lay the groundwork

for the digital age.

- In the late 17th century,

the European philosopher
Leibniz encounters the I Ching.

He's been in correspondence

with Jesuit
missionaries in China.

A number of European
Jesuits went

on these missions to China.

And this is the first real body
of sustained correspondence

that we have in the
European tradition,

between Europeans and Chinese.

- [Narrator] Leibniz
recognizes that these hexagrams

can be interpreted
as a binary system

with broken lines
representing zero,

and unbroken lines
representing one.

- So he's been working
on this philosophy,

this kind of
mathematical philosophy,

that the world consists of
arrangements of binaries.

And when he sees the hexagrams,

which are also a system
of organized binaries,

he feels like he has
tapped into something

that is evidence, that his
philosophies are correct,

because they're being
confirmed by a culture

as far away as Chinese culture.

- [Narrator] While
Leibniz's work

on binary mathematics
is groundbreaking,

its full impact wouldn't
be realized for centuries.

- The same kind of binary

that is underlying the
I Ching also underlies

all of our kind of digital
technologies today.

And it's really interesting

because the I Ching almost
represents this initial,

very early moment of, you know,

turning something that's
like a spectrum or continuous

into something that's discrete,

that is kind of at the
foundation of our modern science

and this kind of confirmation
of presence and absence

that becomes tied together.

- The I Ching is
still used today.

It is a system of
interpretation,

a system of guidance
that has been in practice

at this point for millennia.

Its enduring quality is
tied to how it focuses in

on really fundamental aspects

of both human
experience in the world

and human tools
of interpretation.

- [Narrator] Just as
this ancient tool guided

Chinese sages through change,

across vast oceans,

Indigenous peoples
of America fostered

their own sacred methods

of interpreting the
spiritual world.

On a seemingly ordinary
summer day in 1994,

on a modest farm in Wisconsin,

a remarkable event takes place.

Amidst the distant
hum of farm life,

a buffalo calf is born.

- Its coat is not
the usual brown.

It's entirely white.

This is a momentous occasion,

because the birth of a white
bison is extremely rare.

- [Narrator] Although the
frequency of white buffalo

has not been formally recorded,

some estimates say it's a
once in a million occurrence.

As word spreads of the
arrival of the calf,

named Miracle by her caretakers,

visitors begin to pour
in from far-flung places.

- The birth of this white
bison, or white buffalo,

is not only statistically
significant,

it also carries remarkable
cultural significance

for a number of Indigenous
cultures in the Americas.

- [Narrator] In
the eyes of many,

Miracle's birth is
a living prophecy

signaling an end of
monumental transformation.

The unassuming calf, with
her stark white coat,

stands as a beacon of hope and
a symbol of sweeping change.

- Why had Miracle appeared now?

What changes might she herald?

And what ancient stories
do her birth awaken?

- [Narrator] Dating
back millennia,

the white buffalo holds
profound significance

in various indigenous
prophecies and traditions,

including the Lakota
oral tradition.

- To the Lakota people,

the white buffalo calf
woman is a sacred figure

who has visited them.

She's given them the sacred
pipe that they smoke.

And she is a promise
of future harmony.

And one day she is
going to return.

And this is
basically the promise

inherent in the birth
of this white buffalo,

that this signals the return
of the white buffalo calf woman

who brings harmony,
who brings peace,

who brings prosperity
to the Lakota people.

- [Narrator] Before departing,

she prophesies that
one day she will return

to purify the world,

bring back spiritual
balance and harmony.

- It's essentially a prophecy

that pretends a time
of unified peace,

when all people would
live under this banner

of really world-wide peace.

And it is extremely important.

Whether we are Indigenous
people or non-Indigenous people,

we have been living in a culture
of fracture, fragmentation,

and real cultural violence.

- When a white buffalo is born,

it's a message to the people

that our spirituality
will return.

And when a white
buffalo is born,

we have to question
what is coming,

what is the message
that is coming?

- [Narrator] The birth
of Miracle would be

just the beginning.

- More white calves are
born at this same site,

at Heider farm, against
all statistical odds.

- As news spread of
these successive births,

the farm evolves from a
quiet, rural homestead,

into a pilgrimage site
of profound importance.

- [Narrator] As the years pass,

the Wisconsin white
buffalo herd remains

a source of wonder
and inspiration,

its very existence challenging

the understanding of
coincidence and fate.

- There seems to be
something extraordinary

and meaningful happening
with the particular bison

at this farm,

and people begin traveling
to visit the farm

and to be in touch
with whatever it is

that's happening there.

- Humans are very much impressed

by rare events of
different sorts.

And they sometimes
read a lot into that,

and especially if it
has cultural relevance.

So if we think of
First Nations peoples,

the buffalo, of course,
is one of the things

that we connect with
them very strongly.

They made all their livelihood,
et cetera, from the buffalo.

And this notion of a
white buffalo, which
is extremely rare,

would be like a spirit
version of an animal.

So we can imagine that the
import that would have for them,

and the feeling that there has
to be something significant,

if a white buffalo enters the
world, it must mean something.

- [Narrator] While the
Heider farm becomes

a modern-day pilgrimage site,

the true significance of
these white buffalo births

can only be fully understood

through the lens of
ancient tradition.

(ambient music)

Born in 1954 on the
Cheyenne River Reservation

in South Dakota,

Chief Arvol Looking
Horse is a pivotal figure

in the modern interpretation

and propagation of the
White Buffalo prophecy.

- When Arvol Looking Horse
was given the sacred pipe,

which was the white buffalo
pipe, he was 12 years old.

So he was the youngest person

to be the caretaker
of this pipe.

And he was also given
the responsibility

of taking care of the
Lakota Dakota Sioux Nation,

which is three separate
branches of people,

all the same people.

- [Narrator] The white
buffalo calf pipe is

a sacred artifact central
to Lakota spirituality.

- The white buffalo calf pipe,

also known as the
sacred pipe or Chanunpa,

holds immense
spiritual significance

for the Lakota and other
Native American tribes.

- So the pipe is
really significant

to many Indigenous people.

And that pipe is something
that you use medicine with.

For a lot of us, it's
asemaa or tobacco.

And that pipe allows us to
connect with our ancestors

or with Gitche Manitou, with
our spirit, God, if you will.

So this pipe, that was gifted,

became a symbol of
the white buffalo.

And I think it was significant
to many Indigenous people.

And that bowl represented Earth,

and the pipe represented air,
or like the spirit world,

all that is Earth, and air,
which is how we survive.

And that pipe became
very significant

to many Lakota, Dakota
Indigenous people.

- [Narrator] But is there a
deeper connection to the land

that enables
communication with nature

and interpretation of the
arrival of these beasts?

- For many Indigenous people,

the white buffalo is almost
the same as the eighth fire.

That's also a prophecy that
comes from the same time

when we're talking about
how much we've lost,

the impact of colonization,

and the only way to move forward
is to find harmony again.

So that means reconnecting
with our spiritual,

our right to spirituality,

our right to our
original instructions,

and our creation story,

and also a commitment
to rebuilding
connection to the Earth

and to our environment
and protecting the land.

So Looking Horse
really felt like,

this was part of prophecy,

that this white buffalo being
born was part of the story

when they talked about,

this moment on Earth when
things would start to change.

- [Narrator] 30 years
after Miracle's arrival,

the ancient prophecy
finds renewed resonance

with the birth of
another white buffalo,

this time in Yellowstone
National Park.

Yet, this birth carries a
double-edged significance.

While celebrated as
a profound blessing,

it also resonates
with a dire warning,

urging humanity to heed its
message before it's too late.

- Arvol Looking Horse,

who was actually the 19th keeper

of the sacred
white buffalo pipe,

said that in 2024, when the
white buffalo calf was born,

it was another
white buffalo calf,

that this was the
fulfillment of the prophecy

and that because that
white buffalo was born,

it was to signify that we
actually need to do more,

that whatever that first
warning was, it wasn't enough.

We need to do more to
protect the environment

and to bring harmony and
balance to the world.

We can look at this moment as
this tumultuous moment in time

where we need to do even more
to protect the environment.

And that's what is also being
said about this white buffalo,

is that this is a
double-edged sword,

as though this is a great
blessing, it is also a message.

- [Narrator] Shortly after the
Yellowstone calf's emergence,

the prophecy takes
an ominous turn.

- Several days after the
white buffalo calf is born,

they disappear.

And as of this moment right now,

they still have not
found that white buffalo.

So it actually caused this
real sense of concern and alarm

and speculation as to
whether this was a bad omen

or a sign that we didn't do
what we were supposed to.

Many prophecies come
with instructions.

And so perhaps this is
a message saying that,

"No, we need to do even more,"

or, "Whatever we
thought we were doing,

we need to think of
a different strategy

to really protect the
people and the Earth."

This is a moment when
we are asked to consider

our own grief, our own
loss, but not just loss.

It's also about reclamation.

When you have lost something
that matters to you,

you always have the
opportunity to reclaim it.

It might not be in the
same way you once had it,

but you can reclaim
it in a new way.

And it's also a
conversation around unity.

Indigenous people have
faced tremendous trauma

and have a history of the worst,
the worst things happening.

And, yet, the only
way to move forward is

to continue to align ourselves

with all of the
people of the world,

to connect with all communities,

and to ask for the support
of everyone in the world.

- The sacredness of
animals is something

that different groups
of people recognize.

And I think, the more
connected you are

to your indigenous traditions,

and the more steeped you
are in Earth-honoring ways,

the more you will understand
the sacred position,

the position of animals
as teachers, as guides,

and as beings of wisdom who
can show us as human beings

a better way to live.

(ambient music)

- [Narrator] For many,
this ancient promise

of transformation bridges
the physical world

with what may lie beyond.

Like the sacred wisdom
inscribed in traditional texts,

or the visions foretold
by a famed psychic,

the power of prophecy
may ultimately rest
not in certainty,

but in the lens
we choose to hold.

(mesmerizing music)