There’s an old legend that the Tampa, Florida, area is protected by an ancient “prayer-blessing” bestowed upon it by elders of the Tocobaga tribe that once inhabited the area, particularly a locale known today as Safety Harbor.
Is there any truth to the belief? Is it simple mythology—and occultic at that?
Glance around at reports of it.
The Tampa Times when the area last evaded a gigantic disaster (June 2023): “Hurricane Ian’s last minute move to the east last year spared Tampa Bay the destruction unleashed on Fort Myers. It also gave renewed life to a legend that Tampa Bay was protected by the benevolent spirits of the Tocobaga, a native people of the region. Residents of Tampa Bay should disabuse themselves from this notion.”
That was said, grudgingly, not just because media such as the Times have little proclivity toward the supernatural, but also because, historically, Tampa has been hit, and areas around it have been battered three times in the past year by cyclones, most recently Hurricane Helene.
But through the past decades, it has seemed curious how flood-prone Tampa Bay itself, which can incur tremendous surge, has escaped so unscathed in an era of Katrina and Andrew and Michael and so many other angry tempests.
Native Americans certainly attached spiritual meaning to tempests. As we have pointed out, to indigenous Taino people of the Caribbean and Florida, “Huricán” was the god of evil, which apparently comes from “Huracán,” the Mayan god of wind, storm, and fire.
From “Huricán” came “hurricane.”
Wrote a local website as Helene approached: “Despite early predictions suggesting the storm will wreak havoc in Tampa, everyone in the area is confident that their city is safe from the storm thanks to a Native American blessing that’s protected the city from hurricanes for over hundred years.”
“According to the legend, the Native American tribe Tocobaga built burial mounds all across the Tampa Bay area, the largest one resting in what is now known as Safety Harbor in Florida, just 30 minutes from Tampa.”
But wait a moment: aren’t Indian burial mounds (at least by many tribes) said to attract spiritual mayhem and harbor curses with them?
Tampa’s evasion of destruction: Luck? And now, “Milton” (as in Paradise Lost)?
Consider the comments of the executive director of the St. Petersburg Museum of History, Rui Farias: “That has been our story for nearly a hundred years now. That the hurricanes are heading right for us and just veer off course.” (By the by, there are also many dedicated and prayerful Catholics in the area.)
True, the Native Americans of Florida tended to be more benevolent (with some major exceptions) than elsewhere. And their Great Spirit: is that the same True God? We’ll not delve into that here. But mounds elsewhere in the state (especially near Orlando) have been pointed to as a spiritual issue.
At any rate:
“Early forecasts did have Tampa directly in Helene’s path,” says Your Tango. “Early forecasts predicted Helene’s path would greatly impact the Tampa area. However, many residents have previously scoffed at the idea of a hurricane hitting Tampa. In a TikTok video, a man named David explained the genuine sentiment among the locals in the area and why they’re so confident that any storm that comes near them will simply veer off course. ‘If you’re from the Tampa Bay area, you already understand what I’m about to tell everyone, so you can keep on scrolling,’ he starts his video. ‘There have been ancient spirits that have blessed this land, and the hurricanes will always veer north or south of us, never hit us right on.’ His prediction was that the storm would veer north and make landfall around the panhandle, but made sure to say in the comments that everyone should still make preparations. ‘It’s all in good fun, anyone who takes these myths ‘seriously’ and doesn’t prepare is making a huge mistake,” he says. ‘Stay safe!'”
[resources: Michael Brown retreat]
[Footnote: Meanwhile, last weekend an e-mailer made us aware of potential flooding issues in Bosnia-Hercegovina and specifically near the famous (and now Vatican approved) apparition site of Medjugorje, where “secrets” given to seer include a number of “warnings.” A river, the Neretva, courses by Medjugorje and upstream it has three hydroelectric plants and dams. Unusual rainfall in Europe (perhaps soon to get yet worse) has swelled that river uncomfortably, causing experts to issue warnings on potential dam failure and concomitant floods.
The local bishop in Mostar even released a special statement: ” In recent days, disturbing news has reached us about floods and heavy rainwater that destroyed many family homes, business facilities and other material assets in some parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The situation is particularly difficult in the area of the parishes of Drežnica, Jablanica and Konjica in the Diocese of Mostar-Duvanj and some parts of the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna. In addition to great material damage, we are witnessing, unfortunately, the loss of human lives.”
He invited all “as a sign of your religious and human solidarity with all the victims, to invite the faithful on Sunday, October 6, 2024, at the mass celebrations, to pray for all those who perished in the floods, and especially for those who lost their lives and their families. We want to be close to everyone with our prayer and willingness to help. On the same day, we will join Pope Francis’ call to pray for peace in the world. Our Diocesan Caritas and Caritas Bosnia and Herzegovina are monitoring the situation on the ground and have taken the first steps to provide assistance. I thank all those who have already contacted or are contacting, as well as those who immediately came to help.”
This brought to mind an excerpt from a private interview a priest named Father Petar Ljubicic had with the visionary Mirjana Soldo in the Eighties and revealed to us in 1991. In that interview, there was this exchange:
Father Ljubicic: Once again, concerning the first secret, who will experience, see, and be convinced and then be able to say: ‘Truly, that which has occurred or is occurring is the manifestation of the secret’? Who will be able to see all that?
Mirjana: All those who will be here or in the place(s) where the secret will unfold.
Father Ljubicic: Let me assume that this involves a specific place. All those who will wish to see and experience this sign or whatever the secret is, will they have to come to that particular place to see and experience this?
Mirjana: Well, father, surely no one wishes to watch disasters, distress, and misfortune. I don’t think that this kind of thing attracts people at all. Why would people go to see something of that sort? It is one thing to go and see a sign, quite another to go and see suffering or a disaster. Who would, for example, go to Italy to see a dam collapse? Who has that kind of a desire? I don’t think that anyone does – and that is how it will be with this secret. Whatever is in the secret, it will, of course, be something that everyone, everywhere, will immediately hear about.]
[resources: Michael Brown’s Tower of Light]
Special!
