Overview
An online post titled “The magic of the Internet” has drawn attention to an apparent resemblance between a symbol reported during the 1964 Socorro UFO incident and an emblem reproduced in the medieval magical text Picatrix. The comparison, shared through an Imgur gallery, places an image associated with the Socorro case alongside a symbol from a work traditionally linked to astrological and ritual magic.
The resemblance is visually intriguing, but it remains an observation rather than evidence of a historical connection. The available post does not establish when the Picatrix image was created, how its symbol was interpreted in its original context, or whether the emblem reported at Socorro was accurately recorded. Those limitations are important when assessing claims that a modern UFO sighting may be connected to ancient occult traditions.
The Socorro Incident
The Socorro case occurred on April 24, 1964, near Socorro, New Mexico. Police officer Lonnie Zamora reported seeing a bright object descend into a rugged area outside the city while he was pursuing a speeding vehicle. According to his account, the object appeared oval or egg-shaped, and he saw two small figures near it before it rose from the ground and departed.
Zamora also reported a distinctive red symbol on the object’s side. Drawings made during the investigation have generally been described as depicting a vertical structure or arrow-like form beneath a horizontal line, although reproductions vary. The incident became one of the most closely examined cases in early modern UFO research because Zamora was regarded as a credible witness, the location was investigated, and physical traces were reported at the site.
The U.S. Air Force investigated Socorro as part of Project Blue Book, its official program for collecting and evaluating UFO reports. The case was not conclusively identified, and it has remained a prominent example for researchers who argue that some UFO reports resist conventional explanations. At the same time, neither the official investigation nor subsequent reviews established that the object was extraterrestrial or connected to any historical symbol system.
The Picatrix Comparison
The Picatrix is the Latin name commonly given to a medieval work of astrological and ritual magic. The Latin text was translated in the 12th century from an earlier Arabic work, generally identified as the Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm, or “The Aim of the Sage.” Its material draws on a broad intellectual tradition that includes Greek philosophical and magical ideas, along with Arabic, Persian and Hermetic sources.
The image circulated in the post appears to show a symbol that shares broad geometric features with the emblem associated with Socorro. Such similarities can be compelling, particularly when images are separated by centuries and emerge in very different contexts. However, simple shapes—lines, triangles, arrows and geometric arrangements—can recur independently across religious, magical, artistic and modern technological imagery. Establishing a meaningful link would require evidence of transmission, an identifiable historical tradition, or a documented source showing that the later symbol was derived from the earlier one.
Ufology and Historical Interpretation
The post’s author also references reading Jacques Vallée’s Forbidden Science, a series of journals describing Vallée’s involvement in UFO research and his reflections on the development of early ufology. Vallée has long examined UFO reports not only as possible technological events but also as cultural phenomena involving folklore, symbolism, belief and government secrecy.
That perspective provides useful context for the Socorro-Picatrix comparison. The enduring interest in the case reflects more than the question of what Zamora saw; it also concerns how symbols are recorded, interpreted and reinterpreted over time. For now, the alleged match is best treated as an intriguing visual parallel—not confirmation that the Socorro object had an occult or medieval origin. Further evaluation would require authenticated source images, specialist analysis of the Picatrix manuscript tradition and a careful comparison with the original Socorro documentation.
