Weather-based conspiracy theories are out in full force in the wake of the Maui fires. CBC explains:
It's yet to be determined what exactly ignited the ferocious wildfires that ravaged Maui and destroyed much of the historic town of Lahaina last week, but online conspiracy theorists have plenty of thoughts about how — and why — the deadliest fires in Hawaii's history were started.
Conditions were already ripe for wildfires, with a combination of persistent dry weather and drought, when Maui was hit with powerful winds on Aug. 8, sending flames racing across swaths of the island.
But the tragedy has spurred social media posts that would have you believe that it was a laser beam from space that sparked the devastating blaze or that the disaster may be a part of a land grab or a sinister ploy to develop a 15-minute city on the tropical island — familiar conspiracy theories that have thrived in times of disaster.
There is no proof any of these are true — often they can easily be debunked — but theories like these can thrive in times of uncertainty after a disaster strikes, say experts, as people try to make sense of a tense and emotional situation and anxiously look for a cause to pinpoint.
One person who has fully embraced conspiracy theories centered around what she calls "Deep State Weather Engineering" is Kaia Ra, a rising star in the (con)spiritual life coaching universe. Such conspiracy theories are hardly new, but Ra and other folks who practice what Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, and Julian Walker call "conspirituality" (conspiracy + spirituality) are giving them new life.
If you've never heard of Kaia Ra, cult researcher and journalist Be Scofield describes her:
Kaia Ra says she was raised in a QAnon-like satanic cabal and claims to be a "world-renowned divine oracle." She sells jewelry she says removes suicidal thoughts and trauma and her followers think she rules over a tribe of cosmic "Sophia Dragons." Now she's building a temple in Sedona to "reconsecrate the vortexes."
The Conspirituality Podcast has also covered Kaia Ra (along with fellow (con)spiritual life coach Teal Swan, including in Episode 48, Traumatic Influence (w/Kyra Haglund & Hala Khouri). They describe the episode:
Teal Swan's suicide-teasing trauma pseudo-therapy has cast a spell over millions. Kaia Ra is an up-and-coming contender, selling divine jewelry and a channeled text about how to transcend QAnon-type nightmares. Both claim to be survivors of long-term Satanic Ritual Abuse and alien ambassadors. Both have capitalized on the chaos of 2020.
We discuss the trend of trauma exploitation, Satanic Panics throughout the decades, and social media entertainment finding cover through the pretense of therapy. Then we'll hear from the pros: licensed psychologists Hala Khouri and Kyra Haglund join Julian to discuss the importance of trauma-informed yoga and cases of abuse in wellness spaces.
For the record, Kaia Ra's family vehemently denies any abuse.
Kaia Ra recently uploaded a video called "How to Be Loving When People Don't Believe Me About Maui?" along with a written piece entitled "A Prayer for Maui and Personal Statement on the Origins of the Maui Fire." In that written piece she claims that the Maui fires are an "orchestrated deep state attack on humanity" and asserts that such attacks "happen with Satanic ritualized timing." I didn't transcribe the whole video, but in it she says very clearly that "Every weather phenomenon is controlled." Here are some choice phrases she uses to describe the Maui fires:
"A planned atrocity"
"Deep state attack"
"Massacre"
"Psychological war"
She also says that folks who discuss these Deep State tactics will be "silenced" because they "know what's really going on." She says, "We're all being oppressed, we're all being censored."
Predictably, she also calls the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic a "plandemic," and asserts that it, too, was a control mechanism of the Deep State. She calls the vaccines "bioweapons" and asserts that she and others were "persecuted" for not getting vaccinated.
However, she states in the video that she believes that people like herself who are spreading truth are helping humanity wake up from "The Matrix" existence they have been living in. She says:
"People are waking up. They're starting to look at pictures and they're starting to ask questions"
"Humanity is waking up"
"The collective programmed naivety of humanity… that Satanic spell that has been cast over humanity is breaking"
Unsurprisingly, she says that one way we can "break these illusions" is by engaging with her products, including reading her book "The Sophia Code," which Be Scofield describes as "a mix of divinely channeled messages and new age buzzwords."
She doesn't say it, but I assume Kaia Ra–who, according to Be Scofield, was a "high-level graphic designer with deep knowledge of an agency's branding process before creating The Sophia Code"–wouldn't be mad if you also bought some of her jewelry (which ranges from $100 to $2000), purchased her Sophia Circle Leadership Certification program (to the tune of $3777), or attended a Dragon Heart Leadership Council (the upcoming 2.5 day meeting in Sedona is $900, not including food and lodging), to help the "awakening" process along.
