What Supposedly Happened at Puy de Lassolas?

Introduction

This page maps out the timeline and geographic setting of Claude Vorilhon’s claimed encounter at Puy de Lassolas in December 1973—the core origin story of Raëlism. While the broader Raëlian narrative has been widely published by the movement itself, reconstructing the sequence of claimed meetings, how they were later recorded, and the physical locale helps clarify what is asserted, when, and where within the volcanic landscape of central France. [Wikipedia]WikipediaOpen source on wikipedia.org.

The December 1973 Setting: Volcano and Landscape

Where Puy de Lassolas Is

Puy de Lassolas is an extinct basalt volcano in the Chaîne des Puys of central France, southwest of Clermont‑Ferrand. It and its twin cone, Puy de la Vache, were formed by a single strombolian eruption and now sit at roughly 1,187 m above sea level, with their lava flows having shaped several local lakes including Lake Cassière and Lake Aydat. The terrain is characterised by cinder cones and broad crater rims typical of the region’s volcanic field, now protected as part of a regional nature park. [Wikipedia]WikipediaPuy de LassolasPuy de Lassolas

This terrain, with open volcanic craters and panoramic ridges, provides the physical frame for Vorilhon’s account—places he later described as the backdrop to his claimed encounters in December 1973. [RAEL.ORG]rael.chRael: Messenger of the Elohim - The Raelian Movement…

Why the Location Matters

Within Raëlian sources and scholarly summaries, the choice of a remote crater rim rather than a town or public landmark emphasises isolation in the narrative. That setting—a volcanic crater at the heart of the Auvergne volcanic chain near Clermont‑Ferrand—becomes a touchstone in Raëlian retellings and later festivals celebrating the encounter. [RAEL.ORG]rael.orgCelebration of The First EncounterCelebration of The First Encounter

Six Meetings and Date Variants

Claimed First Contact: 13 December 1973

According to Raëlian accounts, Claude Vorilhon (then 27) had his first encounter on the morning of 13 December 1973 at Puy de Lassolas. He said he met a diminutive humanoid extraterrestrial—identified in later materials as “Yahweh”—who communicated with him and imparted a message about humanity’s cosmic origins. This encounter is repeatedly cited in Raëlian literature as occurring on that date at the volcano’s crater. [RAEL.ORG]rael.orgThe Last Prophet, RaelAt the age of 27, on the morning of De…

Six Consecutive Meetings

The narrative holds that Vorilhon returned to the same volcanic crater for six consecutive meetings at Puy de Lassolas, where the visitor elaborated on its message. Raëlian sources describe these meetings as a series of daily or near‑daily contacts in the crater, culminating in Vorilhon accepting his mission to spread the information he received. [RAEL.ORG]rael.orgEl encuentro tuvo lugar enCelebración del Primer Encuentro - RAEL.ORGCELEBRACIÓN DE el Primer Encuentro 13 DE DICIEMBRE El 13 de diciembre de 1973, Maitreya Rael t…

Date Variants and Secondary Sources

While Raëlian sources consistently specify 13 December for the first contact, some secondary summaries have slightly different dates for aspects of the encounter (for example, an early encounter dated to 3 December in a general reference summary). However, the movement’s own timeline and most academic treatments anchor the 13 December date as central to the story’s internal chronology. [Wikipedia]WikipediaPuy de DômePuy de DômeIt is approximately 10 km (6 miles) from Clermont-Ferrand. The Puy-de-Dôme département is named after the volcano.Read more…

From Encounter Claim to Published Mission

Immediate Aftermath and Publication

Within months of the claimed meetings at Puy de Lassolas, Vorilhon had abandoned his earlier career and produced a book presenting the messages as “Intelligent Design: Message from the Designers.” The book, published in 1974, collated the information he said he received during the December 1973 contacts. Over the following year, he appeared on television and radio in France and launched a public conference on his experience, gradually coalescing a group of followers around the emergent movement. [RAEL.ORG]rael.orgLa rencontre a eu lieu au centre de lCélébration de la première rencontre - RAEL.ORGCÉLÉBRATION DE la première rencontre 13 DÉCEMBRE Le 13 décembre 1973, Maitreya Raël a vécu…

Transformation into a Movement

By late 1974, Vorilhon had founded a group called MADECH (Movement for the Welcoming of the Elohim), which within a few months evolved into larger Raëlian organisational structures. The early encounter timeline—claimed in December 1973 and swiftly turned into a book and a public mission—became a defining mythic anchor for the movement’s identity and outreach. [RAEL.ORG]rael.orgJahrestag der 1Begegnung - RAEL.ORGJAHRESTAG DER 1. BEGEGNUNG 13. DEZEMBER Am 13. Dezember 1973 hatte Maitreya Rael seine erste Begegnung mit den Elohim…

What the Timeline Suggests

Across Raëlian and academic sources:

• The setting is consistently located in the crater of Puy de Lassolas, in the volcanic landscape of the Chaîne des Puys near Clermont‑Ferrand. [Wikipedia]WikipediaOpen source on wikipedia.org.
• The first encounter is dated 13 December 1973, followed by a sequence of meetings on successive days at essentially the same site. [RAEL.ORG]rael.orgLe dernier prophète, RaëlMAITREYA RAËL EST LE DERNIER MESSAGER ENVOYÉ PAR NOS CRÉATEURS EXTRATERRESTRES, LES ELOHIM, ET IL LUI A ÉTÉ DEMA…
• Within a year of the claimed encounter sequence, Vorilhon published his encounter narrative and began publicising it, laying the groundwork for what became the Raëlian movement. [RAEL.ORG]rael.chRael: Messenger of the Elohim - The Raelian Movement…

This timeline and setting are central to the Raëlian origin story, but it is important to note that external corroboration beyond the movement’s own publications is lacking. Scholarly sources describe the encounter in the context of Raëlian belief and literature rather than verified historical event. [Wikipedia]WikipediaPuy de LassolasPuy de Lassolas

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Endnotes

1. Source: Wikipedia
   Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra%C3%ABlism

2. Source: Wikipedia
   Title: Puy de Lassolas
   Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puy_de_Lassolas

3. Source: rael.ch
   Link: https://www.rael.ch/rael
   Source snippet

   Rael: Messenger of the Elohim - The Raelian Movement...

4. Source: rael.org
   Title: Celebration of The First Encounter
   Link: https://www.rael.org/events/raelian-celebration-of-the-first-encounter/

5. Source: rael.org
   Title: The Last Prophet, Rael
   Link: https://www.rael.org/rael/
   Source snippet

   At the age of 27, on the morning of De...

6. Source: rael.org
   Title: El encuentro tuvo lugar en
   Link: https://www.rael.org/es/events/celebracion-del-primer-encuentro/
   Source snippet

   Celebración del Primer Encuentro - RAEL.ORGCELEBRACIÓN DE el Primer Encuentro 13 DE DICIEMBRE El 13 de diciembre de 1973, Maitreya Rael t...

7. Source: rael.org
   Title: La rencontre a eu lieu au centre de l
   Link: https://www.rael.org/fr/events/celebration-de-la-premiere-rencontre/
   Source snippet

   Célébration de la première rencontre - RAEL.ORGCÉLÉBRATION DE la première rencontre 13 DÉCEMBRE Le 13 décembre 1973, Maitreya Raël a vécu...

8. Source: rael.org
   Title: Jahrestag der 1
   Link: https://www.rael.org/de/events/feier-der-ersten-begegnung/
   Source snippet

   Begegnung - RAEL.ORGJAHRESTAG DER 1. BEGEGNUNG 13. DEZEMBER Am 13. Dezember 1973 hatte Maitreya Rael seine erste Begegnung mit den Elohim...

9. Source: rael.org
   Link: https://www.rael.org/fr/rael/
   Source snippet

   Le dernier prophète, RaëlMAITREYA RAËL EST LE DERNIER MESSAGER ENVOYÉ PAR NOS CRÉATEURS EXTRATERRESTRES, LES ELOHIM, ET IL LUI A ÉTÉ DEMA...

10. Source: france.fr
    Title: discover the lofty volcanoes of auvergne
    Link: https://www.france.fr/en/article/discover-the-lofty-volcanoes-of-auvergne/
    Source snippet

    Auvergne: 7 walks on top of volcanoes20 Jun 2019 — In the regional natural park of Auvergne there are 80 volcanoes in an area which is a...

11. Source: Wikipedia
    Title: Puy de Dôme
    Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puy_de_D%C3%B4me
    Source snippet

    Puy de DômeIt is approximately 10 km (6 miles) from Clermont-Ferrand. The Puy-de-Dôme département is named after the volcano.Read more...

12. Source: youtube.com
    Title: A journalist from Le Figaro recounts how he infiltrated Raël’s sect
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XdaTR7-xf8
    Source snippet

    Chaîne des Puys - Limagne Fault, Chapter 1: A History of Continental Fracture...

13. Source: youtube.com
    Title: Chaîne des Puys
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygFpiXH3qp8
    Source snippet

    The Chaîne des Puys: dormant volcanoes beneath our feet?...

14. Source: alltrails.com
    Title: Puy de Lassolas
    Link: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/france/puy-de-dome/puy-de-lassolas-puy-de-la-vache
    Source snippet

    Puy de le Vache... Puys, in the Massif Central and are located southwest of Clermont-Ferrand. These are two (extinct) volcanoes born from...

15. Source: sk.sagepub.com
    Link: https://sk.sagepub.com/ency/edvol/embed/the-sage-encyclopedia-of-sociology-of-religion/chpt/raelians
    Source snippet

    Reference - The SAGE Encyclopedia of the Sociology of Religion - RaëliansRAËLIANS * By: Susan Jean Palmer * In:The SAGE Encyclopedia of t...

16. Source: peakvisor.com
    Title: Puy de Lassolas
    Link: https://peakvisor.com/peak/puy-de-lassolas.html
    Source snippet

    PeakVisorThe Puy de Lassolas (Occitan: L'Assolelhat, the sunburnt [mountain]) is a volcano in the Chaîne des Puys in France, peaking at 1...

Additional References

1. Source: clermontauvergnevolcans.com
   Link: https://www.clermontauvergnevolcans.com/en/pages/le-puy-de-lassolas/
   Source snippet

   Clermont Auvergne VolcansLe puy de LassolasPuy de Lassolas is a basalt volcano in the Chaîne des Puys. Puy de Lassolas, culminating at 1...

2. Source: silver-travellers.com
   Link: https://www.silver-travellers.com/chaine-des-puys/

3. Source: auvergnevolcansancy.com
   Link: https://www.auvergnevolcansancy.com/en/votre-sejour/sites-naturels/panoramas/sommet-du-puy-de-dome/

4. Source: scholieren.com
   Link: https://www.scholieren.com/verslag/spreekbeurt-nederlands-rael-en-de-raeliaanse-beweging
   Source snippet

   April 21, 2003 — RAEL EN DE RAELIAANSE BEWEGING Image: Beoordeling 5.8 Image: Foto van een scholier * Spreekbeurt door een scholier * 4e...

   Published: April 21, 2003

5. Source: encyclopedia.com
   Link: https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/raelians
   Source snippet

   The International Ra ë lian Movement is the world's largest and best-known UFO religion. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the organiza...

6. Source: komoot.com
   Link: https://www.komoot.com/highlight/654694
   Source snippet

   It is the youngest of the chain which has nearly 80 volcanoes. Its summit, which...Read more...

7. Source: sites.pitt.edu
   Title: L. Ashliman SCIENTISTS FROM ANOTHER PLANET CREATED ALL LIF
   Link: https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/rael.html
   Source snippet

   Raelian Creation of Life on EarthJanuary 8, 2003 — THE CREATION OF LIFE ON EARTH according to The Raelian Movement abstracted from the of...

   Published: January 8, 2003

8. Source: info-sectes.org
   Link: https://www.info-sectes.org/sectesgd/rael.htm
   Source snippet

   Raël signifie: «Celui qui apporte la lumière des Elohim». En effet, le Mouvement Ra...

9. Source: catholique.bf
   Title: HISTORIQUE Fondateur: Claude Vorilhon, né le 30 oct
   Link: https://catholique.bf/nmr/629-le-mouvement-raelien
   Source snippet

   Le mouvement raëlienLE MOUVEMENT RAËLIEN Détails Par: Père Yves MOREL Catégorie: Le défi des sectes, des Nouveaux Mouvements Religieux...

10. Source: cesnur.org
    Title: Appassionato di automobilismo, fonda e dir
    Link: https://www.cesnur.org/2002/mi_rael.htm
    Source snippet

    A proposito di clonazione: chi sono i Raeliani, di Massino IntrovigneA PROPOSITO DI CLONAZIONE: CHI SONO I RAELIANI DI MASSIMO INTROVIGNE...