From Codewit World News, Nov. 16, 2014:
The mysterious image of what many are calling a perfect likeness to the Virgin Mary can be seen on the side of tree located at the intersection between 3rd Street and Bridge Road in Polk City, Iowa. A Nov. 14 report by KCCI 8 News explains that the shape in the tree is about 6 feet tall. It has residents asking what it really means.
While many claim it is the likeness of the Virgin Mary … There are, of course, skeptics who claim the image on the tree is only an illusion. They claim people only see what they want to see.
According to a KEYE TV report, some are so taken with the image that they have begun to place flowers at the feet of what they believe is the image of Virgin Mary. In fact, some claim that this is a case of divine intervention. They believe that the image is a message from God.
Scientists and skeptics might claim the image is nothing more than a case of pareidolia where the human mind strives to make sense out of chaotic images and perceives them as something they are not. This typically means seeing human faces or human forms where none exists.
This is the iconic statue of Mary at Our Lady of Lourdes in Lourdes, France, where Mary had appeared to St. Bernadette and now a shrine of many miracles:
.
Below is a side-by-side comparison of the image in the tree (l) and Mary’s statue at Lourdes (r):
See also these other so-called pareidolia images:
- Angel and Devil on 9-11
- In a world gone mad, grace in the trunk of a tree
- Angel over Cape Coral
- Angel over Bardstown police officer’s funeral
- Angel over Florida
- Angel over I-285
- Angel over Aurora
~Eowyn
