Michel Moine
Encyclopedia
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and parapsychologist. He was the director of the news division of RTL from 1958 to 1967, and then of RMC from 1967 to 1982. He was also well known for his books on radiesthesia
Radiesthesia
Radiesthesia is the claimed paranormal or parapsychological ability to detect "radiation" within the human body. According to the theory, all human bodies give off unique or characteristic "radiations" as do all other physical bodies or objects. Such radiations are often termed an "aura".A...
, and the series of TV documentaries La caméra de l'étrange, created with his friend and fellow journalist Jean-Louis Degaudenzi.
The early years
Michel Moine was born on March 8, 1920 in Airvault (France). After a schooling at the Jesuit collègeSecondary education in France
In France, secondary education is in two stages:* collèges cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14...
of Le Mans
Le Mans
Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...
(he tells some stories from that period in the Guide of radiesthesia), then at lycée
Secondary education in France
In France, secondary education is in two stages:* collèges cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14...
in Poitiers
Poitiers
Poitiers is a city on the Clain river in west central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and of the Poitou-Charentes region. The centre is picturesque and its streets are interesting for predominant remains of historical architecture, especially from the Romanesque...
, he obtains his baccalauréat
Baccalauréat
The baccalauréat , often known in France colloquially as le bac, is an academic qualification which French and international students take at the end of the lycée . It was introduced by Napoleon I in 1808. It is the main diploma required to pursue university studies...
(French equivalent of A levels or High School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
graduation) and moves to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. There he obtains a diploma from the École du Louvre
École du Louvre
The École du Louvre is an institution of higher education and French Grande École located in the Aile de Flore of the Musée du Louvre in Paris, France, and is dedicated to the study of archaeology, art history, anthropology and epigraphy....
, and another diploma from the Sorbonne
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
.
The parapsychologist and the journalist : two careers in parallel
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
correspondence course in hypnosis
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is "a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination."It is a mental state or imaginative role-enactment . It is usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary...
in his grandparents' attic. Following the instructions in the course, he succeeds in his attempt to put to sleep Fernand, the fifteen year old gardener helper of the family, but then he could not wake him up. At first he considered writing to the New York Institute of Science for help, but the answer would have taken way too long. So he skimmed feverishly through the rest of the course in the hope to find and answer, and it was finally lesson XVII, "How to wake up hypnotised subjects" that saved young Fernand from sleep therapy.
He voluntarily enlisted in the French army in 1939 (at the age of 19) and was taken prisoner, but finally managed to escape after several attempts. During one of his attempts he was shot in the leg.
At the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he became a member of the special services of the provisional government. He was decorated with the Ordre National du Mérite
Ordre National du Mérite
The Ordre national du Mérite is an Order of State awarded by the President of the French Republic. It was founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle...
, the Médaille des Évadés
Médaille des Évadés
The Médaille des Évadés is a medal given by the government of France, to individuals who were prisoners of war and who escaped....
, and the Croix du combattant volontaire 1939-1945. He also became secretary for writer and Goncourt academician
Académie Goncourt
The Société littéraire des Goncourt , usually called the académie Goncourt , is a French literary organization based in Paris. It was founded by the French writer and publisher Edmond de Goncourt...
Jean Ajalbert, and began his career as a journalist by reporting for the daily newspaper La Presse.
In 1948, he founded a small publishing house called Les Éditions de l'Érmite, and published La Théosophie au XXème siècle, by Marcel Bohrer, as well as his two first books on radiesthesia
Radiesthesia
Radiesthesia is the claimed paranormal or parapsychological ability to detect "radiation" within the human body. According to the theory, all human bodies give off unique or characteristic "radiations" as do all other physical bodies or objects. Such radiations are often termed an "aura".A...
. This same year his son Jean-Louis was born.
In 1954, he founded the periodical Radiesthésie Magazine.
In 1958 he became director of information for RTL Radio
RTL RADIO
In 1992 Radio Luxemburg, the German version of Radio Luxembourg, changed its format and profile to become RTL Radio. ....
, and had to set aside his occult interests for the sake of his reputation. He cased involvement with Radiesthésie Magazine, which continued without him until the mid-1970s.
On July 5th 1959, after the failure of his first marriage, he met the journalist Françoise Eschmann, daughter of Paul Eschmann, architect from the city of Nancy.
In 1967, he left RTL for RMC
RMC
RMC may refer to:* Radio Monte Carlo, a radio station operation in France, Monaco and Italy* Randolph-Macon College, in the United States* Ravenshaw Management Centre, a premier management institute, Cuttack, India* Rawalpindi Medical College, in Pakistan...
where he did the same thing as director of information until 1982.
In 1973, he published his Guide de la Radiesthésie, now considered a classic.
In the early 1980s, he directed a series of documentaries on parapsychology
Parapsychology
The term parapsychology was coined in or around 1889 by philosopher Max Dessoir, and originates from para meaning "alongside", and psychology. The term was adopted by J.B. Rhine in the 1930s as a replacement for the term psychical research...
, in collaboration with his fellow journalist and friend Jean-Louis Degaudenzi: La caméra de l'étrange, for RTL Television
RTL Television
Rtl.de' redirects here. For other uses, see RTL.RTL Television , or simply RTL, is a German commercial television station distributed via cable and satellite along with DVB-T , in larger population centres...
.
In 1987, he founded a small radio station, Radio Val d'Or (R.V.O.), in his birthplace of Airvault.
En 1990, he was appointed by the CSA
Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel
The Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel is a French institution, created in 1989, whose role is to regulate the various electronic media in France, such as radio and television, including through eventual censorship...
as Conseiller du comité technique radiophonique de la région Centre.
Michel Moine died January 2005 in Buxerolles
Buxerolles, Vienne
Buxerolles is a commune in the Vienne department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France....
.
See also
- RadiesthesiaRadiesthesiaRadiesthesia is the claimed paranormal or parapsychological ability to detect "radiation" within the human body. According to the theory, all human bodies give off unique or characteristic "radiations" as do all other physical bodies or objects. Such radiations are often termed an "aura".A...
- DowsingDowsingDowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, gravesites, and many other objects and materials, as well as so-called currents of earth radiation , without the use of scientific apparatus...