As a practicing Jedi I spend a lot of time explaining what it is that I believe and how the Star Wars saga fits in with Jediism—especially when I go out wearing my full Jedi tunic. This may sound like it would get tiresome after awhile, but I feel as though I am a Jedi missionary in many ways. I am given the opportunity to evangelize and I know that a percentage of the people I talk to will get the message and will possibly be compelled to find out more about Jediism—or possibly pay me a small fee to take their photo with me in my Jedi regalia. Short of that, they may eventually be in a position to defend the name of the Jedi and call upon some of the wisdom I am able to bestow upon them during our short exchange. Ideally if enough people become familiarized with the Jedi and their beliefs, the Jedi movement will become accepted in the mainstream—and, God willing, tax exempt like Scientology.

One of the differences between my personal beliefs in The Force, and the beliefs of many other Jediism followers, is that mine are deeply woven in with the “fictional” Star Wars universe. Many other Jedi only draw superficial parallels between reality and George Lucas’ vision of Star Wars. I believe that George Lucas was either privy to some information about the ways of the universe that we are not, or at the very least was divinely inspired. I can’t simply believe that a work of “fiction” so flawlessly executed as the Star Wars epics was a simple exercise in creativity.

There are many similarities in my life to the life of Luke Skywalker. From my upbringing in a repressed society, to my uncanny skills in battle, to my wife—who I believe I may be related to much as Luke was related to Leia (I’ve begun researching our genealogy and the more I discover, the more it looks like my wife and I are closely related). As you no doubt know by now, I believe that everything happens for a reason. I can name many things throughout my life have brought me closer to the Jedi path, and many other things have reinforced my decision since becoming a Jedi.

I keep my eyes open to parallels that can be drawn between the realities we know to be real, and the realities of the Star Wars universe. Recently, I’ve been researching the many “coincidences” between the early scenes in Star Wars on the planet Tatooine and the location surrounding Noah’s Ark atop Mt. Ararat.

Though by no means the total sum of my research, I’ve taken a moment and thrown together an image for you to see a few points of similarity between the two locations. You can clearly see from the satellite photo taken by Keyhole-9 in 1973 that there are not only some interesting geographical similarities between the locations, but there are also MANY other specific items of interest that match George Lucas’ product exactly.

In the image below you can see not only the Valley where Luke encountered the savage Tuscan Raiders, but also the location of Old Ben’s home (#4). The crater where R2D2 and C3P0 landed their escape pod is visible as well (#3). Directly to the left of the craters, you will find what could either be the tracks of a Sand Crawler (possibly the same one that picked up R2 & 3P0 in the desert), or the spine of the Drayt Dragon (#2). Obviously the item at the peak of the mountain (#1) is what we all know to be the final resting place of Noah’s Ark.

Star Wars fans will no doubt quickly see the Sarlacc pit, The Mos Eisley Space Port, and even the small ranch dwelling that the Skywalker’s called home.

I could accept that some of these items are coincidences, but to take a look at a single unedited satellite photo and easily find this many recognizable landmarks seems like too much to simply be chance.