Orgone Theory (Reich)
Wilhelm Reich proposed a universal, mass-free life energy — orgone — concentrated in living organisms and the atmosphere, accumulable in layered organic/metal enclosures and responsible for vitality, weather phenomena and disease dynamics; strands of radionics adopt orgone as the energy their devices store or direct.
Proponents: Wilhelm Reich, orgonomy practitioners; orgonite makers in modern radionics
What it claims
- A specific biological energy, orgone, exists; it is visible as blueness, charges accumulators, and governs the orgasm function and vegetative life.
- Layered organic and metallic materials accumulate orgone; concentrated orgone has physiological and atmospheric effects (Oranur experiment).
- In modern radionics practice, orgone devices ('orgonite') placed on input plates fuel operations.
Proposed mechanism: A pre-atomic, mass-free energy continuum, polarizable and accumulable, mediating between consciousness and matter.
The mainstream view
Orgone has no accepted experimental support; claimed accumulator effects are attributed to temperature artifacts, expectation and suggestion. After investigation, a 1954 US federal injunction found the accumulator worthless for treating disease, ordered devices destroyed and banned the associated literature from interstate commerce; Reich died in prison in 1957. The episode is documented as a study entry.
- Hester groups orgone with the family of undetectable 'power sources' claimed for dowsing practices, none of which survive shielding-controlled tests.
Cited support
- Reich reported temperature differentials above accumulators and biological effects in his publications.