The Bohemian Club is a private fraternity which consists of the richest and most powerful men in the world, who meet at a retreat for 16 days each summer at Bohemian Grove, deep within the redwoods of Northern California. The club’s motto is “Weaving Spiders Come Not Here”, instructing the members to put aside business and politics during the retreat, as it is supposed to be a time to relax and take a break from their otherwise stressful lives. That being said, while that rule is strictly followed in most public settings, it is frequently broken between individual members. In fact, it is widely accepted that a planning meeting around the Manhattan Project took place at the Grove in 1942. While simple business dealings definitely take place during the retreat, the various conspiracy theories about the supposedly nefarious acts that are actually taking place at the Grove is what is unknown and leads to the intrigue surrounding this very private club.
The Bohemian club has a men-only membership policy. While there are certain times during the retreat when wives and family can visit the Grove, and while some of the staff are female, they are required to leave by nightfall. Security is high year-round and utilizes the most advanced technology including motion sensors and thermal imaging in the surrounding woods. This helps assure that the secrets and activities of the Bohemian Club stay secret. Bohemian Grove, while relatively small, packs a lot into the densely wooded environment. There is a large main stage, a smaller stage, various entertainment venues and then at least 118 different camps which divide the larger club into smaller groups which go by names like “Idlewild”, “Owls Nest”, and “Hill Billies” (the camp that the Bush family belongs to). The main attraction, however, is the main stage which consists of a very large seating area, across a small man-made pond from where the stage sits. Upon the stage, built as if part of the natural landscape, sits a 40-foot owl statue (the owl being the Bohemian Clubs mascot, symbolizing wisdom). It is on this stage that “The Cremation of Care” ceremony takes place, which is an opening ceremony of sorts which takes place on the opening weekend of the retreat. This ceremony was once and may still be narrated by Walter Kronkite, and includes pyrotechnics, music and sound, as well as acting and other theatrics. The ceremony itself involves an effigy made of sticks, which is slowly rowed across the pond and then placed by hooded figures onto an altar in front of the giant, moss-covered owl statue. It is then learned that the effigy represents “dull care”, and the hero must slay the beast by setting him ablaze. The Cremation of Care ceremony symbolizes the club members casting off the daily cares of the real world, if only for the 2+ week retreat.
While little is known about the actual goings on within the Bohemian Grove retreat, it is safe to assume that drugs, alcohol and sex are involved. A few people have infiltrated the retreat over the years, with one referring to it as an “overgrown frat party”. Any time the rich and powerful congregate for secret meetings, it is bound to spark many theories, most of them dark:
1) The owl statue is actually a statue of the pagan god Moloch, to which the sacrifice is being made.
2) Noted conspiracy theorist and outright lunatic Alex Jones, who is one of few outsiders to actually infiltrate the camp, claims the effigy of “dull care” is an actual human being who is killed each year. He has even suggested that it is a child due to the size of the effigy.
3) The owl is actually a symbol of the Illuminati or Freemasons, and this yearly meeting is actually used to plot the destiny of the world.
4) It is a right-wing retreat to Republican used to scheme and plot. It is true that every Republican President since Hoover, has visited the Grove, except for #45 who has not received an invite.
5) Former member Richard Nixon once called it “the most f*ggy goddamn thing you could ever imagine.”
6) One of the more outlandish theories, was that Hunter S. Thompson directed a snuff film that took place as a sacrifice in front of the owl statue.