What If You Joined a Secret Society – Freemasons, Bohemian Grove
We’re back with part two of our series on secret societies, and things are definitely getting weirder. Dude parties in the woods (Bohemian Grove), dude parties in private buildings (the Freemasons), and frankly just too many dudes behind closed doors. Are they deciding our fates? Rigging the world for riches and destruction? Find out this week on another wild and weird episode of The What If? Podcast.
Bohemian Grove
For two weeks every summer, the Ancient Redwood Forest of Northern California, plays host to some of the most powerful men in the world. Every republican U.S. president since 1923 has been a member of the club, including Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, and both Bushes. The top secret operation behind the development of the atomic bomb, known as the Manhattan Project, was first planned at the Grove in 1942.
At the edge of an artificial lake is a 40 foot owl, because secret societies looooooove owls. Every summer, attendees perform a ceremony in which hooded figures receive a human effigy from the ferryman, place it at the foot of the owl shrine, and set it on fire.
Throughout the ritual, an ominous voice booms out of the speakers hidden inside the hollow owl. Fireworks add to the dramatic climax.
Alex Jones made a documentary about The Grove, which features footage of the ritual.
Freemasons
The Freemasons official purpose is to promote “mutual intellectual, social and moral improvement.” They currently have about six million members worldwide.
It’s unclear when the society was founded. The Freemasons claim to be able to trace their origins to the builders who built the pyramids in Egypt. However, they are unable to provide evidence of this. Their modern form dates at least as far back as the 18th century, when the Mason’s Grand Lodge of England was constructed, though it probably has origins in medieval masons and cathedral builders.
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