[adapted from Fear of Fire]:

The so-called and alleged “1990 prophecy” [text here] brought to mind various international organizations that were interesting because they interwove and involved leaders in finance, industry, government, business, diplomacy, intelligence agencies, energy (oil), media, academia, politics, science, and all sorts of bureaucracy and convened not only in the United States but in far-flung parts of the world (especially Western Europe) to socialize and discuss pressing matters of the day while, as in the case of one, Bohemian Grove, in California speakers such as George W. Bush or Henry Kissinger took to the podium, all with a total media blackout.

No reporters were allowed to attend.

This gathering took place over a two-week period every July and those who had attended included former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, President Bill Clinton, President Jimmy Carter, Alan Greenspan, President Gerald Ford, Newt Gingrich, John Major, David Rockefeller, Henry Ford, Prince Philip, and Vice President Dick Cheney, among others—most of whom were anything but nefarious. But it was bizarre. An incredible array of “important” men would congregate to listen to each other and enjoy entertainment in a secluded area (2,700 acres of redwood) in Monte Rio.

It was here, decades ago, that the idea for the Manhattan Project germinated. According to its public-relations department, the Bohemian Grove was started in the 19th century by “five newspapermen, a Shakespearean actor, a vintner and a local merchant” from San Francisco. There were “lectures, music, and delicious food.” It had been attended by every Republican president since Hoover.

“If I were to choose the speech that gave me the most pleasure and satisfaction in my political career, it would be my Lakeside Speech at the Bohemian Grove in July 1967,” wrote Richard Nixon years later. “Because this speech traditionally was off the record it received no publicity at the time. But in many important ways, it marked the first milestone on my road to the presidency.” Yet there were those bizarre aspects. At one point attendees donned flowing red robes and burned their “cares” in the form of a human effigy in front of a giant, thirty-foot owl that “spoke” to attendees during the mock ritual. For years, Walter Cronkite was the voice.

Was this a small cabal that ruled the West? Was there a danger of it and other entities “accomplishing” (there was that word again) the workings of an evil and hidden personage?

Recall the original 1990 prophecy: “The seat of Satan in America is north of San Francisco.”

Monte Rio—Bohemian Grove—was 53 miles northwest of the Golden Gate Bridge.

It was difficult to see any single organization command global hegemony but there was no denying the prestige of those who attended—ambassadors, defense ministers, presidents!

The owl ceremony may have been intended as a spoof (by most attendees, at any rate), but clandestine photographs of the annual event conveyed a spooky ritual conducted by a mock “high priest.” Originally, the ceremony had been set up within the plot of a dramatic performance called the “High Jinks” on the first weekend of the summer encampment (after which the spirit of “Care,” slain by the Jinks hero, was solemnly cremated). “The ceremony served as a catharsis for pent-up high spirits,” said Wikipedia; the Cremation of Care was separated from the Grove Play in 1913 and moved to the first night to become “an exorcising of the Demon to ensure the success of the ensuing two weeks.”

Just for letting off steam—or was there a spirit moving of which members were not fully cognizant? Did they realize how the event could be viewed? How did they rationalize the clandestine nature of it? Could such a setting not serve as the roost for a person of evil influence?

[resources: purchase Fear of Fire and get Tower of Light, also based on the “1990 prophecy,” free]