Bohemian Grove’s “Cremation of Care” and the Ancient Queen of Heaven
- Michelle Hayman
- Apr 3
- 21 min read
The Screech Owl and the Night Goddess in Scripture
A quick recap.
A Babylonian terracotta relief (c. 1800 BC) often called the “Queen of the Night” depicts a winged goddess (sometimes identified with Lilith or Ishtar) flanked by owls
In later Jewish legend Lilith was Adam’s first wife who became a night-demon, associated with owls and the murder of children
Isaiah 34:14 "The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest."
The Bible contains eerie references to night creatures linked with ancient goddess lore. In Isaiah 34:14, the desolate ruins of Edom are said to be haunted by wild beasts, satyrs, and a “screech owl” finding rest there. The Hebrew word for “screech owl” is lilith, understood in ancient tradition as a night specter. In Assyrian mythology Lilith was a female demon or “wicked fairy” believed to vex people in their sleep. Later Jewish folklore cast Lilith as a terrifying night goddess – “the Dark Maid” – who fled Eden, becoming a demoness who preyed on infants. Notably, Lilith was long associated with owls as creatures of the night (Descent of Inanna into Bohemia Grove | Rosamond Press). A famous Old Babylonian relief (the Burney Relief) shows a nude winged female with clawed feet, wearing a horned headdress and flanked by owls (see above). Scholars debate the figure’s identity, but many connect it to Lilith or Ishtar – emblematic of a “Queen of the Night” deity. Thus, in Scripture and ancient art, the owl becomes a symbol of nocturnal power and ominous feminine spirits. Isaiah’s “screech owl” may allude to Lilith herself, the archetypal night-demon wandering ruined places. This link between owls and a Queen of Heaven figure in antiquity sets the stage for exploring modern parallels in secretive rituals.
Inanna, Ishtar, and Rites of the Queen of Heaven
Long before the Bible, the peoples of Mesopotamia worshipped Inanna (called Ishtar in Akkadian) as the “Queen of Heaven and Earth”, a title reflecting dominion over both divine and earthly realms (Who Was Inanna? The Queen of Heaven, Her Descent to the Underworld & What it Means to Be a Priestess in the Modern World — Meredith Rom). Inanna-Ishtar was a complex goddess of love, sexuality, war, and fertility (Inanna - Wikipedia). Lesser-known facets of her worship hint at ritual magic and spirit possession. For example, some evidence suggests that during the sacred temple ceremonies, devotees believed the goddess could possess her priestess. In Sumer’s annual sacred marriage rite, the high priestess of Inanna, in an entranced state, was thought to be inhabited by the goddess to consummate a union with the king playing Inanna’s lover, Dumuzi (Tammuz).
As documented by scholar Johanna Stuckey https://rb.gy/d73z7n spirit possession was not just present but central to the worship of Ishtar. Ancient priestesses—mediums—entered trance states to serve as vessels for the goddess’s voice. Much like the famed Pythia at Delphi who spoke for Apollo, Mesopotamian mediums were often entranced women whose bodies were temporarily overtaken by Ishtar to deliver oracles, especially during major rites such as the Sacred Marriage ritual. Possession was complete: the medium would often remember nothing of the experience afterward. Through them, the goddess became present to the people.
Two prophetic roles were prominent in Mesopotamia: the raggintu (female prophet, "shouter") and the muhhutu (female ecstatic). These women were temple functionaries whose frenzied proclamations were recognized as divine communication. And notably, in the Assyrian city of Arbela, where Ishtar was chief deity, prophetic women outnumbered men two to one.
Ishtar’s image is rich with symbolism: armed and armored, she stands on her lion throne, crowned with a horned helmet topped with an eight-pointed star—a celestial marker of divinity and warfare. Her star became one of the most enduring symbols of Mesopotamian theology.
While she was a goddess of war, Ishtar was also seen as a nurturing mother. Oracles preserved in the Nineveh archives show Ishtar calling the king her "calf," referring to herself as his midwife and wet nurse, saying: "I raised you between my wings." This duality—terrible in battle, tender in nurture—is a hallmark of the divine feminine archetype.
Moreover, depictions from Assyrian art show Ishtar in radiant halos, elevated above worshippers, often surrounded by animals or cosmic symbols—strong visual parallels to Catholic imagery of Mary, crowned and encircled by twelve stars as described in Revelation 12.
One of the more unsettling but fascinating aspects of Ishtar’s cult was her gender-bending power. She was said to cause men to become women and vice versa. Some of her mediums were transvestites and eunuchs—individuals who embodied the goddess's defiance of boundaries, including sex and species. This blurring of lines reflected Ishtar's liminal nature, standing between heaven and earth, male and female, war and love.
Queen of Heaven in the RCC: Echoes of Ishtar?
In Roman Catholic tradition, Mary is honoured as the Queen of Heaven, often shown wearing a crown of twelve stars (cf. Revelation 12:1), robed in celestial garments, and standing on a crescent moon. To the devout, she is a symbol of purity and intercession. But to others, these visual parallels are unmistakable echoes of ancient goddess worship.
The nurturing language used of Mary—as mother, protector, and intercessor—mirrors Ishtar's prophetic utterances. In Catholic imagery, Mary is also portrayed radiant and elevated, often surrounded by celestial symbols. Just as Ishtar was the divine intermediary between gods and mortals, Mary is called the Mediatrix (with no Biblical authority). Just as Ishtar had exclusive prophetic mediums, so Catholic saints and visionaries often claim visions of the Virgin, sometimes while in trance-like states.
Even the triple crown (tiara) of past popes evokes the symbolic authority of Ishtar's multi-tiered rule over heaven, earth, and the underworld. In Mesopotamian cosmology, these were precisely the domains claimed by Inanna/Ishtar in her descent myths and visual crowns.
Johanna Stuckey’s research into the ecstatic practices, gender ambiguity, and maternal divine authority of Ishtar reveals a deeply complex spiritual phenomenon—one that spans prophecy, war, nurturing, and altered states of consciousness. And while the Roman Catholic veneration of Mary is theologically distinct in doctrine, the visual and symbolic continuities between Ishtar and the Queen of Heaven as Mary are too rich to ignore.
Whether viewed as cultural coincidence or spiritual syncretism, the divine feminine has left her mark across millennia. In Ishtar’s eight-pointed star and Mary’s twelve-star crown, we see the same cosmic language: a woman clothed in radiance, exalted, speaking for the divine. The question remains—what spirit animates these images today?
The blend of ritual sex and trance mediumship was intended to ensure fertility and divine favour upon the land. Ancient texts also describe how Ishtar’s prophets (often women) delivered oracles under the goddess’s inspiration – an early form of spirit possession in worship.
Other temple practices in Inanna’s cult involved dramatic expressions of divine power. Inanna’s clergy included gender-bending priests and cult prostitutes who enacted the goddess’s aspects of both male and female sexuality (Inanna - Wikipedia). The “sacred marriage” rite itself may have involved actual sexual intercourse or a symbolic ritual to renew the king’s legitimacy through Inanna’s blessing. In myth, Inanna even descends to the underworld, confronting death itself, before returning triumphant – suggesting a goddess whose influence spanned heaven, earth, and the underworld. Indeed, Inanna was revered as Queen of Heaven (a heavenly domain—yet not the third heaven, which is Christ’s throne) and Earth, and by asserting herself in the netherworld mythologically, she touched all three cosmic regions. Her crown or headdress, depicted with multiple horns topped by a disc, symbolized divine authority. Some interpret the horned crown of Inanna as representing power over the three realms (the heavens, the earth, and the underworld), an uncanny parallel to later three-tiered crowns we will examine. The Queen of Heaven in ancient times was no mere abstraction – she was believed to directly interact with worshippers through ritual magic, ecstatic rites, and oracular pronouncements. These themes of possession, sexual ritual, and dominion over cosmic realms will resurface as we compare them to modern secret ceremonies.
The Bohemian Grove “Cremation of Care” Ritual
In the secluded redwood forests of Northern California, a modern mystery cult-like pageant unfolds each summer. Bohemian Grove, an exclusive retreat for some of the world’s most powerful men, opens its encampment with a nighttime ceremony known as the “Cremation of Care.” The central icon of this ritual is a colossal owl statue, about 30–40 feet tall, presiding over an artificial lakeside stage (Bohemian Grove — AgreArt) (Bohemian Grove - Wikipedia). The owl – mascot of the Bohemian Club – ostensibly symbolizes wisdom, but its setting and role evoke ancient worship. Erected in the late 1920s, this hollow owl shrine (built of concrete and steel) has, since 1929, served as the majestic backdrop for the Cremation of Care ceremony. Draped in moss and looming among the trees, the owl shrine even contains hidden audio equipment; for many years the booming voice of the owl during the ritual was provided by famed newsman Walter Cronkite via recording.
"for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.”
— Revelation 18:23 (KJV)
The ceremony itself is a theatrical occult pageant. As darkness falls on the first night of the encampment, robed figures (high-ranking club members) proceed with torches in a procession They carry a small coffin or effigy named “Dull Care,” representing the burdens and worries of the world that the club members wish to cast away for their two-week retreat. Amid a grandiose mix of pyrotechnics, music, and incantation, a ferryman rows the effigy of “Care” across the lake to the owl shrine altar. There, priests ceremonially bind the effigy. In a climactic moment, they ignite it in front of the gigantic owl as part of a "mock" sacrifice, “cremating” Care. The owl presides silently as “Care” goes up in flames. By the ritual’s own explanation, the Cremation of Care symbolizes banishing the nagging conscience and worries of everyday life, liberating the gathered elites to “weave spiders not come here” (the club’s motto) – in other words, to set aside worldly business and revel freely.
While officially described as a benign catharsis or theatrical exorcism of worry, the Cremation of Care’s imagery has invited comparisons to archaic sacrificial rites. A robed priest’s chant, the funeral pyre by water, and above all the owl idol towering like an ancient pagan god make the ceremony unnervingly suggestive of occult worship. Indeed, outside observers have long speculated about hidden meanings. Some note the owl’s resemblance to the Canaanite idol Moloch, to whom children were sacrificed in biblical times. Others point out the owl’s connection to Lilith and night-goddesses, given Lilith’s owl symbolism. The Bohemian Club denies any literal sacrificial intent – the ritual is officially a light-hearted satire, originated in 1881, meant to bond members in common rejection of stress (Bohemian Grove - Wikipedia). Yet the secrecy of Bohemian Grove (protected by armed guards and a strict no-media rule) and the participation of global elites (U.S. presidents, corporate magnates, and other “great men of the earth” are regular attendees lend the Cremation of Care an aura of occult significance. It is as if the power-brokers of the modern age were play-acting an ancient mystery rite – burning an effigy before a great owl, deep in a sacred grove, far from public eyes. This convergence of symbolism – the owl, fire, grove, and sacrifice – compels a deeper look at what spiritual archetype might be invoked. Is the Bohemian Grove owl a modern stand-in for the Queen of Heaven or related deities of old? To answer that, we must turn to the prophetic scriptures that speak of Babylon, commerce, sorcery, and the end of an age.
“Mystery Babylon”: Merchants, Sorcery, and Global Deception
Students of prophecy have noted striking parallels between the Revelation 18 description of “Babylon the Great” and the dynamics of today’s worldly elites. In Revelation, Babylon is not merely an ancient city but a symbol of an idolatrous world system intoxicated with luxury, immorality, and bloodshed. An angel declares, “Babylon the great is fallen… and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird” (Revelation 18:2). The mention of foul birds in a prophetic context of judgment – “hateful” creatures lurking in Babylon’s ruins – recalls the owls and night-spirits that haunt desolations in Isaiah’s prophecies (Isaiah 34:14). It is as if the owl of Lilith reappears as a symbol of demonic presence in end-times “Babylon.” Revelation 18 goes on to lament that “the merchants of the earth are waxed rich” through Babylon’s excess (18:3) and declares, “thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived” (18:23). This is a remarkable statement: the movers of global commerce (“great men of the earth”) are implicated in deceiving all nations through sorcery. The term “sorceries” (pharmakeia in Greek) implies occult practices, magic arts or potions. In a modern lens, one might see hints of secret societies, occult rituals, and manipulative tricks employed by the elite to mislead the world – a sort of spiritual global deception.
The Bohemian Grove gathering – powerful financiers, politicians, and media barons meeting privately and engaging in a faux-pagan ritual – eerily fits this template of merchants of the earth consorting in secretive rites. Revelation’s prophetic voice from heaven warns, “Come out of her (Babylon), my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins” (Revelation 18:4). Some interpreters believe this is a call to God’s people to disentangle from the end-time corrupt system epitomized by “Babylon the Great” – a system possibly influenced by the very Queen of Heaven spirit or “mother of harlots” that ancient cultures worshipped and that modern elites may unwittingly emulate. The Cremation of Care, with its echo of casting off moral restraint, could be seen as symbolically “partaking of her sins”. It is a dramatization of elite culture seeking freedom from conscience, reminiscent of the biblical Babylon’s pride and sorcery. At the climax of the ritual, as the effigy burns, the high priest exults, “Begone, dull care! Midsummer sets us free!” – a chilling antithesis to the message of conscience and repentance found in biblical faith.
The global deception mentioned in Revelation 18:23 – “for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived” – also brings to mind modern mechanisms of mass influence. Is it a coincidence that many Bohemian Grove attendees helm the very industries (media, technology, finance) that possess unprecedented power to shape public perception? While sorcery in John’s apocalypse likely refers to spiritual seduction and occultism, its effect is worldwide deception. This aligns with the concern that behind the scenes, influential figures may be guided (knowingly or not) by dark spiritual forces, much like ancient kings were often priest-kings serving pagan gods. The Queen of Heaven archetype – a proud, sorcery-practicing entity – could be the unseen inspiration for the luxurious, immoral Babylon of prophecy. This Babylon is described as a woman adorned in purple and scarlet, holding a golden cup of abominations (Revelation 17:4-5) – an image that resonates with goddess symbolism (Ishtar was often depicted with a chalice or offering bowl in art). The owl of Bohemian Grove thus may symbolize that same ancient night-spirit presiding over the counsel of worldly powers. If so, it underlines the urgency of the biblical plea: “Come out of her… that ye receive not of her plagues”. Before exploring the hope offered by a higher power, we must examine one more dark thread connecting ancient days to the present: the idea of divine or demonic bloodlines behind rulers.
Hybrids and Bloodlines: Nephilim Legends and the Elite
Beneath these spiritual and symbolic connections lies an even more fantastic theory – that some of the elite literally carry the lineage of ancient demonic-human hybrids. In Genesis 6:4, the Bible briefly mentions the Nephilim, “mighty men” of old born from the union of heavenly beings (the “sons of God”) and human women. Later Jewish texts like the Book of Enoch elaborate that these offspring were giants, who spread violence and occult knowledge on the earth. While mainstream scholarship treats the Nephilim as myth or interprets them in natural terms, a strain of esoteric research suggests that the bloodlines of certain rulers and aristocrats may trace back to these half-divine progeny. According to this theory, after the Flood, remnants of Nephilim blood persisted (for example among Canaanite giants like the Anakim). Over millennia, this “supernatural heritage” was preserved through selective breeding among powerful families. Some writers claim that from the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt to the medieval Merovingian kings of Europe, elite lineages deliberately intermarried to keep a strain of otherworldly power in their genes (Nimrod, the Nephilim Bloodline, and the Secret Societies of Power ...). By preserving what they believed to be the “blood of the gods,” these elites aimed to ensure their right to rule remained unchallenged.
It’s difficult to verify such claims, but intriguingly, many royal families do boast of divine ancestry in their records (e.g., Sumerian kings listing gods in their lineage, or Alexander the Great claiming to be son of Zeus). The Nephilim hypothesis would suggest that behind the pomp of kings and the plans of modern oligarchs lurks a literal connection to fallen angels – the ultimate “principalities and powers” at work in high places (Ephesians 6:12). Those who take this view note that the biblical “days of Noah” (when Nephilim roamed) are said to repeat in the end times (cf. Matthew 24:37). They argue that just as ancient civilization was corrupted by hybrid beings and taught occult arts (according to Enochic lore), so too today’s elites might be reviving contact with demonic forces (through secret rituals or advanced technology), bringing about a new era of “days of Noah” deception. At the very least, the Nephilim legend underscores the biblical theme of wicked spiritual influences on earthly rulers.
The Apostle Peter warned of false teachers who, “through covetousness shall… with feigned words make merchandise of you” (2 Peter 2:3) This haunting phrase – “make merchandise of you” – portrays people being exploited as mere commodities. In a world where global corporations and plutocrats sometimes treat humanity as a resource to be mined for profit and control, one can’t help but hear an echo of this warning. It is as if the DNA of the Nephilim – violent giants who viewed humans as playthings – lives on in a figurative sense among certain power brokers who lack all empathy or care (indeed, who annually cremate “Care” in effigy!). Such speculative connections deepen the mythic dimension of what might otherwise seem like disparate topics: ancient goddesses, secret clubs, biblical prophecy, and bloodlines all converge in the suggestion that history and prophecy are entwined at the highest levels of society.
The Queen of Heaven in Modern Guise: Mary and the Owl of Rome
One of the more startling connections to the Queen of Heaven motif appears in the heart of established religion. The Roman Catholic Church, in its veneration of the Virgin Mary, bestows on her the title “Queen of Heaven” – a title Mary indeed carries in Catholic tradition and prayers (Queen of Heaven - Wikipedia). This is meant in the sense of Mary being honoured above all saints and angels in heaven, reigning alongside her Son. However, Protestant critics have long pointed out that “Queen of Heaven” is also the title of a pagan goddess explicitly condemned in the Old Testament. The prophet Jeremiah, for instance, rebuked the Israelites for burning incense and baking cakes to the “queen of heaven”, widely understood to have been the Assyro-Babylonian goddess Ishtar (Astarte). “The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven…” (Jeremiah 7:18). In that context, the title referred to a false goddess, and God’s anger was kindled against such worship. The reuse of the title for Mary, though allegedly intended differently, has fuelled accusations that Catholicism absorbed elements of ancient mother-goddess worship. Indeed, statues of Mary in Catholic churches often depict her with a crown and sometimes standing on a lunar crescent with stars – iconography that overlaps with ancient celestial goddess imagery. Mary is even called by some catholic prayers “the lady clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars,” referencing Revelation 12. however, it’s important to note that nowhere in the text is Mary explicitly mentioned, and this vision has not been definitively proven to represent her. The interpretation remains theological, not scriptural fact. While Catholic theology distinguishes Mary’s veneration from pagan adoration, the symbolism can appear strikingly similar.
Beyond titles, consider the regalia of the popes themselves. For centuries, Popes were crowned with the triregnum or triple-tiered tiara, a triple crown. According to a papal coronation formula, the three crowns signify the pope’s authority as “Father of princes and kings, Ruler of the world, and Vicar of Christ”
Authority from who? every pope has broken God’s covenant by rejecting the sabbath. God does not appoint covenant breakers as his representatives—his covenant is the sabbath, a sign between him and his people forever. No man who tramples that covenant can rightly claim divine authority.
📖 Romans on Covenant Breakers
Romans 1:31–32 (KJV):
“Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death...”
Paul lists covenant breakers among those under God's judgment — those who know His standards but willingly defy them. This ties directly into those who reject God's covenant, including the Sabbath.
📖 Ezekiel – Sabbath as the Covenant
Ezekiel 20:12 (KJV):
“Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.”
Ezekiel 20:20 (KJV):
“And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.”
📖 Exodus – Sabbath as a Perpetual Covenant
Exodus 31:16–17 (KJV):
“Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever...”
This makes it crystal clear: the Sabbath is God's covenant sign, a perpetual and eternal symbol of the relationship between God and His people.
Some authors (including Catholic sources from past eras) interpreted the papal tiara as the pope’s "jurisdiction" over the church triumphant in heaven, the church militant on earth, and even authority in the underworld. In effect, the Pope is symbolically crowned as king of Heaven, Earth, and the lower regions (underworld). This bold claim of triple dominion finds a curious parallel in the Queen of Heaven archetype. In pagan myth, as we saw, Inanna-Ishtar was believed to hold sway in heaven and on earth, and she even sought power in the underworld. The visual of the triple tiara evokes the image of a deity (or deity’s representative) ruling all three layers of the cosmos. It is notable that such a crown was also a feature of ancient Mesopotamian gods – some Assyrian depictions show deities with a tiered or horned crown in three levels (The Triple Goddess and 666 | PDF | Religious Belief And Doctrine ...). The overlap in symbolic language suggests a through-line: the aspiration to universal kingship that once belonged to the proudest of the pagan gods found an echo in later human institutions.
Even more on the nose is a detail from the Vatican itself. In St. Peter’s Basilica, the Monument to Pope Pius VII (crafted in 1830 by the sculptor Thorvaldsen) includes two allegorical statues at its base.
One figure represents Wisdom – and she is depicted with a book in hand and an owl at her feet, the traditional symbol of wisdom (St. Peter's - Monument to Pius VII). The owl in this context is explained as a symbol of "Christian" vigilance (that old chestnut again!) or of the goddess Athena’s wisdom, but its presence is unmistakable. Pius VII sits enthroned above, wearing the papal tiara, while the owl, emblem of night and knowledge, lurks below: the pope (Vicar= vicarius, in the place of Christ:) crowned with triple power, flanked by figures that resemble Roman goddesses (Fortitude with a lion’s skin, and Wisdom with her owl). Is it a stretch to see in this a wink to the Queen of Heaven concept? The Church would say yes – the owl is Athena’s, not Lilith’s, and Mary’s queenship is entirely different from Ishtar’s. Yet from an exposé perspective, one notes how seamlessly the iconography of the ancient goddess has been integrated into the fabric of Christian worship spaces. The owl, once a pagan symbol in the darkness of Isaiah’s prophecy, now sits in the very seat of St. "Peter’s" memorial. The triple crown, once a bold statement of papal supremacy, can be viewed as a worldly attempt at the kind of total dominion that only a deity like the Queen of Heaven would claim. Even the title “Queen of Heaven” applied to Mary inadvertently resurrects the name of the old mother goddess. All of this may suggest a spiritual continuity: the same spirit of syncretism that led Israel to mix Yahweh worship with Ishtar devotion in Jeremiah’s time could be at work in later traditions, cloaked in new forms. For those investigating occult or pagan through-lines in modern institutions, the Catholic Marian veneration and papal pageantry provide a case study in how ancient symbols persist. The Queen of Heaven, it seems, still receives public honor – albeit under a very different guise.
Christ Above All: The Third Heaven vs. the Queen of Heaven
Against this panorama of fake earthly powers and pretender deities stands the New Testament proclamation of Jesus Christ’s supreme authority. The Bible teaches that Christ, after His resurrection, ascended far above all heavens to the very throne of God. The Apostle Paul speaks of being caught up to “the third heaven”, or “Paradise”, the dwelling place of God beyond the physical cosmos (2 Corinthians 12:2). In ancient cosmology, the first heaven was the sky, the second heaven the starry outer space, and the third heaven the transcendent realm of God’s presence. While the Queen of Heaven (Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte, Lilith – whatever name she bears) claimed the first heaven and earth, and flirted with the underworld, her domain was strictly within creation. In contrast, Christ’s reign extends to the highest heaven, beyond all created realms. The Scripture declares that Christ is “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion” (Ephesians 1:21), seated at the right hand of the Father. If the Queen of Heaven represents demonic or human authority in the lower realms, Christ represents divine authority in the highest realm. He is, in Christian understanding, King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16), whose kingdom is “not of this world” (John 18:36).
This has profound implications in discerning the spiritual conflict. The Cremation of Care ritual, the veneration of worldly wisdom (owls), the boast of ruling heaven and earth – all these are, one might say, confined to the sphere of the “first heaven” and earth, the arena where Satan is called “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). The “Queen of Heaven” figure, with her sorceries and fornications, operates in that lower realm of air and earth, a domain characterized by pride, deception, and lust for power. But Christ operates from the third heaven, a position of ultimate truth and holiness that cannot be usurped by men who dare to speak in his name—cloaked in robes, crowned with blasphemy, and backed by no authority but their own deception, covenant breakers, sabbath tramplers, playing god from golden thrones while heaven bears witness.
The voice from heaven in Revelation “Come out of her, my people” is essentially an invitation to align with the higher kingdom – to lift one’s eyes above the entangling seductions of Babylon’s system (whether they appear in government, commerce, false religion, or secret societies) and to set one’s allegiance on the Lamb’s kingdom. In Christian eschatology, Babylon falls, the beasts are judged, and “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).
It bears noting that, in the end, no owl or demon goddess will have the last word. The prophet Jeremiah, after warning about the Queen of Heaven, also spoke of the coming “Righteous Branch” (Jer. 23:5) who would execute justice. The ultimate triumph of God is epitomized in the woman of Revelation 12 – often interpreted as a symbol of God’s people – who is given wings of an eagle to escape the dragon. In a poetic reversal, the true faithful are protected by God’s power, winged by heaven instead of snared by the wings of night. And unlike the false wisdom symbolized by the owl (which sees in darkness but is blind in daylight), the wisdom from above, in Christ, walks in the light of truth. 2 Peter 2:3 warns that false teachers will exploit with feigned words, driven by covetousness. But Peter immediately reminds that their judgment is not idle – God’s truth will prevail. Christ, the Word of God, cannot be fooled or bribed.
Prophetic Warnings and a Call to Discernment
In traversing the threads of this exposé – from Mesopotamian temples to California redwoods, from biblical prophecy to papal imagery – we see a consistent pattern of spiritual counterfeits versus divine truth. The “Cremation of Care” at Bohemian Grove connects in spirit to the ancient “Cremation of conscience” that idol worship entailed. The participants, perhaps unknowingly, echo the rites of Inanna/Ishtar, casting off inhibitions in the presence of a giant owl that harkens to Lilith’s night-terrors. The Bible’s Queen of Heaven reproof in Jeremiah and the Mystery Babylon oracle in Revelation stand as bookends, warning of a timeless threat: a seductive system of power, symbolized by a woman or goddess, that ensnares the world’s leaders and merchants in idolatry, immorality, and sorcery – and in doing so, deceives the nations. We may not witness literal Nephilim giants striding the earth today, but the Nephilim spirit – the pride of god-kings and the exploitation of humans as mere pawns – is alive and well, observable in corridors of power. And perhaps behind it all lurks the same dark intelligences that ancient people tried to appease with owls, fires, and blood.
For the seeker of truth, the takeaway is one of heightened discernment. Symbols and rituals that seem benign or trivial to the uninformed may carry deep resonance in the spiritual realm.
The owl that decorates a dollar bill (in tiny form) and sits in the Grove, the mottoes and myths embraced by secret societies, the blending of pagan titles into religious devotion – all these might be dismissed as harmless syncretism or pageantry. But prophetic scripture urges us to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11). As Revelation 18:4 implores, we should “come out” of the figurative Babylon, breaking allegiance with any system that demands compromising our conscience or worshipping something other than the true God. The Queen of Heaven – whether manifesting as a demon goddess, a secular idol of wealth, or a corrupted form of Mary – offers a counterfeit salvation that ultimately leads to desolation (symbolized by the haunting owls of prophecy inhabiting her ruins). By contrast, the King of Heaven, Jesus Christ, offers a kingdom that is unshakeable and holy.
In summary, the Cremation of Care and its owl-god dramatize the age-old human desire to cast off moral restraint and invoke higher powers for earthly gain. It connects to a lineage of ritual and belief traceable to Inanna/Ishtar, to Lilith, to Mystery Babylon – all iterations of a defiant spiritual force opposed to God. Yet, standing above all these is the reality of the Third Heaven, where the true God reigns untouched by worldly machinations. In that light, the pomp of the Bohemian owl and the boasts of Babylon are destined to appear futile. The wise response to these revelations is to heed the biblical warnings: “be not deceived” and “keep yourselves from idols”. The final victory, as foretold, belongs not to the owl or the queen of night, but to the Lamb of God, who calls every person – even those “great men of the earth” – to repentance and humility under the one eternal King of Heaven.
Comments