Solar Lodge
Encyclopedia
Solar Lodge was a secret society
that was established in 1965 and withdrew into initiatory inactivity in 1972. It was loosely based on ideas from Ordo Templi Orientis
and used the curriculum of the Astrum Argenteum established by Aleister Crowley.
The precursor to Solar Lodge was set in motion by Ray Burlingame ("Frater Aquarius"), when he initiated Georgina "Jean" Brayton ("Soror Capricornus") in 1962. Although Burlingame was a Ninth Degree member of Ordo Templi Orientis, he did not hold a charter to initiate new members or found new bodies, consequently O.T.O. has never accepted Solar Lodge as a valid body of O.T.O.
In 1965, shortly before his death, Burlingame instructed Brayton to initiate other people, which she did, expanding Solar Lodge in the 1960s to include over 50 members. By 1967, the Lodge owned several small mansions, a gas station, a bookstore, and a desert property known as Solar Ranch. In 1969, the Lodge ran a bookstore in Blythe, California
; it operated Solar Ranch near Vidal, California
; and it owned a gas station in Vidal with a cafe, motel, bar, house, and grocery store.
In 1969, the members of the lodge were charged with mistreatment of the six-year-old son of one the members in a case that came to be known as "The Boy in the Box
". Brayton, her husband, and other officers performed "interstate flight to avoid prosecution," traveled to Mexico and Canada, and eventually engaged in a publicity campaign that alleged a conspiracy against them by law enforcement officers and the courts. Initially, a few members went to jail for 6 months on a felony conviction, a few went to jail for 3 months on a misdemeanor conviction, and a few had their charges dismissed. When Brayton and her husband were arrested, she pleaded no contest and was sentenced to three years of probation along with a $500 fine.
Secret society
A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...
that was established in 1965 and withdrew into initiatory inactivity in 1972. It was loosely based on ideas from Ordo Templi Orientis
Ordo Templi Orientis
Ordo Templi Orientis is an international fraternal and religious organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century...
and used the curriculum of the Astrum Argenteum established by Aleister Crowley.
The precursor to Solar Lodge was set in motion by Ray Burlingame ("Frater Aquarius"), when he initiated Georgina "Jean" Brayton ("Soror Capricornus") in 1962. Although Burlingame was a Ninth Degree member of Ordo Templi Orientis, he did not hold a charter to initiate new members or found new bodies, consequently O.T.O. has never accepted Solar Lodge as a valid body of O.T.O.
In 1965, shortly before his death, Burlingame instructed Brayton to initiate other people, which she did, expanding Solar Lodge in the 1960s to include over 50 members. By 1967, the Lodge owned several small mansions, a gas station, a bookstore, and a desert property known as Solar Ranch. In 1969, the Lodge ran a bookstore in Blythe, California
Blythe, California
Blythe is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the "Palo Verde Valley" of the Lower Colorado River Valley region, an agricultural area and part of the Colorado Desert along the Colorado River. Blythe was named after Thomas Blythe, a gold prospector who established primary...
; it operated Solar Ranch near Vidal, California
Vidal, California
Vidal, California is a small Unincorporated community located in southeastern California, in San Bernardino County on U.S. Route 95, north of Blythe, California and south of Needles. The town is west of the townsite of Earp, California and west of Parker, Arizona on State Highway 62. The town...
; and it owned a gas station in Vidal with a cafe, motel, bar, house, and grocery store.
In 1969, the members of the lodge were charged with mistreatment of the six-year-old son of one the members in a case that came to be known as "The Boy in the Box
The Boy in the Box (Vidal, California)
The "Boy in the Box" trial was held at the Riverside County Superior Court in Indio, California in 1969 and 1970. It was, at that time, portrayed as a case of child endangerment.-Investigation and Arrest:...
". Brayton, her husband, and other officers performed "interstate flight to avoid prosecution," traveled to Mexico and Canada, and eventually engaged in a publicity campaign that alleged a conspiracy against them by law enforcement officers and the courts. Initially, a few members went to jail for 6 months on a felony conviction, a few went to jail for 3 months on a misdemeanor conviction, and a few had their charges dismissed. When Brayton and her husband were arrested, she pleaded no contest and was sentenced to three years of probation along with a $500 fine.