Utah Monolith Pilgrimage Season Ends Abruptly…In another...

Utah Monolith Pilgrimage Season Ends Abruptly…

In another twist on the Utah Monolith pilgrimage, it appears that it has been removed. The account of Riccardo Marino posted on Instagram who had made the journey to the site reveals that it was taken late in Saturday night. Reducing any further ideas of a mystical origin Riccardo’s video shows the message ‘By Bitch’ scrawled in the sand at the site.

Social media continues to follow this story eagerly speculating on who took the monolith, and where it might appear next.

From a pilgrimage studies perspective the removal of the monolith adds to the emerging folklore surrounding it. A pilgrimage site is typified in part by the necessity to journey to it. This journey should not be too east, it should include effort in order to make the pilgrimage both worthwhile and efficacious. Similarly many pilgrimage must be performed within a set timeframe. Unbeknownst to may of those seeking to see the Utah Monolith, that timeframe was short and perhaps artificially constrained. 

For those looking for a mystical or extraterrestrial sign in this story, it appears that there is only a comically absurd one. Sadly there is little mystery and perhaps this was why everyone was so interested in the monolith. Rather than being a 2001 monolith pilgrimage it is now much more a Four Seasons Total Landscaping Monolith pilgrimage.