I just got back from a lovely few days near Mt Shasta, CA. Forests, mountains (one dramatic mountain in particular), lakes, rivers, waterfalls…gorgeous.
The tiny town of Mt Shasta, CA raises my question. Every other storefront is selling energy crystals, or Buddhist/Hindu tchotchkes, or Lemurian Sound Healing*. (This was not unexpected…I’d heard this was the case before I got there).
So how does this happen? (And the question is applicable to other locations …. I’ve heard this is true of Sedona, AZ, for example. Are there others?) It’s not like there is an historical basis – “oh, of course – this is where the portal to the astral plane opened up for 2 weeks in 1874.”
My Shasta was the location of a mystical group rediscovering innate telepathic and telekinetic powers in Heinlein’s Lost Legacy. No idea if there’s any connection.
I was curious enough to check the Mt. Shasta Chamber of Commerce website for woo businesses. They don’t list more than a half-dozen or so under spiritual/metaphysics/astrology, but there are a few intriguing ones like the Center for Soul Evolution. You don’t even have to visit Mt. Shasta to get your soul evolved, as their are numerous webinars scheduled. For instance:
Webinar, January 14 - March 11, 2026
“Optimal Human Beingness
Understanding and Evolving Your Four-Body System
This is the class you will wish you had taken as a child to prepare you for life as a human being! You will get valuable training to assist you in raising the vibration of all your systems and accelerating the balanced evolution of your soul. The foundational course that is a prerequisite to many other courses.”
Guess you can’t take the higher-level courses without completing pre-requisites.
I should add, I visited in 1989, the Woo wasn’t very much back them. Just a nice mountain town. I was doing a drive up California from San Diego as I was finishing up my Navy time.
I’ve driven past that exit a dozen or more times over the years but was never inclined to get off despite being curious if that was really where the tooth-rot of my youth actually originated.
I use to like the Chocolate Soda Shasta made, but I think we’re off-topic here. If anyone wants to discuss the soda company, please start a new thread.
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I listen to several skeptical podcasts that discuss ufology, Atlantis, aliens, etc. I don’t remember which one had the episode about Mount Shasta, but I think much of the woo goes back to a book from the late 1800’s titled A Dweller on Two Planets. Frederick Spencer Oliver (1866–1899) wrote the book as a teenager, and had it mostly finished in 1886, with a few later edits. It was published in 1905 by his mother six years after he died. I think it was intended to be a science fiction novel, but over time the paranormal crowd took it to be a true narrative.
I would never presume to make such a claim; but “Woo Capital” made for a punchier OP. I’d love to hear more about Sedona, as I’ve never been there.
I would imagine that Stonehenge has some woo-ness (i’ve never been there, either) but at least it has a reason.
Big Sur, CA is also very woo. I presume that’s a result of proximity to the Esalen Institute, which made it a hippie magnet in the 60s and the vibe is still there.
The whole area around Stonehenge is owned by various public or semi-public bodies (English Heritage, the Ministry of Defence, the National Trust), so there are no commercial businesses of any sort in the vicinity. Glastonbury, on the other hand…
I lived there for 7 years in the early Oughts. Lots of old hippies, sure, but no concentration of woo. It’s a liberal enclave surrounded by Ron Paul worshipping preppers and conspiracy nuts. PT is the most rational community in Jefferson county (granted, that’s a low bar).
Mount Shasta’s paranormal reputation seems to be decades older than Sedona’s. From the early 20th century, Mount Shasta was thought of as housing the remnants of lost progenitor civilizations deep underground, guarding secret wisdom and weird mystical technology. “Ascended masters” could visit or astrally project themselves there and acquire ancient knowledge from Atlanteans, or whatever.
Sedona was popularized in the 1980’s as having “energy vortexes” that could be used for stuff like healing or contacting aliens.
I would guess the draw to either place depends what kind of woo you are looking for. Mount Shasta has more historic “theosophy” woo, while Sedona is more New Age.
