Mount Shasta

[[File:Mount Shasta from I-5.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Mount Shasta from a distance]]
{{new age}}{{folklore}}
'''Mount Shasta''' is a volcano in northern [[California]] at the southern end of the Cascades, with its peak at 14,179 ft (4,322 m) above sea level.<ref name=wpshasta>{{wpa|Mount Shasta}}</ref> It last erupted in the late eighteenth century, and is considered to be potentially active.<ref name="volcanism">[https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=323010 Global Volcanism Program:Shasta]</ref> It is also the subject of many legends and nonsense, from old [[Native American]] myths to more recent [[scam]]s.<ref name=npr/> Nearby Mount Shasta City is home to many religious organisations and churches including a [[Buddhist]] monastery.<ref name=randk/>

==Native American lore==
The area has been inhabited for thousands of years. Some Native Americans believed it to be the centre of the [[universe]].<ref name=npr>[https://www.npr.org/2015/06/07/412098380/a-mountain-of-many-legends-draws-spiritual-seekers-from-around-the-globe?t=1543848655212 A Mountain Of Many Legends Draws Spiritual Seekers From Around The Globe], NPR, 7 June 2015</ref>

Klamath legend says that the mountain is home to Skell, Spirit of the Above-World, who occasionally wars with the Spirit of the Below-World by throwing hot rocks.<ref name=wpshasta/> This legend may be an ancient {{wpl|folk memory}} of a 7,000 year old eruption.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110823140823/http://oe.oregonexplorer.info/craterlake/history.html History of Crater Lake]</ref>

==Refugees from Lemuria==
Supposedly escapees from the sunken continent of [[Lemuria]] settled on the mountain, creating a subterranean city called Telos in tunnels under the mountain. The myth was popularised (and perhaps created) by Frederick Spencer Oliver, who claimed to use [[medium]]istic communication with [[spirits]] from dead civilisations (most prominently "Phylos The Thibetan") to write about the history of [[Atlantis]] and Lemuria in ''A Dweller on Two Planets'' (written in 1895, and posthumously published by his mother in 1906).<ref name=wplegends>{{wpa|Legends of Mount Shasta}}</ref><ref>{{wpa|A Dweller on Two Planets}}</ref> Robed Lemurians have been spotted shopping in nearby stores.<ref name=kqed/> Or maybe they're just Buddhist monks, or people from another of the area's many denominations.

==I AM==
Guy Ballard {{lived|1878|1939}} had a [[mystic]]al encounter up the mountain with a stranger claiming to be the Count of St. Germain, and saying he was an "[[ascended master]]", someone who had lived many lives before escaping to a higher plane. This led to Ballard founding the [[Great White Brotherhood|"I AM" Activity]] or "I AM" Movement in the early 1930s. This spiritual movement was somewhat similar to [[theosophy]], but with extreme [[nationalist]] overtones; they had a million followers at their peak in the late 1930s, before being investigated by the [[government]] for swindling their followers. The movement rapidly dwindled after that, although it remains an influence on much subsequent [[New Age]] thought.<ref>{{wpa|"I AM" Activity}}</ref><ref>{{wpa|Guy Ballard}}</ref><ref name=npr/>

==Scientology==
In [[Scientology]], Mt. Shasta is one of the several volcanoes used by the galactic conqueror [[Xenu]] to exterminate the surplus populations of his worlds. The [[soul]]s traumatized by this act of [[genocide]] became the "thetans" responsible for human trouble and sorrow:<ref>Savino, John, PhD; Jones, Marie D. (2007). ''Supervolcano: The Catastrophic Event That Changed the Course of Human History.'' Career Press. ISBN 1-56414-953-6, p. 55.</ref>

{{cquote|'Simultaneously, the planted charges erupted. Atomic blasts ballooned from the craters of Loa, Vesuvius, Shasta, Washington, Fujiyama, Etna, and many, many others. Arching higher and higher, up and outwards, towering clouds mushroomed, shot through with flashes of flame, waste and fission. Great winds raced tumultuously across the face of Earth, spreading tales of destruction ... '|||[[L. Ron Hubbard]], ''Revolt in the Stars''}}

==Hidden gold==
There have been various stories of vast treasures being hidden under the mountain. According to a legend, J. C. Brown was a British prospector who discovered a lost underground city beneath Mt. Shasta in 1904. Brown had been hired by the Lord Cowdray Mining Company of England to prospect for gold, and discovered a cave which sloped downward for 11 miles. In the cave, he found an underground village filled with gold, shields, and mummies, some being up to 10 feet tall.

Thirty years later, he told his story to John C. Root, who proceeded to gather an exploration team in Stockton, California. About 80 people joined the team, but on the day the team was to set out, Brown did not show up. Brown was not heard from again.<ref name=wplegends/>

==UFOs==
[[File:USA Mt Shasta pano CA.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Shasta with clouds]]
Unusual lens-shaped -or "lenticular"<ref name=NOAA>[https://www.weather.gov/abq/features_acsl Altocumulus Standing Lenticular Clouds], National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</ref>- clouds form around the top of the mountain, due to the area's geography and climate. These have been mistaken for [[UFO]]s by some people, and others claim they have been put there to hide real UFOs.<ref name=randk>[https://roadsandkingdoms.com/2015/magic-mountain/ Magic Mountain], Roads and Kingdoms, 2015</ref> It is also claimed that the Lemurians use UFOs.<ref name=kqed/>

==Mysterious hole==
Former video store employee Elijah Sullivan has been investigating what is claimed to be a "mysterious hole" in the side of Mount Shasta. There are many improbable explanations for this: it could be a gateway to [[Lemuria]] (no, it couldn't), or have been dug by someone seeking Native American artifacts, or most likely gold.<ref name=kqed>[https://www.kqed.org/news/11684091/the-whole-story-faith-and-fraud-in-mt-shasta A Mysterious Hole Appeared on Mt. Shasta. Each Theory Behind It Tells a Different Story], The California Report, KQED</ref> It has been alleged that Mount Shasta is one of the supposed secret entrances to the [[hollow earth]].<ref>[https://www.ghosthuntingtheories.com/2016/11/the-entrances-to-hollow-earth.html The Entrances to Hollow Earth] (November 11, 2016) ''Ghost Hunting Theories''.</ref>

==Hopi legends==
[[Kook]]s think that Hopi Indians had legends about a vast network of caves and a great city under Mount Shasta where the [[reptilian|reptilian race]] lives.<ref name=psyminds/> In reality, Mount Shasta is about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from traditional Hopi lands and the Hopi would have had no traditional knowledge of places so distant. [[Anecdotal evidence|Many people]] living around Mount Shasta have told stories about very tall humanoids appearing occasionally in smaller towns.<ref name=psyminds>[https://psy-minds.com/mysteries-legends-mount-shasta/ The Mysteries and Legends of Mount Shasta] (July 15, 2017) ''Psy-Minds.com''.</ref>

==Bigfoot sightings==
The already mysterious Mount Shasta has been home to numerous [[Bigfoot]] sightings dating back to the very first years in which the legend started. One of the most memorable happened back in 1976, when a camper thought a ranger had walked past his camp but it was really the infamous creature. Another was back in 1962 when a woman claimed to see Bigfoot give birth in the Mount Shasta wilderness.<ref>[https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/the-most-well-known-northern-california-spots-for-bigfoot-sightings/ The Most Well-Known Northern California Spots For Bigfoot Sightings] by Deanna Morgado (9 January 2018) ''Culture Trip''.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191220113414/http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/finding-bigfoot/lists/5-the-mount-shasta-sighting/ Monsters: Top 10 Hairiest Bigfoot Stories] ''Animal Planet'' (archived from December 20, 2019).</ref>

==Earth chakras==
{{main|Chakra}}
Mount Shasta is apparently the first of the seven supposed "Chakras of the Earth"<ref>[https://gostica.com/aura-science/chakras-earth-7-amazing-places-filled-powerful-energy/ The Chakras Of The Earth, 7 Amazing Places Filled With Powerful Energy] ''Gostica''.</ref> and has unusually high [[quartz]] content because its composition evolved from mantle-derived andesitic magma.<ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323291085_Petrology_of_Mt_Shasta_high-magnesian_andesite_HMA_A_product_of_multi-stage_crustal_assembly Petrology of “Mt. Shasta” high-magnesian andesite (HMA): A product of multi-stage crustal assembly] by Martin J. Streck (2018) ''American Mineralogist'' 103(2):216-240. doi:10.2138/am-2018-6151.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Native American woo]]
*[[Branton Files]]
*[[Rosicrucianism]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shasta, Mount}}
[[Category:California]]
[[Category:Cryptozoology]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:New Age]]
[[Category:Pseudohistory]]
[[Category:Scientology]]
[[Category:Silly "Earth" theories]]
[[Category:Ufology]]
[[Category:United States]]

Categories: California, Cryptozoology, Geography, Geology, New Age, Pseudohistory, Scientology, Silly "Earth" theories, Ufology, United States