Mount Shasta ~ to many it’s just a pretty mountain one sees out the car window as one drives up and down the I-5 corridor. To others Mount Shasta is holy, a place of mystery and the keeper of secrets, ancient and unspoiled.
The Mountain has always had a way of drawing the adventurous and young at heart to its snowy slopes, in search of something higher than themselves. With these adventurous few, tales of secret societies and fantastic creatures have been brought up along with their pioneering spirits. I have found that these stories in a strange way make you appreciate the land that is Siskiyou County and look at the mountains in a different way.
The many stories of Bigfoot, the Lemurian, Dragons, and the hidden societies that create the legends of the area must have a birth point, a beginning. So with a beginning needed let us touch briefly on the creation of Mount Shasta.
The aboriginal peoples believed that the mountain is the creation point of the world we dwell in. The belief is that the great Creator parted the clouds and from ice and snow created Mount Shasta. The God Waka then stepped down from the heavens and placed the people around the mountain. A strange truth about the peoples of the area ~ they were different from the rest of the tribes out side the valley, tall and lean with light skin and even some with light to red hair.
The first Europeans to come in contact with the mountain are the ones who named it, but was originally Saste’, the Russian word for pure white. The mountain has always been held sacred; for the volcano is in an isolated area, hard to reach due to the rugged mountains and thick forests that surround the area, and therefore thought of as a sacred spot. It is due to ancient lore and its seclusion, that the mountain has drawn all types to its slopes, from those seeking enlightenment, to those trying to find a connection to the land, and purpose to their life.
No matter what the reason for people being drawn to Mount Shasta, one thing is clear, it is a symbol to all that live in the area, and the world as a magical spot, a representation of mystery and wonder, and peace of mind in a world that has become obsessed with modernization and consumption.
This is the first of many articles to come, so if you have an interesting Ghost story or a run in with Bigfoot or stumbled across a top secret alien government installation in the area, please by all means share your stories so we can bring forth understanding and enlightenment to the mysteries that surround us.
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submitted by Rev.J.R. Norris
Golden Grotto Silkscreening
412 S. Main St. Yreka 841-0543Website
