A New Lemurian Mystery

A Surprising story about the Mystics of Mt. Shasta

By the Imperator (Harvey Spencer Lewis )

In the first week of August just past, several men of distinction and unique character arranged for a confidential interview with me in my private sanctum. It was the fourth time within the past fifteen years that these representatives of a unique class of evolved beings have been in confidential communion with me and have given to me interesting facts for release through our official publications. The first time that these gentlemen spent many hours with me was in San Francisco. After making a special appointment in a very secret manner, they called upon me and as a result of our long interview, the papers and notations, photographs, and drawings which they left me, I as able to get in direct contact with many persons and groups of persons in California and in other parts of the United States and the Orient, and through these contacts verify the importance of their mission and the reasonableness of their astonishing stories. The outgrowth of the interview and investigations was a very reserved and carefully edited announcement about the existence of a mystic colony living in or near Mt. Shasta in California. The announcement thus appearing in one of our magazines immediately brought additional facts and substantiation and led to many independent investigations, and throughout the years 1920 to 1935 the facts regarding this mystic colony have been multiplied and verified in a very satisfactory manner. But in keeping with the very spirit of the story and in harmony with the facts in the case, AMORC has been reserved and carefully reticent in what it has said and in the manner in which it has stated the facts. Every sincere mystic an every other investigator of the matter has discovered or had revealed to him in some manner a realization of the true situation, and has come to the understanding that the officers of AMORC have refrained from publishing all of the facts possessed by them and have carefully withheld such data as was necessarily secret and confidential. The astute and well-developed student of mystical philosophy has read more between the lines of our statement about this mystic colony that we have actually put into print.

Our book entitled, Lemuria, the Lost Continent of the Pacific, has contained for the past few years all that we have felt was proper and safe to say regarding the mystic colony, and the reservation of facts so self-evident has whetted the curiosity of the insincere seeker and hundreds of others who have tried in every possible way to fathom the unexplained mysteries.

The recent visit on the part of these emissaries of an age-old mystical group which does not function any longer in a material or worldly manner was not wholly unexpected. Contacts made with this very secret group of individuals from time to time in the past years, and particularly in the past months, have inclined us to believe that certain important changes were taking place within the secret organization or group of beings and that we would be informed about these things very shortly.

And so it came about that these representatives called upon me for another long and pleasant interview and made many startling, interesting, and important announcements, and arranged with me an outline of what might be said publicly to our members and readers, what might be said very confidentially to our international officers of the Hierarchy, and what might not be said to any others than our own staff of executive officers here in California. Therefore, the facts which I am presenting at this time in this announcement in The Rosicrucian Digest, constitute all that I may say or explain at the present time. There may come a time in the very near future when additional facts may be released, but I must definitely state here and now that under no circumstances and for no pretext, or reason, and certainly for no worldly consideration, will I give any additional facts to any member of reader of this magazine nor to the world at large and, therefore, may not augment the announcement made here. For this reason I hope that our members and friends will not write, telegraph, telephone, nor call upon us in personal interviews for any additional facts, not even for names, addresses, dates, descriptions of locations, or any other points concerning this announcement, for such additional information will not be given under any circumstances.

The purport of the visit was to inform me quite definitely and thereby support my intuitive and Cosmic impressions that the main body of this mystic colony, meaning the essential group of individuals and their chief officers and most advanced directors of the colony, has moved the center of activities and isolated residence from the very old location of Mt. Shasta to another more isolated, secret, and desirable location in California. The new location is not an arbitrarily selected site but rather a place that was for several centuries occupied and used by these mystics and especially by a large section of them that had at one time occupied a large territory in another part of this Western World. This new location was never completely abandoned, but has always been maintained by a few with great secrecy because of all the treasures (not gold or silver coin) hidden and preserved there and because of the existence of several very beautiful and unique temples or sanctuaries.

The most important reason for this change of location and the almost complete abandonment of the Mt. Shasta district was the unfortunate and wholly inconsiderate publicity that was being given to the location and the resulting intrusion upon their privacy, secrecy, and spiritual progress made by the curiosity seekers, newspapers investigators, skeptics and doubters of all kinds, bold and brusque persons with unlimited selfish demands, and an increasing degree of commercializing the historical facts.

From the reports given to me, it would appear that there has hardly been a week of any month during the past two years that has not seen individuals and groups of individuals prying into the secret, sacred areas of the colony of Mt. Shasta and refusing to obey any of the requests made by persons who would kindly ask them to refrain from trespassing and intruding. There were persons who would deliberately set fire to sections of the underbrush, or who would throw small bombs into deep recesses to cause an explosion of light or flames or illuminating powders for the taking of pictures, resulting often in damage to property and life. Furthermore, many of the investigators would approach the dark sections or wooded areas in the daytime or nighttime with loaded guns and would discharge these guns into the dark areas upon the least provocation, giving little heed to the suffering or destruction that might result there-from. A few unworthy and unprepared investigators from time to time would find entranceways to caves or subterranean passageways and force their way into them and cause great consternation, loss of property, and sometimes injuries to themselves and to the peaceful inhabitants who had every right to remain unmolested in their own area. But even all of these annoyances and dangerous disturbances and intrusions did not affect these quiet, reserved, peace-loving, and sincere mystics as greatly as did the increasing use of the Mt. Shasta traditions for commercial purposes and fraud. At one time as many as six different colonies of investigators or seekers for mystical experience were encamped in various sections around Mt. Shasta, each under the direction and control of a self-appointed leader who had either promised and guaranteed to his followers in exchange for their contributions and their support that he would lead them to the mystics in the colony and show them marvelous experiences, or through their following of his system of instruction and guidance they would witness, somewhere in the Shasta district, the birth of a new Master, a world savior, a divine child, or a great god.

Many of these groups remained into the winder months suffering great privation along with bitter disappointments. Others were encamped sufficiently long to discover that they had not only been deceived but had helped to fill the coffers of some individual leader. In other cases, traveling psychology lectures going from city to city in the United States and Canada have claimed to have direct or secret connection with the Mt. Shasta colony of mystics and have claimed to have had initiation in their mystic temples or to have discovered these temples, and vast fortune along with valuable equipment, scientific instruments, and other things thereby enticing men and women everywhere to become interested in their private classes or to buy their books or to follow their system of unique mysticism. This deception has resulted in thousands of persons being mislead even to the extent of hundreds of them journeying to the Mt. Shasta district in hope of discovering these marvelous possessions or coming fact to face with the mystics themselves.

We, the chief executives of AMORC, voluntarily assume some blame in this regard. We regret that in our first announcements years ago we made the mistake of mentioning almost too definitely the location of these mystics. We should have avoided mentioning Mt. Shasta or the area around it. But at the time the information was given to us there was no restriction placed upon the mention of the area and we did refrain from being geographically exact, much to the chagrin of hundreds of curiosity seekers who have demanded from month to month and year to year that we give them a map or a more detailed description of the exact location. But until a few years ago when certain individuals discovered that the stories of the Mt. Shasta district and its strange people contained commercial possibilities, no real harm had been done by the announcements which we made. Our announcements were the first in many years to give all of the traditional stories about these mystic people and yet many of the self-appointed schools of mystical thought, claiming to have a connection with Mt. Shasta, now pretend that they possessed this information and this secret connection for many, many years.

Those who have read the whole story of the descendants of the lost continent of Lemuria will recall that those descendants settled in various groups in different sections of California, Oregon, and Mexico. They will recall that one of the largest of the groups of descendants established itself on a large island just off the coast of California near Santa Barbara. For many years government and state records, as well as historical and expeditionary records, referred to this strange island and its strange people. Gradually, however, there was a reduction in the number of people living there and finally the island was abandoned as through all had passed though transition with a few years. Today that island with its strange structures and strange memorials of the ancient race that occupied it constitutes an interesting field of investigation. But the remnants of the occupants of that island did not cease to exist as has been believed by some. They moved to the mainland, coming into California by strange methods of their own and going inland into the foothills and valleys still unexplored by any but a few, and here they have been continuing their existence, and, according to information just given to me, the birthrate among them has kept pace with the so-called death rate until there are today practically the same number in this colony as in the days when they were living upon the island. Their location in California is known to many of the mystics of various international schools of mystical philosophy which are of age-old integrity and responsibility. Another such colony exists in Lower California, just across the borderline that separates it from the United States. One of the larger colonies to remain after the beginning of the 17th century made its headquarters in the foothills or sides of an old volcano in Mexico not far from the American borderline. The eminent mystic, Mr. Van der Naillen, author of such books as In The Sanctuary, and with whom I was well-acquainted many years ago, visited this colony in Mexico and brought back with him to his sanctum many manuscripts of the mystical teachings held to sacredly by these mystic philosophers. It was this colony that his son later attempted to locate in Mexico and came in contact with other mystics instead.

From time to time I have had reports of strange sights and occurrences having been witnessed or accidentally noted in at least four parts of California aside from Mt. Shasta, and these lights, sounds, and other effects were precisely like those witnessed so often near Mt. Shasta, which confirms the old traditions of a number of mystical locations in California, Lower California, and Mexico.

Part of the very interesting story given to me by these representatives dealt with the manner in which this mystic colony that had been living near Mt. Shasta for so many years accomplished the feat of moving itself little by little to another point of the state. Heavy pieces of furniture and large caskets of iron, strange boxes, were moved in wooden crates that were prepared to look like ordinary express shipments, and these were taken to various points near Mt. Shasta for shipment by railroad and motor trucks without creating any excitement or interest on the part of those who handled the large crates. They were delivered to two or three different points near the old mystical location where the reestablishment of their activities was to take place and then gradually brought to the location by trucks or private automobiles. Other articles of more portable nature were taken in trucks direct or in what appeared to be private automobiles.

This transfer of material things was carried on for many months beginning last October 12. During the winter months, and especially during the cold and rainy seasons, a great amount of the matter was transferred and shipped because the presence of intruders and investigators in the district was at a minimum. Some very large things and some things that were not crated and were of a strange nature were taken to a northern point by several friendly persons who secured the use of large motor trucks, and some were brought to a southern point and then reconvened northward again to the new location.

A fantastic incident of the transfer was in regard to the movement of groups of members of the mystic colony. Because of the strange dress and strange appearance, countenance, and height, and age of some of these old mystics, it would have been impossible for them to make the journey. Therefore, according to the very surprising story given to me, these persons were taken by private automobile owned by a few friends, to an open area just north of Shasta and there places in a strange dirigible which rose into the air at night and proceeded southward taking twelve to fifteen of the persons on each trip and making a number of trips back and forth to Mexico, bringing and taking various objects and persons to the old colony previously referred to. There representatives related how even this method came very exposing their plans, for on one of the trips of the dirigible between Mexico and California a sudden thunder storm with considerable lightning in the distance lighted the sky to such an extent that the dirigible was seen by the natives of Mexico and because of its very unique form and other peculiarities it was thought to be a foreign aircraft and was immediately reported by the natives to various army stations and even to the American border patrol officers or other persons near the American line. The newspapers later contained an item about the strange object seen in the sky and witnessed by several hundred persons, but neither the army nor navy could give any answer of explanation, for it had not been observed by them and the whole affair eventually passed out as a myth. I remember seeing some of the newspaper clippings in this regard for a number of them were sent to us by our members.

In answer to one of my questions, I was reminded that we had already explained in some of the articles about the Lemurians that in their day they possessed great secret knowledge and scientific ability regarding the building of ships that would float in the air as well as on the water and that a motive power is used that is unknown to us today.

At any rate, the mystic colony that formerly occupied certain structures, caves, subterranean passageways, and grottos in the Mt. Shasta area, is now located in an entirely different area where the members occupy very old structures once possessed by another group of their fellow beings and more secluded and isolated than they have been in recent years.

A few caretakers, so to speak, or appointed guardians, remain in the Mt. Shasta district who will protect the possessions there, but will carry on no mystical activities and will refrain from being seen of contacted in any way by any who may approach that district. Other interesting facts regarding these mystics and their new plans I may explain in a future article at some time after I have had another interview.

One thing is certain, however, and that is that all the stories we have been reading in newspaper. Magazines, and especially the literature of various traveling teachers and lecturers regarding their connections with the Mt. Shasta colony of mystics and their ability to take their students to Mt. Shasta for mystical initiation have been absolutely untrue and unsound, and by this move of the colony from the old location to a new secret place which will not be revealed, thousands of foolish followers of such matters will have a sad awakening. We have predicted this from time to time and have tried to warn our members not to give credence to such claims as have been offered in the past year or two. Many were misled, however, and we are glad that this will not be continued for long.

(The Rosicrucian Digest September 1936)