Aloha,
I've started reading Mitch Horowitz's "Occult America The Secret History
of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation," Bantam Books, 2009. It's an
interesting, informative, and readable book.
In a section entitled "Go West, Young Magician," Horowitz provides a
several page account of West Coast occulture and the various occultists
who came there for some time, when they did not stay. He talks about
the influence of consultants and soothsayers on the celebrities and
politicians, including a good deal about Ronald and Nancy Reagan's
reliance on astrologers and mediums.
On page 221, Horowitz concludes an inventory of West Coast occultists and
organizations this way:
<<They were entirely self-made religious leaders. But this is not to say
that
they were less than able. The occult denizens of the twentieth century,
particularly those who found audiences on the West Coast, were extremely
capable and often displayed an admirable fluidity to shatter the bonds of
social position that might have held back earlier generations.>>
Musing The Wonders Of My Home Coast Occulture! Rose,
Pitch
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