I had a friend ask me about “Pagan Stuff” in the California’s Bay Area and instead of just firing off a bunch of suggestions I though I’d fire of a bunch of suggestions and include some pretty pictures here at Raise the Horns. Nearly everybody gets out here at least once in their lives, and when you do visit, I hope you’ll get a chance to do at least a few of the things on this list.
NATURE
The Bay Area is a continuous strip of sprawl from San Francisco to San Jose on one side and from Oakland to San Jose on the other, but there’s still plenty of nature nearby. The Bay Area is a truly beautiful part of the United States, with a whole host of natural wonders within easy reach.
When people hear San Francisco they often think of giant redwood trees, and for good reason. California’s redwoods are some of the oldest living things in the entire world, and they are truly majestic. Some of the most holy places I’ve ever visited have been redwood groves.
The most famous grove of trees near the Bay Area is Muir Woods National Monument. Muir Woods offers some of the biggest trees in the Bay, and it’s just north of San Francisco. It also has miles and miles of hiking trails, ranging from easy to exhausting. It’s a sacred site in the best sense of the word.
But Muir Woods is also super-crowded and parking is a serious issue at the park. One December morning the walk from my car to the park entrance was longer than my hike through the woods. For this reason I often take people who visit the Bay to Henry Cowell State Park. The trees are nearly as large at Cowell, and there’s always parking. If getting around is a problem the trail is completely flat and an easy walk. Cowell is a hidden gem and a great alternative to Muir Woods.
In addition to the redwoods, the Pacific Ocean is another must-see in the Bay Area. California has an abundance of state parks, and a lot of them offer beach access. Visiting the Pacific Ocean in the Bay Area isn’t like visiting a touristy Atlantic Ocean beach. The water is far too cold to swim in (the surfers all wear body suits) and many of the beaches are almost deserted. This is a selling point for me. There’s nothing like being nearly alone and surrounded by the roar of the waves.
My wife and I’s favorite beach is Montara, located just north of Half Moon Bay and south of San Francisco. There’s really nothing all that special about it, though it’s one of the first beaches we visited in the Bay (before we lived here) and it’s very low traffic. Take a drive down Highway 1 and you’ll find all sorts of similar spots, all with stunning views and only a few visitors.
FURTHER AFIELD
Within a few hours of San Francisco there are a couple of other places worth visiting if you’ve got the time. I don’t know if they count as “The Bay Area” but I mostly think of them that way. The first is Big Sur, which is an area and not one specific park. Big Sur is home to some beautiful beaches, forests, and other natural wonders. My favorite is McWay Falls at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.
If you head to Big Sur and you don’t take the scenic route you’ll pass by Pinnacles National Monument. Pinnacles is unlike any other spot in the Bay Area. Instead of trees and oceans you get hills formed from lava flows, a lot of sunshine, and some pretty challenging hiking. It’s also nearly a desert. Many of the caves at Pinnacles were formed by those lava flows. It’s great. There’s also a chance you might see a California Condor while visiting.
Perhaps this last one isn’t so much Mother Nature, but my nature. The wife and I have absolutely fallen in love with California’s Wine Country, specifically the areas near Napa and Saint Helena. Some of that’s because the wine fields are such a fabulous microcosm of the natural world, but a lot of it is also because of Dionysus and that we simply love wine.
There’s no better way to gain an appreciation of wine than to visit where it comes from and view the process up close. In addition many of the wineries themselves are beautiful, and a lot of them feature some rather Pagany-art. Our favorite winery, Del Dotto, features frescoes with Dionysus and a Green Manish fountain outside their doors. Their wine also features heavily in our coven’s initiation rituals.
BOOKSTORES
There aren’t as many Pagan bookstores as you might think there are in the Bay Area (the rents are just too damn high!) but we’ve got several worth visiting. Oakland is probably the place to start, and I’d make Ancient Ways my first stop. Ancient Ways is probably best known for putting on PantheaCon these days, but the shop is totally boffo and has one of the best selections of books I’ve ever seen. Seriously, it’s really good. Not too far down the road is The Sacred Well, which is near a very lovely park.
North of San Francisco there are several good shops that deserve a shout out. Milk and Honey in beautiful Sebastopol is run (and owned) by our very own Witches Next Door, Phoenix and Gwion. If you need magickal services Phoenix is the person to see! Also kind of in the same area is The Mystic Dream, run by Chas Bogan and Storm Faerywolf (and Devin Hunter too!). I love all those guys and think you should pay them a visit.
Want an adventurous and scenic mountain drive during your stay? Then head down to Boulder Creek and pay a visit to Air and Fire, or seriously, just visit Boulder Creek which is really cool. It’s nestled in the Santa Cruz mountains and is like a place out of time. From there, it’s a reasonably quick trip to Santa Cruz and Serpent’s Kiss. Both stores are great and feature all sorts of treasures. For something a little bit more than just a store be sure to visit Oberon Zell’s Academy of Arcana also in Santa Cruz. The Academy is a store, a museum, and a library all in one.
Over in Campbell (near San Jose) the recently opened Enchantations is keeping Silicon Valley nice and Witchy. I can’t say enough about this store, and it’s where I’ll be teaching a Wicca 101 class fairly soon! Mountain View has East West Bookstore, which is mostly a New Agey store with a strong Eastern focus. They do sell some wonderful stones though and carry The Witch’s Athame. It’s the store closest to my house so I visit a lot. Also selling some great stones is Moonfyre Metaphysical (just a few blocks from Enchantations), but like East West it’s most definately not a Witch store.
The most difficult to find Witchy store in the Bay Area is also the most magickal. The Sword and Rose is a tiny little shop in the back of a San Francisco courtyard but it sells some of the best incenses and oils you’ll find anywhere. It’s worth the extra effort!
Not a Witch Store, but the most interesting magic store in the Bay Area is Lucky Mojo. Lucky Mojo is probably more well known for its online store these days, but the actual store (located in tiny Forestville north of the City) is an absolute must visit. The grounds are also home to the world’s smallest church. Lucky Mojo is a hoodoo store, but if you can’t find something to buy there you weren’t really trying.
DO NOT MISS THESE SPOTS
One of the most curious spots in all of the Bay Area resides in San Jose, the Egyptian Rosicrucian Museum. That’s right, we have a museum run by Rosicrucians in San Jose and it’s awesome. The San Jose Rosicrucians have been around for over 100 years and their Egyptian museum is all sorts of sweet. If museums aren’t your think you still need to visit because the gardens (free!) located outside of it are a must see.
Also in San Jose is the Winchester Mystery House. I’ve got mixed feelings about the Winchester House. The tours are far too rehearsed for me, and I don’t think any one who works there knows a lick about spiritualism, but it’s such an oddity that it’s worth a visit. The grounds are beautiful and the house its self is a maze. I’ve got no idea if it’s really haunted, but I hope it is.
My absolutely favorite spot in San Francisco is Land’s End. It offers wonderful views of the Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge, but the best part is the labyrinth. Located at Eagle’s Point the Labyrinth at Land’s End can be difficult to find, but worth the effort (and the hike!). It was vandalized by a bunch of assholes last year but was put back together by a team of volunteers pretty quickly.
My favorite time to visit is at night, I suggest you do the same. Not only is it even more impressive looking, there are also 90% less people milling about. Words don’t do this treasure justice. (And some details on how to get there, especially at night are really helpful.)
OTHER THINGS
Many Pagans identify strongly with the peace movement which started in the 1960’s. San Francisco and Berkeley were hotbeds for the hippy movement, with the area known as Haight-Asbury (in The City) becoming especially famous. If you are curious about “The Haight” my advice is to simply let it live on in your imagination. It’s way too touristy today.
One of these days someone will put together a complete Witch and Occult tour in San Francisco, because it’s just such an important part of Modern Pagan history. LaVey’s Church of Satan was founded there, as was the Reclaiming Tradition and the Covenant of the Goddess. The New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn was one of the first great traditions created entirely in the United States, and the Bay Area is the home of the Feri Tradition too!
But until the Pagan Bus Tour I want to set up, there’s always PantheaCon, the largest Pagan gathering in the United States. Pcon occurs in San Jose, just ten miles from my house!
Have I forgotten stuff in this article? You bet! But it’s 1800 words long and that’s enough for one day’s writing, and one trip to the Bay Area! If you do get out here do say hi.
More Pagan Pilgrimage:
Glastonbury
The Roman Baths
Stonehenge
Rosslyn Chapel
Las Vegas!?!
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