Occult LA with Ronnie Pontiac

Join author, scholar, musician and documentarian Ronnie Pontiac in a talk about Occult LA as part of YesterdayLA!

Join us for a conversation in the Auditorium at the PRS with author, scholar, musician and documentarian Ronnie Pontiac about Occult LA as part of our YesterdayLA program!Despite a reputation for wickedness, and its 19th century nickname Los Diablos, The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels has a long rich history of providing opportunities for inspiration, reinvention, and revelation. In this talk with author and scholar Ronnie Pontiac, we will explore the history of landmarks like the Philosophical Research Society, Krotona Hollywood, Self-Realization Fellowship Temple, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Bodhi Tree bookstore.

When Manly Palmer Hall first moved to Los Angeles in 1919 most of the sidewalks were made of wood and Santa Monica beach featured the booths of tarot and palm readers. Madame Blavatsky, founder of Theosophy, had already predicted that Southern California was a "future-oriented zone"– a home to a spiritually advanced humanity, signaling a shift toward an enlightened and occult-aware civilization.

Many nontraditional teachers and seekers have made Los Angeles the world's capital of alternative spirituality – Theosophists, gurus, swamis, yogis, mystics, witches, astrologers, gnostics, Freemasons, ceremonial magicians, spiritualists, pagans, Scientologists, healers, shamans, psychics, and UFO religionists. We'll trace this rich and varied history, revealing why so many famous and infamous luminaries of alternative spirituality settled here.