“Taking LSD was a profound experience. One of the most important of my life.”
Steve Jobs
The San Francisco Oracle (available to read, above) was a hugely popular newspaper, distributed across Haight-Ashbury, and beyond, by street-vendors. While The Southern California Oracle (featured at the top of this page) was heavily manipulated by the CIA, the San Francisco Oracle was more-or-less the real deal. This vibrant newspaper represented the authentic psychedelic-movement in print.
The Castalia Foundation team includes surviving members of the Underground Press Syndicate. In upholding the ethos of the Syndicate we preserve a free public-archive of The San Francisco Oracle. You can browse through complete scans of every issue of The San Francisco Oracle by clicking on the images above. The newspapers have been organized chronologically and formatted into PDF files.
The San Francisco Oracle was just one of many psychedelic newspapers that comprised the 'underground press' of the 60s. An entire social movement sought to wrestle control of mass-media away from the establishment. Recognizing the risk to their power, groups like the CIA were quick to either mimic (for example, The Southern California Oracle), and infiltrate the underground press.
A fascinating article from Progressive Architecture (1966) exploring the use of psychedelics in the field of architecture. Several successful architects describe using LSD and mescaline to solve complex architectural challenges. Their clients' reactions? Delighted and impressed.
Lisa Bieberman worked in collaboration with our founder, Timothy Leary. Here, we republish her remarkable book on navigating difficult LSD sessions. The book is early precursor to LSD Zen, taking the reader through odd 'game' situations which may arise during a non-solo LSD session.
Start Your Own Religion is Tim Leary' essential guidebook to dropping-out: "Avoid conflict with the establishment. Avoid recruiting and rapid growth. Preserve clan harmony. Your clan must be limited to essence friends. The structure of your clan must be cellular." Vital reading for freedom-fighters.
The fierce winds of psychedelic rebellion in the 60s blew a diasporama of underground publishing-houses across the United States, and beyond. Armed with bright inks and typewriters, freedom-fighters fought the decrepit corporate press. The Southern California Oracle, pictured above, appears to have been the CIA's response to the popular San Francisco Oracle. Packed with Freemasonic and Illuminati symbolism, The Southern California Oracle is a great example of how 'authority' attempts to co-opt the counter-culture. Click the image above to review some interesting symbolism.
The Southern California Oracle is harder to track down than its cousin, The San Francisco City Oracle. If you — or someone you know — has old copies of The Southern California Oracle in a dusty box, then scan and upload them. We only know of one complete, scanned issue. You can read this rare item by clicking on the image of The Southern California Oracle, above. The modern reader, versed in Freemasonic symbolism, will recognize the pervasive use of this abuse-group's signs and symbols throughout the newspaper. The CIA's fingerprints are all over this allegedly 'underground' publication.
In this book, witness Frieda Haze's self-healing journey as she uses psychedelics and drawing to free herself from immeasurable trauma. This inspiring book is a complete record of all of Frieda's drawings and thoughts as she self-healed with psychedelic assistance. The reader is warned that the book includes some graphic descriptions of what occult groups subject children to. It may be advisable, first, to read Anti Ultra, also by The Castalia Foundation, as this will provide some greater context in which to understand Frieda's experiences. Survivors of abuse may want to have a friend present for support while reading this book.
