SANTA CRUZ >> The term “magical” may most often be heard in reference to the county’s redwood forests and ocean views, but it also applies to downtown’s newest storefront, the Academy of Arcana.

“The vision is to have a meeting place, a gathering place, a vortex, an educational center, a learning facility, a destination point, a place that people will come not just to go through a store and shop,” said Oberon Zell, an occult icon who founded the facility along with longtime Santa Cruz resident Anne Duthers.

The store, esoteric museum and library opened its doors Nov. 27 at 428A Front St., just south of the Cathcart Street intersection. Currently available for purchase are Zell’s books and handmade pendants and statues of deities, along with a modest selection of other texts, jewelry and figurines. Behind the store is a library, its walls lined with grimoires, instructionals and science fiction. Zell’s full collection of occult items is planned to be on display by January, he said, when he and Duthers intend to start hosting weekly salon-style meetings, workshops and movie nights.

The academy is also meant to serve as a physical campus of sorts for Zell’s online educational nonprofit the Grey School of Wizardry, Duthers said. Access to the library and museum area is free for enrolled students or available for others starting at $40 a year.

Inspired by the popularity of The 11-year-old online Grey School of Wizardry offers programs in 16 arcane subjects including natural philosophy, healing, divination, alchemy, cosmology and “dark arts.” It has more than 400 enrolled students spanning dozens of countries and a faculty and staff of 30, according to Duthers. Tuition starts at

“It’s going to be a fabulous addition to downtown Santa Cruz,” said Susan Diamond, owner of downtown’s prior arcane retailer, Serpent’s Kiss.

Serpent’s Kiss, located just a few blocks north of the Academy of Arcana across from the Town Clock on Pacific Avenue, sells crystals, candles, herbs and clothing among other mystical fare. The Sacred Grove, another store specializing in the esoteric, closed its Front Street location in October.

Zell, 73, has a storied history in the occult community that stretches well past his school’s inception. He is often credited with coining the term “neopaganism,” and first published the ongoing neopagan magazine Green Egg in 1968. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Zell earned a bachelor’s in psychology from Westminster College, in Utah, followed by teaching a teaching credential and graduate work in clinical psychology. He briefly taught at elementary and junior college levels.

“He really carries the essence of a wizard — the pointy hat, charming, wise and funny,” Diamond said.

Zell may call himself a wizard, but he is quick to distinguish his meaning of that term from its spell-slinging image. To him, “wizard” is akin to “wise one,” a student of knowledge and imagination spanning the ancient writings of Egyptian polymath Imhotep to modern-day science fiction.

He does, however, claim to be able to read auras, receive meaningful visions and dreams, and shift the probabilities of events.

Not everyone lends credence to the esoteric arts, admitted Zell. But the skeptics, he said, don’t particularly trouble him.

“That’s not my target audience.”

Additional information about the Academy of Arcana and Grey School of Wizardry is available online at academyofarcana.com and greyschool.com, respectively.

ACADEMY OF ARCANA

What: Esoteric store, library, museum, meeting place.

Where: 428A Front St.

When: Noon to 7 p.m., Wednesdays through Sundays.

Who: Occult author, teacher Oberon Zell and Anne Duthers.

Rates: Annual memberships to library, museum from $40. Includes membership card, monthly newsletter, one free event.

Details: academyofarcana.com.

GREY SCHOOL OF WIZARDRY

What: Online educational nonprofit to provide secular instruction in history, lore, practice of mystical traditions. Self-paced curriculum with instructor feedback and certification of completion.

Who: Founder and headmaster Oberon Zell. Thirty additionalfaculty, staff; about 400 enrolled students worldwide.

Fees: Children ages 11-17 $6/mo. or $60/year; adults $12/mo. or $120/year; “Magister” program with access to courses at all levels $24/mo. or $240/year.

Where: greyschool.com.