Carl Llewellyn Weschcke (September 10, 1930 – November 7, 2015) was an American publisher and the president/owner of
Llewellyn Worldwide
Llewellyn Worldwide (formerly Llewellyn Publications) is a New Age publishing, publisher based in Woodbury, Minnesota. Llewellyn's mission is to "serve the trade and consumers worldwide with options and tools for exploring new worlds of mind & sp ...
(formerly Llewellyn Publications) from 1961 until his death. He received nationwide media attention when he bought the supposedly
haunted Summit Avenue Mansion in
St. Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...
in 1964, and claimed to have "numerous odd experiences" there.
Born in St. Paul, Weschke bought Llewellyn Publications in early 1961 when he was president of Chester-Kent, Inc. In 1970, Weschcke opened the Gnostica Bookstore in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
, as well as the "Gnostica School for Self-Development", based on
Gnostic
Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse g ...
teachings. He also began the Gnostic Aquarian Festivals in Minneapolis, also known as
Gnosticon during the 1970s, which helped fuel the rise in awareness of occult and metaphysical teachings.
Weschcke was elected
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
of the
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
's
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
branch in 1959 and
vice president
A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
of the
ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million.
...
's
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
branch in 1965.
References
General references
*Rosemary Ellen Guiley, The Encyclopedia of Witches &Witchcraft
*Raven Grimassi, Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft
*George Knowles
"Carl Weschcke" "Controverscial.Com"
Businesspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota
American publishers (people)
1930 births
2015 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
American occultists
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