Scott Douglas Cunningham (June 27, 1956 – March 28, 1993) was an American writer. Cunningham is the author of several books on

Wicca Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...

and various other alternative religious subjects. His work ''Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner'', is one of the most successful books on Wicca ever published; he was a friend of notable occultists and Wiccans such as Raymond Buckland, and was a member of the Serpent Stone Family, and received his Third Degree Initiation as a member of that coven.

Early life

Scott Cunningham was born at the William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, USA, the second son of prolific author Chester Grant "Chet" Cunningham and Rose Marie Wilhoit Cunningham. The family moved to San Diego, California in the fall of 1959 due to Rose Marie's health problems. The doctors in Royal Oak declared the mild climate in San Diego ideal for her. Outside of many trips to Hawaii, Cunningham lived in San Diego all his life. Cunningham had one older brother, Greg, and a younger sister, Christine. Scott was openly gay for much of his life. He studied creative writing at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

, where he enrolled in 1978. After two years in the program, however, he had more published works than several of his professors and dropped out of the university to write full-time. In the early 1980s Cunningham wrote "more than a dozen novels in various genres from adventure to horror", using pseudonyms, such as "Cathy Cunningham" or "Dirk Fletcher", for his novels. During this period he had as a roommate, magical writer Donald Michael Kraig and often socialized with

Neopagan witchcraft Neopagan witchcraft, sometimes referred to as The Craft, is an umbrella term for some neo-pagan traditions that include the practice of magic. They may also incorporate aspects of nature worship, divination, and herbalism. These traditions be ...

writer Raymond Buckland, who was also living in San Diego at the time.

Wicca

In 1980, Cunningham began initiate training under Raven Grimassi and remained as a first-degree initiate until 1982 when he left the tradition to pursue a solo practice of witchcraft.

Death

In 1983, Scott Cunningham was diagnosed with lymphoma, which he successfully overcame. In 1990, while on a speaking tour in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, he suddenly fell ill and was diagnosed with

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

-related cryptococcal meningitis. He suffered from several infections and died in March 1993. He was 36.

Published works

Non-Fiction

*1982 – ''Magical Herbalism: The Secret Craft of the Wise'' () *1983 – ''Earth Power: Techniques of Natural Magic'' () *1985 – ''Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs'' () *1987 – ''The Magical Household: Spells and Rituals for the Home'' (with David Harrington) () *1987 – ''Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem, and Metal Magic'' () *1988 – ''The Truth About Witchcraft Today'' () *1988 – ''Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner'' () *1989 – ''The Complete Book of Incense, Oils & Brews'' () *1989 – ''Magical Aromatherapy: The Power of Scent'' () *1991 – ''Earth, Air, Fire, and Water: More Techniques of Natural Magic'' () *1991 – ''The Magic in Food'' () *1993 – ''Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen'' () *1993 – ''Divination For Beginners'' () *1993 – ''Living Wicca: A Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner'' () *1993 – ''Spell Crafts: Creating Magical Objects'' (with David Harrington) () *1993 – ''The Truth About Herb Magic'' () *1994 – ''The Truth About Witchcraft'' () *1995 – ''Hawaiian Magic and Spirituality'' () *1997 – ''Pocket Guide to Fortune Telling'' () *1999 – ''Dreaming the Divine: Techniques for Sacred Sleep'' () *2009 – ''Cunningham's Book of Shadows: The Path of An American Traditionalist'' () – A rediscovered manuscript written by Cunningham in the late 1970s or early 1980s.

Fiction

*1979 – "Cathy Cunningham", ''Shadow of Love'' () *1980 – ''The Cliffside Horrors'' () *1982 — "Dirk Fletcher", ''High Plains Temptress'' PUR #1() . 4: "Copyright 1982 by Scott Cunningham"*1987 — "Dirk Fletcher", ''San Diego Sirens'' PUR #23() . 5: "Special thanks to Scott Cunningham for his contribution to this book"*1990 — "Dirk Fletcher", ''The Miner's Moll'' PUR #32() . 4: "Special thanks to Scott Cunningham for his contribution to this book"; "Copyright 1990 by Chet Cunningham"

Art by Robin Wood

Several of Scott's books include black and white drawings and (in some editions) cover art by the Wiccan artist Robin Wood. Among these books are ''Magical Herbalism'', ''Earth Power'', and ''Earth, Air, Fire, Water''.

Videos

*''Herb Magic'' ()

Film references

''Never Say Macbeth'', a 2007 film, is based around a group of actors who battle the curse of

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

by using Scott's book, ''Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner''. This film was released on DVD by Vanguard Cinema in August 2008.

Notes

References

*Several of Scott's own books contain autobiographical text. * * Rosemary Ellen Guiley, ''The Encyclopedia of Witches & Witchcraft''. *Raven Grimassi, ''Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft''.

External links

Scott Cunningham
at Llewellyn Worldwide (his publisher) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Scott 1956 births 1993 deaths American occult writers American Wiccans American gay writers AIDS-related deaths in Massachusetts LGBTQ Wiccans 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers Wiccan writers 20th-century American LGBTQ people