Carl Llewellyn Weschcke: Publishing Pioneer, Visionary, The Father of New Age
Carl Llewellyn Weschcke
Publishing Pioneer, Visionary, The Father of New Age
It is with profound sadness we share the news of Carl Llewellyn Weschcke’s passing. He passed peacefully on Saturday, November 7 surrounded by family. He was 85.
Carl Llewellyn Weschcke was Chairman and the driving force behind Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd., the oldest and largest publishers of New Age, Metaphysical, Self-Help, and Spirituality books in the world.
Weschcke was a life-long student of a broad range of Metaphysical, Spiritual and Occult subjects which led him to the purchase of the Llewellyn publishing company in 1961. He relocated the company to his home on Summit Avenue in St. Paul. The mansion was said to be haunted and became the subject of many investigations and news stories through the 1960s and 1970s and remains well-known to this day.
Authors and booksellers referred to Weschcke as “the Father of the New Age” because of his early and aggressive public sponsorship of Astrology, Magic, Metaphysics, Paganism, Parapsychology, Tantra, Wicca and Yoga. Weschcke and Llewellyn contributed to the burgeoning New Age movement in the 1960s and 1970s, sponsoring Gnosticon Festivals, opening an occult school and bookstore, and publishing the occult newspaper Gnostica. He is a former Wiccan High Priest and played a leading role in the rise of Wicca and Paganism during the 1960s and 1970s. In the fall of 1973 Weschcke helped organize the Council of American Witches and became its chairperson.
He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Babson College, studied Law at LaSalle University, and advanced study toward a doctorate in Philosophy at the University of Minnesota. In 1959 he was elected president of the NAACP’s Minnesota branch and elected Vice President of the ACLU’s Minnesota branch. In addition to book publishing he has worked in the pharmaceutical industry, furniture manufacture, and real estate management. With Llewellyn, he has worked in all aspects of the business and has co-authored ten books with Dr. Joe Slate of Athens, Alabama.
Carl is survived by wife Sandra, son Gabe, and daughter-in-law Michele. Sandra is President and Treasurer of Llewellyn Worldwide and Gabe serves as Vice President; Michele works in Accounts Payable. They plan to carry on Carl’s legacy championing of alternative approaches to mind, spirit and body.
Arrangements for a memorial will be forthcoming.
Hello,
I’m a reporter with the Pioneer Press in St. Paul, Minn. We would like to put together a short news item on Mr. Weschcke’s death, and we’re wondering if there’s someone at Llewellyn who could speak to us about him.
I can be reached at 651-228-5189.
Thanks very much,
Nick Woltman
I have no words to say how sad I am!
Carl knows that life is material and spiritual. This is a passing and Carl will continue the work he did. However we will live without him, which is sad for us.
My wife Patricia and I want to give our deepest condolences to Carl’s family and to all at Llewellyn who knew him!
Carl has been the 7th Grand Master of the Aurum Solis and we will celebrate the rituals that are needed for such passing of a former Grand Master. All the companions of the Order from all the continents will do the same.
Thank you Carl for what you gave to everyone!
Carl has helped my let go of bondage and embrace freedom through his articles in Llewllyns catalog and via his business success. Thank you Carl and thank you to all those who co-supported his varied life mission and successes. I have been blessed by his labors and presence at a distance.
You will be missed, Carl. Thank you for everything.
R.I.P.
Many prayers and love to your family during this sad time of transition. Carl will continue, but we will feel his absence. I’m most grateful for his contributions – thank you, Carl. May the Force Be With You. Namaste. Blessed Be.
Carl will be greatly missed by the entire community around the globe. But we rejoice that now he can soar with the Eagles, run with the deer, and swim with the dolphins at will. We will mourn his passing and send our condolences to kith and kin, and treasure the memories of his work and his love of our people, and the greatness of his legacy to us all. We were blessed by Carl in many ways.
So very sorry to hear of Carl’s passing. His legacy is immeasurable. All of us at U.S.Games send our respects and condolences to the Llewellyn family.
I want to say that I am sad, but it would be a lie. I never knew him, only *OF* him, and so I can’t seem to mourn, as his friends and family surely are. Instead, I find that I feel only gratitude for the things that he did, during his life, that gave me the ability to learn to become who I am. I am grateful that he is now, I believe, in Summerland, resting and peaceful, catching up with old friends and ancestors. May we all find strength and inspiration from his story, and may his family find solace and comfort in the knowledge of how much he has brightened the lives of so many people.
Her arms circled him all his life and he was given the many a blessings to share with us. Now she takes him back to her in a very peaceful way.
Carl has been a leading light in the community for as long as I can remember–Chic and I have considered him our friend for 25 years. We are very saddened by his passing. Our condolences to Sandra and Gabe and everyone at Llewellyn.
Thank you Carl! We appreciated your wisdom and business acumen as a pagan leader in this world. May you enjoy the next phase in your existence. We will miss you. Blessed be!
Miss our LinkedIn chats, Carl. Bless you for everything you’ve done. Condolences to the family. XO
My condolences to the family.
Hail and Farewell Carl.
Carl will absolutely be missed, he really took Llewellyn to the next level! Hoping his legacy continues.
I have read and own many books by Llewellyn. Truly a influence and inspiration in many ways.
It was at Carl’s 3rd Annual Gnostic Aquarian Festival at Mabon of 1973 that I met my beloved Lifemate, Morning Glory. Carl had invited me there to be the keynote speaker, talking about the Gaea Thesis (“TheaGenesis”). That was my first speaking engagement, and Carl always liked to take credit for introducing MG and I to each other. When we were writing our life story, The Wizard and The Witch, Carl generously agreed to write the Foreword for it. And after the book came out in Feb. of 2014, I was invited to attend Paganicon in Minneapolis (March 14-17). Carl and I got to spend a wonderful afternoon together at Llewellyn HQ, and Carl was also able to speak on the phone with Morning Glory, only two months before she died. Carl was a sweet, wonderful man and a good friend to me and MG for over 40 years. He will be well remembered!
Sending my condolences and prayers out to Carl’s family. Rest in Peace. You will be missed. Thank you for everything.
So very sad to hear of Carl’s passing. We had been “brothers” since 1968, always keeping in touch. I will miss him terribly. My love and condolences to Sandra and Gabe. The passing of a true Master.
In love and light.
I can’t put it any better than many of the folks that heave posted here — Carl, thanks for everything!
From a personal standpoint, Carl was a great mentor, a patient editor, and a wonderful correspondent. Taking a larger perspective, it is very difficult to overstate Carl’s influence. I think that very little of what we now have would be here without him.
Rest In Paradise
[…] Minnesota publisher Llewellyn Worldwide—the largest and oldest New Age publisher in the world—passed away November 7, 2015, at the age of 85. Weschcke was the owner of the publishing company since 1961, a […]
In 2010 Car Weschcke sent me an “official” biography in order to be posted on the Aurum Solis website.
As a way to honor Carl Weschcke as the 7th Past Grand Master of the Aurum Solis, the companions from all over the world just translated his biography in the various languages used in the Aurum Solis. (Russian and Arabic, languages also used will be added soon).
Here are the links to access these translations:
English: http://goo.gl/TsC8Bx
French: http://goo.gl/PKqM9L
Portuguese: http://goo.gl/xNghJM
Spanish: http://goo.gl/hNuJ2O
Italian: http://goo.gl/mjoJtr
German: http://goo.gl/yP0lbX
Dutch: http://goo.gl/sfd32H
Greek: http://goo.gl/vMOtUj
I only had a couple personal experiences with Carl and although none of them were in person, in all my memories of those interactions…he made me smile. When my email was hacked he got an email from my address offering sketchy prescriptions and I was horrified that an email like that went to the “father” of Llewellyn. Carl handled it with humor and kindness putting my mind at ease, and we both snickered at how silly life can be sometimes. What a great guy! Just this year, I was honored, so very, very honored to illustrate a book he wrote. His good work has meant so much to the metaphysical community and it lives on because of what he built for all of us. Blessings to you on your next journey kind sir, and thank you for sharing your wisdom with us.
RIP
Will surely be missed by a Big Fan of Carl’s and of course the magazine.Blessed Be to you in the vast open sky. by Stardust.
We are going to really miss Carl, he was great! If it is alright, I wrote a short “In Memorium” blog article on him and his work with Llewellyn.
All the best to his family!
~Charlene