Llewellyn Publications
Llewellyn Publications
Founded as Llewellyn Publishing Co. in Portland, Oregon, by astrologer Llewellyn George (1876-1954). The company existed for many years in Los Angeles, becoming the leading publishing house of astrological literature in America. In the years after George's death, it was acquired by Minnesota businessman Carl Lllewellyn Weschcke (a relative of George) and is now located in St. Paul, Minnesota, under the name Llewellyn Publications. It has emerged as one of the largest publishing and wholesaling organizations of occult, witchcraft, and magical literature in the United States.
During the early days of the Wicca revival, Llewellyn was one of the first to publish a version of the witchcraft manual, the Book of Shadows, and Weschske emerged as a champion of disclosing all the secrets of coven life. Llewellyn also published the periodicals Gnostica, Astrology Now, and Aquarian Age Preview, as well as the annual Moon Sign Book, a standard astrological text first edited by George in 1905.
The large retail bookstore Gnostica was opened in Minneapolis on January 15, 1970, but was closed after a few years. The company, however, maintains a large mail-order operation. For a few years in the 1970s it sponsored an annual Aquarian Age Festival, which included lectures, readings, and consultations.