Llewellyn Worldwide (formerly Llewellyn Publications) is a

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

based in

Woodbury, Minnesota Woodbury is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States, eight miles (13 km) east of Saint Paul along Interstate 94. It is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The population was 75,102 at the 2020 census, making it ...

. Llewellyn's mission is to "serve the trade and consumers worldwide with options and tools for exploring new worlds of mind & spirit, thereby aiding in the quests of expanded human potential, spiritual consciousness, and planetary awareness."

History

Llewellyn Publications was formed in 1901 by Llewellyn George in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

. At first the company concentrated exclusively on

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

, in the form of both books and annuals. Later, Llewellyn began to branch out into other New Age topics such as

alternative healing Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and al ...

psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws ...

development, and earth-centered religions, among others. In 1920 Llewellyn Publications moved from Portland to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. George died in 1954 and the company was bought by Carl L. Weschcke in 1961, who then moved the headquarters to

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

. During the 1960s and 1970s, Llewellyn published books from authors such as Dion Fortune and

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...

writing on

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

and other topics. President and publisher Weschcke founded a series of Gnostic Aquarian festivals to help create a broader audience. Llewellyn went on to publish books such as

Raymond Buckland Raymond Buckland (31 August 1934 – 27 September 2017), whose craft name was Robat, was an English writer on the subject of Wicca and the occult, and a significant figure in the history of Wicca, of which he was a high priest in both the Gardne ...

's 1986 ''Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft'',

Scott Cunningham Scott Douglas Cunningham (June 27, 1956 – March 28, 1993) was an American writer. Cunningham is the author of several books on Wicca and various other alternative religious subjects. His work ''Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner'' ...

's 1988 ''Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner'', and

Ted Andrews Ted Andrews (July 15, 1952 – October 24, 2009) was an American author and teacher of esoteric practices, and a clairvoyant. His book on animals as spirit guides and symbols, ''Animal Speak'', sold almost 500,000 copies from 1993 to 2009; th ...

' 1993 ''Animal Speak'', a shamanistic guide to totem animals. The company also expanded into

tarot The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots ...

decks, magical "kits," and materials for younger readers. Declines in sales in 2001 spurred the company toward

layoff A layoff or downsizing is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or, more commonly, a group of employees (collective layoff) for business reasons, such as personnel management or downsizing (reducing the ...

s and a restructure of its sales and marketing departments in 2002. By the end of 2003 the company had rebounded with $16 million in gross sales."Llewellyn_looks_to_the_stars,"_ "Llewellyn_looks_to_the_stars,"_Publishers_Weekly
,_12_Jan_2004">Publishers_Weekly">"Llewellyn_looks_to_the_stars,"_Publishers_Weekly
,_12_Jan_2004/ref>_In_July_2005,_Llewellyn_moved_its_offices_to_the_St._Paul_suburb_of_Woodbury. On_February_1,_2005,_Llewellyn_launched_its_first_fiction_imprint,_Midnight_Ink._A_year_later,_Llewellyn_launched_its_second_fiction_imprint,_Flux_Books.

_Notable_authors

The_company_publishes_a_wide_offering_of_non-fiction_books_by_such_noted_authors_as_Scott_Cunningham_ Scott_Douglas_Cunningham_(June_27,_1956_–_March_28,_1993)_was_an_American_writer._Cunningham_is_the_author_of_several_books_on_Wicca_and_various_other_alternative_religious_subjects. His_work_''Wicca:_A_Guide_for_the_Solitary_Practitioner''_...

History

_Notable_authors

Notable authors

References

External links