Carl L. Weschcke
Encyclopedia
Carl Llewellyn Weschcke (born September 10, 1930 in St Paul, Minnesota) is a businessman and president/owner of Llewellyn Worldwide
(formerly Llewellyn Publications) since 1961. He received nationwide media attention when he bought the supposedly haunted
Summit Avenue Mansion in St. Paul in 1964, and claimed to have "numerous odd experiences" there.
Weschke bought Llewellyn Publications in early 1961 when he was president of Chester-Kent, Inc. In 1970, Weschcke opened the Gnostica Bookstore in Minneapolis, as well as the "Gnostica School for Self-Development", based on Gnostic 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 of the NAACP
's Minnesota
branch in 1959 and vice president
of the ACLU
's Minnesota
branch in 1965.
Llewellyn Worldwide
Llewellyn Worldwide is a New Age publisher, currently based in Woodbury, Minnesota, a suburb of St. Paul. 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,...
(formerly Llewellyn Publications) since 1961. He received nationwide media attention when he bought the supposedly haunted
Haunted house
A haunted house is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property...
Summit Avenue Mansion in St. Paul in 1964, and claimed to have "numerous odd experiences" there.
Weschke bought Llewellyn Publications in early 1961 when he was president of Chester-Kent, Inc. In 1970, Weschcke opened the Gnostica Bookstore in Minneapolis, as well as the "Gnostica School for Self-Development", based on Gnostic teachings. He also began the Gnostic Aquarian Festivals in Minneapolis, also known as Gnosticon
Gnosticon
Gnosticon, sometimes called the Gnostica Aquarian Convention, was a magical and Neopagan event sponsored by Carl L. Weschcke and Llewellyn Publications from 1971 through 1976, held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, one of the first such to be held in the United States....
during the 1970s, which helped fuel the rise in awareness of occult and metaphysical teachings.
Weschcke was elected president of the NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
's Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
branch in 1959 and vice president
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
of the ACLU
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
's Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
branch in 1965.