Dunwich, Gerina (1959 )
Gerina Dunwich, a contemporary writer and Witch, was
born in Illinois on December 27, 1959. As a young girl, she had
vivid dreams of having been executed as a witch. She was introduced
to both Spiritualism and Witchcraft in 1969 by a cousin,
and found an immediate agreement with them. Shortly thereafter
she read Sybil Leeks Diary of a Witch and Raymond Bucklands
Witchcraft from the Inside, both of which became important
guides directing her to Neo-Pagan Wicca.
In 1977 she moved to Los Angeles to pursue an entertainment
career. She learned astrology and Tarot and began to
work on a book, The Lexicon of the Occult. She eventually became
a professional card reader and astrologer. In 1980 she began
a literary journal, Golden Isis, that soon focused on Goddessoriented
poetry and Wicca. She found a mate in Al Jaeker, a
musician, and in 1984 they moved to Massachusetts. She landed
her first book contract for Candlelight Spells, published in
1988. Through this period she became ever more deeply involved
in the occult and Wicca. She moved back to Los Angeles
in 1990 and then to upstate New York, to a small town near the
Canadian border, in 1994.
In New York Dunwich opened an occult shop, The Country
Witch, that became a focus for local Pagans. Two years later she
Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology 5th Ed. Dunwich, Gerina
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founded Coven Mandragora, an eclectic Wiccan group; Wheel
of Wisdom School, which offered correspondence courses; and
North Country Wicca, a networking organization for Wiccans.
In 1998 she accepted an ordination from the Universal Life
Church. That same year, she disbanded Coven Mandragora
and moved back to Los Angeles. There she created a new form
of Wicca drawing heavily on Egyptian themes, which she called
BastWicca, named after the cat deity of ancient Egypt.
Through the 1990s, Dunwich wrote a series of books on the
Craft, including several introductory texts, The Wicca Spellbook
(1994), Wicca Love Spells (1996), and The Wicca Source Book
(1996); and several reference books, the Concise Lexicon of the
Occult (1990) and Wicca A to Z (1998). She has a webpage at
httpwww.wicca.drak.netdunwichmain.htm.
Sources
Dunwich, Gerina. Concise Lexicon of the Occult. Secacus, NJ
Citadel Press, 1990.
. Wicca A to Z. New York Citadel Press, 1998.
. Wicca Love Spells. New York Citadel Press, 1996.
. The Wicca Source Book. New York Citadel Press,
1996.
. The Wicca Spellbook. New York Citadel Press, 1994.
