Gerina Dunwich
Encyclopedia
Gerina Dunwich is a professional astrologer
, occult
historian, and New Age
author, best known for her books on Wicca
and various occult subjects. She is also involved in paranormal
research and is the founder of the Paranormal Animal Research Group, which investigates cases of alleged hauntings by animal spirits.
Her first newspaper article was published in October 1976. It was an interview with singer/songwriter Jim Peterik
from the local Chicago
band, the Ides of March (and later, Survivor
). By the spring of 1980 Dunwich was publishing a small press literary journal called Golden Isis, a one-woman operation that specialized in Goddess-inspired poetry
and off-beat fiction
.
In December 1993 she moved to Fort Covington, Franklin County, New York
, where she opened a small shop on High Street called "The Country Witch" (later renamed "The Calico Cat Whatnot Shop"), which sold antiques, curios and various occult supplies. She officially established Coven Mandragora on Candlemas 1996 and served as its High Priestess. That same year she established the Wheel of Wisdom School (an educational organization offering correspondence courses on the sabbats) and the Pagan Poets Society (a literary circle for writers and publishers of Pagan poetry), along with a local networking organization known as North Country Wicca. In February 1998 she received a ministerial license from the Universal Life Church
.
A respected spokesperson for the Wiccan/Pagan community, Dunwich has been a guest on numerous radio talk shows throughout the United States
and Canada
. She has lectured and presented workshops at festivals and gatherings across the country, such as the CraftWise Pagan Gathering (Waterbury, Connecticut), the Real Witches' Ball (Columbus, Ohio), and Panpipes' Pagan Day Festival (West Hollywood, California).
A member of the Fellowship of Isis
, Circle, the Pagan Poets Society, the Authors Guild, and the Authors League of America, Dunwich's biography can be found in such reference works as Who's Who in the East, Personalities of America, The Wicca Source Book, The Modern Witch's Complete Sourcebook, and Crossroads: Who's Who of the Magickal Community (published by The Witching Well Education and Research Center, 1988). Dunwich is also mentioned in the book, Goddesses and Wise Women by Anne Carson
(The Crossing Press, 1992) and in other works. Her articles, poetry, and reviews have appeared in numerous publications, including Sage Woman, Magical Blend, Circle Network News, Pagan Free Press, and American Woman
.
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
, occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
historian, and New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
author, best known for her books on Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
and various occult subjects. She is also involved in paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
research and is the founder of the Paranormal Animal Research Group, which investigates cases of alleged hauntings by animal spirits.
Her first newspaper article was published in October 1976. It was an interview with singer/songwriter Jim Peterik
Jim Peterik
Jim Peterik is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as a member of the band Survivor and as vocalist and songwriter of the hit song "Vehicle" by The Ides of March...
from the local Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
band, the Ides of March (and later, Survivor
Survivor (band)
Survivor is an American rock band formed in Chicago in 1978. The band achieved its greatest success in the 1980s with its AOR sound, which garnered many charting singles, especially in the United States. The band is best known for its double platinum-certified 1982 hit "Eye of the Tiger", the theme...
). By the spring of 1980 Dunwich was publishing a small press literary journal called Golden Isis, a one-woman operation that specialized in Goddess-inspired poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
and off-beat fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
.
In December 1993 she moved to Fort Covington, Franklin County, New York
Franklin County, New York
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 51,599. It is named in honor of American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin...
, where she opened a small shop on High Street called "The Country Witch" (later renamed "The Calico Cat Whatnot Shop"), which sold antiques, curios and various occult supplies. She officially established Coven Mandragora on Candlemas 1996 and served as its High Priestess. That same year she established the Wheel of Wisdom School (an educational organization offering correspondence courses on the sabbats) and the Pagan Poets Society (a literary circle for writers and publishers of Pagan poetry), along with a local networking organization known as North Country Wicca. In February 1998 she received a ministerial license from the Universal Life Church
Universal Life Church
The Universal Life Church is a religious organization that offers anyone semi-immediate ordination as a ULC minister free of charge. The organization states that anyone can become a minister immediately, without having to go through the pre-ordination process required by other religious faiths...
.
A respected spokesperson for the Wiccan/Pagan community, Dunwich has been a guest on numerous radio talk shows throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. She has lectured and presented workshops at festivals and gatherings across the country, such as the CraftWise Pagan Gathering (Waterbury, Connecticut), the Real Witches' Ball (Columbus, Ohio), and Panpipes' Pagan Day Festival (West Hollywood, California).
A member of the Fellowship of Isis
Fellowship of Isis
The Fellowship of Isis is an international spiritual organization devoted to promoting awareness of the Goddess. It is dedicated specifically to the Egyptian goddess Isis because the FOI co-founders believed Isis best represented the energies of the dawning Aquarian Age...
, Circle, the Pagan Poets Society, the Authors Guild, and the Authors League of America, Dunwich's biography can be found in such reference works as Who's Who in the East, Personalities of America, The Wicca Source Book, The Modern Witch's Complete Sourcebook, and Crossroads: Who's Who of the Magickal Community (published by The Witching Well Education and Research Center, 1988). Dunwich is also mentioned in the book, Goddesses and Wise Women by Anne Carson
Anne Carson
Anne Carson is a Canadian poet, essayist, translator and professor of Classics. Carson lived in Montreal for several years and taught at McGill University, the University of Michigan, and at Princeton University from 1980-1987....
(The Crossing Press, 1992) and in other works. Her articles, poetry, and reviews have appeared in numerous publications, including Sage Woman, Magical Blend, Circle Network News, Pagan Free Press, and American Woman
American Woman
American Woman is the seventh album by Canadian rock band The Guess Who, released in 1970. It peaked at #9 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts...
.