Donald Michael Kraig - The Magical Life of Scott Cunningham

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The Magical Life of Scott Cunningham 2012 by Donald Michael Kraig

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First e-book edition 2012

E-book ISBN: 9780738735894

Cover design by Kevin Brown

Cover image of flowers iStockphoto.com/Svetlana Turilova

Edited by Connie Hill

Portions of The Magical Life of Scott Cunningham were originally published in:

Magical Herbalism published in 2001 by Scott Cunningham. ISBN: 9780875421209

The Truth About Witchcraft Today published in 2002 by Scott Cunningham. ISBN: 9780875421278

Cunninghams Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs published in 2000 by Scott Cunningham. ISBN: 9780875421223

Cunninghams Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem and Metal Magic published in 2002 by Scott Cunningham. ISBN: 9780875421261

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner published in 2002 by Scott Cunningham. ISBN: 9780875421186

Living Wicca published in 2002 by Scott Cunningham. ISBN: 9780875421841

Cunninghams Guide to Hawaiian Magic and Spirituality published in 2009 by Scott Cunningham. ISBN: 9780738715469

Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public.

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Contents

: Scott and Me

: Natural Magic

: The Goddess and Wicca

: The Magic of Hawaii

The Magic of Scott Cunningham

By Donald Michael Kraig

Acknowledgments

I would like to gratefully thank Marilee Bigelow for her friendship and editorial comments. Marilee was one of Scotts best friends, often sharing her recipes with him as well as accompanying him on several adventures to Hawaii. I have no doubt that her friendship helped Scott become a better person. I know her friendship has done that for me.

Enormous thanks also go to Holly Allender Kraig for her excellent editorial suggestions.

Another thanks goes to Bill Krause for his guidance and for backing this project. His positive attitude about my work was responsible for this book. I am very pleased with the result, and its due to Bills encouragement.

And finally, I have to acknowledge Scott Cunningham. His life touched so many of us, his magic changed the world, and his friendship changed my life forever.

Introduction: Scott and Me

It began with rain.

I had been living north of San Diego in the beach town of Encinitas on a street called Vulcan. One morning I was awakened early. The landlord decided to resurface the flat roof by hiring some locals to replace the roofs tarpaper and gravel. It was a noisy, messy activity, and they didnt clean up afterward. They also didnt do a good job because a week later, during the seasons first heavy rain (yes, it does rain in California), the roof turned into a sieve. I put pots and pans everywhere but couldnt keep up with the intruding rainwater. The squishy carpet became moldy and the sickly sweet air became difficult to breathe. I had to find a place to movefast!

There was a store in San Diego called Ye Olde Enchantment Shoppe where I had been giving workshops on magic, Tarot, Kabalah, Tantra, etc. I went in and asked the owner, Judith Wise (who is now, sadly, in the Summerland), if she knew anyone with a place to rent. She told me that there was a young man looking for a roommate. He was an author. I went to his apartment, measured the room that was available, figured that it would work for me, and shook his hand. I moved in on February 29, 1980, the extra day of that leap year. Thus began six years of sharing an apartment with Scott Cunningham.

Although Scott was born in Michigan (in 1956), his family moved to San Diego in 1959 where, excluding brief trips, he lived for the rest of his life. He told me that he had always felt different, but it wasnt until high school that he saw his future.

From a young age, Scott had been interested in nature and in herbs. In 1971, his mother gave him a copy of The Supernatural by Hill and Williams. The book included Italian folk hand signs used to do such things as give protection and repel the evil eye. A few years later, a girl in his high school, whom Ill call D, recognized the signs and introduced herself. They became friends, and she introduced him to more magic and to Witchcraft. From this time on, natural magic, Witchcraft, and writing became the focus of the rest of his life.

Scott joined the Navy, but the extreme regimentation didnt agree with his nature. He performed some magic and achieved the result he desired: an early yet honorable discharge.

Scott took a number of odd jobs, ranging from working at a Jack in the Box fast food restaurant to a typist at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. He went on to college, studying creative writing. He dropped out after two years because he had more published articles and books than most of his professors. To earn a living, Scott became what I like to call a hack writer. To outsiders, hacks are usually thought of as bad writers, but the truth is they do something that is very challenging. They are paid to write articles or books on a specific topic. Even if theyre unfamiliar with the topic, they have to learn all they can and write an article or book that indicates they know everything. Few people can do this believably and well, but Scott was able to do so. For example, while we shared that apartment he wrote articles for truck and automobile magazines although he had little personal interest in the subject.

One of the things I admired about Scott was his incredible focus. When he was working on a book almost nothing could get in his wayexcept the need for money. Many times, toward the end of the month, Id knock on his door and remind him that his truck columns would be due soon. I did that because hed get paid quickly and together we could pay the rent. Hed stop typing and leave without saying a thing. But I know what was going on. He was going to the library to do research for his next column. I like to think that my reminders helped us to stay in that apartment.

At the time I moved in, Scott was already publishing novels, and his first non-fiction book, Magical Herbalism , had been accepted for publication. During those pre-computer days, Scott was using one of the finest typewriters availablea red IBM Selectric. Although the output was beautiful, there were so many moving parts in it that it would frequently break down. He had a contract with a repair company to come out and fix it when needed. I still remember hearing him tapping keys as the words flew out of him at a tremendous rate, followed by selective tapping (when he realized that something was wrong), and then the pounding of his fists on the table as he yelled, Damn! Damn! Damn! A phone call to the repair company ensued.