Catherine Yronwode
Yronwode in 1977
Born	Catherine Anna Manfredi (1947-05-12)May 12, 1947 (age 77) San Francisco, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Writer, editor, publisher
Notable work	Eclipse Comics editor-in-chief
Spouses	Dean Mullaney ​ ​ (m. 1987; div. 1993)​ Nagasiva Bryan W Yronwode ​ ​ (m. 2000)​
Awards	Inkpot Award 1983

Catherine Anna Yronwode (néeManfredi; May 12, 1947) is an American writer,editor, graphic designer, typesetter, and publisher with an extensive career in thecomic book industry. She is also a practitioner offolk magic.

Catherine Anna Manfredi was born in 1947 in San Francisco. Her father was Joseph Manfredi, aSicilian American abstract artist, and her mother, Liselotte Erlanger, a writer, was anAshkenazi Jewishrefugee fromNazi Germany.^[1] She is a cousin of the composerFranz Reizenstein and the economistOtto Eckstein.^[2][3] Manfredi grew up inBerkeley andSanta Monica, and traveling abroad.^[4]

She attendedShimer College inIllinois as an early entrant, but dropped out.^[5] Returning to Berkeley, she sold theBerkeley Barb underground newspaper on the streets and catalogued rare books for her parents' bookstore. In 1965 she left urban life for rural places.^[4]

Yronwode began writing while in her teens, contributing toscience fiction fanzines during the 1960s. She was a member of the Bay Area Astrologers Group, co-writing its weekly astrology column for an underground newspaper,San Francisco Express Times. She produced record reviews on a freelance basis for the nascentRolling Stone magazine, and short articles onlow-tech living for theWhole Earth Catalog andCountry Women magazine. While in jail for growing marijuana, she wrote about her experiences ("Letters from Jail") for theSpokane Natural anunderground newspaper. With her mother Liselotte Glozer, Catherine co-wrote and hand-lettered the faux-medievalcookbook,My Lady's Closet Opened and the Secret of Baking Revealed by Two Gentlewomen (Glozer's Booksellers, 1969).^[6]

Describing herself as "one of those girls who took a look around at what the boys were doing", she quickly became an avid reader ofMarvel Comics'Silver Age material, beginning withFantastic Four andThe Amazing Spider-Man.Doctor Strange soon became her favourite, and when the initial series was cancelled in 1969 she gave up reading comics for several years.^[7] The same year, she and her then-partner Peter Paskin created the joint name "Yronwode" and all of her subsequent work has been published under that surname.^[4] She generally styles her name in lower case, as "catherine yronwode."^[1] or even "cat⊕ yronwode" (pronounced 'iron-wood').^[7]

The 1974 revival ofDoctor Strange drew Yronwode back to comics. While unemployed in 1977, Yronwode created amagico-religious index to the comic called theLesser Book of the Vishanti; she later published parts of it in various small presses and it is posted on her website in updated form. Marvel writers are said to have consulted it.^[8][9] She wrote a lengthy letter to the title in 1978, which took over nearly the entire column; Yronwode's address was printed in the column; she received large amounts of fan mail, including amarriage proposal. At this point she had separated from Paskin and was living alone in alog cabin inMissouri, so she wrote back to many of the letters and would keep in touch with many of the writers.^[7] Yronwode began a career as a freelance magazine writer while also continuing to contribute to fanzines.

In 1980, Yronwode began work atKen Pierce Books, editing and writing introductions to a line ofcomic strip reprint books. Titles includedModesty Blaise byPeter O'Donnell andJim Holdaway,Mike Hammer byMickey Spillane, andThe Phantom byLee Falk.^[10]

Also in 1980 Yronwode succeededMurray Bishoff as news reporter forComics Buyer's Guide^[11] and began a long-running column "Fit to Print," presenting a variety of industry news, reviews, obituaries, and opinion pieces.Tales of the Beanworld creatorLarry Marder credits her positive review for his title's success.^[12] Similarly, whenDan Brereton received a poor review from Yronwode for an early project, he felt his "promising career in comics was over."^[13] The column, and her work with theAPA-I comic-book indexing cooperative, led to freelance editing jobs atKitchen Sink Press. She wroteThe Art ofWill Eisner in 1981 and produced several other books for Kitchen Sink over the next few years.^[14][15]

While working at Eisner's archives in December 1981, she metDean Mullaney, the co-founder ofEclipse Enterprises, agraphic novel publisher. Yronwode recalled that Eisner and his wife Ann "hosted a party for me with all these comic book men I was flirting with. All these men came up; they all wanted to meet Will. One of them was Dean Mullaney, the co-owner of Eclipse Comics, a small independent publishing house. He was the most flirtatious."^[16] As well as beginning a romantic relationship, the pair also began working together; Dean and his brother Jan were looking to expand beyond graphic novels to regular comics while retaining thecreator-owned ethos, and Yronwode's knowledge of comics and wide list of contacts saw her effectively become the company's editor-in-chief, starting withDestroyer Duck. She was in the post unofficially for around a year; she and Mullaney also kept their relationship private to avoid accusations she had only gotten the job because they were lovers.^[7]

When Yronwode officially took over as Editor-in-Chief in October 1984, Dean Mullaney moved over to the role of publisher. She quickly became the public face of the company at conventions and other events, and began a column calledPenumbra that was printed on the inside cover of all of Eclipse's comic books, while continuing to writeFit to Print.Penumbra would mix promotion of Eclipse's titles with industry musings and other topical comment.^[17] She remained outspoken, often criticising the editorial and business policies of both Marvel andDC Comics. At her instigation, Eclipse ran a series of full-page advertisements during 1986 (Marvel's much-publicized 25th anniversary) featuring a large portrait ofJack Kirby and the text "What About Jack?", in reference to the company's refusal to return the artist's artwork.^[17]

In 1983, after a brief stop-over in Missouri, Yronwode and Dean Mullaney relocated Eclipse's publishing operations toGuerneville, California; in early 1984, Jan Mullaney sold his interest in the company to the pair in order to concentrate on his music career.^[17] Eclipse's output rapidly grew, and by the mid-1980s they were the third-largest company in the American comics industry, despite only selling their titles via thedirect market.^[18] Through a mixture of a booming industry, a growing creator-owned movement, Dean Mullaney's business acumen, and Yronwode's intricate knowledge of the market, the company published numerous award-winning titles, includingScott McCloud'sZot!,Mark Evanier'sThe DNAgents andAlan Moore'sMiracleman, as well as importing numerous titles from theUnited Kingdom andJapan for the American market.^[17] In 1983, Yronwode won anInkpot Award, given for lifetime achievement in comics and related areas.^[19]

Yronwode and the cartoonistTrina Robbins co-wroteWomen and the Comics in 1985; the book was a history of female comics creators.^[20] As the first book on this subject, its publication was noted both by the mainstream press and the fan press.^[21][22][23] Yronwode was writing another non-fiction book, a biography ofSteve Ditko, but the work was lost when Eclipse's offices were flooded in February 1986.^[24] Yronwode covered the events - which included herself and Mullaney losing most of their possessions when their house also flooded - inFit to Print andPenumbra columns.^[25] The events would be alluded to in a tongue-in-cheek framing sequence Yronwode wrote forMiracleman #8.^[26]

With the comic market contracting in the late 1980s, Eclipse developed a new line of non-fiction, non-sportstrading cards, edited by Yronwode. Controversial political subjects such as theIran-Contra scandal, theSavings and Loan crisis, theAIDS epidemic, and theKennedy Assassination, as well astrue crime accounts ofserial killers,mass murderers, themafia, andorganized crime were covered in these card sets. Yronwode was widely interviewed in the media about her role in their creation.^[27]

In 1993, Yronwode and Mullaney divorced, at which point the company's finances disintegrated, leading to bankruptcy for the company in 1995.^[28]

During her time at Eclipse, Yronwode was involved in three court cases related tofree speech/free expression under the First Amendment.

• In the 1986Illinois v. Correa obscenity case, which led to the founding of theComic Book Legal Defense Fund,^[29] Yronwode was an expert witness for the defense.^[30]
• In 1992, the convictedserial killerKenneth Bianchi, one-half of the pair known as theHillside Stranglers, sued Yronwode forUSD$8.5 million for having an image of his face depicted on a trading card; he claimed his face was his trademark. The judge dismissed the case after ruling that, if Bianchi had been using his face as a trademark when he was killing women, he would not have tried to hide it from the police.^[31][32]
• Also in 1992, Eclipse was a plaintiff whenNassau County, New York, seized a crime-themed trading card series of theirs under a county ordinance prohibiting sales of certain trading cards to minors.^[33] The case, in which Yronwode testified and theAmerican Civil Liberties Union provided Eclipse's representation, reached the2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. It ruled against the county, overturning the ordinance.^[34][35][36]

Following the end of Eclipse, Yronwode joinedClaypool Comics. In 1998, she was joined at Claypool by Tyagi Nagasiva. They married in 2000, at which time he changed his name to Nagasiva Bryan W. Yronwode. Both Yronwodes continued to work for Claypool until that company ceased print publication in 2007.

During the 1990s, Yronwode was a staff editor and contributor toOrganic Gardening Magazine and wroteThe California Gardener's Book of Lists (Taylor, 1998). Other subjects she has covered includecollectibles, popular culture,^[10] rural acousticblues music, earlyrock'n'roll,sexuality,^[1]magic,sacred architecture,^[37] the worldwide use of charms and talismans, African Americanhoodoo, and otherfolklore subjects. She runs the websites luckymojo.com, herbmagic.com, southern-spirits.com, and missionaryindependent.org, which deal with these and other topics, including comic books.

She is the co-proprietor, with her husband Nagasiva Yronwode, of the Lucky Mojo Curio Company, an occult shop, spiritual supply manufactory, book publishing firm, and internet radio network for which she writes, edits, and produces graphic label art. She is on the board of the Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology (YIPPIE), a 501(c)3 not-for-profit foundation that archives the material culture of 19th and 20th century folk magic and divination. Since 2006, she has been a pastor at Missionary Independent Spiritual Church. Under the imprints of the Lucky Mojo Curio Company, Missionary Independent Spiritual Church, and YIPPIE, the Yronwodes edit and publish books by a variety of other authors as well as their own works.^{[4][38][39][40]} Extensive interviews with the Yronwodes can be found in Christine Wicker's survey of early 21st-century magical practitioners,Not in Kansas Anymore,^[4] and in Carolyn Morrow Long's academic history of 20th-century occult shops,Spiritual Merchants: Religion, Magic, and Commerce.^[38]

From 1965 to 1980, Yronwode lived as a ruralback-to-the-landhippie at Tolstoy Peace Farm, an anarchistcommune inWashington; the Equitable Farm commune inMendocino County, California, and the Garden of Joy Blues commune inOregon County, Missouri.^[41]

In 1967, Yronwode began a relationship with Peter Paskin; in 1969, they devised the new surname Yronwode. In 1970, they were interviewed at length byRolling Stone magazine for an article on hippie anarchist communes.^[42]

The couple had two children: Cicely (who was born in 1970 and died ofSIDS the same year) and Althaea, born in 1971. In 1972, the Yronwodes relocated to the Garden of Joy Blues commune in theMissouriOzarks. Their partnership ended in 1976.^[1][41]

After working and living together from 1981 onward, Yronwode andDean Mullaney married in 1987. They divorced in 1993.^[43]

Yronwode lives on an old farmstead in ruralForestville, California, in "tantric partnership" with Nagasiva Bryan W Yronwode.^[1][4] They met in 1998 and married in 2000.^[44]

• My Lady's Closet Opened and the Secret of Baking Revealed, by Two Gentlewomen (with Liselotte Erlanger Glozer). Glozer's Booksellers, 1969.
• The Lesser Book of the Vishanti, 1977, rev. 2002, various private publishers.
• Will Eisner Color Treasury (withWill Eisner).Kitchen Sink Press,1981.ISBN 0-87816-006-X
• The Art of Will Eisner. Kitchen Sink Press, 1982.ISBN 0-87816-004-3
• Women and the Comics (withTrina Robbins). Eclipse, 1983.ISBN 0-913035-01-7
• The Outer Space Spirit: 1952 (with Will Eisner,Wally Wood, andPete Hamill). Kitchen Sink Press, 1989.ISBN 0-87816-012-4
• The California Gardener's Book of Lists (with Eileen Smith). Taylor Publishing, 1998.ISBN 0-87833-964-7
• Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic. Lucky Mojo, 2002.ISBN 0-9719612-0-4
• Hoodoo Rootwork Correspondence Course. Lucky Mojo, 2006.ISBN 0-9719612-2-0
• Throwing the Bones: Foretelling the Future With Bones, Shells, and Nuts. Lucky Mojo, 2012.ISBN 978-0971961234
• The Art of Hoodoo Candle Magic in Rootwork, Conjure, and Spiritual Church Services (withMikhail Strabo). Missionary Independent Spiritual Church, 2013.ISBN 0-9836483-6-0
• The Black Folder: Personal Communications on the Mastery of Hoodoo (editor / contributor, with 17 other authors). Missionary Independent Spiritual Church, 2013.ISBN 978-0-9836483-7-6
• Paper in My Shoe: Name Papers, Petition Papers, and Prayer Papers in the Hoodoo Rootwork Tradition. Lucky Mojo, 2015.ISBN 978-0996147101
• Legends of Incense, Herb, and Oil Magic: Esoteric Students' Handbook of Legendary Formulas and Facts byLewis de Claremont, Restored, Revised, and Edited by catherine yronwode. Lucky Mojo, 2016.ISBN 978-0-9961471-1-8
• This Amazing Book - Hoodoo Herb and Root Medicine - Opens the Door to Better Health by Sunrae Products Co., Restored, Revised, and Edited by catherine yronwode. Lucky Mojo, 2017.ISBN 978-0-9961471-6-3
• The Art of Making Mojos: How to Craft Conjure Hands, Trick Bags, Tobies, Gree-Grees, Jomos, Jacks, and Nation Sacks. Lucky Mojo, 2018.ISBN 978-0-9997809-0-9
• Genuine Black and White Magic ofMarie Laveau (withZora Neale Hurston, Anna Riva, Anne Fleitman (Henri Gamache), Larry B. Wright,Franz Hartmann, Abe Plough, et al.). Lucky Mojo, 2018.ISBN 978-0-9997809-2-3
• The Secret of Numbers Revealed. (with Dr. Roy Page Walton, Lewis de Claremont, Godfrey Spencer, and Frank Householder). Lucky Mojo, 2019.ISBN 978-0-9997809-3-0
• The Red Folder: Private Lessons on the Practice of Hoodoo (editor / contributor, with 48 other authors). Missionary Independent Spiritual Church, 2019.ISBN 978-0-9960523-6-8
• Secrets of the Crystal Silence League: Crystal Ball Gazing, The Master Key to Silent Influence. (withClaude Alexander Conlin and Deacon Millett). Missionary Independent Spiritual Church, 2019.ISBN 978-0-9960523-5-1
• Bottle Up and Go!: The Magic of Hoodoo Container Spells in Boxes, Bags, Bowls, Buckets, and Jars. (with Lara Rivera). Lucky Mojo, 2020.ISBN 978-0-9997809-4-7
• The Stranger in the Cup: How to Read Your Luck and Fate in the Tea Leaves. (with Gregory Lee White). Lucky Mojo, 2020.ISBN 978-0-9997809-6-1
• Terrors of the Evil Eye Exposed: Protection From Evil. (withHenri Gamache and Dr. Jeremy Weiss). Lucky Mojo, 2021.ISBN 978-0-9997809-8-5
• How to Use Amulets, Charms, and Talismans in the Hoodoo and Conjure Tradition: Physical Magic for Protection, Health, Money, Love, and Long Life. (with Gregory Lee White). Lucky Mojo, 2021.ISBN 978-0-9997809-9-2
• Down-Home Sex Magic: Hoodoo Spells of Bodily Love. Lucky Mojo, 2021.ISBN 978-0-9997809-7-8
• Hoodoo Dolls and Effigies: How to Craft and Cast Spells with Poppets, Fetishes, and Voodoo Dolls in the African-American Conjure Tradition. Lucky Mojo, 2022.ISBN 978-1-7376516-2-8
• Sneaky Tricks: How to Hide Your Hoodoo Spells in Plain Sight. (with Miss Michaele). Lucky Mojo, 2023.ISBN 978-1-7376516-3-5
• Astrology for Rootworkers: Spell-Casting with the Zodiac in Hoodoo and Conjure. (with Prof. A. F. Seward). Lucky Mojo, 2023.ISBN 978-1-7376516-4-2

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCatherine Yronwode.

• Official site
• Catherine Yronwode at the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)

• 1947 births
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• American occult writers
• American people convicted of drug offenses
• American writers of Italian descent
• American Ashkenazi Jews
• American comic book editors
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• People from Forestville, California
• Shimer College alumni
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• Writers from San Francisco
• Jewish American non-fiction writers
• Jewish women writers
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• 21st-century American Jews

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