David Godwin, 73, died on October 16, 2012, in Minnesota. Godwin was born in 1939 in Dallas, Texas, and was a onetime resident of Houston, Atlanta, Miami, and New York City.
Godwin held a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin. During his life, Godwin worked as a manual laborer, a newspaper reporter, an editor for a petrochemical magazine, a technical editor for two NASA contractors during the Apollo missions, a typesetter, and a professional writer.
Godwin was the managing editor of FATE magazine in the years before he passed away. He had been a member of FATE magazine's editorial staff for more than a decade, and a close colleague of FATE Editor-in-Chief Phyllis Galde. She would write about him: "We had so much fun in the past 22 years. He was my best friend, my mentor, my business partner, and helpful caretaker of all the animals when I had to travel."
Godwin and Galde were actually roommates, and Galde had helped Godwin move from Texas. She would find his body, and noted to friends, "He died peacefully in his rocking chair with his headphones on.”
Galde described it this way in FATE in March/April 2013:
I went to bed to read and he sat down in his rocking chair, intending to listen to music or watch TV. A couple of hours later, I saw that his light was on and went to ask him to shut his door or turn off his light. He was sleeping in his rocking chair. Only it was the long sleep. He looked very peaceful, head back, and arms resting on the chair arms. He has left a deep void, but was much loved.
Godwin was the author and/or editor of the following books:
Light In Extension (Llewellyn Publications, 1991)
(The publication date is incorrectly listed as "1951" by Amazon and other sites.)
How to Choose Your own Tarot (Llewellyn Publications, 1995)
The Truth About Cabala (Llewellyn Publications, 2002)
Godwin's Cabalistic Encyclopedia (Llewellyn Publications, 1989, 1994, 2002)
True Ghosts 2 (Llewellyn Publications, 2010)
True Ghosts 3 (Llewellyn Publications, 2011)
True UFO Stories (Llewellyn Publications, 2011)
Godwin wrote about himself in the Cabalistic Encyclopedia:
David Godwin is a longtime student of the cabala, occult lore, and magick. Past Master of an esoteric lodge, he has authored The Truth about Cabala, Light in Extension, and How to Choose Your Own Tarot. As well as editing and publishing The Qabalistic Messenger and compiling the index to the current edition of Israel Regardie’s The Golden Dawn, Godwin has had articles published in FATE, Gnostica, Llewellyn’s Magical Almanac, The Golden Dawn Journal, The Texas Ranger, Dragon, Crypt of Cthulhu, and elsewhere.
Sometimes people who die do not receive the appreciation they deserve, because their death is little noted in the broader community. On this year's October 16th, let us remember Godwin for the good words and thoughts he shared in the realm of alternative insights.
In keeping with the theme of this blog, a twilight language viewing of David Godwin's name would note that Godwin has an Old English origin, with the Anglo-Saxon meaning being "friend of God, good friend."
David is a name with Hebrew origins, and means "beloved."
David Godwin was a beloved friend of God and a beloved, good friend to many who would, even from a distance, know him via FATE and his books.
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