Raymond Buckland: The Father of American Witchcraft
Thursday March 20, 2008 12:33 PM
Wicca has been one of the fastest growing religions for decades. Born in England after World War II, it has spread around the globe. One of the key figures who helped to launch this religion is Raymond Buckland, often called "the Father of American Witchcraft."
Buckland, an Englishman, was the first major Witch to import Wicca to American shores. With Gypsy blood and a background in Spiritualism and esotericism, it was no surprise that he was drawn to the new Witchcraft — also called Wicca — that was revealed in England the 1950s by Goddess and the Horned God, the masculine aspect of deity (not the Devil), and embraced magical arts.
The new Witchcraft became the rage, and it popularity continued even after the ideas of Witchcraft as a "Old Religion" were laid to rest.
Buckland, who holds a doctorate in anthropology, read Gardner's works on Witchcraft and found the new religion appealing. He contacted Gardner and struck up a long-distance friendship, for Gardner was living on the Isle of Man at the time.
In 1962, Buckland and his wife, Rosemary, immigrated to the United States and settled on Long Island. Buckland became a spokesperson for Gardner in the States. In 1963, the Bucklands went back to visit England, and met Gardner. Buckland was initiated into the Craft by one of Gardner's high priestess, Lady Olwen (Monique Wilson), in keeping with the tradition of women initiating men and men initiating women. Rosemary was initiated later. The timing was fortuitous, for Gardner died a year later.
In America, the Bucklands set up a coven and began teaching Witchcraft and initiating people into the "Gardnerian tradition." By the mid-1970s, Buckland felt Gardnerian Wicca no longer met his religious needs, and he founded his own tradition, Seax-Wica, based on a Saxon heritage, and open and democratic.
More traditions have followed, created and developed by many others in the Craft. Wicca, the largest Neo-Pagan religion, has expanded rapidly since its early Gardnerian days. It is highly autonomous and eclectic, blending elements of diverse religious and spiritual traditions into new traditions.
Since planting the early seeds, Buckland has become a stellar author on Wicca, divination, mediumship and other metaphysical topics, with nearly 60 nonfiction and fiction books to his credit. He has consulted on major films, and is a popular presenter at the Lily Dale Assembly Spiritualist Camp in Lily Dale, New York. He lives in rural north-central Ohio with his present wife, Tara, where he is working on his autobiography.
