Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
Raymond Buckland: A Remembrance

Raymond Buckland: A Remembrance

Last updated on: October 3, 2017 at 8:24 am by Jason Mankey

Raymond Buckland: A Remembrance 2017-10-03T08:24:41-06:00 Jason Mankey

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Woke up to the news this morning that Raymond Buckland has passed, he was 83 years old. I can’t claim to have known Ray all that well, I did meet him once at an event, and that was the extend of my personal interactions with him. (For the record he was a perfect gentleman.) But I had many more experiences with him as a Craft elder and mentor. Buckland leaves behind a Witchcraft legacy that will outlive all of us, and deservedly so.

Ray at Lily Dale, picture from Controverscial.

Though English by birth, Buckland and his then wife Rosemary were the first practitioners of Wiccan-Witchcraft in the United States. After moving to the US in 1962, Buckland became interested in Witchcraft, and the following year he and his wife travelled to Perth Scotland to be initiated by one of Gerald Gardner’s High Priestesses, Monique Wilson. With the Gardnerian Book of Shadows firmly in hand they came back to the United States and promptly set up the first Gardnerian Coven in New York City (and the country for that matter).

Buckland’s Long Island Coven would become one of the great incubators of American Paganism in general, and “The Long Island Line” of Gardnerian Witchcraft would evolve from it. The amount of Witches who are LI Line Witches reads like a virtual “Who’s Who” of 20th and 21st Century American Paganism, and it can all be traced back to Ray and Rosemary. (Full disclosure, this author is a Long Island Line initiate.) He would also go on to start a second American-line after his divorce from Rosemary known as the Kentucky Line of Gardnerian Craft.

If establishing the Long Island Coven had been all that Buckland accomplished I’d still be writing about him today, but he accomplished much, much more than that. In many ways he is responsible for Eclectic Wicca’s flowering. By giving a young initiate named Ed Fitch the go-ahead to start what would become known as an “Outer Court” Buckland gave people a way into Pagan-Witchcraft without requiring an initiation.

Until the establishment of the Outer Court concept in the late 1960’s the only way to engage in Witch ritual was to be an initiate. Outer Courts functioned as a gateway into Gardnerian Wicca and allowed interested parties to at least get a feel for what the tradition might be like. Best of all, it didn’t violate any oaths, and allowed various Pagans and Witches to come together to celebrate the sabbats and other things.

But Buckland’s approval of the Outer Court was only just the beginning. In 1974 he published The Tree: The Complete Book of Saxon Witchcraft, a revolutionary volume that would change Witchcraft forever. By 1974 there were a handful of Wiccan-style Witchcraft books on the market, but most of those centered around coven work, and one of them (Lady Sheba’s Book of Shadows) violated an oath taken by the “author.” Buckland’s book was both for the lone practitioner and it didn’t violate any oaths.

As Buckland would explain on many occasions, his Seax-Wicca was an entirely new Witchcraft tradition and it didn’t require an initiation to be a part of! Looking at The Tree through the lens of 2017 it feels scant on details and exactly “how to do” everything, but for its time it was revolutionary. Fifteen years before Cunningham’s Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner Buckland had create the architecture for solitary practice. When discussing Buckland’s life and legacy this is an important moment that has been criminally overlooked the last 40 years, myself included.

For many Witches the book most associated with Buckland is not the The Tree, but Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft, known by many of us as “The Big Blue Book” or “Uncle Bucky’s Big Blue Book.” I’m one of those Witches who grew up with the Big Blue Book, and it was one of the first “how to” volumes I ever read. I devoured every page of that book as a Witchling, and it informed my work then and it informs my work today.

Along with The Spiral Dance, To Ride a Silver Broomstick, and Cunningham’s Wicca, it became a Generation X classic. In the 1990’s nearly every Witch I knew had those four books. As a result Buckland was more than just a huge influence on his Baby-Boomer generation, he became a Witch icon to a second generation. Buckland isn’t just another author in my household, he’s Uncle Bucky.

Buckland’s corvette at Lily Dale.

Buckland would go on to write a whole host of other books, all of them worth a read, though few would become as iconic as The Tree or the Blue Book. Though at one point Buckland officially retired from the Craft he kept writing books about Witchcraft and he kept inspiring people. In 2011 he had a cameo role in the documentary film No One Dies in Lily Dale, which was a look at the spiritualist community located in Lily Dale New York.

Many of the “readers” in that film came across as pretty unreliable but then in the middle of the film you see Ray Buckland doing a reading, and the tone of the film changes. Buckland is serious, compassionate, and there’s no doubt that he’s tapped into something greater than himself. When watching it my wife and I smiled, “THAT’S BUCKLAND” I literally shouted at the television. Buckland inspired at Lily Dale, he inspired in life, and will inspire for generations to come.

Thanks Ray.

(As I finish up this article I’m sitting an airport bar, so apologies in advance if I’m off with a date or two. For more on Buckland’s life and career click on this article at Controverscial.)

Uncategorized

Gardnerian Witchcraft

Previous Post

September 27, 2017

These Things Aren't All True: Falsehoods in the Pagan Community

Next Post

October 2, 2017 Santa Muerte: The History, Rituals, and Magic of Our Lady of the Holy Death

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Editorializing Gateways to Paganism Guest Posts Holiday Histories Led Zeppelin News and Views Occult Pagan Pagan TV Club Paganism polytheism Ramble On Reviews Ritual Strange Days Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2026 March 2026 February 2026 November 2025 September 2025 August 2025 April 2025 August 2024 April 2024 February 2024 December 2023 October 2023 August 2023 June 2023 May 2023 January 2023 October 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 April 2012 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In Revelation, what do the souls under the altar cry out for?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Mercy for their persecutors Justice and vengeance for their blood The return of Christ Peace on earth