Raymond Buckland was responsible for introducing Gardnerian Witchcraft into America in 1964.  He is also the founder of his own tradition of Witchcraft called Seax-Wica, and for a time operated his own Museum of Witchcraft in America.  He has been a leading spokesman for the Craft in America for more than three decades.

Buckland was born in London, England, on the 31st August 1934.  In February of 1962, Buckland immigrated to the United States and settled in Brentwood, Long Island, New York.  For the next ten years he worked for British Airways (then known as BOAC), which enabled him to travel extensively.  Shortly after his arrival in the States two books came into his possession that would greatly influence his life and beliefs, The Witch-Cult In Western Europe by Margaret A. Murray (1921), and Witchcraft Today by Gerald B. Gardner (1954).

Until reading these two books, Buckland had never looked upon Witchcraft as a religion, but now he realized he had found what he felt was missing, an old but new religion that appealed to his own beliefs and sense of history, “Wicca”.  For more information about Wicca, he contacted Gerald Gardner in the Isle of Man, and soon began a long-distance mail and telephone friendship with him.  As their friendship matured Buckland became Gardner’s spokesman in the United States, and whenever Gardner received a query from the U.S., it was forwarded to and answered by Buckland.

In 1963 Buckland and his then wife Rosemary flew back to the UK to be initiated and raised in Perth, Scotland by Gardner’s main High Priestess ‘Monique Wilson.’  Gardner joined them for the initiation ceremony.

Interest in Witchcraft was catching on quickly in America, but Buckland built his coven slowly and with caution.  There were many that wanted to become Gardnerian Witches who felt that Buckland was being overly cautious. Those who didn’t want to wait for initiation simply went away and started their own covens.  Buckland persisted. He wanted only those with a genuine interest in the craft as a religion.  In the early 1980’s he and his second wife Joan began to drift apart and were divorced in 1982.  Just a year later he married again to his third and current wife Tara Cochran of Cleveland.  They lived for a couple of years in Charlottesville, Virginia, before moving to San Diego, California.  There they re-established the correspondence course and also set up a publishing company called “Taray Publications” using it to published the Seax-Wica Voys, a Wiccan magazine.  Eventually running the correspondence course took too much time away from his writing, so Buckland decided to close it down and phased it out.  By this time, however, the Seax-Wica tradition was well established worldwide.

Over the next few years, while he continued to write, Buckland rekindled his teenage passion for acting and theatre, and went to work for a theatrical and film casting company in San Diego.  During this period he became a close friend of the character actor John Carradine, and worked with him through the last few years of his life.  He also worked with Orson Welles, as the Technical Consultant on his film “Necromancy,” and the director of such hit movies as:  “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist”, William Friedkin. 

In 1992, after more than a quarter of a century working in and leading the craft in America, Buckland decided to retire from active participation.  He moved his family to a small farmstead in north central Ohio.  There except for occasional public appearances, lectures, workshops and book signings, he is content to concentrate on his writing and work with his wife Tara as solitaries.  His leisure interests include flying ultra-light aircraft and building unusual automobiles.

Buckland was a much sought-after authority on the occult, magic and the supernatural.  He was a prolific and diverse writer, covering such subjects as mystery and fantasy fiction, screenplays, divination systems, spiritualism and metaphysical nonfiction.  He has averaged more than one book a year over the last thirty years.  He has also written numerous magazine and newspaper articles, television scripts for the ITV’s The Army Game, a pilot script Sly Digs, for the BBC, and for a short time was the personal scriptwriter for the English comedian “Ted Lane”. 
As well as writing, Buckland has appeared in public promoting the craft all across America, he has been seen on BBC-TV in England, the RAI-TV in Italy, and the CBC-TV in Canada.  He has also appeared extensively on stage in England as an actor, and played small role character parts in moves in America.  As a distinguished teacher on craft and occult subjects, he has taught courses at New York State University, Hofstra University, New Hampshire Technical Collage and for Hampton, Virginia City Council.

Selected Bibliography:

A Pocket Guide to the Supernatural (Ace Books, NY 1969)
Practical Candleburning Rituals (Llewellyn Publications, MN 1970)
Witchcraft from the Inside (Llewellyn, MN 1971)
The Tree: Complete Book of Saxon Witchcraft (Samuel Weiser, ME 1974)
Practical Color Magick (Llewellyn, MN 1983)
Color Magick: Unleash Your Inner Powers (Llewellyn, MN 2nd edition 2002)
Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft (Llewellyn, MN 1986)
Scottish Witchcraft (Llewellyn, MN 1991)
Doors to other Worlds (Llewellyn, MN 1993)
Ray Buckland’s Magic Cauldron (Galde Press, MN 1995)
Advanced Candle Magic (Llewellyn, MN 1996)
Witchcraft Yesterday and Today – video (Llewellyn, MN 1990)
Gypsy Witchcraft and Magic (Llewellyn, MN 1998)
Wicca for Life – Hardcover (Citadel, New York 2001)
The Witch Book (Visible Ink Press, New York 2001)
Wicca for One (Citadel 2004)
Witchcraft - Rebirth of the Old Religion – DVD (Llewellyn 2005)