Raymond Buckland (1934-2017)

OHIO – Raymond Buckland, author and founder of Seax-Wica, died Wednesday after being hospitalized for chest pain. Ray, as he was called by his close friends and family, is largely considered responsible for introducing the U.S. to Gardnerian Wicca. Raymond Buckland was born August 31, 1934 in London to Stanley and Eileen. By 1939, as World War II loomed, the family moved to Nottingham where Buckland spent his childhood. During his school years, he became interested in the theater and acting, a passion that would follow him through life.

An Interview with Raymond Buckland, American Wicca Pioneer

OHIO — Raymond Buckland is known in Pagan circles as the man who brought Gardnerian Wicca to the United States of America. His name graces the cover of more than 40 books on Pagan and occult topics, published over the last 47 years. That history is more than enough to cover in the course of just one interview, but despite his prolific writing and years of teaching, Buckland has also found time to keep busy with quite a number of non-Pagan activities. These activities are wide-ranging and include, in his own words, “acting and the theatre, music (jazz, ragtime, bluegrass, etc.), art (illustrating books, cards, filmstrips, etc.), comedy (both writing and performing), ultralight flying, sports cars, screen-writing, all types of writing, especially fiction and non-fiction,” not to mention occasional stints of stand-up comedy. Given the vast number of things that continue to keep Buckland’s days full, narrowing the scope of conversation to just his Pagan activities seemed, at the very least, to be a kindness to the reader. Indeed, the fact that he was able to respond to questions at all suggests that some powerful time-bending magic might be at work.