Speculum Lunae

COVEN DE WICCA GARDNERIANA

Biographical information

  • Civil name: Raymond Buckland
  • Craft name: Robat
  • Born: 31 August 1934
  • Gardnerian initiation: 23 November 1963, by Monique Wilson
  • Died: 27 September 2017

Historical photograph to be selected.

Early life and the move to America

Raymond Buckland was born in London on 31 August 1934 into a family of Romani descent. He was interested in theatre, drawing, jazz and Spiritualism from an early age. He met Rosemary Moss in 1954 while both worked at Rendel, Palmer & Tritton; they married on 19 November 1955. The following year they organized Spiritualist séances with friends, experiences that deepened Raymond’s interest in religion and esoteric subjects. After serving in the Royal Air Force from 1957 to 1959, he eventually moved with Rosemary and their two sons to the United States in 1962. They settled on Long Island, New York, where he worked for British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC).

Reading Gerald Gardner’s Witchcraft Today and works by Margaret Murray inspired him to seek initiation. He wrote to Gardner in 1962. In High Priest (2025), Jason Mankey examines surviving correspondence: Gardner’s replies were initially formal and stated that he knew of no established Gardnerian covens in the United States. By February 1963 Raymond was corresponding with Monique Wilson (Olwen), who directed a coven in Perth, Scotland, with Campbell Wilson (Loïc). Monique vetted potential initiates and explored the possibility of forming a coven in America.

The 1963 letters show that the project was not Raymond’s alone. Rosemary initially had reservations but became interested after further reading. She corresponded directly with Monique on ceremonies, her children’s religious upbringing and the organization of a community. By July, Monique envisaged Rosemary taking responsibility for establishing the Craft on the American East Coast.

Initiation and the Long Island lineage

For financial reasons, Raymond alone travelled to Scotland in 1963. In a letter dated 28 October, Monique agreed to receive him and explained that he could initiate Rosemary in America following his training. According to the unpublished memoir examined by Mankey, Monique initiated Raymond on 23 November 1963, raised him to second degree on 25 November and to third degree on 27 November. Raymond studied with both Wilsons, copied material from the Book of Shadows and returned to America on 1 December with the Craft name Robat.

The traditional account that Gardner took part in Raymond’s initiation requires qualification. Heselton places a meeting with Gardner around the time of the 1963 visit, whereas Mankey, comparing the surviving correspondence, memoir and chronology of Gardner’s final voyage, finds no confirmation that Gardner was present at the rite. Initiation by the Wilsons and Gardner’s approval of the American undertaking are well documented; his physical presence at that ceremony remains uncertain.

Raymond and Rosemary had already hosted a meeting of prospective Witches in New York on 20 October 1963, before Raymond’s Scottish visit. Back in America, he initiated Rosemary on 7 December. She adopted the Craft name Rowen, previously suggested by Monique Wilson, and was raised to second degree on 9 December and third degree later that month. Together they led the New York Coven, subsequently based at Brentwood on Long Island. The first additional initiates were received early in 1964.

In July 1964, during a visit to the Isle of Man, Monique ceremonially confirmed Rosemary’s initiation and elevations; Raymond’s memoir describes her recognition as a Witch Queen. This was not Rosemary’s first entry into the tradition: she had already served as high priestess and taken part in initiations. The documents assembled by Mankey indicate that Raymond and Rosemary initiated about thirty-five people during their years of Gardnerian coven leadership, from 1964 to 1972. Both contributed substantially to American transmission.

In 1964 the Bucklands moved to Brentwood, where they prepared a permanent ritual space in their home’s basement. Covens descending from their initiates helped spread Gardnerian Wicca in the United States. Judith Kneitel, later Theos, was initiated on 10 April 1972; her husband Thomas, Phoenix, followed on 1 May. As the Bucklands’ marriage ended, Rosemary helped prepare their successors. On 17 November 1972 leadership passed to Theos and Phoenix, who moved the coven to Commack. The lineage descending through the Kneitels became known as the Long Island Line.

Raymond’s relationship with the Kneitels later deteriorated over additions to the Book of Shadows, disputed recognition of initiatory degrees and personal disagreements. Mankey considers the conflicting versions, including Buckland’s memoir and Pagan periodicals of the 1970s. Those disputes did not interrupt the lineage’s continued transmission.

Museum, books and new directions

Raymond began displaying his collection of witchcraft and magical artifacts in his home’s basement in 1966. On 10 June 1971 he opened a separate museum in Bay Shore, Long Island, which welcomed visitors, lectures, interviews and workshops. His appearance on The Dick Cavett Show on 18 August 1971 brought his presentation of witchcraft as a religion to a national television audience. The institution’s legacy survives through the Buckland Museum of Witchcraft and Magick.

His publishing became a defining contribution. His books include Witchcraft from the Inside (1971), The Tree (1974), Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft (1986) and numerous works on ritual, magic and Spiritualism. During the 1970s, after withdrawing from regular Gardnerian coven work, he founded Seax-Wica, a form of witchcraft allowing solitary practice and a ritual organization less dependent on traditional initiatory transmission.

Later years and historical legacy

Raymond died on 27 September 2017 in Ohio. His importance to Gardnerian Wicca lies particularly in introducing, transmitting and organizing the tradition in the United States and helping establish the Long Island lineage, from which many later communities descend.

Jason Mankey’s 2025 biography, High Priest: Raymond Buckland, the Father of American Witchcraft, greatly expands the available documentation. Drawing on letters from Gardner and the Wilsons, early coven records and Buckland’s unpublished memoir, it clarifies the initiatory developments of 1963–1964, Rosemary’s independent role and the 1972 succession, while calling for caution about later narratives. Raymond died on 27 September 2017 in Ohio. His lasting importance includes the transmission of Gardnerian Wicca, the museum and a substantial publishing career.

References and documentary sources