Wiccans In History

Alex Saunders was much more avidly than the other Wiccans of the time. He was prolific in his teachings and initiated hundreds. At a meeting of Alexandrian covens, he was given the title King of the Witches. he died in 1988

Vital Details
 
Born: June 13, 1884
Where: Great Crosby (near Blundellands), Lancashire England
Full name: Gerald Brosseau Gardner
Died: February 13, 1964
Where: aboard the ship, SS Scottish Prince while returning home from vacation in Lebanon
 
  
His Younger Years
 Due to health problems (severe asthma), Gardner spent much of his youth abroad in warmer climates accompanied by a nanny. It was during this time that he developed an interest in cultures and beliefs other than the North American mainstream. As an adult, Gardner worked on tea and rubber plantations, and then settled down as a customs clerk. His travels led him to publish his first book on the kriss knives of the Malay people. It may have been destiny that drew him to witchcraft. Gardner had a distant relative who was burned as a witch in 1610.
 
  
Created Modern Day Wicca
 According to Gardner, he found a witchcraft coven (the New Forest Coven) that supposedly had been in existance since the Middle Ages, and he was initiated by Old Dorothy Clutterbuck in 1939. Some have since questioned the authenticity of these claims. Especially when one considers that many aspects of Wicca mirror the interests in Gardner's own life. For example: Gardner spent some time in the company of Aleister Crowely, and elements of Ritual Magick can be seen in some of Gardner's Wiccan rituals. After the witchcraft laws of Britain were repealed in 1951, Gardner started his own coven that included Doreen Valiente. The two of them continued his work and compiled it into a true manual of witchcraft. He published this first non-fiction book about the practice of witchcraft in 1954, titled "Witchcraft Today".
 
  
  Founded the Gardnerian Tradition
 This is really an off-shoot of the previous accomplishment. Many Wiccans today follow the practices and rituals set out by Gardner himself. The Gardnerian tradition is a more structured trad, compared to some of the more flexible ones that have developed in the years since Gardner. A true Gardnerian coven can trace its lineage back directly to Gardner himself.
 
Vital Details
Born: August 1934, in London

Came to America from England in 1962

Currently living a quiet, solitary life in Ohio
 
His Younger Years
 Buckland was born and raised in England, and went to the Church of England as a child. When he was around 12 years old, an uncle introduced him to the ideas of spiritualism. His interest in the occult remained through his life, and was revived when he came across 2 books: "The Witch-Cult in Western Europe" by Margaret A. Murray and "Witchcraft Today" by Gerald B. Gardner. Buckland was intrigued by the idea of modern-day practitioners of witchcraft. He contacted Gardner, and they developed a long-distance friendship.
 
Brought Wicca to the United States
 Though they only met in person on one occassion (when Buckland was initiated by Gardner in 1963), Ray Buckland and Gerald Gardner were close friends. As word of Gardner's work in witchcraft become more and more wide-spread, he began to use Buckland as his personal spokesperson on the Craft in the United States. Though the teachings may have been Gardner's, Raymond Buckland was the 'face' people associated with witchcraft in the United States.
 
  
  Founder of the Seax Tradition
 Buckland found himself unhappy with the conflicting egos that were so common within Gardnerian Wicca. He kept his oaths of silence, and left that tradition to create his own. Seax Wicca is based on Saxon beliefs, and is markedly different from British Gardnerian Wicca, particularly the lack of secrecy and clergy hierarchy. Seax Wicca is very open and democratic. Buckland published his work on this tradition in The Tree, in 1974. This trad was very popular among solitaries because all the material was freely available, and coven membership was not required in order to access it.
 
  
  Opened the Museum of Witchcraft
 During the years Buckland spent learning and studying witchcraft, he was inspired by the museum of witchcraft that Gardner opened in England. He began his own collection of artifacts. At one time, he actually had a commercial space for his collection, calling it the Buckland Museum of Witchcraft. Unfortunately, his museum closed and his collection sold to a Gardnerian high priest in Holland. The museum was supposed to reopen in New Orleans, but I am unsure if that ever happened.
 
  




and more to come I havent completed all of them yet will post soon.

Posted: August 6, 2005 ,   Modified: August 6, 2005