Edmund "Eddie" Buczynski (January 28, 1947 – March 16, 1989) was a prominent American
Wicca
Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and w ...
n and archaeologist who founded two separate traditions of Wicca: Welsh Traditionalist Witchcraft and The Minoan Brotherhood.
Born to a working-class family in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, Buczynski eventually embraced his
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...
, moved to
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
, and immersed himself in the local gay scene. His relationship with
Herman Slater led the two men to open The Warlock Shop, an occult supply store, in 1972. Following ordinations into various covens, Buczynski founded the Minoan Brotherhood in 1977 as a Wiccan tradition for gay and bisexual men. Buczynski was diagnosed with
HIV/AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
in 1988, and died the following year.
Biography
Childhood: 1947–1964
Eddie Buczynski was born on January 28, 1947, in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
to
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...
parents. His father Edmund, after whom he was named, was the eldest son of Polish parents and had been raised in a Brooklyn tenement with four brothers and two sisters. Edmund Sr. enlisted in the
Naval Armed Guard
United States Navy Armed Guard units were established during World War II and headquartered in New Orleans.World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merchant Marine, 2007-2014 Project Liberty Ship, Project Liberty Ship, P.O. Box 2 ...
in 1943, he fought in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
aboard two Liberty ships, the ''SS John Howard'' and the ''SS José Marti''. Eddie's mother, Marie Mauro, was the granddaughter of southern Italian migrants and had grown up in a Brooklyn apartment. She began communicating with her future husband in 1944 as
pen pals before meeting him when he returned home on leave.
They married against their parents' wishes on April 27, 1946. Edmund Jr., was born nine months later. At the outbreak of the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, Edmund senior was called back to active duty with the Navy Reserves. After his permanent discharge in October 1951, he moved his wife and child from Brooklyn to the middle-class neighborhood of
Ozone Park, Queens
Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens, New York, United States. It is next to the Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, a popular spot for Thoroughbred racing and home to the Resorts W ...
.
In 1952, Buczynski started at the Old School Elementary in Queens, where he made good grades and particularly enjoyed music, reading, drawing, and painting. In August 1954, his mother gave birth to his first brother, Frank, whom he would remain fond of despite the seven-year age gap. Although his family was
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
, he took an early interest in the pre-Christian religions of
Ancient Egypt and
Classical Greece, which he read about in books. He began devising and performing his own rituals to the deities of these religions, sparking his lifelong interest in
Contemporary Paganism
Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...
. His interest in Pagan religion only increased following his father's sudden death from a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
at age 31 in August 1958. His mother married Edward Nascato in 1961.
Eddie eventually decided that he wanted to become a Roman Catholic priest, following in the footsteps of his uncle, Father Michael. He received Catholic
confirmation in early 1961, and in September of that year he began his studies at the
Monsignor McClancy Memorial High School in
East Elmhurst
East Elmhurst is a residential neighborhood in the northwest section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded to the south by Jackson Heights and Corona, to the north and east by Bowery Bay, and to the west by Woodside and Ditmars ...
. Bullied for being effeminate and homosexual, Eddie disliked the school, and was ultimately expelled for being overly critical of their religious instruction.
In September 1962 he enrolled at
John Adams High School, but was again bullied. He became increasingly rebellious, took up smoking cigarettes and
marijuana, and made several suicide attempts. Family life became increasingly strained following the birth of a half-brother, Tommy, in September 1962, and in March 1964 he dropped out of high school and left home.
Herman Slater and embracing Wicca: 1964–1972
From Ozone Park, he moved to
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, where a counter-cultural community had built up around the
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
and the
Lower East Side that contained an array of gay people, hippies, occultists and others adopting bohemian lifestyles. Without money, he resorted to working as a
rent boy
Male prostitution is the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. It is a form of sex work. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. Male pro ...
, and made use of both marijuana and
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...
. Although he briefly returned to Catholicism, in 1971 he read a copy of ''
Witchcraft Today
''Witchcraft Today'' is a non-fiction book written by Gerald Gardner. Published in 1954, ''Witchcraft Today'' recounts Gardner's thoughts on the history and the practices of the witch-cult, and his claim to have met practising witches in 1930s ...
'' (1954), a book authored by Englishman
Gerald Gardner
Gerald Brosseau Gardner (13 June 1884 – 12 February 1964), also known by the craft name Scire, was an English Wiccan, as well as an author and an amateur anthropology, anthropologist and archaeology, archaeologist. He was instrumental in bri ...
, the founder of
Gardnerian Wicca, and it reignited his interest in Pagan religion. In the autumn, he tracked down
Leo Martello
Leo Martello (September 26, 1930 – June 29, 2000) was an American Wiccan priest, gay rights activist, and author. He was a founding member of the Strega Tradition, a form of the modern Pagan new religious movement of Wicca which drew upon his ...
(1931–2000), a prominent gay rights activist and Pagan Witch who practiced his own Italian-focused form of the Craft known as the Strega tradition. Although he felt that Buczynski was too inexperienced in magic to begin practicing Strega Craft, Martello befriended and shared his contacts with the young man, and took him to visit
Herman Slater (1935–1992), a fellow New Yorker who was of Jewish heritage. Like Buczynski and Martello, Slater was gay, and a romantic relationship soon developed between Buczynski – who was attracted to
bears – and the older man. Buczynski moved in with Slater to an apartment in the
Brooklyn Heights
Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south, ...
in June 1972.
That year, the couple decided to open up an occult store, named The Warlock Shop, at 300 Henry Street in
Brooklyn Heights
Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south, ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
; alongside this venture, they also founded a company, Earth Religion Supplies, Inc, which would later go into publishing. Officially opening on June 21, 1972, the back room of the shop would also be used for weekly lectures and would be rented to various occult groups who wanted to assemble there.
Still eager to be initiated into a Pagan Witchcraft, or Wiccan, tradition, Buczsynki began contacting various covens requesting initiation, including the
Gardnerian Wiccan coven run in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
by Fran and Gerry Fisher and the
Algard Wicca
Gardnerian Wicca, or Gardnerian witchcraft, is a
tradition in the neopagan religion of Wicca, whose members can trace initiatory descent from Gerald Gardner. The tradition is itself named after Gardner (1884–1964), a British civil servant ...
n coven that had been founded by
Mary Nesnick
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
; the former refused due to the long-distance between them and the young man, while the latter declined due to Buczynski's homosexuality. He then approached
Gwen Thompson
Gwendoline Linda Louise Thompson (born 30 March 1947 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian violinist and music educator. She has been a member of two notable chamber music ensembles with whom she has made several commercial recordings: the Master ...
(1928–1986), matriarch of the New England Covens of Traditionalist Witches (NECTW), asking for initiation, although declined to inform her of his sexual orientation. Thompson took a liking to the young man, and welcomed him into her coven, where he proceeded to adopt the craft name of "
Hermes
Hermes (; grc-gre, wikt:Ἑρμῆς, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travelle ...
". They developed a strong friendship, much to Slater's dismay, and Buczynski soon rose to a second degree position, adopting an adapted craft name of "Hermes Dionysos" and becoming High Priest of Thompson's coven. Thompson ultimately became attracted to the young man, and repeatedly asked him to have sex with her, to which he refused. Their friendship broke down, and he was expelled from her North Haven coven.
Welsh Traditionalist Witchcraft: 1972–1973
![62 Montague Street Brooklyn heights july2006a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/62_Montague_Street_Brooklyn_heights_july2006a.jpg)
Having left Thompson's tradition, Buczynski decided to form his own form of Wicca, which he claimed had actually dated back to the
Palaeolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος '' lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone to ...
and transmitted to him by a figure whose anonymity he had to protect. Referring to this new tradition as Welsh Traditionalist Witchcraft or the Traditionalist Gwyddoniaid, it was heavily influenced by the
Welsh mythology
Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Celti ...
contained in texts like ''
The Mabinogion
The ''Mabinogion'' () are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, create ...
'' and the
Arthurian legends
The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wes ...
which fascinated him, despite his lack of Welsh heritage. It took as its basis the structure of the Gardnerian tradition, with its
Book of Shadows
A Book of Shadows is a book containing religious text and instructions for magical rituals found within the Neopagan religion of Wicca. Since its conception in the 1970s, it has made its way into many pagan practices and paths. The most famous ...
being largely based upon that which he had obtained through his work with Thompson, accompanied by sections taken from the recently published
Lady Sheba's ''The Book of Shadows''. Officially founded in October 1972, later that year an outer court was founded through which to teach interested persons who were not yet initiated. Notably, he welcomed LGBT people and non-caucasians into his tradition at a time when they were denied entry to most other Wiccan covens. Although taking an open attitude to spiritual seekers, Buczynski prevented the occult investigator,
Hans Holzer
Hans Holzer (26 January 1920 – 26 April 2009) was an Austrian-American author and parapsychologist. He wrote more than 120 books on supernatural and occult subjects for the popular market as well as several plays, musicals, films, and doc ...
, from entering the outer coven when the latter requested admission to undertake research for his book ''The Witchcraft Report''; like many in the Pagan and occult community, Buczynski was wary of Holzer's intentions and the sensationalist claims he purported in his publications.
A number of teenagers who were interested in Wicca had begun hanging around at the Warlock Shop, and they too were initiated into the Traditionalist Gwyddoniaid, after gaining parental permission. Proceeding through the outer court of Buczynski's coven, they eventually hived off to form their own coven, the Children of Branwen, in December 1972, with prominent members including Robert Carey, Denny Sargent, and Karen and Eddie Chiecho. Buczynski initially attended some of the group's meetings, in order to instruct these students in the Craft, but soon found his time preoccupied with his own primary coven, leaving the coven under the control of high priestess Kay Smith. She would subsequently go on to found a Welsh Traditionalist coven for adults, leaving the position of high priestess to Melda Tamarack.
Through their work at The Warlock Shop, Buczynski and Slater came to meet and befriend Judith and Thomas Kneital (also known by their craft names of ''Theos'' and ''Phoenix''), who had recently taken control of the Long Island coven of Gardnerians in New York after the former high priest and high priestess,
Raymond Buckland
Raymond Buckland (31 August 1934 – 27 September 2017), whose craft name was Robat, was an English writer on the subject of Wicca and the occult, and a significant figure in the history of Wicca, of which he was a high priest in both the Gardne ...
and his wife Rosemary, had decided to divorce. In early 1973, the shop hit financial difficulty, and the Kneitals personally lent several thousand dollars to Slater and Buczynski in order to help them out, which Buczynski promptly paid back. Their business quickly recovered, and they employed a young man from
named Robert Carey to work in the shop; he was a close personal friend of
Candy Darling
Candy Darling (November 24, 1944 – March 21, 1974) was an American actress, best known as a Warhol superstar and transgender icon. She starred in Andy Warhol's films ''Flesh'' (1968) and '' Women in Revolt'' (1971), and was a muse of The Velve ...
, and used to visit
The Factory
The Factory was Andy Warhol's studio in New York City, which had four locations between 1963 and 1987. The Factory became famed for its parties in the 1960s. It was the hip hangout spot for artists, musicians, celebrities and Warhol's superstar ...
, where he was known as "Chanel 13". The increasing relationship between Slater and Buczynski and the Kneitals led to socialising between their two covens; despite their differing class backgrounds (the Gardnerian Commack coven being largely middle class and the Welsh Traditionalist Brooklyn Heights coven being largely working class and counter-cultural), they got on well. In February 1973, Buczynski requested initiation into the Gardnerican Craft from the Kneitals, but they refused, being cautious of what uses he would put the Gardnerian liturgy to.
Still friends with Martello, Buczynski initiated him up till the third degree of the Welsh Traditionalist tradition, in return receiving third degree initiation into the Strega tradition. At the same time, he was facing problems within his own tradition as one couple running their own Welsh outer coven, Claudia and Gerard Nero, had decided to abandon Buczynski's tradition and receive initiation into Gardnerianism from the Kneitals; they had ultimately decided to do so after becoming increasingly sceptical of his historical claims to Palaeolithic roots. They took their initiates, including
Margot Adler
Margot Susanna Adler (April 16, 1946 – July 28, 2014) was an American author, journalist, lecturer, Wiccan priestess, and New York correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR).
Early life
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Adler grew up mostly ...
, with them, much to Buczynski and Slater's annoyance, leading to a breakdown of the friendship that they had had with the Kneitals. His tradition nevertheless continued to grow and spread, and in January 1973, the tradition joined the Council of Earth Religions (COER), a pan-Pagan umbrella organisation founded the previous year to work for the common defence of the movement. His primary inner coven grew to a size that it had to divide into two at Midsummer 1973. His high priestess, Kay Smith, decided to take lead of one of them, while Eddie remained in the other, being joined by a new ritual consort named Judith. By August, there were two outer court covens of the Welsh tradition in New York City, and one each in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
and in
Hopewell, Virginia
Hopewell is an independent city surrounded by Prince George County and the Appomattox River in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 23,033. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Hopewell with Prin ...
.
Gardnerian Wicca: 1973–1974
After the Kneitals had rejected his request for initiation into Gardnerian Wicca, Buczynski met with another Gardnerian high priestess, Patricia Siero, who instead agreed to initiate both him and Slater. Siero herself had been initiated by Fran Fisher, high priestess of a coven located in Louisville, Kentucky, in June 1973, who in turn had claimed initiation from Rosemary Buckland. The weekend after returning from Kentucky, Siero initiated Buczynski and Slater through all three degrees of the Gardnerian tradition, entitling them to operate as high priests of their own covens. Buczynski decided to do so, founding his own Gardnerian coven with an older German woman named Renate Springer as high priestess that operated in the Brooklyn Heights area. Nevertheless, the Kneitals refused to accept Buczynski's Gardnerian credentials, asserting that Rosemary Buckland had never actually initiated Fran Fischer up to the third degree. As a result of the Kneitals' claims, the Gardnerian community in the Northeastern United States widely refused to accept the Brooklyn Heights coven as legitimate, and Siero decided to take up the Kneitals' offer for re-initiation; as a result, she disowned the initiations of Buczynski and Slater which she had carried out. Springer was uneasy at the situation, and decided to depose Buczynski from his position as high priest, replacing him with one of her initiates, Gilbert Littlebear.
Despite the internal "Witch Wars" that Buczynski had become involved in, he continued to propagate information on Wicca and Paganism in the media, giving talks for a group known as the Friends of the Craft, which had been co-founded by Slater, and helping to organize the "OCCULT" exhibit which was held at the
Museum of American Folk Art
The American Folk Art Museum is an art museum in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, at 2, Lincoln Square, Columbus Avenue at 66th Street. It is the premier institution devoted to the aesthetic appreciation of folk art and creative expressions of ...
. Activity also continued at The Warlock Shop, and in December he and Slater published the first issue of a Pagan newsletter called ''Earth Religion News'', which would run for several years. They would subsequently publish a short book about Wicca that Buczynski had authored, entitled the ''Witchcraft Fact Book''. Both he and Slater also befriended
Raymond Buckland
Raymond Buckland (31 August 1934 – 27 September 2017), whose craft name was Robat, was an English writer on the subject of Wicca and the occult, and a significant figure in the history of Wicca, of which he was a high priest in both the Gardne ...
, the prominent English Wiccan who was credited with introducing the Gardnerian tradition to the United States; at the time Buckland had ceased to operate in that tradition, and was in the process of developing
Seax-Wica
Seax-Wica or better Seax Witchcraft is a tradition, or denomination, inspired by the neopagan religion of Wicca. Specifically the Seax Witchcraft is largely inspired by the iconography of the historical Anglo-Saxon paganism, though, unlike Theodi ...
, a tradition inspired by the medieval religion of
Anglo-Saxon paganism
Anglo-Saxon paganism, sometimes termed Anglo-Saxon heathenism, Anglo-Saxon pre-Christian religion, or Anglo-Saxon traditional religion, refers to the religious beliefs and practices followed by the Anglo-Saxons between the 5th and 8th centurie ...
, which both Buczynski and Slater approved of despite opposition from the Kneitals.
His interest in Gardnerianism was however maintained, and in December 1973 he founded a second Gardnerian coven, and invited Jane Cicciotto, then working as the Warlock Shop's book keeper, to take up the mantle as its high priestess. Meeting at Jane's apartment in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, which she shared with her husband Burt, Buczynski continued to maintain his own legitimacy within the tradition despite Siero's denunciation of his original initiation. Making various alterations to the established liturgy in the
Book of Shadows
A Book of Shadows is a book containing religious text and instructions for magical rituals found within the Neopagan religion of Wicca. Since its conception in the 1970s, it has made its way into many pagan practices and paths. The most famous ...
and increasing coven democracy, he recognized that these changes meant that the coven was more Neo-Gardnerian than orthodox Gardnerian, and as such he decided to proclaim that the coven adhered to no specific tradition, instead referring to it simply as "The Wica." Trouble hit the coven when Burt Cicciotto, a recovering
heroin addict, proceeded to steal $3000 for the Warlock Shop, and disappeared. Embarrassed, Jane stood down as The Wica's high priestess, with leadership of the group falling to another married couple, Ria and David Farnham, who moved the covenstead to their home in the
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
; involving a lengthy commute for most of the coven members, Buczynski and Slater ceased their active involvement with the group, which had dissolved by June 1974.
Church of the Eternal Source and the Huntington Coven: 1974–1975
In 1974, Buczynski got in contact with Harold Moss, the founder of the
Church of the Eternal Source (CEW), a
Kemetic Pagan group which he had created in 1970. Fascinated by the religion of
Ancient Egypt which the CES wanted to revive, Buczynski joined the order, being ordained as a priest on July 19. Adopting the ritual name of "Un-Nefer", he devoted himself to the worship of the goddess
Isis
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...
, organizing a temple based in New York and beginning the publication of a newsletter, which he titled ''Esbat''. His relationship with Moss, and with the CES' secretary Ron Myron, was however strained. Although Moss was himself a homosexual, he disagreed with Buczynski's effeminate nature, while Myron had taken a dislike to Buczynski as soon as the latter had been ordained, in particular believing that he didn't spend enough time responding to enquiries.
Problems had also arisen in Buczynski's relationship with Slater. Living and working together at the same premises, they had begun to argue regularly, and had both been taking part in sexual activity with other men, particularly in the
gay bathhouse
A gay bathhouse, also known as a gay sauna or a gay steambath (uncommonly known as a gay spa), is a commercial space for gay, bisexual, and other men to have sex with men. In gay slang, a bathhouse may be called just "the baths", "the sauna", ...
s which could then be found in New York. By the summer of 1974 they had broken up, and although they briefly remained roommates, Buczynski soon collected together his belongings and moved back in with his mother and step-father in Ozone Park, where he converted the basement into a bedroom for himself. No longer working at The Warlock Shop, he found himself broke and isolated from the city's occult community, ultimately ceasing active coven work by September 1974. Eventually, he obtained a part-time job at the BookMasters bookstore at 1482 Broadway in
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
, and it was while commuting home on the subway one night that he met Bennie Geraci (1950–), a native of
who had moved to the city. Buczynski and Geraci soon entered into a relationship, with the former moving into the latter's small rented flat in
Rego Park
Rego Park is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. Rego Park is bordered to the north by Elmhurst and Corona, to the east and south by Forest Hills, and to the west by Middle Village. Rego Park's boundaries include Queens ...
,
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, which was shared with four other men. In January 1975, he lost his job due to the economic recession, but was able to secure a job as an office boy at
J. Aron and Company, a commodities trading corporation based in
Wall Street.
Buczynski's continuing disagreements with senior members of the CES led him to resign from the priesthood on August 1, 1975. The New York Temple that he had led subsequently folded. Returning his interest to Wicca, he befriended a Gardnerian high priestess named Sheila Saperton, who had been initiated into the Craft years before by Raymond Buckland. Saperton had become increasingly interested in Buckland's newly developed tradition of Seax-Wica, and founded a Seax coven from her home in
Huntington Station on
Long Island. Although never initiated into Seax-Wica, Buczynksi associated with the group, and attended many of their rites. Eventually however, the group tired of the practices of Seax-Wica, and instead transformed into a Gardnerian coven, with Buczynski becoming high priest. Claiming that a mysterious witch known only as ''Jana'', who had been involved in the
New Forest coven
The New Forest coven were an alleged group of witches who met around the area of the New Forest in southern England during the early 20th century. According to his own claims, in September 1939, a British occultist named Gerald Gardner was init ...
back in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, had been communicating with him and providing him with a legitimate lineage, he began making further changes to the coven structure. Both Buczynski biographer Michael Lloyd and researcher
Philip Heselton
Philip Heselton (born 1946) is a retired British conservation officer, a Wiccan initiate, and a writer on the subjects of Wicca, Paganism, and Earth mysteries. He is best known for two books, ''Wiccan Roots: Gerald Gardner and the Modern Witchc ...
have expressed doubt that Jana was ever a real figure operating in England, instead suggesting that she was perhaps an invention of Buczynski's to legitimize his practice of Gardnerian Wica.
Buczynski welcomed a number of friends and flatmates, including Geraci, into the Huntington coven, and later stated his desire to personally initiate Geraci up to the third degree; Saperton disagreed, citing the traditional Gardnerian prohibition on anyone initiating a member of the same sex. Buczynski thought that her attitude was homophobic, and subsequently abandoned both her and Gardnerian Wica. Meanwhile, he and Geraci moved out of their crowded apartment into a new flat in
Middle Village. Despite
same-sex marriage not being legally recognised at the time, they undertook a private wedding ceremony to marry one another, although were non-monogamous, and would go together to gay bath houses to partake in sexual activity with other patrons, resulting in Buczynski's contraction of several
sexually transmitted infections
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral ...
.
The Minoan Brotherhood: 1975–1979
Buczynski had become increasingly dissatisfied with Gardnerian Wicca and other forms of contemporary Paganism which he felt treated homosexual and bisexual individuals as inferior to their heterosexual counterparts. He was perturbed that while many covens and other groups did allow gay and bi men and women to join, they were required to work in a ritual framework that was explicitly heterosexual. He argued that this was inconsistent with the fact that a number of pre-Christian societies in Europe and the Middle East had cults containing an exclusively homosexual priesthood. He was particularly interested in such cults that were found in the
Minoan civilization of
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
, and began to voraciously read books on the subject. He would later place many of these texts on the required reading list for new initiates, including among them academic works of history and archaeology like
Arthur Evans
Sir Arthur John Evans (8 July 1851 – 11 July 1941) was a British archaeologist and pioneer in the study of Aegean civilization in the Bronze Age. He is most famous for unearthing the palace of Knossos on the Greek island of Crete. Based on ...
' ''The Palace of Minos'',
Martin P. Nilsson
Martin Persson Nilsson ( Stoby, Kristianstad County, 12 July 1874 – Lund, 7 April 1967) was a Swedish philologist, mythographer, and a scholar of the Greek, Hellenistic and Roman religious systems. In his studies he combined literary evidence w ...
's ''A History of Greek Religion'' and
George E. Mylonas' ''Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries'', books on mythology such as
Robert Graves' ''
The White Goddess
''The White Goddess: a Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth'' is a book-length essay on the nature of poetic myth-making by author and poet Robert Graves. First published in 1948, the book is based on earlier articles published in ''Wales'' magaz ...
'', fictional novels like
Mary Renault
Eileen Mary Challans (4 September 1905 – 13 December 1983), known by her pen name Mary Renault ("She always pronounced it 'Ren-olt', though almost everyone would come to speak of her as if she were a French car." ), was an English writer best ...
's ''The Bull from the Sea'' and
Thomas Burnett Swann
Thomas Burnett Swann (October 12, 1928 - May 5, 1976) was an American poet, critic and fantasy author.
His criticism includes works on the poetry of H.D. and Christina Rossetti.
Poetry
Swann's poetry consists largely of short, whimsical pieces e ...
's ''How Are the Mighty Fallen'', and such works on occultism as Gerald Gardner's ''
Witchcraft Today
''Witchcraft Today'' is a non-fiction book written by Gerald Gardner. Published in 1954, ''Witchcraft Today'' recounts Gardner's thoughts on the history and the practices of the witch-cult, and his claim to have met practising witches in 1930s ...
''.
Explicitly founded as a "Mystery/initiatory cult which erotically celebrates Life through male love", Buczynski's Minoan tradition took the rituals of Gardnerian Wicca as its basis, but adapted them, with a new liturgy being written by him and placed within a ritual text known as the ''
Book of the Mysteries''. He adopted the eight annual Gardnerian Sabbat festivals, but associated them with ancient Mediterranean religious festivals. Insisting that even though his coven would contain only men, it should still embrace gender polarity, he set up the Cretan Snake Goddess
Rhea as the tradition's primary deity. Accompanying her, the tradition was also founded to venerate her son, the Cretan Bull God, thereby being duotheistic in nature, like most other Wiccan traditions.
The Minoan Brotherhood was officially inaugurated on January 1, 1977. Naming this first group the Knossos Grove coven, it initially began at his and Geraci's shared flat, where they were joined by their friend Joseph Cupolo. Setting up a lineage recording system to take into account which new initiates were being brought into the Brotherhood, the first man to be welcomed in was Kim Schuller, who was soon followed by Bruce-Michael Gelbert. Not long after, Cupolo moved to New Orleans, where he founded a second coven, known as Phaistos Grove. In 1977, Buczynski began attending the Sheridan Square Gym, and it was here that he met Gene Muto the following year. A stage director and part-time bartender, Muto entered into a sexual relationship with Buczynski, which Geraci accepted as per the rules of their
open relationship
An open relationship is an intimate relationship that is sexually non-monogamous. The term is distinct from polyamory, in that it generally indicates a relationship where there is a primary emotional and intimate relationship between two partner ...
. However, when Buczynski announced that he had fallen in love with Muto, it marked the end of his relationship with Geraci, who decided to move back to New Orleans in February 1979. Muto proceeded to move in with Buczynski at his apartment on West 13th Street, but did not share his boyfriend's magico-religious beliefs, instead being a
far left atheist. He felt that Buczynski was wasting his life on Witchcraft, and encouraged him to aim for an academic education; Buczynski proceeded to attain a
graduate equivalency diploma (GED). The Knossos Grove had meanwhile begun to deteriorate, rarely meeting from late-1978 through early 1979. He did however bring in Tony Fiara in late 1979, who would go on to play a significant role in the Minoan tradition, which was then being eclipsed in size by the
Radical Faerie movement. That year, Buczynski decided to stop using his flat as a covenstead, which he moved to the Earth Star Temple, the back room of The Magickal Childe, Herman Slater's new shop.
Entering academia: 1980–1988
In 1980, Buczynski and Muto went on a
package holiday
A package tour, package vacation, or package holiday comprises transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided such as a rental car, activities or outings during the ho ...
to Greece, further inspiring the former's interests in the region's ancient cultures. Deciding to explore this topic further, he enrolled to study for an
undergraduate
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...
degree in Classics and Ancient History at
Hunter College, a part of the
City University of New York (CUNY) located in Manhattan's Upper East Side, beginning there in September 1980. At the university, he became friends with one of his mentors, the classical archaeologist
Clairève Grandjouan, and was saddened by her death before he had completed the course. He devoted himself to his studies, which he greatly enjoyed, and was sufficiently successful to be placed on the Thomas Hunter Honors Program. In June 1982, he returned to Greece in order to take part in his first
archaeological excavations, which were run by the
American School of Classical Studies at Athens
, native_name_lang = Greek
, image = American School of Classical Studies at Athens.jpg
, image_size =
, image_alt =
, caption = The ASCSA main building as seen from Mount Lykavittos
, latin_name =
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(ASCSA). Returning to New York City, he began to take all of the modules that he could which were devoted to field archaeology, considering a potential career in the profession. In the winter break between 1982 and 1983, he once more returned to the Mediterranean, touring Greece and Italy with Muto. He would subsequently be laid off from his job, but gained work in the Hunter College Classics Office. His increased interest in academic archaeology came at the expense of his involvement in the occult, and in the Spring of 1981 he stepped down from his leadership of the Knossos Grove coven, handing control over to Tony Fiara. As his studies at Hunter College came to an end, he decided to continue his education to a
postgraduate
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree.
The organization and ...
level, and successfully obtained a scholarship from the
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pitts ...
.
He chose
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...
in
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Bryn Mawr, pronounced ,
from Welsh language, Welsh for big hill, is a census-designated place (CDP) located across three townships: Radnor Township, Pennsylvania, Radnor Township and Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, Haverford Township in Delaw ...
, a
socially liberal
Cultural liberalism is a social philosophy which expresses the social dimension of liberalism and advocates the freedom of individuals to choose whether to conform to cultural norms. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, it is often expressed a ...
, gay-friendly institution founded on
Quaker principles. There, he enrolled in the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology and began work on attaining his master's degree. He moved into the Thornbrook Manor apartments on Montgomery Avenue with his cats Maybelle and Grimalkin, renting a flat that was larger than that in which he and Muto lived in New York. At Bryn Mawr, he worked hard and was a popular student among both staff and pupils. His dissertation was on the role of marine objects within Minoan cult. He and Muto and he met when they could, going on holiday together to Egypt and Israel in the winter of 1985. In August 1986, Muto got a job in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Georgia, so they gave up the New York apartment. Buczynski attempted to start a coven of Minoan practitioners at Bryn Mawr but the only response he received was from a man named Kevin Moscrip, whom he initiated in the spring of 1986. However, he decided to put a stop to Moscrip's training when he began to become concerned by the
HIV/AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
epidemic that was then sweeping through the Minoan tradition and the country's wider gay community. In the winter of 1986, he and Muto traveled to
Colombia where they visited the
Cartagena, but the following March Buczynski took ill, and though some of his friends suspected that he might be exhibiting symptoms of AIDS, he refused to get tested. That summer, he and Muto went for a vacation in
Cape Cod
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
, before he submitted his dissertation in September 1987.
In November, Buczynski was taken seriously ill with
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...
and required hospitalization. It was there that the doctors diagnosed him with the AIDS virus, acquired at some point during the 1970s. After he was discharged, his mother and step-father came to visit and help care for him. He spent Christmas that year on Crete with Muto, before his studies at Bryn Mawr came to an end in 1988. He was awarded his degree on 15 May, after which Muto whisked him off for a holiday in
Cancún
Cancún ( ), often Cancun in English (without the accent; or ) is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
Final months: 1989
Although he had wanted to study for a doctorate and proceed with a career in archaeology, Buczynski was dying. He became ill with the ''
Toxoplasma gondii
''Toxoplasma gondii'' () is an obligate intracellular parasitic protozoan (specifically an apicomplexan) that causes toxoplasmosis. Found worldwide, ''T. gondii'' is capable of infecting virtually all warm-blooded animals, but felids, such as d ...
'' parasite, which took advantage of his weakened immune system. He suffered partial paralysis on his right side as well as brain lesions, leaving him irritable and withdrawn, and required hospitalization. Upon release, he moved to Atlanta to be with Muto in January 1989. By this stage, he was unable to attend to basic tasks on his own, including eating and dressing himself, and required almost constant care, from both Muto and from carers based at
St. Joseph Hospital. He began to talk with the hospital's Roman Catholic priest and finally decided to return to the faith of his birth, undertaking his confession of reconciliation in February. In March, his condition deteriorated, and he was admitted to the hospital, where he fell into a coma and died on the morning on Thursday, March 16.
Personal life
Buczynski could be hot tempered, with Lloyd describing him as "street-smart, intelligent, opinionated, flamboyant, charismatic, driven, and ... often governed by mercurial emotions. He could be fiery, and he had a vicious temper when someone angered him, which admittedly was not easy to accomplish."
Legacy
Following Buczynski's death, Lady Rhea asserted that anyone initiated through one of his traditions could refer to themselves as an "Edwardian" Wiccan in his honor.
Buczynski would come to be declared one of the Saints of
Antinous by a Pagan group based in
Hollywood, California, known as the Temple of Antinous.
Asphodel Press published the 2012 biography ''Bull of Heaven: The Mythic Life of Eddie Buczynski and the Rise of the New York Pagan'' by Michael Lloyd, with a foreword by
Margot Adler
Margot Susanna Adler (April 16, 1946 – July 28, 2014) was an American author, journalist, lecturer, Wiccan priestess, and New York correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR).
Early life
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Adler grew up mostly ...
. The book's launch party was held at Sala One-Nine, a
tapas
A tapa () is an appetizer or snack in Spanish cuisine. Tapas can be combined to make a full meal, and can be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as ''chopitos'', which are battered, fried baby squid, or patatas bravas). In so ...
restaurant at 35 West 19th Street in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, which stood on the site of Slater's Magickal Childe store. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reported that a "strapping man" dressed in a headdress and loincloth worked at the door, with around 80 attendees inside, most of whom were Pagans. Among them included Bennie Geraci, Carol Bulzone, Kaye Flagg and Margot Adler, a number of whom gave speeches before a memorial service to Buczynski was held.
''Bull of Heaven'' was positively reviewed by
Pagan studies Pagan studies is the multidisciplinary academic field devoted to the study of modern paganism, a broad assortment of modern religious movements, which are typically influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various pagan beliefs of premodern ...
scholar Ethan Doyle White in ''
The Pomegranate
''The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the field of Pagan studies including historical, sociological, and anthropological studies dealing with contemporary Paganism and othe ...
'' academic journal, who asserted that the book was "eloquently and engagingly written", and was important for documenting the life not only of Buczynski, but also of other important figures in the New York Pagan scene, like Herman Slater and Leo Martello. He praised Lloyd's research as "thorough and far-reaching", although was critical of the poor quality of the images. Noting that the book's scope would invite comparison with
Chas S. Clifton's ''
Her Hidden Children'' and Adler's ''
Drawing Down the Moon'', he labelled it a "must read" for those interested in the history of American Paganism and
gay liberation
The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoffman, 2007, pp.xi-xiii ...
, summing it up as "the finest independent Pagan studies scholarship to have been produced in the United States to date." Elsewhere, he characterized the book as "first-rate".
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Buczynski, Eddie
American Wiccans
American people of Polish descent
American people of Italian descent
AIDS-related deaths in New York (state)
1947 births
1989 deaths
LGBT Wiccans
LGBT people from New York (state)
Gardnerian Wiccans
American gay writers
People from Brooklyn
People from Huntington Station, New York
Radical Faeries members
Converts to Roman Catholicism from pagan religions
20th-century Roman Catholics
LGBT Roman Catholics
People from Greenwich Village
People from Ozone Park, Queens
John Adams High School (Queens) alumni
Founders of modern pagan movements
20th-century LGBT people
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Activists from New York City
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