Herman Slater
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Herman Slater (1938 – July 9, 1992) was an American
Wiccan 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 was ...
high priest and occult-bookstore proprietor as well as an editor, publisher, and author. He died of AIDS in 1992.


Early life

Slater was born in 1938 in a lower-middle-class Jewish neighborhood of
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 ...
. At a very early age, he became aware of
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. This became one of the influences that led him to
witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...
. Slater studied business administration at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
,
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at Hunter College and
traffic management Traffic management is a key branch within logistics. It concerns the planning control and purchasing of transport services needed to physically move vehicles (for example aircraft, road vehicles, rolling stock and watercraft) and freight. Traffi ...
at the Traffic Management Institute in New York. He also completed a full course at the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
Personnel School at
United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge (USNTC Bainbridge) was the U.S. Navy Training Center at Port Deposit, Maryland, on the bluffs of the northeast bank of the Susquehanna River. It was active from 1942 to 1976 under the Commander of ...
. During 1958 through 1969, Slater had several business jobs in management, traffic expediting, and insurance claims investigation. 1969 marked the beginning of significant health-related issues for him. He was later forced to quit work due to bone
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
, which cost him a hip bone and three years of recuperation.


Transition to witchcraft

During his recuperation process, Slater began experiencing and reading about paranormal phenomena, including divination (tarot cards), clairvoyance, and levitation. He spent an entire year lying in bed in a body cast that weighed 300 pounds. Then one morning, he awoke to find himself stretched across a chair on the opposite side of the room while still in his body cast. These experiences led him to
witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...
, and in 1972 He met Eddie Buczynski (Lord Gwyddion), and they partnered in the Warlocke Shoppe, on Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights. It was there that two witches from England gave them the Welsh Tradition Book of Shadows and Herman and Eddie self initiated. Slater took the name Lord Govannon, and Eddie Lord Gwyddion. Eddie later made trips to Egypt and became part of an all male Minoan magic group in New York. Some of the original members of the coven Herman and Eddie formed left to form their own group. among these were authors Denny Sargent, who with Robert Carey, were co editors of a magazine for aspiring teen magicians called Mandragore. They and other members of the original coven moved on to ceremonial magic, and subscribed to an
Ordo Templi Orientis Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.; ) is an occult initiatory organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. The origins of the O.T.O. can be traced back to the German-speaking occultists Carl Kellner, Heinrich Klein, Franz Hartmann and T ...
(O.T.O.) correspondence course that was based out of London in the mid seventies. In 1977, the O.T.O. came to Slater's Magickal Childe, his new location in Manhattan's Chelsea.


Career

Bucznski and Slater opened ''The Warlock Shoppe'', the oldest witchcraft bookshop 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 ...
, New York. Buczynski was the more magical and spiritual of the two and left the business side to Slater, who helped the shop grow in profit. Most importantly, the shop established itself as the central information hub for local witches and the newly emerging neopagan communities. The two also published a periodical called ''Earth Religion News''. It was extremely successful but also caused controversy due to its explicit contents and cover designs. In 1974, Slater was initiated into the Gardnerian tradition and assumed leadership of the coven in the late 1970s. The Warlock Shoppe later moved to 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 ...
(the borough of
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 ...
) and operated under the name '' Magickal Childe''. The Magickal Childe functioned as a major focal point for the neopagan community in the 1970s and well into the 1990s. In the later 1980s it gained something of a mercenary reputation being willing to put 'curses' on people for a price. With Slater's death they started having trouble making ends meet and several significant new age publishers stopped providing them with books. The brick and mortar store finally closed in 1999.


Scandals

In 1972, Slater presented the Inquisitional Bigot of the Year award to
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during a guest appearance on the ''
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'' show, for an episode of ''Macmillan and Wife'' that had taken witchcraft and corrupted it into devil-worship rituals for the plot. The crew of ''Today'' had Slater physically removed from the set. More controversy surrounding Slater's actual proficiency in the types of magick he claimed to practice, accusations that he
plagiarized Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...
material, yelling out at irritable customers in his Magickal Childe store, "Get out of my store...", as well as outrage over other behaviors he exhibited earned him the nickname "Horrible Herman".


Works

Slater wrote the books: * ''Introduction to Witchcraft'', , * ''The Hoodoo Bible'', * ''A Book of Pagan Rituals I & II'', * ''Pagan Rituals III'', Published: * ''Earth Religion News'' magazine Edited: * ''The Magickal Formulary Spellbook'', , * ''The Magickal Formulary Spellbook II'', These two witchcraft cookbooks are based on the inner workings of his shop and formulas of his potions. They are sold worldwide and are well-respected within the witchcraft community. The Magickal Childe now continues with an Internet presence.


Educating others

Educating people on the subject of witchcraft became an important mission for Slater. He frequently lectured as a guest speaker at many colleges. He starred in his own video, ''An Introduction to Witchcraft and Satanism'', in which he wore ceremonial robes and headdresses typical of witchcraft. He also appeared with his familiar companion, a snake named Herman. He also hosted a weekly cable show which aired in Manhattan, called ''The Magickal Mystery Tour''. The show featured interviews, rituals, music, occultism, and magick instruction. He thought of the show as an Earth religion ''700 Club'' because it spread the word on the Old Religion and asked for donations.


Philosophy

Herman Slater considered Wicca to be an earth religion. In the early days of the Warlocke Shop he hosted The Pagan Way lectures, usually in a coven members apartment and sometimes his own on Atlantic Avenue. The Pagan Way ran the gammit, embracing the various pre-Christian religions and paranormal. Some of the Pagan Way lecturers promoted their works, including Dr. Leo Martello. Herman was tolerant of quite a lot, but would rein in adult activities if he expected youth to be present. His come all approach overwhelmed him in his Manhattan location, and with Eddie seldom around, Herman was preyed upon. He never requested money for the lectures or use of his ritual room, and sometimes complained that the Wiccans were there a lot but spent very little money, though the satanists had cash. Even so, he provided a platform for alternative religions as long as he could. Herman was about inclusion, self empowerment, and love.


Praise

One of Slater's former employees described him as "Very bright, almost schizophrenic, fiercely loyal one moment, then your brutal enemy the next. I loved and hated him so many times in turn that it's all a blur." However, many loyal followers were befriended by Slater, including most of his loyal employees, loving family and friends. He was affectionately known as Mother Herman to those he cared about. Herman's attraction to witchcraft was not limited to paranormal experiences. He was truly on a spiritual quest for a religion that would not condemn his sexuality, and believed homosexuality was the expression of a man finding completion of his soul through the love of another man. Wicca had no taboos regarding homosexuality or self empowerment, another of Herman's quests that he shared with the world. Among his famous quotes was:"everythings in print now." Meaning magic was no longer held in the hands of the elite alone.


See also

*
Witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...


Sources

; Footnotes ; Bibliography *


External links

*
Collection of citations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slater, Herman 1935 births 1992 deaths Businesspeople from New York City Gardnerian Wiccans Writers from New York City American book editors Wicca in the United States 20th-century American non-fiction writers American people of Jewish descent Converts from Judaism LGBT Wiccans LGBT people from New York (state) American gay writers AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers Wiccans of Jewish descent 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century LGBT people