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Guide Patti: In addition to the environment, there are a number of other issues that are important to Pagans and Wiccans these days, particularly that of religious rights. In today's conservative climate, what are some things that Wiccans can do to stay aware and involved in policies and events that affect them?

Raymond Buckland: Exactly that – “stay aware and involved in policies and events”. Join organizations; write letters; support positive groups; adopt highways to clean of litter.


With an election year approaching, there are wonderful opportunities to put pressure on politicians. Go to meetings and ask leading questions. Write to newspapers. Blog. Do whatever you can to “make a noise”. Remember the squeaky wheel!

Guide Patti: With the amount of information -- and misinformation -- available out there on the Internet, more and more teens are being drawn to Wicca. What advice would you give to a young person just starting out in their studies?

Raymond Buckland: Don’t believe everything you read! Just because it’s on the Internet, doesn’t make it right. In fact, just because it’s been published in a book, doesn’t necessarily make it right either! But I think that books – if only by virtue of the lengthy process leading to publication – are more likely to be accurate than is the Internet, though even here, with the burgeoning of self-publishing, you can’t be totally secure. I’d say read just as much as you possibly can. There are many books, good and bad. Read them all and you will slowly develop a good feeling for what is right...

for you. Don’t ever be coerced into doing anything that doesn’t feel right. Don’t give in to peer pressure. Make up your own mind. And whenever you get the chance, ask questions.

Guide Patti: I have to say, you've lead a pretty exciting life. Can we look forward to a Ray Buckland autobiography any time soon? What other projects do you have waiting in the wings right now?

Raymond Buckland: I’m presently working on my autobiography, though it’s a long, drawn-out process! I was born in 1934 and am now up to the 1990s in the writing of it, so I hope to have it finished soon. At the same time -- I’m usually writing more than one book at a time -- I’m working on a couple of novels, a new tarot deck and book, and developing my own publishing company.

Guide Patti: Sirona Knight once asked Phyllis Curott this question in an interview, and I'd like to ask you the same thing because I think the answer is going to be really interesting. Wiccan writers often have a powerful desire to make the world better, especially in terms of spiritual freedom, and this desire keeps them moving forward despite all kinds of obstacles and dangers. How would you describe the role of Raymond Buckland in the Wiccan movement of the past fifty years?

Raymond Buckland: I feel that I was blessed in that I was in the right place at the right time, to help start the movement. I never set out to be any kind of a leader, only to practice the Old Religion and to try to straighten the many misconceptions that people had about it. As it happens, I have always loved to write and so I started to write about what I loved. I never consciously felt any desire to make the world a better place, just to share what I thought to be a beautiful religion. I soon found that all of this did lead to problems and obstacles, but when you feel strongly about something, you don’t let anything stop you. I think I’ve managed to work through most of the hard stuff and am hoping to now be able to continue smoothly doing what I love. I’ll keep on writing.