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Witchcraft: Yesterday and Today Video
by: Raymond
Buckland
ISBN
0-87542-089-3
60 min. American VHS only
$19.95
My
coven and I excited gathered around the TV/VCR with nachos and drinks to
settle into an evening with one of The Masters: Raymond Buckland. As
with many long-term practitioners, including several in the room, my first
“how to” book on Witchcraft was Buckland’s, Complete Book of
Witchcraft. Later, I purchased and extensively used Color Magick
and Practical Candleburning Rituals. I even invested in and
thoroughly enjoyed the slightly eccentric and obscure Ray Buckland’s
Magic Cauldron. Raymond Buckland rests securely right up there with
the Farrars, Silver Ravenwolf, Margot Adler, Starhawk and Z Budapest as a
mover, stomper and pioneer of 20th century Craft. All that
being said, suffice it to say that we were eager little beavers,
tremendously excited by the prospect of sitting at the feet of Buckland to
be taught again the lessons learned so long ago, hearing them with his own
voice.
I
want to tell you, this video is absolutely tragic and should not be in
circulation. It is extremely dated and nearly offensive it its inaccuracy
and rambling style, not to mention extremely poor camera work. One could
comment that because it was taped in 1989, it reflects the technology of
the time, but I’m quite certain that Buckland is still alive, quite
certain that he can still sit and talk about Craft and unless and until
another, more current and revised version of this video can be taped, the
whole idea, including this video and all copies, should be buried in the
deepest crypt known to humankind with a liberal salting of the area
afterwards and perhaps with the burial spot sealed with some of the sigils
from his new book, Signs, Symbols & Omens.
The
first half of the video is dedicated to a largely inaccurate version of
the history of Craft, while the second half moves into “how to’s” of
ritual and Craft work.
We
came at this with a good heart. We came at this with a willing spirit.
For our minds to wander into the heckling, “Mystery Science Theater 3000”
pit into which they meandered, it had to be really, really bad. I will
share with you our comments, recorded for the sake of posterity. Please
be advised that we are very open with our thoughts and do not censor for
language or taste, particularly after the wine bottle is getting to the
shallow side.
“Is
this a Renn Faire video?”
“This is like Masterwitch Theater.”
“He
looks and talks like Sigmund Freud.”
“…
wearing Mr Rogers sweater... what, no robes, Ray? C’mon.”
“Watching this, I’m forced to understand why nonPagans think we’re so
fruity.”
“This is like an episode of Monty Python. I keep expecting a giant
cartoon foot to crunch him.”
“Yeah, or a placard to come up saying the people responsible for making
this piece of crap have been sacked.”
“My
god, he’s doing nothing more than reading his book to us.”
“Didn’t Janet Farrar just come out and acknowledge that all of this
history that Buckland is giving here with a straight face is invented?”
“Yes, so did Doreen Valiente.”
“And
that he was responsible for helping to make it up.”
“Yep, and that he wrote Complete Book on a bet that he couldn’t
make up a tradition and have everyone doing the weirdest stuff just
because he said you had to do it to honor the ‘old ways’.”
“He
won or he lost the bet?”
“Pfft. You read it and tied yourself up, didn’t you? He won!”
“I
hope he shows us how to do that horrible dance from Complete Book.
No one can move their feet like that and I want to see him do it.”
“He
crosses his legs like a girl.”
The
room fell silent to know that there was an herb called “Negro head.” It’s
clear none of us were ever aware of that fact.
“I
have never heard ‘athame’ pronounced to rhyme with ‘whammy’.”
As
the camera panned past a picture of King James, someone remarked, “It’s
his yearbook picture.”
“Ew. He just shifted in his chair when he talked about working skyclad.”
*group shudder*
“Funny, he describes craft as a ‘free flowing religion without rules’ then
proceeds to give us a lot of rules.”
“Yikes! We’re having a ritual demonstrated to us by Lady Foil Moon Head
and Lord Mullet.”
“I
pray no newbies come across this video and run screaming into the night.”
“The
gal in the solitary dedication sequence looks like she’s about 14. Do we
have underage nekkies here?”
In
summary, we had these comments:
“Oatmeal, no sugar, with a side of fruit.”
“It
was good to see him as he is such an historical figure.”
“He
was not as strict in some ways as I expected.”
“It
was like one of the films your substitute teacher shows you in school.”
“Fucking tragic.”
“I
felt like I wanted to gnaw off my arm to get away from it.”
“The
Goddess is alive, but this guy is full of shit and very fucking boring.”
“This would be a wonderful cure for insomnia.”
“It
was better after he got out of the history part… barely.”
Irreverent? We really tried, but the production quality of this video,
its inaccuracies and the overall cheesy atmosphere definitely detracted
from what could have been a wonderful experience
No pentacles out of 5
Review by Katrina Rasbold |
