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Herman Slater

March 11, 2023

Herman Slater (1938 – July 9, 1992) was an American Wiccan high priest and occult-bookstore proprietor as well as an editor, publisher, and author. He died of AIDS in 1992.[1]

Early life

Slater was born in 1938 in a lower-middle-class Jewish neighborhood of New York City. At a very early age, he became aware of anti-Semitism .[1] This became one of the influences that led him to witchcraft. Slater studied business administration at New York University, liberal arts at Hunter College and traffic management at the Traffic Management Institute in New York. He also completed a full course at the United States Navy Personnel School at United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge. 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, which cost him a hip bone and three years of recuperation.[1]

Transition to witchcraft

During his recuperation process, Slater began experiencing and reading about paranormal phenomena, including divination (tarot cards), clairvoyance, and levitation.[1][2] 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.[citation needed] These experiences led him to witchcraft, 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 (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.[2]

Career

Bucznski and Slater opened The Warlock Shoppe, the oldest witchcraft bookshop in Brooklyn, New York.[1] 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.[2] The two also published a periodical called Earth Religion News.[1] It was extremely successful but also caused controversy due to its explicit contents and cover designs.[2] In 1974, Slater was initiated into the Gardnerian tradition and assumed leadership of the coven in the late 1970s.[1] The Warlock Shoppe later moved to West 19th Street in Manhattan (the borough of New York City) 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 NBC during a guest appearance on the Today show, for an episode of Macmillan and Wife that had taken witchcraft and corrupted it into devil-worship rituals for the plot.[1] The crew of Today had Slater physically removed from the set.[1] More controversy surrounding Slater's actual proficiency in the types of magick he claimed to practice, accusations that he plagiarized 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".[2]

Works

Slater wrote the books:

  • Introduction to Witchcraft, ISBN 978-0-939708-16-1,[3]
  • The Hoodoo Bible,ISBN 978-0-939708-06-2[4]
  • A Book of Pagan Rituals I & II,ISBN 978-0-87728-348-5[5]
  • Pagan Rituals III, ISBN 978-0-939708-27-7[6]

Published:

  • Earth Religion News magazine

Edited:

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.[9] The Magickal Childe now continues with an Internet presence.[10]

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.[1]

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."[11] 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.[12]

See also

Sources

Footnotes
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ellen 2008, p. 324
  2. ^ a b c d e Knowles, George. "Herman Slater". Controverscial.com. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  3. ^ Vidio, Herman S.; Slater, Herman (June 1988). Introduction to Witchcraft. ISBN 0939708167.
  4. ^ Hoodoo Bible: Complete Compendium of Folk Magick. Magickal Childe. October 1997. OL 11535906M.
  5. ^ Slater, Herman (January 1978). A Book of Pagan Rituals. ISBN 0877283486.
  6. ^ Slater, Herman (1989). Pagan Rituals III. ISBN 0939708272.
  7. ^ "MAGICKAL FORMULARY SPELLBOOK BOOK I". www.magickalchilde.com.
  8. ^ "MAGICKAL FORMULARY SPELLBOOK". www.magickalchilde.com.
  9. ^ "Joliett on eBay".
  10. ^ "MAGICKAL FORMULARY SPELLBOOKS - Herman Slater". www.magickalchilde.com.
  11. ^ "Austanspace: Herman Slater". 23 February 2009.
  12. ^ "Herman Slater".
Bibliography
  • Guiley, Rosemary Ellen, ed. (September 2008). The Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft, & Wicca. Facts on Fire Inc. pp. 324–325. ISBN 978-0-8160-7104-3.

External links

  • Magickal Childe official website
  • Collection of citations

March 11, 2023
herman, slater, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, relies, excessively, references, primary, sources, please, improve, this, article, adding. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article relies excessively on references to primary sources Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources Find sources Herman Slater news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message Some of this article s listed sources may not be reliable Please help this article by looking for better more reliable sources Unreliable citations may be challenged or deleted December 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Herman Slater 1938 July 9 1992 was an American Wiccan high priest and occult bookstore proprietor as well as an editor publisher and author He died of AIDS in 1992 1 Contents 1 Early life 2 Transition to witchcraft 3 Career 4 Scandals 5 Works 6 Educating others 7 Philosophy 8 Praise 9 See also 10 Sources 11 External linksEarly life EditSlater was born in 1938 in a lower middle class Jewish neighborhood of New York City At a very early age he became aware of anti Semitism 1 This became one of the influences that led him to witchcraft Slater studied business administration at New York University liberal arts at Hunter College and traffic management at the Traffic Management Institute in New York He also completed a full course at the United States Navy Personnel School at United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge 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 which cost him a hip bone and three years of recuperation 1 Transition to witchcraft EditDuring his recuperation process Slater began experiencing and reading about paranormal phenomena including divination tarot cards clairvoyance and levitation 1 2 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 citation needed These experiences led him to witchcraft 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 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 2 Career EditBucznski and Slater opened The Warlock Shoppe the oldest witchcraft bookshop in Brooklyn New York 1 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 2 The two also published a periodical called Earth Religion News 1 It was extremely successful but also caused controversy due to its explicit contents and cover designs 2 In 1974 Slater was initiated into the Gardnerian tradition and assumed leadership of the coven in the late 1970s 1 The Warlock Shoppe later moved to West 19th Street in Manhattan the borough of New York City 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 EditIn 1972 Slater presented the Inquisitional Bigot of the Year award to NBC during a guest appearance on the Today show for an episode of Macmillan and Wife that had taken witchcraft and corrupted it into devil worship rituals for the plot 1 The crew of Today had Slater physically removed from the set 1 More controversy surrounding Slater s actual proficiency in the types of magick he claimed to practice accusations that he plagiarized 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 2 Works EditSlater wrote the books Introduction to Witchcraft ISBN 978 0 939708 16 1 3 The Hoodoo Bible ISBN 978 0 939708 06 2 4 A Book of Pagan Rituals I amp II ISBN 978 0 87728 348 5 5 Pagan Rituals III ISBN 978 0 939708 27 7 6 Published Earth Religion News magazineEdited The Magickal Formulary Spellbook ISBN 978 0939708000 7 The Magickal Formulary Spellbook II ISBN 978 0939708109 8 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 9 The Magickal Childe now continues with an Internet presence 10 Educating others EditEducating 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 1 Philosophy EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed January 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message 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 EditOne 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 11 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 12 See also EditWitchcraftSources EditFootnotes a b c d e f g h i j Ellen 2008 p 324harvnb error no target CITEREFEllen2008 help a b c d e Knowles George Herman Slater Controverscial com Retrieved 23 April 2011 Vidio Herman S Slater Herman June 1988 Introduction to Witchcraft ISBN 0939708167 Hoodoo Bible Complete Compendium of Folk Magick Magickal Childe October 1997 OL 11535906M Slater Herman January 1978 A Book of Pagan Rituals ISBN 0877283486 Slater Herman 1989 Pagan Rituals III ISBN 0939708272 MAGICKAL FORMULARY SPELLBOOK BOOK I www magickalchilde com MAGICKAL FORMULARY SPELLBOOK www magickalchilde com Joliett on eBay MAGICKAL FORMULARY SPELLBOOKS Herman Slater www magickalchilde com Austanspace Herman Slater 23 February 2009 Herman Slater BibliographyGuiley Rosemary Ellen ed September 2008 The Encyclopedia of Witches Witchcraft amp Wicca Facts on Fire Inc pp 324 325 ISBN 978 0 8160 7104 3 External links EditMagickal Childe official website Collection of citations Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Herman Slater amp oldid 1086577146, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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