The Buckland Museum of Witchcraft & Magick
You may have heard of the House on the Rock, the famous museum and modern tourist attraction located in Wisconsin USA, featured heavily in American Gods. Though unique and definitely spooky on some accounts, don’t think for a second that it’s the only museum of the strange that can be found in the States.
About nine hours from the House on the Rock, you’ll find the Buckland Museum of Witchcraft & Magick in Cleveland, Ohio. Established in the sixties, when “Neopagan” beliefs were fast becoming part of the American Dream, today the Museum has expanded its collection far beyond what founder Raymond Buckland could have imagined.
A Bit About Buckland
Raymond Buckland (31 August 1934 to 27 September 2017) published his first book A Pocket Guide to the Supernatural in 1969. The book was a bestseller, and he would continue to explore magick and the supernatural in his work. Known as the person who brought the religion of Wicca to the USA, Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft is an occult classic still loved by thousands.
His Museum is only a single stepping stone to defining a very diverse magician on a unique and fascinating path.
Buckland founded the concept for the Museum in 1966, first running it from his home in Long Island, New York. The rapid expansion of his artefact collection eventually led to the creation of a standalone museum where items could be put on display. The Museum is famous for these extensive exhibits, covering the history of mysticism and magick over the span of several centuries.
The permanent collection contains items including Buckland’s personal robes, and further exhibits that cover other famous magickal practitioners like Sybil Leek and Aleister Crowley. The Rotating Gallery is made from separate attractions, which are subject to change through the year. According to their official website, this rotating collection is too large to show at once. Thanks to his work for British Airways, Buckland had unique opportunities to travel, finding more things to add as he went.
My impressions when I interviewed Buckland in 2016, was that he wasn’t your standard eccentric, but approached ritual with the command of a lifelong performer - and yet, when he got engrossed in discussion, he was soft-spoken and genial. He gave his three favourite items as, “the mandrake root, the necromantic trident, and the Malayan Kris from Gerald Gardener.”
In spite of his vast collections, he believed that the best tools are ones made by the practitioner:
“No tools are actually necessary. If you feel ‘more powerful’ with expensive tools, then it can help you generate what may be necessary, but if you are going to use tools then the best ones are actually homemade ones, for the reasons I've covered in my books.”
Want a sneak peak into the Museum? Check out this special feature from News 5 Cleveland.
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