Bull of Heaven: The Mythic Life of Eddie Buczynski and the Rise of the New York Pagan

by Michael G. Lloyd

It was a time of ferment, rage and hope, when spiritual movements rose and fell in reaction to the perceived ills of a society that seemed on the brink of tearing itself apart. In the generation of young men and women who had grown up after World War II, there was a new-found sense of freedom that allowed people to not only question society's assumptions of the nature of God and spirit, but to experiment in order to find different ways of giving meaning to modern lives. The modern New Age and the Neo-Pagan movement in the United States coalesced from this chaos of diverse practices and beliefs.

As a teenager, Eddie Buczynski had dreamed of becoming a Jesuit Priest. Rejected by the Church because of his questioning mind and budding attraction to other young men, his feet were soon set on a different path - one that would lead from his childhood home in Ozone Park to the raucous streets of '60s Greenwich Village, through the burgeoning Neo-Pagan spiritual movement of the '70s, before finally depositing him into the academic realm of Classical & Near Eastern achaeology.

This is the story of one man and his circle of friends who dreamed of changing the spiritual paradigm of society and who, despite their human frailties helped to widen the acceptance of alternative religions in the United States. Bringing together the threads of disparate subcultures, social movements, spiritual paths and characters, Bull of Heaven weaves Buczynski's life into a tapestry that encompasses the history of the New Age and occult in New York City. And in so doing, it offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of GLBT men and women whose heretofore untold contributions helped to shape the face of modern Neo-Paganism.

Available in paperback at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Genres: Nonfiction, Witchcraft

ebook

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Michael G. Lloyd is an engineer, writer, and activist, with a long history of involvement in the gay and Neo-Pagan communities. He is a co-founder and former co-facilitator (2002–2011) of the Between the Worlds Men’s Gathering, the nation’s largest annual spiritual retreat for men who love men. Michael has written for Circle magazine, Outlook magazine, and The Witches Voice. He is the author of Chapter 2 – “The History of Oils” – of Lady Rhea’s Enchanted Formulary (Citadel, 2006), and was interviewed for Margot Adler’s seminal book Drawing Down the Moon (Penguin, 2006). Bull of Heaven marks his first solo book. A long-time resident of Columbus, Ohio, Michael was named in the 2011 Who’s Who of GLBT Columbus. He has an author page on Facebook.

Reviews

[A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a biography about a man named Eddie Buczynski. Eddie grew up in Ozone Park, Queens, New York and then lived in New York City, specifically Greenwich Village, in the 60s and 70s during the volatile years of the Gay Liberation Movement. When his dream of becoming a Jesuit priest was shattered by the Roman Catholic Church Eddie dropped out of high school and turned to the occult, Witchcraft in particular. Witchcraft was making a name for itself in the United States after covens of differing traditions had made their way from England and Eddie believed he’d found what he needed to be complete. Or had he?

When I was told this book had found a home with a publisher I asked for the opportunity to read it and when it showed up in my email box my husband asked me, “Will you be able to be impartial?” A very legitimate question (reason forthcoming) and my only answer could be, “I will do my best.”

This is a very different book from the ones I typically read. It’s non-fiction, a biography and contains a lot of history pertaining to Witchcraft and the occult, the Gay Liberation movement and New York City in the 60s and 70s. I’m first and foremost a fan of fiction, so non-fiction, history and biographies are way down my reading list, not ones I never read, just ones I rarely read. So what makes this one special? Well, it was written by my brother. A brother I happen to love very much, who spent nine years researching and writing his baby and I very much wanted to read it. So, with near zero knowledge of the subject matter, I opened up his book with great excitement.

As Eddie’s story unfolds, as well as what was happening in New York and elsewhere at the time, I can only say I was transfixed. I was born in 1968, so I had no idea then or even later of any of the events that happened. We each have our own interests, so I’m not going to apologize for my ignorance of the subject matters detailed in this book. However, I’m very glad I read it! It’s very detailed and I felt as if I was there experiencing everything the people in the book were experiencing. It was very interesting!

I have to admit while reading about Eddie he seemed to me to be a bit of a flitterer, settling on something with great enthusiasm, before flitting away to something else. However, as I continued to read about him I realized he wasn’t flittering, he was searching for that elusive ‘something’ that is sometimes so very hard to find and which I feel he eventually found, but not until he was in his 30s. I’m saddened that he never lived to pursue his dreams in the ‘something’ (archaeology) that he found, but he lives on in the living traditions of Witchcraft that he created and founded: Traditionalist Gwyddoniaid, The Wica, The Minoan Brotherhood and The Minoan Sisterhood (co-founder). May they continue to grow and prosper.

*The author provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page on my blog.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a gay man involved in paganism and witchcraft for the last 26 years of my life I would run across Eddie’s name occasionally, the Minoan Brotherhood, even less. But it was still often enough for me to remember, and occasionally google. I have been wanting to know more about gay men and specially gay male spirituality in the modern witchcraft world. This book doesn’t disappoint in discussing the struggle of gay men and women to be accepted into alternate spiritualities through the 50s and even into the 80s. It is chock full of great information of how Gardnerian Wiccan covens practiced, and even the traditional witchcraft covens practiced. It’s nice to know that even in the early days of public witchcraft practice that everyone’s ego was out of control and petty grievances could destroy groups. (That’s super common even now).
The book could have definitely used an editor in places. The thread of Eddie’s story sometimes gets lost in the story of Herman Slater, and the story of New York political information. It is a dense book with tons of names and different groups overlapping. Often I would find myself getting lost with all the information. If there is a revised volume ever released a flow chart of when groups are founded and by whom would be a great addition (and when Eddie becomes involved and splits).
Eventually the book gets back on track in telling Eddie’s story, and the story of so many gay men from the 70s and 80s. Eddie was a remarkably intelligent man with so much life and drive for his life and the archeological discoveries of Crete. The way his story ends is heart breaking, but His legacy continues through his numerous traditions.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book thinking I would get just the life of Eddie Buczynski; what I got was an in-depth look at the whole pagan scene in New York. The book meanders between all traditions Eddie was involved in and the main actors involved. At times the book has ten page chapters; at times it feels like 50, but rightfully so because the events described are too intriguing (read: spilling the T) to put it down.

A second edition of this book should add a list of abbreviations used throughout, since I often felt myself forgetting what CAW, CES, etc. stood for. Another appendix with a timeline could also be beneficial for future reference.

On the other hand, this biography sets a new standard (for me) and I hope future (auto)biographies will be as encompassing as this one was. I hope Lloyd has it in himself to write other notable pagans biographies.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I thought this book could have used a good editor. As I got into it I began to enjoy the intricacies of the very small world of New York Wicca culture. Wiccans loved to argue among themselves. They love to claim their religion ancient when it appears to have been founded in 1939.
Eddie Bucsynski floats like a ghost through most of the book as he seeks a place for himself in the Occult. He founds three sect of Wicca and passes through several more sects until he enters college in his thirties where he seems to blossom. Here the book becomes truly about Eddie... and then he dies of AIDs. I am certain he would have done great things had he lived. I loved the book.

[Storm Faerywolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eddie Buczynski was the founder of two forms of Modern Witchcraft, most notably, the Minoan Brotherhood, a path that honors gay and bisexual men. This is his story.

But this is also so much more than just a biography of a single luminary of the Modern Craft. This is a painstakingly detailed (and fully noted) history of the evolution of gay and occult culture in the 1970s, as well as a deeper look "behind the scenes" of the inner workings of British Traditional Wicca, and how those systems and communities have operated, for good and for ill.

Michael Lloyd has done the Craft a tremendous service with this work, which not only humanizes a lesser known (though certainly not less important) Witchcraft thinker and teacher, but also documents gay culture at a pivotal time, and where it has intersected the occult movement. Highly recommended.

[GORDON · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating long form story of the magnificent life of Eddie Buczynski, an activist in the gay and Craft communities in the 1970's and 1980's.