Herman Slater (1938 – July 9, 1992) was an American Wiccan high priest and occult-bookstore proprietor as well as an editor, publisher, and author.
[1] During his recuperation process, Slater began experiencing and reading about paranormal phenomena, including divination (tarot cards), clairvoyance, and levitation.
[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.
among these were authors Denny Sargent, who with Robert Carey, were co editors of a magazine for aspiring teen magicians called Mandragore.
[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.
[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.
With Slater's death they started having trouble making ends meet and several significant new age publishers stopped providing them with books.
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] 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] Slater wrote the books: Published: Edited: These two witchcraft cookbooks are based on the inner workings of his shop and formulas of his potions.
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.