Lady Rhea

Lady Rhea (Ria Rivera) of Bronx, New York, has been a practicing Wiccan High Priestess in the Neo-Gardnerian/Wica and New York Welsh Traditions since 1973 when she and her then partner, David Farnham, were initiated by their High Priest, the late Edmund Buczynki at the Winter Solstice of that year. She was later elevated to the second and third degrees at Imbolc of 1974 in the newly formed Brooklyn Heights Coven of the Wica Tradition. Lady Rhea, after almost 40 years, is now the self-proclaimed "Witch Queen of New York City" and is responsible for the initiation of countless members of the craft in New York.

Rhea's introduction to the craft was in 1972 when she walked into Herman Slater's "Warlock Shop" in Brooklyn Heights to purchase a crystal ball. She was enamored of the place and the people who worked there and eventually became an employee of the shop herself. It is here that she also met Edmund Buczynski, the high priest who eventually initiated her into the craft. She maintianed a close relationship with Slater, and followed him into Manhattan in 1976 when he expanded the Warlock Shop into the now infamous and much loved "Magickal Childe". Rhea continued working with Herman for several years. While at the Magickal Childe, Rhea, who used to assist Herman by ordering the candle stock, accidentally placed an order for the wrong type of candles. The Magickal Childe typically ordered 7-day novena candles poured in the glass in a variety of colors for use in spell work and various types of magic. Instead of ordering these candles, Rhea had placed and order for a more expensive variety of 7-day novenas where the candles pulled out of the glass. Rhea, fearing Slater's wrath knew she needed to think fast and pulled a candle from the glass and began carving it with symbols and then dressed it with magical oils and decorated it with glitter. She then placed it back in the glass and realized she had a complete spell that she could custom create for any client. This mistake became Rhea's saving grace and eventual claim to fame. This particular spell candle, or "Enchanted Candle" as they soon became known, is well known throughout the craft community in New York and now around the world.

In 1975, a woman by the name of Carol Bulzone came into The Warlock Shop after having just returned from a period of time in Salem, Massachusetts where she was looking for a coven to work with. After the unsuccessful attempt, she returned to New York feeling as if she were on her own and almost ready to give up. Herman Slater liked her energy and arranged for Carol to meet Rhea, that they might work together in the craft. Rhea was now running her own coven and needed members. When Carol and Rhea met, the chemistry was noted by both of them. Carol was initiated by Rhea and David in the summer of 1975 and brought in as Lady Miw (egyptian for Cat). Carol and Rhea began a relationship shortly there after.

In 1977, Edmund "Eddy" Buczynski, himself a gay man and also Rhea's initiator into the craft, created and had brought public a Wiccan tradition specifically geared towards the mens mysteries and especially the magic between men-who-love-men. He titled this tradition "The Minoan Brotherhood" based on research suggesting that the art-loving and innovative culture of the ancient Minoans revered homosexuals and placed them in high-ranking positions of power and government. The idea of the Minoan tradition appealed to Rhea and Carol who also sought a place of their own for their women's mysteries. A place that they could continue to practice their craft with each other and reach out to other homosexuals who were often left out in the cold by traditional covens. With the help of Buczynski's research for The Minoan Brotherhood, Rhea and Carol began to create the female version of the Minoan Tradition over the course of 1977 and in the spring of 1978, "The Minoan Sisterhood" was born. Some well known Minoan Priestesses brought in by Rhea and Carol include well known author and astrologer Lexa Rosean was well as lawyer and author Phyllis Currot, who is a powerful advocate for the rights of Witches and Wiccans the world over.

In 1982 Rhea and Carol decided to venture out on their own and open a shop in Manhattan's East Village neighborhood. "Enchantments, Inc." opened its doors in September 1982 offering Rhea's popular "Enchanted Candles" and a small selection of magical supplies and books. Rhea had began to compile multiple symbols or "seals" she created which had specific purposes that she would carve onto her candles. She eventually self published these seals in a large format paperback book that was sold out of Enchantments and The Magickal Childe. This small business grew over the next few years and the successful couple created their own classes and workshops. A unique feature that Enchantments possessed that the Magickal Childe did not, a secluded outdoor working space, The "Garden of Enchantments" was twice as big as the store itself and allowed for large rituals and a fire pit and a central altar. The garden was cleaned up and decorated with God and Goddess statues and now Rhea and Carol's Minoan Sisterhood had a place of its own to work out of. The garden also became host to various classes and rituals for the New York Pagan Way as well as a place for well known authors and teachers, such as Scott Cunningham, to hold classes and do book signings. Enchantments was off and running and quickly began to thrive.

1n 1986, Rhea decided she wanted to have a child so she left Enchantments and sold her portion to Carol Bulzone to pursue her dream of motherhood. Shortly thereafter, Rhea gave birth to a daughter and named her Tara after a particular aspect of the Buddha that she had always favored.

In 1992, Rhea returned to the public craft scene and opened "The Enchanted Candle Shoppe Inc." in Greenwich Village, selling her carved candles and doing readings out of the shop. This space proved to be too expensive to maintain and Rhea relocated to the Bronx and opened another shop on Wilkinson Avenue called "Magickal Realms". Magickal Realms was successful for several years where Rhea offered her Enchanted Candles and various hand blended incenses and oils, books and readings, and taught a new generation of the New York Pagan Way. During this time, Rhea had been approached about publishing her famous underground book "Lady Rhea's Enchanted Candle" which up to this point had only been self published. It was picked up by Citadel Press in 2003 and professionally organized and illustrated and was an instant hit in the public market. This book was followed by a companion book "Lady Rhea's Enchanted Formulary", which got a luke warm response and was criticized by advanced practitioners in the magical apothecary arts, mainly because of its simplistic formulas and use of fragrance oils.

It was also in 2003 that Lady Rhea, now one of the longest practicing elders of the New York Wiccan Traditions, wanting to unite the various traditions and groups that could trace their craft lineages back to Edmund Buczynski, publicly proclaimed the creation of the "Edwardian Tradition" of Wicca. This tradition was an umbrella term that was able to be claimed by anyone who practiced one or any of Eddy Buzynski's traditions (Wica/Minoan/Welsh). Lady Rhea proclaimed this by a public statement on The Witches Voice webpage. This too was greeted with mixed results, though several people still proudly claim this title.

Lady Rhea eventually relocated her shop to the Original Products Botanica on Webster Avenue in The Bronx where she rents floor space in the front window to do readings and sell her candles as well as temple space on the second floor where she opened and maintains "The Pagan Center of New York" as well as "The Bronx Buddhist Center". It is here that she continues to practice the craft, offer public rituals and run a coven for the New York Coven of Witches, into which she still initiates worthy seekers out of the Pagan Way, continuing a tradition that began almost 40 years ago by her very initiation at Eddy Buczynski's hand. Lady Rhea lives in the Bronx with her wife and magical partner Sandra Rivera/ Lady Zoradia.

• The Enchanted Candle (2004) ISBN 0806525789
• The Enchanted Formulary (2006) ISBN 0806527048

External links

• Magickal Realms website