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Her Mind returned to her younger days as a herd’s lassie and the visions and revelations she had seen which once more kindled her imagination. She began to teach the children her own interpretation of the Bible which was independent of all precedent of that time and of course included meanings which she had evolved that were to say the least original!  She was at first quite cautious knowing that her beliefs were not quite the orthodox ones of the time.

She attended fellowship meetings and pretended to be a diligent enquirer after truth. She became highly valued as a very pious person among the more religious people of the area and managed to persuade a few of the locals that she had discovered a mine of  hidden truth and that she was indeed a prophetess. In a letter to a friend she writes:

In the year 1777 the power of God wrought such a wonderful change in my senses that I overcame the flesh so as not to make use of earthly food for some weeks, which made all that saw me conclude that I was about to depart this life, and many came to hear me speak, which was all about Gods love to mortals……Had there been a gallows erected at every door where I had an opportunity of speaking of Christ, or of hearing him spoken of , I would not have stayed from going there, and the more they sought to keep me back it only tended the more to stir me up to run the faster.

She had now found her mission in life: no more teaching sewing, reading, writing, these things were now below her, she who had been granted divine visions and revelations. This of course had a dire effect on her school, local people began to shun her, children no longer came to the school, and even her own children were opposed to her ways at one point even her life was in danger. One of her converts was a Mrs Cook, the wife of Captain Cook commander of the Prince of Wales revenue cutter. He was not happy with his wife’s involvement with Mrs Buchan and used every means possible to keep her from seeing Mrs Buchan. Mrs Cook took a fever and began to speak of nothing but religion and called continually for Mrs Buchan, he concluded that Buchan had “ put her mad with religion” so they put poor Mrs Cook in a darkened room for three weeks, this only made things worse and rumours were abound that Captain Cook was intending to kill Mrs Buchan.. Having few friends and no means of support she returned to Glasgow in March 1781, back to her husband who it seems welcomed her back with open arms. Little is heard of her for the next couple of years. It appears she still neglected her house and family in favour of gadding about, looking for anyone who would listen to her religious vagaries.

Her husband was useful for supplying money but that is all she wanted him for; she had formed her own opinions of marriage which she put into practice at every opportunity. To her marriage was bondage of the flesh, which she had been instructed in her revelations  was to be abolished, and this became a very prominent feature in the society she was about to form.