Oberon Zell-Ravenheart

Oberon Zell-Ravenheart (b. Timothy Zell, November 30, 1942, in St. Louis, Missouri, also formerly known as Otter G'Zell) is a co-founder of the Church of All Worlds, as well as a writer and speaker on the subject of Neopaganism. He completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri in 1965. In 1967, he received a Doctor of Divinity from Life Science College in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, then a teaching certificate from Harris Teacher's College in St. Louis in 1968. He also attended graduate studies at Washington University in St. Louis.^[1]

In an interview with Natalie Zaman in 2008, Zell described himself as a "Wizard". Distinguishing his practice from the wizards of fiction, Zell added a "k" to his spelling of "magick", and claimed that his interest therein began at an early age with the reading of Greek myths and fairy tales. As a child, Zell had visions, which his mother told him were derived from the life of his grandfather.^[2]

An early advocate of deep ecology, Zell-Ravenheart articulated the Gaia Thesis (preferred spelling Gæa or Gaea) in 1970, independently of Dr. James Lovelock, who is usually credited therewith.^[3] Along with his wife Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart and the other members of his group marriage, he has been influential in the modern polyamory movement.^[4]

Zell-Ravenheart also co-founded the Ecosophical Research Association in 1977, an organization that explores the truth behind myths. This group was known for the "living unicorns" they created by minor surgery to the horn buds of goats. One of their unicorns, Lancelot, toured with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.^[5]

Church of All Worlds

With R. Lance Christie, Zell-Ravenheart formed the Church of All Worlds (CAW) on April 7, 1962, by the ritual of "sharing water". This foundation ritual was practiced by a fictional church of the same name in Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. Zell-Ravenheart and Christie attributed their inspiration to Heinlein's novel. From the 1960s through the late 1990s, Zell-Ravenheart served as High Priest and Primate of the church.^[6] Zell-Ravenheart returned to lead the Church of All Worlds, Inc. in 2005 and currently serves as First Primate.^[7]

Role in Neopagan community

A sculptor as well as an author, Zell has created numerous images of Pagan deities—some based upon historical images, others his original creations. With his family, he runs Mythic Images, a business through which his artwork is distributed.^[6]

Green Egg

As the creator and original editor of the Neopagan magazine Green Egg in 1968,^[8] Zell-Ravenheart was an early popularizer of the term "Neo-Pagan". When Green Egg began publishing as a spirit-duplicated newsletter, Zell used the term "Neo-Pagan" to describe the new religious movement he was helping to create. Green Egg later grew to be a semi-glossy magazine with international distribution and, in an era before the Internet, its letters column provided a widely distributed public forum for discussion and networking.^[6] From 1994 to late 2001, Green Egg was edited by Maerian Morris, a former High Priestess of the Church of All Worlds.^[9]Green Egg is currently published as an e-zine, edited by Ariel Monserrat.^[10]

Grey School of Wizardry

Zell-Ravenheart is one of the founding faculty members and currently Headmaster of the "Grey School of Wizardry", a nonprofit, on-line school specializing in occultism, incorporated March 14, 2004 as an educational institution in the State of California. Its creation was inspired partly by Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the school in the Harry Potter novels by author J. K. Rowling.^[11]

Speaker and teacher

Zell-Ravenheart regularly presents workshops, lectures, and ceremonies at Neopagan and New Age events, as well as at science fiction conventions and renaissance fairs. He and his wife "Morning Glory" Zell-Ravenheart have appeared at over 20 Starwood Festivals (and a few WinterStar Symposiums) over 25 years, and have maintained Church of All Worlds presence at Starwood, called the CAWmunity, for over a decade.^[1]

Oberon and Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart currently live in Sonoma County, California, where they are members of the Sonoma County Pagan Network. He is a frequent speaker at the organization's local activities, and has contributed articles to its website.^[12][13]

Health concerns

During a routine colonoscopy, doctors found a cancerous growth attached to Zell's colon, and removed it laparoscopically at Petaluma Valley Hospital. Following surgery, he underwent a six-month course of chemotherapy and has continued a reduced schedule of travel and teaching. Another surgery repaired a hernia at the cancer surgery incision in August 2009, but was otherwise not cancer-related. Zell regards himself as cured of the cancer.^[14]

Bibliography

• The Rites of Summer by Gwydion Pendderwen‎- Nemeton (1980) (art only)
• Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard. New Page Books, US (2004) ISBN 1564147118, ISBN 978-1564147110
• Creating Circles & Ceremonies: Rituals for All Seasons and Reasons (with Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart) New Page Books (2006) ISBN 1564148645, ISBN 978-1564148643
• Companion for the Apprentice Wizard New Page Books, US (2006) ISBN 1564148351, ISBN 978-1564148353
• Dragonlore: From the Archives of the Grey School of Wizardry. Dekirk, Ash "Leoparddancer", with Oberon Zell-Ravenheart. New Page Books (2006) ISBN 1564148688, ISBN 978-1564148681
• A Wizard's Bestiary. Dekirk, Ash "Leoparddancer", with Oberon Zell-Ravenheart. New Page Books (December 30, 2007) ISBN 1564149560, ISBN 978-1564149565

Discography

• The Church of All Worlds - Lecture on cassette ACE
• Men and the Goddess - Lecture (on cassette) ACE
• A Bouquet of Lovers - Lecture with Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart (on CD and cassette) ACE
• Living Your Own Myth - Lecture with Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart (on cassette) ACE

Media appearances

Oberon Zell-Ravenheart has been interviewed on many television and radio shows in the United States, England, and Australia. Some of these include:

Television The Sunday Show (Australia) Channel 4 (England) Strange Universe A&E The Marilyn Kagan Show Faith Under Fire with Lee Strobel Counter-Culture Hour The Witching Hour "The Devil's Advocate with Charles Ashman", KPLR-TV (1974) Soapbox, KPLR-TV (1973)

Radio “Brother Wease” WCMF-FM “Dave Wilson” WIBC-AM “Exploring Unknown Phenomena” KZUM 89.3-FM “Clear Reception” WTMD-FM (NPR) “Allan & Rebecca” WQAL-FM “Larry & Sheryl” ALQ “Jack Roberts” Cable Radio Network “Louie Free” WWOW “Bulldog’s Morning Show” PJD5-FM "96 Rock Mornings with Salt and Demetri the Greek" (July 24, 2007) "Coast to Coast AM" (January 13, 2008)

See also

• Green Egg
• Church of All Worlds
• Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Biography of Oberon Zell-Ravenheart. Oberon Zell's official website. Retrieved 2010-05-10
2. ^ Natalie Zaman (2008). "We're Off To See A Wizard: The Magical Life of Oberon Zell" Broomstix issue #12 (Beltain). Retrieved 2010-05-27
3. ^ Adler, Margot (revised edition, 2006) Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshipers, and Other Pagans in America Today. Boston, Beacon Press ISBN 0-14-303819-2 p.320: After Lovelock's publication of the theory in Newsweek, "Zell entered into a short correspondence with Lovelock, comparing their world views."
4. ^ Adler (2006) p.334
5. ^ "Unicorn Dreams: Man Made Unicorns". Lair 2000. Retrieved 2010-05-09
6. ^ ^{a b c} Adler (2006) "Chapter 10: A Religion from the Future - The Church of All Worlds" pp.300-334
7. ^ CAWeb - The Official Website of the Church of All Worlds, Inc.
8. ^ The first edition of Green Egg was the Ostara (Spring Equinox) 1968 issue.
9. ^ Morris, Maerian, Green Egg Editorials on the Sidhevair website [1]
10. ^ Green Egg E-zine. August 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-01
11. ^ "About the Grey School of Wizardry".
12. ^ "Guest Speakers". Sonoma County Pagans website. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
13. ^ "The Cosmic Egg". Sonoma County Pagans website. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
14. ^ Zell-Ravenheart, Oberon; Zell-Ravenheart, Morning Glory; Epona, Julie. "OZ's Blog". http://www.oberonzell.com/OZ-blog.html. Retrieved 2009-06-29. ^{[dead link]} He currently resides in Sonoma County, California with Morning Glory.

External links

Articles and interviews

• Laneth Sffarlenn (February 11, 2008). "Wizards of Old and New, the Grey School is Calling For You!". The Witches' Voice. http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=auvic&c=words&id=12285. Retrieved 2010-05-11. 
• Online Wizardry Recognized with a 501(c)(3) Alternative Approaches article
• Interview With a Living Pagan Icon The Goddess interview by Mabyn Wind
• 10 Questions with Oberon Zell-Ravenheart The Magical Buffet

Additional reading

• Aloi, Peg. The Oberon Interview Obsidian Magazine, Issue 1.
• Bond, Lawrence & Ellen Evert Hopman (1996) People of the Earth: The New Pagans Speak Out (reissued as Being a Pagan: Druids, Wiccans & Witches Today in 2002 Destiny Books ISBN 0-89281-904-9) Interview.
• Vale, V. and John Sulak (2001). Modern Pagans. San Francisco: Re/Search Publications. ISBN 1-889307-10-6

Other links

• Official Website
• Oberon Zell Ravenheart biography (Church of All Worlds) (Archived)
• Grey School of Wizardry
• Green Egg Zine - Legendary Journal of the Awakening Earth
• "Defining paganism". Isaac Bonewits (2007).
• Mythic Images website
• Oberon Zell Ravenheart Interview

Persondata
Name	Zell-Ravenheart, Oberon
Alternative names
Short description	Co-founder of the Church of all Worlds
Date of birth	November 30, 1942
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death