Oberon Zell-Ravenheart (born Timothy Zell, November 30, 1942,

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

; formerly known as Otter G'Zell) is a

Neopagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

writer, speaker and religious leader. He is the co-founder of the Church of All Worlds.

Education

Zell earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

from Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, in 1965 before briefly enrolling in a doctoral program in

clinical psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

. He also received a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

degree from Life Science College in

Rolling Meadows, Illinois Rolling Meadows is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 24,200. History In 1836, Orrin Ford became the first landowner in the area that is now Rolling Meadows, staking his claim of in an area ...

, (a defunct nonresidential seminary analogous to the Universal Life Church) in 1967. In 1968, he completed a teaching certificate at

Harris–Stowe State University Harris–Stowe State University is a historically black public university in St. Louis, Missouri. The university offers 50 majors, minors, and certificate programs in education, business, and arts & sciences. It is a member-school of the Thurgoo ...

. His parents were Protestants.

Neopaganism

In an interview with Natalie Zaman in 2008, Zell described himself as a wizard. Distinguishing his practice from the wizards of fiction, Zell used the alternative spelling '' magick'' (with final "k") and claimed that his interest therein began at an early age with the reading of

Greek myths A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of de ...

and fairy tales. As a child, Zell had visions, which his mother told him were derived from the life of his grandfather.Natalie Zaman (2008)
"We're Off To See A Wizard: The Magical Life of Oberon Zell"
''Broomstix'' issue #12 (Beltain); retrieved 2010-05-27. An early advocate of

deep ecology Deep ecology is an environmental philosophy that promotes the inherent worth of all living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs, and the restructuring of modern human societies in accordance with such ideas. Deep ecolo ...

, Zell-Ravenheart claims to have articulated the

Gaia Hypothesis The Gaia hypothesis (), also known as the Gaia theory, Gaia paradigm, or the Gaia principle, proposes that living organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a synergistic and self-regulating, complex system that help ...

(using the spelling "Gaea") in 1970, independently of

James Lovelock James Ephraim Lovelock (26 July 1919 – 26 July 2022) was an English independent scientist, environmentalist and futurist. He is best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, which postulates that the Earth functions as a self-regulating sys ...

, who is usually given credit.Adler, Margot (revised edition, 2006) ''Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshipers, and Other Pagans in America Today''. Boston, Beacon Press; p. 320: After Lovelock's publication of the theory in

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

, "Zell entered into a short correspondence with Lovelock, comparing their world views." Along with his wife Morning Glory and the other members of his

group marriage Group marriage or conjoint marriage is a marital arrangement where three or more adults enter into sexual, affective, romantic, or otherwise intimate short- or long-term partnerships, and share in any combination of finances, residences, care ...

, he has been influential in the modern polyamory movement.Adler (2006) p.334 Zell-Ravenheart 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, a technique he was granted a patent for in 1984. One of their unicorns, Lancelot, toured with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

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 Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

of the church.Adler (2006) "Chapter 10: A Religion from the Future - The Church of All Worlds", pp. 300-334 He returned to lead the Church of All Worlds, Inc. in 2005 and currently serves as First Primate.

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.

''Green Egg''

As the creator and original editor of the Neopagan magazine ''

Green Egg ''Green Egg'' is a Neopagan magazine published by the Church of All Worlds intermittently since 1968. The ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'' described it as a significant periodical. First version, 1968–1976 ''Green Egg'' was created by O ...

'' in 1968, Zell-Ravenheart was an early popularizer of the term "

Neo-Pagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

". When ''Green Egg'' began publishing as a spirit-duplicated

newsletter A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of int ...

, Zell used the term "Neo-Pagan" to describe the

new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin or th ...

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. ''Green Egg'' is currently published as an online magazine, edited by Rev. Alder Moonoak.

Grey School of Wizardry

He is a founder and the current Headmaster of the

Grey School of Wizardry The Grey School of Wizardry is a school of occult magic that draws heavily on the fiction of J.K. Rowling. Founded by former headmaster Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, it operates primarily online and as a non-profit educational institution in California. ...

, an online school specializing in the teaching of a wide range of esoteric magic. The Grey School incorporated on March 14, 2005 as a non-profit educational institution in the State of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The school grew from lessons originally created by the Grey Council, a team of two dozen practitioners, who with Zell-Ravenheart, wrote the ''Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard'' and later the ''Companion for the Apprentice Wizard''. While initially conceived for ages 11–17, the school accepts adult students. The school comprises sixteen departments of study, various clubs and organizations, a forum area, a prefect/captain system, opportunities for awards and merits and a house/lodge system for adults and youths in which they can communicate directly with each other. Youth (under 18) students are sorted into four houses: Sylphs, Salamanders, Undines, and Gnomes. Adult (18+) students are sorted into four lodges: Society of the Four Winds, Order of the Dancing Flames, Coterie of the Flowing Waters, and Circle of the Standing Stones.

Speaker and teacher

Zell-Ravenheart regularly presents workshops, lectures, and ceremonies at Neopagan and

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

events, as well as at science fiction conventions and

renaissance fair A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire or Renaissance festival is an outdoor gathering open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which purportedly recreates a historical setting for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent the ...

s. He and his late wife Morning Glory have appeared at more than 20

Starwood Festival The Starwood Festival is a seven-day Neo-Pagan, New Age, multi-cultural and world music festival, taking place every July in the United States of America. The Starwood Festival is a camping event which holds workshops on a variety of subjects. Th ...

s and WinterStar Symposiums over a quarter century, and maintained a Church of All Worlds presence at Starwood, called the CAWmunity, for over a decade.Biography
, Oberon Zell official website; retrieved 2010-05-10. Oberon and Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart lived in

Sonoma County, California Sonoma County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 488,863. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Rosa, California, Santa Rosa. It is to the n ...

, where they were 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.

Health

During a routine

colonoscopy Colonoscopy () or coloscopy () is the endoscopic examination of the large bowel and the distal part of the small bowel with a CCD camera or a fiber optic camera on a flexible tube passed through the anus. It can provide a visual diagnosis (''e. ...

, doctors found a cancerous growth attached to Zell's colon, and removed it

laparoscopically Laparoscopy () is an operation performed in the abdomen or pelvis using small incisions (usually 0.5–1.5 cm) with the aid of a camera. The laparoscope aids diagnosis or therapeutic interventions with a few small cuts in the abdomen.Medli ...

Petaluma Petaluma (Miwok: ''Péta Lúuma'') is a city in Sonoma County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census. Petaluma's name comes from the Miwok village nam ...

Valley Hospital. Following surgery, he underwent a six-month course of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

and has continued a reduced schedule of travel and teaching. Another surgery repaired a

hernia A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the gr ...

at the cancer surgery incision in August 2009, but was otherwise not cancer-related. Zell regards himself as cured of the cancer. He resided in

, with Morning Glory until her death at age 65 from multiple myeloma on May 13, 2014.

Bibliography

* ''The Rites of Summer'' by

Gwydion Pendderwen Thomas deLong (May 21, 1946 – November 6, 1982), better known as Gwydion Pendderwen, was an American musician, writer, poet, conservationist and witch. Early life Pendderwen was born in Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the ea ...

, Nemeton (1980) (art only) * ''Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard''. New Page Books, US (February 14, 2004); , * ''Companion for the Apprentice Wizard'' New Page Books, US (January 1, 2006); , * ''Creating Circles & Ceremonies: Rituals for All Seasons and Reasons'' (with Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart) New Page Books (August 1, 2006); , * ''Dragonlore: From the Archives of the Grey School of Wizardry''. Dekirk, Ash "Leoparddancer", with Oberon Zell-Ravenheart. New Page Books (August 1, 2006); , * ''Gargoyles: From the Archives of the Grey School of Wizardry''. Pesznecker, Susan "Moonwriter", with Oberon Zell-Ravenheart. New Page Books (February 15, 2007); , * ''A Wizard's Bestiary''. Dekirk, Ash "Leoparddancer", with Oberon Zell-Ravenheart. New Page Books (December 30, 2007); ,

Discography

* ''The Church of All Worlds'' - Lecture on cassette

ACE An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...

* ''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 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

(England) * ''

Strange Universe ''Strange Universe'' was a United States syndicated daily half-hour program about paranormal phenomena that aired from 1996 to 1998. Developed by Rysher Entertainment and Chris Craft Television, it debuted in 1996, hosted by Emmitt Miller and ...

'' * A&E * '' The Marilyn Kagan Show'' * ''Faith Under Fire'' with

Lee Strobel Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese s ...

* Counter-Culture Hour * ''The Witching Hour'' * "''The Devil's Advocate'' with Charles Ashman", KPLR-TV (1974) * ''Soapbox'', KPLR-TV (1973) Radio * “

Brother Wease Brother Wease is the on-air name of Alan Levin (born November 1, 1946 in Rochester, New York), a radio personality from Rochester, New York. He is currently heard on WAIO "Radio 95.1" a classic rock station in Rochester, as well as WHTK AM 1280, ...

”

WCMF-FM WCMF-FM (96.5 MHz) is a radio station located in the Rochester, New York, area. Its transmitter is located on Pinnacle Hill in Brighton, Monroe County, and its studios are located at High Falls Studios in downtown Rochester. WCMF is a heritage c ...

* “Dave Wilson” WIBC-AM * “Exploring Unknown Phenomena”

KZUM KZUM (89.3 FM) is a radio station licensed in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. The station serves the Lincoln area and is currently owned by Sunrise Communications, Inc. It features a variety of programming, including jazz, blues, folk music, fu ...

89.3-FM * “Clear Reception” WTMD-FM (NPR) * “Allan & Rebecca”

WQAL WQAL (104.1 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, featuring a hot adult contemporary format known as "Q104" . Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves Greater Cleveland and surrounding Northeast Ohio. WQAL's studios a ...

-FM * “Larry & Sheryl” ALQ * “Jack Roberts”

Cable Radio Network CRN Digital Talk Radio Networks, sometimes simply referred to as ''CRN'' or ''CRN Digital Talk'', is a syndicator and distributor of radio programs and talk radio networks. History CRN was founded in 1983 as Cable Radio Network to provide commer ...

* “Louie Free”

WWOW WWOW (1360 AM) is an oldies formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Conneaut, Ohio, serving Northwest Pennsylvania and Northeast Ohio. WWOW is owned and operated by Matthew Jarvi, through licensee Lake Effect Media. Transmitter facilities ...

* “Bulldog’s Morning Show” PJD5-FM * "96 Rock Mornings with

Salt and Demetri the Greek Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantiti ...

" (July 24, 2007) * " Coast to Coast AM" (January 13, 2008) and (March 21, 2012) *"For your health"

References

External links

Articles and interviews

* * ''Online Wizardry Recognized with a 501(c)(3)''
Alternative Approaches article
* ''Interview With a Living Pagan Icon'

* ''10 Questions with Oberon Zell-Ravenheart'
The Magical Buffet