OBERON ZELL-RAVENHEART,
(1942- ) is a Founder of the Church of All Worlds and a leading figure
in the Neo-Pagan community. A modern Renaissance man, Oberon is a community
creator, transpersonal psychologist, metaphysician, naturalist, theologian,
shaman, healer, seer, author, artist, sculptor, lecturer, teacher, and
ordained Priest of the Earth-Mother, Gaia. He sums all this up in the
designation of "Wizard."
First to apply the terms "Pagan"
and "Neo-Pagan" to the newly emerging Nature religions of
the 1960s -- and through his publication of the award-winning Pagan
magazine, Green Egg (1968-1976; 1988-1996; he is currently Publisher
Emeritus) -- Oberon was instrumental in the coalescence of the Neo-Pagan
movement, which for the last third of a century has been reclaiming
the religious heritage of pre-Christian Europe.
He has written the widely read "Grimoire
for the Apprentice Wizard" (with Grey Council; New Page, 2004),
plus "Companion for the Apprentice Wizard" (with Faculty of
the Grey School; New Page, 2006) and "Creating Circles & Ceremonies"
(with Morning Glory; New Page, 2006). His writings and creative spirit
can also be found on the web at: http://www.CAW.org,
http://www.GreySchool.com, and
http://www.MythicImages.com.
Here is my interview with a Living
Pagan Icon, Oberon Zell-Ravenheart himself.
DE: What form will Church of All Worlds
be resurrecting itself -- phoenix-like -- in the future?
OZ: This time around (our 3rd resurrection!), the main
central operations and focus will revolve around a vastly expanded website
-- http://www.CAW.org -- which will
include everything that's there currently, plus interactive forums,
a wiki, research and ritual resources, membership applications, clergy
applications, nest applications, affiliate and subsidiary order applications,
etc. The Membership Handbook will be substantially revised and updated,
to be printable in PDF, and a new Operations Manual will replace much
of what is currently in the Bylaws. When this is in place, the Bylaws
will be considerably streamlined for long-term viability.
The biggest change from our previous conceptual Vision
is that in this new phase we are separating the inward progression through
the 9 Circles from the process of Clergy application and ordination.
Now 3rd-Ring members will no longer be automatically designated as "Clergy,"
but as "Beacons." So the 3 "Rings" will now be:
1. "Seekers" (Circles 1-3); 2. "Scions" (Circles
4-6); and 3. "Beacons (Circles 7-9).
As soon as we have all the current revisions to the
website in place, we will begin an active outreach program to welcome
new (and old) members, Clergy ordinations (primarily an application
and review process), Nest charters, Order charters, and affiliations
with other groups who may wish to be chartered under CAW's Group Exemption.
Each chartered entity will then have its own page/section and links
on the CAW website.
And eventually -- what so many have been asking about
-- we hope to be able to scan and put up online printable PDFs of the
entire run of back issues of Green Egg, all the way back to 1978. And
then a new Green Egg will be reborn as an online publication...
DE: What role will the future CAW have
in intentional communities and schools?
OZ: This I cannot say at this time, as I don't expect
to be as centrally involved in CAW this time around as I'd been for
the past 44 years. My primary work at this time is writing books and
being Headmaster of the Grey School of Wizardry. I do certainly expect
that CAW will continue to pursue the establishment and networking of
intentional communities in the future as it has in the past. And, of
course, I'm deeply involved now in the creation and operations of a
school such as I'd always dreamed we could have...
DE: The whole Pagan world is buzzing
with news about The Grey School -- what can you tell us about it?
OZ: The whole Pagan world? Wonderful! I hope many come
check us out! The Grey School -- http://www.GreySchool.com
-- is absolutely the finest work I have ever been involved in, and I
am very proud of it. I spent nearly a year designing everything it should
be with a top-notch Pagan web designer (Steven Day). He managed to implement
all of my ideas, and came up with many more I'd never have thought of.
I recruited some of the best teachers in the magickal community (and
by the way, we are still accepting applications...). We created a foundational
curriculum of functioning classes, and we opened our virtual doors on
Aug. 1, 2004 to an initial rush of students who'd heard of the Grey
School from my 2004 book, "Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard."
The Grey School teachers Wizardry -- not Witchcraft,
or even Paganism, per se. That is, we are teaching the Wisdom of the
Ages, which transcends any particular faith. The Grey School is not
a school of religion, but of magick and wisdom, and we accept students
of every religion (or of none).
The Grey School is set up with seven "year-levels,"
designed to be the equivalent of junior high through high school. Graduates
will be certified "Journeyman Wizards" (and yes, we are planning
a college-level Journeyman to Master program for later). About 1/4 of
our 650 or so students are youths (ages 11-17), and 3/4 are adults (ages
18-70s). The School is highly interactive, with four Elemental "Houses"
for youths, and "Lodges" for adults. Each has both a Faculty
Head and a Student Prefect. We have competitive programs for earning
both credits and merits, plus a "House Hat" and "Lodge
Cup" are awarded at equinoxes.
We have about three-dozen brilliant and highly qualified
teachers, and currently around 200 classes in 16 color-coded "Departments,"
each with a Dean, clubs, etc. These are: Wizardry (indigo), Nature Studies
(silver), Magickal Practice (gold), Mind Magicks (aqua), Healing (blue),
Wortcunning (green), Divination (yellow), Performance (orange), Alchemy
(red), Lifeways (pink), Beast Mastery (brown), Mathemagicks (clear),
Cosmology (violet), Ceremonial Magick (white), Lore (grey), and Dark
Arts (black).
Each House and Lodge has its own forum, each class
has a forum, and there are other forums for clubs and such -- even a
campus tavern (adults only!). There is also the "Great Hall"
forum, where all students can communicate directly with each other.
We have a system of student leadership for the Houses and Lodges, and
a quarterly student-run School newsletter in printable PDF format that
is larger than the Green Egg ever was! The Library and School store
("Magick Alley") have many resources available to students
at any time.
The motto of the Grey School of Wizardry is: Omnia
vivunt; omnia inter se conexus. "Everything is alive; everything
is interconnected." (Cicero)
DE: How does it feel for you that CAW
has given birth to more spiritual groups in North America than any other
Neo-Pagan founding organization?
OZ: Really? Have we indeed? Cool! It is good to leave
a lineage... One is glad to be of service.
DE: What is your favorite passage from
Stranger in A Strange Land?
OZ: "Love is that condition wherein another person's
happiness is essential to your own."
DE: What are some of the ways "sharing
water" can change the world?
OZ: Deepening our connections with each other -- and
every living being -- beyond the traditional narrow boundaries of blood,
family, and tribal kinships. Humanity must come to embrace connections
of global kinship, and water-sharing is an important means of encouraging
this expansion of our affiliations. "Perfect love and perfect trust."
And this will lead to the Awakening of Gaia...
DE: What is your most vivid Sidhe encounter
and how did it change your life?
OZ: Unquestionably the great "TheaGenesis"
revelatory vision of Gaia as a living planet, that I had on Sept. 6,
1970. (See http://www.caw.org/articles/theagenesis.html
and http://mythicimages.com/product_page.php?product_id=1).
That changed everything -- not only in my own personal life, but the
ripples spread throughout the Pagan community and far beyond...
DE: What are your thoughts on how different
Neo-Pagan, Wiccan and Druid organizations can communicate and work with
each other more effectively?
OZ: Attend festivals! Go to each other's rituals and
workshops; hang out around each others' campfires and hospitality rooms;
read each other's literature; find romance with members of other groups.
Then get involved with community networking organizations and interfaith
groups serving the wider community interest.
DE: What do you believe lies in the
future of Mother Gaia?
OZ: The Awakening. Then the great Diaspora, "flying
Mother Nature's silver seeds to a new home..."
DE: Any bit of advice to others on
the Pagan path?
OZ: Sure. Always spell "Pagan" with a capital
"P"! Remember, Paganism is a religion! Indeed, I personally
feel that Paganism is not merely *A* religion; it *IS* "religion"
itself, in the truest sense of the word.
