Oberon Zell | |
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| Born | Timothy Zell (1942-11-30)November 30, 1942 (age 82) St. Louis, Missouri, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, artist, speaker, teacher, religious leader |
| Years active | 1967 to present |
| Known for | Paganism, Wizardry, Living Unicorns, Polyamory |
| Notable work | Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard; The Millennial Gaia; The Living Unicorn |
Oberon Zell (bornTimothy Zell, November 30, 1942; formerly known asOtter G'Zell andOberon Zell-Ravenheart) is aNeopagan writer, speaker and religious leader. He is the co-founder of theChurch of All Worlds.
Born on November 30, 1942, inSt. Louis, Missouri, Zell earned a Bachelor of Arts degree inpsychology fromWestminster College inFulton, Missouri, in 1965 before briefly enrolling in a doctoral program inclinical psychology atWashington University in St. Louis. He also received aDoctor of Divinity degree from Life Science College inRolling Meadows, Illinois, (a defunct nonresidential seminary)[1] in 1967. In 1968, he completed a teaching certificate atHarris–Stowe State University.[2] His parents were Protestants.[3]
In an interview with Natalie Zaman in 2008, Zell described himself as a Wizard. Distinguishing his practice from thewizards of fiction, Zell used the alternative spellingmagick (with final "k") and claimed that his interest therein began at an early age with the reading ofGreek myths and fairy tales. As a child, Zell had visions, which his mother told him were derived from the life of his grandfather.[4]
An early advocate ofdeep ecology, Zell claims to have been the first to have articulated and published theGaia Hypothesis (using the spelling "Gaea"[5]) in 1970, independently ofJames Lovelock, who is usually given credit.[6] Along with his wifeMorning Glory and the other members of his group marriages, he has been influential in the modernpolyamory movement.[7]
Zell co-founded the Ecosophical Research Association in 1977, an organization that explores the truth behind myths. This group was known for the authentic "LivingUnicorns" they created by minor surgery to the horn buds ofgoats, a technique he was granted a patent for in 1984.[8] One of their unicorns, Lancelot, toured with theRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.[9]
With R. Lance Christie, Zell founded theChurch 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 inRobert A. Heinlein'sStranger in a Strange Land. Zell and Christie attributed their inspiration to Heinlein's novel. From the 1960s through the late 1990s, Zell served as High Priest andPrimate of the church.[10] He returned to lead the Church of All Worlds, Inc. in 2005 and currently serves as First Primate.[11]
A sculptor and graphic artist 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 created Mythic Images, a business through which his artwork is distributed.[10]
As the creator and original editor of the NeoPagan magazineGreen Egg in 1968,[12] Zell was an early popularizer of the term "Neo-Pagan". WhenGreen Egg began publishing as aspirit-duplicatednewsletter, Zell used the term "Neo-Pagan" to describe thenew 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.[10]Green Egg is currently published as an online magazine, edited by Katrina Rasbold.[13]
Oberon is the founder and Headmaster Emeretus of theGrey School of Wizardry, an online school specializing in the teaching of a wide range of ancient wisdom and esoteric magic.[14] In November 2022 he passed the title and mantle of Headmaster to his protege, Nicholas Kingsley. Zell continues to teach in the School, and remains President of the Board of Directors.
The Grey School incorporated on March 14, 2005[15][16][17] as a non-profit educational institution in the State ofCalifornia. The school grew from lessons originally created by the Grey Council, a team of two dozen practitioners, who with Zell, wrote theGrimoire for the Apprentice Wizard and later theCompanion for the Apprentice Wizard. While initially conceived for ages 11–17, the school currently has mostly adult students.[18] 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 grouped into the house of Psyche. 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.[19]
Zell regularly presents workshops, lectures, and ceremonies at NeoPagan events. He and his late wifeMorning Glory have appeared at more than 40Starwood Festivals and WinterStar Symposiums over four decades, and maintained a Church of All Worlds presence at Starwood, called the CAWmunity, for over a decade.[2]
From 1998 to 2014 Oberon and Morning Glory Zell lived inSonoma County, California, where they were members of the Sonoma County Pagan Network. He was a frequent speaker at the organization's local activities, served on the Board of Directors, and contributed articles to its website.[20][21]
During a routinecolonoscopy, doctors found a cancerous growth attached to Zell'scolon, and removed itlaparoscopically atPetaluma Valley Hospital. Following surgery, he underwent a six-month course ofchemotherapy and continued a robust schedule of travel and teaching. Zell regards himself as cured of the cancer. He resided inSonoma County, California, with Morning Glory until her death at age 65 from multiple myeloma on May 13, 2014.[22]
Morning Glory died at home, surrounded by family, friends, lovers, and more than 360 Goddess images she had collected from around the world. Her body was laid into the Earth at the Church of All Worlds sanctuary of Annwfn, with an apple tree planted over her heart. Arranging all the legalities for Morning Glory's green burial secured Annwfn as an officially-recognized cemetery for full body burials—something Morning Glory herself had tried to do for decades without success. In the years since, other Pagans have had their green burials at Annwfn.
After burying Morning Glory, Oberon remained at their home (RavenHaven) for another year, while searching with friends for a suitable new home. In October 2015, he moved in with a couple in Santa Cruz, CA, where they opened a center in town they called the Academy of Arcana. It featured a store, a library, classroom, museum, meeting space and offices.[23] However, it was not economically viable, and had to close at the end of Nov. 2017. Oberon put everything he owned into storage.
The following June Oberon embarked on a legendary 2-year “Walkabout of the Wandering Wizard,” driving back and forth and up and down all over the US, with a few month-long trips to the Yucatan, Guatemala and Ecuador. He spent four months in Salem, MA, and attended the 2018 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Toronto. After another four months in Nashville, TN, he was invited to the Venusian Church Longhouse in WA, where he spent the next 2½ years, departing in October 2022 for a couple of months in Michigan before settling in Asheville, NC, where on July 4, 2023, he became engaged to Rhiannon Martin, Priestess of Serpentstone.
Oberon continues to write books and appear as a special guest and presenter at Pagan events around the country.
Oberon Zell has been interviewed on many television and radio shows in the United States, England, and Australia. Some of these include:
Television
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