Archives For Grey School of Wizardry

A Few Quick Notes

Jason Pitzl-Waters —  August 22, 2009 — Leave a comment

A few stories for you to digest this Saturday, starting with the announcement yesterday from Isaac and Phaedra Bonewits concerning the closure of their Internet venture Real Magic School.

“Isaac and Phaedra Bonewits are sad to announce that Real Magic School is now closed. It was a wonderful experiment but it turned out to be too much for our time commitments (and our finances) to handle. We have arranged with the Grey School of Wizardry to take transfer student s from RMS. We apologize to everyone, but especially our lifetime members, that the life time of Real Magic School was so short.”

The school, which opened for business in February 2008, had an aspirational trajectory of academic excellence and eventual accreditation. A somewhat different M.O. from the arranged transfer school, the Grey School of Wizardry, with its Harry Potter-isms and courses that equip someone to become a “Journeyman Wizard” (as opposed to the associates degrees RMS was planning to award). No doubt the current fiscal climate made this new venture difficult to sustain, it would be interesting to know how other schools (loosely) built on the Witch School model are doing.

CBS affiliate WBOC in Delmarva, Delaware reports on this Sunday’s Delmarva Pagan Pride Day, interviewing author, Wiccan elder, and event co-organizer Ivo Dominguez Jr. in the process. Too bad they also felt the need to get some “balance” by also digging up a disapproving Christian pastor.

“Still, some like Salisbury Pastor Luther Hill disagree, and say nothing positive can come out of the event.” “Pagans in the Bible usually deal with witchcraft and sorcery and those types of things,” Rev. Hill said. “But even in the Bible when that type of thing has gone on, the power of God has always been victorious over it.”

I wouldn’t mind this somewhat mindless faux-viewpoint-balance if the standard was also applied to puff coverage of local Christian events as well. Needless to say, I’m still awaiting a call regarding my opinions on upcoming Christmas celebrations.

In a final note, it’s time once again to check in with our old friend Don “internationally recognized authority on Ritual Crime and the Occult” Rimer. This time he’s making an appearance at the Oklahoma Gang Investigators Association seminar to talk about Satanic and vampire-related crime.

“Guest speaker Don Rimer spent over three decades as police officer in Virginia, where he discovered crimes involving cult activity.  Satanists committed some of these crimes, but some culprits acted as vampires … Rimer says movies like “Blade” and “Twilight” made vampirism cool, and people commit themselves to being vampires.  Rimer shows the official vampire bible, and there are sanguine who legally practice the ritualist consumption of human blood by drinking each other’s.”

This time the paper also includes his disclaimer that Wiccans and Pagans are no more likely to be criminals than any other citizen, but that kindness is somewhat offset by the fact that attendees to Rimer’s lectures, like Lawton Police Gang Investigator, Tiff Poff, apparently believe that ” appearance is in beginning stages, and they don’t realize it leads to violence, and murder, and suicide and things like that”. So don’t get caught dressing goth in Lawton, they may think your on the fast-track to killing people.

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

In Paganism, Religion , , , , , , , , , , , ,
permalink

A Few Quick Notes

Jason Pitzl-Waters —  June 5, 2009 — 1 Comment

I have a few items of interest in my daily scan of the news, starting with a profile of practicing Witch and Australian singer-musician Wendy Rule. Rule is coming to Florida to perform, and the Daytona Beach News-Journal explores her Wiccan identity, and how that influences her songwriting.

A Sydney native who calls Melbourne home, Rule says, “It’s not such an unusual thing for music to have a magical and spiritual purpose. All the ritual music of traditional cultures — Aboriginal Australian and Native American shamans, folk music from across the globe, Gregorian chants and gospel music — share this same goal: to alter our consciousness and bring us in contact with the divine.” But, she adds, “I’m no more a Wiccan songwriter than I am a Scorpio songwriter, or an Australian one, or a female one. I’m just living and writing and singing and exploring my heart and soul — and I happen to be an Australian Scorpio Witch.”

While it’s nice that the paper decided to give some ink to Wendy Rule’s upcoming shows in America, you’d think they would bother to do more than simply cut-and-paste from her web site while implying they interviewed her. Maybe a long-distance phone call was too expensive for their operating budget? After all, these are hard times for newspapers.

If you want to brag once and for all that you’re as smart as (or possibly smarter than) Oberon “Grey School of Wizardry” Zell and Don “Witch School” Lewis you’ll get your chance at the upcoming St. Louis Pagan Picnic. According to a press release, they will be holding a trivia contest about “all things magical” open to all comers.

“Oberon Zell of Grey School and Don Lewis of Witch School have agreed to a trivia contest about all things magical to test their students and all comers. They plan to meet on June 13th & 14th at the St. Louis Pagan Picnic, held at Tower Grove Park. The St. Louis Pagan Picnic is the largest Pagan gathering in the Midwest, and brings together thousands for a weekend of friendship, fellowship, entertainment, teaching and merchants. The Wizards and Witches Trivia contest will be just one of the many parts to this wonderful event, but for the students of Grey School and Witch School, it is a highly anticipated one.”

The winners will receive unspecified “prizes”, one hopes that it isn’t a gift certificate to their respective schools. After all, would the winner of such a contest really need such a thing?

In a final note, workmen in Florence, Italy, while digging a hole for a new water cistern in the courthouse, stumbled across a temple to Isis.

“Workmen inside Florence’s courthouse have stumbled across a spiral column and hundreds of multicoloured fragments that experts believe may have belonged to a Roman temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis.  According to Roman news agency ANSA, the remains, dating back to the second century AD, were discovered as the men dug a five by three meter hole, barely four meters deep, for a new water cistern for the courthouse’s anti-incendiary system … the remains were “comparable” to others found over the last three centuries in the immediate area that have also been attributed to the temple of Isis, the Egyptian goddess of motherhood and fertility who was later adopted by the Greeks and Romans.  The location of the temple is unknown, but it is believed to have been built just outside the Roman part of the city, near the current courthouse building…”

Florence’s archeology superintendency is currently overseeing the discovery, no announcements have been made as to what will ultimately be done with the find. Interesting that a courthouse was unwittingly built over the temple of a goddess that the Book of the Dead calls “She who seeks justice for the poor people”.

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

In Paganism , , , , , , , , , ,
permalink

Oberon Zell-Ravenheart Diagnosed With Cancer

Jason Pitzl-Waters —  August 16, 2008 — Leave a comment

News has come that Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, co-founder of the Church of All Worlds and the Grey School of Wizardry, has been diagnosed with colon cancer.


Oberon Zell-Ravenheart

“Oberon had a meeting yesterday (Thurs Aug 14) with his doctor, Stephen Denigris, to discuss the results of the biopsy they did on the golfball-sized tumor (lesion) they discovered during his recent colonoscopy. He says it is indeed cancerous, and colon cancer is aggressive and nasty. However, it is far enough up that it can be surgically removed along with about a foot of the descending colon (left side). He said that it appears to be less than a year old, so the chances of a complete removal of all cancerous tissue are excellent. There is concern that some of the cancer cells may have migrated into OZ’s lymph nodes, which would be a really serious problem, requiring radiation and chemotherapy.”

Zell-Ravenheart is currently undergoing further tests to see if the cancer has spread, and if radiation and chemotherapy will be needed. A group of practitioners who have been doing coordinated healing magic for Oberon’s wife Morning Glory (who was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2006) will be engaging in a “Rolling Thunder”* coordinated healing working tonight and tomorrow.

“So, tomorrow is the full moon, and I know that many of you will be doing ritual for OZ anyway, and I’d like to see us return to this tradition, so I’m calling a Rolling Thunder for Oberon to begin at 9 PM. That’s always local time, and that’s for Saturday, August 16th. For those across the international dateline, for whom it is already Saturday, or if it’s more convenient to pick it up when it rolls across to Sunday, August 17th, that’s fine as well. Generally we continue the roll for at least 48 hours, to accommodate people who hear about the roll late, and just to keep pushing the energy and accelerating the wave.”

We here at The Wild Hunt know just how horrible cancer can be, and wish Oberon a swift and easy recovery. Thanks to Michael and Lupa for bringing this to my attention.

* According to the healing list, a “Rolling Thunder” healing ritual is when “a date and time is set, and at that time (the local time for each member), each member does a ritual (alone or with others in their own way) for what the ritual is about. Because we have members all over the globe, the energies raise over quite a period of time. It’s known to be quite effective.” For more specific information, you can join the Morning Glory Healing Update list.

In Uncategorized , , , , , ,
permalink

Bonewits Teaming With Witch School to Build “Real Magic School”

Jason Pitzl-Waters —  February 25, 2008 — 1 Comment

Author, Archdruid Emeritus of the ADF, and “polytheologian” Isaac Bonewits is opening his own online school on February 29th. The new online learning institution, Real Magic School, claims to offer “certain answers to a mysterious subject.”

“Real Magic School, named after Bonewits first groundbreaking book, begins with a purposeful program of study that offers a pathway to an Associates degree in Magic. Further, the school begins immediately the process to seek academic accreditation, a process that is both difficult and demanding but according to the school founders, worthwhile. P.E. Isaac Bonewits has chosen to take his degree, his lifetime of experience, and his driving energy to create an academy that is truly a benefit to its students and future alumni. This will be a life changing experience for everyone who gets involved.”

The new school has been built for Bonewits by Witch School, one of the oldest and largest (and some might say controversial) online schools aimed at teaching magic. Real Magic School isn’t the first online magic school to be built around a charismatic Pagan “headmaster”, Oberon Zell-Ravenheart’s Grey School of Wizardry comes immediately to mind, though it does seem to be aiming for a more academic feel while trying to avoid Harry Potter comparisons.

“While the Harry Potter Phenomenon swept the world and has offered a fictional view of a Magical Academy, Isaac is not Dumbledore and Real Magic School is not Hogwarts. Real Magic School is definitely real world and has a truly academic and educational philosophy unmatched in today’s world. Isaac Bonewits is a serious teacher, along with Phaedra, with lifelong experience, and is one of the most respected voices in the Pagan world today calling for academic truth and excellence in the study of magic and thaumaturgy, history, and Paganism.”

It should be interesting to see where this goes. Does an online school with only two teachers (so far) have a real shot at gaining academic accreditation? If they did gain some form of educational accreditation would any mainstream college or institution accept transfer credits from Real Magic School? Real Magic School’s web site doesn’t have any course information up yet, so we will just have to wait and see what sort of curriculum is planned.

In Uncategorized , , , , , ,
permalink

Should We Be Mixing With Harry Potter?

Jason Pitzl-Waters —  July 10, 2007 — 6 Comments

The latest Harry Potter film is opening this week, and the last Harry Potter book is coming out later this month, so once again the press is looking for new angles in which to report on this cultural phenomenon. Some are counting down the top cinematic Wizards (and Witches), others are interviewing the stars of the film, and some are digging up possible spoilers from Harry Potter “hackers”.

“Harry Potter hackers say they have discovered the secrets behind the last book in the series, but the fact they disagree with each other casts doubt on their claims … One hacker-theory has Harry Potter deciding to end his life in order to kill his evil enemy Voldemort and also that Ron and Hermione will both die, after which the trio are reunited in the Deathly Hallows – the Ghost World – along with Harry’s late parents, Sirius Black and Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore. However, a hacker calling himself Gabriel claims Ron and Hermione are attacked by Lord Voldemort and Hermione sacrifices her life to save Ron.”

One might think that many modern Pagans would be eager to ride this press bandwagon, but due to the hostile reactions from some Christian communities, most modern Pagans have taken pains to explain that Harry Potter isn’t some sort of recruitment tool for the occult arts, and have avoiding equating themselves with the popular series. But others in the wider Pagan community aren’t so scrupulous, and have bent over backwards to insert themselves into Pottermania.

“If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re more Griffyndor than Slytherin or ever doubted whether you really are just a muggle? Then put down you Harry Potter book and meet Oberon Zell-Ravenheart. He’s regarded as the inspiration for the fictional professor in the Harry Potter series[No he isn't. - ed]. Oberon has just set up the first real “Hogworts” style school, The Grey School of Wizardry. He’s also the founder of the Church of all Worlds … The junior wizard school resembles Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series. It has the exact four houses described in the book. Oberon says these “elemental houses” are named after the “elemental creatures”: Sylphs, Salamanders, Undines and Gnomes.”

Yes, Oberon “living unicorn” Zell-Ravenheart, co-founder of the Church of All Worlds, has been plugging away for some time now on his online “Grey School of Wizardry” that offers to teach the “secular” science of Wizardry to Harry Potter obsessed kids and adults (mostly adults, really). Two recent press releases try very hard to tie the school in with the latest film. The first does everything in its power to convince us of Oberon’s essential “Dumbledore-ness”.

“When J.K. Rowling first conceived of the idea of Harry Potter, it is unlikely she had ever heard of Oberon Zell-Ravenheart. Yet as the Harry Potter legend took flight, more and more people began turning to this wise old Wizard in recognition. Oberon Zell-Ravenheart is the cover story in the Summer, 2007 issue of PanGaia magazine. His Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard will be featured in all Barnes & Noble Bookstores from July 12 through August 8 (coinciding with the release of the next Harry Potter movie and the final book in the series.) … This esteemed Wizard is referenced or quoted in over 80 books, and he has inspired, enthralled, and enlightened many a curious mind, both young and old. In all his calm yet commanding power, in his gentle yet absolute wisdom, Oberon Zell-Ravenheart is truly the real Albus Dumbledore.”

The second touts the “real” Hogwarts that is Ravenheart-Zell’s Grey School of Wizardry.

“The fourth Harry Potter movie takes us back to J.K. Rowling’s fictional “Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” made famous as the setting for seven novels and four previous movies. These books and films have become the most popular literary phenomenon of all time. Millions of readers and viewers would love to board the “Hogwarts Express” and travel to a remote academy that teaches real magick, Witchcraft, and Wizardry. Well, as so often happens, fiction has become reality. A major online school has been established to meet these needs.”

Despite how “secular” one claims the online school to be, anyone can see that the vast bulk of its instructors are modern Pagans of one stripe or another. One also would question the editorial decisions of PanGaia to tout Oberon and his school when the magazine’s managing editor is also the Grey school’s “Dean of Studies”. But the larger question is, should we be intentionally mixing with Harry Potter? Isn’t using the books and films as a recruitment tool for a Pagan-run organization exactly what intolerant Christians blast J.K. Rowling for all the time? Isn’t it a bit unseemly to hijack an author’s work in order to make money for your own organization?

In Uncategorized , , , ,
permalink