Oberon Zell, Founder of Church of All Worlds
Dave
Oberon Zell-Ravenheart [formerly Tim Zell and Otter G. Zell] has been
intimately involved in the emergent Neo-Pagan religious movement since its very
inception. Indeed, it was Oberon who first proposed in 1967, the designation of
"Neo-Pagan" to describe the religious orientation of the fledgling movement.
In 1962, Oberon was a founder of the Church of all Worlds, the first Neo-Pagan
church to become legally incorporated and fully recognized on the state and
federal levels. From 1968 to 1976, Oberon was editor of Green Egg, the most
influential journal of Neo-Paganism at the time. J. Gordon Melton, Director of
the Institute for the Study of American Religions states in the __Encyclopedia
of American Religions__ (1979): "In March of 1968, the "Green Egg"
appeared...it grew over 80 issues into a 60-page journal, becoming the most
significant periodical in the Pagan movement during the 1970s." Margot Adler,
in __Drawing Down the Moon__ (1979; 1987), her comprehensive survey of the
history of Neo-Paganism, says: "It is popular today to talk about 'synergy' - a
combination that has a greater effect than the simple addition of its
components - and that perhaps best describes the effect of "Green Egg."
It connected all the evolving and emerging Goddess and nature religions into
one phenomenon: the Neo-Pagan movement." In 1988, after a twelve-year hiatus,
Oberon resumed publication of Green Egg, and it has since reclaimed its former
position of pre-eminence among the 500 or so Neo-Pagan periodicals currently
being published, winning numerous awards, including the 1992 and in 1994 the
Gold Award for "Reader's Choice" from the Wiccan/Pagan Press Alliance.
[Additionally, in 1993, the Utne Reader included "Green Egg" among it's
candidates for the "Best of the Alternative Press" awards, under the "Emerging
Issues" category.]
An article on "The Goddess Emerging" by DeAnna Alba in the Fall, 1989 issue
of "Gnosis Magazine" discusses Oberon's influence on the emerging thealogy of
the Neo-Pagan movement:
"...The Church of All Worlds looked to the future instead of the past, drawing
inspiration from science fiction, in the early '70s it took on a Goddess
orientation based on a version of the Gaea Hypothesis elucidated by Tim [Otter,
now Oberon] Zell (a founder of the church) several years before the more
popular account put forth by [James] Lovelock. Not only did Zell state that the
Earth was a living organism, but that it was a feminine deity, and that all
life was a part of this single, living feminine organism. Here was the first
expression of a theory now central to all of modern Paganism and Goddess
worship - a belief that we are all interconnected, and that this
interconnection requires us to incorporate ecological principles into our
philosophy.
Oberon has a rich store of personal experience from which to draw. Not only
has he founded a major new church, but he has been instrumental in the founding
of an entire religious movement. he has been involved in magical practice for
over 25 years, and has undergone numerous initiations, vision quests, and
shamanic journeys. For eight years he and his wife Morning Glory lived in the
wilderness of northern California, homesteading in a pioneering intentional
community, where they raised Unicorns and pet deer. Oberon has traveled to many
sacred sites throughout Europe [and the Mediterranean], as well as Peru,
Australia and New Guinea (where he led a successful underwater video expedition
to solve the mystery of the Ri, or "mermaids").
As an accomplished ritualist, storyteller, artist, sculptor and producer of
Mystery Plays, Oberon's many published articles, art work and workshops on the
thealogy of Gaea and emergent evolution have had an immeasurable influence on
the development of the new religion of nature spirituality. Oberon is on the
Advisory Board of Ralph Metzner's Green Earth Foundation, and has been a
featured presenter and panelist at countless New Age and Pagan festivals,
conferences and expos. He and Morning Glory are currently working on a joint
production of their long-awaited book, The Gospel of Gaea.
In 1992, the Wiccan/Pagan Press Alliance, polling the readership of over 200
Pagan periodicals, awarded Oberon the Pentacle Award for "Favorite Pagan
Writer."
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Oberon Zell has been featured prominently in the following books:
Adler, Margot, __Drawing Down the Moon__, 1979; revised and updated 1987.
Eliade Mircea, __Occultism, Witchcraft & Cultural Fashions__, 197_.
Ellwood, Robert, __Religious and Spiritual Groups in Modern America__, 1973.
Farrar, Janet and Stewart, and Gavin Bone, __The Pagan Path__, 1995.
Gottlieb, Annie, __Do you believe in Magic?__ 1987.
Guiley, Rosemary, __Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft__ 1989; __The
Perennial Encyclopedia of Mystical and Psychic Experience__, 1990.
Holzer, Hans, __The New Pagans 1971; __Directory of the Occult__, 1973.
Judith, Anodea, __Wheels of Life__, 1987. (Otter illustrated this book)
Martello, Leo Louis, __Black Magic, Satanism & Voodoo__, 1971; __Directory of
the Occult__ , 1973.
Melton, Gordon, __The Encyclopedia of American Religions__, 1979; __The
Essential New Age__, 1990.
Wilson, Robert Anton, __Coincidance__, 1988.
==============
Above copied from www.caw.org webpage. For more info, read more info at that
sight, or send your email to off...@caw.org
Never thirst,
Dave
George W. Bush opposes Clinton-Gore plans to use federal funds to help local
school districts repair and modernize schools. -- Los Angeles Times, 5/1/99
Dave
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" by J. K, Rowling: First actual sales
begin July 8, 2000, already the best hardback book seller since the Bible. 3.8
million copies in it's first edition, in only the USA. 1.5 million copies in
the U.K.
Richard Eney
somebody's unadorned name as the subject line when publishing their
obituary or news of a serious injury/problem.
-- Dick Eney
Dave
writes:
Maybe I'm a little dense tonight, but can you put this into plain English?
What would you suggest the title be?
I know that Oberon has had several names in his lifetime, and I am using the
one that probably most people remember/know. If you think I should change it,
let me know. When CAW was founded, I believe he was Tim Zell. Not many people
go back that far, LOL.
Dave
Interesting "facts": (sorry, I don't have the source)
Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes.
1 in every 4 Americans has appeared on television.
Dave
332 million -- number of people connected to the Internet worldwide.
One percent -- number who live in Africa.
(Source -- New York Times)
Dave
Dave
By exhaustively examining one's own mind,
one may understand his nature.
One who understands his nature understands Heaven
-- Mencius, Confucian sage.
Dave
Dave
Dave
"Those who are not busy being born are busy dying" -- Bob Dylan