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Do You Know OZ?

If you are new to Green Egg Magazine, you might be wondering why this guy, Oberon Zell, is such a big deal. Now, in the day of finding a Pagan leader and all around wise person on every corner, it might be challenging to remember that at one time, all this “old” stuff was very new. For many of you, Paganism was always an unhindered spiritual option. Although many or even most of us enjoy that freedom today, it was certainly not always the case. The reason we have that degree of freedom stems from the pioneers who brought Paganism openly and fearlessly into the spiritual conversation. OZ was and is one of those voices. OZ is not only “a” Pagan. OZ is “the” Pagan. Here are some of his accomplishments:

Oberon Zell, Father of Modern Paganism

What has OZ done for us?

  • First person ever to publicly proclaim himself, his church, and his religion as “Pagan” (Sept. 7. 1967), and to promote that identification to all the other newly-forming Nature-oriented religious organizations of the time. Thus founding the entire Pagan movement, now recognized to be the 2nd-largest religion in America.
  • Co-founded and Incorporated the first self-proclaimed “Pagan” Church—the Church of All Worlds (founded April 7, 1962; incorp. March 4, 1968) http://caw.org/content/
  • Founded, edited and published Green Egg, the award-winning vanguard journal of modern Paganism (Mach 21, 1968-present) greeneggemagazine.com
  • Co-founded the first Neo-Pagan alliances: Council of Themis (1969); Council of Earth Religions (1972).
  • Ordained the first legal Priestesses of a legally-recognized Church (Toni Kristin 5/1/1971; Carolyn Clark 5/1/1973; Roberta Kennedy 6/23/1973; Morning Glory Zell 8/1/1974)
  • Articulated and published the earliest version of “The Gaea Thesis,” proposing that the entire biosphere of Earth is biologically a single vast living organism/being, universally known and revered as “Mother Earth.” (“TheaGenesis: The Birth of the Goddess,” Sept. 6, 1970; subsequently published and referenced in countless books, magazines, etc.) https://www.meta-religion.com/Spiritualism/Wicca/theagenesis.htm
  • Recreated authentic Living Unicorns (1980) and exhibited them at every Renaissance Festival in North America before negotiating a 4-year exhibition contract with the Ringling Bros./Barnum & Bailey Circus, which took them worldwide (1985-1989). http://www.sideshowworld.com/9-ms-pi/interview-OZ.html
  • Ordained and appointed to leadership positions openly gay and transsexual Clergy. (1980s to present)
  • Turned the tide of the late 1980s Xian Fundamentalist “Satanic Panic” hysteria over allegations of ritual child abuse away from the Pagan community by working with the FBI and publishing booklet: Occult Crime & Ritual Abuse: Who’s Who & What’s What (4 editions, 1989-1992)
  • Initiated Papal Apology Petition (1998) which eventually garnered 6,000 signatures requesting that Pagans be included among the people the Pope was going to apologize to in his Millennial Address. The petition was translated into numerous languages and sent to the Vatican on Oct. 31, 1999. The Pope did include “indigenous peoples,” which was perhaps close enough. http://www.religioustolerance.org/wic_pope.htm
  • OZ’s Lifemate Morning Glory coined the terms “Polyamory” and “Polyamorous” (“Bouquet of Lovers,” Green Egg #89, 5/1/90). In their 20 years of group marriages, they were ubiquitous and influential in the early poly movement. http://caw.org/content/?q=bouquet
  • Created the Universal Federation of Pagans (UFP) as an all-inclusive Pagan alliance for all Pagans, not just Witches. (1990)
  • Created the immensely popular “Millennial Gaia” altar figurine of Mother Earth. (May 1, 1998) https://www.themillennialgaia.com/
  • Convened the “Grey Council” of sages and mages, wizards and wise women (2002; currently 46 members) https://www.facebook.com/gswgreycouncil/
  • Wrote Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard (New Page Books, Feb. 1, 2004) in which he first described the 60-year Cultural Renaissance Cycle.
  • Founded the Grey School of Wizardry (March 13, 2004) https://greyschool.org/
  • Founded the Grey Council Office of Wardens to address instances and allegations of magickal malfeasance. ( 10, 2013) https://www.facebook.com/groups/OfficeOfTheWardens/
  • Created petition to Stylebooks to capitalize “Pagan” and “Paganism.” (Nov. 30, 2013; 61 academic signatures from professors of religion at many universities)
  • Established the Academy of Arcana in Santa Cruz, CA as a physical campus for the Grey School. Sadly, it had to close after two years due to lack of community support and money. (11/30/2015-11/30/2017)
  • Initiated the Federal Pagan Credit Union Project (“A Proposal for Pagan Prosperity,” Oct. 24, 2018) https://www.facebook.com/groups/PaganFederalCreditUnion/
  • Attended the Parliament of the World’s Religions (Nov. 1-7, 2018) in Toronto, Canada, representing CAW and modern Paganism.
  • Conceived the “2020 Vision: The Awakening” project (5/31/2019)—first published in Enheduanna Journal, 2019. http://2020visionawakening.com/
  • Drove all over the United States and flew to Mexico, Guatemala and Ecuador in a two-year “Walkabout,” meeting in person with thousands of people to promote the Gaian Vision. Journaled the entire journey via Facebook. (2018-2019)

Want to know more about OZ? Here are some links:

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