8.16.2008
Oberon Zell-Ravenheart Diagnosed With Cancer
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"
"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.
Labels: cancer sucks, CAW, Grey School of Wizardry, healing ritual request, Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, Paganism
6.03.2008
The Sci-Fi Religions of the Future
Over at Religion Dispatches, scholars Gabriel Mckee and Nick Street take a look at the growing intersection of religion and science fiction. From the formerly satirical Church of Jediism, to the intense religion-soaked warfare of Battlestar Galactica. According to both authors, the convergence of religion and science fiction fandom may provide a road-map for the future of religion.
"Nick Street’s recent essay on Battlestar Galactica viewed the show as a harbinger of the future of religion whose fans’ immersion in media and technology becomes a sort of spiritual practice in itself. One of the strangest religion stories in recent memory also involves a science fictional religion: the Church of Jediism ... the [recent drunken] Vader attack [on members of the church] opens a window into an international new religious movement that, like Battlestar Galactica, may show us the shape of faith to come."
McKee acknowledges that the confluence of sci-fi and faith is hardly new, obliquely referencing the Heinlein-inspired Pagan religion of The Church of All Worlds, and noting the sci-fi-faith of Scientology.
"Of course, neither BSG nor Star Wars is the first science fictional religion to gain prominence. The hedonistic Martian religion described by Robert A. Heinlein in Stranger in a Strange Land was a direct influence on late-60s communes, and Scientology was launched with an article in an issue of Astounding Science Fiction."
Street, in his essay, hints that the demographical "nones" and "spiritual but not religious", who are a prime component of sci-fi fandom, could very well be gestating the faiths of the future from the modern "Dionysian" Western theatrical tradition of movies and television.
"If the fate of the Dionysian cults that birthed the Western theatrical tradition holds any lesson for American Catholicism, mainline Protestantism and the other traditional religious institutions that are shedding members—and isn’t it delightful to think that it might?—it’s that the interplay between inspiration and the forms of religious practice and observance must always be fluid. Imposing a sober orthodoxy on rituals intended to pierce the veil that separates the mundane from the sublime almost always diminishes the force of the experience; then, as Plato observes in the Ion, priests and poets become 'like Bacchic maidens who draw milk and honey from the rivers when they are under the influence of Dionysus but not when they are in their right mind.'"
There is every possibility, as we continue to move into a post-Christian world, that modern Paganism will soon be joined by any number of sci-fi fandom cults at ecumenical councils and inter-faith gatherings. The question is how will the large numbers of nature-oriented Pagans deal with science-oriented futurist religionists? Will there be tensions, or will we both see ourselves as fruits from the same "Dionysian" tree.
ADDENDUM: By using the phrase "nature-oriented" I wasn't trying to set up an either-or dichotomy between nature and technology, only that science-fiction-based NRMs may have very different theologies from modern Pagan religions (many of which sacralize the natural world to differing degrees). These may (or may not) create tensions between the groups. Personally, I love my modern technology, including the laptop I use to write on this blog.
Labels: Battlestar Galactica, CAW, Paganism, post-Christian, Religion, Religion Dispatches, Science Fiction, Star Wars
2.16.2007
The Return of Green Egg
One of the most influential Pagan magazines is making a come-back. Green Egg magazine, was founded by the Church of All Worlds and Oberon Zell-Ravenheart back in 1968 as a one page ditto-sheet. The magazine soon evolved into a full-sized journal and acted as a primary hub for communication within the Pagan community before the rise of the Internet.
Cover of Green Egg number #90.
"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." - Margot Adler, Drawing Down the Moon
The magazine came to an end in 2001 due to financial problems, but not before several other Pagan-themed magazines entered the market (and the Internet allowed more open communication between modern Pagans). It is still fondly remembered by many within the Pagan community.
The new "magazine" will not be in print format, but a regular web-zine set to launch on March 1st. The address of the new web-zine is www.greeneggzine.com (there isn't anything up yet), and it looks like it is going to be some sort of pay-to-view-model since they are taking inquiries for subscriptions and ads.
It should be interesting to see how things will turn out. Will they be paying contributors? Can a pay-model work when some of the best Pagan writers are already giving it away for free? Can a new Green Egg forum gain prominence in a Pagan web that encompasses thousands of forums for modern Pagans? Questions that will probably remain until after the launch. In any event, I welcome Green Egg back, and wish them the best of luck in their efforts!
