Thanksgiving Ruminations

Thorsday 11/27/19

I’m back with my kids in Santa Rosa, CA for Thanksgiving. My 77th birthday is Saturday, after which I’ll be back on the road for another month, traveling north through Oregon and Washington as Winter begins in the Pacific Northwest. Today I’d just like to share with you my Thanksgiving ruminations from 15 years ago. I still feel the same way—and I still have much to be grateful for!

Thanksgiving Ruminations

By Oberon Zell-Ravenheart

Thanksgiving, 2004

On Thanksgiving morning, I was contacted by a local radio show for another one of those “Pagan Origins of the Holiday” interviews that I am often called upon to give. I explained that Thanksgiving is the most ancient of all festivals, dating back to the dawn of agriculture, as it is the celebration of the good harvest. In the United Kingdom, the festival of “Harvest Home” is held in churches across the country on a relevant Sunday to mark the end of the local harvest. Other countries, such as Germany, also have harvest-thanks (Erntedank) celebrations, which are mostly rural holidays.

In modern Pagan tradition, there are actually three harvest festivals: Lughnasadh, or First Harvest, is celebrated on August 1, when the grains are cut and the first bread is baked—hence the Christian name of Lammas, or “loaf-mass.” Another name for this time is Bron Trogain, “Harvest’s Beginning.”

Next comes the Autumn Equinox, around Sept. 21, known among modern Pagans as Mabon, after the Welsh god of the harvest. It is also called Harvest Home, Ingathering, and Harvest’s Height, and is the most widely-celebrated time of thanksgiving. Where I live in NorCalifia, this is the time of the Grape Harvest.

And finally comes Samhain (“Summer’s End”), popularly known as Hallowe’en, the festival of the dead. It is also called Third Harvest or Winter’s Beginning, as it is the final harvest before the cold grip of barren Winter settles over the land. Apples and pumpkins are brought in from orchards and fields.

In the US, Thanksgivings were celebrated by different colonies and states on dates ranging from September through December. The first official Thanksgiving in the US was held in the Virginia Colony on Dec. 4, 1619—a really late harvest! The Plymouth Pilgrims set apart a day to celebrate immediately after their first harvest, in 1621. At the time, harvest festivals were parts of English and Wampanoag tradition alike. It was only in 1863 that President Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November to be a national holiday of Thanksgiving.

This year’s Thanksgiving was the first with our new granddaughter, Alessandra Pauline, born this past July. And the first without my beloved mother-in-law, Polly Love, who died last February. We come, we go; and the Wheel turns. And this year—particularly following the recent elections—we have much to be grateful for!

Thanksgiving 2014. The first without Morning Glory.
L-R: Alessa, OZ, Gary, Joe, Gail

As our extended family gathered around the groaning tables for our annual feast of gratitude, it struck me that our new granddaughter is the culmination of bloodlines and cultural heritages of many diverse peoples from all over the globe. Members of our family descend from ancestors who were Irish, Scottish, English, German, Swiss, Norwegian, Filipino, and Choctaw. Probably more I’ve missed. And each new generation will certainly add even more threads to this rich tapestry. The dishes served were from old and new family recipes…some going back centuries; others brand-new and experimental.

And on the hour-long drive back home from our kids’ home in Oakland to ours in Cotati, I thought of the terrible strife in other parts of the globe. Elsewhere, neighbors are pitted against neighbors, nations against nations, even various sects of the same religion at each other’s throats in an eternal escalation of bloody vengeance, like some mad perpetual replay of the Hatfields and the McCoys.

And I got to thinking—how had the Roman and British Empires managed to hold it together to enjoy the internal relative peace of the Pax Romana and the Pax Brittanica? It was the universal custom in those days of intermarriage between the princes and princesses of different countries, so that all the royal houses throughout Europe were related by blood and marriage. For one nation to war against another would mean war between brothers, sisters, and in-laws. Not that this didn’t happen, of course, but the family relationships were a significant mitigating factor.

So here’s my proposal for world peace: 1. Encourage and support intercultural dating and intermarriages; and 2. Have the United nations declare Thanksgiving a universal holiday, celebrated by everyone, everywhere, like Christmas. That way, at least once a year, people would have to sit down together with inlaws and distant relations, break bread, propose toasts, and remember all the things they have to be grateful for—not the least of which is that they are all together, well-met in peace and joy—and not shooting at each other from behind barricades.

An attitude of gratitude is the guidance of the Gaia-dance.

For previous Journal entries and more, be sure to check out my personal website: www.OberonZell.com. There are links there where you can buy my books, statues, jewelry, posters and more.

#pagan #wizard #ozpatreon #iampaganandivote #2020visionawakening

Hospitality

Saturnday 11/23/19

Hospitality

As I near the end of my Walkabout and Quest (only a couple more months to go), and Thanksgiving with my kids only a few days away, I am drawn to reflect over my long journey, and the wondrous hospitality I have received all over the Western Hemisphere. So many people have generously taken me into their homes and lives; have fed me, entertained me, provided soft beds (and sometimes warm love). I have been taken to dinners, barbeques, movies, concerts, plays, rides, rituals, celebrations, weddings, drum circles, book-signings, grand adventures and long hikes in the wilderness to beautiful vistas. People have come to hear me talk, and bought my books, statues, posters and jewelry.

Some have been old friends and lovers, going back decades. Some have been family members I rarely see. But many more have been new friends to whom I was a virtual stranger when I arrived on their doorsteps; but a dear member of the family when I departed. All have become precious to me, and I carry them all in my heart.

The sacred nature of hospitality was universal in the ancient world. In one of my favorite stories from ancient Greece (as told by Ovid, who used the Roman names, Jupiter and Mercury), Zeus and Hermes disguised themselves as beggars and went among humans, asking the people of the town for a place to sleep that night.

They had been rejected by all, when at last they came to a simple little cottage in a marsh, the rustic home of Baucis and Philemon, who welcomed the strangers graciously. Though the elderly couple were poor, and their fare meager, their generosity far surpassed that of their rich neighbors, among whom the gods had found “doors bolted and no word of kindness.” 

After serving the two guests food and wine Baucis noticed that, although she had refilled her guest’s cups many times, the pitcher was still full. Realizing then that their guests were gods, she and her husband “raised their hands in supplication and implored indulgence for their simple home and fare.”

Illo: Baucis and Philomen unknowingly host gods. (-Rubens, 1630-‘32)

Baucis thought of killing the goose that guarded their house and making it into a meal, but when she attempted to catch it, the goose ran to safety in Zeus’s lap. Zeus told them to spare the goose and leave the town immediately, because he was going to destroy all those who had not provided due hospitality. He told them to climb the mountain and not look back until they reached the top.

After climbing to the summit, Baucis and Philemon looked back and saw that their town had been destroyed by a flood and their humble cottage transformed into an ornate temple. The kindly couple’s wish to be guardians of the temple was granted. They also asked that when their time came, they would both die together. Upon their death, the two were changed into an intertwining pair of trees, an oak and a linden, which were pointed out to generations of pilgrims to their temple.

Hospitality was a primary virtue among the Norse as well. A similar story is told of Odin and Loki walking disguised among humans to test their hospitality. Odin, in fact, was famous for wandering the Earth in the guise of a simple one-eyed beggar.

The virtue of hospitality is often cited in the Bible:

In Genesis 19:1, after Lot and his wife had feasted them, two strangers were revealed as Angels. Like the story of Baucis and Philemon, Lot and his family were told to flee to the mountains and not look back, before God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Recalling this story, Hebrews 13:2 reads “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

Job 31:32: “But no stranger had to lodge on the street, for my door has been open to the traveler…”

Illo: Jesus as a beggar knocking on door

Matthew 225:35: “For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in.”

Isaiah 58:6-9: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousnesswill go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: “Here am I.”

And so it is. Treat everyone well because you never know when you’ll find yourself in the presence of a god! For, as Jesus said, “You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.” (Psalm 62:6; John 10:34)

For previous Journal entries and more, be sure to check out my personal website: www.OberonZell.com. There are links there where you can buy my books, statues, jewelry, posters and more.

#pagan #wizard #ozpatreon #iampaganandivote #2020visionawakening

Kava Ceremony

Saturnday 11/16/19

Wodensday evening I was picked up by Jan and Stephanie for an intimate Kava ceremony at the home of Ian and Alison. The other participants were Jason and Heather. This was a new experience for me. Jan is Filipino and Viking, and amazingly knowledgeable regarding Polynesian mythology, customs, culture and history. He prepared the kava in a big wooden bowl, and served it around the circle in cocoanut halves. We emptied two bowls, with a smoking break between. And after the kava ceremony, I did a CAW-style water-sharing ceremony.

Pic: OZ with Jan & Stephanie at Kava Ceremony

The overall effect was one of peaceful relaxed harmony and familial companionship. Jan told us that in the Islands, when a war was about to break out, the rival chiefs would sit down and have a kava ceremony; after which no one wanted to fight. I wish we could introduce this into Congress!

Pic: OZ & Samina dining at the Grand Lux

On Thorsday we took Samina’s giant dog, Jester, for a long walk in the park, and then had lunch at the Sunrise Coffee House. In the afternoon I packed for my return to Califia. Then in the evening we went down to the Strip for dinner at the Grand Lux Café in the Venetian (where Samina works as a singing Gondolier), followed by a show at the Palazzo (“place”). Dinner and a show; after all, I’m dating a Vegas showgirl!

Pic: OZ & Samina in the Love sign at the Venetian

The show was “The Atomic Saloon,” a raunchy Western-themed production in a theatre that looked like a fancy Old West saloon, dance hall and bordello. The main circular stage was in the center, and was able to rotate for some of the acts. Of course, I couldn’t take any pics during the performance. The performers were amazing—dancers, singers, gymnasts, aerialists, hula-hoopers, comedians. And all of them—male and female—almost preternaturally beautiful as well as talented. Samina said they’re all Russians.

Pic: The Atomic Saloon

Friday morning Samina drove me to the airport for my return trip to San Francisco, where I’ll be staying with new friends for another 10 days, until I go up to Santa Rosa for Thanksgiving with my kids.

For previous Journal entries and more, be sure to check out my personal website: www.OberonZell.com. There are links there where you can buy my books, statues, jewelry, posters and more.

#pagan #wizard #ozpatreon #iampaganandivote #2020visionawakening

Pagan Pride Day

Tiewsday 11/12/19

Poster of “Avengers: Damage Control”

Samina and I had a blast today! We did the “Avengers: Damage Control” virtual reality experience at The Void in the Venetian Casino in Vegas. Wow—was that ever awesome! It’s designed for a group of 4; we chose our suit colors, then got outfitted with vests and helmets. When we looked at each other in VR, we were all completely suited as Wakandan Avengers! We could even see our hands and manipulate objects. Our suits allowed us to absorb energy from attackers, and then blast it out from our palms. During the course of the adventure, we encountered Dr. Strange, Spiderman, Ant-Man and Wasp; and battled Ultron alongside Thor, the Hulk, and other Avengers. What a rush!

Dinner party before Pagan Pride

I flew from San Francisco to Vegas last Thursday the 7th, for Pagan Pride Day. Friday evening was a welcoming dinner at the local UU church, which often hosts Pagan activities. I was delighted to see Selena Fox of Circle as another out-of-town guest. But sadly, Belladona Leveau of ATC, who was also booked, was stuck in Salem, MA and unable to make it.

OZ & Samina at Pagan Pride Day in Vegas

Las Vegas Pagan Pride was held all day Saturday at Paradise Park. I believe around 300-400 people showed up, I gave a talk on my “2020 Vision: Awakening” project, and sold a lot of statues, jewelry, books and posters at my vending table, which I shared with Samina. Selena presented several talks and rituals. There was drumming, belly dancing, and illusion magic (this is, after all, Vegas, baby!). Afterwards the core groups of about 15 of us commandeered the favorite pub for dinner and drinks.

Morganne & Ivy’s wedding

Sunday evening was the long-awaited wedding of my dear friends Morganne Baum and Marjorie Ivy, in the Garden Room of Rainbow Gardens. I think it was the most beautiful wedding I’ve ever attended. The Priestess conducted a lovely Pagan handfasting ceremony, and the vows moved us all to tears. Both sets of proud parents were there, and the fathers walked their daughters down the isle.

Wizard of Oz table centerpiece

Afterwards we were all directed for the dinner to our assigned tables, each with a fairytale theme and centerpieces (all crafted by Morganne). I, of course, was seated at “The Wizard of Oz” table, with all the Vegas stage magicians. Michael Round demonstrated several cool tricks with cards and balloons, and we had a marvelous time.

Michael Round making me a motorcycle balloon

Last night I was a guest on the “Lunatic Monday” Podcast with Laura Gonzalez. We’d met this past July at Circle’s Pagan Spirit Gathering, and really hit it off. She does a trilingual show in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Oz & Laura Gonzalez

Tonight we’re having a barbeque dinner at Samina’s with George, Jessica, and Haleigh Isbill. Haleigh is an editor, and she’s working with me on several of my books that are mostly written, but need final editing.

For previous Journal entries and more, be sure to check out my personal website: www.OberonZell.com. There are links there where you can buy my books, statues, jewelry, posters and more.

#pagan #wizard #ozpatreon #iampaganandivote #2020visionawakening

The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley

Moonday 11/4/19

Yes, it’s been awhile since my last entry in this Journal. As you’ll see, things have been a bit intense over the past 11 days! At the moment, I am happily ensconced in a sweet attic apartment at the home of Krista Taylor, in Vallejo, CA. I got here yesterday evening, and we and her boyfriend John sat before the fire in lively conversation until 1:30am. I’ll be for a few days, and on Thorsday I’m flying off to Vegas for Pagan Pride Day, and a week with Samina.

So let me catch you all up:

On Thorsday Oct. 24, Maureen flew in from Atlanta. We had plans to go through my 3 storage units in Santa Rosa and attempt to consolidate stuff into just one unit—as well as locate and pull out important business files of CAW and GSW that Maureen needs for her financial accounting, etc. We also wanted to pull out all the boxes of old issues of Green Egg and ship them to Atlanta to be scanned and made available for purchase. However, as John Steinbeck said, “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley” (-Of Mice and Men, 1937).

Pic: OZ with hosts on “Creature Features” TV show.
L-R: OZ, Mr. Livingston, Tangella, & Vincent Van Dahl.

Thorsday evening I was the guest of honor on a TV show, “Creature Features,” with hosts Glen, Raven and Ali. It’s one of those shows where they run an old spooky movie (in this case, “The Bat”—1959—starring Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead), and have Gothy hosts and interesting guests during the breaks. Here’s from the show’s website, https://creaturefeatures.tv/:

Vincent, Tangella and Mr. Livingston host the 21st-century version of Creature Features, the classic San Francisco Bay Area horror-host program made famous by Bob Wilkins in the 70’s and John Stanley in the 80’s. Host Vincent Van Dahl, former frontman for 90’s metal band “Prince of Darkness” retired from music a few years back to pursue a quiet life in Bodega Bay at his newly-acquired home, The Poulter Manor. From this haunted mansion, he is joined by his peculiar housemate Tangella and his loyal valet Mr. Livingston to deliver the best guests and the worst movies to the entire Bay Area and around the world.

Pic: OZ with Tangella in the Manor.

Crowhaven Studios—with the fabulous huge set of a haunted mansion in the style of the Addams Family—was in Windsor. We had a great time, totally hitting it off—and afterwards went out to dinner at their favorite pub. The show will be aired later this month.

Then two days later, on Sat. the 26th, the terrible Kincade Fire broke out; We had evacuate from Gail & Joe’s house, initially to a hotel in Fountaingrove. The next morning Fountaingrove too was under mandatory evacuation orders. We fled down to San Rafael and visited with Judith Fenley’s family for the afternoon, then drove on down to San Francisco looking for a room. Around 200,000 people were evacuated from Sonoma County, all heading south!

Pic: Kincade Fire in Geyserville, CA, Oct. 24.

We were blessed to find a room at the Travel Lodge on Lombard St. in SF, and there we stayed for the rest of the week, glued to the news. We were particularly concerned for Isis Oasis in Geyserville, where MG’s Goddess Collection is housed; Windsor, where the Crowhaven TV studio is; and of course, Gail & Joe’s Coffey Park neighborhood, which had burned two years ago. But while the fire raged close to all those places, with “Diablo Winds” up to 85 mph, they all remained unscathed.

The Kincade Fire eventually consumed 77,758 Acres—twice the size of the horrific Tubbs Fire in the same area exactly two years ago. 374 structures were destroyed, with four injuries of firefighters. But fortunately, no loss of life.

Maureen and I spent our days working on business, writing, and websites. A particular focus was my exciting new “2020 Vision: Awakening!” project, at http://2020visionawakening.com/ Check it out!

Pic: OZ, Maureen, Estelle and Jerry Cimino at The Grotto.

Tuesday the 29th we got together with Maureen’s old friends, Jerry Cimino & Estelle for a fabulous seafood dinner at The Grotto on the Wharf. In 2006, Maureen and Jerry had co-founded the iconic Beat Museum, at 540 Broadway, across the street from City Lights Books.

The Beats, as in beaten down and beatific, were a collective of writers, artists, and thinkers that congregated in 1950s San Francisco. The Beat Museum is home to an extensive collection of Beat memorabilia, including original manuscripts, rare books, letters, personal effects, and cultural ephemera. Located in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood, we occupy the same ground that was once the epicenter for Beat activity during the 1950s.

Pic: OZ & Jay Wiseman at Kui Shin Bo Japanese restaurant

On Wed. the 30th, I was scheduled for an appearance on Today Extra, Channel 9–Australia’s breakfast TV program. But news of the CA fires pre-empted the show, and my interview was cancelled. Maureen wasn’t feeling well, so she stayed in the hotel, and I went next door for dinner at a Japanese restaurant with my old friend Jay Wiseman. He’s an extraordinary person, deeply engaged in several overlapping communities, and we never get tired of talking about our many mutual interests

Pic: Maureen & Jerry (chicken wire) at Ripley’s.

Thursday the 31st was Halloween, and we were in San Francisco, where Halloween is the major event. But we were just too run down and dispirited to go out and participate in the many festivities. So instead, Maureen and I enjoyed a fun tour of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Museum.

Pic: OZ with Vampire Woman at Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Museum.

The weekend of Nov. 1-3 was scheduled for our great CAW Samhain at our sacred Land of Annwfn, near Redwood Valley in Mendocino County. With months of planning, it was to be quite a spectacular event, and the Dumb Supper and Walpurgisnacht were to be the Clergy qualifying rituals for a Minister (Morgan) and a Priestess (Seasons). We also had an ordination scheduled for Diana Morningstar, our cherished Caretaker. In addition to honoring our Beloved Dead (including, of course, Morning Glory, who is buried on the Land) a key element of CAW’s Samhain is the ritual death of the May King, and Brad Lee, our King this year, was really ready to lay down the Crown.

Sadly, while the fires fortunately stayed a safe distance from Annwfn, the closure of Highway 101 through Santa Rosa, the consequent shortages of gas and groceries, PG&E’s electrical shutoffs, and the evacuations had such overwhelming impact on everyone that our Samhain had to be cancelled for the first time in 40 years.

A few people did gather there for a minimal daytime ritual on Saturnday, but the full event could not transpire. By that time, I was over 125 miles away, and I just couldn’t handle trying to drive all the way up there, and then leave before dark…as the Ranch requested. I doubt that I will ever be back for Samhain at Annwfn, as my future plans are now looking to the East…

So Friday evening Maureen and I had dinner with Jay at Tommy’s Joint. The next morning we checked out of the hotel, and Maureen headed down to Santa Cruz to take care of other business. I spent the day and night with Dawn Davidson in San Mateo. I turned her on to one of my favorite movies—“Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical”—and we enjoyed a welcome soak in her hot tub. Sunday we got together with Jay for lunch and conversation, and afterwards I drove up to Vallejo, where I am now staying with Krista for a few days.

Jay, Dawn & OZ

For previous Journal entries and more, be sure to check out my personal website: www.OberonZell.com. There are links there where you can buy my books, statues, jewelry, posters and more.

#pagan #wizard #ozpatreon #iampaganandivote #2020visionawakening