Saturday 6/15/19

It is now one year since I placed everything I own into storage, and hit the road in MG’s little burgundy Prius on an indefinite Walkabout. My Mission is to travel around the country making personal visits with old and new friends and lovers, interspersed with book-signings and talks at Pagan stores and gatherings. Previously, people who wanted to meet me had to come to me. Now I’m coming to you! (or at least to a Pagan venue in your neighborhood).

After adventures last year in California, Reno, Las Vegas, Austin, Guatemala, Salt Lake City, Omaha, Kansas City, St Louis, Cincinnati, numerous places in Pennsylvania, and NYC, I arrived in Salem, MA on Oct. 10, in time for Samhain. I stayed in Salem with Gypsy Ravish through the Winter, doing Tarot readings and working to open the Cosmic Connection Temple of Stars at her Witch store, Nu Aeon on Pickering Wharf.

Gypsy and I attended the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Toronto the first week in Nov. Then I spent most of January with Dona and friends, in Texas, New Orleans, and Mississippi, before returning to Salem for Feb. 

On the first of March I headed off on the eastern and southern part of my journey, down through the Eastern states and into Florida, and back up to TN for the Pagan Unity Festival. Then west to St Louis (where it all began over 50 years ago…) for the Pagan Picnic, and south to AR. Now I’m back in Nashville for a few days, before heading up to Ohio for Pagan Spirit Gathering and Starwood.

Last weekend’s Three Gates Gathering in West Plains, MO (in the bootheel of the state, 3 miles from the AR border) was delightful! There were about 40 adults and a passel of kids. Among the illustrious Elders were Melissa Anderson of the Circle of Ancient Sisters in KY; Rev. Don Lewis of Witch School and the Correllian Nativist Tradition; Terry Riley of the Southern Delta Church of Wicca (ATC) in Jonesboro, AR; Rowena Whaling (author of Voices from the Stars) from Nashville; and of course, our hosts, Alfred Willowhawk and Willo Wellspring of the Wite Rayvn Metaphysical Church.

We were entertained by bards Mama Gina (aka 9 Toes the Bard), Mystic of Dragonstone, and Ginger Ackley (aka Posey). There were three tracks of workshops every hour, and delicious home-cooked food for every meal. There was a fire circle both evenings, a sword dance, a double handfasting, and two birthdays.

It rained a lot on the first day and night, and the site was pretty muddy. But spirits were high, and everyone had a good time, with great conversations.

The event officially ended early Sunday, but a hard core stayed over a few more days. Terry Riley had left some stuff behind, so I left on Tuesday to drive down to Jonesboro, AR to take it to him and visit with him, HPs Ivy, Ashley, and other SDWC folks, over a great spaghetti dinner. Their church was famous for their big Freedom of Religion March on Lughnasadh (Aug. 1) of 1993, in protest over the Fundie attacks on their store, The Magick Moon, which only survived a month. Now they have all sorts of public projects going, such as a community garden, adopt-a-hiway, and other services to benefit their local community.

The church house is a labyrinthine sprawl that seems far bigger on the inside than the outside—like a TARDIS. They put me up in a guest room with a private bath! The ritual circle in back is well-appointed with Quarter Gates and a stone central altar. They showed me videos of a few of their musical movie rituals, with songs and characters from Grease, Rocky Horror, etc. taking ritual parts.

Before I left Wednesday afternoon I did a water-sharing with Terry, Ivy and Ashley. Then I drove over 4 hours back to Nashville to spend a few days with Kadira before heading off to PSG on Sunday, and that’s where I am now. Tomorrow I’m off to PSG.

I am being sustained on this Walkabout journey (and storage fees for my extensive esoteric Library and Museum of Arcana collections) by personal appearances, fundraising events, and your generous donations, particularly via my Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/oberonzell. Thank you for your support!

#pagan #roadtrip #wizard #bucketlist #adventure #ozpatreon #iampaganandivote

Thursday 6/6/19

I’m now in West Plains, in the bottom of MO three miles from the Arkansas border. I’ve been here since Tuesday, staying with Alfred Willowhawk and Willo Wellspring of the Wite Rayvn Metaphysical Church. Everyone is busily preparing the 4.9-acre farm for the Three Gates Gathering, which starts tomorrow. I’ve been so busy since my last entry that I haven’t had time to catch up in this journal until now.

I left Moria’s Monday afternoon, the 27^th, and drove 4 hours back to Nashville to stay with Kadira for a few days. On Wed. the 29^th I drove 1½ hours to Summertown to visit my dear friend Alayne at The Farm. The Farm was founded by Stephen Gaskin, who led a caravan of 300 hippies in 60 buses, vans, and trucks from San Francisco back in 1971—a year before Greenfield Ranch was founded in NorCalifia. Stephen’s wife, Ina May, is known throughout the world as “the mother of authentic midwifery,” which has been a major aspect of The Farm since its founding.

Stephen died in 2014, and Ina May no longer lives on the land, but The Farm continues as a well-organized utopian village community, with approximately 200 members and residents on about 1,750 acres of common land. An additional adjoining 2,000 acres have been acquired by Farm friends over the years, including a land trust, Big Swan Headwaters Preserve.

When I first visited The Farm eight years ago, Alayne was married to Jay-Sun, with a delightful 10-year-old daughter, Alexandra, with whom I really hit it off. They broke apart a few years ago, and Alayne recently re-married a very cool dude named Thai in a big ceremony. We had a fine dinner and evening getting acquainted, getting high on Farm sacrament, and listening to the hippie music of The Farm Band.

OZ, Alayne & Alexandra

Thursday morning Xandra showed up. She is now 18, beautiful, brilliant, and working in a marvelous 30-year-old program called “Kids to the Country,” which brings city kids (5-14) out to the land, along with counselors (12-22) and adult helpers. Xandra has become an excellent artist, and is marketing her vividly colorful paintings as posters, cards, bookmarks and stickers, which she gets produced by stickermule.com.

Xandra drove Alayne and me on a wild golf cart ride around The Farm to visit various sites of interest, including the innovative playground and the beautiful graveyard, with around 200 green burials and headstones. Stephen, of course, has a major cenotaph, but he is secretly buried elsewhere.

Stephen Gaskin’s cenotaph

Xandra’s breakneck buggy driving seldom followed roads or even paths, but careened madly through the woods, swerving between trees and gullies, like a crazed Disneyland ride without the rails. When it started to rain, we just kept tearing along, getting drenched. An exciting follow-up to my white-water rafting of a few days previous!

Thursday evening we all went to a talent show at The Farm’s gathering hall, which was such an archetypal commune experience. I loved it.

Jay-Sun in his store

Before leaving The Farm Friday morning, I visited a bit with my old friend Jay-Sun. Then I drove six hours to St Louis to stay with Kendal Gravitt and Bryant Biek at their lovely home on Park Ave.—the same street Martha and I had lived on when we landed in St Louis for graduate school at Washington University back in 1965 and watched the Arch being built down the street.

The weekend of June 1-2 was the 27^th annual St Louis Pagan Picnic, in Tower Grove Park. I was the “Special Guest.” My previous visit to St Louis for the 17^thPagan Picnic was ten years ago. When Morning Glory and I left St Louis for the West Coast in June of 1976, there were maybe a couple dozen Pagans in the area—mostly members of our own Church of All Worlds. Now this event was attended by over 5,000 people, with 95 vendors, music, rituals, belly dancing, workshops and general merriment! Paganism has certainly come a long way regarding public acceptance in the past 43 years!

The Old Guys: Tom Kullman, OZ & Don Wildgrube

As always when I visit my old stomping grounds, my oldest friends Don Wildgrube and Tom Kullman showed up to hang around my vendor’s table, helping out and catching up. So many reminiscences from those thrilling days of yesteryear! It was in St Louis over 50 years ago—on Sept. 7, 1967—that I first claimed the term “Pagan” to describe myself and my new religion (CAW) that was just going public after five years as an underground secret “water-brotherhood” (Atl—eventually incorporated as the Association for the Tree of Life).

We incorporated CAW on March 4, 1968, rented a 5-story Victorian on the corner of Gaslight Square, and began publishing Green Egg at Ostara—using it to contact other newly-forming groups I’d hear about, and encourage them to also identify as Pagan. That was the beginning of a religious movement that now encompasses millions of adherents worldwide. And it all began here!

Saturday evening after the Picnic closed the core organizers went to dinner at Sqwires. The party consisted of Kendal (Autumn Moon), Bryant (MoonHawk), Karen Ladyhawk, River Higginbotham, Jasmine (Lisa Bruce), Stag (Sean-Thomas), Liz Rohret, Ambiaka Maupin and me. Our waiter, Mark, recognized our pentagrams, and told us he was really interested in Paganism. We invited him to join us at our table when he got off, and he totally merged in. The next day he showed up at the Picnic with his lady, and spent some time at my booth, buying a Grimoire and a Millennial Gaia statue. One more homecoming!

It rained fiercely Saturday night, with lightning and high winds. Despite putting my merchandise in boxes under the table and lowering the canopy, my table was soaked and several books became sopping bricks. Welcome to the Midwest!

OZ’s vending table at Pagan Picnic

The theme for the Pagan Picnic this year was “Seeds of Hope,” and this was reflected in the rituals and workshops. Jasmine’s opening ritual was a powerful enactment of the myth of Pandora. I presented my talk on “Awakening into Quantum Consciousness.” I was also asked to create and Priest the main ritual Sunday afternoon, which I did with Liz Rohret as Priestess. We worked really well together, staying up late Saturday night with other participants to plan and assign parts.

The main ritual was well-attended, and went really well. First, everyone took a handful of compost and filled it with all the negativity of their darkest fears, anger and frustrations. Then, with a circling chant widdershins, we deposited it into a cauldron. Next, each person took a handful of seeds and filled them with their hopes and 2020 Visions. With another circling chant deosil we placed the seeds into the cauldron of compost and charged them to grow…

OZ at main ritual

Sunday I drove up to Florissant to see Carolyn Clark at Christian Hospital. Ordained by CAW at Beltaine of 1973, she was the first Priestess in the western world to be ordained by a legally-recognized church since Emperor Justinian closed the ancient Pagan temples throughout the Roman Empire in the 6^th century CE. Carolyn served as CAW’s High Priestess from 1973-1979, to be succeeded by Morning Glory (ordained at Lughnasadh 1974). Now she is very ill, and can barely move—though she says she’s getting better, and she looks forward to writing the story of her life, with a ghostwriter to help. We talked for several hours, and I fed her lunch by the spoonful. So many sweet memories!

After leaving Carolyn, I drove to University City to stay the night with Pendragon. A highly-trained academic artist—sculptor, painter, and art historian—she came into my life shortly after I met Morning Glory in 1973, and the two of them became best friends and sisters. We modeled for each other, and my drawing of her as Lilith appeared as the cover of Green Egg #74 (Samhain 1974), and on the back of her Pendragon Tarot deck. We had so much to talk about!

And Tuesday afternoon I drove four hours to West Plains, where I’ve been relaxing and catching up before the Gathering begins tomorrow. A number of people are here already fixing up the facilities. In the evenings we’ve been playing “Magic the Gathering” and watching movies: Stardust, Bruce Almighty, and Addams Family.

Thursday 4/25/2019

It’s been a week since my last Journal entry. I’ve been fairly stationary at Maureen’s in Marietta. Mostly I’ve been spending my days doing routine email, Facebook, and various to-do items of business, graphics, etc. Evenings Maureen and I have been catching up on our favorite TV shows, which I’ve been unable to watch while I’ve been on the road: Sense8 (which gives a whole new meaning to the term “clusterfuck”), American Gods, Project Blue Book, Star Trek Discovery, and Strange Angel.

Last Friday evening we went to see the movie Shazam! which we thoroughly enjoyed. I remember fondly the comic book, Captain Marvel, from when I was a kid. Originally created in the 1930s by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck for Fawcett Comics, “Shazam” is an ancient wizard (Whiz Comics #2 gives his age as 3,000 years) who gives young Billy Batson the power to transform into the grown-up superhero Captain Marvel-“the World’s Mightiest Mortal”-by saying the magic word SHAZAM (acronym for Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury).

Captain Marvel comic

Fawcett, publishers of the original Captain Marvel/Shazam comics, stopped making them in the ’50s. In the ’60s, Marvel Comics trademarked the name Captain Marvel for their own Kree alien superhero, which meant when DC licensed the Fawcett characters in 1972, they had the Fawcett character named Captain Marvel, but couldn’t call the comic Captain Marvel, so they used his transformation cry “Shazam!” for the title.

This extended to other media as well – DC could not promote the character as Captain Marvel anywhere, even though the character’s named was Captain Marvel. So when Billy Batson made his TV debut in 1974, his show was titled Shazam (okay, The Shazam/Isis Hour, but you get the point). https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-captain-marvel-ms-marvel-shazam-clusterf-ck-explai-1251423862 

Saturday the 10th I attended Frolicon, at the Atlanta Sheraton Hotel, where I shared a room with Talyn, Maggie, and Holly. That was a blast! The con tagline was “Where Nerdy meets Naughty.” Hundreds of happy fanboys’n’girls wandering the halls in a wide variety of outrageous costumes, from the very elaborate to the very little. Many workshops, panels, vendors, burlesque shows, costume contests, stand-up comics, and a huge fully-equipped dungeon. Plus the hotel pool and hot tub. Lotsa fun, and many old friends.

OZ at Frolicon

Monday morning I got a doctor’s check-up; I seem to be in excellent health, pending results of the blood work.

Last night we held our first Grey School Faculty meeting on Zoom, arranged and facilitated by our marvelous new Dean of Faculty, Ambika Devi, whom I’ll be visiting in a couple of weeks. Zoom is a great video conferencing platform-a vast improvement over Skype, which we’ve been using up ’til now. Goodbye, Skype!

This evening I’m having dinner at the Hawg & Ale, “The best BBQ in the Southeast!” with the Songdog Family; Talyn, Maggie, Holly, Tam, Fayth, Ruffio. Afterwards, we’ll go hang out at the Viking Alchemical Meadery ’til they close.

Dinner with the Songdogs

Clockwise from front: Tam, OZ, Maggie, Talyn, Holly, Faith, Ruffio

Early Saturday I’ll be heading off to Belfire at Lake Hartwell, SC w. Talyn and the gang. The first of several Beltaine celebrations I’ll attending in the next week or so.

Then on Sunday the 28th, from 4:00-6:00pm, I’ll be doing a book-signing and talk at Phoenix & Dragon Bookstore in Atlanta. Morning Glory and I have done business with them for decades, but this is my first actual book-signing there.

For previous Journal entries and more, be sure to check out my personal website:  www.OberonZell.com

#pagan #roadtrip #wizard #bucketlist #adventure #ozpatreon

Monday 3/25/19

I’m presently staying with my old girlfriend Jeanné Berger, who I met at the Maryland Renaissance Festival in 1982, when I was touring with the Unicorns. She visited MG and I several times over the years, from when we were living at Coeden Brith on Greenfield Ranch, to the Old Same Place on the Rushing River. In the summer of 1990 we travelled to Alaska together, where we had many adventures.

Friday afternoon I drove to Richmond, VA, to spend a couple of days with Micheline Vogt. On Sat. evening we conducted an Ostara ritual at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Richmond. About 30 people showed up, including half a dozen kids. In addition to doing HP ritual stuff, I told stories of Spring Equinox—and the fertility Goddess in whose name we still celebrate the holiday of Easter. The kids all gathered around as I read the charming little book of “Ostara’s Hare,” by Tara Waddle, which links the Eostre Bunny with the constellation of Lepus, just below Orion. Afterwards we all enjoyed a potluck feast.

Sunday morning I left early to drive over two hours to Jeanné’s place in Crownsville, MD, just outside of Annapolis. I arrived at noon, as Jeanné was setting up for “Cakes & Ale” – a splendid Medieval Feast prepared by Margaret Planetgenet and her husband Mark. The main dish was “Pecoke With Ginger Sawse.” (chicken with ginger sauce), and much excellent wine was imbibed with toasts between courses. The final beverage was Café with Jacquin’s Ginger Brandy & Coconut Milk. There were eight guests around the table; the whole package was a charity event Jeanne had purchased to benefit RESCU Foundation (Renaissance Entertainers, Services, Crafters United).

In addition to the fine food and drink, we were regaled with songs and tales of food and customs of the times. A remarkable synchronicity following Thursday’s theatre event, “Confections,” at the Folger Shakespeare Library in DC, where the main exhibit was “Before ‘Farm to Table:’ Early Modern Foodways and Cultures.”

Last night, after the feast, Jeanné took me out to her favorite local wine bar and coffee shop, 49 West, where we played a game of Scrabble (She won handily. Who knew there were so many 2-letter words?).

Jeanné is a world-class cook, and today she made awesome jambalaya for lunch (I helped by cutting up stuff and de-shelling the oxymoronic jumbo shrimp).

But before we ate we took a pleasant walk through the Maryland Ren Faire (MRF) site, which is right next door. Jeanné has been working there for the past 37 years, since I met her in her first year, and she has a lovely 2-story massage booth, with 4-8 massage therapists working constantly during the Faire, which runs from the last week in August through the 3^rd week in Oct. See her booth website at: www.HerMajestysHealers.com

And now I must close this entry and hit the road for my next destination, visiting Joe Fleming in Midlothian, VA (a 3-hour drive). When I left Salem at the first of this month, all the fields were blanketed with snow. As I’m driving south into spring, flowers are blooming and buds are appearing on the trees.

Be sure to check out my personal website: www.OberonZell.com

#pagan #roadtrip #wizard #bucketlist #adventure #ozpatreon

Friday 3/22/19

Moving into Spring, yesterday was gloomy and rainy. Nicolo had tickets to an intriguing immersive theatre event called “Confections” by Third Rail Projects, at the Folger Shakespeare Library in DC, which houses the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare-related materials. The main exhibit in the Library was “Before ‘Farm to Table:’ Early Modern Foodways and Cultures;” a perfect introduction which we perused before the performance. The show began at 8:00, and we were appropriately hungry!

It’s hard to describe the experience, as it was so rich and personal. After a charming strip-tease introduction (from Elizabethan finery to chemises) where we stood around a long, long banquet table populated by the five actors (3 men and 2 women) in slow-motion shifting states of undress, the 48 audience members were divided into three groups of 16 and led into other rooms (normally closed to the public) in the labyrinthine Tudor mansion, where we experienced various exquisite vignettes and personal interactions with the cast—all around the central theme of the sugary confections enjoyed by the nobility during the Age of Exploration and the era of Shakespeare—and the human price of those feasts via the slave trade to supply cane sugar from prison camp “plantations” in the Caribbean. For those lovely tiered cakes, pastries, and outlandish feasts that grew obsessively popular among the aristocracy as more ingredients from the colonies became available were made possible only through the enslavement of African people.

And finally, all the audience and actors were reunited to sit at the great banquet table, to “let them eat cake!”

Afterwards, we got a late dinner at China Chilcano, a Peruvian Asian restaurant in Chinatown, DC. Quite a celebration of the Equinox!

Today I’m leaving Nicolo and Joanne and their lovely Imagine Acres for a two-hour drive to Richmond, where I’ll be staying for a couple of days with Micheline Vogt. On Sat. we’ll be conducting the Ostara ritual at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Richmond, where I’ll be telling stories of Spring Equinox—and the Goddess in whose name we still celebrate the holiday of Easter.

Sunday I’ll be visiting my long-time sweetheart Jeanné, who I met and loved at the Maryland Renaissance Festival in 1982, when I was touring with the Unicorns (the same year I met Nicolo and later, Dona). Jeanné is a fabulous cook, and she’s preparing a special Medieval feast for a small group to which I’m invited.. She lives in Crownsville, MD, a 2 hr. 20-min. drive from Richmond.

#pagan #roadtrip #wizard #bucketlist #adventure #ozpatreon

Thursday 3/21/19

Tuesday evening’s pot-luck dinner and cacao ceremony here at Imagine Acres was just delightful! We had nine people around the dinner table: Nicolo, Joanne, Richard, Monica, Claudia, Christel, Jim, Jeanné and me. Jeanné is Sicilian, and a great cook—her bread pudding casserole with bacon was scrumptious! I’ll be visiting her Sunday for a Medieval feast she’s putting on.

Cacao ceremony dinner. Monica, Joanne, Jeanne’, OZ, Claudia, Jim, Christel, Richard. Photo by Nicolo.

Christel Libiot and Jim Wert have an organization called One Heart Cacao. They have conducted numerous cacao ceremonies in the Mid-Atlantic, and have a global following. They use 100% pure ceremonial-grade cacao (chocolate in its purest form). This comes from wild Criollo trees grown and processed without any chemicals, and hand-prepared by indigenous Mayan people in the Lake Atitlan region of Guatemala, where Dona and I spent a month last summer. Criollo is the wild and most ancient of three main varieties of cacao. It makes up less than 1% of the world’s chocolate, as crop yields are low.

According to the flyer Christel and Jim handed out, “Cacao is a superfood with medicinal value and over 300 nutritional compounds. One of the main active ingredients is Theobromine (literally, ‘God-Food’), which facilitates the release of dopamine, the ‘pleasure hormone.’ Cacao supports memory, immunity, heart health, and relieves stress and depression. It contains the highest concentration of antioxidants of any food on the planet.”

For more info, and to order this special cacao: www.oneheartcacao.com

David Wolfe says: “Chocolate is helping usher in the ‘Cardiozoic Age’ – the Age of Heart. Cacao seems to help correct the imbalance between mind and heart, allowing the mind to support the heart. Increasing the heart energy brings forth compassion, wonder, healing and, most importantly, unconditional love.”

Since Morning Glory’s Ascension, She has been proclaimed a “Goddess of Unconditional Love.” And one of the things She loved was chocolate! So I felt Her presence presiding over this ceremony, which I opened with our traditional CAW food blessing to “Holy Mother Earth.”

This cacao ceremony was transformationally healing for me. As my closest friends know, I have had a lifetime aversion to the smell and taste of chocolate, due to PTSD from a childhood tonsillectomy, and the chocolate ice cream they gave me to eat after I emerged from the anesthesia – which felt like burning lava down my ravaged throat.

Yesterday we watched “Reefer Madness: the Movie Musical,” which no one but me had seen before. We all agreed it may be the best musical ever, even eclipsing “Rocky Horror.” If you haven’t seen it, you really should! You may want to have a little safety meeting beforehand…

After the movie, I drove 20 minutes to visit Tamara Shepard Truitt, her husband Tom, and her son Justin, in Waldorf, MD. Another fabulous cook, she served up a Moroccan dish of lamb couscous. Her mother, Ayesha, had spent a lot of time in Morocco before she moved with Tamara to Annwfn 40 years ago to live with Gwydion. We were all enthralled at the time by the incredible stories of her wild adventures with Tamara’s father, who was an international drug-lord. Tamara was just 9 years old back then, and she fell in well with all the rest of our feral “kid pack” at Greenfield Ranch – the 5,600-acre Hippie homesteading community in the Misty Mountains of NorCalifia, founded in 1972 and still going strong, of which CAW’s Annwfn is a 55-acre parcel. MG and I were sorta honorary Aunt & Uncle to all our kids as they grew up to become fine adults.

OZ and Tamara

Tamara got out the enormous photo album Ayesha had assembled, and we spent hours poring over the photos of her life from infancy to now, reminiscing about those glorious days of yesteryear. There were even pictures in the album of Gwydion, Morning Glory, me and our Unicorns! So much nostalgia, and such a sweet reunion!

This evening Nicolo has gotten us tickets for a play called “Confection,” by Zack Morris. As I understand, it’s an immersive experience, like dinner theatre. I’ll tell you all about it in my next Walkabout Journal installment…

#pagan #roadtrip #wizard #bucketlist #adventure #ozpatreon

Tuesday 3/19/19

Sethlan, OZ, Orion

I left Orion and Sethlan Friday, and drove down to Alexandria, VA, to visit my old friends Burt & Stephanie Johns. Burt was with CAW back in the ‘90s, and is currently hosting a Heathen Kindred called Mannaheim. A few folks came over for the evening, and Stephanie prepared a fabulous dinner. We stayed up very late reminiscing on old times, Starwood Festivals at Brushwood, and what we’ve all been doing over the past decade or two.

Saturday afternoon I drove to Laurel, MD, to do a talk and book-signing at the Crystal Fox—the biggest magickal store I’ve yet visited. After the gig I returned to Burt & Stephanie’s to join their Heathen Sumbel with 14-15 folks. This consisted of several hours passing around a horn of mead and raising toasts to everything we could think of, followed by “Hail!”eathen Sumbel

The Crystal Fox

The next day (Sunday) we got up a little expedition to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in DC with Burt, Stephanie, Perris, Tani, Hal and Joe. The Metro let us out right in front of the Trump Hotel, so we had to get pics… Sadly, my favorite section, fossils, was closed for renovation. But there was plenty else to see. Worn out from a full day of walking through the many excellent exhibits, we adjourned for Thai dinner at a restaurant called Thaiphoon.

At the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History… Tani, OZ, Perris, Burt, Hal, Joe. Above, Sue.

After dinner I drove about an hour to Brandywine, to visit for a few days with Nicolo & Joanne Whimsey at their Imagineacres Farm. Nicolo and I had met in 1982 at the Maryland Renaissance Festival when I was touring Ren Faires with Lancelot, the Living Unicorn. He and my dear consort Dona (who I met at the Texas Ren Faire that same year) are old friends, and it was she who connected us back together. Now retired from the Faire circuit to pursue teaching, Nicolo and Joanne are long-time performers in juggling, Shakespeare, and animal acts, and they have two very sweet donkeys (Sophie and Rosa) and a beautiful horse on their 125-acre farm. Yesterday we spent some time with the equines, and took a nice hike through the farm and canyon, looking at waterfalls and fossils (brachiopods). We were joined by the Simpsons (Rick & Monica), and as seems to be the usual case, we stayed up late sharing stories and laughter.

OZ, Rosa, Joanne, Monica, Nicolo (in front)

Later this afternoon I have a phone interview with Dan on Brattleboro Community Radio-WVEW-LPfm. I’ll post a link where you can hear it… Then this evening a few more friends are coming over for a cacao (chocolate) ceremony. One of these will be Jeanné Berger, one of the great loves of my life, who I also met at the MD Ren Rest in 1982. We haven’t seen each other since we traveled together to Alaska sometime around the early ‘90s. I am so looking forward to seeing her again!

Tomorrow (Wed.) I’m going to visit Tamara in Waldorf, MD, which is only 10 minutes from here. When she was a little girl, Tamara lived with her mother, Ayesha, and Gwydion Pendderwen, on CAW’s 55-acre sanctuary of Annwfn on Greenfield Ranch in Mendocino County, CA. Gwydion died in a car wreck at Samhain of 1982 (that was quite a year!) – on Tamara’s birthday. Over all these years since, she’s gone off to have a full life, and it’ll be great to meet her family and catch up.

Thursday I’ll be back here at Imagineacres, where Nicolo has gotten tickets for a play in the evening called “Confection,” by Zack Morris. As I understand, it’s an immersive experience, like dinner theatre. Sounds like fun!

Friday I’ll be leaving lovely Imagineacres and driving down to Richmond, VA, were I’ll be staying with Michele Vogt. On Saturday, we’ll be conducting the Ostara ceremony at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Richmond, with Michelle as HPs, and I serving as HP.

#pagan #roadtrip #wizard #bucketlist #adventure #ozpatreon

Friday 3/15/19

I’m currently visiting Orion Foxwood and his husband Sethlan at their lovely apartment in New Carrolton, MD. As with most Pagan homes I visit, the place is a museum of magickal treasures. Orion and I have been dear friends for decades, but getting to spend actual time together is a rare treat. He travels even more widely than I do, teaching workshops and leading tours of sacred sites. He visited Gypsy and me in Salem, and we also got together a few years before in Santa Cruz, but this is my first visit to his home. He is an amazing store of knowledge and wisdom, especially of the folklore and magick of his Appalachian heritage. Sethlan made us a yummy dinner, and we stayed up talking for hours. We mourned together the recent passing of our mutual friend Raven Grimassi and lamented the continuing attrition of our cherished Elders…

This afternoon I’ll be driving another half hour to see my old CAW friends Burt and Stephanie Johns. They’re having a few folks over for a nice little CAW reunion. And tomorrow at 2:00 I have a book-signing and talk at The Crystal Fox, 311 Main St., Laurel, MD.  http://www.thecrystalfox.com/

I arrived at Orion’ & Sethlan’s yesterday afternoon, after a 2-hour drive from Elizabethtown, PA, where I had a nice lunch date with Chris Davis after saying my farewell to Kim in Mt. Joy, where I’d stayed for the past week. When I drove down to PA from New Jersey, it was still winter, and the ground was all covered in snow. But now on this drive a week later, the snow was all gone and the weather was warm. I feel like I’m driving south into Spring!

The past week with Kim has been pretty full. I did a phone interview on Friday the 8^th for the radio show “Up Close and Personal With Rev. Alfred Willowhawk.” Then on the weekend I did two bookstore gigs. The first was Saturday at Kim’s beautiful new store, Twisted by Nature, at 207 N. Market St., Elizabethtown, PA. She was just setting it up for the Grand Opening when I was here last Sep., and now it’s all up and fabulous.

On Sunday Kim drove me to another book-signing and talk at Moon Raven Alley, 1398 Oregon Rd, Leola, PA, owned by Collette Wagman. This is a charming little shop in the style of an old country Witch’s cottage. I talked for a couple of hours about Wizardry, Quantum Magick, the Awakening, the coming 2020s, and 50 years of modern Paganism.

Kim and I did an Escape Room at the legendary Bube’s Brewery (founded in 1868), which was way fun! There were so many clues to unravel and decode that it really takes a larger group to accomplish them all in the given time, but we did quite well, even though we didn’t get out before the cops showed up.

And in spare hours when Kim and Shawn were out, I got into binge-watching a remarkable sci-fi TV series that folks had recommended (and which I recommend to you): “Sense8.” A brilliant and compelling series, with a powerful premise of future evolution of humanity – and more diversity than I’d have thought possible in a small group of protagonists. I got into the beginning of the 2^nd season, but now I’ll have to wait until I land somewhere else for a few days with sympathetic hosts…

And yesterday – 3.14 – was “Pi Day,” and the 15^th anniversary of the incorporation of my Grey School of Wizardry, of which I am exceedingly proud.

#pagan #roadtrip #wizard #bucketlist #adventure #ozpatreon

Friday 3/8/19

I got into Kim’s place in Mount Hope, PA, early yesterday afternoon, after a short hour-and-a-half drive from Allentown, where I’d spent yesterday and last night at the home of Sandra Eckert and Peter Bourdelle. They put out the word to their circle of friends-many of whom I already know-and a couple dozen people showed up for a delightful evening of scrumptious pot-luck yummies, wine, conversation and music. Several of the folks were musicians, and Sue Wolfsong and Arthur Louis Benson II are also songwriters, so we had original music with moving lyrics. I wish Sue’s songs were available on CD; her “Butterfly” and “Gypsy Blessing” were awesome, and I want the lyrics!

Sue and Jonny

Sue and her partner Jonny Lee Rosenblatt, along with David Donohue and Dar, announced their engagements and intention to have a double wedding this summer! Huzzah! I’ve known Sue and David (identical twin brother of my dear longtime friend in California, Tom Donohue) for decades, and this was wonderful news.

David, Jonny and Sue

Sandy and Peter were gracious hosts, with family histories of famous artists, whose works are displayed around the house. Peter’s grandfather was Emile Antoine Bourdelle, and he worked with August Rodin! Antoine created the “Heracles” sculpture that can be seen in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as a few other major museums, and there is a Musee Bourdelle in Paris. Some of the art on the walls were by Peter’s father, Pierre Bourdelle; and other lovely artworks throughout the house are by Sandy.

The night before, Tues. the 5th, I got to Anthony & Xenia’s pretty late, after an afternoon of recording at Joey’s basement studio with Jimmy Clark and Liz Tapria, who is a trained opera singer. After they were done, I did a one-hour podcast with Erich Terry, but I don’t know when he plans to broadcast it.

Recording in studio with Francine, Jimmy, Joey and Liz

This afternoon I did a 90-minute phone interview for the radio show “Up Close and Personal with Rev. Alfred Willowhawk.” It will be broadcast later in the month.

Tomorrow is the first of several local gigs I’ll be doing in Eastern PA for the next few days I’ll be staying here with Kim and Shawn:

9 Sat 2:00pm-Book-signing and talk at Twisted by Nature, 207 N. Market St., Elizabethtown, PA.

10 Sun 2:00pm-Book-signing and talk at Moon Raven Alley, 1398 Oregon Rd, Leola, PA. https://www.facebook.com/events/287385618874257/

11 Mon Tree of Life Metaphysical Shoppe & Holistic Arts Center, 392 W. Apple St. Ste 3, Ringtown, PA. http://www.tree-of-life-shop.com/

On Tues. the 12th and/or Thurs. the 13th, Kim has arranged a special VIP package: a private 1-hr. lunch with OZ at Bube’s Brewery: lunch, 2 cocktails, dessert, autographed book, autographed photo.

And then on Thursday the 14th I’m driving down to New Carrollton, MD, to visit Orion Foxwood and Sethlin.

#pagan #roadtrip #wizard #bucketlist #adventure #ozptreon

Saturday 3/2/19

Back on the road again, I’m now in Milford, CT. After a 3-hour drive from Salem, I met up here with my dear friends Cate & Frank Dalton. We’ve known each other since 1995, when they brought me out here for their wonderful Craftwise Festival in Hartford, also attended by Stewart Farrar, where I met Liza (who became a member if our Ravenheart Family). Subsequently, we became great friends over many years of Starwood festivals at Brushwood, on 180 mostly-wooded acres near the town of Sherman in upstate NY, where the Daltons had a big campsite right across from the great Saturday night bonfire. Cate is a world-class cook, and she whipped up amazing feasts for her little tribe-which I was pleased to be part of. Over the years we had many delightful conversations watching the painted dancers around the enormous fire, and I watched their three kids grow up.

After Starwood moved from Brushwood to Wisteria, near Pomeroy, OH, in ?? the community was split, with many continuing to attend the Sirius Rising festival at Brushwood, held on the weekend after Starwood. I attended both festivals that first year, but since then I’ve only been able to make Starwood each year. I miss my many dear friends from those glory days at Brushwood, and it was wonderful to see Cate & Frank again, however briefly. They took me out for dinner to a Basque restaurant-a new culinary experience for me. I ordered a seafood paella, and it was fabulous!

Last night it snowed rather heavily, and my little red Prius is rather buried. I should have picked up a window scraper while I was in Salem, but I used Gypsy’s there for the few times I needed it, and I thought coming this far south in March I was out of the snow. Silly me!

As soon as I get the snow off my car, I’ll be heading down to Branchville, NJ, where I’ll be doing a book-signing and talk from 7:00-9:00pm at The Amber Dragon, 3 Milk St. I’ll be staying the night over a funeral parlor, which should make for some interesting dreams!

My last weeks in Salem were filled with dinners out with friends, an amazing Tarot reading from Lori Bruno (descendant of Giordano), and preparations and packing for my departure on this next leg of my continuing Walkabout. It was a wonderful sojourn in the “With City,” and a great few months with Gypsy. I carry it all with me, and I look forward to returning someday.

I am being sustained on this Walkabout journey (and storage fees for my extensive esoteric Library and Museum of Arcana collections) by personal appearances, fundraising events, and your generous donations, particularly via my Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/oberonzell. Thank you for your support!

#pagan #roadtrip #wizard #bucketlist #adventure #ozptreon