Has anyone heard of this?

http://www.greyschool.com

It may be a source of inspiration or...

It's a nice source of inspiration. They publish an interesting book.

I know "Oberon Zell-Ravenheart" AKA Otter Zell AKA Otter G'zell quite well. He was associated with Green Egg, which was a Gaian magazine, back in the 1980's.

Otter was the fellow who bred/constructed the caprine unicorns which were leased to Ringling Brothers for a couple of years. He is an interesting character.

When the Palo Mayombe/Santeria murder-kidnappings took place in Matamoros, Mexico, several of the local neoPagans went on television and blithely blabbed to the media that they knew what was going on down there, and caused the local churches to go bananas. They thought they were doing themselves a favor. They nearly got themselves and others killed.

Otter called me to see if I could go on television and straighten out the problem. There was just one hitch. I'm not a neoPagan or a Wiccan. They needed someone who was from that community to put a proper face on it.

So everyone just let the problem blow over.

Basically Otter, or should I say, Oberon, has his feet on the ground, and he is trying to figure out a way to use the new interest in magic to get people interested in his Way. However, this is actually contrary to traditional Wiccan teachings, so he may hit a stumbling block or two if he isn't careful.

Ralis:

Oberon is a wonderful individual and a living real wizard. I met him at a neo-pagan gathering and attended a few of his workshops in Salem, MA a few years back. I help a little with the first book "Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard" and have several pages of wizard-related effects published in the "Companion for the Apprentice Wizard".

I was asked to be an instructor for the "Grey School", but due to me already being invloved in too many projects and having a full-time job as a software engineer, I had to decline.

The vision of this site and the books are to provide a curiculum for a "real" wizards school. They discuss different occult ideas and theories. "Bizarre Magik" (Oberon's spelling for Bizarre Magic) is briefly described in the first book (I inroduced Oberon to the concept of Bizarre Magick) and the chapter on performance magic (called Orange Wizardry) opens with a wonderfule quote from Christian Chelman.

I don't know what is provided on-line, but if it is like the two books, it is a primer for all things magickal.

Dave Birtwell

Oookay, I'm a little confused with this.

Is this supposed to be real magic, as in Wicca (so to speak), or just a fancy magicians' course ?

Or a blend of the two ? (Now that'd be bizaare ! )

A Blend...
one path attempts to lead you along the other
as Bill alluded.

Just as an FYI. both of the books were obtained by myself at B&N, so they are not hard to find.
They do have a blend of both. I think they are complementary in the format presented, as it speaks to intent and discipline.
k

How can that be? Please enlighten me? K tre C....Couldn't resist the ryme
But I'd really like to know how to blend the two...?????

Slim your PM box is full again.

Dang it!!!!

Think of Gospel Magic.

Hmm, well Slim, how to answer without seeming to hype the books or tout Zell's school...
Geared towards young adults and kids, Oberon includes a lot of information on his traditions.
In my opinion, the really good and pertinent areas of the books speak to making your own "Robes", and "Tools";Observations of the natural world, and the world around you; How magic <as we normally think of it> can be used to add to an experience, or a sense of wonder. <I do not get that he is trying to tell anyone that this is how to start a cult or gain godhhood>
The book talks about self discipline and making choices based on exploration of information <sort of telling kids the things a few parents have forgotten to do, based on my observations in this day and age>. I think anytime one can get people to practice and be attentive to their lessons and learning is a good thing.
There are a number of people who have written section, including Jeff McBride <Okay so that may have been why I originally picked it up! Then again I also remembered the "unicorns" and Zell's name>

I guess I would say next time you are out at the mall, cruise by the B&N or other big book seller and check the book out. It may or may not be your cup of tea.
There are not long discussions on theatrics, though appropriate use of magic as a tool in the setting is.
Not sure if this helped or answered, but there you have it.
Kay

The only things I read Bill alluding to where:
1) That he knew Zell
2) Something about Palo Mayombe/Santeria murder-kidnappings, for which I have no clue as to it's relevance to the school or book, other than Oberon-Zell is the author.
3) That Bill is not a Wiccan.
4) That Zell is trying to figure out a way to use the new interest in magic to get people interested in his Way, but Bill didn't elaborate on just what "his Way" was, exactly.

I'm not knocking Bill's post, just defending (for lack of a better term) my state of confusion for lack of information.

Now that I understand the book better, thanks to a few PMs, I think it's still confusing, but more so due to the Author than anything else.

The Palo Mayombe/Santeria murders in Matamoros took place in 1989. They were brought to public awareness in Houston because a local boy, Mark Kilroy went missing and then was later found. The people who were involved in the murders evidently were drug dealers who practiced Palo Mayombe, which is to Santeria as Black Magic is to Wicca. Some of the same trappings are there, but one is evil while the other is good, or at worst, neutral.

I knew Otter from his appearance at the Texas Renaissance Festival with The Living Unicorns®, which he had bred/constructed in the early 1980's. Otter is an interesting person. We conversed at length about the significance of the unicorns and other matters of mutual interest, including esoterica. Otter is also the founder of the Church of All Worlds and was (perhaps still is) the editor of Green Egg.

Although I am not Wiccan, nor Pagan, I have a lot of friends who are. I was concerned for their well-being when the Matamoros murders were connected to Santeria. In the minds of the general public, Santeria, Wicca, Voodoo, Satanism and the like are all the same thing. Otter was concerned, as was I, that someone was going to get hurt by all of the weirdness that was going on, especially when the new proprietor of one of the local esoteric shops came on television, professed her knowledge of Santeria, then explained that it was not Santeria that was being practiced, but Palo Mayombe. This really confused the gilpins. They had no idea what to think. The person who made this announcement did not present well on television. Think "trailer trash in a sequined vest with snake bracelets up both of her arms." They needed someone who looked normal to go on television and clear up the problem.

The local Wiccans and neoPagans were genuinely frightened. That was when Otter called me. Unfortunately, I had not made it clear to him during our early meetings that I was not a member of any of the groups that were being targeted, so anything I said or did on television would be of absolutely no value at all.

Other people from the Renaissance Festival groups asked me to do the same thing, but once they understood my background, they agreed that I wasn't the person who needed to represent them.