The Pride of the Flames - "Wizardry: Neo-Guardians from Long Ago"
El Capitan: Laneth Sffarlenn
Lieutenants: Xyaida & FrogsDancing
Challenge Three: What effect will Wizards have in future societies? How will we make a difference? How will we be involved?
Challenge Begins: 10am PST, Monday 25th Feb, 2008
Challenge Ends: 11:59pm PST, Friday 29th Feb, 2008
Participants: Laneth, Xyaida & FrogsDancing
Challenge Details:
"For this, your third and final challenge, we set our eyes to the future. What effect will Wizards have in future societies? How will we make a difference? How will we be involved?
Write at least a one page essay telling of this future. How will we be involved? How far into the future are you looking? What factors will contribute to this change? Will your story be an analytical discourse on the topic or will you write a fictional story that may come to take place? Let the teams decide. Keep in mind that length is not a deciding factor so it need not be a long essay. The content is what will be judged as well as the technical aspects of the delivery. Proofread carefully and cite your sources, if any are used, according to the Grey School methods."
Challenge Details – Our Chosen Task:
Here follows our submission, in the form of a "mock-umentary", based on a potential future for the Wizarding community.
(It is recommended that ye download & view the PDF Version of this submission)
Wizardry: Neo-Guardians from Long Ago.pdf (Right-click & Save As)
Wizardry: Neo-Guardians from Long Ago
~ Transcript ~
When I look back at the beginning of this century, I think to myself, “What were we thinking!?”
As a people, the human race was barreling down a narrow path to self-immolation, much like the Running of the Bulls in Spain, only we were taking out hundreds of species of animals every year and were well on our way to destroying our most valuable possession: the Earth. Our home.
With ever increasing pressure to acquire wealth and possessions, to build a family and to climb social ladders, the human race began its dive-bomb decline in healthy living in the mid-to-late 20th Century.
Interest Rates rose to ridiculous heights, forcing poverty upon the working class citizens yet leaving the wealthy virtually alone.
In the early years of the 2000’s, we as a race began to slowly realize that we were having an effect on the world around us, and it wasn’t the kind of effect we wanted, no sir! Walking into the room and turning heads is one thing. But genocide through ignorance or inaction is a whole other kettle of fish.
People were disgusted with their own countries and their leaders – were disgusted by the atrocities committed by other countries on other people and the animal kingdom. Japan slaughtering whales & dolphins wholesale; poaching black bears and selling them on the black market; the unspeakable acts committed against the orang-utans of Asia Minor.
The people had had enough.
However, without the informed leadership of a pro-active government, who was to lead them in a forward-thinking plan of attack against the unhealthy and unwanted world that inhabited the shadows?
Enter the Grey School of Wizardry.
A humble-yet-far reaching idea, borne out of a lifetime’s work within the “neo-Pagan Movement”.
Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, a man with an idea for the future of his brethren, gathered together some of the most respected names on the pagan scene at the time and compiled what would become the core text-book of the online Grey School of Wizardry.
The idea was simple: Modeled around a fictional campus of magickal study called “Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry”[1] from the fantasy novel series called “Harry Potter” [1], the Grey School would be aimed at youths of a “middle school through high-school” age, paralleling their tutelage at school and preparing them for the world they would ultimately inherit.
Unawares that the response would be so great, the Grey School administration had to adjust their study system and school setup to accommodate the ever-increasing number of adults wanting to learn as well.
Frustrated by the inaction of their governments and motivated to join a vision that would ultimately make a difference, (not to mention the metaphysical and magickal education they would receive as well), hundreds of adult-aged students joined ranks with the youths.
Shortly after the Grey School’s third birthday, it was confirmed that 1,000 students, both adult and youth, had joined the school and were actively pursuing their Wizardly education.
Some completed their Apprenticeship well within the projected 7 Years, excelling in the online classroom format and went on into their communities to implement their new-found knowledge, whilst eagerly awaiting the next ‘level’ of study, being the Journeyman school.
Subsequently the Adept school was launched a handful of years after that.
During 2009, The Grey School of Wizardry gained some international media attention when it was exposed to the world via a joint venture between itself and the Blood Banks of America and Australia.
The initiative came from an in-school competition entry from one of the adult lodges, in which the three team members donated blood and pledged to become “frequent donors”.
Moving the challenge on out from themselves, the three proposed to the school’s board that they schedule regular donation times each year in which the adult students and staff pledge to donate when they can, and to spread the word about donating among family, friends and their communities. This was all done in the name of Grey School and the Blood Bank.
The donation drives were quite successful; the response from various communities around the world was amazing, drawing out old donors and new alike from the woodwork and aiding the blood bank in their annual call outs.
The commitment these students showed to the promotion and follow-through of this project demonstrated how serious they took their studies and commitment to their chosen paths as Wizards.
“A Wizard desires to be of service to others…”[2]
The Grey School’s International Blood Drive was the first example of how true this statement really is.
With over 5,000 students now enrolled in the school, many having graduated the Apprentice course and now involved in the Journeyman course, the Grey School of Wizardry stepped into the “real world” on Imbolc 2016 (February 2nd).
The great castle-like campus, based in California, was opened and dedicated to Oberon and his wife Morning Glory, with facilities to house both youth and adult students, as well as sporting many of the features discussed within the Harry Potter[1] novel series, (ie. greenhouse, large grounds, various animals, a plethora of classrooms etc.)
This paved the way for various magickal traditions’ teachings to gain understanding and acceptance into mainstream education, alongside the previous commonly accepted ‘religious education’.
Government-run high schools accepted a more tailored education system, teaching the students a broader range of subjects, opened up by the arrival of Grey School as a legitimized training institute. Children could now choose to study courses relating to the care of animals and plants, taking the previous agricultural/horticultural studies a step further – mathematics had mathemagicks added to the curriculum, teaching the fundamentals in the Pythagorean Mysteries and other such topics.
Some high schools even began working Wizardry as a subject into History classes, and allowed for an elective course in philosophy to be taken. It was planned to broaden the curriculum even further in allowing students to design their own course of study for the final year of high school – much like many universities allow ye to do with your entire course.
In 2020, some of the top universities in the world, (Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, MIT, Yale, Stanford, Brown etc.), as well as various smaller international colleges & universities, bestowed upon the Grey School two incredible gifts:
First was the recognition of the Journeyman and Adept courses as legitimate courses of study, granting a Diploma and Advanced Diploma in Esoteric Studies, Specializing in (Name of Department Major here).
Second was the chance for the recipients of these degrees to earn a Bachelorship or PhD in The Esoteric Arts. The course would be self designed and monitored by the college professor assigned to the student and the study could be done either at the college campus, or via the Internet and occasional visits with the professor.
The insinuation of esoteric study into mainstream education, however, didn’t go as smoothly as it as seemed to so far.
There were a great many debates and protests staged by members of various religious groups, opposing the move to integrate “false education” saying that it was “poisoning the minds of the innocent and unwary”.
There were several riots in various cities around the world and several religions that rarely took part in this type of debate spoke up, (some in favor, others opposed).
Various Christian denominations, took the matter to the Supreme Court in the United States in an attempt to remove the teachings from general education arguing that, not only was the education not beneficial to a society whose demands were ever evolving and whose unemployment rate was rising all the time, but that it was damaging to other religious education.
Given such an open choice, they argued, children would choose the ‘flippant, meaningless and open-ended’ studies over their ‘structured and true’ teachings that stretched back hundreds of years more than much of what was being offered.
The case was dropped virtually overnight on the grounds that, “to deny the integration of esoteric study into the public education system was to act against the fundamental virtues of the First Amendment.”
Shortly thereafter, in 2022 and on Oberon’s 80th Birthday, the Grey School expanded twice over, opening its doors at two new sites: One in New York state, a relatively short drive from New York City and the other in the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia.
(The campus site in Australia was chosen as the most suitable third site because of the high interest shown and the number of previously enrolled Australian students in the online school. A few students had also traveled to the USA from Australia specifically to enroll in the school in CA.)
The school was able to open up in Australia because, in 2017, Australia achieved Independence from the Commonwealth, thus removing the archaic and stagnant hold the Church of England held over politics and education, allowing a new government to take control of it’s own peoples’ affairs, promoting growth and the development of a better economy, education & health systems and better living conditions overall.
Both of the new schools had a Headmaster or Headmistress that were graduates of the school’s original 3 courses and who had previously been on the Faculty of the first school and were passionate about the school’s future and the education it provided.
The opening of the two new campuses came as a result of the school having over 10,000 registered students in the online component and people registering their interest in attending the Californian Campus from all over the world, numbering in the hundreds!
Socially, the stigma surrounding magick and wizardry had improved somewhat, though there would always be nay-sayers and people with reservations enough to flat-out refuse to know about it or rant in the negative about it.
It was true that many people that pursued the education Grey School (and various other schools offering esoteric education) had to offer, were interested in alternate ways of living.
Many students involved in magick and the like were pagan of some description, (that is mainly the nature-based faiths or those whom simply honored the earth without any hang-ups on deities and belief structures), however there were many other religions and belief-paths that made up a good proportion of the schools’ populations.
Whilst those with their beliefs on their sleeves often caught the attention and spotlight, there were also people simply looking into the education as a way to further their understanding of the global dynamic between cultures and to have a better understanding of the world around them themselves.
Often ye would find professional people undertaking the course of study. People like psychologists, doctors, massage therapists and other alternative medical practitioners, and many others. This provided a further platform for the Grey School and other institutes to expand and grow.
The mutual growth of the schools’ populations and the clientele for these businesses, through the practitioner’s involvement with the school, was a boon for various town, state and countries’ economies.
The growth of the new age industry happened slowly, however it became a regular industry to be involved in – like a butcher or green grocers. It wasn’t just the new age industry that enjoyed this boom in income either.
Many different corners of society that one wouldn’t think would or could be effected were. Homeless shelters received more than enough donations in goods and money; corporate sponsorship of the Grey School’s “Conclaves” provided excellent facilities whilst giving both the business and the school extra exposure the world over.
Animal welfare parks were established in places that allowed for large amounts of land to be bought at reasonable prices, (Outback Australia, packets of empty land in China’s provincial regions, joint ventures with the First Nation’s people of the US on their land and US owned soil etc.)
Education was up and crime was … well, still around. (Hey, we never claimed we could fix everything!)
Slowly, but surely, integration and cooperation between the larger religions and the esoteric belief networks was met over a number of years, resulting in joint ventures and programs for their participants.
It was at this time that, in 2025, the International Council of Esoteric Faiths (ICEF) was formed, resembling the UN only for religion and other belief networks.
It wasn’t so much a government or anything like that, but was more a council of Elders and respected folk who held a place of high respect in their various communities, brought together to act in the interests of the esoteric community in general.
Their purpose was to oversee various wizardly and esoteric events and general goings-on, to ensure that all went smoothly and to also ensure that the people involved with both the organization and attendance acted according to generally accepted behavior.
Whilst there were no wizardly laws passed by this council, a set of well thought out and loose-fitting guidelines on one’s conduct in various situations was put out, much along the lines of the “Wiccan Rede” or “Norse Rede of Honor”.
Think of this council as being very similar to the Jedi Council[3] in the Star Wars[3] movies, in that it gathers to discuss various situations that concern the global esoteric community and makes and implements decisions for the betterment of that community (after seeking and obtaining satisfactory approval beforehand).
With the advent of this Esoteric Council came the inevitable interest from both the worlds’ governments and their military.
The military was dismissed by the community, largely due to the fact that most people in the global esoteric community shunned violence and wanted no affiliation with groups that made violence their trade.
However, when joint representatives from the UN and the US Military approached the ICEF for their collective opinion on peace talks occurring with an undisclosed nation, the Wizarding community held its breath in anticipation for the outcome.
Should the advice given by the minds on the council be beneficial to their cause, it could very well be a tick against the Wizarding world’s name in the eyes of some of the world's more influential people and organizations.
And it so happened that this successful venture in advising some very powerful individuals evolved into the ICEF having representatives working in many parliaments and large corporations in the position of Advisor or Diplomatic Envoy.
With the good of the planet and the people ingrained in their beliefs and motivations, it became obvious quite quickly that the Wizards could not be swayed from doing right by their brethren and communities, and the Earth herself.
Also quite quick was the evolution of their roles from simple advisor to community liaison – they became the voice of the people within parliament and the ear of parliament within the community.
Some people go so far to ask these days where we’d be without the Wizardly support that seems to be everywhere in our communities, and indeed I agree.
They certainly seem to be everywhere, and each day the roster that lists the names of new graduates seems to get longer.
Between the Grey School of Wizardry’s various campuses around the world and the other schools that have followed in its footsteps, a simple idea for the future as helped set the human race on the right path once more.
Wizardry in our world – a Timeline.
- November 30th 1942 – Tim Zell is born
- 1967 – Church of All Worlds is established
- 1968 – Green Egg magazine starts circulation
- 2003 – Grey Council convenes to establish “Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard” (New Page Books, 2004)
- 2004 – Grimoire is published & Grey School Opens
- 2005 – First GSW Conclave in California
- 2006 - Companion for the Apprentice Wizard published
- 2007 – 1000 students reached
- 2009 – 2000 students, Journeyman Studies launched.
- 2009 – International GSW Blood Drive begins in coalition with the American & Australian Blood Banks – official marketing campaign turns in staggering numbers for first drive, numbering some 800 people – at least 50% more than projected by either party.
- 2010 – Grimoire for the Journeyman Wizard is published and Journeyman course commences
- 2010 – Whispering Grey Matters becomes a full-time quarterly publication, overseen still by the students, however now with regular subscribers and a set advertising scheme in place.
- 2012 – Grey School Legal Team authorizes internal & external advertising of Graduates’ businesses, so long as they are mutually beneficial for the school and business. Among those first to take part are Counselors, Healers, ‘New Age’ Shop Owners etc.
- 2012 - Journeyman Companion published
- 2014 – Adept Grimoire is published and Adept Studies launched
- 2015 – 5000 students, still growing steadily.
- 2016 – First GSW Campus opens, Cotati CA U.S.A. in dedication to Oberon & Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart.
- 2016 - Adept Companion published
- 2017 – Australia achieves independence and recognizes several nature religions, repeals any laws that are anti-religious, recognizes legal pagan marriage ceremonies & allows gay marriages nationally.
- 2022 – Oberon’s 80th Birthday – best gift = 10,000th Student & opening of 2 new campuses: New York & Melbourne, Australia. (GSW NY and GSW Australis)
- 2025 – International Council of Esoteric Faiths forms, made up of previous/current Faculty & Adept Graduates of the first online GSW. (Headmaster/mistress & Asst. HM’s are honorary members of the ICEF)
- ICEF President Elect = Oberon Zell-Ravenheart
- GSW Cotati Headmistress = Susan “Moonwriter” Pesznecker (based in Oregon)
- GSW Cotati Asst. Headmaster = Talin
- GSW NY Headmistress = Xyaida
- GSW NY Asst. Headmistress = FrogsDancing
- GSW Australis Headmistress = Anna “Rilana” Fox
- GSW Australis Asst. Headmaster = Jeremy Brown
- 2025 – GSW Australis Headmistress meets with Australian President (Australia declared Independence 2017) to discuss forward-thinking measures in relation to preservation of the country & it’s people.
- 2027 – ICEF approached by UN & US Military to advise on peace talks – subsequent placement of permanent advisor in UN, Pentagon & White House.
- 2032 – ICEF has delegates placed in each of the countries belonging to the UN.
All persons featured in this documentary are real.
Any similarities to actual events would be totally awesome.
Citation:
[1] – “Harry Potter” & “Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry” both originally featured in:
“Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone” (UK), “Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone” (US), J.K. Rowling. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 1997.
[2] - “Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard”, Oberon Zell-Ravenheart. New Page Books, 2004. pp 294
[3] – “Jedi Council” & “Star Wars” both originally featured in:
“Star Wars” (Later “Star Wars: A New Hope”) George Lucas. 20th Century Fox, 1977.
Documentary’s “movie poster” created by Laneth Sffarlenn.
Photos of Oberon & Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart used with permission.
Castle depicted is not the Grey School castle as it cannot be used for privacy and security reasons. Used instead is a depiction of “Castle Neuschwanstein,” a Bavarian palace atop a mountain in Germany.
For more info visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schloss_Neuschwanstein
The Order of the Dancing Flames and The Grey School of Wizardry
presents a Sffarlenn.net production
“the Pride of Flames”
Laneth Sffarlenn | Xyaida | FrogsDancing
“Wizardry: Neo-Guardians from Long Ago”
based on a totally possible future
written by: Laneth Sffarlenn
directed by: Xyaida and FrogsDancing
Executive Producers: Oberon Zell-Ravenheart & Cala’Sanjaru
Here Ends the Submission of the Flames Team – The Pride of the Flames
Challenge Three: "Wizardry: Neo-Guardians from Long Ago"