The Grey School of Wizardry

The Grey School of Wizardry is the world's first wizard academy and is recognised as an academic institution. It is a secular institution, not a religious one as Wizardry is not a religion, and Wizards are not religious functionaries or clerics. The name of the school may derive from the colours associated the wizards in the Tolkien classic, Lord of the Rings, and in particular, with the appendix to the name of the protagonist .
History of the Grey School of Wizardry
The school is a nonprofit educational institute for children over 11 years of age, and adults.
This online school of esoteric magic was created by an assembly of two dozen mages and sages, known as the Grey Council. These mages and sages inspired the school's curriculum, and some of them still serve on or contribute to the Grey School of Wizardry's faculty. The faculty members come from a various different countries and pathways and, although each may possess unique magical orientation and perspectives, they all hope to spark the imagination, and inspire beauty, and power in the minds of seekers anywhere. Together, the faculty brings the best of the magical community’s most respected elders and teachers into the Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard (New Page, 2004) and the sequel Companion for the Apprentice Wizard (New Page 2006). Both were written and compiled by the current headmaster of the school, Oberon Zell-Ravenheart.
The Grey Council continues to serve as an Advisory Board for the school. Faculty members include the headmaster Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, , Raymond Buckland, Raven Grimassi, Donald Michael Kraig and Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart.
Community Benefit
Like those schools whose philosophical bases extend beyond the offerings of general public educational institutions, the Grey School serves a benefit to society by offering an educational program for a group that is not otherwise catered for. In particular, it is an accredited educational institution with offerings for children raised in Pagan households, as well as ongoing educational opportunities for adults. The virtual school was founded primarily to provide an education stream for modern Pagans and their children that is Pagan-focused. Furthermore, the virtual teaching space is accessible to everyone regardless of geographical limitations, and the social, cultural, psychological and physical restrictions that might exclude certain students from live classes.
The school's motto is: Omnia vivunt, omnia inter se conexa (“Everything is alive; everything is interconnected”—Cicero). Wizardry literally means, “wisdom”, just as philosophy means “love of wisdom”, science “knowledge”, and, though it is a calling or vocation, it is not a profession of faith. Throughout history, wizards have been known to have existed in some form in all cultures, and all religions. Therefore, although some classes address mythology and comparative religions, the school's Grimoire (textbook of magic), Companion for the Apprentice Wizard, and the school's philosophy all focus on magic rather than spirituality. In addition, Unlike Wicca, and Paganism, the Grey School is not a religion and its focus is on teaching the arts and skills of Magic and Wizardry. The program is inexpensive, reflecting the egalitarian concerns of its founder.<ref name="DISKUS"/>
According to Isaac Bonewits, "The Grimoire collects in one book a library of wisdom about ceremonial native and Earth-centered magic, Paleo- and Neopagan religions, the obligations of the wise to protect the defenceless, great wizards and witches of the past and present, and more."<ref name="Isaac Bonewits 2005 p. 84"/> The Grimoire represented the first phase of an extended vision to make the wisdom of the ages available for new generations and a new millennia. The Grimoire is also serves as a basic textbook the seven-year academic curriculum of Wizardly studies. It begins with simple lessons, and increases in complexities as students progress. The online school is the second phase of this broader vision to provide a larger context for the teaching of magic.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu