Unicorns And Mermaids This Real Life Wizard Will Make You A Believer Short Film Showcase
Published 2023-06-12
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Unicorns and Mermaids? This Real-Life Wizard Will Make You a Believer | Short Film Showcase
• Unicorns and Mermaids? This Real-Life...
National Geographic
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========================Transcript (Autogenerated):0:03[Music]0:27[Music]0:30take hands close your eyes in a magic0:38space0:40[Music]0:51as above me so below as without and so0:57within the powers mind a light divided1:01the magic now begins by fire in water1:06air and earth1:08my magic brings the spell to birth my1:11light of star and Moon and Sun as I do1:15will so be it done my name is Oberon1:22Oberon Zell Raven heart and I am the1:25wizard oz1:26[Music]1:41previously the magic world was you know1:44another galaxy long ago and far away or1:46through the magic wardrobe or somewhere1:48over the rainbow or in some ancient lost1:51land that never really existed or you1:54can't get there from here1:55basically and all the stories are like1:57that except this one2:06my life has always been immersed in2:09magic I lived in magic the way of fish2:11lives in water2:12my earliest reading were children's2:15versions of the Greek myths so the ideas2:17of gods and goddesses magic and2:19Wanderers2:20those are my first stories I'm full moon2:23nights I would sneak out of my bedroom2:25window and go naked out into the night2:27it was this weird a little ritual that I2:28did I had a lot of connection with2:32animals it was really deep and I felt a2:36hand a telepathic connection the2:39strongest one of that was my first bull2:41constrictor histah in my dreams I could2:44like look out through her eyes and I2:46felt her connection with me and then I2:49felt her let go at the other end it's2:51always sad when they die right before2:53your very eyes2:54within my soul I have the soul of a2:58snake you know when you're a kid you3:01don't think of yourself as anything3:02unusual everything that happens is3:04normal when I was a kid I was a prodigy3:06my father took me to the University of3:09Chicago and had me taken through a whole3:12bunch of testing stuff in the psych3:13department all my results were just off3:15the charts he said well how much what am3:17I supposed to do with this with kid like3:19this and they said well just support him3:21they thought I was just so strange they3:24wanted to find out whether I was okay or3:26supernatural or whatever it was they3:28regarded me as some kind of weird mutant3:31I think certainly I retreated into the3:34world of myth and magic and eventually3:37my path just took me so far away that my3:40parents couldn't follow me at all3:42[Music]3:44I left them far behind I was really3:49always looking for my own true people my3:51own true home and stuff and I had this3:54vision and idea about moving to the3:56country with a bunch of friends living3:57in a community that was the hippie dream3:59- we all wanted to move to the country4:01with a bunch of friends and get it4:03together and we did that which unites us4:09is more important than that which4:10divides us4:23[Music]4:34[Music]4:55back in 1961 I read a book called4:59stranger in a strange land by Robert5:01Heinlein wherein is disgust5:03a kind of a science fiction religion5:05called the Church of all worlds the5:07Church of all worlds that's meant to be5:09inclusive it's meant to embrace the5:11wisdom and the good stuff from all5:13different traditions and not be5:14exclusive to any one particular one and5:17so we started that our initial vision5:24mission statement was to make the world5:26safe for people like us may you reign5:28forever we love you with your own love o5:32our God star there were lots of people5:35on the ranch there was like a hundred5:37families who moved up there even there I5:39was somewhat unusual when I was tasked5:42with trying to create this kind of5:43revival there wasn't anybody else doing5:45it at all it was just me5:47somebody said so what kind of a church5:49is this that was I said well I guess you5:52can say we're pagans and that caught on5:54like wildfire and so now there are5:58millions of us people are drawn to my6:01dreams and want to be a part of them and6:03help make them come true that's part of6:05my a little magic that's my magic as a6:07wizard my search had been to find other6:10people of my own species and as I6:12gathered around me such people that6:15resort really what became my family6:17[Music]6:21the greatest magic of all is love it's6:24pure magic6:27let me be united with my true life made6:30my true love6:33I'm morning glory cell oh man6:43the love of my life most amazing woman6:46who else could possibly be an6:49appropriate made for each other than6:50each other morning glory and I6:55recognized each other instantly from the6:58first moment we looked into each other's7:00eyes as true soulmates7:02we knew we were bound together for life7:05we're so bonded in those ways I mean the7:08wizard and the witch and that was the7:13moment that my life changed the most7:14dramatically love is that condition7:22wearing another person's happiness is7:24essential to your own7:35Morning Glory and I had always had a7:38fascination with things on the edge7:40mythical animals and beasts cherries and7:42all this stuff everybody has their own7:44creative way of making a living in the7:45country a lot of people do arts and7:47crafts type thing7:48some people do farming we raise unicorns7:52[Music]7:56of nature that was called and like I say8:01it's a dirty job but somebody's got to8:03do it we uncovered the work of8:06veterinary ocean state of Maine in the8:081930s who was doing research in horned8:11development they start off as nodes in8:14the flesh if you move these around a8:16little bit then the horn would develop8:18where they are and what came out of this8:21was a unicorn8:23[Music]8:24and finally this evening the unicorn8:27a mythical beast according to most a8:29three star attraction according to8:30Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey the8:43real magic happened we took them out8:45into the world and the way people8:46respond to them they touch people do you8:49believe in unicorns8:55we became part of a myth and sometimes8:58you think you're doing the magic and8:59sometimes you realize the magic is doing9:01you and this was one of those moments9:08which was blighted considerably by a9:11tragic event that happened a terrible9:14story hit the paper and that was the9:17worst mass murder of the 20th century9:21leonard lake he'd been our neighbor when9:26we lived on the ranch9:27he was a great homesteader and we9:29learned a lot from him about livestock9:33and beekeeping care of animals9:35[Music]9:37when we went to do the Renaissance Fair9:39we brought him along to do photography9:41because he was a photographer he would9:43go around to schools and take cool9:45pictures and stuff they took him in for9:49it on a shoplifting charge and he9:50immediately committed suicide the local9:52coroner says five bodies have been found9:54here so far the Calaveras County Sheriff9:57once told me though he believes there9:59are as many as 20 victims though buried10:01on the property the papers went to his10:05wife and asked if she had any pictures10:06of him that they could put in the paper10:10and the picture that she gave them was a10:12picture of him at the inner corner and10:16so the unicorn became associated with10:18this horrific mass murderer because he10:21got called the unicorn man people10:26obviously made that confusion between me10:29and Leonard to be confused with mass10:32murderers is a pretty awful thing to10:34happen so there was this contamination10:37of the whole thing that really was10:40terrible and tragic and devastating to10:42the small and to the magic now that's10:46been decades ago and I think the world10:48has forgotten all that stuff in fact10:50though for that matter the world's10:51forgotten the unicorns when the unicorns10:53aren't around anymore and people forget10:55they ever existed and they they once10:57again become mythical beasts11:02the wizard travels through the world11:07but there has to be some kind of a11:09vision or a reason to have whenever the11:11ventures baby11:15[Music]11:22[Applause]11:25[Music]11:27somebody asked the question he said11:29what's the difference between a basilisk11:31and a cockatrice so we looked it up in11:34Encyclopedia Britannica and it had an11:36amazing story the basis of that legend11:39the origin of it was in a real-life11:41animal called the Egyptian spitting11:42cobra that sprays its venom unerringly11:45into the eyes of its victims and blinds11:47them and that gave rise to the idea of11:49all of the stuff the basilisk would11:51Medusa the cockatrice and we thought wow11:54that's so neat oh I wanna bet that there11:57is some truth behind all these mythical11:59beasties or something that is the core12:01of the legend the little grain of sand12:04in the heart of the oyster that gives12:05rise to the Pearl New Era any wer a12:09naturalist exploring wonders is the new12:12and era is the echo Safa career search12:14association this is a research12:16organization designed to explore all the12:18weird stuff unicorns dragons sea12:21serpents Loch Ness monster Bigfoot12:23Atlantis whatever we think up basically12:26for crazy Harebrained Schemes for doing12:28amazing adventures and that's what we12:30expect to pursue the reports have been12:33coming about these creatures that were12:35being sighted on an island off of New12:36Guinea and we had just gotten some12:38minstrel money from the circus deal so12:40we decided that let's go out and and12:44find him12:47now it's carrion reef explora do you12:50know who you're talking to12:54yeah that's an affirmative12:56what were your hands like Mindy's12:59fingers13:00I think this her eyes yes with an avenue13:05now you had a drinker you want to show13:06that to the yes camera earlier Alphonse13:09I drew this drawing13:14this is his sketch has done by him as an13:18eyewitness mermaids13:21that's what you got out here in the bay13:23yeah I always see these things all the13:25time from here on up where we wind us to13:27stay put it close to the shore and make13:29frequent contact with local villages13:31this would be the type of places that13:32they might hang out13:36[Music]13:51good morning we palet come on testing on13:54you fella13:55thank you this is fine we can come along13:59you'd be happy to have us come in14:01village14:03I'm gonna set up a little mother theta14:05landing on a fellow okay let's bring in14:09okay this is where they live we didn't14:12really have a good clear idea what it14:14actually looked like14:20the tail was quite large it looked just14:23like the one in the photographs14:26[Music]14:56she had been shot I thought that we were15:01going to find any evolved aquatic ape15:04with ape-like features and such like15:06that as it turned out of course it was15:08the indo-pacific dugong and as we were15:11able to explore the story and is we were15:13able to interview separately the men and15:16the women of the village we fleshed out15:19the story a little bit is this the same15:21animal that we saw with its tail15:24flipping up in the air yes they call it15:28the pish Mary the fish woman which is15:30pretty much exactly the same as our word15:32mermaid it's the men who do the net15:34fishing and evidently what happens15:37occasionally is that if they catch them15:39are made they would take it into the15:41men's house and have sex with him and15:43then they would send him back into the15:44water and then the story would build15:47that was the basis of the legend of the15:50mermaid we solved the mystery we did a15:53big report for the crypto Zoological15:56Society thing and and we came back15:58pretty broke the brightest lights cast16:07the darkest shadow I've had some very16:10bright lights and some very dark shadows16:23the darkest moments of my life have been16:25the ones that would be best exemplified16:28by the tower card of the Tarot where16:30everything that I had been invested in16:32and committed to in my life and my16:34fulfillment my joy and happiness were16:37just totally obliterated it still16:50surprises me when I look in a mirror and16:51realize I am actually old I'm not feeble16:55yet but I'm definitely old you're young17:02you're invincible and immortal you know17:03at some point in your life you confront17:06our mortality she was feeling a lot of17:14pain she was experiencing backache and17:18lots of stuff when they did the biopsy17:23an analysis of the hospital they17:25discovered she had cancer and it was a17:27profound thing that revelation that that17:30she's doomed17:31you know how long did he keep her going17:33but there was no cure17:38the last moments came and I held her in17:41my arms as she took her last breath17:51and there were no words there was17:55nothing we can say we didn't into each17:57other's eyes that a everything else17:59just disappeared and one of our friends18:06was there called the stethoscope to her18:08chest but her heart stopped beating he18:11he said the queen is dead the whole18:19house it the whole house erupted and one18:23voice well her liver the Queen18:25[Music]18:36Oh18:39of sacred space whose passions all18:48enrich we are all within the grace of a18:59wizard19:02[Music]19:11there's three basic rules of things that19:14you can't do with magic you can't bring19:16back the dead you can't change the past19:18and you can't compel love19:21[Music]19:24enough all stories have happy endings19:27and yet I have to go on for both of us I19:31have to carry on for her as much as for19:33myself one of the very last things that19:35she said it as she was you know she was19:37dying was don't let it die all that we19:41did all that we were don't let it end19:45when I died so that's what I'm trying to19:49do just keep on keeping on with great19:56power comes great responsibility the20:04universe thing thing about wizardry20:06veena wizard is that they are the20:08teachers and the mentors of the young20:10heroes to teach them what they need to20:11know I really felt that teaching is an20:13important thing and it's part of the20:15wizard we practice to do is to be a20:16teacher and we had this epiphany well we20:20should start a school20:21the Academy is a brand-new project and20:24I'm just starting that we created a20:26virtual campus in Second Life where we20:28can have avatars where people could20:30interact face-to-face with their20:32teachers and such a work mine up my sort20:35of costuming a Gandalf archetype figure20:37it would seem obvious we have classes20:40and we have conclaves and we have20:42graduation ceremonies there's a memorial20:44temple for morning glory on the campus20:46it's looking pretty good so far and I'm20:48very proud of it I think part of the20:51thing with any of these things is will20:52they continue when I'm no longer here20:54running them I have to pass the torch20:56because it does no good for me to know20:58all the stuff to spend a lifetime20:59learning all these things if I just take21:01it to the grave with me21:10[Music]21:11my life certainly has been a a fairy21:14tale or perhaps a romantic comedy fairy21:17tale it certainly has been full of21:20extraordinary adventures but you know21:24I'm also very aware of my mortality in a21:27way I never used to be you have to21:28consider well what stories will be21:30preserved what will be told I think21:33about that stuff21:35[Music]21:36I realize man everything I do all the21:39time is a story21:41I don't really do magic so much as I am21:43magic the magic is in the stories and we21:48and we are storytellers this is the most21:50powerful magic that we have storytelling21:55there's a saying that is part of the21:57funeral ceremonies in pagan culture22:00which is that which is remembered lives22:05so it is22:06[Music]22:40[Music]22:50[Music]23:02[Music]23:04you23:10[Music]