Wizard

Wizard is a synonym for a magician.

Wizard, the wizard or wizards may also refer to:

Characters

Film and television

Wizard of New Zealand

The Wizard of New Zealand QSM (born Ian Brackenbury Channell; 4 December 1932) is a New Zealand educator, comedian, magician and politician who has become something of a national icon.

Life and career

Ian Brackenbury Channell was born on 4 December 1932 in London. Educated at Framlingham College, in 1951-53 he served in the Royal Air Force as an airman and in 1963 he graduated from the University of Leeds with a double honours degree in psychology and sociology. Shortly afterwards he was recruited by the University of Western Australia Adult Education Board to run their community arts programme. In 1967 he joined the teaching staff of the newly opened School of Sociology at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

During the student upheavals, which began at this time, he created a direct action reform movement called Alf (Action for Love and Freedom) and implemented this with what he announced to be "The Fun Revolution". The result was a revitalisation of the university referred to in the Sydney Morning Herald as "the university that swings".

The Wizard (Uriah Heep song)

"The Wizard" is a single from rock band Uriah Heep's 1972 album Demons & Wizards and was the first single to be lifted from the album. It was composed by Mark Clarke and Ken Hensley. It is a gentle, semi-acoustic ballad whose lyrics deal with a man wandering until he meets "the Wizard of a thousand kings", a possible reference to the druid Merlin, to Gandalf, to an angel or even God. This song is the first Uriah Heep single which had a music video. The song is in the tuning of C-G-C-F-A-D. The song is written in the key of C major.

The style of "The Wizard" represents a country rock ballad.

The song was composed by keyboardist-guitarist Ken Hensley and the band's short time bassist Mark Clarke. "The Wizard" also was the only composition that includes Clarke as a member of the band. Clarke also call the studio version of the song. "The Wizard" tells the story of man who is walking in mountains and meets the wizard. The song has charted at #34 in Germany and at #8 in Switzerland.

The Golden Bough

The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (retitled The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion in its second edition) is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, written by the Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazer (1854–1941). It was first published in two volumes in 1890; in three volumes in 1900; the third edition, published 1906–15, comprised twelve volumes. The work was aimed at a wide literate audience raised on tales as told in such publications as Thomas Bulfinch's The Age of Fable, or Stories of Gods and Heroes (1855). The influence of The Golden Bough on contemporary European literature and thought was substantial.

Subject matter

The Golden Bough attempts to define the shared elements of religious belief and scientific thought, discussing fertility rites, human sacrifice, the dying god, the scapegoat and many other symbols and practices whose influence has extended into twentieth-century culture. Its thesis is that old religions were fertility cults that revolved around the worship and periodic sacrifice of a sacred king. Frazer proposed that mankind progresses from magic through religious belief to scientific thought.

Golden Bough (band)

Golden Bough is a Celtic-music band, based in California, who have been performing together for more than 30 years. The band performs at music festivals and has toured Europe several times. They are known for their acoustic musical performances of folk music and Celtic music and for their 22 albums. They are also known for their association with Lief Sørbye (a founding member) and with the band Tempest.

Current members of the band include Margie Butler (lyric soprano) on vocals, Celtic harp, penny whistle, recorder, bodhran and guitar; Paul Espinoza (folk tenor) on vocals, guitar, accordion and octave-mandolin; Kathy Sierra (folk soprano) on vocals, violin and viola.

Band origins

The band came about after some friends attended a series of concerts at the Cannery at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. The founders were Margie Butler, Margot Duxler, Lief Sørbye, and Paul Espinoza. Simon Spaulding also performed with them in the first lineup. Other artists who have been members include Florie Brown (violinist), Richard Ferry (flutist), Alison Bailey (fiddler), and Sue Draheim (violinist).