Avalon Within

by Jhenah Telyndru

  Hare and Greyhound

  element: Earth

  level of being: Physical

  energy center: Root

  aspect of the self: Shadow self

  the call: To identify the manifestations of shadow in our lives in order to redirect its energy to soul growth and self-actualization

  the quest: Seeking balanced abundance and personal mastery, and embracing self-worth

  the challenge: In what ways have our unconscious illusions of shadow taken root in our lives?

  avalonian cycle of healing: The Station of Confrontation

  Salmon and Otter

  element: Water

  level of being: Emotional

  energy center: Womb

  aspect of the self: Unconscious self

  the call: To obtain discernment between intuitive insights and the fear-based defenses generated by attachment to shadow

  the quest: Seeking compassionate empathy and soul healing, and coming to trust inner wisdoms

  the challenge: What patterns of destructive behavior have their source in inner woundings?

  avalonian cycle of healing: The Station of Descent

  Wren and Hawk

  element: Air

  level of being: Mental

  energy center: Throat

  aspect of the self: Conscious self

  the call: To overcome the shadow-generated filter of illusion defining our personal limitations and choices

  the quest: Seeking new perspectives and clear communication, and living the truth of the authentic self

  the challenge: How can we reclaim the energies tied up in maintaining false perceptions of our selves and the world?

  avalonian cycle of healing: The Station of Emergence

  Grain and Hen

  element: Fire

  level of being: Spiritual

  energy center: Heart

  aspect of the self: Higher self

  the call: To manifest the higher self potential realized by disempowering the hold of shadow on the self

  the quest: Seeking a center of right action and Divine inspiration, and effecting personal transformation

  the challenge: How can we move ourselves from a place of unconscious reaction to one of conscious action?

  avalonian cycle of healing: The Station of Resolution

  Gwion and Taliesin

  element: Spirit

  level of being: Divine

  energy center: Third Eye

  aspect of the self: Inner Divine

  the call: To consciously recognize and fully embrace the unity of the Divine and the self

  the quest: Seeking the complete actualization of the truth of the Goddess within

  the challenge: How can we live consciously in the material world while embracing the truth of our Divine nature?

  avalonian cycle of healing: The Station of Integration

  The result of our transformations—the death of the old self—is represented in Ceridwen’s story by the devoured seed. This piece of grain is the potential that lies in the darkness, awaiting rebirth. The nine months spent in Ceridwen’s womb symbolizes our need to enter into the mysteries of the Divine Feminine, where we can find wisdom through this immersion in the unconscious. Outwardly, there is no action, but deep within we must experience a period of gestation; a reconfiguration of internal energies and how they are used.

  Metaphorically, the radiant brow of the reborn Gwion—now Taliesin—demonstrates enlightenment obtained through Cycle work. Passing through our challenges and effecting positive change, wisdoms earned and gained are manifested aspects of the actualized self. Yet, for all he had attained, Ceridwen cast the infant Taliesin out into the water to be found in a salmon weir (the salmon being a powerful Celtic symbol of wisdom) by the Welsh prince Elphin. Although changed, Taliesin was still incomplete, and had to return to the watery realm of the unconscious to turn the wheel of Cycle once more.

  Like Taliesin, we too must re-enter the Cauldron to begin our work anew. We bring our lessons and wisdoms with us, but we are not made complete in just one revolution. Our lessons permit us to see more of the “light”; our sight, perception, and understanding have expanded but there is still a long road of growth ahead of us. The beauty of this work is that each time we enter into the mystery of Cycle, we come to it with our new perspectives, easing our process and accelerating the quest for wholeness. But where is this Vessel of Transformation to be found? Therein lies the heart of the quest.

  Seeking the Cauldron

  In Caer Pedryvan, four its revolutions;

  In the first word from the cauldron when spoken,

  From the breath of nine maidens it was gently warmed.

  Is it not the cauldron of the chief of Annwn?

  What is its intention?

  A ridge about its edge and pearls.

  —Preiddeu Annwn–The Spoils of Annwn

  Powerful symbols of the Feminine, cauldrons feature prominently in Celtic myth and legend as objects sought in quest and pilgrimage. In Welsh mythos, we see it manifest in several guises—the Cauldron of Plenty, the Cauldron of Regeneration, and the Cauldron of Inspiration and Wisdom. Pre-cursors to the Grail quest, these stories reflect Pagan Britain’s beliefs, transmitted through a timeless oral tradition. Stories tell of the sacred Otherworld and the journey to claim the cauldron, a task undertaken by brave warriors facing challenges of the Fortress of the Old Ones.

  The fourteenth-century Welsh poem Preiddeu Annwn—The Spoils of Annwn is an early contribution to Arthurian mythos. Preiddeu Annwn spins the tale of Arthur’s journey in his boat, Prydwen, into the Otherworld in search of the Cauldron of Inspiration. This theme is echoed again in the Welsh story of Culhwch and Olwen, where Arthur sets sail for Ireland in order to retrieve a magical Cauldron of Plenty. In Branwen, Daughter of Llyr, one of the Four Branches of The Mabinogi, we see another cauldron brought back from Ireland. The sacred item in this tale is the Cauldron of Regeneration which possesses the power to bring the dead back to life. We see a pattern revealed in these stories—the need to travel over water to seek a vessel of transformation, wisdom, and rebirth. This theme survives in the quest for the Holy Grail where the cup of Christ is sought to heal the Wounded King and bring renewal to the land.

  The original quest is for the draught of wisdom brewed in the Cauldron of Ceridwen. Bards sought this vessel in their pursuit of Divine illumination, believing that true Awen could be incubated in the time spent in Ceridwen’s womb; their subsequent rebirth and stream of inspiration heralded their initiation into Her mysteries. We too can partake of this mystery by riding the Cycle of Healing and consciously participating in the process of our inner distillation. Separating the three drops of wisdom from the poisoned remainder of the brew is an important part of liberating the energies of Sovereignty tied up in the unconscious impulses of the shadow. Here is the quest for the touch of the Goddess and the bounty of Her Cauldron.

  With the coming of Christianity, the vessel of the Goddess is transformed into the cup of the Last Supper, the Holy Grail. Raising the cauldron up off the earth, the grail becomes a cup on a stem, thus distancing it from the more Pagan sexual aspects of the cauldron and moving it from chthonic root energy into the realm of allegory and intellect. Yet, the transpersonal symbolism of the quest remains, be it for cup or cauldron. Just as the knight seeks the grail, so the higher mind function seeks the primal unconsciousness, and the patriarchy seeks the lost Divine Feminine.

  For women, the quest takes on a different meaning, for in myth and essence and biology, we have always been the keepers of the sacred vessel. As women seeking the grail, therefore, we are on a quest to restore our inner Sovereignty—that essence of fully conscious self-determination—and to acknowledge the Goddess within. We must activate and maintain our personal power
instead of giving it up to someone or something else. To accomplish this, we must begin to fill our own cup so we may drink of the healing draught therein.

  This work towards inner unfolding is the true nature of the grail quest. Whom does the grail serve? Each step taken towards wholeness is another drop of precious liquid in our own personal grail … and when it overflows, the Inner Sovereign is revealed and the land—our souls—are healed. The grail quest is a personal pilgrimage on the unknown pathway. The journey into the self is the microcosm of the journey into the All. Magick is soul healing … “the ability to change consciousness at will.” Women of Avalon are bearers of the grail and the daughters of Ceridwen. As such, we act as spiritual midwives, birthing ourselves and attending the births of each other into the Sovereignty of womanhood. We each must find and heal our inner queen. Just as King Arthur was brought to the holy island for healing and left in the safekeeping of her priestesses, the gift of spiritual abundance is found by voyaging to the Otherworld in search of the vessel of Sovereignty.

  Entering the Cauldron of Ceridwen allows us to connect with our priestess self—that fully conscious and empowered essence held by the ladies of Avalon. As we embark upon this quest for wholeness we gather the scattered parts of ourselves; at different times and in different seasons, we add them to the brew. Through this alchemical process, we reveal the three drops of Awen—the illumination within the shadow. Freeing these drops causes the vessel to break—the unneeded elements of the brew are our outmoded patterns, and the image of the person we thought we were is shattered by the truth’s revelation of the light.

  It is an endless process, for the gifts of wisdom must be earned. Submitting to the trials of the Cauldron requires us to effect change in all aspects of the self. We must move through the Cauldron Transformations, returning at last to the inner Cauldron—the womb of the devouring mother who gathers us inside of Herself so that we may integrate all that we have seen, experienced and suffered, and we may be reborn—connected and whole. We become the Radiant Brow—our changes and energetic shifts visible for all to see.

  Yet, this victory is not the last, for with each turn of the Cycle, and with each phase of our learning, we must return again to the mysteries of the Cauldron and immerse ourselves once more into the waters of our unconscious to seek the next level of wisdom. We are constantly rarified in the Cauldron of Ceridwen, each revisit bringing us closer to our true essence. As we go, our vision becomes clearer and more of our path to wholeness is revealed. Then, with increased clarity and discernment, we can use the Avalonian Cycle of Healing to part the mists of illusion and find the essence of Avalon Within.

  3

  The Otherworldly Journey

  There are many different roads leading to our English Jerusalem, ‘the holiest erthe in Englande’. We can approach it by the high road of history … Or we can come to Glastonbury by the upland path of legend … And there is a third way to Glastonbury, one of the secret Green Roads of the soul—the Mystic Way that leads through the Hidden Door into a land known only to the Eye of Vision. This is Avalon of the Heart for those who love her … Legend and history and the vision of the heart blend in the building of the Mystical Avalon.

  Glastonbury: Avalon of the Heart, Dion Fortune

  There is great wisdom and deep insight in the preceding words, penned by perhaps one of Glastonbury’s most famous residents in modern times. An accomplished occultist and founder of an esoteric order called the Society of the Inner Light, Dion Fortune understood the mechanism for opening the doors of learning and understanding beyond what is assessable through more “orthodox” methods of inquiry. Wisely, she calls for the journey to be undertaken from a place of balance—three roads interwoven, bringing us at last to our destination—Avalon of the Heart.

  Very little can be stated authoritatively about Avalon’s history, and legend leaves us with but a taste of the full course of the sacred island’s surrounding tradition. To spread our focus, Druidism and other Celtic Pagan practices are still much obscured by the passage of time; while theories and reconstructions abound, we may never fully know what was. We who seek Avalon’s shores are both challenged and gifted by the few glimpses we find of her existence that have survived the ages.

  One note in the vast song of Celtic spirituality, Avalon has become enshrouded in the mist of distant memory. How then can we seek to reconstruct the entire tapestry from a few salvaged threads? What value is there in following a path with so much of its length obscured by time and overgrown from disuse? How can we hope to find the way when the destination itself appears to be uncertain? There are many tools at the disposal of she who would part the mists. Material culture in the form of artifacts, classical accounts, medieval manuscripts, and tomes of historical information gathered about the Celts are very important in our quest, and should be well studied and consulted—but these are only the beginning. We must treat these sources as a springboard and a mirror of truth.

  In each object, verse, and description we find remnants of a symbolic language—the language of the collective unconscious, the language of the Gods, the language of our souls. A great deal of information is encoded in these symbols, and anyone seeking to work within the Celtic archetype would do well to immerse themselves in understanding this language. Symbols are the keys that open the door to consciousness. One need only look at a deck of Tarot cards, the Kabalistic Tree of Life glyph, Druidic ogham, or any pictorial alphabet to see how very powerful symbols can be. Their meanings transcend time and language; they are not limited by speech or the written word. They are both fluid and enduring, and beyond them lies an understanding of the Divine.

  Symbols are a medium between flesh and spirit, thought and emotion, this world and the Otherworld. Understanding how symbols work is a powerful way to tie into otherwise hidden or occult knowledge. We are empowered because we are not limited to what is written; we can gain direct access into the archetypal realms. When we reach these realms, we can connect with the Divine source. The Gods were not meant to be worshiped and adored from afar; direct experience of Them is an attainable reality. They want us to reach towards Them and ask for direction. They will readily provide us with the information we need to progress on our path to wholeness, for what is the goal of spirituality, if not evolution and growth?

  It is important to begin in study—to learn, experience, and understand as much as possible relating to what is known about Avalon through history and literature, art and archaeology, myth and folklore. We can seek out the patterns, uncover the symbols, and learn to reveal the way toward a place of true understanding. Only the path of the inner quest will reveal the whereabouts of the grail, and once found, we can drink deeply of the same draught our foremothers tasted. And oh—what changes will occur in our lives and beings!

  We will have come to know the nature of Avalon, for we have studied her and have understood her for what she is. We will have unveiled the pattern that has resulted in Avalon’s existence as well as the reasons for her re-emergence. Most importantly, as we act in the world from our changed heart, having returned to Avalon at last, we will see how the knowledge of her will ripple from our individual ponds to cause lasting change in the Earth and our sisters’ lives everywhere.

  The Path of History

  Arthur himself, our renowned King, was mortally wounded and was carried off to the Isle of Avalon,

  so that his wounds might be attended to. He handed

  the crown of Britain over to his cousin Constantine, the son of Cador, Duke of Cornwall: this in the year 542

  after our Lord’s incarnation.

  —Geoffrey of Monmouth,

  The History of the Kings of Britain

  There are many theories about the real-world location of the Holy Isle, almost all of them centering on Avalon as the final resting place of King Arthur. According to the research presented in their book Journey to Avalon (1997), Barber and Pykitt p
lace Avalon on Bardsey Island, off the coast of Wales. In The Keys to Avalon (2000), Blake and Lloyd contend that many Arthurian locales known to us from legend and regional lore were in fact transplanted from Wales to Britain and Cornwall. Both works cite religious and political gain as the motivation for the cooption of the Arthurian landscape by English royalty and the Church. As we will see, there is precedent for this sort of enterprise.

  The most compelling connection between Glastonbury and Avalon—and the most highly debated—is the discovery of the burial place of Arthur and Guinevere in 1191 by the monks at Glastonbury Abbey. A lead cross, documented in Britannia by William Camden in 1607, bore the words “Hic Jacet Sepultus Inclitus Rex Arturius In Insula Avalonia” (Here lies buried the famous King Arthur in the Island of Avalon). The cross has since been lost to time, but it lies at the center of great controversy. Today’s historians believe this grave marker to be a forgery created by the Glastonbury monks seeking financial gain for the ailing Abbey. Indeed, excavation of this grave brought renewed fame and fortune to Glastonbury, and it became a place of pilgrimage and tribute for royalty and commoners alike. The alleged remains of the legendary King and Queen were reburied in a marble tomb in front of the high altar of the Abbey Church in the thirteenth century, and later lost in the destruction of the Abbey during Henry VIII’s Dissolution in 1539. Today, all that remains of this tomb is a plaque marking its location on the Abbey grounds.

  A strong link exists between Avalon and Glastonbury, despite other evidence indicating Arthur’s final resting place may have been elsewhere. To this day, that small Somerset town is the destination of spiritual pilgrims from all over the world. There is some compelling archaeological evidence that the Vale of Avalon, at the very least, was once a sacred Pagan site. From a geomantic perspective, Glastonbury’s landscape lends itself to the alchemical mysteries that are at the heart of Avalon’s work. The cyclic transmutation of energies is visible in the most prominent features of this hallowed land, making Glastonbury a fitting vessel to hold the energies of Avalon, and it is this perspective—that ancient Avalon once existed as an inland island on what is today Glastonbury—that this book has embraced.