Lesson 2

[Morr]

Lesson 2: The Isle of Avalon

Avalon - The magical island lost in the mists, wrapped in a fog of mystery & fantasy. Where the Beltane Fires burn on May Day, the Druids play their harps & the Great Goddess is worshiped. Avalon has always been viewed as a place of wisdom, love and magic. A sort of never~ever~land. A place where only the worthy ones may enter.

Avalon was a training place, a worship place, a school, a home, a sacred island. Both young Goddess Priesteses & Young Druids would train in the Goddess Mysteries. The Lady of the Lake was the "Head~Mistress" of this magical school. She was the high priestes, the main guide to the daily living & teaching in Avalon.

It is believed that once Christianity came to Britain, Avalon slowly disappeared into the Mists. Wether these were subconscience mists in the minds of the people, or literal magical mists that protected Avalon from permanent destruction - It is clear that Avalon lost in the battle against Christianity.

Some believe that Avalon itself exists on a different plane - an astral sort of plane. Some believe that Avalon is still among us, but only the worthy & wise ones know the way to it, and the key to entering it. Some believe that Avalon is like Atlantis - Lost forever. And some believe that though lost forever, Avalon still exists in our hearts.

Avalonian Celtic Myths, From - http://home.earthlink.net/~bjburtle/index/Druid.html

"In the pre-Christian British tradition, Avalon was both an "Isle of the Dead," and an "Isle of the Blessed." It was an earthly paradise where the souls of the deceased went for rebirth. It contained the gateway to the Underworld. The broader Celtic tradition describes this gateway being within a fairy mound or a magical castle. This was always located to the west and surrounded by water. Several islands with Underworld entrances upon them lay in the western seas.
The otherworldly island is said to have a tree within its boundaries. On the Isle of Avalon this was an apple, the food of otherworldly beings. Avalon may mean the "apple orchard" or the "Isle of Apples." Apple in Welsh is 'aballon.' A fairy king called Avallach or Evalake presided there. Little is known about him. The Welsh tradition says he was the father of a Mother Goddess figure known as Modron. We also know from the ancient sources that the Celts developed a doctrine of immortality or metempsychosis in which the soul passed freely from the world of the living to the world of the dead and back again.
In the Glastonbury tradition the entrance to the Underworld Realm of Annwn is located on the Tor. The guardian of the doorway is Gwynn ap Nudd, 'White Son of Night.' He is the Lord of the Underworld, leader of the Wild Hunt and a "King of Faery." The entrance to the Underworld upon the Tor is not merely an abstract idea. It is physically present in the cave and the strange white mineral deposits of the White Spring.
According to the twelfth century authors, Giraldus Cambrensis and Geoffrey of Monmouth, the island was the abode of Morgan le Fey. They wrote she was the chief of nine priestesses and the daughter of the shadowy Avallach. Morgan, or Modron, like Gwynn, was a guardian of the mysteries of Avalon. She may be regarded as an aspect of the Great Goddess, concerned with the Underworld, death and rebirth. She is closely related to a keeper of the Celtic Cauldron of Rebirth, the Earth Mother or the hag Cerridwen. It was Morgan - and two queens - who received the dying King Arthur on the Isle of Avalon to prepare him for the next stage of his journey.
The departing soul, it was said, was gathered up by the Wild Hunt with Gwynn ap Nudd at its head, and taken into Annwn. The Cwm Annwn or the 'Hounds of Hell' and the horses of the Wild Hunt were Otherworldly beings who are usually described as red and white. In The Mabinogion when Pwyll made his journey into Annwn, and traded places with the Underworld King Arawn, not only were the creatures he encountered coloured red and white but so were the clothes and furnishings of the people he met there.
When the soul entered the Underworld it did not remain there for long. A magical cauldron appeared, immersion in which ensured rebirth. In the Celtic Tradition there are several prominent cauldrons. The cauldron of the Daghda, the Irish father god, provided unfailing nourishment. The great cauldron of Bran restored the life of warriors, but not their speech. Drafts from other cauldrons were the source of wisdom. Despite their often being kept in the hands of men the cauldron is really a symbol of the transformative and nourishing power of the Great Goddess. It would be highly significant if Cerridwen, the creator and keeper of a cauldron of poetry, wisdom and rebirth, should have her abode on Avalon, the final resting place of the Grail in Christian mythology.
After meeting the dark face of the Goddess in her form as Cerridwen or Morgan, the soul was reborn. In later Christian literature, Glastonbury is described as being "hungry for the death of pagans." This is a specific reference to it being a place where lay the doorway to the other worlds.
In some cases, the soul dived into the waters, the cauldron, for the healing that came from retrieving and integrating lost or repressed aspects of the self. In other cases, the soul, in a shamanic-like trance, sought entrance to the Underworld for the knowledge and transformation that came from communion with spirits. Among the children of the ancient goddess Don or Danu, it was Gwydion who sought the secrets of the Underworld. Gwydion was taken by its ruler Pwyll to a mysterious island called Caer Sidi and imprisoned there. As a result he received the gift of poetic inspiration. This was the same gift that Cerridwen had prepared in her cauldron for her son. It was won by the bard Taliesin after he was transformed into several animals, then consumed by Cerridwen and reborn. Gwydion and Taliesin are thus twice-born. The stories of Arthur at Avalon may preserve an account of how he, as a shaman-leader of his people, attempted such Underworld journeys. Arthur sought the restoration of his ailing kingdom through gaining the talismans of sovereignty, which included the Cauldron of Annwn."

Today's Glastenbury Island

The Island of Glastenbury lays in an area know as the Somerset Marshes. It is a famous and popular pilgramage place for both Pagans and Christians alike - seeing as its rich history binds the two religions together. Today, it?s a town of about 9,000 people.

The Town is dominated by the Tor, a natural hill, which can be seen for miles around rising out of the flat levels. Some say that the Tor was formed by the waters of what is now Chalice Well. Millions of years ago the iron rich waters of this spring seeping down through the soft sandstone gradually formed a hard dome like crust. As the softer stone was eroded by wind and water over millennia of years the iron hardened stone of the Tor gradually rose above the landscape. In time the low lying land around the Tor was flooded by the seas leaving what was virtually an island in a marshy inland sea.
Sitting high above the inverted saucer of earth that forms the island, Glastonbury Tor is a steep natural hill rising 518 feet above sea level. From some angles it resembles a conical pyramid. From other angles a thousand foot long whale-backed ridge sloping away to the southwest creates a longer, more streamlined impression. A variety of trees girdles the base. Apart from them, the Tor is covered in grass. There is a small area on the southeast flank where erosion - mostly from badgers and rabbits - has exposed underlying soil and rock and a few trees gather.
On the summit once stood the cluster of buildings that formed the Monastery of St. Michael on the Tor. Possibly founded as early as 600 but no later than 800 A.D., the monastery existed until the Dissolution of 1539. Now all that remains is the fourteenth century church tower. Judging from the archaeological record, the summit of the Tor was occupied before this time by those who had intentions more militaristic than monastic. The history and legends around this "fortress" tell of associations with King Arthur. From some period, perhaps in the depths of prehistory, there is the evidence of enormous labour upon the Tor's slopes.

Christian legends claim that Jesus' uncle, Joseph of Arimathea , was a metal merchant and on one of his voyages to the lead mines of the Mendip Hills he called in at the port of Glastonbury. He brought with him his young nephew Jesus and they stayed for a while. Some legends say that there was more than one visit and that Jesus built the first simple Church in Glastonbury with his own hands. Other legends claim that Jesus came to learn from the Celtic Druid Priests of the mystery school on the island. After the crucifixion, Joseph is said to have returned to Glastonbury (around either 37 or 64 AD) with a small band of disciples and to have settled here establishing the first Christian Church in Britain. He is said to have brought with him the Holy Grail, the cup of the last supper, and to have buried it somewhere on Chalice Hill.

King Arthur is said to have been brought to Avalon by boat, by the nine faery sisters , the "Morgens", after his last great battle and to have died on the Island. Even the monks of the Abbey supported this legend claiming to have found in the Abbey grounds the grave of Arthur and his Queen Guinevere.

(Taken from: http://www.isleofavalon.co.uk/glasta-hist.html and http://home.earthlink.net/~bjburtle/index/Druid.html)


Assignment for Lesson 2:

Imagine you are a training Priestess/Druid on the acient Isle of Avalon. Write what you think you'd experience, the type of duties you'd have, the classes you'd have to learn, the responsibilities you'd have to take upon you as a representative of Avalon. How would you handle the rising of Christianity. Also, describe how you view acient Avalon - geography~wise, community~wise. Be creative! This can also be done as a meditation. Meditate and visualize visiting Avalon - What do you see? Did you meet anyone?
Have fun with this one :)

And of course, if you have anything to add to this lesson - your general thoughts & views of Acient Avalon or today's Glastenbury Island. If you've visited there - Tell us about your experience.

[Morr]

[Nitefalle]

I did mine as a meditation and this is what came to mind:

I am hiding. I scurry up the tree as quickly as possible to avoid the older initiates coming this way. I watch their dark heads pass beneath me, close and whispering, giggling in a girlish fashion. I can't make out their conversation, but I think it has to do with the last fire festival, Beltane, and their revels with the boys. First years aren't allowed down to the fields that night, so I didn't get to see what was going on.
A soft breeze blows my blond braids across my shoulder and I scowl at them...another girl in my class teased me about my fair hair, taunting me that I had too much Saxon blood and the Goddess doesn't talk to Saxons. She doesn't know of my haunting dreams. I've been trying to focus on them better in my classes, trying to draw them inward, but they won't obey. My teacher tells me they will come with time and to be patient, the Goddess will reveal her words to me when I am ready. Mixed feelings of indignation and resignation float through me.
My stomach growls and I look across to the large kitchens, doors flung wide open on this warm summer day. Today is my turn for kitchen duty and I am hiding from that, as well. I am going to be a Priestess of Avalon! I am not a scullery maid, training to cut meat and wash bowls.
Next to the kitchens are the expansive gardens the school is known for. Boys and girls, priestesses and Druids, meander across the paths in small groups, learning and memorizing each plant and leaf for future use as healers. Not until next year will I be able to join those groups. This year must be focused on learning the parts we play, the role of the Great Mother in our lives and what is to be expected of us here on the island.
As my gaze roams up and over the hill, the terraced gardens and buildings that house dormatories and classrooms, a sharp voice nearly startles me from my perch.

"Ella!!!"
I glance down and bite my lip, quickly climbing down and untying my frock from about my thighs. It is my teacher and she is scolding me for running from my duties. My cheeks flush, though I can tell from her tone that the punishment will not be harsh. She leads me firmly towards the kitchens, lecturing me on the duties befitting a future priestess of the Goddess.

~N~

[ambermystique]

Assignment for Lesson 2:

Imagine you are a training Priestess/Druid on the acient Isle of Avalon. Write what you think you'd experience, the type of duties you'd have, the classes you'd have to learn, the responsibilities you'd have to take upon you as a representative of Avalon. How would you handle the rising of Christianity. Also, describe how you view acient Avalon - geography~wise, community~wise. Be creative! This can also be done as a meditation. Meditate and visualize visiting Avalon - What do you see? Did you meet anyone?
Have fun with this one :)

And of course, if you have anything to add to this lesson - your general thoughts & views of Acient Avalon or today's Glastenbury Island. If you've visited there - Tell us about your experience.
First off, I truly see Avalon as surrounded by mist, so as to confuse the unwanted into not knowing that there is a training ground for priests and priestesses held within. Teachings about the elders and those who came before us would probably be top on the list. It seems that your history has much to do with your future in these legends. Divination would probably be another lesson to be learned. Much emphasis would be put on being able to "manipulate" (not in the bitter sense) future occurrences and making sure that you and others fulfill your destiny. I would probably experience mostly a sense of belonging, as if all were my brothers and sisters. All of the dwellers of Avalon would feel a string (metaphorically, of course) connecting them to all of the other dwellers of Avalon. Honestly, I'm not really sure what I, personally, would be responsible for. I'd like to think that I'd be some extremely noteworthy member of such a special group. :) When the rise of Christianity came about, I'd deal with it in the best way possible---fight till the end, then after realizing that I couldn't win, combine my beliefs and rituals with Christian "workings." I'd probably create another "secret" organization to carry on our beliefs through an elite group. (I'm obviously very into secret society-ish stuff. :) )
~amber

[Hazel BlueMoon]

Well, I think I'd experience alot of respect and trust from all of the young Goddesses. I'd also respect and trust them in return. I'd be a wise, older woman, of course through all of my years for expierence. The type of duties that I would have upon me would be, to never stop learning (even I'm a teacher) to always make the young Goddesses interested and to have fun, I'd make sure that they were wise and beautiful (inside), and if and when they did leave the island, they would care for our Mother Nature as well as our Father Sun/sky, I'd also have to care for the land in Avalon, help the other priestesses there. The classes that I'd have to learn would be, pretty much a little of everything (just like in "real life"), but I see it fitting if all of the priestesses had they're own special "thing", whatever I was good at naturally. And I would teach the students the same way, to always take a little from everything, but to have that one or two "true calling" and I'd teach them to make that gift grow and become beautiful. And if they were to become a priestess, they'd most likely teach whatever they stood out in. The responsibilities I'd have as an Avalon representitive would be to teach by example, at all times. To cherish the ground I walked on, to never harm another, to heal and help all of those who come my way. To always be fair and to be compassionate and wise. I would handle the wise of Christianity by just teaching as many as I could, I'd let the Christians "be Christian" but, if they taunted or hurt one of my own, I'd stand up to them and build some sort of any "army"...well, not to be violent, just to show some power and to just fight meanness with kindness. I don't know if that would have worked...but I'd travel and tell of my Avalon, and keep long descriptive journals, so the future generations would know what Christianity tries to hide. I view Ancient Avalon (geography-wise) by seeing lush, green land, lot's and lot's of animals or all kinds, flowers, fairies, herbs, stones, gnomes, elf's, unicorns, anything that is said to "not exist". Angels would be among those places too of course. There would be a gigantic castle with several floors and rooms and it wouldn't be dark and damp, instead it would be loving, clean, warm and cozy. Plenty of light from flames and candles, the weather would be like any othe weather sometimes rainy, sometimes sunny. The community of Avalon would be pretty much in the castle. All the people from the island would be either Priestesses or Priests or students. They'd all live in the castle and would always gather for meals and celebration of the sabbats and they'd live together in harmony.

[Morr]

thanks for those of you who have responded! I liked all your responces very much!

I'll be posting lesson 3 on Sunday! Just letting ya'll know :)

[BC_Druid]

Sorry for such a late reply, Morr, got caught up in a whole spiderweb of problems :lol:, but I did finally get to my meditation, so here it goes:

I am very excited to be starting my time on Avalon, training to be a druid. The work is hard, but so very rewarding, and the setting couldn't be more picturesque: trees are changing colours; the mists in the distance swirling, and so thick I think I could spoon it up; the smell of herbs and sweet flower blossoms filling my nostrils with every breath I take; all of it is so perfect. With a start I realize my thoughts had wandered off on me again, and boy was I going to be in trouble if I didn't hurry up. This makes twice this week I'm going to be late for my initiate classes. Someday very soon the Earth and Air, Water and Fire will talk back to me, I just know it. My teachers say I'm making good progress, even if some of the others are whizzing past me like the wind itself! On no!! Lost in my thoughts I must've forgotten my sickle! Now how am I going to harvest herbs with the rest of the class?! Maybe if I hurry I can go get it and catch up with them....

At this point, my father walked in and started talking to me. Too bad, I wanted to see how that ended up for him :lol:

[blueiris]

Sorry to post this so late...I've been very busy :ugh:
I imagine Avalon to be a misty island that is on the edge between this world and the spiritual world, with mist to keep the unwanted out. The priestesses-in-training and Druids (or would it be priests?) in training would be seperated for the first seveal years. We would learn about the medicinal and magical use of herbs, history of our people, divination, magic, music (for that is a magic in itself) life in general, and about ourselves and the God/dess within. We would celebrate the seasons of the Earth and eventually when I became of age I would be invited to the great Beltane fires. After much training, I would be able to conduct rituals and be able to participate in them. My responsibilities would be to help with the training of the young ones and to help keep the religion alive. With the rise of Christianity, I would teach the priest/esses to never give up on their beliefs but to not force them on anyone. Eventually, seeing how the Avalonian religion lost the "battle" against Christianity, I would, like Ambermystique, form a sort of secret society to preserve the ancient religion until we could come out of hiding again.

[ladygwyn]

Some of this is my thoughts from being in the mind of an inititate on Avalon, and some just my stream of consciousness thoughts on the subject...

I see Avalon as a revered place of learning. I feel that there is a strong sisterhood between the women in training, and a feeling of respect, but companionship, between the teachers and the students. The mists are both literal and figurative...a physical mist to shroud it from those who should not or do not want to find it, as well as mental, put in place by the priestesses to keep things as they are, as a private and sacred place. The mists keep those who would do the island harm, physically, or with words, from finding out about it.

As a priestess in training on Avalon, I see myself learning to harness the power I feel in me, the power that brought me there. I see training in herb lore and uses, divination, learning to focus the powers of your mind to communicate with others, magickal workings, respect for the earth and the cycle of life...among other things.

I see the only way to handle the rise of Christianity is to do what Christianity did to the pagan world, to some extent, and merge the two...I especially like the very end of the movie of the Mists of Avalon, where Morgaine sees the girls and women worshipping a statue of Mary, and realizes things may not have changed much at all. Looking back at a celebration we had each May in my catholic elementary school, where we crowned Mary as "Queen of the May" it seems a very pagan thing to do, and that Mary has been taken over as a new type of goddess figure.

Keeping the island secret and safe as long as possible would be the most important thing...but once the takeover of Christianity could not be avoided, shrouding the island forever is the only thing to do. It stills exists in the hearts and minds of those who know where it is, and that is the way to keep it alive. Sharing the physical ground with the Christians may not be a bad thing. Despite how people feel about Christianity, there is the power of belief there, and keeping the island as a sacred/holy place will help preserve it's spirit.

[Xeen]

You know, I've been thinking real hard on this one. I feel completely clueless. It's still on my list though, so I've not forgotten about it...

[teleri]

I have tried to do this exercise as you have described it, but my own very different concept of Avalon gets in the way.

My Avalon is an Otherworldly place of the Gods and place of the ancestral spirits.

My Avalon is not a “training place.” Those who serve Avalon and the Everliving Ones already have all the training they need. Otherwise, they would not be at such an exalted place.

My Avalon is the place where the Everliving Ones feast under apple trees heavy with fruit, thick with blossoms and full of new buds.

My Avalon is the place where the Cauldron of Life is warmed by the breath of the nine maidens.

My Avalon has a chamber in which a man lies on a golden bed with a sword by his side awaiting the call to awaken and defend the Land.

My Avalon is the place where Barinthus ferries the souls of the dead to drink from the Cauldron of Rebirth. And my Avalon is a place people come to consult with the Ancestors.

My Avalon is a place the brave and foolhardy come to taste the Awen from the Cauldron of Inspiration.

Avalon is everywhere and nowhere. You can go there by changing your perceptions or you may find that it takes the journey of a lifetime to find yourself on Barinthus’s barge approaching Avalon’s shores.

As for Christianity, why should that concern Avalon? Do not Christians have their own land of the dead and of the Everliving Ones?

***
I am confused. Why has there been a distinction made between “priestesses” and “Druids”? Why would the priestesses not be Druids?

[Morr]

As for the priestesses & druids - In most of the literature I read: thats just what they call the people who trained in Avalon.
Women - Priestesses of Avalon.
Men - Druids of Avalon.

Maybe it was to differ the Christian PRIESTS, from the Avalonian PRIESTS.


As for lesson 3, It will be posted tomorrow... I'm SO sorry its taking a bit longer, I've been really busy with school & work lately... But the lesson is in the works :) Thanks for putting up with me :)

[BC_Druid]

As for the priestesses & druids - In most of the literature I read: thats just what they call the people who trained in Avalon.
Women - Priestesses of Avalon.
Men - Druids of Avalon.

Maybe it was to differ the Christian PRIESTS, from the Avalonian PRIESTS.


As for lesson 3, It will be posted tomorrow... I'm SO sorry its taking a bit longer, I've been really busy with school & work lately... But the lesson is in the works :) Thanks for putting up with me :)

Anything worth learning is worth the wait, Morr! :woot:

[Rowan MoonDragon]

sorry this is so late. I did a meditation and this is what happened:

I'm in the forest with my teacher. I do not know his name but I am very comfortable with him. He is showing me various plants and telling me their magical capabilities. Which ones are great for healing, which ones are great for love, etc. I am picking them and putting them in my basket. I feel very safe with him and very honored to be with him. when we are done, we go back to his home, which is a cave. it is decorated quite nicely inside and I feel at home. I am just putting my basket on the table when their is a knock on the door. an older woman needs his help with her sick grandchild. he tells me to wait and he'll be back and he leaves with her.

this is all I got.

[Mab]

I'm afraid this is colored by my reading of The Mists of Avalon, but oh well, here goes:

I stand in the ranks of the others as we watch a new student arrive. She is very young, with a fresh sweet face, yet an oldness in her eyes, as if she has seen the changing of the world through many many cycles. We welcome her & watch as she is led to the High Priestess by two other initiates/priestesses. Those of us not yet initiated are dismissed to return to our chores. Some to go harvest in the orchards, others to help sort & dry herbs, others to make the dyes for our clothes, and yet others to work in the kitchens. After chores, we are led in our "classes". I join the others from my hut/dormitory beside the lake. A very young looking woman leads us in studies of the Ancient Ones--a history lesson of sorts, of how Mona was destroyed, of how Avalon came to be hidden in the mist, and of why it is important for the Old Religion to be carried forward. Others of my friends, my sisters, learn meditations on nature energies, or learn of how we must interact with the Druid Priests & what will be expected of us as Priestesses. As it is, we are not allowed to leave the island without an escort, as only initiates can find their way through the mists. A few girls have even been lost forever in the mist, searching for a way home or a way back to the island.

The priestesses are hard teachers, yet they are often very kind, if stern. The High Priestess, the Lady, is rather distant, but I suppose she has much on her mind...too much to bother with each girl that comes to learn the old ways. Some of us will stay in Avalon, some will venture out into the world to keep the Old Religion alive. But most will simply go home & marry & keep the old ways in their homes. Some will not even remain through the hard training that one must endure to become a priestess of Avalon. And with the Christians steadily beating down the Old Religion & frightening ppl into renouncing the Goddess.......well, politics & religion have never really be truly totally separate, have they?

[BrightStar]

Lesson 2: The Isle of Avalon

Assignment for Lesson 2:

Imagine you are a training Priestess/Druid on the acient Isle of Avalon. Write what you think you'd experience, the type of duties you'd have, the classes you'd have to learn, the responsibilities you'd have to take upon you as a representative of Avalon. How would you handle the rising of Christianity. Also, describe how you view acient Avalon - geography~wise, community~wise. Be creative! This can also be done as a meditation. Meditate and visualize visiting Avalon - What do you see? Did you meet anyone?
Have fun with this one :)

And of course, if you have anything to add to this lesson - your general thoughts & views of Acient Avalon or today's Glastenbury Island. If you've visited there - Tell us about your experience.

Hi all!!!
I do apologize for the rather late reply.I had a wild couple of weeks!
Thank you once again,Morr,for taking the time to teach the course.

I'm a guy.So,I'd probably be trained as a Priest or Druid.Now,I have little knowledge of the Druid path.
But,I think I'd be required to know all the herbs and plant life of the area.For healing,but also in order to know the balance of various plant life,how it interconnected.How the various animals were connected to that,and how humans fit in.
Learn the stones and gems,and the energies they supplied
I'd be required to learn the oral history of the people.The legends,the songs,the myths.I'd be trained as a Bard,in order to recite these stories to the people of Britain in an entertaining way.
I'd be taught of the different levels,of life and of consciousness.In order to reach within myself,and find my own place in life.
I would be taught how to do battle,and how to use the various weapons of the time.The Sword,the Shield,the Spear.
How to hunt with reverence.

A problem I come across,is that when I do a meditation on this subject,I always see myself as a Priestess of Avalon.Whenever I think of Avalon I think of me as a Priestess.Since I believe that if we are reincarnated,we would have lives as both sexes in order to learn lessons,my being a woman on Avalon isn't so hard to see.
I don't believe I was ever the High Priestess,or The Lady.But I was very close to her,in different lives.
In one,I was actually a sort of Regent,or Caretaker,until the next "Lady" was old enough.When we found Her,and then she was trained,I stepped down without hesitation.I feel this was a hard time for the old ways,and I helped a bit in keeping the ideas alive.But it hurt me somehow,as I had to rest a lot before the next life I see.

I think as either sex I would learn of the Old Ones.Those they sometimes called The Fae or Fairy.The ancient Spirits of the Land.
I can see the 2 wells.The red and the white.So much balance when one looks at these two.
I'm sure,when the time came,I enjoyed Beltaine with a wonderful abandon!
Red and White being traditional colors of Beltaine,The pure and the bloody.But always with the looking toward new life.
I see myself walking the Tor often.Looking over the Mists that surely covered the lower lying waters for much of the year.I feel I was very content there,and in my meditation on it,as in life,I hated time away.

I'd also be required to learn the Stars.To learn their influence.But also to see when the right time of year was coming to plant,or to reap.

My responsibilies: to help and teach the people.To keep the old ways alive to them.To help and heal when needed.But also to aid in the fighting of enemies.
To sing the old songs,and to lighten the hearts of people in what must have often been hard times.
To give people hope!

As for Christianity.I don't feel that Joseph of Arimathea would have been a problem.
But the later Christians would be.
I'd try to co-exist.But once Christians declared the Old Ways a heresy,I'd be obligated to help guard Avalon.To help it to be guarded by the Mists.
But,if I had to live on in the Christian world.I'd have just been a Bard,teaching the old songs in what would seem a harmless way.But the people would know,and remember.

This is all that strikes me at the moment.But I'm sure I'll be returning to add other thoughts later.
Peace and Love
BrightStar

[Gala]

Just writing to remind you Morr, that Kvann61201 is still on his training in CA. He'll be home in a couple of weeks. They have the internet cafes on base but they are very hard to get in. So he is just going to wait till he gets home to work on his assignments...

thanks for your patience..

[Morr]

Just writing to remind you Morr, that Kvann61201 is still on his training in CA. He'll be home in a couple of weeks. They have the internet cafes on base but they are very hard to get in. So he is just going to wait till he gets home to work on his assignments...

thanks for your patience..


no problem :) theres no deadline or anything like that!

[Karmendi]

Lesson 2: The Isle of Avalon

Assignment for Lesson 2:

Imagine you are a training Priestess/Druid on the acient Isle of Avalon. Write what you think you'd experience, the type of duties you'd have, the classes you'd have to learn, the responsibilities you'd have to take upon you as a representative of Avalon. How would you handle the rising of Christianity. Also, describe how you view acient Avalon - geography~wise, community~wise. Be creative! This can also be done as a meditation. Meditate and visualize visiting Avalon - What do you see? Did you meet anyone?
Have fun with this one :)

And of course, if you have anything to add to this lesson - your general thoughts & views of Acient Avalon or today's Glastenbury Island. If you've visited there - Tell us about your experience.

I imagine that the training consits mostly of nature based magic (herbs, water & fire scrying etc.). As for the rise of chrisitanity, I would have stayed on my mist covered island my self. I vaguely recall something about a rite of passage but my mind is cloudy right this second. Geography, definately mist covered but with a couple terrains, beach and forest come to mind. I think the community is like the Apache tribes. Everyone takes care of everyone else and there is one head hancho.

[Ron]

I would send Avalonian missionaires to stop the christian ones, and to spead the love of avalon.

[CaitrionaMorgaine]

I have tried to do this exercise as you have described it, but my own very different concept of Avalon gets in the way.

My Avalon is an Otherworldly place of the Gods and place of the ancestral spirits.

My Avalon is not a “training place.” Those who serve Avalon and the Everliving Ones already have all the training they need. Otherwise, they would not be at such an exalted place.

My Avalon is the place where the Everliving Ones feast under apple trees heavy with fruit, thick with blossoms and full of new buds.

My Avalon is the place where the Cauldron of Life is warmed by the breath of the nine maidens.

My Avalon has a chamber in which a man lies on a golden bed with a sword by his side awaiting the call to awaken and defend the Land.

My Avalon is the place where Barinthus ferries the souls of the dead to drink from the Cauldron of Rebirth. And my Avalon is a place people come to consult with the Ancestors.

My Avalon is a place the brave and foolhardy come to taste the Awen from the Cauldron of Inspiration.

Avalon is everywhere and nowhere. You can go there by changing your perceptions or you may find that it takes the journey of a lifetime to find yourself on Barinthus’s barge approaching Avalon’s shores.


Thank you Teleri, for you have just stated what I've been trying to put into words for quite some time now. It's nice to see another person with a perception like mine of Avalon.

Blessings, ~Rhiannon

[MerrisHawk]

My mind works along the lines of a story;

A day in Avalon begins with ritual, ends with ritual and somewhere in between there is magic. There are also chores.
For a young trainee there is a busy day ahead with lessons, chores and study time. Today's lessons are sums and letters, then plants. Letters are easiest, sums the worst thing ever. Six more years of training, it can't all be sums! The next year lessons would be much more fun! The older trainees got to greet newcomers, help in the big rituals and lend a hand in the infirmary.
Now there was talk of allowing some the the Christian priests into Avalon, to let them learn our ways and share our knowledge. They seem so cold and angry, how could their God be this kind savior? They don't really belong here, but it is up to The Lady and her advisors. They are the ones to decide if the Christian priests can climb the hill to the long stones.
Now it's time to catch up with my year-mates and wash for dinner.

[Spectre In The Fog]

The Avalon that rests in my heart is a place most beloved to the Goddess among all places on Earth and does not seem to be bound by time as we know it.

It is place where one is overwhelmed by feeling the intense presence of the Goddess,the overwhelmed by feeling that we will never fully understand Her designs and that we are all but small pieces on a great board.It is where you fully take into thought the purpose of your presence in this world and just being there fills you with a desire like no other to be in Her service,to spread word of Her magnificence and glory.

In Avalon one forgets the sorrows of the heart and the hurts of the body,yet does not forget the sense of duty and matters of the world that requires attention.For the Goddess' designs to not come into being through idleness.

The rituals held in Avalon are much grander than any elsewhere,it's grandness coming from the intense spiritual energy supplied by the participants,fuelled by the awareness of being in Avalon and it is indeed a sight to see,and better yet,to be a part of.

This much I can say without even having meditated.For everytime I hear the name Avalon this I feel.If I meditate on it,who knows what more can be revealed...

[~Macha~]

I am going to have to meditate on this one before I answer- but I do have an interesting thought on Joseph of Arimathea, taken from MZB's Priestess of Avalon. That Joseph was a reincarnation of a follower of the Light, or Old Ways, not just as a Christian. And the other branch of this, from her introduction, was that he also was reincarnated and was not truely a Christian, but rather a man who saw the Old Ways in what Jesus taught. And that is an interesting thought in itself, that a man teaching 2000 years ago was teaching "the Old Ways"... that makes them pretty dang old! More later after I meditate...

[DixieWitch]

Assignment for Lesson 2:

Imagine you are a training Priestess/Druid on the acient Isle of Avalon. Write what you think you'd experience, the type of duties you'd have, the classes you'd have to learn, the responsibilities you'd have to take upon you as a representative of Avalon. How would you handle the rising of Christianity. Also, describe how you view acient Avalon - geography~wise, community~wise. Be creative! This can also be done as a meditation. Meditate and visualize visiting Avalon - What do you see? Did you meet anyone?
Have fun with this one :)

And of course, if you have anything to add to this lesson - your general thoughts & views of Acient Avalon or today's Glastenbury Island. If you've visited there - Tell us about your experience.
I am a training Priestess who has taken a vow of silence for 7 years. I am a constant state of learning. My current favorite class is about herbs. I'm learning all their uses, purposes and meanings. I am also learning how to harness the power of the Goddess. I mediate daily and take long walks along the shores and in the surrounding forests. I often upon the Mists and wonder if there really is life beyond them and as myself if we truly are sperated from the rest of the world. As time goes by, I realize that I can spend all my life in Avalon and never learn all there is to know. I see new-initiates coming in and think back to when I was new and see what they are just beginning to learn. I see far how I've come and how far I've yet to go.
As far as Christianity, I am so far involved into my own studies, that I've only heard about other Priestesses talking about it. So far, there as been no direct effect of it here in Avalon. I've heard in passing of Jesus coming to study with other Druids and I think maybe I'd like to meet Him. But I have no time with my studies and such. I know that as long as the Mists are there, I am protected from any out side influence or wars.

[~Macha~]

I finally meditated- but unfortunatly, I feel like watching Mists of Avalon has clouded me from being able to truely meditate on feel what it would be like to be in Avalon. Ironic- Mists are filling my mind to keep me from seeing the Isle of Mists. However, I can feel what I might be and the such like...
A priestess perhaps, specializing more in dealing with those who live in the world of man, kind of like an Ambassador. The woman who brings girls back to the Isle. I am also a militant against the Christian movement, seeing the sacred sights of the Goddess destoyed and defiled. When I was training, I loved meditiation and learning to use my intuition. Also loved herbs.
As for the look of Avalon, I am a huge fan of the Redwall series by brian Jacques. I picture Avalon to be like Redwall Abbey. It is a large walled structure, like a fortress, but not imposing. http://www.redwall.org/images/am_redwal.gif (you can see the structure in the background, behind the picture) Compleatly self-sufficent- orchards, small fields, livestock, etc... A passage in the lower levels leads to Chalice Well. Again, I am influenced by the Redwall series, all those who live within on the island are helpful to each other, treated almost equally, but not quite due to the Priestesses having compleated their training already. I think the only person who is of obvious rank is the Lady of the Lake. But even then, she is a kind woman, not afraid to get her hands dirty to harvest food or gather wool for making clothing. As for the clothing, I the Priestesses-in-Training and the Priestesses wearing habit type outfits rather than robes.http://www.redwall.org/images/matthias.jpg I think of habits more because they are not as flow-y as robes, which might be prone to getting stuck in doorways and easier to trip over. They would be color coded, of course, to difereincate between those in training and those who have compleated their training. Also, different colors due to specialities. Perhaps green to those who have extensive herb knowledge, blue/purple to those proficcient in powers of the mind...
As I mentioned in Lesson 1, I have been to Glastonbury. At the time, I was not attuned to my pagan beliefs, but I would feel a power when I was near the Tor. The shaping of the hill intrigued me, as a spiral ascending the hill to its crest. I saw a Church atop it, but I could tell something had been there long before that church, whether it be a monolith like in the stories, or another structure, there was something there. For the layout of the countryside, where the Glstonbury Abbey ruins are now, I can see my idea of Avalon in it's place. I think that's all for now... I will add more later as it comes to me...
I apologize for the two redwall pictures, but it is what i am seeing, and i thought pictures might help clarigy what I am trying to say.

[Goddess Rhiannon]

I approach the mist knowing deep within me that the journey will be long and eventful. I fear not knowing what is instore for me...but yet, I am awakened with a feeling of love and peacefulness. The mist is dense, the air blows freely through my gown. As I exit onto the shores....I am welcomed by a woman of golden hair. She places a wreath of flowers in my hair. Welcome to Avalon she says in a calm...sweet voice.
That is all I could come up with.

[LacyRoze]

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Assignment for Lesson 2:

Imagine you are a training Priestess/Druid on the acient Isle of Avalon. Write what you think you'd experience, the type of duties you'd have, the classes you'd have to learn, the responsibilities you'd have to take upon you as a representative of Avalon. How would you handle the rising of Christianity. Also, describe how you view acient Avalon - geography~wise, community~wise. Be creative! This can also be done as a meditation. Meditate and visualize visiting Avalon - What do you see? Did you meet anyone?
Have fun with this one :)

And of course, if you have anything to add to this lesson - your general thoughts & views of Acient Avalon or today's Glastenbury Island. If you've visited there - Tell us about your experience.
Being a new initiate I would be somewhat awestruck by my surroundings and those who came before me. Although eager to learn the ways of Avalon and the mysteries handed down to those worthy I would also be a bit frightened, not totally understanding what was to come. My duties may include tending to those who came before me, maybe attending to the Priestess herself. I'm sure there would be also be your normal everyday duties, attending to gardens and such.

I'm sure divination would be among my learning requirements as well as healing. Of course there is learning to enter thru the mist after being sent out into the outside world for whatever reason. Meditation as well well as herbal work are a must in my training.

The rising tide of Christianity would make me feel uneasy maybe even fearful that the old ways would be lost. I may even feel angry but I would also be determined that the ways of Avalon would always live thru me.

I see myself entering thru the mist and being overwhelmed with the feeling of "coming home". Grass greener than any I've ever seen and water sparkling in the sun like diamonds lay before me. I'm surrounded by trees and flowers unlike any I've seen and I'm filled with such wonder at all around me. Little huts sprinkled here and there and otherswho have come before me mill about, going about there duties and studies. Their faces filled with such peace and love. I sense a feeling of being truly welcome here. I sense that I have entered a very special family who will always be here for me and all I have to do is call upon them in my times of need. I sit with a group of other new initiates in a field of flowers. We are being taught our lessons but we're so excited by all that we feel and see. We try to listen carefully but we're full of so many questions. The priestess tries to get us to settle down but then realizes it's useless. She allows us to ask our questions and me, being timid as always, I just wait to see what questions the others ask hoping it will be my own question. The priestess walks among us as she answers, so patiently, what is asked of her. She stops, placing her hand on my head, and looks at me with such love and assures me this is my calling and my home. She tells me not to be afraid and to let the wind bring me my answers. I remain in the field after the others have gone to meditate. I truly listen to the wind. I hear a soft voice telling me to cast aside my fear, to believe with my heart, to open my self, my spirit, to what is right there in front of me......

[Laroawan]

Thought I would post a poem from my Tarot Book that everyone might like. The book is called A Keeper of Words and the poem is called Avalon by Ray Rue.

Take me in, Avalon, Isle of my youth,
Take me and heal my wounds.
How I have longed for thee,
White-misted haven,
Longed to set sail and soon!

Now, gazing blindly before me,
I seek out the faces I've known
The three here above me,
Hooded and veiled, are granting
me passage home.

Is that you, Mother?
Is it you, Igraine?
Have I honoured your name with my life?

Is it you, precious Morgan,
Testing me still?
Will your balms bring me peace from strife?

Is it you, Nimue,
Blessed Enchantress,
My friend in life as in death?

Or is it Kundry, Proud Damosel,
Dark maiden of the Grail?
Who stands before me? Vivianne?
Tell me, have I served the sword well?

Or is it my Lady Guinevere?
My lady, my love, my life?
Forgive if you can, and love me again
MY queen, my companion, my wife.

What is that light before me,
That guides us ever on?
O take me there, kind Ladies,
Take me to Avalon!

[Kenshi ~]

Thought I would post a poem from my Tarot Book that everyone might like. The book is called A Keeper of Words and the poem is called Avalon by Ray Rue.

Take me in, Avalon, Isle of my youth,
Take me and heal my wounds.
How I have longed for thee,
White-misted haven,
Longed to set sail and soon!

Now, gazing blindly before me,
I seek out the faces I've known
The three here above me,
Hooded and veiled, are granting
me passage home.

Is that you, Mother?
Is it you, Igraine?
Have I honoured your name with my life?

Is it you, precious Morgan,
Testing me still?
Will your balms bring me peace from strife?

Is it you, Nimue,
Blessed Enchantress,
My friend in life as in death?

Or is it Kundry, Proud Damosel,
Dark maiden of the Grail?
Who stands before me? Vivianne?
Tell me, have I served the sword well?

Or is it my Lady Guinevere?
My lady, my love, my life?
Forgive if you can, and love me again
MY queen, my companion, my wife.

What is that light before me,
That guides us ever on?
O take me there, kind Ladies,
Take me to Avalon!

That, indeed is a beautiful poem.

This assignment is quite a difficult one. Not difficult because more writing is involved, but putting my feelings for Avalon into words. I have no words to describe how I feel every time I hear the name 'Avalon'.

It is like the Garden of the Goddess; who knows whether the dancing maiden yonder is the Goddess in human guise? Yet, Avalon is also a place of serious learning and worship. Here, the worshippers and worshipped become one.

The air you breathe here is like the breath of the Goddess. It has a hint of magick in it, as if it would give life to the large rocks on the shore and they would start telling their tales of old.

Avalon is part of world, yet does not feel like it. Only those who carry the love of the Goddess in their hearts can find it among the mists that surround it...

[SamTheBlob]

I have always seen Avolon as my home away from home. Beleive it or its where i go when i mediate.... I see me and my fellows dancing and learning of mother earth and the god/goddess. But in my meditations im so different. I think the lessons would be to repect and honor elders and earth, the elements and trees. Along with animals, of cource im a very huge animal lover. hehe. We would also learn to repects our fellows as well. We would lern to pray properly and be able to "heal" our selfs of mistrust and the evils of lust and vanity. This is where i go and what i see when i mediate. Almost every time but yet more each time. I dont know if this properly gives you an answer to what your looking for but this is what i have to say....

[~SilverWolf~]

Lesson 2: The Isle of Avalon


Assignment for Lesson 2:

Imagine you are a training Priestess/Druid on the acient Isle of Avalon. Write what you think you'd experience, the type of duties you'd have, the classes you'd have to learn, the responsibilities you'd have to take upon you as a representative of Avalon. How would you handle the rising of Christianity. Also, describe how you view acient Avalon - geography~wise, community~wise. Be creative! This can also be done as a meditation. Meditate and visualize visiting Avalon - What do you see? Did you meet anyone?
Have fun with this one :)

And of course, if you have anything to add to this lesson - your general thoughts & views of Acient Avalon or today's Glastenbury Island. If you've visited there - Tell us about your experience.

I apologize for this taking so long, Morr.

When I hear the word, Avalon, this is what I see...

I'm walking up a hill, my attire is a simple, white, off-the-shoulder dress. My feet are bare and my hair blows freely around my face from a gentle breeze. I crest the top of the hill. A mist has begun to edge along the ground. I pass through it as if through a gauzy veil. And then I stand upon yet another rise. I'm looking down into the heart of the magickal place that is Avalon. My journey I know, has been an arduous one. And still I have much to learn. I note that I will be an older initiate on the shores of Avalon. I know too that my real journey has yet to begin. I'm awestruck as I stand there, frozen in my tracks. I watch the comings and goings of the people. Drinking in the ethereal beauty that surrounds me. Greenery, trees, and flowers as far as the eye can see. The cottages scattered through-out are simple. Grey stone with thatched roofs.

A young girl of about 7 spots me standing there. She watches me for a few moments then shakes her head, running off. Moments pass, and then the child returns. She stands at the base of the rise bekoning me to follow her. I descend down the hill following her, toward the central square. Upon my entrance everything seems to slow down, until all commotion stops entirely. "What has happened?" I ask myself as I approach a woman seated in a high-back chair, surrounded by some of the older girls. This woman, I know, almost instinctively, is the Lady of Avalon.

As I traverse toward her the other girls clear a path. Upon reaching her, I kneel on bended knee, my gaze is focused upon the woman's face. I speak, my voice sounds odd to me due to the hushed quiet. "M'lady I have come." "I wish to learn the ways of Avalon." "So I may pass Her teachings on to others." "If the next generation isn't a voice for her, who will be?" "And so you shall" she says, gesturing for me to rise. "And now your real work will begin." I learn the ways of herb magick, focused meditation, the stories of Her people. The role I will play with the coming of Christianity and the supposed Holy Wars. I stand as a defense for Avalon. I am a warrior, pledged to protect Her sacred knowledge. The people must never forget... Or all is lost.