Through the Mists
We now embark on the journey to the shores of Avalon:
AVALON is an Otherworld, anchored in this world – a spiritual legacy of our roots, the Northern European cultures. Because we don’t have to go to India to study yogi philosophies or Central America to meet gods; in the legends of our valleys and forests we find an earthy spirituality that teaches us to walk through life with magic. It is not an easy path, for the mists are dense and often only after long trials does the island of healing and transformation reveal herself. However, it is worth facing the challenges and facing your own fears. Because as within so without – we bring healing to this world through our integrity and memory of the wholeness of nature including darkness and shadows, in particular we heal our own connection to ourselves, our fellow human beings and the planet on which we live and continue to be worth living for our descendants.
What does “Otherworld” mean? Otherworld in English is not to be confused with the concept that Christianity wants to convey to us: heaven and hell as separate realms above and below or outside this earth, which are only accessible after death either as a punishment of eternal damnation or a reward in paradise, after a life of sin in which we should strive to end up in heaven, always being reminded that happiness can never be found in the here and now, on this earth.
The Otherworlds of Celtic and Norse mythology are worlds that exist parallel to ours and are accessible through nebulous veils or shifts in our perceptions in the case of the Celtic fairy kingdom of the “Sidhe” and the sacred isle of Avalon. “Sidhe”, the fairy folk, originally means hollow hills, as that is where the fairies live, in/under the hills. Legends abound of humans scaling such hills and being hospitably received, provided meals, or lured to the fairy lands.
Here it becomes clear that, in contrast to Ascending Christian thinking, we have to be deeply rooted in the earth.
Avalon is a hilly landscape surrounded by water on which magical women, priestesses, practice their healing arts. The Glastonbury Tor is such a magical hill, which is the entry to the Otherworld Annwyn in which the faery king Gwyn ap Nudd resides. Little is known about the actual island of Avalon, but there is plenty of other historical evidence of island landscapes where women lived – from Roman historians to Irish legends.
Avalon was specifically mentioned in the Arthurian Legends and is thus set in the British Isles with possible alternate locations in Brittany. The most popular of these possible physical representations of Avalon is present-day Glastonbury, a small town in southern England, in County Somerset. There are many reasons for this, because this place was once surrounded by water and from the depths of the earth spring two sacred springs, one white and one red (the iron content in the water colours the stones on which it flows red), which is said to house the Holy Grail. Also Somerset is known for its and apple trees and apples are another reference to the sacred island of Avalon, which means “isle of apples”. Avalon is also known as Ynys Witrin, “Isle of Glass”, glass here could represent the magical veil through which one must look to enter Avalon. Or for the water reflection of the island, which again suggests that our reality is a mirror – as within, so without.
Whether or not Glastonbury is actually the physical location of Avalon, it is a very special place, located on famous Ley Lines, and it is believed to be the heart chakra of the earth. you might already guess why Cacao comes in: it is after all the medicine of heart opening, and place that in the heart chakra of the earth and you have a magical combination of true power that not many are able to hold. It takes courage to become sovereign in our own life, we cannot simply shield a part of ourselves and suppress unwanted emotions. Cacao helps us to feel and process these, while the energies of Avalon lend us helping hands. Because the heart doesn´t judge, unconditional love is doesn´t value one emotion more than the other or shame one feeling and praise the other. THIS IS WHY FOR ME CACAO AND AVALON WORK SO WELL TOGETHER. the journey to Avalon helps us to face the subconscious and get clear about our inner landscape and Cacao allows us to feel what needs to come up and opens our hearts for unconditional acceptance of all parts in us and the actual world we live in – as within so without.
Avalon of the Heart
This is the beautiful Soundtrack from the movie “The Mists of Avalon” based on the book by Marion Zimmer Bradley. In my opinion, the music captures the mystical mood of Avalon wonderfully, the film is also worth seeing, but I would only recommend it if you also watch the film Excalibur – since we have the masculine perspective on the Arthurian story here which is the feminist but also patriarchal tainted narrative of M.Z.B balances and broadens the perspective. However, it is not done here, because in my opinion the Arthurian legends are very influenced by Christian traditions and therefore the strong women (Guinevere and Morgan Le Fey) often have a bad reputation and are considered untrustworthy, seductive and even malicious. In my opinion, all characters in the stories are archetypes that exist in all of us and therefore they should not be pitted against each other but seen as a special web full of wonderful facets.
In addition, I think that the women are various personalisations of the Goddess or represent various goddesses who were also considered very close to nature in paganism (e.g. the Lady of the Lake is a nebulous figure who rules in the life-giving waters and grants Merlin with the sword of victory “Excalibur”, which makes Arthur king) which of course was not welcomed by the Christian religion and was therefore changed.
For me, the Lady of the Lake in particular is a very important character, who fills me with hope, strength and trust. The gesture of surrendering the sword Excalibur is a gesture of empowerment, showing us that we can wield the sword that will lead us to victory. -which symbolically stands for the fact that we carry our strongest weapons within ourselves, in our sovereignty, our self-determination. However, it is easier said than done to live self-determined, because we are so conditioned to trust others more than ourselves, to follow the social ideals that have been lived out or – in the other extreme: to rebel against them. Of course we cannot always be completely free of all conditioning, but it helps to become aware of it and to constantly question ourselves when we act, how and why. Do we swing the sword of sovereignty to rule our kingdom and do good for our Camelot, our environment as a sovereign human?
Excalibur from the “Mists of Avalon Oracle” by Rose Inserra
SOVEREIGNTY, POWER, ACTION, TRUTH
A magical sword of truth, forged by pure spirits and soul weaponry of wise ones is offered to you.’
You may use the sword of Excalibur to build new dreams or destroy old ties and loyalties. Use the energy of the card of Excalibur to motivate yourself to set future plans in motion. You have the strength, courage and drive to achieve your dreams. Take inspired action.
Meet Excalibur, King Arthur’s legendary sword, forged in Avalon by magical elven smiths and given to him by the Lady of the Lake to honour him as protector of Britain. The unbreakable sword and scabbard of invulnerability protected Arthur from being mortally wounded. The Excalibur card is presented to you because you are being called to action.
Have you been feeling passive? Has it made you impatient and feeling disempowered? Are you ready to fight for what you believe and take action?
You may have felt you didn’t have the skills and inner strength to take up the sword, but the card suggests otherwise. You may then take an active leadership role in creating changes in your life that are aligned with your ethics, values and your personal Camelot.
The card is asking you to set things in motion and not simply respond to things and other people around you. Once you have decided to take action, claim your right to speak the truth and live your life by your own integrity and rules.
When the Excalibur card shows up, it is a confirmation that you’re more than good enough for the task you wish to accomplish. You have courage, willpower and pureness of heart to make necessary changes that will bring about great things to you and to those around you who benefit from your actions.
The Lady of the Lake entrusts you with the sword of truth to accomplish those things that must be fought for, however be aware that you may need to cut ties with your old life and leave people, things and places behind. There are always casualties in any battle, but the effort will be worth it.
I build new dreams
Ceremony
ONLINE CACAO CEREMONY | LIVE FROM AVALON
Just before the Full Moon, still in the Samhain Portal we will gather to give thanks to the earth, out ancestors and our own path that has led us thus far. Now is the time to sow the seeds for the upcoming year so that they might sprout in the dark depths of the wintery soil, root down deep to forma. strong base for our life to bloom after a time of inward focus.