The Goddess of Avalon

Rhiannon

The Goddesses of Avalon are the heart and soul of the Sacred Landscape, each weaving a transformational energy into the matrix of the archetypal realm. Once we have successfully made contact with the landscape areas and established a good working relationship which each of these places of power, we can use them to connect with the Ladies of Avalon. These five Divine Ancestresses will further our quest for positive change, personal Sovereignty and the wisdom that comes from drinking deep from the cauldron of our souls.

Bloudeuwedd

The Avalonian Tradition draws its inspiration from British, rather than English, culture. Wales was able to maintain and preserve the culture, language and traditions of Celtic Britain far longer than the rest of England, so we look to Welsh language, literature and folklore to understand the beliefs of the Britons.



Branwen



The Welsh mythic cycle contains the first references to King Arthur, and through him, to Ynys Afallon – the Island of Avalon. Therefore, to discover the Goddess as She has revealed Herself to the Britons, and as She was probably worshiped on Avalon, we must turn to the mythology of Wales. We therefore seek the Goddesses of Avalon in The Mabinogion and its associated legends as this collection of stories represents the surviving corpus of the mythology of the Celtic Britons and as such, is worthy of deep study.

 

It is imperative to honor these Goddesses by studying Their myths, seeking out Their symbolism, and coming to understand the lessons They bring to us. When reading The Mabinogion, it is especially important to identify the elements that are a reflection of the patriarchal Christian world in which the stories were set down in writing; these have nothing to do with the true essence of the Goddesses and the teachings inherent in Their myths. We must remember that the social standing and privileges of British Celtic women were very different from those of women at the time the stories of The Mabinogion were written down.

   

Arianhrod



Once we can read the stories of the Welsh Goddesses without the filter of Medieval mores and Christian philosophy, a very different portrait of Them emerges. The betraying harlot becomes the giver of Sovereignty, free to choose Her mate as She wills and granting kingship to whom She deems best. The abandoning mother becomes the Great Teacher and the devouring witch is revealed as the Initiatrix into the Mysteries.

Cerridwen

The very fact that these stories were written down by people outside of the cultural context that revered these figures makes all the difference in the tone of their portrayal and the overall interpretation of elements in the story. Due to oral tradition, then, the Divinities of the British Celts do not benefit from having their myths written down by those who worshiped Them, as do the Gods of other cultures.

We are not inheritors of an intact tradition, and must look between the lines to seek out the symbols that have made the transition from oral to written form, even if those that transcribed them attempted to have them make sense in their own cultural context. It is for this reason that we must immerse ourselves in the study of Celtic culture so that we may piece the bigger picture back together and reclaim what we can of what was.

- Excerpted  from Avalon Within: Inner Sovereignty and Personal Transformation Through the Avalonian Mysteries (2005) by Jhenah Telyndru.