A review of "Glastonbury, Avalon of the Heart"
by Dion Fortune
Each candidate for initiation into the first grade of the Holy Celtic Order of the Temple (Knights of St Joseph of Arimathea and Dames of St Mary Magdalene) is required to write a review of this book. This particular review by Padre Giovanni and Sr Hallyson, two of our Italian initiates, is a bit special because of their already established connection with this holy place. (A.H.B.)
We read together with much interest Dion Fortune's book, which was very poetic and rekindled memories of our trip to England in 2019. We visualized the places we visited in Glastonbury, but understood that we skipped some important ones (like Beckary). Still, I can't help but think that somehow Glastonbury called us; it wasn't on the schedule. Before we went to Watkins' bookstore in London, we didn't even know it existed. Dion Fortune's book caught my attention and from there the decision was made to go to Bristol, via Stonehenge, and then stop at Glastonbury. What happened the following year, that is, joining HCCI, reinforces our conviction (even more so when we recall that we received diaconal ordination and, for Hallyson, Brigidine profession, in front of a carpet replicating the cover of Chalice Well).
Glastonbury is a true crossroads of myths and legends. Perhaps a link between different eras, a place where the torch of tradition has been passed from hand to hand to the present day. We find, as Fortune reminds us, the legends of Merlin and Arthur, the constituent myth of Celtic Christianity linked to the mission of Joseph of Arimathea, the missions of St. Patrick and St. Brigid, and the myth of Atlantis, which refers us to other eras, races and cultures lost in time.
A place where it is difficult not to sense a spiritual force, whatever faith is professed. A place where God has been thought of, if not invoked, loved and served many times. And this devotion has caused a thinning of the Veil, which makes God's presence, however one understands it, much sharper and closer.
Glastonbury is a true crossroads of myths and legends. Perhaps a link between different eras, a place where the torch of tradition has been passed from hand to hand to the present day. We find, as Fortune reminds us, the legends of Merlin and Arthur, the constituent myth of Celtic Christianity linked to the mission of Joseph of Arimathea, the missions of St. Patrick and St. Brigid, and the myth of Atlantis, which refers us to other eras, races and cultures lost in time.
A place where it is difficult not to sense a spiritual force, whatever faith is professed. A place where God has been thought of, if not invoked, loved and served many times. And this devotion has caused a thinning of the Veil, which makes God's presence, however one understands it, much sharper and closer.
Indeed, it is in this place that the legends of the Grail converge and are told to be hidden. And we think that those who go to Glastonbury (or better to Avalon), may actually end up understanding where to find this cup, may understand where to look (themselves, and well into the depths) and what the lost cup of the Last Supper symbolizes. By finding the Grail we can actually drink from the same cup that Jesus of Nazareth drank from and effectively respond to his commandment to repeat that gesture of his.
And how to approach the search for the Grail? That is a path not without danger. By wielding Excalibur, using it as long as we continue the search, and throwing it away, as Arthur did, once one finds what one was searching for. Quoting Fortune "[Excalibur] must ever be with the illuminated soul. He must take into his hand the sword of the ancient faith and...wield it..till the land is cleansed of its evil, and then he must cast it away in order to take up the sword of the spirit." How can we not think, in all this, of the meaning of the Sanskrit word Vedanta (end of the Vedas, going beyond the scriptures of religion and thus faith) or, staying within the Western tradition, of the different alchemical stages?
Overall, we really enjoyed the text, which we already owned, but had never read. In addition to the great spiritual inspiration, we also gleaned useful information for our other passions, such as "The Immortal Hour" by William Sharpe (Fiona Macleod) and set to music by Rutland Boughton (which we will get). Also curious were the chronicles of the psychically guided excavations around the Abbey by Frederick Blight Bond, who later in life was ordained as an Old Catholic priest.
And how to approach the search for the Grail? That is a path not without danger. By wielding Excalibur, using it as long as we continue the search, and throwing it away, as Arthur did, once one finds what one was searching for. Quoting Fortune "[Excalibur] must ever be with the illuminated soul. He must take into his hand the sword of the ancient faith and...wield it..till the land is cleansed of its evil, and then he must cast it away in order to take up the sword of the spirit." How can we not think, in all this, of the meaning of the Sanskrit word Vedanta (end of the Vedas, going beyond the scriptures of religion and thus faith) or, staying within the Western tradition, of the different alchemical stages?
Overall, we really enjoyed the text, which we already owned, but had never read. In addition to the great spiritual inspiration, we also gleaned useful information for our other passions, such as "The Immortal Hour" by William Sharpe (Fiona Macleod) and set to music by Rutland Boughton (which we will get). Also curious were the chronicles of the psychically guided excavations around the Abbey by Frederick Blight Bond, who later in life was ordained as an Old Catholic priest.
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