Priestess Pathway Practicalities #5
What makes one a Priestess of AVALON the Sacred Isle?
Hello everyone, for those new to this Newsletter, I am Laura, a writer, teacher, ceremonialist and Priestess of Avalon. I write about the importance of sacred leadership embodied through inner alchemy, share personal insights as practical examples and draw from the rich sources of mythology, fairy tales and archetypal studies to bring back remembrance, responsibility and reciprocal relationship with oneself, nature and fellow humans.
I write this monthly(-ish) series called Priestess Pathway Practicalities which is all about what it means to be a modern priestess and how to weave inner and outer work into everyday life.
Becoming a priestess is becoming a bridge, bridging from inner conflict resolution to external solutions of regeneration and peace. It involves inner work, reconciliation, tending to conflicting emotions, integrating ones past hurts, wounds and traumas as well as tending to vision, kindling the flame of inspiration, passion and willpower to commit to a new path and keep shining this light on the sign posts forward which we would otherwise overlook.
I donĀ“t take the now trendy buzzword of the priestess lightly, and am devoted to, trained and initiated in the Avalonian Tradition (and motivated by my own field of study: Arthurian Literature) to the inner path of the heart, which in my personal approach alchemises the Magic of Cacao (bringer of joy and inner child connection) with the Magic of the Ninefold (the feminine mysteries and various skills transmitted through literature, mythology and mystery).
Today I will take you through some core aspects of my specific priestess path for you to find out if you are on the same, maybe without knowing it yet!
If you are new to this series, you can find my previous posts here:
And to understand what Avalon is, please read this:
But what makes one a Priestess of Avalon?
I certainly think there are similarities across various priestess paths such as practicing presence, funnelling your devotion into acts of service and working towards individual and collective healing. But there are distinctions between lineages that go beyond deity worship or plant preferences. The Rose Lineage for example might emphasise on the Beauty Way and Way of Love for healing. Whereas the Avalon Lineage focuses on descending into subconscious realms, and uses dream and shadow work, archetypal and narrative psychology. As a priestess of Avalon you perceive healing in a holistic way, encompassing psychosomatic, emotional and physical dynamics and are aware that it requires symbolic processes of death and rebirth for transformation to occur.
So letās dive into the four foundational values of a Priestess of Avalon:
You have a strong resonance with mythology and landscapes of Europe and the British Isles.
You might have ancestors from Europe or are simply drawn to the stories, images, songs and/or nature of places such as Great Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Italy, Greece and Spain. However Avalon is not tied to specific countries, it is a remnant of much more ancient goddess traditions and our western indigenous roots which are intricately woven into a greater world-wide web.
Mythology and Spirituality is interconnected with nature and folk traditions are formed by their environment. Be it the weather or seasons, plant species, rock formations and animals, insects, etc. Land spirits are specific to certain natural habitats; for example in the Avalonian tradition we have many deities and goddesses (after Christianity took over, the majority of them became saints) connected to natural water sources and springs as well as rivers and the ocean. Not without a reason do we call it the Island of Avalon. But it doesnāt end with knowing about theses interdependency, the ecological connection calls us forward to implement our spirituality by seeking out water springs, helping to clear or tend to wells, questioning the modified drinking water from the tap and raising awareness to the literally vital importance of water and its mythological reverence as the life giving goddess. Same goes for the soil, specific trees and certain landscape features; such as faery hills. Take Iceland for example: Roads had to be led around homes of the hidden people and elves. Bad luck and broken machinery is the consequence of disturbing those places and often people who can commune with these beings have to be consulted, a practice also found in Ireland.
Connection or openness to connect with the feminine, the land as a woman, great mother or goddess.
You donāt have to follow any specific religious or spiritual philosophy when it comes to devoting to Avalon, you can be Christian, Muslim, Hindu or pagan and you are not required to change your faith! You can pray to a male god or no god at all, you can honour aliens or insects, I really donāt mind and it certainly wonāt interfere with your devotion to the Priestess Path. BUT you will hear a lot about goddesses, nature spirits, non-patriarchal societies and our matrilineal past. You should come with an openness - be it historically, archeologically or ethnologically - towards a time before organised religion and with a reference to the power of women. It will be your doorway into a holistic worldview and wholeness within Self, no matter your personal gender and sex.
A deep devotion to unearthing your sovereign self and personal transformation.
There are literal embodiments of sovereignty in the Avalonian Tradition, so naturally the topic deserves attention. As an island of death, healing and rebirth, Avalon calls its priestesses to self empowerment and personal development. Many know of the Heroās Quest that Arthurian Legends are seemingly addressing when truly it is a much older journey of both heroes and heroines representing the evolution from matriarchy to patriarchy and a story that tells from an all encompassing goddess and the rightful relationship between land and people. Nevertheless these myths - which are central material for the Avalonian Tradition - are incredible sources of personal and spiritual development, not only for the individual but as a mirror of collective consciousness and cultural changes. Looking at these macro- and microcosmic levels we automatically embark on our own personal quest and shifts are afoot.
Should you wish to stay attached to your identity or only want to become a priestess to find a new one, please stop reading here and go on a weekend retreat with some instagram influencer - no offence, I know not all influencers are superficial, I am simply trying to illustrate a point. Have you noticed that not once have I declared the colour your robe should be or the scent of essential oil you should use or which altar tool is necessary for a Priestess of Avalon? I could fill a course with symbols and correspondences of this pathway (which, by the way, I have!) but thatās not essential and really only interesting in terms of helping your mind to get into the right resonance. A specific melody, instrument or incense fume can be off tremendous help to get you into a state of enhanced presence and enchanted receptivity. It should however never be your core reason of why you are doing this work, this would be spiritual materialism and as a Priestess of Avalon you are actively working towards solving problems caused by capitalism, especially concerned with greed, exploitation and separation. A priestess is a bridge between the mundane and the sacred, between human and nature, between earth and otherworldly realms. You are using tools only to assist you in accessing the divine and returning to this timeline but the truth is that no external tool will ever establish this connection for you, it can only be found within.
Comprehension of the lineage and mystery tradition: What is coming from where and from whom.
There is so much misinformation and surface knowledge out there, with people ālearningā from memes and believing every headline they read or solely relying on their personal gnosis. I am not expecting you to become a scholar, nor do I trust history and academia as we know it anyways, because it is highly charged by lots of -isms and written by those who buried and distorted our lineage. My students and friends know that I will always encourage you to find your own way, to not rely on dogma and to deepen trust in your inner wisdom. AND this is the result of my strong focus on shadow work, de-conditioning and inner exploration in order to discern between your true gnosis and what your conditioning or ego wants you to believe, resulting from suppressed inner conflict or trauma responses such dissociation and avoidance of responsibility.
This inner work alongside research, patience, humble apprenticeship/study and a whole lot of listening and questioning is a crucial ingredient to your path as a Priestess of Avalon because the basic information we have of priestesses (wise women) on secluded or magical islands (such as the sacred Isle of Avalon) is that they were almost supernatural healers, well versed and studied in all sciences and arts. This doesnāt mean that you have to become a genius in all areas of life as each priestess has her field of expertise but it does mean that there is an underlying curiosity of mastery and development, of learning and teaching, of getting to the bottom of something.
If this has stirred something deep within you or you have been nodding along with my words then I invite you to walk beside me - as a witch, as a lover, as a child, as a mother, as a sinner or a saint or whatever you want to declare yourself as. I would love to engage in conversation or hear about further questions you have or topics you want to deepen.
My yearlong priestess study THE WORLDS OF AVALON is still available for you, in which you dive deep into the Mysteries of Avalon and unearth ancient, almost forgotten treasures of the primordial cultures, together with the dragons who guard them.
For long gone are the days when mythical creatures were hunted and killed! We remember a time when we lived in harmony with each other and the gates to the Otherworld and our own magic were open.
My diligent students have already learned about Morgan Le Fey and her origins, have been introduced to the Wheel of the Year and explored the origins of our pre-Christian, pre-patriarchal roots.
Now they turn to the dark goddess of winter, the great-grandmother of the cosmos, delve into the magic of introspection and celebrate their inner work and expand their spiritual practice with ceremonies, rituals and archetypes.
The sorceress Cerridwen, the three realms of Celtic tradition and secrets of the Arthurian legends are also part of the winter programme.
In January and February we move on to the Ninefold Priestesshood, Matrilineal Society, Mysterious Cauldrons, Dragon Energy and Nature Magic.
I rejoice in the brave souls who truly initiate transformation in themselves and create change in the world!
Are you also sourced by deep wisdom? And feel the call that draws you into the depths of mystery? Are you ready to embody true sacred leadership?
