October 8-10, 2004
“It is to this Avalon of the heart the pilgrims still go.
Some in bands, knowing what they seek.
Some alone, with the staff of vision in their hands,
awaiting what may come to meet them on this holy ground.
None go away as they came.”
Avalon is the Inner Temple of the Celtic and British Mysteries, a landscape of the soul, a country of the heart. It is the land that the poet and mystic see in vision, where the artist and musician find inspiration; where the soul goes for healing and spiritual refreshment: a timeless land of power and mystery that offers initiation and enlightenment to all those who embark on the inner voyage.
Avalon does not exist in the dimensions of time and space, yet it is a place that the Celts have always taught us exists now and always, nowhere and everywhere, in the “thin” places of the landscape, within the cracks of our everyday life.
- Explore the beauty, wisdom and power of Avalon and discover the following.
- The Faery Realm in which we encounter Morgen le Fay, the Nine Sisters, the Dark Goddess, Mysteries of the Cauldron, and the Chalice of Healing
- The “wild wisdom” of Merlin: originally known as Myrddin, Welsh bard, prophet, magician, and archetypal Guardian of Britain
- The Mysteries of Glastonbury, the English town where Avalon meets our own world; the hidden secrets of the Tor, the Chalice Well, and the ancient Abbey with its legends of Joseph of Arimathea and King Arthur
- The Holy Grail: the myth and its meaning for us in our current planetary crisis
To set sail for this magical isle, we will go by the “three arts” of the Western inner tradition: ritual, meditation, and the VisionJourney. This experiential work will enable us to discover how “Avalon of the Heart” can open us to wisdom and healing for our lives and our Earth today.
Mara Freeman is from Britain where she was steeped in native sacred traditions from an early age. She is the founder of the Avalon Mystery School, a program that offers a path to higher consciousness and healing through the magical arts of Celtic and Western inner traditions. Mara was trained by initiates of the Western Mystery Tradition, is an Archdruidess of the Druid Clan of Dana and Honored Bard with the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids. An international speaker and storyteller, she has been teaching Celtic inner traditions for over thirty years. Author of Kindling the Celtic Spirit and regular writer for Parabola Journal, she is currently working on a new book about Avalon. Visit her website: http://www.celticspirit.org