A is for Avalon - Pagan Blog Project 2015 WK 1

EDIT: This was intended to be the first of the 2015 Pagan Blog Project posts however I have found out that the lovely project has come to an end.  As of now the archives are still up so you can click through some really inspiring blogs.

However, I have stumbled upon The Pagan Experience blogging project for 2015 and will be trying them on for size as I still am feeling called to improve my understanding of my own beliefs by writing and sharing them with others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Greeting Card by SilkAndArt

A is for Avalon

When I hear the word Avalon my heart reaches out to a place shielded in mist and just outside of this world.  In meditation I can remember the stunning blue worn by the Priestesses and the burn of muscles from the first walk up the hill.  I remember the scrying pool of deep black water reflecting the flare of candles or the glow of the night sky.  I remember the bitter cold of the solstice vigil and the blasting heat of the mid-summer fires.  I remember blood and politics, fearlessness and intimidation, peace and manipulation, love and loss.  But most of all my heart is called to the circles within circles centered at the heart of the hill and the rings of mist and water that keeps Avalon apart.

Greeting Card by MiaBradburyArt

Much like the island of Atlantic, in our time the island of Avalon is a myth with dubious historical record or significance; even the connection to Arthurian Legend and Glastonbury Tor can be argued (here's the Wikipedia link).  However the myth of an island run by magical women separated from the mundane world by the mists is a powerful one and a brief search on Amazon shows just how many people have been touched and called to share their Avalon experiences.  The Sisterhood of Avalon has also been reborn as a Celtic Women's Mystery tradition focused on internal work and connections to the growing sisterhood.

Avalon Votives by ArtisanWitchcrafts

For me Avalon, in my meditations and magical workings, is peace and separation.  I call the energies of the mists and the island when I want to be secluded from the mundane world and be able to really focus on what I am doing at the time.  I call when I need the strength of the female bond of sisterhood for guidance or healing.  Unlike calling on the God or Goddess, Avalon comes to me with human messy energy that is flush with emotion and the trials of life; it makes my heart sing with joy and weep with loss all at once which just makes me feel free.