Whereabouts is Avalon
Most historians put the Isle of Avalon in Glastonbury where the Glastonbury TOR is. It is also suggested the two other locations, Island of Man and Bardsey were possible locations of this mysterious Avalon. It is noted it was a place of healing and rejuvenation from any sickness or injury. When King Arthur sustained his fatal wounds it was said that they sent him to Avalon so that the Priestesses could take care of him.
Glastonbury claimed that it was the true location of Avalon. The TOR is said to be a portal to The Other World, where the Jewel in the Lotus of the Soul is.
If you look at the picture above you will notice some tiers on the hill. There is supposed to be seven that you can see and many more that you can't because of land erosion and the like. Each level is a part of a labyrinth left by the ancient people who lived there. The labyrinth depicts and show a universal pattern made my many ancient peoples such as the Hopi Indians, Kretens, and Ceylons. Weather these are a true representation of ancient sculpturing or not remains to be see, Until they dig up the hill we might never know. The truth is, however, the longer we wait to make an archaeological dig, the more likely that we will not find the answers we seek.
Glastonbury Abbey was the second place to be mentioned beside the Tor in buildings that still stand on the Island. There has been much reading on this and that they also consider Avalon being part of Cornwall.
Yet another place puts it on the Island of Mont Saint Michael, Brittany, France. Avalon was a school for training druids, Priestesses and Bards. According to
Meaning of the Name Avillion states:
“At the beginning Avalon was called Apple Island - where the most delicious golden-red apples grew. Among the local people it became known as "E’main Ablach", a mystical place only visible to some and at certain times. Long before King Arthur, this legendary Isle is said to have been the home of the Priestesses of Great Mystery, Center of Magical Practices and home of the Holy Grail. It was also a Center of Healing Arts where the finest herbs were harvested for healing work extended by its priestesses to the local community. Avalon was a school from which arose Merlin, Druidic Magicians, and Bards.
Energy is always a timing factor and when the alchemical balance rotated a vibrational stimulant that was felt as threatening, or inspired envious curiosity, Avalon disappeared from the third dimensional access, to retain its safety for such times when its true service is required. Mist and wind and more veils of mist conveyed all and everything into the 5th dimension."
Biblically
Jesus Visits Avalon
When Jesus was just a boy he would visit his Mother's brother, Joseph of Arithmathea often. His Grandmother went back to live in Brittany. One year when hew just a teen he wanted to go with Joseph to visit his grandmother, but his parent's had turn down that trip. They wanted him to stay and finish learning his father's trade of ship building. It was also after he went astray to the churches in Jerusalem and gave his parent's a scare.
Later, when he was older and after his father's death he and his mother did go to Britain to visit his grandmother. His Uncle Joseph was a very important person being the major trader of metals for Rome. This trip was for Joseph to do some important trading and while they were there Jesus made his way from Brittany to the Isle of Avalon. They traveled in many ships that went from Antioch, Cyprus, Ephesus, Sicily, Cyrenia, Sardinia , Massilia (Marseilles) where they would leave the ships to walk and horseback over the land to Brittany, Cornwall for tin and then to Somerset.
When Joseph finished his dealings and trading’s they (Joseph, Jesus and his mother, Mary) sailed up the coast to Looe Island, mining districts around Warleggan on the Bodmin Moor, traveled west into Penwith, St Just and Ding Dong mine (the oldest mine in Cornwall) to Whitesands Bay and finished the trip to a place called Pilton on the Severn estuary.
Jesus listened and learned of the way of the
Druids. The Druids also learned from him too as they also revered him as a great teacher.
Jesus liked it so much that he stayed for a while and making preparations for his mission that he was sent to do. While there it is reported that he made a wattle and daubed hut to live in. Just by hitting his cane on the ground he made a small spring of water come up to the surface. After his death Joseph did come back and they built the first Christian church. There is a report of the many Reverends, notably the Rev. H.A. Lewis, which wrote some of this information down and how Rome came to the Island and Brittany. You can read that and much more on
Cornish Legends. There is also new information on
DailyMail about a Church that Jesus supposedly built in the town of Somerset in England.
The Apple
Avalon's meaning is that of The Land of Apples and has a rich tradition from the Druid’s the High Priestess that used them in their ceremonies to other Welsh and Celtic Traditions. Avalon is also the land of the Faeries and the dead. We know about the King Arthur legends as I have stated above.
Druid's used the Apple's as a way to get to the Other world and had the powers to bring about healing and youth. It is also a very holy and sacred tree to the Druids. Mistletoe is one of the Druid's sacred plants that they infuse into an Apple Tree branch and have silver shaped apple bells sing melodies. In doing this they were able to go to the Other world.
Merlin was said to have work in a magical Apple Grove guarded by birds. He was said to receive the gift of prophecy from the Faerie Queen, (Morgan Le Fay), by eating her magic apples. Merlin was also said to take have laid under the holy apple tree while he was sick with madness.
The medieval church believed that apples could bring about possession of demons to whomever they were given too.
In Welsh Battle of the Trees the apple tree possesses poetic immortality and is known as the Nobelist tree.
“In Druid lore, the essence of three sacred apples growing on the Tree of Knowledge came from three drops that fell from Cerridwen’s cauldron, which correspond with the Druid’s most holy symbol, the Three Rays of Light.” Lots more information about the apple in lore and recipes and much more can be found on Druidry. Org: APPLE by Susa Morgan Black now a PDF file, but here is an excerpt from that article:
"Apples were the fruit of the other world (Avalon or Avallach - the Isle of Apples). They are often used for magic and fortune telling. A young woman would peel an apple all in one paring, and throw it over her shoulder. The peeling would take the shape of the first initial of the man she would marry. Eating an apple in front of a mirror while combing your hair will conjure your true love's image in the mirror. Another tradition is "dunking for apples". Apples are placed in a tub or barrel of water, and dunkers will try to retrieve these apples with their teeth. Those who succeed will have good fortune the following year. (Another traditional way to do it is to hold a fork in your mouth and try to retrieve the apple by piercing it.) Hazel nuts were also used in matrimonial divination. Two groups of "Sweetheart" hazel nuts were placed within the hearth fire; one group was marked with the names of the village's eligible maidens, and the other with the eligible bachelors."
What They Have Found
During some archaeological digs around the year 1190 Arthur's grave was found. A Welsh or Breton bard supposedly gave the location of the grave site to Henry II. He said that Arthur was buried in the old graveyard at Glastonbury between two pyramids. They found a stone slab about 7 feet down with an inset lead cross. At 16 feet down they found a hollowed out log that contained the skeletal remains of an very large man and a small, delicate woman. The cross with the words
"Here lies buried the famous King Arthur with Guinevere, his second wife, in the isle of Avalon." has eroded over time. Excavating the site in modern times brought about a grave site that was much earlier than that one. It is said that this was manipulated so that they could raise funds to re-build the Abbey, which suffered a devastating fire in 1184 and was in desperate need of money.
This too is considered a myth, even though we do have accounts by clergy and those grave sites as possible evidence.