"We may conclude from the literary, topographical, and the physical evidence, that the British Celts and their Druids held the Isle of Avalon to be the place of the World Axis, with its attendant caves, pathways, openings, World Mountain and World Tree. The Tor is the prototypical sacred and spiral mountain. It provides the steps to the above. Its springs provide the means of egress from and the means of access to the magical realm of the spirit beings below. The Chalice Well and the cave at the White Spring are where the sources of prophecy, wisdom, poetry, sovereignty, sexuality, healing, rebirth, immortality and abundance are actualized and become visible. The physical topography of the island provides an exact mirror of the sacred. It is the cosmogony in microcosm. The Isle of Avalon contains the cosmos and thus is the point of connection and of journeying between the worlds.
To be close to this mystery, the first people on the Isle of Avalon lived in the simplest possible way. Their lives were a mirror of the seasons. They ate only what could be gathered. They performed a constant round of ritual to be in harmony with the energies of the inner world. Where these energies flowed to the surface of the land, at the caves, hills, trees, groves, and especially at the fountainous springs, they worshipped at the appropriate times and built nothing to interrupt the flow. The island was an "earthly paradise" because the balanced harmony of Nature, the generative power of the Great Mother, prevailed. The food they ate, the apples of Avalon, were said to give immortality. The mystery kept upon the Isle was that of the cycle of life, death and reincarnation. It was they, the Druids, and before them, the shamans, who took the initiates who came to the Isle through the rites of life passage ..."
The opening extract from the text shown above summarises the whole feel and flow of this wonderful book. If you love Glastonbury then this a must have.
The book is set out in two sections, the first giving details of the geology, topography and history of the area. It draws on historical documents, archaelogolical evidence and deals with the physical world. The second section moves on to the mysteries of Avalon and Glastonbury, with the geomantic mysteries, with myth and legend associated with this magical place, with it's connectons to the Underworld and of the very essence of Britain.
It is well written, well presented and (as far as a lay person can tell) well researched. If you don't have the first edition, of which this is a substantially rewritten and revised working, and you are fascinated by Glastonbury, you can feel the pull, the magic and the energies there, then you must get this book.
