Athena Chapter 9: Introduction: Glastonbury

"Cup of Tears" by Olivia Robertson

Fellowship of Isis Liturgy

By

Olivia Robertson

Athena - Arcadian Awakening

9. Glastonbury: Drawing Aside the Veil

Introduction

“To touch one heart is to touch the world.”

My awareness of the need to bridge radiations between various religions and cultures came through a vivid vision I was given on the 18th of October, 1977. I found myself in a Temple, by the door, gazing at an altar at the far end. Behind the altar was a grey veil hanging in misty folds. On the altar was a metallic silver stag’s head in profile facing left.

I was given instructions in a woman’s voice: “Salute the altar.” I bowed to the altar and the stag opened a dark eye. I had an impression that his right eye was golden. The stag shut his eye. I was told to move forward and repeat the salutation.

I did so saying: “I salute the altar.” The eye again opened and I was reminded of the dark eyes of Pietas in Byzantine icons. Then it closed as before. I heard the mysterious voice again: “If you can bear it, do it for the third time.” So once more I repeated the salutation and this time as the eye looked at me I felt awe-struck.

The eye closed and the mystical veil now showed forth women’s white arms beckoning me forward. I drew closer, and a woman’s voice asked me: “What is your intention?” And I felt she spoke from thousands of years in the past. I replied: “My intention is to bring into harmony the religion of Ancient Egypt and the Tradition of Avalon.”

I felt that my Intention was accepted.

When I receive a vision I always take care to wait for some inner guidance. It was many years before I travelled to Glastonbury after my brother Lawrence had passed into Spirit sphere. He had studied theology at Wells Cathedral.

In the late nineties I regularly visited crop circles, staying with my niece in Wiltshire. En route I would gladly take part in the Goddess Conference in Glastonbury – conveniently taking place during the crop circle season. I felt that Glastonbury was to be revered for its past, but I appreciated my yearly lessons in sacred geometry, with diagrams marked out on the fields round Silbury Hill and Avebury.

However, a member of the Fellowship of Isis in Wales suddenly changed my idea of Glastonbury only existing in the past. I was told of the remarkable connection between the West Country in England and our own countryside at the foot of Mount Leinster in Ireland. Our member told me that over the centuries, folk in Wales would assemble at the foot of the Preseli Hills to watch the full moon when it glided over the Blackstairs Range, including Mount Leinster – and then appear to sink into the Irish Sea. When this rare event occurred, there would surely be a total eclipse of the sun.

When our member talked to the oldest inhabitant of Preseli, she said that the place of the event was haunted by The White Lady, Bringer of Death. Clearly she was the Moon who killed the sun with her shadow during their eclipse of the sun. The members of our Welsh Iseum watched the phenomenon during the most recent total eclipse of the sun late in the 20th Century. Therefore I felt sure that the knowledge of a forthcoming eclipse had been highly valued by our forbears. It explained why the early builders of Stonehenge made their earliest stone circle from blue stones drawn with intense labour from Preseli to Wiltshire.

This had me meditating as to the significance of mountains and hills. From the summit of Mount Leinster we can see the flash of the Irish Sea and the blue mountains of Preseli. Did our forbears signal from hills? Connections were important because of invasions. But I felt I had been given a deeper insight. What about pyramids? Many people seek a zodiac in the landscape around Glastonbury.

My own personal vision was extraordinary. Spiritually, in February 1989, I found myself in a dark corner of the Temple and from there emerged a Being of White Light. Startled, I did not invoke Pagan Deities – I found myself praying through the religion of my childhood. I tried the Lord’s Prayer – nothing happened. The Being stood still. Then for no reason I called out the name “Michael”. At once the Being responded with a leap of exultation! He put his arms around me like a rushing of wind – and then darted like a meteor through an indoor window in the direction of the High Altar of Isis! I had invoked and received the Archangel Michael.

I wondered what it was all about. I assumed it had to do with the inauguration of our new Noble Order of Tara. But why was he off to the North-East and not to Egypt in the South?

It was in 2011 that I received my answer. I had decided that we had invoked the Goddesses so much that in England we had many Priestesses – but no men! At Clonegal Castle we did have Priests because my brother and I had worked together in equality as Brother and Sister. Men felt needed. So I suggested that wherever I visited in the British Isles in 2011 we should ask the FOI Priestesses of the local centre to invoke the God through a Priest. It was a huge success! We invoked Merlin in London and Lugh in a stone-age ruin – and Osiris in Southwark and by The Thames. We invoked the God Eros in the Glastonbury Goddess Conference with great popularity. But what could we do to equal Eros for our FOI Gathering, with Irish members joining us?

What happened was unexpected and inspiring. In our meeting-place, our Irish Poet and Priest gave an Oracle of the Archangel Michael of Michael’s Mount – the Tor. Michael explained that he never killed dragons. Yes, there was a dragon of energy beneath the Tor and certain other hills, coiled up below. Such coiled up serpents rotated like discs in an ever-moving spiral of interconnected circles. Above all, there was a mighty dragon of divine energy within our own planet, guarded by the two Dragons of Magma. So all spiritual power was rooted in earth and if that power was misused our earth would fall, sterile, into a waste of dead craters. The time of renewal was at hand. Let us feel friendliness for all, knowing that from the tiniest lizard every snake has a very large Grandmother! Let us honour and protect Her and She will help us.

After this Oracle we Irish returned to Eire full of hope and joy.

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