Located in England's southwest corner is the legendary village of Glastonbury. Rich in both myth and history, Glastonbury is one of the most spellbinding places in the world. Recognized as a spiritual center since the megalithic era, it is the site of the first Christian church in the British Isles and claimed to be the Avalon of King Arthur.

The small village of Glastonbury itself is lovely and quaint, cradled among a series of velvety green hills. The tallest of these hills is the famous Tor, an oblong 'whale shaped’ hill formation with the impressive monolithic remains of a church tower on top, dedicated to the Archangel Michael. At the foot of the Tor is the Chalice Well and the spherical dome of Chalice Hill. Below in the town center lay the ruins of the great Abbey, site of Joseph of Arimathea's church, and gravesite of the legendary King Arthur. Wearyall Hill, location of the legendary thorn tree is on the west entrance to the village.

( Note: Unfortunately the Sacred Thorntree of Wearyall Hill was cut down by vandals recently.)

Glastonbury was a major religious center long before the time of King Arthur or Joseph of Arimathea. The Druids utilized the Tor from 2500 BC as an initiation center for priests. Megalithic Age remains dating from 5,000 BC reveals Glastonbury as the site of a massive astrological calendar combining a stone circle, with solar and lunar alignments, (atop the Tor) and a land carved zodiac map, ten miles in diameter.

Druid priests and society considered Glastonbury their 'holy mecca'. Understandably so. Complete with temples, stone circles, fertility sites and a sacred Goddess center, druid high priests and high priestesses were trained, initiated and centered at the Tor and Chalice Well. The Chalice wellspring was considered to be the earth source for the Goddess, Gaia. Her red waters were sacred and used for healing.

Glastonbury's Vortex Sites

There are four powerful energy sites within the township. Each site activates one of the upper chakras. That in itself is an extremely interesting phenomenon. The earth currents in the Glastonbury sites are all 'electrical' vortexes, meaning the flow is outward. These four vortex sites work synergistically to balance all 4 upper chakras, and resonate in unison as the World Heart Center. These resonate as follows:

• 7th Chakra -Crown : The Tor (Archangel Michael Tower)
• 6th Chakra - Third Eye : The Chalice Well (Kings Court)
• 5th Chakra - Throat : Wearyall Hill (Sacred Thorn Vortex)
• 4th Chakra - Heart : Abbey Ruins (Lady Chapel)

Three of the vortexes listed above, The Tor, Chalice Well and Lady Chapel, are created by the spinning effect of the Michael and Mary leylines intersecting. These 3 sites also contain a myriad of other energetic sources, but those equally sacred energies are not telluric in nature. The vortex at Wearyall Hill occurs only on the Michael line. (The Mary line is not present). Precisely at the Holy Thorn an energetic node occurs with a powerful earth- current vortex spinning upward. The vortex has a diameter of about 8 feet.

In addition to the primary power-points in Glastonbury, numerous other energy centers occur. The locations in Glastonbury that I feel resonate to the first three chakras are:

• 3rd Chakra - Solar Plexus - 'Egg Stone' ( Northwest side Tor slope)
• 2nd Chakra - Creative Center - Chalice Spring Wellhead (Chalicewell Gardens)
• 1st Chakra - Base Center - White Springs Wellhead (Westside Chilkwell Street)

The combined Glastonbury energies resonate as a heart center, and accordingly vibrate to the number four.

Cradle of Christianity

Traditional legends claim that the first Christian church in Britain was formed in Glastonbury by Jesus' uncle, Joseph of Armithea and that Jesus himself was brought here as a boy to be schooled by esoteric druid priests. Legends further claim Glastonbury was temporary home to the 'Holy Grail', and housed the great 'Arc of the Covenant'. While certain claims are perhaps folklore, others are supported with credible historical evidence. Though notable historians are divided on these claims, there is ample academic evidence to support the presence of Joseph of Armithea in Glastonbury. England was part of the Roman Empire at the time of Christ's birth.

Roman occupation on the British Isles actually began around 55 BC and continued for 400 years. The Romans invaded England to take possession of the burgeoning mining activity in order to supply their vast military needs. At this time, Glastonbury was an inland island, surrounded by a great tidal fed lake, and therefore directly accessible from the sea. While Romans conducted mining operations in nearby areas, Glastonbury Isle served more as a center for religious sects and as a refuge for healing, due to its well-known curative springs. The Romans recognized the healing properties of the spring, and are credited with building the well basin.

The nearby area of Cornwall and Somerset were the principal sites of Roman mining, where lead and tin were extracted and smelted. Ancient remains of tin mines still remain in several area locations.

According to historians, Joseph of Arimathea, uncle of Jesus and provider of his tomb, was a wealthy tin merchant and had on numerous occasions come to the British Isles in his business capacity. Southwest England had active lead, iron, zinc, tin and copper mines from the Bronze Age forward, and was the primary supplier of tin and lead to the Roman Empire by 15 BC.

Jesus in Glastonbury

As a metal trader, Joseph of Armithea had business dealings in Roman occupied Somerset and Cornwall, and made numerous trips to Britain on the regular routed ore vessels. Popular legend claims he brought the boy Jesus with him on several of his trips. The Cornish Celts claimed that Joseph of Armithea left Jesus, by divine order, at the druidic college at Place on the Roseland peninsula in Cornwall. Several pictographs dated to 500 AD on the arched door of the Saxon and Norman church in the township of Place, Cornwall, depict the scene of a young Jesus arriving and receiving instruction.

After the crucifixion of Christ in 33 AD, Joseph of Armithea sought refuge in the British Isles with his family and a small entourage of family and believers. Some claim Saint Mary was among this group. The sacred and powerful Lady Chapel in the Glastonbury Abbey Ruins is named in her honour.

Wearyall Hill

Joseph of Armithea reputedly carried with him a staff made from an Israeli hawthorn tree. Legend claims Joseph thrust his staff into the moist ground at his campsite in Glastonbury Isle on Wearyall Hill. Within days it took root. This he interpreted as a sign from God to stay here and establish his home and church. He established the first Christian church in Glastonbury in 37 AD. The descendents of the Glastonbury Thorn tree still grow on Wearyall Hill and near the Tor. This particular variety of hawthorn blossoms twice annually at Christmas and at Easter, as do varieties of hawthorn found only in Palestine and Israel. Interestingly, no indigenous English varieties of hawthorns bloom at Christmas time.

The oblong Wearyall Hill, like the Tor and Chalice Hill was an island 1500 years ago in the great tidal lake of Avalon. The Michael line flows freely along its base, an up to the holy thorn. At the thorn, an impressive spiral of energy fountains upward. Renowned Cornish dowser and author Hamish Miller confirmed both the leyline path and the spiral energy fountain at the Holy Thorn in 1997. Miller traces the leyline across England in his book “The Sun and the Serpent". He further notes that the leyline turns at a sharp angle toward the Abbey, precisely at the holy thorn. I found the energy there to be very invigorating, very crisp. The lushness of the hill is similar to the Tor, and mediation comes easily.

Despite the proximity of the entrance road 350 meters below the thorn, I could hear only the serene flow of breeze while on the hill. The silence and serenity were unique and somewhat striking. I was able to lapse into alpha state immediately in the perimeter of the holy thorn. Visions and inner voices are enhanced, the energy fountain mesmerizing. Wearyall Hill and the holy thorn resonate to the fifth chakra.

The ancient remains of a church and chapel have been discovered on Wearyall Hill, It is thought to be the initial location of Joseph's Waddle Church. Sacred earth indeed.

The Holy Grail

Joseph is said to have brought with him a precious relic that was displayed on the churches alter; the chalice from which Jesus and the 12 disciples drank in the Last Supper, and that Joseph used to collect Christ's blood at the Crucifixion. This chalice became the legendary Holy Grail proliferated in Arthurian legend, symbolic of man's eternal quest for perfection. He is said to have buried the grail near the Chalice Well, and in so doing the well flowed red, signifying the healing blood of Christ.

The Blue Chalice

There are fascinating connections between the Chalice Well, Glastonbury, the 'Holy Grail' and the arc of the covenant. In the early 1900's a chalice was found in Bridies well in Glastonbury and determined by the British museum to be 'consistent with'Syrian or middle eastern artifacts from the period of 100 BC to 300 AD. There is an incredible sequence of events that led to the discovery of the Blue Chalice. The 'blue chalice' received great notoriety & became the topic of global interest and study. Today it is stored in a protected chamber of the 'St. Michael Retreat House' on the grounds of the Chalice Well Gardens. Members of the Chalice Well Trust are able to request appointments to see and on rare occasions hold the chalice, under the guidance of the Well Trustees. These are dealt with on a discretionary basis. Many reputed clairvoyants & psychics laud the chalice, and claim it to be connected to Christ; still others claim it to have extra terrestrial origins. All believe it emits a strong vibratory field. I had the great opportunity to have one hour alone with the 'Blue Chalice' in the spring of 2001, and it had a profound effect on me. There is an undeniable pure energy radiated from the precious crystalline vessel. It has an unusual texture and color, and is unlike anything I have ever touched before.

A marvelous history of the 'Blue Chalice', Glastonbury and the three sacred sites is available from Amazon.com in the book "The Avalonians" written by Dr Patrick Benham. Dr Benham is a native of Somerset, and still lives just outside of Glastonbury. He teaches music at a nearby university, and is a longtime admirer and spiritual protector of the Chalice Well. I met him quite by 'accident' in a small music store on one of my pilgrimages to Glastonbury a few years ago. He was 'test' playing a new acoustic guitar, and we joined in together on some 'delta blues' tunes quite spontaneously for half an hour, perched happily on a couple of chairs in the music shoppe. The proprietor, a familiar older Irish gentleman, delightfully encouraged us. After a few impromptu songs he asked where I was staying, and I told him at St Michael's retreat at the Chalice Well. He told me he was a trustee and asked if I was a 'Companion of the Chalice Trust'. We became friends, and he later sent me a signed copy of his book. I sent him a couple of delta blues cd's in fair trade. We still correspond and get together when possible.

Isle of Avalon - Camelot

The Chalice Well and the Holy Grail became centerpoints of the King Arthur Legends. The actual site of Camelot is calculated to be at Cadbury Mound near Glastonbury. Arthur's birthsite is Tintagel Castle on the nearby rugged Cornwall coast. King Arthur's deathbed hours were at the Tor, near the Chalice Well, and his burial at Glastonbury Abbey. King Arthur's gravesite is marked with a plaque at the Abbey ruins.

The Arthurian Myth and Fables are well known, but what is less known are the historic evidences of the actual existence of King Arthur in Glastonbury, Cornwall and eastern Wales. The epic story has been so sensationally projected in print and film that to the general masses it is merely a wonderful fable. It is much more. Arthur lived, and was a Christ consciousness. The written works, coming centuries later, were in a true sense a channeled symbolism of the sojourn and trinity of man in the three dimensional plane.

Obviously the actual story lines of King Arthur are symbolic truths and probably do not trace his life story verbatim. They served as a metaphoric treatise on the struggles of man searching for truth. It is and was a repetition of the inserted living hologram of the Man/God passion. The symbology of the Arthurian epic reveals a slightly different aspect of the Christos hologram, in mirror of that of Jesus the Christ. Subtle correlations exist, the 12 knights of the roundtable symbolic of the 12 disciples and Guinevere tempted with the forbidden fruit, (as with Eve in the Garden of Eden) are but two of literally dozens of correlations that subtly mirror the story of Christ

I urge readers to decide its validity for themselves, by visiting and experiencing this very real energy directly in Glastonbury, Cornwall and Wales. Several renown-channeled sources also confirm the existence of King Arthur, as a 'Christ Consciousness'. A man of sincere and true heart trained by the savant Merlin as a boy, to lead 5th century England into the true knowledge of spirit and one god. In fifth century Britain, local religion had deteriorated into a distorted Paganism sometimes involving human sacrifice. Feudal lords reigned and invading Picts, Irish and Normans plundered the country. Violent bands of thieves preyed on the vulnerable. Christianity was only sparsely established. Arthur sought to inspire men to live for good, honor and truth, and to establish law and order under a central just ruler, and to allow men the right to worship as they chose, and live without fear. The vibration of Arthur the Christ-King is very present in Glastonbury, Cornwall and Wales. It has a feeling of deep symbolic truth and purity.

This writer notes that before visiting Glastonbury in 1980, I had never considered Arthur more than a literary legend. My experience in Glastonbury burned such a strong impression in my psyche that I became intuitively aware of not only Arthur's existence as an actual historic figure, but more importantly his Christ consciousness, symbology and sacred mission.

Grid System

Glastonbury is the principle of three portals within the UK. These portals, Iona, Findhorn and Glastonbury form a triangular energy grid that injects the enclosed leylines with an infusion of cosmic energy. This cosmic energy facilitates the acceleration of the earth's vibratory rate, and thus her ascension. These portals are anchored by the intent of resident Lightworkers' working with the portal site.

Glastonbury's placement as a portal extends to a global triune and has extended energy lines to many sacred centres’ worldwide. Glastonbury is in fact one of the 12 sacred global centers. Its energies are multi faceted. A tremendous influx of ley energy, earth currents, anionic plasma and electrical vortexes connect to create an incredible force field. The energetic cocktail can be overwhelming; it extends to a radius of about 3.5 miles from the town center.

The template for our Earth contains three grids. One of these, the 'crystalline or ascension grid' is composed of a lattice of triangulated pentagons and covers the earth in a geodesic matrix. This pattern of 3-D and 5-D pentagonal shapes interlock to create a multi dimensional goedome sphere over the planet. The connecting apexes of these triangles and pentagons are points of energy focus. The grid lines joining these apexes conduct an energy flow. This flow can be regulated. Glastonbury is a primary apex that functions in all 3 earth grids.

An interesting side note to the triangulation of apex energy points, is that indigenous people such as the Hopi, Lakota and Aborigines, have advocated for centuries that sacred sites are always placed in 'three's.

Leylines

The Druid Masters were keenly in tune with earth energies and they carefully identified and tracked the sacred energy lines called 'leys' throughout Great Britain and Western Europe. The most notable of these are the Michael and Mary lines. Even before being given Christian names and associated with the Arc Angel Michael, the Druids and Celts discerned the male and female identities of the ley energies. They assigned Celtic names of deities of light and protection to the lines.

Leylines are by definition, amassed flowing telluric energy. These lines are paths of concentrated living energy that allows for people to find peace and well being. Electrical in nature, they are the nervous system of the planet. The Michael line is the instrument of the Arch Angel Michael. Manifestations of Arch Angel Michael have appeared along the 'Michael' line for centuries.

The lines can be detected by dowsing, and in fact have been mapped for millennia. They are discernable, and carry a vibrant electrical pulse. I find ley energy identifiable by a projected tangible sense of 'well being' all around the areas of their path. Plant life thrives, animal life seems happier and the air seems to 'sparkle', in the proximity of ley energy.

In England, the Druids recognized the unique swirling vortex formed when two ley lines intersected. At these sites, they established sacred ritual points, initiation centers or healing refuges to utilize this amplified energy. Worship and spirituality was particularly enhanced at the powerful intersections of the Mary and Michael leylines.

Sacred Geometry and Freemason Architecture

Christian Freemasons came along centuries later and built churches (using sacred geometry) on the exact religious sites situated along the leylines vortexes chosen by the earthwise Druid Shamans eons before. Historians speculate this was done to assist in converting the Paganistic masses to Christianity. However, the illuminati amongst the Freemasons had a more divine method than simple political sway. They were aware of the amplified spiritual energy of these vortex sites, and chose them with intuitive intent for construction of the great cathedrals. The amplified leyline energy flowing in these British cathedrals built along the Michael Leyline is simply magnificent, and must be experienced! Several cathedrals actually have the leyline channeled symmetrical down exact center aisle of the structure. The energy is curved into circular patterns inside the brilliantly designed cathedral domes and circulates inside throughout the vaulted ceilings. Saint Paul's in London is one such example. The powerful reverent emotions of the thousands upon thousands of worshipers is imprinted upon and further amplifies the sacred energy pulsing inside many of these 'Freemason' designed cathedrals. The sacred geometry utilized in the architecture enhances these energies somewhat in the fashion of the stone circles.

Among the beautiful cathedrals in Britain ingeniously positioned over leyline vortex crossings and nodes, are Saint Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Salisbury Cathedral, Wells Cathedral and Canterbury Cathedral, to name a few.

Earthen Zodiac Carvings

There is an additional Glastonbury mystery revealed in the recent past. In 1927 Katherine Maltwood, a local sculptor and illustrator (re)discovered the 'Glastonbury Zodiac', while surveying fields surrounding Glastonbury. Also referred to as the 'Glastonbury Giants', the zodiac had actually been referenced in various writings since medieval times, but was thought to be merely part of the Glastonbury lore. Maltwood painstakingly retraced the impressive and undeniable landscape carving. These zodiac tables etched into the actual landscape in a circular pattern about 10 miles in diameter, correctly and chronologically templates the twelve zodiac signs using existing landmarks, hills, rivers and land-etched boundaries.

The maps clearly show human and animal figures in place around the circular zodiac, with a carving of a hound some five miles in length, (locally called the Langford Girt-Dog) along the zodiac circle's exterior. Names of villages along the zodiac that correlate to the actual placement of the star-map indicate some local knowledge of the zodiac existence in mediaeval times. Aires road has been so called for centuries and occurs within the Aires sign. The village of Earlake is on the hound's ear! Like the Nazca plane etchings in Peru, these are only truly discernable from aerial views of about 6,000 feet above the land. Some anthropologists have estimated the zodiac to have been built at about 3000 BC, while still others connect it to the period of the Dendarah Zodiac built in Egypt circa 7000 BC. Maltwood considered The Glastonbury Zodiac to be the original 'Roundtable'.

Glastonbury is host to the annual Glastonbury Music Festival every year in mid June. A modern day Woodstock equivalent, the event is a three-day concert featuring top recording artists to crowds of twenty to forty thousand. The spiritual traveler may well wish to avoid the crowded festival when planning a trip to Glastonbury. Besides clogging the roads, hotels and B & B's become virtually impossible to obtain the week of the festival.

Glastonbury is an epicenter of the 'New Age', and its energy attracts all types. The village streets are lined with historical churches, buildings and museums situated side by side with a myriad of shops. The high street promenade offers the full gamut of wares and services to both tourist and pilgrim. From local art galleries, vegetarian restaurants, English high tea rooms, Arthurian swords, souvenir chalices, healing arts, tarot readings, incense, crystals, wands, capes, herbs and astrological readings, it is all there. Buddhist, traditional Church of England Protestants, druids, wiccans, and New Age pilgrims recognize and share the potent traditions and energy of Glastonbury. Each claims it as their own. The spiritual duality is present. Like many mega power centers, Glastonbury has an electro-magnetic field that is held in balance by the integral presence of both electrical polarities, positive and negative. So when making ones pilgrimage, enter the potent energy of the duality fully aware, and establish astral protection upon visiting the wondrous Avalon, for the veil is indeed thin, and both energies are present.

The powerful energy amplifies the aura, and visitors not accustomed to this level of energy can experience an auric depletion after a few days. This is the signal to move into a lesser amperage. That signal should be respected, to overstay can result in a feeling of tiredness and erratic mood swings. Time is usually required for the human aura to adjust to the highly concentrated electro-magnetic fields in power centers such as Glastonbury. Residents of such mega energies centers develop an auric sheath that allows them to retain balance within the concentrated energy fields.

B & B accommodations in Glastonbury are plentiful. Hotels are a little more difficult, especially for groups, and much more expensive. I highly recommend staying at the Chalice Well 'Little St Michael's Retreat', actually on the grounds of the Chalice Well gardens for the individual traveler. This does require becoming a member of the Chalice Well Trust, a very worthwhile non-profit organization. Glastonbury is easily reached in a three-hour drive from London taking the M-4 to Bristol, then heading south for twenty-five miles on the M5. Watch for the exit, and prepare to be enchanted when the Tor appears on the horizon.

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