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Walking the Tor

Upon the slopes of Glastonbury Tor there are seven and more levels of terracing encircling the mysterious hill, some easy to see and some lost in part through erosion. These are said to be the present remains of a great three-dimensional labrynth, sculpted by the ancient peoples of Avalon and based upon the same pattern as the Kretan labrynth (spelled to emphasise the connection to the Kretan House of the Labrys). This pattern is universal and ancient appearing on the earliest coins from Krete, on rocks at Tintagel in Cornwall, in Indonesia and Ceylon and as a symbol among the Native American Hopi for Mother Earth.

The possible presence of this huge labrynth on the Tor was first suggested in the 1970 by Geoffrey Russell and further elucidated by Geoffrey Ashe in The Glastonbury Tor Maze (Gothic Image). Whether this labrynth is a truly ancient sculpture is disputed, but since no-one has yet dug beneath the terraces to find out, no-one knows for certain. Over the last twenty years or so however, the pathway through the labrynth has been threaded by many hundreds of people, some walking individually and others in larger ceremonial groups to honour the Lady of Avalon, in her guises as Ariadne of the Red Thread, Arianrhod of the Silver Wheel, and Morgen la Fey. The labrynth exists now in both etheric and physical actuality. It is a present day physical and spiritual initiatory experience in which the mystery of the ever-living Goddess may be encountered and recognised. As with all such magical journeys the depth of the experience depends on the extent to which we are able to open ourselves to Her divine essence.

 
The Path of the Glastonbury Labrynth

On the Tor the pattern of the labrynth is traced by a single pathway that winds back and forth seven times around the hill on different levels of terracing. The entrance lies at the southwestern end of the Tor above Wellhouse Lane and is marked by a smooth sandstone Tor burr behind a bench. All 360O turns in the labrynth are made at this end of the Tor. With the lowest terrace on the Tor as level 1 and the terrace nearest the top as level 7 the labrynth takes its first turn to the left on level 3 marked by another prominent stone, then follows a pattern of levels 3 2 1 4 7 6 5, ending on the fifth outer circuit. It is here that psychically or in the past perhaps physically the journeyer into the labrynth enters the body of the Tor. Within the Tor there are two more psychic levels - the Underworld, where we meet our Shadow selves, and the Otherworld, where the Jewel in the Lotus of the Soul may be glimpsed. Altogether this makes the sacred number Nine of the ancient goddess and of the Nine Morgens who rule the Isle of Avalon. On the return from the centre the path follows the same route in reverse - 5 6 7 4 1 2 3.

Each of the seven levels can be viewed as corresponding to one of the seven major chakras, to the seven rays/qualities of energy and to seven elements. As we thread each level we can equate our experience/feelings with the appropriate chakra, ray energy and element.

Walking the labrynth

Walking into the centre of the labrynth we shed a layer of ourselves as we traverse each level, removing the seven veils. In the centre we spend time contemplating the inner dimensions of our Shadow and Solar Selves. Then we must retrace our steps, replacing the outer layers, leaving behind what we no longer need, taking with us new insights and energy. It is important to thread the maze outwards as well as inwards, since those who stop half way remain literally in the middle of a psychic maze, which they will one day need to return to complete. If you feel impelled to give up the journey at any time notice the level on which these feelings arise and the corresponding energies and qualities and equate with meanings and resistances in your life
The Labrynth has perhaps been here for thousands of years and in that time there has been erosion by weather and human activity on the slopes of the Tor, as well as an earthquake in 1275. As a result some terraces are not as easy to see as others and the southern side of the Tor is lower the northern side. This means that at the northeastern end of the Tor there is a somewhat steep join between one half of the labrynth and the other. In addition some of the lowest levels of the labrynth are not within the National Trust land and so the path diverts around private land. Despite all these hindrances it has always seemed to me more important to walk the pattern of the Labrynth rather than obsessing over the exact ground which is walked.

Threading the Glastonbury Tor Labrynth is an initiatory passage into the mysteries of the Isle of Avalon. It is a very physical journey - a long walk round and around a steep hill. It is a multidimensional experience linking the seen and the unseen worlds and allowing the seeker to pass through the veil that separates the everyday world of the physical senses from the mythical Otherworld. In legend the Tor lies upon the Isle of Avalon or the Isle of Apples, also known as the Western Isle of the Dead. Here, guarded by Gwyn ap Nudd, is an entrance to the Underworld of Annwn, where the Ancestral Spirits of Avalon dwell. They sometimes appear on the slopes of the Tor or in the skies above as Crows, Hawks, Doves, Rabbits, Badgers and Dogs. Dying souls are brought to Avalon across the misty waters to be transformed. To respectfully thread the maze is to surrender to the magical process of spiritual regeneration.
It is my belief that by tracing this ancient labrynth to its centre and out again with reverence and in a ritual manner, we awaken a personal connection to Ariadne and Arianrhod, to Morgen la Fey, and to the Watchers of Avalon. By physically walking this pattern in a ceremonial manner we are placing a key in an ancient lock and turning it so that a door opens in memory giving access to ancestral knowledge and wisdom. In threading the maze we come into direct contact with Madron, Mother of the lineage of Avallach.