Telyndru Jhenah - Avalon within: a sacred journey of myth, mystery, and inner wisdom

About the Author

Jhenah Telyndru, who has been called the mother of the Avalonian revival by PanGaias Elizabeth Barrette, developed the Avalonian Tradition and has been teaching it for more than two decades. She is the founder and Morgen of the Sisterhood of Avalon, an international Celtic womens mysteries organization that has served thousands of women since 1995. Jhenah also serves as Director of the Avalonian Thealogical Seminary, teaches Avalonian intensive workshops around North America, and facilitates pilgrimages to sacred sites in the British Isles. Visit her online at www.ynysafallon.com.

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Avalon Within: A Sacred Journey of Myth, Mystery, and Inner Wisdom 2004 and 2010 by Jhenah Telyndru.

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First e-book edition 2010

E-book ISBN: 9780738727073

Cover design by Kevin R. Brown

Cover painting from Tate Gallery, London/ET Archive, London/SuperStock;
Celtic designs from iStockphoto.com/Michael Platt, Ronald Carlucci, Trudy Karl

Celtic knotwork design on pages 7, 21, 37, 67, 87, 107, 129, 149, 171, 195, 215, 231, and 251 from 159 Celtic Designs by Amy Lusebrink (Dover Publications).

Editing by Laura Graves

Interior illustrations on pages 10, 61, 113, 122, 124, 237, and 274 by Llewellyn art department

Classical Labyrinth Seed Pattern: (How to Draw a Seven Circuit Labyrinth on page 124) from LabyrinthsAncient Myths & Modern Uses , Sig Lonegren, 1991: Jeff Saward/Labyrinthos, adapted by the Llewellyn art department

Plan of Glastonbury Tor Labyrinth (page 113) from In the Nature of Avalon by Kathy Jones, Ariadne Publications, adapted by the Llewellyn art department

Photos on pages 204210 by Jocelyn A.E. Russell

Photo of Glastonbury Abbey on page 7 of the color insert appears courtesy of the Glastonbury Abbey Trustees

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To my Sisters in Avalon and in the love of the Lady

Past, Present, and Future

In memory of those who have made the Journey to the Other Shore,
especially Tammi Boudreau, Suzanne Yelton, and Gina Gambidilla

For my Mom

To Part the Mists

The path to the top of the Tor

Is also the spiraled way to the woman within

A journey of growth, empowerment,

And self understanding

Voyage to the Source the Center the Goddess

She whose Name can only be found in the silence of the soul

Delve into your darkness enter your pain

Conquer your fears

Call the Barge to take you

To the Holy Island of Healing which resides within

And emerge renewed

The Mysteries of Avalon are alive

Her Apples are red and sweet

Do you dare take a bite?

Become the Woman you were born to be

Remember

Jhenah Telyndru, 1995

Contents

I would like to give my thanks for the blessings I received from so many in the course of birthing this book. Foremost, I would like to thank the Sisterhood of Avalon for their gracious assistance and loving support of this project; it simply would not have been possible without my Sisters.

There are so many beautiful women who have assisted and sustained me in both my inner and outer processes during the writing of this book; heartfelt thanks to Debra Schneider, Vyviane Armstrong, Alicia Grosso, Kim Davis, Andrea Smith, Sharone Farrar, Jackie-Kopp Accurso, Lizabeth Doty, and Lisa Siano. I have been truly gifted by your presence in my life!

I would like to express my sincere appreciation for my incredible editors Elysia Gallo and Laura Graves, whose professionalism and expertise are second only to their commitment to midwifing this book in a way that both honored and honed its vision. I am very grateful to them and to everyone at Llewellyn who worked to make this book a reality. I am deeply indebted to all who have shared the beautiful photos and images that have made this book so magickal, especially Bettina Auerbach, Diana Byron, Alicia Grosso, Jackie Hewitt, Kathy Jones, Danna Kline, Dawn Kline, Elisa Maistrellis-Ryng, Jocelyn Russell, Jeff Saward, and Robin Wallace. I am also grateful for the generosity of Chalice Well Trust, the National Trust, the White Spring Companions, and Glastonbury Abbey for permitting us to include photos of the sacred sites entrusted to their care.

Deepest thanks to the Lady for the blessing of my family and their unconditional love and support of me and my need to write this book. Loving thanks to my husband Matthew for all his encouragement and for the sacrifices that opened the space that allowed this book to happen; to my family for the priceless gift of time; and to my beloved children for being my lifes inspiration and the greatest teachers I have ever had.

Above all, I thank the Goddesses of Avalon for Their abundant blessings, limitless love, and for the divine grace of Awen.

Seeking the Holy Isle

S he stands in the prow, her form cloaked by dark robes and clinging mists. Her voluminous hood conceals her ageshe could be anyones daughter, sister, or mother. Her foothold is sure, her body steady. Through the thickening mists and fitful waters, she stands firmly in her place and ever-certain of the way; she has conquered this lake and parted these mists to find her way to Avalon. Now, in service, she guides others through what appears to be the impenetrable, until they too can arrive at the Holy Shore unaided.

She is a Priestess of Avalon.

It has been long since the chord of Avalon has sung out in the hearts of women. In the centuries since her end, we find scattered notes of Avalons song still playing to us down through the stream of time in art, literature, music, and legend. The last one hundred years have especially heralded her re-emergence. The Pre-Raphaelite movement and the writings of Yeats and Tennyson beautifully illustrate the Victorian romance with the Arthurian mythos. The magickal traditions that emerged at beginning of the twentieth century also began to tie into the energy of Avalon, most especially as seen in the work of author and mystic Dion Fortune.