Saturday 7 July 2012

Myths and Legends of Glastonbury

Glastonbury is a place that is oozing in spiritual and mystical forces, it is the isle of Avalon, the faerie island where the dying Arthur was taken.
Many years ago it was an actual island in the midst of the marshes of Somerset until the drainage programme initiated by the Abbots of the 13th century.
The Tor is topped by St Michael's Tower, this particular saint protects sacred sites by standing to the north of the building.
At the base of the hill is the Chalice Well, this is where the Holy Grail was hidden by Joseph of Arimathea and then found by the Knights of the Round Table.
The water from this well has special healing powers and is drunk by hundreds of pilgrims to this magical site.
There are two further wells, one to the north west of the Tor; the Elder Well ( also called St Edmund's Well ) which  used to be surrounded by a sacred grove of trees and nearby to that again, Ashwell Spring.
Joseph of Arimathea stuck his staff into the ground on the top of Weary All hill, the staff took root and grew.
The Galstonbury Thorn thrived despite Puritan attempts to destroy until recently when it was vandalised but a cutting has been planted in it's place. The original tree bloomed every Christmas and a sprig was sent to the reigning monarch each year for the festive table.
excerpt from Faeries and Folklore of the British Isles

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