This year astrologically the autumn Equinox falls upon the 23rd of September, bringing with it longer nights and the gradual shift towards winter. Leaves fall, berries and nuts come to fruition and here in Avalon it is apple time. The name Avalon, the British otherworld, often geographically said to be here in Glastonbury in the Somerset levels, comes from the word for apple, which in the Celtic tradition symbolises the wholeness and healing of the soul, the sensual delight of being alive, of the human lived experience, without shame or sorrow. It is said to be a place where nine priestesses dwell, attending to a great otherworldly cauldron, symbolising the goddess of the land, who goes by many names, yet there is also a god of Avalon, Avalloc who is its guardian and keeper, father of the famous enchantress Morgan le Fay.
Avalloc is a mysterious figure with only a few mentions in the traditional literature, but a walk in the misty damp orchards of Avalon, on a September morning have much to teach about his nature. Gentle, elusive, a little wistful, I see him often as the orchard keeper of the soul; round apple face wrinkling with kindness and wisdom, sun tanned and weather beaten and full of juice, an irrepressible vitality and sense of wellness, an unassuming delight in being fully and physically here. The mythology and folklore of apples is endless across the globe, but always it brings life and sensual presence, even in the Christian mythology where it brings sin or the knowledge of good and evil, the apple leads us on to the next stage of our soul’s development and growth. It reminds us of our potential as well as the lesson of becoming at peace with what we already are.
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