Mysterium Artorius
From author Andrew Collins  Paul Weston MYSTERIUM ARTORIUS (Avalonian Aeon Publications, 2007).   Paul Weston has been one of the most outspoken supporters of psychic questing for nearly 20 years, having been a member of my questing group when material for books such as THE SECOND COMING, THE SEVENTH SWORD and THE CIRCLEMAKERS was unfolding on a day-to-day basis. Since then he has moved to Glastonbury, given outrageous talks across the town, and generally attempted to write the definitive history of psychic questing from his personal perspective - this magnum opus being his ever promised AVALONIAN AEON, five years in the making so far! Frustrated that it is taking too long, Paul has culled stand alone material from the book and expanded on it for an intermediary publication entitled MYSTERIUM ARTORIUS, which rewrites the development of the Grail mysteries with reference to their impact on the Glastonbury legends. Not enough has been done in this area of study and so Paul's work is a major new contribution to the Glastonbury mythos, which includes a complete path working based on the cabbalistic resonations of the different Glastonbury holy sites as reflected in their Arthurian or Grail attributes.  From Glastonbury Oracle  This book is a unique study of Glastonbury mythology with special reference to the Grail Mysteries and King Arthur. It explores the concept of  'British music':  the amorphous mixture of weather, landscape, atmosphere, mythology, ancestors and culture that combine to make what some have personalised as the spirit of Albion.  Any book that name checks both Enid Blyton and John Cowper Powys has to arouse interest and one of Paul's great strengths has always been his knowledge of the source material. It is particularly pleasing to see frequent quotes from Geoffrey Ashe, our venerable Glastonian prophet, whose work has attracted so many to Glastonbury.   The opening chapters discuss Arthur as archetypal hero of Britain, successor to Bran the Blessed,  and hope for the future as Dark Age Britain suffered from pestilence and plague. There is an excellent exploration of the different Grail writers and the times they lived in.  Templars, Sufis and Troubadours make their entrance along with the Plantagents and Eleanor of Acquitaine.  Paul goes on to talk in detail about the esoteric history of Glastonbury Abbey and particulalry the ubiquitous Henry de Blois, who was the longest serving and most influential Abbot from 1126 and 1171.  My favourite section, given modern Glastonbury's popular association with crystals, is entitled Medieval Crystal Consciousness. Building on the well known myth of Arthur's vision of a crystal cross at Beckery, Paul expands on the the use of light and crystal in religious rituals.  Another section deals with the 'music' of Tintagel, a key counterpart to Glastonbury. Further chapters explore the significance of the number seven in ancient cultures, the Glastonbury Zodiac and the role of the Goddess in Glastonbury mythology.  This is the third Glastonbury book to come out in as many weeks and should take its place on your bookshelf alongside the two reviewed in last month's Oracle.  Perhaps best to finish with a quote from John Cowper Powys' ecstatically overweight novel A Glastonbury Romance  Ages before any saint or Saviour of our present Faith appeared in Glastonbury - the earth-goddess had her cauldron of the food of life safely guarded in our Island of the West... Its hero is the Life poured into the Grail. Its message is that no one Receptacle of Life and no one fountain of life poured into that Receptacle can contain or explain what the world offers to us.A"  Mike Jones