Sisterhood of Avalon - The Avalonian Tradition

The Sisterhood of Avalon was founded as a modern-day echo of an ancient tradition. Through many different disciplines, both of the physical and aphysical realms, we strive to remember, reclaim and renew the wisdom and traditions of Avalon. Our focus is one of individual empowerment, so while there are teachers and priestesses of this system, their service is to act as spiritual midwives for women seeking the Holy Island. The Avalonian Tradition is a Mystery System -- we cannot teach the mysteries, rather, we work to restimulate the wisdom inherent in all of us.

Founded by Jhenah Telyndru in 1995 as a reflection of her Avalonian study which began in earnest in 1988, the Sisterhood of Avalon is fully incorporated non-profit organization currently seeking 501(c)3 status. It is our belief that within this structure we will be able to offer increasingly effective and assessable methods of encouraging each sister to grow, heal and become the reflection of her personal Goddess Vision. In this spirit, the SOA presents Wise Women's teachings which serve to midwife the emergence of the Priestess Within.

The Sisterhood of Avalon has many goals for the future, so that we may best fulfill our mission of service to the Goddess, Her daughters, and to Avalon. We hope, as our individual and group paths wind around to draw closer to the horizon, that there will be many sisters at our side, knowing the joy of personal growth and living free and empowered in the love of the Lady.

The Sisterhood of Avalon: Belief Statement

- Our approach to entering the Realms of Avalon is through the application of techniques found in the Western Mystery Tradition. To this end, we feel that a foundation in Western Magick is essential. With these tools, we can gain access to Avalon and Her Mysteries.

- We follow a Goddess-Centered Path and work with the Welsh Pantheon. We feel that the female path is different from that of the male path -- they are equal, yet opposite. Although we honor and acknowledge the Male aspect of Deity, we work only with female, passive energies, and work only with Goddess energy. We work strictly within the confines of the Avalonian Archetype. Although we honor all Goddesses as One, we work only with the faces of the Goddess specific to Avalon. Of course, our Sisters may explore what they will of other paths as well, but our ritual workings are strictly keyed to Avalonian energies.

- We do not pray to the Goddess to ask Her to change our lives. We do not utilize manipulative magicks of any kind. We believe that we change the world by changing ourselves. The Goddesses of Avalon work WITH us to effect this change ... to attain the goal of inner transformation -- for through issue resolution and soul healing, we become closer to the Divine within ourselves.

- We trust in the Wisdom of the Universe. We trust in the Universe's ability to maintain order and balance of its own accord. We work to untangle the snares of personal soul-debt, while honoring its workings and recognizing our inability to see the full Tapestry. It is thus, with humility, that we dare not meddle. It is not for us to change the path of others -- only they themselves can do so ... and only thus are life lessons learned.

- We strive to heal ourselves and gain inner clarity so that we are not ruled by the unconscious motivations of our shadow sides. When we see with new eyes, we expand our perception of the Universe and our place within it. We do not seek psychism for its own sake. "Psychic" abilities (i.e., the Sight) are the by-product of our work, not the reason for it

- Although we acknowledge and honor the wisdom and accomplishments of our Sisters with community-based recognition of their attainment, we believe that all true shifts of consciousness and initiations come ONLY from the hand of the Lady Herself. Through issue resolution, there is an increased ability to see with clarity and separate ourselves from issues of power and ego. Only when one can bypass ego, and find joy in service rather than power, can one hear with clarity.

- We work to understand and intimately know the Powers of Land, Sea, and Sky, for through them we can understand the ways in which energy works both within and without.

- We seek the Illumination of Awen through our workings and as part of our Quest for wholeness and understanding both of Self and Goddess.

- We follow the Lunar cycles for our Holy Day workings, not the Roman Calendar, which was unknown to the ancient Celts. We observe the Lunar Holy Days -- Calan Gaeaf (Samhain), Gwyl Mair (Imbolc), Calan Mai (Beltane) and Gwyl Awst (Lughnasadh) -- and work on the Dark and Full Moons.

- We embrace, as our highest ideal, the concept of personal empowerment. There is no Book of Shadows to be memorized and no rote learning. We teach our students the tools they need so that they may come to their own wisdom. Teaching someone the elemental alignment of an herb only allows them to know the elemental alignment of THAT herb. Teaching someone how to DETERMINE the elemental alignment of an herb, allows them to know the elemental alignments of ALL herbs. We already have all the answers ... we must only remember how to ask the questions.

- We believe in the importance of understanding the culture from which the Avalonian Tradition emerged. Therefore, we encourage all areas of study within the Avalonian/Celtic archetype -- specifically that of the Cymry. Immersion in this energy serves to open more doorways. Music, dance, song, chant, language, history, art, healing, ritual, divination, etc., all have their Avalonian application, and are paths of service.

- Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the Avalonian path is experiential. It cannot be learned by reading books or through observation of others. We must each actively seek our wisdom. This path is also self-limiting, and therefore requires the utmost discipline and dedication. A woman will only get out of the work what she puts into it. One cannot be an armchair Priestess of Avalon. A woman who seeks to walk this path must be willing to put it all on the line, have the courage to look her shadows square in the face, and be able to effect positive change in her life. The path is endless ... there is never nowhere else to go -- there is only unwillingness to look further. We are ever unfolding, ever-seeking to conquer the mists which obstruct our sight.

ROLE OF CLERGY

Levels Of Attainment

The SOA does not initiate Priestesses; we feel that a Priestess of Avalon cannot be "made" by any earthly authority. We treat this title with great respect and honor and do not use it lightly. In the days past, it took many years for a woman of Avalon to become a Priestess, and then she did so with the advantage of living in a closed community dedicated solely to the work of the Goddess in an established continuum.

Today, alas, we do not have the same kind of support, and while we are actively remembering, reclaiming and renewing the traditions of old, becoming a priestess is not something that can (or should) be accomplished easily or through the reading of a book or completion of a course. How can we, who work in the mundane world of endless distraction and in a different cultural context without constant support for our work, think we can attain this goal in the same amount of time, much less in LESS time than our foremothers?

Attending a few Avalonian workshops and being active in the Sisterhood for a few years does not a Priestess make. It is a life-transforming experience -- one of many as there are MANY initiations -- and one that comes from the fruit of commitment to self-transformation and inner growth. A woman is recognized a Priestess by her actions and her very presence of being. It need not be spoken, nor imprinted on a business card. No woman can pass through the doors of Initiation as Priestess without some profound and lasting inner change occurring in her life.

The Sisterhood does, however, have Levels of Attainment, which reflect the amount of study a sister has successfully completed, rather than any spiritual authority. These Levels are: Aspirant, Novice, Apprentice, Sister and Wise Woman. The term 'Elder' is not used within the SOA vernacular and there has been no conference of the title 'Elder' within the Avalonian Tradition.

The Morgen

The SOA is guided by the Morgen - the primary authoritative spokesperson for the thealogical direction of the Sisterhood of Avalon. She is roughly the equivalent of the Archdruid in other orders and traditions. All women are equal in the SOA; simply, it is the service of the Morgan is to keep strong and help manifest the Vision of the Sisterhood.

The Avalonian Thealogical Seminary

The SOA sponsors the Avalonian Thealogical Seminary; a formal distance training program designed to teach individual sisters the wisdom of Avalon through discipline and by encouraging natural individual abilities. The aim of the Avalonian Thealogical Seminary is to provide a centralized, uniform foundation in the Avalonian Tradition, to encourage the growth of the Avalonian Tradition and to present training in pastoral counseling and the facilitation of rites of passage in accordance with local laws. We recognize the need for a comprehensive and thorough training program for women wishing to serve the Goddess and their communities as ordained clergy. All women who complete the entire Seminary program will be eligible to apply for ordination through the Sisterhood of Avalon.

The Avalonian Thealogical Seminary opened its doors in 1999, and our first class completed Level One of the training in 2002. We project that we will graduate our first ordained clergy in 2006.

ORGANIZATION OF GROUPS

Administrative Bodies

To best serve all of our Sisters, we have embraced the following administrative structure:

- The Council of Nine is from the SOA Circle of Wise Women; nine active members are chosen to be the Council of Nine. This council will give all thealogical direction for the SOA. Members serve for nine years. The primary authoritative spokesperson for the Council shall be known as the Morgen. The Council of Nine also has an elected speaker to represent their voice on the Board of Trustees, known as the Speaker of the Nine. This position is held for a one year term. Until such time as the Council of Nine, our guiding religious body, can be filled with women of the Wise Woman level, the positions are held by those deemed best suited for the position by the Morgen.

- The Board of Trustees consists of four officers -- President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer -- and three Trustees, of which one is appointed by the Board and two are voted on by the membership at large. The Board also has an Executive Director who is in an administrative position appointed by and reporting to the Board. The Board handles decisions related to secular policy and governance of the corporation.

While a woman in the SOA may serve as a member of the Board of Trustees, the Council of Nine or as a chairperson of one of our committees, these titles indicate a place of service within the organization, and only last for the duration of tenure in these positions. They do not in any way represent spiritual achievement or authority, nor do they confer any ongoing endorsement by the Sisterhood. Any attempt to equate these positions with spiritual authority within the Avalonian Tradition is misleading and unsupported by the SOA.

Hearths

SOA Hearths are gatherings of women joined together in sisterhood to immerse themselves in the Avalonian Tradition. At least one woman within each Hearth, the facilitator or Hearth Mother, has completed the SOA training program, and has structured the Hearth around its basic tenets. Hearths are both teaching and working groups, and all Hearth Sisters are members of the SOA.

Novice Hearths are groups which are presently completing the requirements to become a Full Hearth.

Learning Circles are sisters meeting together and doing preparatory work with the goal of becoming a Novice Hearth.

All Hearth groups are fully integrated entities within the SOA, and have religious and administrative responsibilities to the organization. They must abide by the bylaws of the Sisterhood of Avalon, and practice within the tenants of the Avalonian Tradition.

The Avalonian Tradition observes the Ancient Celtic Fire Festivals as our High Holy Days. We work in community on the Full Moons, and at our personal altars at the Dark Moons. Avalon is the Celtic Holy Island of Healing, and as such, our tradition's focus is on inner growth, personal empowerment, and acknowledgment of the Inner Divine. Therefore our ritual intention is to come to greater connection with and understanding of the Goddess and the realms of Avalon though the path within; this necessitates a commitment to issue resolution, shadow work and personal transformation.

STANDARDS OF CONDUCT

Our mission and values above all else are committed to:

In pursuit of these values, we believe the following statements are essential and timeless:

READING AND OTHER REFERENCES

Our path to revelation comes in aligning with the Cycles of the Universe. The Divine expresses Itself in everything and everyone. We work with Feminine Manifestation of the All as She is revealed in Welsh Mythos. We work with the Mythic Cycle found in The Mabinogion and the Welsh Bardic materials. While we feel there are echoes of the Avalonian archetype found in Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon, our tradition is not based upon what is depicted in that book. Rather, we hold that the book has served as a trigger for women around the world to seek the Mysteries of the Goddess, and to reawaken the quest for the Holy Isle.

We encourage our Sisters to immerse themselves in some aspect of Celtic culture as an integral part of working in the Avalonian Tradition, i.e., language, art, music, folk-tradition, craft, literature, poetry, etc.-in order to better understand the context in which Ancient Avalon existed. We stress fact over fantasy and discernment skills over imagination. We seek a balance between scholastic achievement and intuitive wisdom.

The current Morgen of the Sisterhood of Avalon, Jhenah Telyndru, has written a book about the Avalonian Tradition entitled Avalon Within: Inner Sovereignty and Personal Transformation Through the Avalonian Mysteries (ISBN 1-4196-0020-6); it is a good starting point for women seeking the Holy Isle. A full list of resources recommended by the SOA can be found here.