Welcome to AvalonBeyond…

Over the years many people have asked me why I chose the name Avalon for the store. A full explanation would take days….a history of my life and love of my homeland…..poetry and inspired messages……old friends and new. The main reason though is just this……

In England there is a very spiritual and sacred place called Glastonbury which is believed to be the site of the idyllic and magickal Isle of Avalon. This Island is a realm between the worlds, an entrance in to the underworld and has been for centuries and indeed millennia a site of initiation and worship. Featuring strongly in Arthurian Legend, the Isle has captured the imagination of many who have visited there, myself among them experiencing the peace and rebirth of this ancient mysterious gateway to the Goddess. .

Two holy wells or springs are found in Glastonbury, The Chalice Well or Red spring so called because the water is so filled with iron deposits that everything it touches is covered with rust. The other spring is the White Spring whose water is full of chalk leaving a white residue where it runs. These two closely coexisting yet separate sources are held to be symbolic of the blood and the milk of the mother and the Chalice well in later years was thought to be the last place where the holy grail was seen turning the water red with the blood of the crucified Christ. Of course we know, as seekers, that the chalice is the symbol of the cauldron, the womb of the mother and people of all faiths travel to the Chalice Well Gardens to drink the holy water. .

The name Avalon means “The Isle of Apples” with the apple being the symbol of all Beauty in the Celtic tree alphabet or Oghamic system. Glastonbury is dominated by the imposing Tor, a great hill carved thousands of years ago with a labyrinth earthwork processional path. The triple circle symbol on the Avalon sign is called the Vesica Piscis – The vessel of fishes – and is wrought in iron on the well head cover of the Chalice Well. The two inner circles symbolize the physical and non physical planes of existence, the point where they overlap being the vesica, the yonic symbol from which all creation comes forth. By bringing this symbolism and philosophy to the store I have tried to promote an environment of rebirth and refreshment for all our visitors, a peaceful and otherworldly sanctuary akin to the unbelievable feeling which I encountered upon visiting the Beautiful and knowing Isle of Avalon many years ago. May you know peace and harmony always

– Miranda Sophia Solace