Glastonbury
the New Jerusalem
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Glastonbury,
the ancient Isle of Avalon, steeped in legend and myth has always had as its
backbone a core spirituality.
Attracting
thousands of people throughout the year – some on a very real quest
to find ‘something’ in it’s midst and some on a quest for
a more alternative lifestyle – all attracted by the energy of Glastonbury.
Glastonbury
is undoubtedly the Heart Chakra of the British Isles (some claim the World)
and the two major ley lines (the Michael and Mary lines) cross through the
town. If we view the ley line map of the world all the major lines cross through
Glastonbury which lends the theory of Glastonbury being at the very spiritual
heart of the world to even the most skeptical of minds.
Our group operated
for many years in Glastonbury at the festival of ‘Wesak’ in April/May
and countless ‘Twelves’ were
held there. Way back in the 1980s and 1990s the group has long held that they
would move to create a permanent home in the centre of these energies –
both as a way of engendering an ease of application of these energies, being
as we would be at the centre, but also as we have been ‘drawn’
to these fair shores for purposes which are not totally clear at this time
– and which will become clearer as we move forward.
Glastonbury
has many ‘twelves’ connections, a
few are listed below for your interest. The most important of these
is the ‘New
Jerusalem’
connection. It is less of a…
‘And
did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?
But more of
a ‘when’ will His feet be seen (again) on England’s pleasant
pastures green…
New
Jerusalem
‘And
I saw a new heaven and
Plan of the New Jerusalem
a new earth: for the first
heaven and first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I
John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down, form God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.’
‘It had a
great high wall, with twelve gates, at which were twelve angels… …There
were three gates to the east, three to the north, three to the south, and
three to the west. The city had twelve foundation-stones, and on them were
the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.’
‘And
the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of
precious stones… And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several
gate was of one pearl… In the midst of the street of it, and on either
side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of
fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were
for the healing of the nations.’
‘The angel
that spoke with me carried a golden rod to measure the city, its wall and
its gates. The city was built as a square, and was as wide as it was long.
It measured by his rod twelve thousand furlongs. Its length and breadth
and height being equal. Its wall was a hundred and forty four cubits high,
that is, by human measurements, which the angel was using.’
There is no
doubt that Glastonbury both ‘reflects’ and is the New Jerusalem
‘in waiting’.
From
'City of Revelation' - John Michell
Twelve
Hides of Glastonbury
William of
Malmesbury born in 1090 visited Glastonbury in 1125 to explore manuscripts
at the Abbey. He wrote in the book De Antiquitate Glastoniensis, which was
subsequently added to in 1240, speaking of a tradition regarding coming into
Britain in 63AD a certain Joseph of Arimathea– the same Joseph who was
present both at Jesus’s death and his resurrection. The story goes that
Joseph came to Glastonbury with 12 disciples and was given by the then King
12 hides (portions) of land surrounding the Tor and there they established
there hermit’s caves and from that point they built the very first Christian
church in the British Isles.
Within this
history we can fathom that these Twelve Hides actually represent the New Jerusalem
mentioned above - a hide is 120 acres of land and therefore the twelve together
represent 1440 acres – 12x12 the ‘magical’ number of St.
John’s Revelation.
Glastonbury
Zodiac
Katherine Maltwood
discovered in 1927 a remarkable landscape configuration around Glastonbury.
The 12 figures of the celestial zodiac were discovered by her in the landscape
– carved as if by some unseen hand. This comprises a circle 10 miles
across and 30 miles in circumference – made up of hills, roads and rivers
and can only be viewed from the air. These great figures depict the grail
quest and are linked to the twelve hides given to Joseph of Arimathea mentioned
above.
The Tor and
Chalice Hill fall within the sign of Aquarius – the zodiacal sign of
the New Age and Wearyall Hill in that of Pisces – the Old Age of the
‘fish’ – this is exactly as it should be. Katherine believed
this zodiac was created around 2700 BC and earlier dates have been suggested.
Knights
of the Round Table
There are various accounts
of exactly how many knights there were at King Arthur’s round table
– from the popular assertion that there were 12 and some say up to
150! we will never know for sure. What we do know is that according to Boccaccio’s
De Casibus Virorum Illustrium (Paris: 1467) there were twelve Rules for
the knights:
• To never lay down arms
• To seek after wonders
• When called upon, to defend the rights of the weak with all one's
strength
• To injure no one
• Not to attack one another
• To fight for the safety of one's country
• To give one's life for one's country
• To seek nothing before honour
• Never to break faith for any reason
• To practice religion most diligently
• To grant hospitality to anyone, each according to his ability
• Whether in honour or disgrace, to make a report with the greatest
fidelity to truth to those who keep the annals
The Grail is,
according to legend, buried at Glastonbury. Glastonbury itself should be thought
of as the Grail. All of these ‘signs’ can be seen in and around
Glastonbury – not only in legend and myth but on the ‘inner’
level - if you have eyes to see and ears to hear.
Glastonbury,
inevitably, attracts both the serious and the foolish but generally is good-natured
to all. Due to its importance it will have more than its fair share of new
age flotsam and jetsam as it is an energetically charged centre.
Cutting through
the illusion and piercing the veil is the most exquisite of pursuits and for
those who wish to serve Him the most rewarding of all...