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Heroines of Avalon & Other Tales
Ayn Cates Sullivan, author
Heroines of Avalon includes a round table of inspiring women, including well-known Welsh deities and almost forgotten Arthurian female Grail Knights and landscape Goddesses. In this collection of British myths and legends, each heroine re-tells her story, often freeing herself from centuries of misunderstanding. These feisty women are inspiring role models. The book also includes practices that can help the reader journey to the deity and integrate the heroine’s life affirming qualities. This is the second volume in the “Legends of the Grail” series, which focuses on the Grail as Goddess. The series is designed to help us restore and embrace the qualities of the feminine that have been lost in most cultures and religions. As the age of violence and domination ends, we look to the feminine archetypes to heal us both individually and collectively, so the planet can be restored. It is a book that invites wholeness and peace.
Reviews
Sullivan’s passionate follow-up to Legends of the Grail explores women’s spirituality through retellings of six goddess tales from the King Arthur legend, among them mother goddess Arianrhod, independent Elen, and Dindraine, the “first person to achieve the Holy Grail.” Sullivan provides a breakdown of the symbolism, origin, and lineage of each story; includes her own short stories and poems that capture each goddess’s spiritual allure; and recaps their mythological lore. She then instructs women in ways to celebrate each goddess with rituals and meditation-esque visualizations intended to forge a spiritual connection between reader and goddess. Particularly enchanting is Sullivan’s section on “Ladies of the Lake”—Elaine and Nimue, goddesses of beauty and the moon, who serve as stewards into the ethereal realm—which provides visualizations and rituals meant to help readers attain greater “bodily awareness” and self-sufficiency. This approachable guide will be valuable to those interested in “goddess lore.” (Self-published)
