Halllowquest Lesson 4: The Flowering of Logres

Aerin

The Land of Logres Speaks: "I am the promise of the land that will be restored. Behold! the waters run once more, each bough is in bud or blosson, the sacred grain is ripening. You who dance out the seedtime of your soul's journey under my broad meadows, I bid you find the rainbow's end and your true treasury."

Every age has to solve the problem of evil, find people who will go on quest in service of the Grail. The Grail is an ongoing cycle. To help see the current pattern of events, look at the Grail's manifestation:

1. The Dolorous blow (D.B.) afflicts the land. Usually by a publically responsible person acting in a privately personal/ selfish way. Or when a Hallow is misused e.g. Balin striking Pelles with the Spear in self defence. The analogue of this blow is when Gwenhwyfar has a cup of wine thrown in her lap, an insult to the representative of Sovreignty.

2. The D.B. afflicts King and Land with infertility and wasting. The land is overun by foes who waste resources and terrrorize the weak. The kingdom becomes anarchistic, society breaks down.

3. The Grail appears symbolically or actually to those who have dedicated themselves to resoring Sovereign and Wasteland to rights.

4. The Grail's healing is sought by a quest, a journey of personal danger, prayer, seership, by the formation of a dedicated followers of seekers. (The Grail Family)

5. One seeker has greater affinity with the Grail, often less well educated/ weaker/ less able/ 'foolish'. The foolishness is the result of the non-duality of innocent perception, it is the youngest who can perceive and attain the Grail.

6. The Grail winner heals Land and King by being open to the Grail's grace. Land becomes fertile, old king dies or retires, Grail-Winner and companions become the new Guardians of the Grail which is no longer symbolic but manifest everywhere.

This template can be used at all times and all cultures. It is endlessly repeated in history of your land and age. It is an act of seership to recognise the patterns and protagonists of the Grail in your time and place. This is true alchemy, where the Great Work is the perfecting of the times.

Restoring the Likeness: The card represents restoration to essential perfection, you may suspect 'things fall apart, the centre cannot hold' and you are right. We may achieve our quest for a little space only, the Grail-vision erased from our hearts. What does this mean and what can we do?
Loss of realisations and empowerments is a regular feature of life e.g. when we change our inner myth, when seasonal esoteric tides change. This is normal and natural, remember our emptiness will be filled again in a while.
Most spiritual training upholds a wholistic raison d'etre, we live in a dualistic world right/ wrong good/ bad etc. The Piscean perspective aims at a final perfected end in our spiritual lives, the Aquarian that we discover our spiritual trajectory by encountering the challenges and rewards of life sharing the fruits of our experience with all beings.
In the ancient world the initiate was no longer subject to the cyclability and mutability of life: most of us do not attain this except in brief flashes of comprehension when we look to the heart of things and know ourselves part of them. Most of us alternate carefree abandon or anxious suspicion: this card bids us find more balance. Looking on life as a spiral may help us, the wheel of the year spins and we are different people at the end of it. Other experiences are available in successive cycles. Keeping a journal is good, we can look back and realise what we have forgotten.
The perfection in this card is restoration of holy likeness, rediscovery of intrinsic sacred quality of creation. Taking the rainbow path in perfect love and trust means the grace of Divine Spirit (however you call it) leads us to the centre of our quest. The experience of the Restoration of the Hallows cannot be taken from us, whatever happens.
The quest in not for the faint hearted, also those who set out with selfish intentions do not get far. The Seeker is impelled by the Grail Vision to restore what is lost, in every generation there are those who follow the path. You satnd at the beginning of your quest, to achieve the Flowering of Logres - restoration of wholeness of self, the land, the earth.

Tasks:

1. Make a list of what you would like to chieve: tomorrow, next week, month, year, 2-3 yrs

2. Look at long cherished ideals and hopes. Are you still resolved to fulfil them? Have ideals become stale, without motion? If still cherished, how will you fulfil them? Out loud, rescind old unwanted ideals that may be clogging your pathway, also speak your present ideals and wishes.
3. Do a Mabon's Gateway spread for a cherished project not coming to fruition. Record it and findings in your diary.

Questions:
1. How does the Wasteland manifest in your personal life and surroundings? What are you doing/ can be done about it?
2. What is your secret dream?

Meditation:
1. Set the FoL before you, study it. Without looking at meaning, what impression do you receive?
2. Enter the scene as an observer - what is it like to be in this landscape? Describe what you see, hear, smell, feel.
3. Enter the card and stand as one of the children or as the Seeker. What made the Wasteland flower? What legacy of wisdom would you leave to the children? What do the bee and butterfly say? What are the uses of the Hallows?

Visualisation: Intended to give you a sense of over-view of the quest for the Hallows.(you may want to tape this or have someone read it to you) (NB: H means 'pause' giving you time to experience for yourself.)

Let us enter the realms of the Grail by exploring the landscape within. Close your eyes and see the scenes described . As the pictures form, enter and become part of the scene as an active participant.

It is day-time and you are approaching a castle. It is a large and busy place and no-one notices you. You enter and find your way to the Great Hall. Here is the Round Table at which many people can sit. You walk around the table and see that there are names written on the back of each chair. Walk around and find a chair with your name written on it. H You find it and sit down. You realize that you are seated at the Round Table in Camelot and that the court have met to discuss matters of importance and that you are here to represent your own country. Each person reports their news. Soon it will be your turn. You turn your mind to your own country and the events of the world: what is happening there right now - what is the world's need? H You tell your own news to those seated at the table. H Now everyone has spoken. Suddenly a shaft of light comes through a high window onto the table. You see the Grail shimmering within the light. Its beauty speaks to your heart - you know that if the Grail can be found, all the problems of your world will be eased. Make your own dedication now to find the Grail and help heal the world's pain. H From this moment you are called to the quest. You rise and get ready to search. You leave the Castle of Camelot and pass out into the countryside on your quest. You may go on foot or take a horse from the stables.

You follow the path before you and soon find yourself in a dense forest. Your quest does not seem so important, now that the vision has begun to fade. You come to a place where the path splits into four - which one shall you follow? H As you think, a White Stag appears on one of the paths and you follow it. You realise that you are in the Forest of Adventure where many extraordinary things can happen if you are true to your quest. The White Stag leads you into a clearing - a place of tranquility where you can sit and think about your quest. You set out in high hopes and with strong ideals, but a part of you is lazy and wants to rest - you ask yourself the question: what aspect of myself prevents me from finding the Grail? H You know the answer deep inside yourself. The birds sing encouragingly to you in the Forest and you continue your quest.

Still following the path, you emerge from the Forest and see before you a Castle which would look better if it were not situated next to a dark and stagnant lake. Still, the sight of the habiltation cheers you and you approach it. Within, there is a fire and a table spread with food. You recognize some of the people here. They are those who despise and look down on you, the people who weaken and disempower you. They do not understand your quest and they mock your determination with questions which raise doubts in you: 'Why are you so special that you thinik you are good enough to go on quest?' - 'What do you think you will gain - one person alone?' H But even as you consider the answers to these questions, you hear the harsh cry of the White Stag. You realise that you have accidentally come to the Castle of Case which is dangerous to questers who are not firmly resolved. You face your challengers and tell them just who you are and what you intend to do. H Without more argument, you turn and leave.

(one third of the visualisation typed in, 2/3 to go....UPDATE: kaz has the book! kaz has the book! kaz has the book! (say the typing fingers, happy for kaz). Anyone reading this thread without the book will now just have to wonder - what happens next after the leaving of Castle of Case. A mystery forever hidden from the Bookless)


Aerin
 

Aerin

Mabon's Gate spread is:

7 8- 9- 10
-3----6-
-2-11-5
-1----4


1 What I would like to achieve
2 What is blocking me from achieveing it?
3. How I unconsciously block myself
4. What I have already achieved
5. What helped me achieve it
6. How have I helped myself?
7. The way my idea is received by others
8. Who will benefit from my idea?
9. How I can revisualise my idea
10. The next step
11. The key which will unlock the door to achievement.


Aerin
 

Aerin

Here's my Mabon's Gate spread. Feedback welcome, nay encouraged.

1. 1 What I would like to achieve -Arthur
2 What is blocking me from achieveing it? - Spear 3
3. How I unconsciously block myself - Grail Hallow
4. What I have already achieved - Grail Maiden
5. What helped me achieve it - Grail 9
6. How have I helped myself? - Sword 10
7. The way my idea is received by others - Stone 9
8. Who will benefit from my idea? - Lady of the Lake
9. How I can revisualise my idea - Grail Queen
10. The next step - Gawain
11. The key which will unlock the door to achievement. - Sword 4


What I would like is to display outer mastery of my field and to be certain that I am doing that. I am blocking myself by setting too much in motion at once and waiting for its fruition: I am unconsciously blocking myself from action by my desire to find the perfect 'Grail Vision' , rather than going with what I feel to be right and living with some uncertainty. I have already set out along the way, being helped by having my need for my partner's support fulfilled and helping myself by letting go of the past and recognising when to let go of old fears and struggles. Others see me as enjoying life, and perhaps as helping them to achieve what they want to fulfil: people who want to get in touch with their inner wisdom will benefit from the work I am doing. I can revisualise my idea by seeing myself grow from Maiden to Queen, I have moved on and need to recognise that evolution. My next step is to look inside for inner strength and to have the courage to move forward using all my abilities, letting go of the need for more and more qualifications and recognising just what I have. The key is to do one thing at a time, to prioritise and not to try and do everything at once.

Aerin
 

Kaz

adding some comments in between aerin, if you don't agree with them, just say so, you know yourself better than i know you :p
What I would like is to display outer mastery of my field and to be certain that I am doing that. I am blocking myself by setting too much in motion at once and waiting for its fruition: I am unconsciously blocking myself from action by my desire to find the perfect 'Grail Vision' , rather than going with what I feel to be right and living with some uncertainty.
what i see here as well is that guidance is there when you need it, so you should listen to that instead of creating a situation of conflict by setting too much in motion and at the same time waiting and blocking yourself to do the things you need to. but, accepting the guidance is a matter of trust, and that takes courage.....
My next step is to look inside for inner strength and to have the courage to move forward using all my abilities, letting go of the need for more and more qualifications and recognising just what I have. The key is to do one thing at a time, to prioritise and not to try and do everything at once.
do some re-assesment from time to time and commit yourself to what you decide.

kaz
 

Aerin

Thanks kaz, I appreciate those comments which are right on the mark. I had a feng shui assessment done today which gave much the same messages, which is interesting. Particularly about the starting loads of stuff off which then I allow to block me, even though I really know what is best deep inside.

An addendum: Wasteland manifests itself as mental clutter in my life, which I also physicalise quite well by cluttering my surroundings. I have now accepted this as being an inner as well as an outer issue and have A Plan for dealing with it. My starting point will be the Feng Shui approach of changing my surroundings.

I will not share my secret dream as it would then by definition not be secret: I will post the results of my meditation once completed.

Aerin
 

Kaz

flowering of logres

feedback welcome :)

I would like to achieve in no order of importance:
Stay aware, in the here and now, connected to the source, only by giving you will receive
Listen to my intuition
Strive for balance in my life, and growth.
Have control over my life, don’t let it control me
Find out what my meaning/purpose in this life is
These ideals are still actual and being worked on, it isn’t always easy, and this is an ever ongoing process.

Mabon’s Gate Spread
1. what I would like to achieve: grail ten
2. what is blocking me from achieving it: XXI the flowering of logres
3. how I unconsiously block myself: XX the sleeping lord
4. what I have already achieved: grail six
5. what helped me achieve it: XII the wounded king
6. how have I helped myself: spear eight
7. the way my idea is received by others: grail queen
8. who will benefit from my idea: stone six
9. how can I revisualise my idea: stone knight
10. the next step: VI the white hart
11. the key which will unlock the door to achievement: grail three

What I would like to achieve is wholeness, completement and fulfilment, this card shows more or less what I listed above.
The block to achieving this is a stagnation, all is there in potential.
I (un)consiously create this stagnation myself. I need to take a decision, and act on it. This will give me control over my life; now, decision is made, acting upon it has been set in motion, so……. Indeed, I do feel a lot better J
What I have achieved already is dealing with and healing some past issues so I could put them behind me.
What helped me doing this was the realisation that I could not move on if I didn’t throw out that garbage, I had to do it in order to heal and make the needed changes.
I helped myself enormously by just doing it then, plunge in and don’t hide from it. And indeed this gave space again for growth and progress.
Others support me in this idea, in the end all will benefit from this, as it’s an investment in myself, my life, which will pay off in every way.
To re-visualise my ideas I need to be determined and commited to them, so steady progress will follow.
The next step is about put actual belief in it I think, coz things will change for the better. Not sure about this card.

The Wasteland manifests in my life mostly in me blocking myself in things. The reading above is a good example of this. It’s about what is and has been going on in my life, me not breaking up and move out of here. I know I should, and still I haven’t done it yet. But action has been taken so it’s just a matter of finding a place.
The why’s behind all this are my Wasteland. They are about loosing, uncertenties, guilt, you name it……

The impression of this card is a happy one, an atmosphere of wholeness, completion and shared joy. It’s like coming home here, as gray and sick the scenery looked in the seeker card, so healthy and inviting it looks now.
Just being here makes me feel good, the air is filled with smells of ripeness, the sun is shining brightly and makes my skin feel warm and glowing.
I am the Seeker again, my Wasteland is flowering, I have come home.” Flowers” will only grow when you sow the seeds and tend the little plants well. It needed investing in it, and patience, dedication and commitment, as growing takes time. The bee that you see stands for immortality, rebirth, diligence and order. All these things were needed to get from wasteland to flowering. The butterfly stands for the soul of the land and its immortality, as there is an evercontinuing process of dying and rebirthing.

kaz
 

Aerin

Hi Kaz, a few other things about what I see in the White Hart in case they help. I would be interested though to know which figure you identify with in the card: the man, the woman, or the Hart - or all as different aspects of yourself.

According to the Hallowquest, the White Hart is the messenger which leads us into the Otherworld, it can be seen when the veil of reality thins. The man has his eyes too full of the girl to see the Hart, as I look at the card.

I wonder, could the next step be to heed the White Hart of your quest within yourself and to really commit to what you want? To follow it where you know it is right to go, while honouring your relationship ties? It is interesting that Grail Three, which is to do with recognising, drawing on and protecting the resources which support you on your quest then appears in the 'key' position. Taken together, it seems to me these can be read as following your quest as your inner White Hart leads you on while still remembering to nourish and be nourished by all the good relationships which surround you. (And all your inner resources as well.) It is important to look after your support network while also going after your dream so that when you really need them, they are there for you.

Outer realities are important too!

Aerin
 

Kaz

white hart is major 6 in the deck, this is always in any deck the most difficult card for me. looking at the picture, i would say i identify most with the white hart itself.
thanks for interpreting, i think you are dead on, sometimes i am very blind for my own throws.
and what also is part of getting blind is that this is going on for some time already, so it's getting foggy and then i don't see clear anymore.
thanks aerin :)

kaz
 

Aerin

Suddenly realised I had not posted after my FoL meditation. So here are my notes:

Card looks joyful and full of life.

Inside if full of energy and celebration: a time of respite and new life. The sounds, sights and smells are the intensity you get in the middle of July on a beautiful day in England, with a cooling breeze and the sounds of running water nearby (like a burbling brook). What made the Wasteland flower is the coming together and alignment of everyone's resources, accepting fully what has been and having the courage to move forward. Part of the flowering was due to the disturbance of the Land as its parts warred with each other, followed by respite and rest - the sacrifices made by its seekers and leaders helped to fertilize the future by leaving and burying the past as a foundation rather than using the past as a set of chains to hold it back. The legacy of Wisdom is 'the FoL is always within you, even when it seems that the Wasteland is the only thing there. Seek it, know you will find with courage and persistance'. The bee and butterfly are ephemeral creatures, 'we live for the moment and our children's futures as that is all we have'. The uses of the Hallows are to cut out dead matter (Sword), to act as a strong foundation (Stone), to create and channel energy to heal the wounded places and inspire the Seekers (Grail), and to re-create a path where it seems there is none - includes cauterizing open wounds (Spear).

Aerin
 

kai

Hello,

My reply is a bit late - but I hope everybody feels 'better late than never' ...

I've recently completed training to be a nurse, qualified in March (this year) and have started working just a month and a half ago. At the moment the majority of my focus is on this transition from student to professional nurse. Tommorow and over the next week I would like to be and demonstrate competency in being a nurse and feel confident at my job (something I seem to lack at the moment !) I would also like to have balanced work, the stresses of work with my personal life - I am still learning to seperate the stresses of work from personal life. In a years time I would like to be confident in my job, moving towards being an expert rather than 'novice', have plans as to where I want to work and most importantly be 'nursing' according to my principles. rather than organisational objectives. AND to have balanced my career, job with my personal life. My dream is to gain more knowledge of myself, the skills and abilities I possess and to be able to (much, much later on) pass these on to others. This dream more or less goes for every sphere in my life. On a very practical level in relation to nursing I would like to, once I am confident, work abroad for VSO in developed countries and perhaps take on a 'teaching' role.

I've done the Mabon's Spread. As at the moment I'm mostly concerned with nursing I asked the question, 'How can I be the nurse I want to be,'

1. Grail Two
2. Spear 10
3. Sword knight
4. Soveriegnity
5. Arthur
6. Sword three
7. Merlin
8. Sword four
9. Sword King
10. Grail nine
11. Gawain

I felt, when I looked at the spread, that Grail Two represented my need for balance between work and personal life. Within the context of nursing I felt that it indicated my wish to work in partnership and co-operation with the patients I work with. I am at the moment working in a low secure unit for people with mental illness and learning disability - there is potentially an uneven power balance.

Spear 10 suggests that I am currently finding it difficult to cope with the responsibilities, demands placed on me. This is possibly dut to my 'newness' to the job. I was particularly intrigued with the qoute, 'the skills of the spear make a light of this, just as a professional subsumes efforts of training in the practice of his/her craft.' This very much feels like the stage I am presently at, that I need to overcome to move forward.

The Sword Knight, who funnily enough is appearing all the time in my spreads, indicates that I need to approach this stage in my career as a learning experience. That to learn I need to approach situations with courage. I also need to be more honest with myself about the skills I do have, and the ones I don't. Be more aware of my abilities, and accept things I am not good at.

Sovereignity - I had a bit of difficulty with this one, but I thought it might relate to things I have achieved so far on the course and since qualifying. Throughout the course I have been honest with myself and balanced. This is a new stage and perhaps I need to bring the skills and abilities I have used over the past three years more into play ?

Arthur - This seemed to represent the college, my personal tutors and mentors who all enabled me to learn and supported me through the course. As well as the self discipline and responsibility I took for my own learning and practice. I feel that now I have to almost 'internalise' the support and leadership I had from college so that I can guide myself in the future.

Sword Three - The course, experiences I have had have all challenged myself. Often it seemed as if I was changing, due to the things I have learnt, but never really understood where I was going. I feel that Sword Three represents the way I accepted the changes that nursing has bought on me and faced the challenges it made.

Others, perhaps people like my 'mentor' at work, feel that I need to 'waken' to the skills and abilities that I have developed during the course and begin to learn how to skilfully use them in practice.

Sword four - For the people (patients) I work with the skills that I am developing (along with others in the team) will (hopefully?) provide them with an environment in which they can rest, gain respite and the skills/abilities to cope with life. I quite liked this card as it gave me more of an insight into the 'point' of my job.

Sword King - Perhaps I need to also ask what type of nurse do I want to be, why etc. Gain more understanding, clarification of what and why I am doing things. It is important for me to assess wether I am acting according to my principles, values. By making the goal clearer and more related to my values and principles it will be easier to understand how to achieve it.

Grail nine - After I have understood the goal a bit more clearly, and agree with its aims, I will have the self sufficency to proceed with the journey.

Gawain - This really seemed to be a culmination of the other cards in the spread. That I need self discipline, balance, awareness of my own abilities, and courage to accept challenges to proceed with the next step in my career. These are all things I have demonstrated during the course I have to learn to apply them in a work environment.

When I looked at the meditation surrounding Gawain in the hallowquest book I was amazed at how closely it resembles interactions with patients at work. It seems to me that the qualities Gawain has are the qualities that I need to develop and be aware of to work in partnership and therapeutically with paitients (Grail Two). Over the past three years I have usually related cards like 'Guinevere' to nursing but recently, especially where I work I have realised that as well as needing to be compassianate and giving to nurse effectively you also have to be strong and sometimes severe. Perhaps I need to change my perception of nursing to include Gawain and King of Swords ?