Priestess of Avalon Training
Three Spiral
Email Correspondence Course 2010/11/12

The Priestess of Avalon Three Spiral Email Correspondence Course is open to women and men who would like to take part in the In the Heart of the Goddess training programme in Glastonbury, England, but who are unable to do so for reasons of distance, finance, family, health or other considerations. The full training course with its many circles held in Glastonbury over three years is the best way to learn to become a Priestess of Avalon, but sometimes it is not possible to do this. Kathy Jones, the course founder, has decided to offer this opportunity of distance training to suitable applicants working in conjunction with her book Priestess of Avalon, Priestess of the Goddess, Kathy Jones (Ariadne Publications). The minimum age for students on this email course is 23 years of age and younger students will need to provide proof of their age.

Each of the Three Spirals of learning lasts for one year or close to a year so that students can fully experience the faces and ways of the Goddess as She expresses Herself through the cycle of the seasons of Her nature in Brigit’s Isles. The Three Spirals need to be taken consecutively, but there can be gaps between years. During the First Spiral correspondence students will be working mainly under the supervision of teacher and Priestess of Avalon, Ren Chapman. Ren teaches the full First Spiral Training in Glastonbury and works closely with Kathy to ensure that students deepen their relationship to the Goddess and to the land of Avalon. During the Second Spiral students work with Ren, and for the Third Spiral with Kathy.
           
During the first year students train to become Sisters and Brothers of Avalon and need to complete all assignments and homework on time as the Wheel of the Year turns, in order to successfully dedicate themselves within this training programme. This will require focus, self-motivation and application on the part of students as they work alone or in small groups with the help of their tutor. In subsequent years students may continue their training to become Priestesses and Priests of the Goddess, and later Priestesses and Priests of Avalon.

As part of their training distance students need to be able to attend two tuition sessions in Glastonbury during each of the Three Spirals. Glastonbury is the Outerworld counterpart to the Innerworld of the Isle of Avalon. To truly become a Sister/Brother or Priestess/Priest of Avalon it is important to be familiar with the actual physical and spiritual landscape of Glastonbury Avalon, as the land is the gateway to knowledge of the Lady and Her mysteries. Students need to be able to physically walk the landscape of Glastonbury when they come here on visits. On successful completion of each of the Three Spirals students will be fully recognised within the Orchard of Avalon, the community of Priestesses and Priests of Avalon.

This course is unsuitable for people living in the Southern Hemisphere as each Circle of teaching is attuned to the cycle of the seasons in the Northern Hemisphere.

First Spiral with Ren Chapman

The 2010/11 Email Correspondence Course begins the week of October 11th 2010 and comprises eight sessions of distance learning, assignments, tutorials and supervision spread over one year. Every five-six weeks students will be sent by email in Microsoft Word documents, written and experiential tasks to complete over the following weeks. These must be recorded as written work, reports, journal excerpts, art and craftwork with digital photographs where appropriate, and sent by email to Ren for assessment and feedback. Distance students will also have the opportunity to telephone Ren for a personal 30 minute tutorial once every six weeks.

In addition distance students need to be able to attend two four-day tuition sessions in Glastonbury during the First Spiral. The first four day session takes place 17th-20th March 2011 and the second one will be September 22nd-25th 2011, which will include a Ceremony of Dedication as a Sister or Brother of Avalon. During these four day sessions students will be introduced to the landscape, spirituality and culture of Glastonbury Avalon and have the opportunity to spend time in the Goddess Temple and visiting the sacred sites of Glastonbury. They will also meet other students on the Correspondence course and on the Glastonbury course, as well as Self-initiated Priestesses and Priests of Avalon. Course fees cover tuition for these two four day sessions, but do not include accommodation, food, travel or insurance, which must be arranged and paid for separately (recommendations for B&B or hotel accommodation will be given).

(Looking for 2009/10 four day session dates? )

Three Spiral
Course Content

First Spiral
Exploring the many faces of the indigenous British Goddess
with Ren Chapman

During the First Spiral students experience the many different faces of the indigenous British Goddess as She expresses Herself through the cycle of Her seasons. You will learn about Brigit-Ana or Britannia, the guardian Goddess of Brigit's Isles, about Brigit, Artha, Rhiannon, Blodeuwedd, Domnu, Madron, Ker, Banbha, Brigantia, Keridwen, Sheela na Gig, Danu and the Lady of Avalon. You will learn about who these ancient yet ever-living Goddesses are and how you can apply Her wisdom in your own life, culture and landscapes. Your personal connection to the Goddess will expand and deepen and the process of personal transformation begins. The First Spiral culminates in a special Ceremony of Self-Dedication as a Sister or Brother of Avalon during your second visit to Glastonbury.

Second Spiral
The Practice of a Priest/ess of the Goddess
with Ren Chapman

During the Second Spiral over the course of a year, you will learn the skills of a Priestess of the Goddess and deepen your connection to the Lady and to Avalon. You will learn what it truly means to become a Priestess of the Goddess and of Avalon. You will learn how to perform Goddess inspired ceremonies for all of life’s rites of passage - Namings, Puberty, Marriage Blessings, Midlife and Menopause, Divorce and Funerals, with care and attention to detail. You will learn about women’s blood mysteries and men’s rites. You will learn to travel between the worlds, to scry for visions. You will learn how to become an Oracle for the Goddess and how to embody Her in ceremony and for healing. You will learn how to thread Her Labrynth on the slopes of Glastonbury Tor. The Second Spiral culminates in a special Ceremony in which successful candidates Self-initiate as Priestesses and Priests of the Goddess. During the Second Spiral there will be two four day visits to Glastonbury, one in February and the second at the end in the following September.

Third Spiral
The Practice of the Presence of the Lady of Avalon
with Kathy Jones

To call oneself a Priestess of Avalon is a bold claim and requires a certainty of purpose and commitment that is only gained through having daily knowledge of and conversation with the Lady of Avalon. This Practice of the Presence of the Lady of Avalon is a nine-month daily practice which intensifies every three months, culminating in a special ceremony of Self Initiation as a Priestess or Priest of Avalon. Its purpose is to give you a deeper, more profound experience of the Presence of the Lady of Avalon in your daily spiritual life. Each individual practice session lasts between 25-45 minutes. This is an intense personal practice which takes time and requires daily commitment and it will bring change into your life. During the Third Spiral there will be two three-day visits to Glastonbury, one at the beginning of the course in October and one at the end in July.

In the Heart of the Goddess
Priestess and Priest of Avalon Training
2010-11 Email Spiral One Course Content

Circle 1 Saturday 30th/Sunday 31st October 2010
Meeting the Morgens - Coming face to face with the Dark Goddess.

Opening your first circle you prepare for the coming year. You create a ritual space and altar to the Goddesses on Britannia’s Wheel. You let go of the old and plant seeds of intention for the year ahead. You journey to meet the Morgens, the Nine Sisters who rule the Isle of Avalon and drink from the Cauldron of Transformation.

Circle 2: Saturday 18th/Sunday 19th December 2010
Danu’s Dreaming Womb - Air Initiation.

In the stillness of winter you create ceremonies honouring Danu, Mother of Air, ancient Goddess of the British Isles, from whose Womb all creation springs, and marking the winter solstice. You learn how to cleanse and protect yourself and others, and make a smudge fan.

Circle 3: Saturday 29th/Sunday 30th January 2011
Brighde the Maiden - Quickening the Seeds of Inspiration.

You make a Brighde Doll in honour of the Maiden Goddess of healing, poetry and smithcraft and praise Her in your poetry and songs. You ask that the seeds of intent which you planted at Samhain are quickened by the touch of Her White Rod.

Circle 4: Thursday 17th/Friday 18th/Saturday 19th/Sunday 20th March 2011
Visit to Glastonbury - Artha’s Fire Initiation

At Spring Equinox you visit the sacred landscape of Glastonbury Avalon, and meet with your tutor Ren Chapman and course director Kathy Jones. You meet with other correspondence students and share your experiences. You have the opportunity to walk the Sacred Landscape of Glastonbury Avalon and to practice Opening the Wheel of the Britannia and invoking the Goddesses on the Wheel with other people. You deepen your connection to the land of Avalon and meet with students taking the course in Glastonbury. We connect to the cosmic fire of Artha the Great She Bear in the heavens. We make a powerful ceremonial journey into the Labrynth and honour the springtime of the Goddess’s bounteous Nature. We explore empowerment in our own lives and make ourselves a Magic Wand.

Circle 5: Saturday 30th April/Sunday 1st May 2011
Riding with Rhiannon - Journeying between the Worlds.

At Beltane when the veils are thin in Avalon, you learn to travel with Rhiannon between the Upper, Middle and Lower worlds. You explore and discuss the power of your sexual nature, learning more of women’s Blood Mysteries and of the Goddess as Lover, of men's Mysteries and relationship to Goddess. You make a ceremonial mask or headdress to wear in ritual.

Circle 6: Saturday 18th/Sunday 19th June 2011
The Lady of the Lake - Initiation of the Sacred Waters.

At the height of the summer you open your heart to receive the Chalice of the Goddess, Her Grail of Initiation, connecting to the Lady of the Lake, Lady of the Summerland. Beside your native sacred springs you learn to use your Chalice and travel to the Lady of the Well for healing. You plan with the wider student circle for group ceremonies at the Goddess Conference if you are able to attend.

Circle 7: Saturday 23rd/Sunday 24th July 2011
Great Mother Initiation - Bringing our desires to fruition.

Honouring Madron the Mother Goddess and Ker the Grain Goddess, you give thanks to the Lammas Mother for all that She gives to you and all human beings. You make a corn dolly in Her image and learn how to make your dreams come true.

Circle 8: Thursday 22nd/Friday 23rd,/Saturday 24th/Sunday 25th September 2011
Visit to the Isle of Avalon - Dedication to the Goddess.

Visiting Glastonbury for the second time in the year you meet once again with your tutor and other students to share experiences and walk the Sacred Land of Avalon. This final circle of the First Spiral is spent preparing for a powerful Saturday evening Ceremony in which successful participants dedicate their lives to the Goddess. We will be grounding all that you have learned and experienced in the sacred landscape of Avalon.

Fees

Tuition fees for the email correspondence course are similar to those for attending the full course in Glastonbury. On the email course in addition to spending eight days in Glastonbury – half the time spent in the full course, email students also receive one to one feedback, tutorials and attention, where full course students receive group tuition and support.

The full tuition fee for the Email Correspondence Course First Spiral is £800 which can be paid in full at the beginning of the course or by 8 monthly installments. This fee includes all tuition for eight sessions during the first year, all assignments, homework, feedback and telephone tutorials plus two four day non-residential teaching sessions in Glastonbury. It does not include the costs of telephone calls, travel, accommodation, food or insurance.

The full fee of £800 can be paid by cheque payable to Glastonbury Goddess Temple or in a one off payment directly into our bank account. Bank details will be sent you on request, or contact us for more information or to request an invoice. Instalment fees can be paid in 8 regular monthly payments of £91.88 paid by post-dated cheque, standing order or by PayPal. For this service the total annual payment includes an additional payment of £35 to cover bank and paypal costs.  Payments in other currencies can also be made using exchange rates at the time.

In all cases a deposit of £100 is payable on acceptance on the course.

Leaving the course

Occasionally students decide to leave the course during the First Spiral. Those who have paid the full fee will receive a 50% refund of the total minus all assignments prepared for or completed. Those paying by instalments do not receive a refund.

Make cheques payable to:
Glastonbury Goddess Temple
2-4 High Street
Glastonbury
BA6 9DU
UK

Registration

To register on this course in the first instance please return the application form, stating why you would like to participate in the course, your journey so far with the Goddess, where you now live and the reasons why you are unable to travel to Glastonbury to take part in the full training.

Contact Kathy Jones

Contact Ren Chapman

Please also send us a passport size photo of yourself and if you are young, evidence of your age. (Click here to request details of how to do this).

When your place has been agreed please pay a deposit of £100. The balance is payable on receipt of the Course Welcome pack which will be sent to you by email. The first set of teaching materials will be sent to you in the week of October 11th 2010.  You can pay your deposit and fees here (but please don't set up fee payments until you have been accepted on the course).

 Reading List

There's a useful reading list here.

Email Course:  Spiral 2 / Spiral 3

2009-10 Four-day session dates

The first four day session takes place 18th-22nd March 2010 and the second one will be September 16th-19th 2010