Introduction
date: 4/17/2024
Do you like digging through rarely translated Welsh manuscripts and crusty PDF’s searching for a little known truth that cannot be found? Do you enjoy wild goose chases but religious this time? Do you want a spiritual practice focused on digging in and coming to your own conclusions? Do the legends of King Arthur and his knights inspire a spiritual admiration? Then, you’ve stumbled upon the right tumblr post.
This is meant to be a base level introduction to Arthurian Paganism, an open path anyone from anywhere can follow. I am not an expert, and and do not wish to be treated as such. However, I do think I have enough information to springboard someone else’s journey.
Let’s gets started!
WHAT IT IS
Many religions have a concept of hero worship or hero cults. Worshipped in the terms of divinity or pseudo divinity, sometimes compared to the concepts of local gods and Catholic saints, but not exactly. It could be said this concept dates back to heroes like Gilgamesh and Enkidu, all the way back in 2900 bce! Such, Arthurian Paganism is the tradition of revering Arthur and other Arthurian figures just as one would revere other ancient heroes.
The historicity of Arthur has been subject to lengthy debate. Evidence can point to him being a Briton chief who fought back an Anglo-Saxon invasion shortly after the fall of Rome, or point to him not existing at all. That mystery is a piece of what makes Arthur unique to practitioners who revere him. We will never know the real truth of who he was until his messianic return. (If that even occurs as well!)
It is also worth noting the Christianization of Arthur’s story. The Anglo-Saxons won the war, and with them brought ancient Christianity. Fairies became demons and queens became virgins, and those virgins bore pentacles on their shields. This strange melding of Pagan and Christian symbolism merged into a story that could survive. Christian authors contributed to and thus preserved Arthur’s story through centuries of distance. This merging of legends and religions is an important part of this path. Practitioners wishing to stray further from Christian symbolism must do a bit more digging to access the Pagan meanings underneath.
Because of the lack of a solid ground line, historical or spiritual, this is a branch of worship filled with personal findings and UPG more so than any other form of Paganism. Arthur expects you to quest for what the truth is, who he is,who you are and what you believe. It’s up to you in the end regarding the heroes, villains, and relationships wound up in this tale. We quest just like the knights who scoured for the Grail and the Questing Beast, and we come up short like them as well. “So many scholars have spent so much time trying to establish whether Arthur existed at all that they have lost track of the single truth that he exists over and over.” -John Steinbeck
WHAT TO DO
Interacting with heroic figures is done similarly to how we interact with spirits and deities. Create them an altar, leave them offerings, wear devotional jewelry and listen to songs with spiritual significance! Invite them to reveal the unseen to you, and to work with you in spells and rituals. These figures, Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, Morgana, Mordred and more, they can interact with you as any other spiritual being would. Invite them in, and develop a personal and unique relationship as you progress on your never ending quest.
As is good advice with any unseen being, start with a tarot reading or a prayer. Sit with them, introduce yourself, state your curiosity and intentions. Doing a tarot reading is how I got started!
There are also several ways to include these figures in your craft. Biblomancy using Arthurian literature, calling upon them in spells, and keeping a chivalrous code of honor in your magick. Also use Arthurian symbols such as red dragons, grails and goblets, circles or spirals of stones, triskelions, celestial bodies, fairies/faeries, and the general aesthetics of the knights of yore.
If you believe you are being contacted by an Arthurian figure, I encourage you to listen. Merlin sent me hawks, Arthur appeared in the clouds. These signs can be invitations! Don’t be afraid to accept, for the thing awaiting you just might be the holy grail.
INCOMPLETE BEGINNER BLIOGRAPHY
Arthurian Magick: the complete book of meditations, rituals, and visualizations- John and Caitlín Matthews are wonderful sources, but I will only put my favorite books of theirs here for brevity’s sake. This is the big book of Arthurian spells and the perfect place for anyone interested in him to begin.
Arthurian Tarot- also by the Matthews’. This deck is one of the most visionary, insightful, and detailed I’ve ever worked with. Jam packed with Arthurian symbolism and the history to back it up. There is a digital version available as an app that is my favorite digital divination method ever, and is excellent for witches who cannot have physical decks for any reason.
Temples of the Grail: the search for the world’s greatest relic- again, by John Matthews and Gareth Knight. A very detailed history of the Grail and what it could be, a subject of fierce debate and incredible importance!
Histories of the Kings of Britain - a pseudo historical list of kings written in roughly 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. More often considered an epic rather than a historical document, and is considered to be the text that introduces Merlin into Arthurian mythos.
Gwaine and the Green Knight - written by the mysterious Gwaine and/or Pearl poet in the 14th century. Perfect example of the merging religions I touched on earlier.
the Four Ancient Books of Wales - four important 13-15th century texts that contain some of the earliest mentions of Arthur in Welsh.
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and Le Morte D’Arthur - both by Sir Thomas Malory in the 1400’s. Both contain important stories and even important prophecies!
FINAL NOTES
First, thank you for reading this far! I hope I managed to impart even the slightest semblance of useful information.
Secondly, I wish you luck on this never ending quest. If you have any other resources, tips, or guidance to share please discuss it in the notes! If you have questions, my ask box is open.
All of magick, and perhaps even life, is an eternal search for more knowledge. Arthur himself was placed onto the trail of an unobtainable, impossible quest too. It matters not that his attempts can be described as futile, for the futile is sacred. For each and every aspect of his life and longer reigning mythos was foretold in prophecy. For even today there remains those who seek the same impossible journey to find the king, the grail, the truth, and simply the journey itself.
