The Avalon Center for Druidic Studies achievement at arms consists of a shield with an azure field, blue for the traditional color of the bards. The Bardic colleges of old inspire us as a model of education focussed on art, music, and history, with a liberal tolerance of imagination, wit, and mythmaking. On the azure field is an apple tree signifying the Isle of Avalon. In Welsh Afalon means apples, so the famous island to which King Arthur was taken and where the ladies of the lake reign can be accurately translated as the Isle of Apples. The apple was considered by the ancient druids to be a fruit of the Otherworld, a food of the gods, which is to say, one that bestows the triple virtues of immortality, beauty, and magical wisdom.
The Circle and the Tree
The apple tree forms a circular shape in the center of the shield, the circle being perhaps the most important shape in druidic sacred geometry, and indeed, the sacred geometry of many world traditions. The circle symbolizes the horizon, the world, the cosmos, the Self. It signifies the path of the Earth around the Sun and the solar year. Likewise it evokes the shape of Sun, Moon, and Earth as celestial bodies. The roots of the tree are knotted into spirals, another shape that echoes the circle and symbolizes solar wisdom and the spiraling movement of growth, both biological and intellectual. The tree has five branches, one for each of the five senses and the five alchemical elements - Air, Earth, Fire, Water, and Aether or Spirit. On these branches are nine apples which symbolize the sacred number nine, the triple triplicity.
The Nine Apples
The Number nine appears in many places in Celtic legends. One of the most notable is in the nine hazels of wisdom that stand around the sacred pool that is the source of all knowledge and wisdom. The Salmon of Wisdom eat of the hazels and so their flesh carried the potential of omniscience to the boy Gwion who became Taliessin, greatest of Welsh bards. The nine apples or three threes also can be taken to symbolize the triplicity of God and Goddess and the triplicity of the Cosmos.
Christians have long adopted the idea of the Trinity as the nature of the God, usually expressing this in terms of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the latter being the animating principle of all existence, the omnipresence of the Divine in all things. In Celtic polytheistic terms we might point to many gods, for there is no single predominant or "orthodox" representation of the archetypal father and son. The Dagda, which means "the Good God" is perhaps the best choice for the supreme Father-God, and his son Oengus Og is, like the Christian Jesus, God of Love. For the third aspect of the God, we might turn to Cernunnos, for unlike most of the other Celtic divinities who represent the archetype and epitome of various social roles and crafts, Cernunnos represents the Wild. He is the antlered god, the god within Nature, which is to say, the omnipresent aspect of god. Omnipresent, but not unchanging, for the Divine is never seen by the ancient druids as something unchanging. Cernunnos changes dramatically with the seasons, shedding his antlers in the Winter season and growing them anew each spring.
The second set of three apples representing the triplicity of the Goddess is more familiar to many modern pagans in the three phases of the woman's life cycle - maiden, mother, and crone. But in Celtic legend the triple goddess is expressed in several other ways more overtly. Brighid, for example, has three aspects: the poet, the healer, and the metalsmith. These are all three high and mystic crafts based on secret knowledge and inspiration. We can easily appreciate this in the case of poets and healers, whom we still honor highly in our present day, but smiths have become less familiar too us. The village blacksmith has long since disappeared, but through most of human history those who could work metals -- copper, bronze, iron, silver, gold, tin -- were seen to posses the secrets of mother Earth. They were not merely craftspeople but alchemists, making a completely new substance out of the raw materials of the Earth and the mysteries of fire. Goldsmiths were particularly skilled and honored among the ancient Celts. Similarly, the triplicity of the goddess is expressed in the goddess sisters Mabh, Babh, and Macha, who are all in turn considered to be aspects of the Morrigan, literally "Great Queen."
Finally, the triplicity of the Cosmos, the third part of the larger triad of Man, Woman, Nature. The cosmos is divided into Land, Sea, and Sky. Sea is the Underworld, the hidden world, the Otherworld that lies below and out of reach of the dwellers in mortal Middle Earth. The Sky is the realm above, a place of aspiration and divinity. In traditional Welsh terms, these worlds are described as Annwn (the Underworld), Abred (the world of manifestation), and Gwynfid, the Heavens, or the world of the white life. Beyond all these and encompassing them is Ceugant, the place of pure divinity that is inaccessible to any individual because it is the place of total union and plenitude. Traditional British Druidry, at least since the writings of Iolo Morganwg, has also employed the triad of three rays spreading from three points of light. These may be taken to symbolize many trinities, but most simply they are the three points of the Sun in the East - At Summer Solstice, the Equinoxes, and at Winter Solstice. These three points and three rays signify the year and the movement of the Great Luminary.
We could expostulate perhaps endlessly on the meanings of three and nine, but let me only add that the Triad form is one which the old Welsh bards perfected and used to good effect for remembering ideas and stories. The triad can be a mnemonic form and also a logical form: one which Hegel studied so closely in the form of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. On the Germanic side, so closely kin to the Celtic culture, the poets wrote of nine worlds upon the world tree. These two might be seen in the nine apples of Avalon's tree.
The Sun and Moon
Above the apple tree's branches upon the field of azure is a waxing crescent moon to the left in silver and to the right a seven-pointed sunburst in gold. The waxing moon symbolizes beginnings and growth, expansion of love, compassion, and vision. The seven-pointed star is often called the Faerie star, each point or ray symbolizing one of the seven principal planetary spirits in alchemy - Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. These are the energies or forces that give pattern to the spiritual planes beyond the circle of the mundane world of material form. Each planet represents many ideas and qualities, but among the many we might point to these in respective order: Magnanimity, Compassion, Intelligence, Love, Strength, Justice, and Self-Control (or Will).
The whole seven-pointed sunburst signifies the Sun, the central object of Druidic veneration, as the source of all life and light, the all-seeing eye of the Celestial realm of being. The sun is God, as it was to the Egyptians in Ra and Aten, but to a modern psychological understanding, the Sun is also the Self, the center of our psyche, the true center that includes all aspects of our being, not just the ego and the outward personae we may assume in our social roles. It is what is called the Higher Self in magical philosophy.
Likewise the Moon is more than the planetary body. The Moon is the primal symbol of the Goddess-nature, the Divine Feminine, the mysteries of female reproduction and fertility, and the wonderful power of maternal love. She is the Queen of Heaven, Mary in the Christian pantheon of saints, and Diana in the wisdom of the Greeks and the traditions of European witchcraft. But this personification again, symbolizes deeper layers of understanding, for the Moon is our emotional nature, our capacity for feeling - both anger and compassion. She is the changeable face of the Mother who may one moment be tender and then next exert discipline, who will teach and also protect her young, She can be the devouring mother who won't let go of her children, or the bad mother who hurts her children whether through violence or indifference. The silver light of the full Moon symbolizes the Mother at her greatest power of fertility, strength, and love: She who gives birth to all things. The waxing crescent Moon of the Avalon Arms symbolizes the Maiden, the Kore, as the Greeks called her, the girl who is pure and learning about life, who is free from the duties of motherhood and belongs to no husband. She is depicted as an athlete, particularly a runner. Ideally protected by her father, she is utterly free to play and explore. This is an ideal symbol for the student, whether physically young or old, for the Maiden, in this sense, is not cloistered away, but active and her feminine nature is receptive, not violent or boastful or needlessly competitive, as boys often are. The ideal student is, before all else, open to new ideas, receptive, and free to think and feel. So, the waxing Moon on the Avalon arms symbolizes the opening door of enlightenment, open just a crack, mysterious and beckoning.
The Supporters
On the right, masculine side of the shield is a Griffin segreant, that is, standing on its hind legs, with the wings elevated and addorsed, which means displayed against its back. The Griffin or Gryphon is a magical beast of the Otherworlds, half lion and half eagle, with prominent ears on the birdlike head. The Griffin appears in Greek legend and can be traced back through artistic representations to 3000 B.C. Associated with the sun, Griffins pulled the chariot of Apollo. They were guardians of the Great Goddess in Minos. Griffins also pulled the chariot of the Greek god Nemesis. Griffins have a long association with gold, reportedly seeking and digging for gold to make their nests of that precious solar metal. Such legends are symbolic of the close link between this animal and the quest for spiritual perfection and refinement - and the art of the goldsmith and the alchemist. The Avalon Gryphon is rendered in natural colors of reddish-gold and brown symbolizing, like the animal's body, the union of Earth and Sky. This symbolism is also part of the Gryphon's Sun-nature, for the Sun appears to pass through the Sky by day and under the Earth and Sea at night.
On the left, or feminine side of the shield the supporter is a white Unicorn rampant. Creatures of the world's deepest forests and jungles, the unicorns are among the most noble and beautiful. They are guardians of the wood and glen, high spirited and even aggressive in their mating battles. Their white fur and silver hooves and horns mark unicorns as highly spiritual beings linked to the light of the Moon. As such, they are both Earthy and Watery in their energy. Notoriously shy of humans and wary of predators, it is said they can only be tamed by virgins. This is not to say they are easy to tame, however, and their horns can be deadly when the unicorn is aroused to defend itself. Herbivores, the unicorns come in a range of sizes, those of Europe being comparable to ponies in size, while those of the India are similar in size and appearance to Arabian horses. Unlike horses, however, unicorns have cloven hooves. The Greek Ctesius described them as a kind of Indian wild ass with a single horn and tremendous speed and aggressive behavior. Megasthenes similarly describes the Indian unicorns as unsociable and wild except during the rutting season. You will note that the Avalon Unicorn had a golden horn, a bit of the solar gold seeded amidst the lunar silver.
The Mantling
Traditionally achievements at arms have a helmet or crown denoting noble rank. Instead of this, the Avalon Arms has the name of the Center - simply "Avalon" above and the motto below with a festoon of oak branches with leaves and acorns at the top. The oak tree is the quintessential druid tree. Some scholars believe the word "druid" derives from the root word for oak. The oak symbolizes strength and the doorway into other worlds. There are hundreds of species of oak, but we have depicted the white oak, Quercus alba, because it is one of the native to Minnesota, and because the whiteness of its underleaves hints and the Light of Gwynfid that we seek as druids. The color of the mantling is gold, a color symbolic in Druidry and Alchemy of the pure refined wisdom of the philosopher, the gold within.
The Motto
The Avalon Center motto is modeled after college mottoes which are traditionally in Latin. It is also modeled upon the mottoes of Scottish clan badges. The Governors and Advisors who created Avalon debated whether to put the motto in Welsh, Irish, Scots Gaelic, Gaulish, or simply English, but Latin was chosen ultimately as simply the most traditional. The choice of any of the other Celtic languages would have given a false impression that the Center favors one culture over another. The intention behind the choice of Latin was not, as may be true traditionally, to revere the culture of Rome. Indeed, modern druids have good reason to deplore much of the imperialism of the Roman military and its destruction of Celtic tribes, as well as the druid order. However, Roman culture is, whether we like it or not, the foundation of Western culture today. All our social and legal institutions descend from it, as well as our religious institutions. The Roman Catholic church shaped Western civilization for nearly seven hundred years, including prompting the Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment. As an non-sectarian academic institution, Avalon supports the practice of religions of all kinds and leaves the choice of religious institutions and forms to the conscience of the individual. Similarly, we do not reject any aspect of Western civilization but view all its history with critical attention.
AMOR is love, first above all. Love is the attractive force that gives birth to compassion, reproduction, nurturing, motherhood and fatherhood, fidelity, brotherhood and sisterhood, and the bonds that hold the cosmos together. It is the ultimate signifier of good. Love is the rule for colleagues when dealing with each other, even in situations of disagreement. Love is the guiding principal in the relationship between teacher and pupil, for it is also the root of respect. Not all teachers may be beloved by their students, or vice versa, but one always wishes this could be the case. The expression of this love is filial and fraternal, for we are all, from time to time, in the position of parent, brother, or sister. In this aspect, it is love without expression as sexuality, as such, but sexuality as a manifestation of love is, naturally not excluded from the principles of Druidry, for sexual love is the foundation of family, clan, and the line that extends between us backwards in time to our ancestors, and forward in time to our descendants. It is the creative power of the biological world and to be celebrated and studied, not hidden or considered to be a source of evil, as some religions do. The cultivation of love, in the true sense, is that antithesis of jealousy or possessiveness.
VERITAS lies at the center of our motto for it is Latin for Truth. Druids have long been known as dedicants to the speaking of truth. This does not mean only one truth, but truth generally conceived. The seeking after what is factually correct and verifiable, and also the quest for imaginal truth, mythic truth, and the true expression of one's inmost and highest spirit. This dedication to Truth as a principle, rather than the defense of some authority or doctrine, is something Druidry inherits not only from the ancient Celtic culture but also from the Greco-Roman philosophers. "To thine own self be true" says the Bard, and this is perhaps the most important lesson for every student and every teacher. Students must be encouraged to seek their own truth as well as to understand the accepted ways of evaluating statements for their truth content. To do this requires that one go beyond the division of the world into black and white, true and false. Instead we must grasp Truth as a qualitative and complex thing, a slippery fish, and the skill of fishing for it, the skill of the Wise.
NATURA lies on the right hand of the motto and is the expression of the material reality, the living reality in which we work and play. Druid philosophy is based in Nature. For druids there is no "supernatural" world. There are only different types of worlds within Nature. The Otherworld has its villages, mead halls, and wildernesses. The Forest Sauvage is the place where so many Arthurian adventures take place and forests are the haunts of legendary beasts and the heroes who hunt them. The inclusion of Nature in the Avalon motto is a direct indication of an important difference between Druidry and the major monotheistic religions that descended from Abraham, and indeed between it and some aspects of Buddhist philosophy. Namely, Druidry embraces Nature. It does not see wild places as a source of evil, it does not see them as "undeveloped land" or in need of "improvement" nor does it seek to transcend the material world of Nature. In contrast to Buddhism, the material world is not seen as illusion, but rather as part of a cosmos that includes many dimensions and layers. Modern Druidry was influenced by medieval Kabbalah and its interpretation into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by magical philosophers. It shares the Kabbalist's understanding of the layered emanations and echoes of existence. There may be a Divine Godhead, a single Supreme Being at the outermost circle of the circles of being, but its nature is ineffable. We can only strive towards it and understand it mystically through the inner Sun of our own being.
Lucretius, the Roman philosopher and author of De Rerum Natura (Of the Nature of Things) used the term "nature" as a speaker of Latin where "natus" means birth. Nature, then, consists of those things which are born, and by implication change, age, fade, and die. Nature is a cycle of life and death, sprouting and fertilization, light and dark, growth and dormancy. For the druid these are all important in their own right as objects of science, but they are also metaphors for our lives at many levels. We are born, and we are born again to new knowledge and understanding. Most important of all, the student of Druidry, in taking up the challenge of study embraces outward Nature and inward Nature, and in both is born anew. The calender around which the major rituals and celebrations are arranged records the cycles of Sun and Moon, the changing seasons, and the ways humans adapt to them. These things are at the core of Druid teaching. They are "right" and "true" and in Nature we find the springs of human love.
