A SEAT AT THE TABLE
It was ordained of Arthur that when his fair fellowship sat to meat their chairs should be high alike, their service equal, and none before or after his comrade.
…
Wace, Roman de Brut
Your journey has begun. You have stepped through the unseen door into the realm of Arthur and stood in the presence of the king. The following meditations are intended to bring you further into the Round Table mysteries and help you to find a role within the circle of the fellowship. Here you enter the season of winter.
Welcome to the Table
Begin by imagining yourself at a high place that enables you to look out across the whole of Arthur’s kingdom. Here is a place demanding you to explore it. Here adventures await you and meetings will take place that may change your whole life. This is the inner realm of Logres, the ancient magical kingdom where all things are possible, and where the walls that separate the outer world from the inner are as thin and transparent as glass.
As you look out across this wondrous land, you see the sunlight flash upon the roof of a building. Transport yourself now, in your imaginal body, to the entrance of that building, which seems to your inner vision to be a great circular hall, the walls of which are of crystal so that it blazes with light like a great jewel.
At the door stands a figure in armor as bright as the sun. It is Sir Kay, the seneschal of Arthur’s court, of whom you must ask permission to enter. Do not be concerned at his crusty manner, for he was and is a great knight of the Round Table and the beloved foster brother of the king himself. If your reason for desiring entry is satisfactory—and you alone know whether it is so or not—you will be permitted to enter.
You find yourself inside the crystal walls, and there before you at the center is the Round Table itself, built of massive timbers on which are carved many curious symbols and designs. Around the edge are ranked several rows of high-backed seats, on each of which is the name of the knight who sits there.
At this point in your journey you must ask yourself an important question: what is your role in the mysteries of the table? The answer you give will govern what you next experience, so be as honest as you can. It is not yet for you to sit down in the inner circle of places with the great knights. That honor must be earned as it always was, and you will be given many opportunities to experience adventures and trials that will fit you in time for such a place.
For now you should watch and listen and learn. For as you take your place, you see that those who have gone before you fill many of the seats. Many will have adventures to relate, insights to share, tales to tell. You may remain for as long as you wish, for here time is without meaning. Perhaps if you are lucky, the king himself will enter or Guinevere will come to listen to the latest adventures of her knights. In time, you too may sit or stand in your place and feel the eyes of the assembled company upon you. Until that time, listen, learn, and, above all, remember…
When you are ready to depart, go quietly from the crystal hall as you came, taking leave of Sir Kay as you do so. He will remember you and welcome you again when next you visit the hall. Now let the image of the place and the landscape fade from your inner sight, and awaken and re-establish contact with the surroundings from which you began your journey. You may visit the hall of the Round Table as often as you wish, each time learning more from it. In time you may wish to venture forth on adventures of your own in which your own chosen companion will help and advise you.
The Hall of the Round Table
The following meditation takes you further and deeper in to the mysteries of the fellowship. You may notice the reference to Numenor. This is from the mythology of J. R. R. Tolkien, whose declared intention in his work was to create a new mythology for England. In so doing he plumbed the depths of worldwide mythic sources and ended by re-creating something older than any surviving tradition has retained in memory. By referencing it here we paid homage to Tolkien’s depth of awareness, funneled though the myth-haunted landscape of Oxfordshire.
…
Before you is a mighty set of solid oak-timbered double doors. As we step forward they swing open, revealing beyond them a great room. The light within is dim but sufficient for us to see the great circular table that dominates the room, with a number of high-backed chairs ranged around it…
You are once again in the great hall of Camelot, where the fellowship of knights and ladies meet on special occasions and where they relate their adventures to the king and queen. On this occasion the hall is empty apart from you, and you take the opportunity to walk around the table, looking at the seats and reading the names inscribed there. You may see some that you recognize from your own life journey and others that are less familiar. Though you may long to sit in one of the chairs, do not do so yet…
Looking around, you see that twelve great long windows light the hall, such as you may have seen in a cathedral. You examine their design with great attention and see there scenes depicted that you recognize and others that you do not. Remember what you see here…
Between each window great banners hang upon the walls, depicting the arms of the families of the Round Table. These are symbols of power than can transform us. Take note of these, especially if one of them calls out to you.
Above you the hall rises to a high domed roof, on which are painted symbols relating to the work of the fellowship. At the center is a multifoliate rose painted in gold and red. As you look up at this, light begins to radiate from it and you hear unearthly music…
Turning now towards the door by which you entered, you see people enter in single file—knights and ladies and young men in squires’ livery. One by one they take their places at the table…yet when all are seated, there are still places that remain empty, for it is one of the properties of the Round Table that there are always enough places to accommodate those who desire to sit there.
The last to enter are the king and queen, Arthur and Guinevere, who radiate power and love towards all present, including yourself. When they are seated, they invite you by name to come forward and join the other seekers who stand before the royal pair. You do so humbly and in the knowledge that you are still at the beginning of your journey, and that you have yet to earn your place at the Round Table.
Each one who comes here will see Arthur and Guinevere according to their own inner vision; there are details that are true of all who are of the lineage of the great kings and queens of Numinor, the True West…
Upon Guinevere’s hand sparkles the ring of Avalon, her ancient home. It flashes bright as a star upon her finger. Upon Arthur’s hand sparkles the steep-stoned ring of the Pendragons, flashing red with the power of the land and the ancient dragons.
Now the king and queen rise together and speak as one: “Welcome, travellers, to the High Hall of Camelot in the inner realms and to the table of the Grail. Let all who come here know that we embark upon a journey together and that our task is to establish a new table in the outer world. Together we shall uphold the honor of the knighthood of the Grail. The blessings of the fellowship be upon you all. Rest now, for on the morrow we depart together in search of the hallows.”
As these words echo in your heart and mind, the scene fades and you find yourself retuned to the place where you began. Remember all that you can, especially the symbols on the banners and the images upon the windows of the great hall.
The Oath of the Round Table
However long it takes and whatever challenges ensue, the day will come when you feel you have been accepted among the fellowship. When this happens, it is time for you to consider your obligations to the mysteries of Arthurian chivalry. To do this and to anchor it firmly, you must subscribe to the oath of the Round Table, as stated in the Morte d’Arthur of Sir Thomas Malory, himself a knight who fought in the Wars of the Roses and knew the concept of chivalry intimately. This may yet be some way off or you may feel that, having completed the visualizations above, you are ready to take this step. If not, mark the place here and return to it when you are ready, at which time it is suggested that you read over the oath and then meditate upon it until you feel ready to repeat it aloud with a sense of seriousness and what it means to you today.
This is not an oath to be taken lightly, and you should be absolutely certain before you do so. You will be given tasks to carry out in the months to come, but swearing the oath will also deepen your awareness of the magical work you are carrying out.
The words are as follows. To commit to the oath, you need only add the words “I swear.”
Never to do outrage nor murder, and always to flee treason; also, by no means to be cruel, but to give mercy unto him that asketh mercy, upon pain of forfeiture of the worship and lordship of King Arthur for evermore; and always to do ladies, damosels, and gentlewomen succor, upon pain of death. Also, that no man take no battles in a wrongful quarrel for no law, nor for world’s goods.
With this done, you are ready to take your first steps on the way of the table. Inevitably, the first you will encounter are the challengers.