For ’tis the secret of the Grail
And evil can befall the man
Who talks of it in any way
Except the way it should be told.
Merlin’s Gift
Merlin’s gift to those whom he left behind was no comfortable memento. He presented the Company of the Round table with the ultimate symbol of a spiritual journey so great, that it was meant only for those who were worthy of the calling. It has since become the most potent search for salvation in history—the Quest for the Holy Grail. Merlin knew that if they succeeded this would be the ultimate achievement of the knights who served King Arthur.
Merlin will manifest the all-embracing principle of faith in the form of the Quest for the Holy Grail. Merlin has an understanding of all things feminine, and he is most certainly aware that the Quest is the search for the female element in creation. Being unaware of the Christian artefact that it will become, Merlin regards the ‘Grail’ as being the Cauldron of Cerridwen. Some say the wizard was even the son of Cerridwen in the guise of his alter ego Taliesin. Whether or not this is so, the old magick is still at the root of the Grail and thus will have a strong influence on the Quest.
The original ‘Quest’ was the physical experience of initiation. In the search for the ‘vessel of power’, Arthur leads his band to the Underworld for the purpose of being initiated into the mysteries. He follows the example of Osiris and Orpheus, who believed that only in the recesses of the subterranean world could the great secrets be learned. It is the abode of death, a place that to the Pagan mind holds no fear. By possessing the sacred vessel, the king demonstrates that he has power over life and death and qualifies to be a conduit for the ancestors to refuel the regal energies.
Because the vessel represents fertility, in the sense of well-being, the emotional, physical, and mental health of the tribe is dependent upon the leader/hero possessing the vessel. He assumes great power and status because he is the holder of the cup; he is the cup itself. If the power of the incumbent wanes, then the people lose their guardian, as the story of the Fisher King and the Waste Land will so dramatically demonstrate.
The history of the Grail is intimately linked to a belief in the existence of some sacred object owning mystical powers. This occurs in many cultures. The Chinese speak of a dragon that holds a pearl in its jaws, and the Syrians revered meteoric stones. The Philosopher’s Stone, Jason’s Golden Fleece—this is the prize awarded to the searcher for his diligence and courage. Eventually in these tales, the actual goal becomes more and more nebulous, the element of initiation within the Quest becoming much stronger. In the Arthurian tales, a location such as the Forest of Broceliande becomes a representation of the unconscious mind where the most fearful monsters reside. It is like the scene depicted on the Moon card of the Tarot, where the initiate must pass between the pylon gates, his gaze fixed firmly on the road ahead no matter what he may sense is lying in wait for him in the shadows. Eventually he gains the hills beyond. Even there he may encounter further challenges, but at least he has passed the first test. It seems that we have to know Hell in order to experience Heaven.
Traumatic experiences, sufficiently intense to alter our essential self, appear to be a necessary condition of spiritual progress. Only when we have undergone the longest and darkest of nights are we permitted to see the glory of the dawn. By undergoing such extreme sensations we are tested, and what is being measured is the strength of our spirit. Any explanation of the ‘Grail’, whatever it might represent, must have within it the notion of a greater awareness, which is a greater knowledge of the self.
By developing the ability to work with the unconscious forces, balance returns to life and illusion is avoided. Having a ‘true perception’ is particularly important in the twenty-first century, a time when falsity and artifice have almost become a way of life. It must be remembered that nothing is quite the same once the seeker has entered the Inner Worlds. It is not that she wishes to dwell there constantly (she knows she would be in error if she did), it is simply that the very knowing of this other existence gives a strength and purpose to her life. She now feels that she really is part of the universe and thus in total command of her existence. The shadows that once threatened her fall back. Her fear of the unknown disappears. Illusions still possess their glitter, but no longer is there the slightest chance that they will turn to gold.
The adept knows that constantly shifting levels of reality make up our consciousness, and we have the ability to colour and create them in any way we please. The creative imagination plays its part in all of this, composing a view that illustrates the place from where we originated—detailing the face of God. That countenance is a reflection of ourselves. We come to this plane through the grace of God, and the nature of God is love.
Holy Vessel
Chivalry was an attempt to leaven the brew of aggression that existed among young knights in feudal England. Jousting, often seen as a well-ordered display of prowess for the entertainment of the ladies of the court, was in reality often vicious brawling between rival gangs. It was the Church that encouraged the more civilised knights of the time to introduce rules of conduct that would contain the fighting spirit of aristocratic youth. It is against this backdrop that we must regard the birth of the Quest. A measure of its power is that the Grail may soften unruly hearts, even, it must be said, of those chosen to occupy a seat at the Round Table. Do these knights who undertake the Quest know that the purpose of the Quest is to discover the Grail (or the Holy Spirit) within one’s heart? If not, they will soon discover its essence or abandon their mission.
It is not surprising that the Grail was originally a vessel of the Underworld, for its nature is concealed. It is the womb, the Goddess herself. The Transition from Pagan prize to Christian icon is through the Virgin Mary, via her title Stella Maris—star of the sea. It is the Moon that rules the tides, and she is the essence of magick and the domain of the Goddess. It may be also that the grail, or cup (Water), is one of four great treasures. The other three are the Spear of Destiny (Fire), The Sword of Truth (Air), and the Oracular Stone (Earth). They are traditionally the gift of a Celtic queen, strongly suggesting that The Grail per se is exclusively part of the Western tradition. It may be relevant that the element of Water owns the West as its magickal direction.
The modern yearning for tangible proof of the purpose of the Grail has still to be satisfied, which rather implies that such a one-dimensional approach achieves nothing. The debate as to the precise nature of that artefact and its whereabouts has, over the years, spawned a vast literary oeuvre, and popular interest in the subject shows no sign of abating. Whether the Holy Grail is the actual Cup used at the Last Supper or the two cruets that contained the blood and sweat of Jesus Christ seems to be of less important than the meaning of this Holy of Holies. The Christian version of the Quest insists that the hero, in order to gain the Grail, must be the embodiment of purity. This was certainly not a prerequisite in earlier versions of the saga, when both hero and magician are more worldly figures, pragmatic in their methods. Merlin and Arthur are each an archetype in transition, and the later version of themselves will be very different, almost a dwindling in stature.
With the coming of Christianity, and the ousting of the Gnostic version of the faith, the goddess element became more and more marginalized. The Church, a patriarchal institution, naturally disapproved of any female element owning the same status as the Messiah. A subtle engineering of how this should be regarded meant inventing a version of female virtue that was based upon, yet radically altered, the idea of virginity. Originally, this element of the goddess was not maidenhood but innocence, which is neither male nor female. It is a quality essential to any spiritual being, and as Confucius says:
He who departs from innocence, what does he come to? Heaven’s will and blessing do not go with his deeds.
Thus does the character of the Grail become associated with the Holy Virgin, the epitome of unsullied purity. Later, the Church, intent on removing any feminine element in the Trinity, began to show its disapproval even of this association. Both the Cathars and the Knights Templar, two sects whose beliefs were entwined with the Grail, were persecuted unmercifully. Their creeds were seemingly obliterated by the Catholic Church in Europe, though vestiges of their beliefs survived in the Rosicrucian society. As a result, from the Middle Ages onwards, the Grail disappears as a mainstream Christian icon. The most significant symbol of Christianity, although never entirely losing its power, suddenly becomes a bête noire.
As a myth, its power increased, and it appears, admittedly in a much modified form, as part of the service of the Eucharist. The Church adapted the notion of transmutation, or—in the case of the Catholic Church—transubstantiation, into its liturgy. This proceeding is much more akin to a magickal ceremony than the Communion Service of the Church of England. It must be said that through its priests the Catholic faith has, perhaps even unwittingly, preserved much of the magickal tradition over the centuries. It is as if the original ‘cauldron’, part of Merlin’s Pagan ancestry, will not relinquish its power. In the guise of the Grail it recedes into a world of mist and romance. It is now a far cry from the Goddess’ proffered cup, flowing with her fertility—oozing and earthy.
The Waste Land
In ancient tradition, the physical state of the kingdom was reflected in the welfare of the king. To this end he might even be ritually married to the tutelary earth goddess of the tribe. When the land is suffering, ‘the crops fail and the trees lose their leaves’, and it is believed by his people that the monarch has brought this about. The ailing kingdom has become an infertile and barren place. In the Arthurian tales, this ‘Waste Land’ describes the parlous condition of Logres before its ultimate fall. What has brought this about? The reasons are several, but mainly it is Arthur’s virtual rejection of Guinevere, the queen representing the earthly, and thus the fertile, aspect of the kingdom. Aligned with this is Arthur’s failure to prevent the growing passion between Guinevere and Lancelot. The ravishing of the Grail Maidens by unknown knights is a crime that cannot easily be forgiven. Lastly is the ‘dolorous stoke’, the wounding of Pelles, or Pellean the Fisher King, by Balin le Sauvage. A catalyst that signals untold disaster occurs in other traditions as well. Shiva is attacked in the woods by sages who think he is a madman, and Adonis is gored by a boar. In both cases the land suffers.
In this instance the Fisher King, who is keeper of The Hallows, is wounded with the Spear of Destiny, stolen by Sir Balin from the sacred chamber in Pelles’ castle. This blasphemy occurs when he is searching for a weapon to defend himself against Pelles’ supposed attack. Balin enters the chamber where Joseph of Arimathea lies upon a bed of gold. As this place is a symbolic representation of the Sangreal, Balin has now profaned it with his presence. As a result, the Hallows disappear, the land will become barren, and the Grail will be lost forever. The age of Pisces being personified by Christ, the Grail is also a Piscean symbol. Both Arthur and the Fisher King will be denied the Grail, and the disasters that will befall Arthur echo the Fisher King’s fate. Both kings will be condemned to a place where there is, as Richard Barber phrases it, ‘ . . . no hint of magic, merely the stark reality of a land left prey to marauders . . . enemies are presumably at large, and because he cannot lead his army to fight them, his land is open to attack’.[1]
The presence of a negative force, constantly waiting for any opportunity to bring destruction, is what makes the Waste Land seem so sinister. As the kingdom in its pomp is the reflection of Heaven, so the Waste Land is the shadow of Hell. Balin’s role in all this is that of the pathological victim.
In the Celtic tradition, the barren land is cursed, and that curse can only be lifted by a hero. Of the four knights (Lancelot, Bors, Perceval, and Galahad) who attempt to secure the Grail and fulfill the Quest, only Galahad succeeds and is the Grail Hero. Perceval fails by not taking the opportunity to ask the Grail Question. Lancelot is deemed not worthy because of his adulterous affair with Guinevere and Bors, although proving he is a virtuous knight, seems fated to be an onlooker. The Question that Perceval should have asked has been variously interpreted, but it is generally considered to be, ‘Whom does the Grail serve?’ A suitable answer has even been suggested, which is, ‘The Old King whose heir you are’. The implication being that if Perceval had taken up his inheritance, fertility would have returned to the land. As we know, this does not happen and it is Galahad who acquires the Grail. He and Bors depart with their prize to Sarras, a mystical island situated near Egypt. The name is possibly derived from the Greek word for Arab: Saracen. The Grail is then taken up to Heaven, and Galahad dies in ecstasy at the sight. Whether the return of the Grail to its divine resting place breaks the spell of the Waste Land is a moot point, as all the writings are ambiguous concerning this matter.
A variation in the earlier part of the tale has Perceval and Galahad exchanging roles. In the more accepted version Galahad immediately occupies the Siege Perilous, the place at the Round Table reserved only for a worthy knight, as soon as he enters Arthur’s court. His expected death from divine retribution for such effrontery does not occur, and the other knights are suitably amazed. Galahad thus fulfills Merlin’s prophecy as being the only knight who will secure the Grail. In another version it is Perceval who occupies the sacred seat, causing it to crack with a violent sound, and the era of the Waste Land begins at that moment. In this way the notion that Perceval is the classic Fool is more than hinted at, particularly when he merely gazes at the Grail when it is brought before him in the Grail Castle.
The actual location of the Grail Castle is said to be on the Isle at Avalon at Glastonbury, at the foot of Wearyall Hill. The lake that is the abode of the Lady is at Pomplarles Bridge, which is also known as Pons Perilis, the Bridge Perilous. The questing knight must cross this ‘bridge of swords’ before entering the Grail Castle. He will have spent the preceding hours in prayer at the chapel on Bride’s Mound. In this night of vigil his armour is the Lower Self and his spurs the Higher Self. At dawn he approaches the bridge, a psychic gateway where all previous notions of reality must be set aside. The last journey of the soul involves the crossing of the river Styx and represents the passage from life to death, or from the realm of mortals to that of the gods. The most dramatic transition between worlds is contained in Norse mythology—the Rainbow Bridge (Bifrost, meaning “tremulous way”). It depicts the rainbow as the name suggests, but it may also have been a reference to the Milky Way. Whatever it represents, it is ultimately doomed to destruction when the fire giants thunder across it at Ragnarok, the end of the world.
Fall of the Kingdom
The changing seasons of the might be likened to the rise and tragic fall of Logres (Lloegr, Welsh for ‘kingdom’). After their joyous summer engaged with the Quest, the melancholy autumn is the rift between the knights, and the raging winter is the end of the kingdom. We await the return of spring as we await the return of Arthur, but in this bleak season, treachery and black passions rise and engulf all reason. Knight battles against knight, friends become foes, and Arthur is about to die at the hand of Mordred, his own son. As the Chinese proverb tells us, ‘The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials’. In the Eastern tradition the purification of the innermost being involves the paying of debts acquired in past lives—balancing the karmic books. When we emerge into the place of ‘knowing without thought’, we have, with the ceasing of life, no earthly restraints upon the soul; it takes wing and returns to whence it came—Eternity. Love, which is the true energy within the Grail, is also eternal, within all things and present in every moment of existence, though we may not always perceive it.
Love and death are two themes that are often interwoven in these tales. Both are at the root of all mystery. We have one last riddle to solve—that of the actual death of Merlin. We know that he has been incarcerated in the Castle of Enchantment that Nimmue has built, but does he simply waste away, a doddering old man in the darkness of his own mind? We would suppose not. He is a wizard, and he will depart as a wizard. The death of Merlin, like his life, is a mystery. Whither does he return, if to anywhere? Does he become a spirit in the forest, returning to the godhead? Merlin is, in one sense, the essence of the Grail, so does he join with it in another realm? Many questions, and as with Merlin, only the limits of the imagination determine the answers. To gain some insight into his passing, we might examine the Celtic Threefold Death. This, like the Tibetan Book of the Dead, is a guide to achieving complete transcendence at death. In this way, no attachment to any of the four realms of the elements will remain.
To understand the ideas presented here, much will be gained from examining that most enigmatic of the cards of the Tarot, the Hanged Man. The state in which the apparently contented figure finds himself, or chooses to be in, is between two worlds. He is secured to his earthly support yet free to float in the aether. On his joining with the element of Air, he gains wings and flies. He is carried high, inspiration keeping him above the mountains, until, like Icarus, he eventually falls. Now he must encounter the change that will accompany his entry into the world of Fire. With his newfound illumination he is purified and transformed. His great energy, as if riding a mighty steed into the Sun, is like a magickal death and leads him to the next element in the chain.
The opposite force of Water now almost drowns him in her great blessing and purification. The River of Time washes away any past imbalance, and with this spiritual grace comes understanding. The healing cycle begins and continues into the realm of the final element, Earth, which draws sustenance from the deeps below. It is this realization of the material plane that brings the ultimate wisdom. Our sojourn within the consciousness of Malkuth leads ultimately to our ascending the Tree and returning to Kether, the Crown from where we began. Soon we will journey along the lightning flash once more through all ten Sephira while Malkuth beckons.
And so, Merlin in death has gained the ultimate state, his soul has brought him to the Limitless Light. He is at the fullest consciousness without consciousness—a paradox, one that attempts to define Nirvana. Let us simply say that Merlin in death is at his most alive. In life he was never far from a state close to death, and this awareness gave him his magickal power. He was a warrior and magician simultaneously, possessing equally the courage needed to fight for existence and the ability to surrender.
[1]. Richard Barber, The Holy Grail: Imagination and Belief. (London: Penguin, 2004), p. 20.