Arthur
Arthur begins as a war-leader, not a king: the Historia Brittonum (ninth century) credits him with twelve victories including Mount Badon and calls him dux bellorum, and the Annales Cambriae record his last battle at Camlann in 537 where he and Medraut fell.
Arthur is a literary and legendary figure, not an attested cult deity: no temple, priesthood, festival or offering is recorded for him in any period, and the medieval material is romance and chronicle, not liturgy. The historical Arthur behind the ninth-century battle-list is disputed, and the scholarly trend since the 1990s has been sceptical of any single candidate. The Christian redaction is heavy: Geoffrey euhemerises a British king, Robert de Boron and the Vulgate Queste turn the Grail into the vessel of Christ's blood, and the 1191 exhumation at Glastonbury rewrites Avalon as a Christian grave. The planetary, zodiac, tarot and sabbat correspondences are modern Western overlays, as are the offerings given here.
Correspondences
- Planetary Correspondence
- Sun
- Zodiac Affinity
- LeoAriesSagittarius
Offerings
- Offerings
- A story told aloudA candle at a standing stoneThe first pour of the nightA sword kept cleanA vow written and keptBread and ale shared
Sacred timing
- Sacred Timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- ArturusArthur PendragonThe Once and Future KingDux BellorumArtorius
- Gender Expression
- Masculine
- Titles
- Dux BellorumKing of the BritonsThe Once and Future KingPendragonBear of Britain
- Symbols
- ExcaliburThe round tableThe pendragon bannerThe standing stoneCamelotAvalon
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneRegal careful unsentimentalAddressArthurPendragonKing of the BritonsDux BellorumRelationshipA king who knows what his peace costWarningHe was made a king by a chronicler and a national mirror by later handsResonanceThose who hold a charge those who keep a table those who wait for a return
- Modern Practice
There is no historical cult and no ancient rite: the modern practice is literary and devotional, and it is best kept honest as such. What is done is a candle at a standing stone or a hillfort, a shared meal at a table, a vow written down and actually kept, and the reading of a source text aloud rather than a film.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- SovereigntyKingshipWarThe warbandThe landThe swordThe round tableReturn
- Mythology Summary
Arthur begins as a war-leader, not a king: the Historia Brittonum (ninth century) credits him with twelve victories including Mount Badon and calls him dux bellorum, and the Annales Cambriae record his last battle at Camlann in 537 where he and Medraut fell. Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136) turns him into a king who conquers Europe and is carried to Avalon, and the Welsh Culhwch and Olwen already puts him at the head of a named warband. Chretien de Troyes adds the court and the Grail, and Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (1485) fixes the Round Table, Excalibur, and the once and future king.
Details
- Correspondences
- ColorsGoldRedWhiteScentsFrankincense boswellia sacraCedarBay leafMetalsGoldSteelIronAnimalsBearDragonBoarEagle
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