“In the Arthurian mythos, the symbolism of Camelot, the castles of the Grail, Carbonek, the City of Sarras, the fairy woods, the lands of wizardry, the spellbdund Land of Logres, and the Wastelands, all have resonance in Western culture. Even more important, however, each of these images is also found within us. Arthur himself - the once and future king - represents that immortal part of us that lies sleeping in a concealed and sacred place-the heart of hearts. He symbolizes that "sovereign power," the Higher Self, who will come to heal the land and bring all into the light of endless day. Arthur is the alchemical metaphor for the potential of the solar body.”
- Tower Of Alchemy - An Advanced Guide To The Great Work
“Merlin in many ways represents the higher self Arthur represents the middle self and the tools that he gathers represent the lower self the different Knights that surround him that he arms himself with these represent the different dimensions of the lower self's personality complex in process because each Knight represents both a vice and a virtue and as the knights work together and continue on their Quest furthering their proximity to the goal what ends up occurring is the transformation of those vices into virtues and it creates type of perfection of the self and this is where Arthur Merlin and Arthur's tools and Men all come together forming a type of complete being it represents a complete person a fully awakened person whom has understood and learned what is needed for them to wield their power in order to create whatever it is that they choose whatever it is that they desire.” - Ryokah
Grail & Arthurian Mysteries
The Arthuriad: The Matter of Britain
“The Arthuriad, The Matter of Britain, as it has long been called (to distinguish it from the Matter of France, the legends of Charlemagne) has been recognized by many students of the mysteries as the basis of a set of teachings every bit as powerful as those of Egypt or the classical worlds of Greece and Rome. There is no obvious pattern, no precise formula to the texts, so that for many they remain no more than mere stories, however inspiring; but for those trained in the magical arts of the Western Mystery Tradition, they are much more: their secrets can be revealed, their codes unlocked, and their revelations enjoyed.”
- From “Arthurian Magic”, by John Matthews, Caitlin Matthews, Virginia Chandler, and Gareth Knight
“Consequently, in this mystical legend, there is a glimpse of the unknown; the reader may lose his way in a thicket of visions…This Way will lead us into the astral world and into the kingdoms of Faerie, where Merlin, the enchanter, serves as guide. Those who know how to read the book of nature will find the links of Celtic initiation in these sagas, and may even hear the tread of “the Lordly Ones.”
- From “Arthurian Magic”, by John Matthews, Caitlin Matthews, Virginia Chandler, and Gareth Knight
“A. E. Waite, himself one of the founding members of the Golden Dawn, first wrote of “a Secret School of the Grail” in his 1933 volume The Holy Grail: Its Legends and Symbolism.8 There he finds the presence of a mystical body of thought, almost without form but threading its way throughout the literature of the Arthuriad as in some way “a Grail behind the Grail.” This he sees as emerging from the lost Celtic church, which he believed preserved a more ancient liturgy and belief system after the church of Rome had set its own theology in stone.”
- Arthurian Magic