Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings! For this week’s Femme Fatale Friday, I have decided to focus on Guinevere and her associations with Avalon. Guinevere’s name can be translated to mean White Fay, White Ghost, or White Phantom, particularly in its original Welsh form. That translation of her name brings us to the topic of Guinevere and her association with Avalon in an interesting way. However, I want to begin by looking at some of the other associations between her and Avalon first!
Guinevere is an Arthurian figure who began as a Goddess, as did so many of the Ladies of the Arthuriad. That Goddess nature connects her to the Sacred Isle of Avalon, just like Morgan le Fay is so deeply connected to that Isle (being the Goddess and Lady of Avalon, chief amongst the Ninefold Sisterhood). However, Guinevere’s association with Avalon is of a more misty nature, with no tales from the older Arthurian Legends directly placing her in Avalon.
What we do have is the inscription on the Lead Cross found in Glastonbury Abbey in the 12th century that stated ‘Here lies buried the renowned King Arthur, with Guinevere his second wife, in the isle of Avalon.’ Now, the second wife portion could be referencing the fact that Arthur is said in some legends to have had three wives, all named Guinevere (like in the Welsh Triads), or even the tales where there were two Guineveres, a true one and a false one. Needless to say, some tellings of the Arthuriad are insanely complex. Back to the matter of the subject at hand, outside of this reference in Glastonbury, which stated that Guinevere was spending her afterlife in Avalon with her husband, the next reference I can think of where she is directly linked to Avalon in any way is in The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. In the book, she accidentally finds her way through the Mists and to Avalon where she meets Lancelot and Morgana long before marrying Arthur! The book was published in the 1980s, making for a long time between references to Guinevere and Avalon being linked. It must also be remembered that Guinevere in The Mists of Avalon is depicted as a Christian Queen, who does not understand the Pagan Goddess Worshipping ways of Avalon. This makes her link to Avalon there less profound than it could have been!
At the end of the day, Guinevere is a Faery Queen of the Arthuriad, who acts as the Flower Bride and Representative of the Goddess of Sovereignty whose marriage to Arthur fully cements his right to rule. The bestowing of Sovereignty through marriage is an essential role for Faery Women and Faery Goddesses in Celtic lore, from which the Arthurian Legends are largely derived. This lends credence to my assertion that Guinevere is very much a Goddess of Avalon! Finally, I want to end this just as I have begun by explaining why Guinevere’s name meaning White Phantom aligns with her association with Avalon. She is a very misty and ghostly figure within Avalon. Guinevere is not simply a Goddess that can be directly linked to Avalon easily, like Morgana, but instead, she lurks at the periphery of the Holy Isle of Avalon with her loving energy!
I hope that you have enjoyed this brief look at how Guinevere is associated with Avalon. What do you think about Guinevere’s name and how it may connect her to Avalon? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is Guinevere. I found the image on https://deepdreamgenerator.com/ddream/d9hfhui5h6g.
Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services! I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon! Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/
Further Reading
- Once and Future Queen by Nicole Evelina
- The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley