Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings.   For this week’s Femme Fatale Friday blog post, I will be discussing the Autumnal Equinox and Morgan le Fay, as Avalon is greatly aligned with the Autumn Equinox!  

Now, I want to begin by stating that Suzanne O’Gara, owner of Alchemy of Avalon, and my first Herbalism Teacher, likes to refer to the Autumn Equinox as Gwyl Morgen (which means the Feast of Morgan le Fay in Welsh).   I love her idea, as that is so fitting for the Autumnal Equinox.

The Autumn Equinox is certainly full of Apples, as Apples are fully ripe, making the connection between this holiday and Avalon ideal.   After all, Avalon is the Isle of Apples!   I deeply connect both the Queen and the Priestess Archetypes with the Autumn Equinox.   Morgan le Fay is obviously a Faery Queen, and she is also a Priestess, especially in her guise as the Lady of Avalon!   In the most common version of the Arthurian legends, we see Morgan le Fay has a deep desire to become a Queen after creating the downfall of Arthur’s Camelot.   At least, we can infer this by the fact that she plots to cause the downfall of Arthur, so that she may be Queen in his stead!

Later, Morgan le Fay returned to Avalon, becoming the Lady of Avalon and the new Lady of the Lake, which is her embracing both her Queen and Priestess aspects at once.   Now, in older versions, including the first reference to Avalon in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Vita Merlini.   In that first reference, Morgen is described as the leader of the Sisterhood of Avalon, the beneficent healer Goddess to whom Arthur is brought to be healed after his final battle.   She would eventually evolve as new versions of the legends were written into the Baddie of the Arthuriad, but she still also become the Lady of the Lake who ferries Arthur to Avalon as he is dying.   So, no matter what, she is always the Priestess and healer at the end of the story!   That is the very fascinating thing about how Morgan le Fay evolved, as even though she is often shown to use her magick with ill intent, she always returns to Avalon, and focuses on being a Psychopomp and healer by the end of the story. 

I hope you have enjoyed this short discussion of how Morgan le Fay and Avalon are so entwined with the Autumn Equinox.   What is your favorite thing about Morgan le Fay or Avalon, as they relate to the Autumn Equinox?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is Ed Org’s Morgan le Fay artwork.   I thought she was ideal for this post, as she is awash with Autumn colors.   I found the art on https://magicandmisery.wordpress.com/tag/morgan-le-fay/.  

LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries 

Further Reading

• Vita Merlini by Geoffrey of Monmouth
• Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory