The little yellow booklet

The first time I came to Glastonbury I was given a yellow booklet called The Glastonbury Zodiac. A friend had visited some of the sites and asked if I wanted to join her on an adventure. I simply couldn’t resist, my curiosity was piqued and it did not disappoint. If you are sensitive to earth energies, then you’ll enjoy visiting the zodiac locations and tuning in at each location or working with zodiac medicine. Of course, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

Temple of the Stars

If you look down at the Glastonbury environs from the air, a circular design of zodiacal effigies can be seen that are arranged in their proper order. The Glastonbury Zodiac has been called a 10-mile wide circular landscape temple comprising of 13 giant earthworks shown in the map image below.

Picture: The earthwork effigies that Katherine called a “Temple of the Stars”. .

Glastonbury is the spiritual heart of England and is a magnet for practitioners of the mysteries. Katherine Maltwood the discoverer of this landscape zodiac was a sculptress, Theosophist and worked with the spirits of the land. She had a keen interest in the esoteric: Celtic legends, medieval French romance literature, Masonic lore, Mayan mythology, Eastern mysticism and in particular Buddhism. She commissioned the RAF to take aerial photos of the landscape around Glastonbury.

Fire of Transformation

Throughout the areas of the effigies, synchronicities can be found in imagery and symbology within each area’s sign. For instance, the stained glass at the church shows two stories of an Arien nature: one of Abraham and Isaac with the ram in the thicket, and another of Christ shown as the good shepherd holding a lamb.

A United States of America flag hangs in the church in the Libran area of Barton St. David. This is because the father of John Adams, the second President of the US was born in this very village. Libra is the sign of justice and attorney John Adams was one of the egalitarian forefathers who established a free and independent republic. Walking around this Libran area is incredibly peaceful.

Picture: US flags and plaque dedicated to the Adams family.

If you need an energy infusion, then head to Aries and take an invigorating walk on the Walton hill trail.

Or perhaps you need to ignite your communication skills, then head to the throat chakra of Gemini located at St. Andrew’s church. Where you’ll find a majestic yew which is approximately 1,700 years old. Peek inside the hollow and you’ll see a heart. It’s wonderful to sit with this yew and look out to Dundon hill. If you walk up Dundon hill, there’s a spring so drink some of the water. Head onwards and you’ll reach a plateau where there is an iron age hill fort.

Picture: the majestic yew tree.

Picture: the heart inside the yew

One time when I came back to Glastonbury, I went straight to the Hood monument to ground myself in the Taurean energy and I stayed here for much longer than I had planned.

Some of the locations are difficult to find, it took me three visits to find the crown chakra of Leo in Copley wood. It was the site of a Roman villa with only a few stones to mark the spot. The wood is overgrown until winter, so finding the stones is challenging. If you do, you’ll reap the benefit of a profound meditation.

Walking through the dark Scorpio woods is my favourite area, it is a journey into the underworld through a path, tightly laden with trees and overcoming physical obstacles. Then you cross the murky waters of a river, (via a bridge) experience a fire of transformation by shedding your dross and emerging back out into a lighter area of the woods. As with in, so with out.

Some people who stay in the Glastonbury environs for a year, visit each sign during the inception of the new moon and the culmination of the full moon of that sign. The range of moods, emotions and insights sparked by this year long journey is most certainly transformative and can be aided by local astrologer John Wadsworth’s book Your Zodiac Soul.

If you are inspired to do the full zodiac go to the girt dog of Langport, then head to Aries, finishing in Pisces.

Resources

You’ll find more information in The Conscious Guide to Glastonbury. If you’re serious about visiting the Glastonbury Zodiac, unfortunately the yellow booklet isn’t available to buy any more but check out these books:

Katherine Maltwood, A Guide To Glastonbury’s Temple Of Stars: Their Giant Effigies Described From Air Views, Maps, And From ‘The High History Of The Holy Grail’.

Mary Cain, The Glastonbury Zodiac: Key to the Mysteries of Britain

Robert Coon, Voyage to Avalon, An Immortalist’s Introduction to the Magick of Glastonbury.

Yuri Leitch, Signs and Secrets of the Glastonbury Zodiac.