The Arthurian Quest: Living the Legends of Camelot

by Amber Wolfe

Book Overview

An examination of the legend of Camelot, which draws on mythological, cultural, historical and psychological information to reveal how Arthurian myth can be used for personal transformation. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1567188060
• ISBN13: 9781567188066
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications
• Length: 403 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 7.1" x 10.1"

Customer Reviews

impressive work

I've owned this book for years, but only read it just now, and am very impressed. It is an exhaustive source of exercises for leading yourself or others through guided imagery using the Arthurian legends, with accompanying lists of the symbols and characters, and their meaning. These meditations she has written make the listener a part of the time, with the images, smells, materials, etc. that one would experience. I can see it being useful in workshops to guide students to an open state of mind, and also in psychotherapy, with patients who enjoy these stories. She goes into more detail than I myself am interested in, in her lists, but I plan to just use those parts that could be useful to me. I'm also surprised at the historian reviewer who didn't like the book. I've read so many contradictory opinions about that period in history and given the plentitude of stories about Arthur that I hardly believe that one person can be considered an "expert" in anything but the historical contradictions!

Magick not History

As a student of mysticism and the occult myself I am consistantly astounded by the western mind's inability to integrate the use of the creative, mythic and dynamic imagination with the intellectual capacity to reason.Those who have given this book a poor review, in my opinion, haven't one whit of experience in magick or pathworking. Pathworking requires trust in subjective experience while at the same time taking cues from history and "myth". It isn't one or the other. To make it only imaginal is akin to a daydream while to make one's journeys purely historic is to lose the symbolism and meaning of the "essense" of the material.The Arthurian Quest by Amber Wolfe is quite good and is a pathworking and magickal system, NOT A HISTORICAL, ACADEMIC WORK! It contains valuable and insightful uses for the myth cycle in a shamanic and magickal manner and merely provides tools, doorways in a manner or speaking, to contacting the currents or powers behind the symbols and stories.The power of the Arthurian tales (pre-christian celtic) is in the messages and power between the words and what is gained from the pathworking or ritual experience. Without the validation of experience and commitment to the work, the tales are just tales and useful for nothing more than a good story on a cold evening.There are plenty of speculative "historical" works on the Legends of Arthur and Camelot, but the fact is that they are all speculative. Keep this in mind. Enjoy the tales, do the pathworkings, rituals and visualizations with the mind of a mage or even an Archmage and they won't only make sense, they will get profound results.In Light and Love.

Magick not History

As a student of mysticism and the occult myself I am consistantly astounded by the western mind's inability to integrate the use of the creative, mythic and dynamic imagination with the intellectual capacity to reason.Those who have given this book a poor review, in my opinion, haven't one whit of experience in magick or pathworking. Pathworking requires trust in subjective expeirence while at the same time taking cues from history and "myth". It isn't one or the other. To make it only imaginal is akin to a daydream while to make one's journeys purely historic is to lose the symbolism and meaning of the "essense" of the material.The Arthurian Quest by Amber Wolfe is quite good and is a pathworking and magickal system, NOT A HISTORICAL, ACADEMIC WORK! It contains valuable and insightful uses for the myth cycle in a shamanic and magickal manner and merely provides tools, doorways in a manner or speaking, to contacting the currents or powers behind the symbols and stories.The power of the Arthurian tales (pre-christian celtic) is in the messages and power between the words and what is gained from the pathworking or ritual experience. Without the validation of experience and commitment to the work, the tales are just tales and useful for nothing more than a good story on a cold evening.There are plenty of speculative "historical" works on the Legends of Arthur and Camelot, but the fact is that they are all speculative. Keep this in mind. Enjoy the tales, do the pathworkings, rituals and visualizations with the mind of a mage or even an Archmage and they won't only make sense, they will get profound results.In Light and Love.

Where Joseph Campbell left off . . . Uniquely useful.

This is a very useful book. Where Campbell and others have described the factual details and mythical implications of the Celtic Arthurian traditions, "Arthurian Quest" is an organized and descriptive war chest of related tactical tools. The uses for these tools for enhancing one's traditions and psyche, as well as their derivation and historical background, are included and well written. The book makes no pretence that it contains ancient, secret, mystical information. The historical and mythological data within is well established. The ideas put forth are based on common sense folk wisdom crafted with modern psychology and sociology. It is clearly up to the readers to apply these tools strategically and intelligently to achieve their personal or group goals.

An excellent source of vibrant Arthurian pathworkings

This book is a wonderful way for anyone to experience the Archetypes of Arthurian Legend first hand. The pathworkings (meditations) are vibrant and illustrative, making each journey vivid enough to experience the Mystery behind the Veil. A must have for those walking the Path of the Celtic Arthurian.