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The Knight of the Holy Grail
Frederick J. Waugh, 1912
 Welcome to our page on
the Holy Grail. The quest to discover the Grail is a journey of soul that
mythologically belongs to all cultures and to all times. Whether it be as a
cup, a ring, a fountain or even a “fleece,” the powerful significance of the
object, the grandest of all spiritual symbols, and the journey to discover it’s
wholeness (holiness) has always been seen as a beacon and a map that leads a
person out of the wasteland of woundedness into the paradise of un-conditional
love and power.
As a honoring to J.R.R. Tolkien and in
acknowledgement of the December 2001 opening of the “Lord of the Rings” movie,
we will also explore the cross-cultural mythology and symbology of The Ring. A
friend of ours from England, Peter Pracownik, is the artist for the official
poster honoring the movie. Peter is at the very top of the New Age/Fantasy School of modern art.
He has done artwork for major publishers as well as artwork for tarot cards,
limited edition prints, greeting cards, jigsaws, collectible cards and album
covers including the Grateful Dead. You may see examples of Peter’s work on his
website—The Magical World Of Peter Pracownik
The Star Tarot Card
The Lord of the Rings Tarot
by Peter Pracownik
If you are just beginning
your quest or have been questing for quite a while, we hope that the guidance
and the knowledge given below will help get you closer to your “Holy Grail.”
TALES OF THE CAPT’N
As I gaze overboard, the sea, rough and storm
tossed, reminds me of the past perils and suffering that I’ve endured. Through
it all my vessel, strong beyond belief, has brought me to this point in my
journey. Battered and patched, to the unaware eye it appears unaffected. We’ve
battled unnamed creatures and denizens of the deep, evil pirates that would
kill and loot us, but through it all, we’ve sailed on for years not knowing the
reason and purpose to it all.
In the last port, though, I met a man. Some would
say he was a wizard, maybe a fisherman, but it was his eyes. How can I describe
them? Dark as a winter’s moonless night, but then in the sun light, golden as a
lion’s mane. There was a difference to this stranger, one I could not figure
out. His smile and laugh and voice vibrating to the depths of my soul. That
night we shared a few pints together, even though he seemed divine, he behaved
in a very common way. As we parted he smiled and hugged my battered soul and
whispered, “Have faith, dear one. Life may be cruel, but trust in the
Divineness of all and your Divinity. I have a map, a treasure map for you; it
reveals the location of riches and happiness beyond comprehension. It is my
gift to you. Go now in love, and forgiveness of the past, and discover your
birthright.”
It’s been a night and a day since we set sail from
our last port. The Fisherman’s words of forgiveness and love have vibrated to
the depths of my heart and soul. The weather has been crystal clear and the
seas calm, foretelling smooth sailing. Why then do I feel this way? I know.
It’s about my wounded past; a past I’ve tried shoving into the deepest recesses
of my mind. My heart’s been broken and the many pints I’ve downed, in oh so
many ports, only keeps the past hidden for a very short time. But, alas, the
Fisherman’s words have triggered an opening to these painful memories. And I
must always remember: he gave me a map, one showing the stains of time,
revealing a pathway to a treasure beyond description. Others have called the
treasure a myth, a tale for kids and the young at heart, best told on a snowy
night around a roaring fire.
I remember those special magical nights when my
Grandmother would read to me about the adventures of knights on a quest seeking a
precious object, always a cup or a stone. This sacred talisman would right the
wrongs and bring healing to the wasteland that was the kingdom. To seek this talisman required sacrifice and
the facing of fears. In the middle of these tales of maidens, dragons and
unicorns, my Grandmother would stop reading and look deep into my eyes.
With a light shining deep within, she would say, “Do
you hear the wind roaring, my grandson? It is only the dragons playing; never fear
and never be afraid of what you can’t see. There is always light, a force that
is balanced in its darkness, always have faith and trust and bring love from
your heart. The myths are real…always seek and you will know; there really is a sacred
cup. But this cup is not hidden where most people think that it’s hidden. You
will discover it and then you will know. It is called the Holy Grail!”
(Throughout our website you may find excerpts from Tales of the Capt’n, a fictional
story that is part of the non-fictional book Holy Blood Holy Heart by Dr. JC Husfelt. The main characters:
The Fisherman – The Archangel Mikael, The Capt’n – Haniel, The Hermit - Kimo of
the Emerald Heavens and the Four Realms – called by Tomack the Silver Lion, The
Hermit’s Niece – Raziel, The Hermit’s Daughter – La’a kea – Master Shaman,
Tomack – Master Wizard of Fire and Water.)
The Attainment of the Sanc Grael
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1857
HOLY HEART
Divine Humanity believes that the
Holy Grail, the vessel of light, is a metaphor and a symbol of our hearts and
the spark of God within us. The Holy Grail is our divine treasure. The greatest
wealth is always found within us and allows us, with each breath of our soul,
to experience divine love and happiness. This miraculous treasure is
transcendent, found in all cultures and ages. It’s universal symbol is a
cauldron, a magical bowl, a cornucopia or horn of plenty, but perhaps most
familiar to us as the fabulous Holy Grail. It is this legend of legends that we
carry within us. Mythically, the Holy Grail holds the divine blood of Christ
and in our journey it also holds our divine blood. It holds the divine blood
that courses through our very own bodies and the divine light, which is our own
soul. This is true because we are the divine children of Father in Heaven and
Mother on Earth and each one of us has their Holy Blood and Holy Heart within
us.
Few can be born of the bloodline of earthly Kings
and Queens but all of us have this Holy Blood of the Heavens, Holy Heart of the
Earth and the Divine Light of Creation within us. Each one of us is the king
and queen of our Realm (Kingdom) Within. It is this treasure that each one of us has a
right and a duty to discover and reveal. This is true love and power and the
heavenly birthright of each and every one of us as a Divine Human.
This
is the wonder and the mystery of the hidden meaning of the Grail of legend. As
Divine Humans, the Holy Grail is within us and it is our divine treasure of
eternal life.
THE HOLY GRAIL OF LEGEND
The Holy Grail, enigmatic in nature, is a cross-cultural
mythic symbology that belongs to all of the races of humankind. It is the jewel
of immortality and the cup of abundance that is truly a guiding light for a
world divided and confused such as ours today. Ironically enough, the legend of
the Holy Grail first appeared at the end of the twelfth century and was born
out of Europe’s own “dark night of the soul”. As a result of the crusades there
was an increased interaction and ultimately interest and awareness in the
mysteries of the East. At this time, the East became an open beacon to the
West; the refined Islamic culture introduced the mystical Sufis, the knowledge
of the Jewish Kabbalah and the new ideas of astrology, alchemy and numerology.
This cross-cultural spiritual knowledge was just waiting in the wings to light
a path to a renaissance of hope and faith in the West. By combining the legends
and esoteric knowledge of the East with the ancient Celtic and Christian
traditions and legends, the story of the Holy Grail was birthed.
Sacred cups and cauldrons
containing the holy liquid of life are woven through the mythology of our
lives. One of the earliest writers of the Grail legend, Wolfram von Eschenbach,
compared it to a phoenix that is reborn out of ashes. The Celtic god Cernunnos
is reborn when he is boiled in the Cauldron of Rebirth. To this day, the
communal cup holds the holy wine that is transformed into the blood of Christ
and the breaking of a cup seals the Jewish wedding. We still hold up cups as a
blessing in the traditional toast, and cups are frequently used as trophies
representing victory and overcoming obstacles.
There
are also common threads between the Grail legends, sometimes referred to as the
Romances, and the mystery teachings of other traditions. One such example being
the theme of a maimed king that is wounded in the thigh. This is one of the
common themes that is repeated throughout all of the Grail myths—the wounded
king-hero rules over a land that has been abused and wasted.
This Wasteland is
but a reflection and reality of the woundedness of the king-hero. As the
king-hero is wounded so does he wound the land itself. This myth and reality is
as alive today as it has been over the course of human history. It is not too
difficult to draw parallels today between the wounding of our souls and the
emptiness that so many of us feel inside and the wounding of the Earth with the
pollution and destruction of ecosystems that is so rampant in our world.
THE
GRAIL CONCEPT AS A HEALING TOOL
The Celtic lands in particular are rich with legendary
searches for magical cauldrons that can inspire, provide knowledge and furnish
insight into the mysteries of life and death. Welsh legend tells us of Bran the
Blessed, son of the powerful God of the sea - Llyr, and the possessor of a
marvelous Cauldron of Rebirth. Bran, the fisher god-king, feeds his faithful
with a continuous banquet, but he himself is wounded with a wound that will not
heal.
In Celtic myth we discover a repetitive motif of awesome
cauldrons:
Some overflow with plenty, others restore the dead
to life, while still others contain a special brew of wisdom. Dagda’s gigantic
Cauldron of Plenty overflowed with abundant, delicious meats; no hero left his
bowl hungry, though cowards never had their fill. From Bran’s massive Cauldron
of Rebirth warriors emerged alive but dumb; another Cauldron of Rebirth in
Annwn was guarded by nine maidens. Cauldrons of Inspiration provided “greals”
or brews of wisdom. The most famous belonged to the Goddess Ceridwen, whose
magical broth endowed Taliesin with all-knowing insight. Some cauldrons, such
as Dagda’s, combined the magical properties of both plenty and rebirth. Similar
mystery bowls or cups feature in Greek and eastern myths as holy vessels of
spiritual insight. Ultimately, the early Celtic cauldrons find expression in
the Arthurian Grail, which overflows with spiritual sustenance and leads the
hero from death to immortality.
(The
Encyclopedia of Mythology, Arthur Cotterell, Smithmark Publishers, New
York, New York, 1996, pg. 132.)
Along with the wounded heroes and the wondrous cauldrons,
there appears an underlying theme in the Celtic mythology of a Paradise Lost.
This paradise called Logres was an enchanted reality, an Otherworld - a middle
earth, which paralleled our own world. This was a world of abundance and riches
and a land full of wells and springs. At these sacred watering places where the
veil between the worlds was the thinnest, fair maidens, the keepers of these
sacred wells, would feed travelers from golden cups and pitchers.
Drinking from
these golden vessels would allow the pilgrim to pierce the veil between the
worlds and to perceive an oneness with paradise. As the story goes, this
paradise was peaceful and productive until an evil King named Amangons invaded
Logres. He and his soldiers kidnapped the maidens, ravished them in the process
and stole their sacred chalices. Their violence and violation change the realm
of Logres from a paradise into a barren wasteland that still exists to this
day.
We are told that the land of Logres “lost the Voices
of the Wells.” The barren wasteland which was the result bespeaks a loss of
contact with the Otherworld. It would appear that the Grail hero, the one who
is eventually to “free the waters” has to discover the meeting place between
worlds where he can re-establish the precious links between the female
sovereignty and the kingship of the realm.
(The Holy Grail,
Malcolm Godwin, Viking Penguin, New York, New York, 1994, pg. 20.)
This
fruitless land waits for a time when once again the Grail will appear to all
with it’s light shining and it’s message spreading for all to hear. Paradise
will be restored. The king will be healed. The maidens will return. The wells
and springs will flow once again with the golden essence of happiness, love and
freedom. This will occur when there is a realization, a caring and a honoring
of the wholeness of life: the equality of the Goddess-Queen and the God-King,
the female and the male, the Earth and the Heavens—a true Oneness for all.
This is the vision we need to hold in our minds and our
hearts as we live the message of Divine Humanity and embark on our own Inner
Grail quest. For in healing ourselves we begin the process of healing the
Earth.
THE HAWAIIAN BOWL OF LIGHT
"Fire and
water help our bodies purify and release the stones of living,” said Tomack and
then to emphasize his next point, he stood and pointed to the sky and after
that to the earth. “We are all divine but we are also all human. The elders and
I believe that at birth when the light of our soul comes into our body, it is
contained in a vessel or a calabash, which some call the Holy Grail but we refer to
it as the Bowl of Light. Of course this light is pure and untainted and allows
us to swim with the sharks and to spread peace and love to all that we meet.
But remember, we are human and being human means that we make mistakes and do
things, and others do things to us, that are definitely not divine. These
actions create stones, a form of darkness, that form in our Bowl of Light. The
more stones the less light that pours forth from our heart, our divinity.
However, at any time we may turn our calabash upside down and pour out our stones,
which restores our light. But more importantly, it is not only restored, but it
is brighter and stronger, and once again we are able to swim with the sharks.”
(Tales of the Capt’n from the
book Holy Blood Holy Heart by Dr. JC
Husfelt)
From
the spiritual knowledge and wisdom of the islands of Aloha, we discover the
Holy Grail in the form of the Calabash of Light or, as it is more commonly
known, the Bowl of Light. At birth our
bowl is pure and full of light without sin or wrongdoing. Our extraordinary
bowl contains not only the light from the heavens that we were born with, but
it also becomes the repository of our darkness.
This darkness is not the
darkness of the earth that gives generation and growth but the darkness that is
the various woundings and negative behaviors of our life and the emotional
content of those woundings and behaviors such as anger and fear.
The woundings
of our lives, be they emotional, physical, mental or spiritual, create “stones”
or a type of darkness that settles into our chalice, our bowl of light, slowly
concealing it.
The greater the
woundings the greater the darkness that displaces our light; the good news is
that at any time our bowl may be metaphorically turned upside down to let our
stones drop out. The way to accomplish this is through forgiveness. Please see Dropping the Stone, our October 2001 Spiritual Teaching.
In fact, it is through our woundings that we have the
opportunity to grow stronger, learn about our mistakes and the mistakes of
others, heal ourselves so that we may heal others and evolve our light so that
it becomes even brighter. It is truly amazing that when we remove stones from
our bowl not only does the light become brighter but also our container
symbolically grows in size to accommodate the greater light.
To discover this
treasure we need to forgive; the past, others, and ourselves and we also need
to practice daily forgiveness.
PURIFICATION
Photo by Sherry.
Jim exploring Molokai's remote Halawa Valley.
“Our bodies hold a written history of our past.”
JC Husfelt, D.D.
There are many forms of purification that may be
classified as an inner cleansing and/or an outer cleansing. All have a place
in one’s balance and harmony in life. For now we will explore the inner
purification of Dropping the Stone (please refer to our Spiritual Teachings for October 2001), as well as a practice that cleanses both - Bathing, which is one of the oldest forms of Death and Re-Birth.
Purification by Bathing is a spiritual activity of the heart, body and mind. In Japan this type of cleansing called Shugyo includes not only going into ice-cold streams but also such practices as long-distance running through snowy mountains and sitting or standing under chilly waterfalls while performing the Triple Secret.
The body is most important in healing our woundings as well as for the clarity of the mind and heart. Purity of the mind cannot take place without the body being involved in a similar activity. This is one of the reasons why talking therapy or counseling is so inadequate in the healing of the stresses and traumas of life.
We feel that Post Traumatic Stress Therapy without the involvement of the body is nothing more than a blind person leading a blind and handicapped person down a dead end path. With these practices of self-purification you will achieve a piercing of the veil of the illusions of life and your experience of it. Finally you’ll awaken from the sleep of the dead.
There is much attention
given in today’s culture to what I refer to as outer cleansing. This is an
emphasis on the physicalness of individuals i.e. exercise, proper nutrition,
reducing stress, etc. All of these deal basically with health and the well
being of the body. What is sadly lacking today is the internal purification of
the pollutions that truly have a greater impact on a person’s well-being,
happiness, longevity and youthfulness.
These pollutions and woundings are
centered within the heart and mind of individuals and generate the negative
behaviors as well as the disease that is so prevalent within our 21st
century world. And again instead of looking within to resolve the problems,
society looks externally to genetic research, pharmaceutical solutions and
other modalities all of which are based on greed and profit.
Do not rely on society, rely on
yourself as a Divine Human. Thus, for inner purification, healing and wholeness
(holiness), we need to begin with our heart—our Holy Grail. The heart is the
sun of our soul, which provides light to our moon, our mind/emotions/brain. Our moon
is the source of the light for our body (our earth), which may be as a
paradise or as a wasteland. As you can see, the frontier of research in science
and religion needs not to be in body/mind exploration but in the heart/mind mysteries.
This path will eventually reveal the grail castle to all who seek and accept that which awaits within.
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