| Glastonbury Tor is topped by St Michael's Church and is a markpoint for miles around . It is one of the few high points in the flat, flood-prone areas of Somerset. Some believe that it forms part of a vast ten-mile diameter zodiac, of which Glastonbury is the sign of Aquarius.In the 1930's Kathleen Maltwood, after studying aerial photographs of the region traced around old roads, paths, waterways and contours t to create her Glastonbury Zodiac. Giant figures wheeling around - 'somersaulting' or 'somersetting' around the central point at Butleigh - marked by a dove. Many dispute her claim, but additional research has revealed place-names, images and folk-songs which seemed to be directly linked to each effigy. The Tor itself is surrounded by a seven-ringed maze and remains an important focus for pilgriims. The Tor is also on a major ley-line crossing from eastern England to end at another St Michael church - St Michael's Mount near Penzance in Cornwall. |
Glastonbury Tor: the seven ringed maze path
Stereogrammetric surveys of the tor - a prominent limestone hill in the otherwise flat Somerset region, have revealed what maze designer, Randoll Coate, suggests, is a classic unicursal maze. Intriguingly, there are folk echoes of a bull cult dating back some 1000 years, while underground caverns have been reported as lying beneath the tor. A few miles to the SSW lies the head of Taurus, the Bull which according to Katherine Maltwood forms part of the Glastonbury Zodiac, a ten miles diameter ring of effigies constructed from natural and man-made features in the landscape.The power of Glastonbury, once in the hands of Abbey, has now transferred to the yearly Glastonbury Festival at Pilton Farm, organised by Michael Eavis for the past 25 years.
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The Glastonbury Maze - diagrammatic This shows the maze path leading to St Michael's Church at the summit of the tor. On the flanks of the hills stands Glastonbury Abbey, and nearby, the Chalice Well. The ridge of the tor continues to Wearyall Hill, where Joseph of Arimathea is supposed to have planted the Glastonbury Thorn, which flowers at the winter solstice. Wearyall Hill forms the shapes of two fishes, the Christian symbol and linked to the Great Year of Pisces which we are currently moving out of. St Michael's Mount is also connnected to a major ley line running NE > SW ending at St Michael's Mount in Penzance, Cornwall. Author and antiquarian John Michell was one of the first to discover this, writing about it in his book The Flying Saucer Vision - a seminal account of British metrology and earth energies published in the sixties. |