Description
Heroines of Avalon & Other Tales by Ayn Cates Sullivan transports readers into the time of legend and revisits deities and legendary female characters linked to British mythology and Arthurian Legend. In this book, the author shares her insights and her journey to discovering her past, a journey that compelled her to research the extraordinary characters in her book. Her research into the myth of the Holy Grail creates beautiful mythical encounters, bringing to life untold stories of characters like the Goddess Arianrhod, Blodeuwedd, Iouga, Elen, also known as Elen of the Ways, and the Goddess of Sovereignty, Elaine, and Dindraine, an Arthurian female Grail Knight. The stories begin with an informative commentary that shares the authors personal journey and offers elements of myth and the culture around which these characters evolved. The reader will understand the feminine visage of God and the role of some of the heroic women in the lives and history of legendary heroes like Arthur. The literary allusions are manifold in this narrative, and they feature the Lady of the Lake, Morte Darthur, and the Arthurian Round Table. One understands the role of women in British mythology and that brave kings were nothing without them: A king must connect to the spirit of the land through a woman. Heroines of Avalon & Other Tales is a gripping narrative, a collection of powerful mythical women that will keep the reader spellbound. Ayn Cates Sullivan combines her storytelling craft with research to provide readers with great entertainment. Each story includes symbolism, a spirituality developed around the deity, and poems evoking a spiritual atmosphere linked to the character. It is well-illustrated and loaded with symbolism.
Sample Audio Book read by Joanna Daniels.
Chapter 5 - Audio Book read.
Awards
Praise
Publisher’s Weekly – Heroines of Avalon & Other Tales
Sullivan’s passionate follow-up to Legends of the Grail explores women’s spirituality through retellings of six goddess tales from the King Arthur legend, among them mother goddess Arianrhod, independent Elen, and Dindraine, the “first person to achieve the Holy Grail.” Sullivan provides a breakdown of the symbolism, origin, and lineage of each story; includes her own short stories and poems that capture each goddess’s spiritual allure; and recaps their mythological lore. She then instructs women in ways to celebrate each goddess with rituals and meditation-esque visualizations intended to forge a spiritual connection between reader and goddess. Particularly enchanting is Sullivan’s section on “Ladies of the Lake”—Elaine and Nimue, goddesses of beauty and the moon, who serve as stewards into the ethereal realm—which provides visualizations and rituals meant to help readers attain greater “bodily awareness” and self-sufficiency. This approachable guide will be valuable to those interested in “goddess lore.”
LILIYANA 
If you’re interested in the Goddesses of British and Welsh lore, you will absolutely love this book... this is the perfect mix of lore, honoring the Goddesses, and their untold stories... Throughout all is the common thread that the Goddess lives within every woman, and without the divine feminine, the world cannot prosper. Not your typical reference book, more of a book to feed your soul.
SARAH DREW
"The Heroines of Avalon" are initiations and portals into remembrance of the Celtic mythic landscape and the Goddess revealed in her many forms. Within these pages are stories and activations of a mystic mythos long lost and finally re-membered, rewoven and activated, an elixir and medicine for our tumultuous times. Highly recommended.
ANN O'BRIEN
I would not normally read Celtic mythology, but being a fan of Ayn Cates Sullivan’s poetry and children’s books, I picked up Heroines of Avalon. After reading just the first story, I felt the spiritual presence of the Celtic deities in the days to follow.
Priscilla Perez Guzman
As a reader, this book was very enjoyable to read. It has no profane language at all, which I really liked. I loved reading the "Eightfold Calendar of the year" which was about four solar events. I think that the Glossary and Bibliography are helpful for readers. The author's ancestors were from the British Isles, which I thought was interesting to know. There were many stories about gods and goddesses in this book, such as King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, Lady of the Lake and more gods and goddesses. There are different things to learn about what the gods and goddesses did. There is the silver birch that opens the way for those people new to traveling. I learned a lot about Blodeuwedd in Welsh Mythology. Her name means "flower face." She was a flower before she was a woman, and she was not happy with her destiny as a woman. I feel that this book and nature are connected, and I love it.
This is a great book, and I recommend it to people who love to read Greek Mythology. This book was above average, and I feel that the author did a great job writing this book. Mythology can be interesting, sad and positive. I noticed the author made this book more positive than negative. There are no grammatical errors, so it was an amazing book.
I rate this book 5 out of 5. It is an amazing book, and one of the best books I have read. One sentence was sexual, yet there was only one time I read any sexual sentences. If you like to read about immortal gods and goddesses, you will love this book. I could not put this book down, and I read it on my phone every day! There is so much to learn in Greek Mythology.
