Priestess of Avalon: A Conversation with Annwyn Avalon

What does it actually mean to be a priestess?

That's the question at the heart of my conversation with Annwyn Avalon, a water priestess and author who lives in Glastonbury, England, the real-world town wrapped in the myth of Avalon. Annwyn has spent over 20 years guiding women through ritual, priestess arts, and sacred water work, and she's the author of Water Witchcraft, The Way of the Water Priestess, and The Celtic Goddess Grimoire.

Funny enough, we didn't connect through any of that. We connected because I posted about my own Morgan LeFay episode on social media, and Annwyn left a comment. I about fell over when I saw her name pop up. That small moment turned into this conversation, and honestly, it ended up covering so much more than I expected.

How Annwyn Found Avalon

Annwyn's path started back in 2010, during a traditional year and a day initiatory training with her teachers. Partway through that training, Morgan LeFay started showing up for her, insistently, even though her high priestess at the time was dedicated to other goddesses entirely. Once Annwyn completed her initiation, her high priestess told her something that changed everything: "You know you're Avalonian, right?"

Annwyn didn't know what that meant yet, but she felt it. That resonance led her to a mentor named Mara Freeman (who is currently Morgan's Avalon mentor) who was running the Avalon Mystery School. Annwyn threw herself into the training, and two years later took her first pilgrimage to Glastonbury in 2012. Walking the Abbey, the Chalice Well, and the White Spring, she knew immediately that this was her path.

For Annwyn, water and Avalon aren't really separate. Avalon is an island surrounded by mist and lake, and even Morgan Le Fay's name is tied to the sea. Water runs through everything she does, even when the public-facing work is framed around water specifically.

What Priestessing Actually Means

I asked Annwyn what priestessing means to her on a daily basis, and her answer was simple: sacred service. Not perfection, not purity, just service to something greater than yourself.

Over the years, that's taken a lot of different shapes for her. In her earlier years, it looked like leading a coven, facilitating community rituals, and showing up for public ceremonies at events like Pagan Pride. Later it became more one-on-one, doing tarot readings and healing sessions for individual clients. For a stretch of years, it meant physically caring for the White Spring in Glastonbury, scrubbing pools and altars and holding space for other people's powerful experiences.

She was clear that sacred service doesn't require any of that specifically. It can be as simple as lighting a candle once a week or raising your children in alignment with the old ways. The form changes, but the heart of it stays the same.

The Vision That Brought Her to Glastonbury

One of the wildest parts of our conversation was hearing how Annwyn ended up moving to Glastonbury in the first place. While on pilgrimage in 2022, sitting in the White Spring in trance, she received a message: return here before 2023. She thought it was impossible. Her son was in high school, her husband was deep into his career, and moving countries isn't exactly simple.

But this wasn't the first time a message received in that exact spot had reshaped her life. In 2012, in the same spring, she was told to teach water magic, which eventually became her book Water Witchcraft. In 2019, in that same spot, she received the download that became The Way of the Water Priestess. So when the message came again in 2022, she paid attention. She also happened to have British citizenship through her mother, something she'd only just gotten around to claiming that year. Within months, she and her family made the move.

Life in Avalon Now

We also talked about what her actual day-to-day life looks like now. Annwyn described mornings that start with a walk before the tourists are out, Zoom calls with students and clients from all over the world, and trips to the White Spring for drinking water. She's taken up weaving and spinning wool since moving to Glastonbury, something that arrived in her life almost the moment she landed there.

She also shared something fascinating about the land itself. Glastonbury sits at the crossing point of two ley lines, traditionally called the Michael and Mary lines, though she and others in her community prefer to call them the Morgan and Merlin lines. She lives right in the corner where those two lines cross, and described the energy there as intense and polarizing, capable of swinging from blissful to unsettling depending on the moment.

What's Next for Annwyn

Annwyn has two big things launching later this year. In early August, she's opening registration for the Present Day Priestess Summit, a free event featuring priestesses from around the world talking about what it means to walk this path in a modern context. Later this year, after 16 years of research and practice, she's also launching her first Avalon Priestess training open to the general public, a nine-month program ending with an in-person retreat in Glastonbury.

You can find Annwyn at annwynavalon.com and waterpriestess.com.

Want to hear this whole conversation for yourself? Listen or watch below, and catch a new episode of Busy, Gritty, Inked & Witchy every Wednesday.