The Dolorous Stroke

In the Grail Legends, King Pelles, or Amfortas, also known as the Fisher King, only finds respite from the pain of his festering wound, while fishing alone on the lake. According to Nightbringer.se, Carbonek, or the Grail Castle would have been somewhere in Listeneise, which P.A. Karr has identified with the English Lake District. She chose this due to it being on a lake, and although inland, it is not all that far from the sea. However, it doesn’t have a tide, so Whitehaven or Ravenglass might also be identified. Whatever the truth is, having spent many happy childhood holidays there, I like the association.

Unlike the castle, the Grail itself finds its way through many countries. An object of fascination for many - from the chalice linked to Christ and reportedly brought to England’s sea-girt shore by Joseph of Arimathea, to the Lapis Exilis, the stone that fell from Lucifer’s crown during the war in heaven.

The symbol of the Grail asks us to also consider The Wastleland, and how it may be revived. Many look beyond themselves, while the sorrows of their own hearts remain forgotten; nettles where there were once roses. The Garden of the Self, or the Soul, was, to the Medieval Alchemists, a walled rose garden. A place of beauty, peace and harmony.