About Us

  Lady Amythyst, the founder of the Amythystian tradition and of the American branch of the Order of the Royal Oak, was raised in a family tradition. One of her ancestors, Sir George Carteret, was a knight of the Order of the Garter and an original member of the Order of the Royal Oak. For more on Amythyst's genealogy, click here. Her family came to America in 1663 from the Isle of Jersey, one of the Channel Isles. She has been a student of the Ancient Ways since her earliest childhood memories, and she has taught the Craft of the Wise since 1976 CE. Amythyst is a professional speaker, a private pilot, a black belt in both Judo and Karate, the Archpriestess of Avalon Isle and the leader of the Order of the Royal Oak.

It should be noted that when she was raised, her family never used the term 'Wicca' to describe their beliefs. When such was discussed at all (which was not very often), the term 'The Priesthood' was used. Since most modern practitioners of the Ancient Ways are commonly called 'Wiccan', Amythyst decided a few years back that she would accept this description in order to avoid the confusion of others. This is important to note because the religion of Wicca was first defined by Gerald Gardner in the 20th century, and is not (in and of itself) ancient in origin. Amythyst feels that there are quite a few practitioners of the Ancient Ways with roots going far beyond the Gardnerian tradition and all of its many offshoots.

Amythyst and her husband, Lord Taliesin, operated one of the largest Wiccan-owned nonprofit charitable organization in North America from 1991 CE until 2000 CE when due to her illness she was no longer able to continue her work. For many years, this organization operated a transitional home for men who were reentering the mainstream of life, and a shelter for battered women and children. These facilities were nondenominational and admitted residents regardless of race, creed, religion or national origin. Amythyst feels that her organization (which was known to be owned and operated by Wiccans) was a big step in showing our Christian neighbors that we can work together in common cause for the good of all humanity. Now that she has begun to recover from her illness, Amythyst is contributing to her local community by providing food, clothing and medicine to those in need along with an annual Yule program that provides dozens of families with a holiday food basket and toys for their children.

Amythyst has been a special speaker on Wicca and Occult Crime at the Georgia Police Academy and North Georgia College. She had her own Judo school, and trained three national champions in the sport. She was elected as a co-facilitator of the Universal Federation of Pagans, and was the primary facilitator for this international organization.

Due to her charitable work, in July of 1996 CE, she was an Olympic Torchbearer, and carried the flame in honor of Athena and Isis. She considers this signal honor to be one of the most exhilarating experiences she has ever had. Lady Amythyst is currently working on her autobiography, Shadows of the Past, and hopes to have it completed sometime in the near future.

In June of 1997 CE, Amythyst was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. Due to the effects of chemotherapy, and her struggle to stay alive, she decided to close her charitable facilities in Atlanta, and move the organization to her hometown where she could focus her charitable efforts on less strenuous ventures. While she was recovering from CML, she and Taliesin decided that the public gatherings they had held at Avalon Isle should be suspended until such time that she felt capable of resuming them. They are very pleased to announce that since she is in remission (thanks to the magic of the many wonderful people who directed healing energies to her, and the diligent efforts of the oncologists in Birmingham, Alabama, and Houston, Texas), Avalon Isle will once again be the gathering place for several workshops and festivals in the coming years.

Lord Taliesin was raised a Christian (Methodist, to be exact). During his childhood, he realized that the deeper mysteries of life were never pursued by others of his faith. In attempting to discover the reality of Humanity’s relation to the universe, he found that other people had gone before him, and had (fortunately) written books to chronicle their voyages. In his reading, Taliesin realized that his was not a solitary venture, and over the course of time, the Elder Ones guided him, first to a group of neopagans in Atlanta, and then eventually to the people of the magic lands of the Smoky Mountains.

It was here that he met his soulmate and wife, Amythyst, and it was here that they decided to form a special place in the magic lands, a place where seekers and teachers could gather together to create a ‘meta-coven’. This was their dream, which became Avalon Isle. As the High Priest of Avalon, he is pleased to have been lucky enough to have hosted many of you over the past few years, and he is hoping to do so again soon.

Taliesin’s major interests lie in comparative mythology and the bardic tradition. It is his belief that the rebirth of the Olde Religion is a defining event of our times, and he hopes that its light will shine on in this new millennium. He has studied the birth of this nascent religious movement both as an outside observer and as an active participant. His unique perspective as a computer scientist and Wiccan priest give him an uncommon point-of-view in the debates on the role of clergy in mundane and magick life. He loves to share music and poetry with others, and can be easily persuaded to talk incessantly about the role of the Internet in the progress of our ancient and ever-renewed religion.