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Avalon: The Isle of Sacred Mystery

For five days, I had the privilege of being the official retreat photographer for Katy Sophia’s Avalon Retreat. I documented a journey through some of Somerset’s most sacred and mystical landscapes with a beautiful group of women, capturing the moments, connections and energy that made this experience so special. This is Avalon retreat photography from behind my lens.

Long before Glastonbury became famous for its music festival, this small Somerset town was a place of pilgrimage, spirituality and ancient mystery.

Glastonbury is traditionally associated with the mythical Isle of Avalon, the enchanted island of Arthurian legend. According to the legend, King Arthur travelled there after his final battle, where the legend says Excalibur was forged.

Mary Magdalene’s connection with Glastonbury comes through local Christian traditions and later legends. Modern Goddess traditions see Avalon as a place of feminine wisdom, healing, rebirth and initiation.

Today, thousands of pilgrims and spiritual seekers visit the Abbey, sacred springs and Glastonbury Tor. In modern spiritual traditions, many people describe Glastonbury as the Heart Chakra of the world. They associate it symbolically with love, healing and transformation. Esoteric traditions also place the Michael and Mary ley lines at the meeting point around the Tor. These represent masculine and feminine energies.

Whether you come for the history, mythology, spirituality or simply the beauty of the landscape, Avalon has an energy that is difficult to describe.

What made the experience particularly meaningful was that I wasn’t only there to photograph the retreat. I was experiencing it alongside these women, while discovering new ways to express myself through sound, voice and my new drum.

Healing Waters Sanctuary: Our Home in Avalon

Our retreat centre was a peaceful sanctuary in the heart of Glastonbury, with beautiful views across the Somerset Levels towards Glastonbury Tor.

The house quickly became our little world for the week. It was a place to rest, meditate, share nourishing meals, laugh, talk late into the evening and simply be together.

We enjoyed guided meditations with Katy Sophia and deeply relaxing sound baths with Sam Wilson. These gave us time to slow down, turn inward and connect through sound.

Some of my favourite moments happened between the official activities: breakfast and dinner around the table, sharing stories and experiences, or simply sitting outside and looking towards the Tor.

Chalice Well: The Red Spring & The Healing Waters

Heart Healing – Receiving – Feminine Wisdom

Nestled at the foot of Glastonbury Tor, Chalice Well is one of the most peaceful and revered places in Avalon. The Red Spring has flowed here for centuries, its distinctive iron-rich waters giving it its deep red colour and its association with the Earth, the Divine Feminine and the healing power of water.

One legend tells that the spring became red when Joseph of Arimathea buried two vessels containing the blood of Christ beneath nearby Chalice Hill. Its connection with the Holy Grail has also given rise to the long-held belief that its waters hold healing properties.

In modern Goddess traditions, the Chalice represents the feminine, the womb, receptivity and creation. Its shape also resembles the vesica piscis, the almond-shaped symbol created by two intersecting circles. The symbol often represents the union of masculine and feminine energies and the mystery of creation.

We stopped beneath two beautiful ancient trees, traditionally associated with masculine and feminine energies, and spent a few quiet moments hugging their trunks, closing our eyes and simply listening to the land.

We then walked barefoot through the stream and filled our bottles from the spring beneath its beautiful Lion’s Head fountain.

There was something wonderfully grounding about slowing down here and allowing the water, trees and landscape to speak for themselves.

Glastonbury Tor: Finding My Voice

Awakening – Vision – Higher Self

You can see Glastonbury Tor from across the landscape, rising dramatically above Avalon. The remains of St Michael’s Tower stand at its summit.

For centuries, the Tor has been associated with pilgrimage, spirituality, mythology and the legends of Avalon. There is something undeniably powerful about standing beneath it, and even more so, reaching the top.

On one of the hottest days of July’s heatwave, we climbed the Tor together, stopping along the way for a beautiful chakra meditation. The heat made the climb challenging. But arriving at the top felt like a prize. The view across the Somerset countryside was breathtaking. More than that, I loved the feeling of having made it together.

For me, this became one of the most personally significant moments of the retreat. I had brought my new drum with me and, for the first time, played it and sang in front of other people.

Later, I stayed at the top by myself at sunset, drumming and chanting while looking out across the landscape. I felt something shift in me — a sense of freedom, confidence and permission to express my voice.

After spending so much of my life behind the camera, being the one creating the sound felt incredibly empowering. ✨

Goddess House: The Mysteries of Sacred Love

Sacred Love – Inner Child healing – Twin Flames

This beautiful space is dedicated to the Goddess and filled with exquisite artwork honouring the different goddesses of the Celtic Wheel. It created the perfect setting for Katy Sophia’s Goddess House Twin Flames workshop.

Through deep meditation and guided practices, we explored themes of twin flames, sacred love, relationships, inner-child and womb healing, and the patterns we carry with us.

Sitting together in circle, surrounded by feminine imagery and the energy of the space, created a powerful atmosphere for reflection and connection.

Glastonbury Abbey: The Lady Chapel & Ley Lines

Lineage – Sacred Memory – Devotion

Walking through the ancient ruins of Glastonbury Abbey, surrounded by centuries of stories, felt like stepping into another layer of Avalon.

The Abbey is traditionally linked with the legendary burial place of King Arthur and Guinevere. This adds to the deep connection between this landscape and the mythology of Avalon. Katy Sophia led us in a beautiful meditation here.

We then visited the Lady Chapel, a beautiful and deeply feminine space dedicated to the Divine Feminine and Mary Magdalene. In modern spiritual traditions, it is sometimes described as the “Heart of the Heart Chakra” of the world, a place associated with love, healing and feminine wisdom.

We also spent time connecting with the powerful Michael and Mary ley lines, believed to cross the Glastonbury landscape.

The Michael Line is associated with masculine energy, strength and direction. The Mary Line represents feminine energy, nurturing and receptivity. They are said to meet around Glastonbury, creating a powerful energetic vortex.

As we prayed and meditated within the Lady Chapel, I was photographing the group when I noticed beautiful orbs appearing in some of the images. They added another beautiful layer to the energy of the moment.

I felt incredibly grateful to be there not only as the photographer, but also as part of the circle. I was witnessing something I could feel as much as I could photograph. ✨

The White Spring: Water, Sound & Sacred Ceremony

Surrender – Shadow – Purification

Our experience at the White Spring was one of the most atmospheric moments of the retreat.

The temple is home to two shrines, Brigid the goddess of healing, poetry, fire and renewal, and Kali the transformative force of destruction and rebirth. Two powerful expressions of the Divine Feminine. Their presence seemed to hold the whole experience of the White Spring: healing and renewal, but also the courage to release, transform and begin again.

The temple is a naturally dark, candlelit space built around the waters that flow from Glastonbury Tor. Photography wasn’t permitted inside, but perhaps that is fitting. Some experiences are meant to be lived rather than documented.

We bathed in the sacred waters by candlelight, surrounded by our retreat sisters, chanting, drumming and meditating together. The temple’s natural acoustics amplified every voice and drumbeat, creating an immersive experience that felt deeply cleansing, intimate and purifying. It was one of those moments that had to be experienced rather than photographed.

Photo from The White Spring Google Images

Stonehenge at Sunrise: A Cosmic Connection

Alignment  – Time – Solar Power

And then came Stonehenge.

We arrived just before sunrise, when the landscape was quiet and the sky was slowly beginning to change colour. Entering the inner circle and standing among these ancient stones felt almost surreal. There is something about Stonehenge that is difficult to explain — a sense of mystery, ancient wisdom and connection that goes beyond words.

I was there both as the photographer and as a participant in the ceremony, and trying to hold both experiences at once was incredibly emotional. At times, I found myself overwhelmed and in tears throughout much of the ceremony. Photographing the women while participating in the meditation and rituals, I was also simply trying to take in what was unfolding around me.

As the sun rose, the whole atmosphere became almost otherworldly. Together with Katy Sophia, shaman Asaiah guided us through the ceremony and then channelled messages for us, creating a deeply moving and intimate experience. At the end, I picked up my drum and played, allowing the sound to become part of the ceremony.

Orbs of Light

While photographing Katy Sophia and Asaiah during the sunrise, I noticed some more beautiful orbs appearing around them in some of my photographs. Seeing them appear again in those moments added another layer of mystery and wonder to an already extraordinary experience.

For those moments, I felt completely connected — to the stones, to the women around me, to the sky above us and to something much greater than myself. I remember looking upwards and feeling as though the boundaries between earth and sky, past and present, had somehow disappeared.

As a photographer, witnessing the changing light across the stones and capturing these moments was extraordinary. But that morning, photography became secondary to simply being there and feeling it all.

It was one of the most profound and emotionally powerful experiences of my Avalon journey. ✨

The Unexpected Crop Circle: A Little Bit of Magic

Mystery – Channelling – Communication

I’ve been fascinated by crop circles for at least ten years. I know that some are undoubtedly man-made, but there are others that remain fascinating and unexplained. The complexity, extraordinary symmetry and precision of some formations are incredibly intriguing. Some appear seemingly overnight during the short, dark summer nights. The sheer scale of certain designs is also remarkable.

How these intricate patterns can be created so quickly remains part of the mystery that has always fascinated me. Often, there are no obvious signs of how they were made.

I’ve always wanted to experience a crop circle for myself. I wasn’t necessarily looking for answers, but simply wanted to feel the atmosphere and energy within one.

Crop circles appear in different locations each year. They often disappear within days when the fields are harvested or cleared. Many are several hours from London, so somehow, I’d never managed to make it happen.

On the evening before our visit to Avebury, we discovered that a new crop circle had appeared along our route from Stonehenge to Avebury. Naturally, we started talking about how amazing it would be to visit it. And, in true Avalon fashion, we decided to manifest it!

The following day, Katy Sophia gave us the incredible news: we had permission to visit!

What followed felt almost surreal. We walked into the formation, lay down amongst the wheat and spent time meditating together, surrounded by the intricate geometry of the circle and the vast Somerset sky.

For me, it was a dream finally coming true, and the fact that it happened so spontaneously, with this beautiful group of women, made it even more magical.

Sometimes you don’t have to chase the magic. You just have to ask for it. ✨🌾💫

Avebury & St Mary Magdalene Church

Grounding – Ancestors – Embodiment

Our final sacred landscape was Avebury, home to the largest prehistoric stone circle in the world.

Unlike Stonehenge, Avebury is woven into the surrounding landscape and village, allowing you to freely touch and connect with the ancient stones.

We spent time exploring the landscape and connecting with the energies and ley lines traditionally associated with this ancient site. Katy Sophia and shaman Asaiah led us in a beautiful meditation, inviting us to connect with the mysteries of Avebury and our sense of connection to the stars and something beyond ourselves.

One of my favourite moments was sitting and drumming around one of the stones at the edge of the circle, feeling completely absorbed in the landscape.

And then came another rather extraordinary synchronicity…

Just two days later, a crop circle appeared only a few metres from that very same stone!Was it simply coincidence? Another synchronicity? Or perhaps our little manifestation had continued to unfold? I don’t know, but after everything that had happened during the retreat, it certainly made me smile.

Sometimes Avalon seems to have a way of leaving you with one more question than you arrived with.

After Avebury, we stopped at the beautiful Church of St Mary Magdalene in Winterbourne Monkton. It is a historic pilgrimage stop where pilgrims are believed to have removed their shoes before continuing towards Avebury.

We prayed to Mary Magdalene with red roses. It was a simple but deeply moving moment, and a beautiful closing connection between the ancient landscape and the sacred feminine. 🌹

It felt like the perfect way to close our journey.

A Journey I Will Carry With Me

Looking back at these photographs, I realise that this retreat was about much more than visiting beautiful and historically significant places.

It was about connection: to the land, to ancient traditions, to sound and voice, and to one another.

Katy Sophia created a space where a group of women who had never met could come together, share openly, support one another and explore different aspects of themselves.

For me, the most unexpected gift was finding my voice through my drum and discovering how powerful it felt to express myself through sound in these ancient landscapes.

Thank you, Katy Sophia, for creating this beautiful journey and for trusting me to capture it as the official retreat photographer! Avalon has certainly left its mark on me. ✨

I invite you to discover Katy’s world of spiritual retreats, astrology, sacred journeys and Divine Feminine work. Explore her upcoming retreats and offerings on her website : https://katysophia.com/

And finally, thank you to my beautiful retreat sisters for taking some photographs of me during this journey, so I could have a few memories of being a participant and not only the photographer!

A special thank you to Emma Booth, who captured these beautiful portraits of me with my drum at Stonehenge.

© Emma Booth Photo

Bringing Your Retreat to Life Through Photography

My experience with Avalon retreat photography has shown me how powerful photography can be in capturing not just the beauty of a place, but the energy, connection and transformation that unfold during a retreat.

If you’re a retreat leader, spiritual teacher, healer or wellness practitioner creating transformative experiences for women, I’d love to help you tell the story of your retreat through soulful, authentic photography.

I want to capture the moments that might otherwise be forgotten — the laughter, the quiet reflections, the connections between women, the rituals and the little in-between moments that make your retreat uniquely yours.

✨ Follow me on Instagram @dea_soulportraits for behind-the-scenes moments, retreat stories and inspiring photography.

✨ Explore my Retreat Photography on my website and discover how I capture not only the beautiful moments, but the energy, connection and transformation that happens within your retreat.

Check my Dea Soul Portraits webpage here: https://veruschkabaudo.com/dea-soul-portraits

✨ Planning your next retreat? Get in touch and let’s talk about how we can create a collection of images that brings your experience to life and gives you beautiful content for your website, social media and future retreats.

Your retreat is more than a collection of moments. It’s an experience, a story and a transformation, captured in a way that not only preserves the experience, but helps you attract the people who are meant to be there.✨

With love,
Veruschka