Faces of the Crone: Sally Pullinger

Sally Pullinger is one of Goddess greatest advocates, but like for many of us her life started completely differently. As she has shared before in the Conference, she spent the first 17 years of her life inside High Church of England Christian nun-led educational establishments, being introduced to a not very personal or accessible idea of the Divine. All of that changed when her husband died, and she discovered the gift of trans mediumship as a healing practice. 

Sally arrived in Glastonbury in 1981 and as she says herself, had several ‘incarnations’ in the energy of Avalon, under which the running of a café and other ventures. In 2001 Sally self-initiated as a Priestess of Avalon and supported her teacher and friend Kathy Jones in founding the first Goddess Temple in the UK and Europe for over 1000 years, which came into being in 2002.

Sally always had a great love for music, and she is a most inspired and inspirational musician and composer and has written many songs and chants in praise of Goddess. She runs the wonderful Avalonian Free State Choir and has her own Goddess Rock Band, Divine Roots, both who are very popular in Glastonbury and beyond.

Sally now runs self-development groups in partnership with her Spirit Guide Chung Fu, also working deeply with individuals one-to-one, helping both men and women to integrate and heal past wounding and liberate themselves into their true deep soul connection. At her side within this and other work Sally holds as Crone, are her beloved family, with whom she co-creates, and her creative and cooperative community.

The experience that touched me deepest when I came to my first Goddess Conference was the music. You might have heard the saying: ‘Singing is twice praying”, well, that really manifested for me through the amazing songs that Sally brought to the Conference. 

I have sat in circle with Sally for many years, especially in the ceremonial group circles of The Goddess Conference, and I always admire and love the way Sally ‘just’ opens herself for the Goddess- led inspiration to come through and how she then suddenly starts to hum and sing the most beautiful and fitting songs, which we all have come to know and love so much. Of those some of my favourites are: Bridie Maiden of the Fire, Sun Goddess, Bounteous Mother, Earth Chant (Deep into the Earth), Song for Mother Earth (on the slopes of Her body), and two of Sally’s Crone songs, which we probably will sing again this year: Song for Kerridwen (digging in the dark) and Ancient Crone Dance.

In 2016 we held a performance evening singing Sally’s ‘greatest hits’ in a performance called: ‘Paradise Garden’. We practiced many months before, a mixed choir of priestesses and local women from the Avalonian State Choir. It was truly magical and a deeply spiritual experience for me, to sing all those songs that had come directly from Goddess and to have everybody sing along with them. 

But Sally is so much more than the songs she brings, she is a wise elder, with a loving heart who always strives towards one intention – which is to be part of a new way of living, in Avalon and on Earth. To live in peace, love and harmony. And I admire that she is always willing to open her heart and to try to find ways to make this possible, whatever it takes. It is therefore that I continue to honour Sally Pullinger as trailblazing Goddess Conference Elder. 

Goddess Conference co-organiser
Marion Brigantia