"There is an old Grail story [by this title] that speaks to many of our current environmental dilemmas. The story goes as follows:
'Long, long ago, even before the reign of King Arthur, the land was blessed with enchantment and great fertility. Throughout the realm, maidens stood guard over the sacred wells, offering their healing waters with golden cups to any journeyers who might pass. Indeed, some say that these were the very waters of inspiration, offering transport between the worlds. The maidens themselves may have been Otherworldly, but the tale does not say. In those days, when the veil between the worlds was thinner, these distinctions were not so sharp.

All was well, and the land bounteous and the people content, until the King conceived a desire to possess one of the well-maidens. He stole her sacred cup, carried her off, and raped her. His men followed his example, raping the other maidens. In response to these unheard-of acts, these violations against Nature itself, the maidens withdrew themselves and their magic from the world. The wells dried up, and the regenerative powers of the land were destroyed, leaving it barren and devoid of enchantment. By seeking domination over others, the King and his men had diminished the world'.[1]

This story illustrates a key insight of ecofeminism: that the despoiling of the Earth and the subjugation of women are intimately connected".

---Excerpt from Theodore Roszak's "Ecopsychology" Restoring the Earth and Healing the Mind"
[1] Adapted from Caitlin Matthews "Arthur and the Sovereignty of britain: King and Goddess in the Mabinogion (London: Arkana 1989)