Wednesday 19 January 2011

Elen of the Ways


I follow a Goddess that not a lot is known about by the name of Elen of the ways, so when  The Kitchen Witch blog asked for suggestions for Goddesses to write blogs about I suggested Elen. This is the result

Elen of the Ways.

I put a name to my path over a decade ago, but it was only in the past couple of years that I discovered a patron Goddess. I came across the name of Elen of the Ways thanks to an acquaintance, little more than a couple of sentences, but I was well and truly hooked into finding out more.

Few people have ever heard of the name of Elen, the name itself isn't really that old, and most of the information "known" about her is pretty much thanks to one person, Caroline Wise, who devoted a number of years into research on this elusive deity. The pantheons of Old Britain are vague as it is, the Celts preferring to keep their tales in oral form rather than written, but there are clues scattered across the continents as to who Elen was.

Elen probably began her reign back in paleolithic times. One of her titles is that of Horned Goddess, and thus Lady of the Beasts, a female equivalent of Herne or Cernunnos. But how can a Goddess be horned, when it's the male animals with the antlers? A little known fact is that it is the female reindeer that keeps her antlers during the winter, when the male loses his. Of course, this means that Rudolph is a girl...

Although they have been reintroduced to parts of Scotland, Britian last had reindeer roaming it's hills over 8,000 years ago, but they would have been an important resource for our ancestors - where they would have used just about every part of the animal in some way. Deer migrate, and our ancestors would have had to follow the migrations in order to hunt. Deer also follow the tracks of their deer ancestors, there are routes that are walked year after year, century after century, and a hunter knowing these tracks would have an advantage.

This is the origins of Elen, a reindeer goddess presiding over their migrations and their pathways, and this is where "the Ways" part of her name comes from. She has maintained that remit throughout the centuries, becoming interweaved into the Celtic legends and landscape to this very day.

Elen appears in the Mabinogion, a collection of Welsh myths, in the Dream of Mascen Wledig, based, it is thought, on the Roman Emporer Maximus and his Empress Helen. Macsen dreamed of a beautiful lady, and travelled far and wide to find her. He eventually did so, in Wales, where she was the daughter of a king. Elen Llwyddog, or Empress Helen, has been thought to be responsible for building the roads across Wales that connected the strongholds in order to protect the country. These roads remain today, and are known as Sarn Elen, even marked as such on the maps.

She has links to the origins of Christmas too - and not just through Rudolph. The shamanic peoples of Scandinavia, the territories of modern day reindeer, have discovered a secret. In these regions also grows the hallucinogenic fly agaric mushrooms - toxic to humans, but not to the reindeer. I would be interested to know how it was first discovered, but the urine of the reindeer contains the halluginogens of the fly agaric, but not the toxins. A shaman could drink this to embark on his journeying (where his astral body would leave and return his abode through the smoke hole in the roof). Elen is again linked as a guardian to the astral trackways - the leylines.

Another link to the trackways is her mantle as Star Goddess. Perhaps she's an early incarnation of Arianrhod. If you could lie upon the ground the whole of a clear night, you would see that the stars and constellations move across the sky. Due to the turning of the earth, the stars follow a circular path, centred on the North Star. Here, at the centre of the circum-polar stars, is Caer Arianrhod, the heavenly Otherworld castle and abode of the dead.

There are few images of Elen, she appears with vegetation adorning her glorious red hair, resplendent in a green dress. Her mantle as Horned Goddess of the Beasts stretches also to that of Green Lady of the vegetation. She is Goddess of both fauna and flora. She is strongest at dawn and dusk, that yellow tinge to the daylight at those times I find incredible evocotive of her. She is the perfect consort to the well-known Green Man.

But another side of the Green Lady, is the inference that she is the land itself, linking her to the old traditions of the sovereign becoming wedded to the land via the Goddess. Indeed, a king wasn't a valid ruler until he was willing to undergo this ceremony. Another link going back to the story of Macsen Wledig.

So, Elen of the Ways, Guardian of the pathways both astral and corporeal, Star Goddess, Horned Goddes and Green Lady of Sovereignty. But I have recently discovered another possibly link, which I shall leave for you to decide whether you agree. I have been looking into the Cailleach also, Tansy has written about her before,  but it struck me on how similar these two ancient deities were. Both are indelibly linked to the land, both Ladies of the Beasts, though one Light and one Dark, perfectly balanced. Perhaps it was not Brighid that should be equated with the Cailleach, but Elen...

Love and hugs

Blaidd


Thanks to
Blaidd and Tansy from Kitchen Witch

11 comments:

  1. Strange that you should post this.....I also follow the ever elusive Elen of the ways. At present I am decorating a deer horn in her honour..

    Blessed Be

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  2. For years I have been trying to find a consort for Pan/Cernunos and your text may have very well solved my dilemna. Thank you very much! MM, MP and MMA! ♥♥♥

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  3. Hi I have never heard of Even of the ways. I had a strange powerful dream last night and went in search of information. I dreamt that a druid women in mossy clothes and with horns offered to help me wake up. She split the sky open and a dark face emerged from the crack within the night sky. Behind the black face was more stars. I woke up inside the dream three times before waking for the actual day. The dark face had shiny dark eyes and it's mouth was shaped in a scream, but I heard no sound. It felt powerful, and had dark energy. I wasn't scared though. I have always had intense dreams, but this was one of the most powerful dreams I have had. I would love any insight as it feels like there was a message or meaning. This was a brief description.

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  4. I am sorry auto correct misspelled Elan of the ways.

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  6. This is a very good piece to round out what I've been learning about Elen just these past few days. I was meditating the other day, asking Mother God if there was an overarching goddess archetype I was resonating most with at this time. And I had a very clear image of an emerald green clearing just before a patch of deeper woods, getting a flash of a beautiful little fawn and the figure of a robed woman I couldn't make out very well. But her woodland essence stayed with me, and deer is an animal totem of mine. I stumbled on a painting of Elen the next day and went, "That's her!!" Interestingly enough, my partner is the perfect embodiment of the Green Man/Cernnunos, so I guess it only makes sense :) I've always been a mermaid type myself, but the call to go deeply into the woods has been strong the last couple of years. Thank you for sharing what you know - very much enjoying the richness of Elen's mystery!

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  7. I am a hereditary Celtic Wiccan Witch with family ties to Celts in Scotland, Wales and France. From day one, I was drawn to Cernunnos and paired him with various Goddesses, but it was simply a match of convenience. Then, one day years ago, I discovered the amazing Elen of The Ways and suddenly harmony and balance had come into my magickal life. I have no explanation for the lack of peace in my heart related to identifying Cernunnos' consort other than a genetic link to the deities of my ancestors. I can truthfully say that I have been blessed to find and come to know Elen my Goddess of The Ways!

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  8. Most enjoyable read. I too follow the ever mysterious & illusive Elen.
    She and Rhea compliment each other very well.
    I come from deep rooted welsh, Irish & English descent, it’s been ‘natural’ and perfectly fated that these two beautiful Goddesses are my Guides of faith & spirit.
    Blessed Be ������

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  9. I am an artist and ecologist who recently experienced my first cosmic regression. During this experience I saw a goddess figure with arms reaching into the sun while standing on a precipice. The arms of the figure morphed into antlers then back into arms, then her head with antlers. Since then I have been stunned to find out of an ancient Reindeer Goddess known as Elen of Ways. I am wondering how best to honor her, learn more about her origins. Would she be associated with precipices for any reason? Thanks for your article. Nice summary and inspiring!

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  10. Thank you for this article very much! I am still a baby witch and have recently restarted my journey since the passing of my former priestess/step mother. I recently had a dream about a Goddess which has reoccurred at least twice. I thought it was Gaia but when I started to look into it more I came across a statue of Elen of Ways. I think she may be trying to help me down my path. I have possibly found my Goddess.

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  11. I've just discovered her and have Fallen in love with her. She's so familiar

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