Dawn follows the dark. Call on Elen of the Ways for the ancient pathways revealing the mysteries of the deep wild wood where your heart resides.
Well, duh. Of course.
I camped out alone on my newly bought land in North Carolina for the first time this weekend. From Judith Shaw’s incredible Oracle of Celtic Goddess deck, the Elen of the Ways card jumped out at me as I was packing, so I took her along with me.
This was a first for me camping alone in the woods, and I’m awfully proud of myself.
I met a new neighbor who told me to carry a gun at all times.
‘Well, I don’t have one,’ I told him, ‘but I do have a stun gun, extreme pepper spray and tons of knives. So that should do,’ I said with a smile.
He smiled back. And since I had told him I was finding a location for a small building, he told me to watch out for the white pines as they are most susceptible to falling in storms.
White pine. The peacemaker tree. Often the first to talk to you in a forest showing you the way.
Funny enough, there is one right by where I am putting the building. Do you see the face on it? Hello old friend. I won’t be cutting him down. He is not going anywhere.
I spend some time thinking on this you see. Is he dangerous or is he protection? I’m in a forest of extremely tall hardwoods. You cut him down, and there is another behind him. And behind him. And so on.
It would seem to me that the momentum of a tree falling thirty feet away from the building would be far more dangerous by the time it reached the building. There is no answer except to clear them all. And that is not why I am there. There is danger in the wild. There is no way around that.
But there is danger everywhere.
I am meditating this morning, and it jumps out at me that the trick is not to make your life danger and risk free, it is to believe that you can handle what comes your way.
So much coming my way lately. I leave on my trip and my ex-husband’s girlfriend sends me desperate texts to call her. My ex-husband is losing his job and very stressed out about it.
The man I just met is sick so he could not come with me on this trip. Is he right for me? Is he long term? All these questions I would normally have and spend extensive time pondering.
I realize it is a choice to not spend that time or energy. Just stay on path. Listen.
I tell my ex-husband’s girlfriend that I wish her the best, but no longer want to be caught up in the drama. I already did that for thirteen years.
I let go and let go and let go.
I come back.
Elen of the Ways. The Horned Goddess. A steward of the Land. The myth is based on Empress Helen whose marriage with Macsen Wledig, also known as Magnus Maximus, was a bridge, providing balance between Britain and Rome. Guardian of the leys. Paths of change and flow.
I cleared out a patch of Wild Grapes to make room for the building, apologizing and sending my hope that they flourish around the building.
I come home and sit down to meditate and realize from my Nine Sacred Woods poem and sticks that I got from a workshop at a recent gathering, the one I am missing is Grape.
Well, yes. Thank you Grape.
Pieces of a puzzle falling into place. All around.
I talk to a friend who tells me of a prophecy for these times, that a third will die, a third will go crazy and a third will change and adapt.
Fairly simple which third you want to be in, no?
I trust. I fall. I let go.
Goddess of Sovereignty of the Land
Many myths and legends are centred on the land and its fertility and wellbeing. These ideas go back to the earliest of epochs and supply us with a connection through time to when we roamed a wild, unspoilt, land that gave us life and sustained us. We were not below it, or above, it but part of it and it was part of us. Many people today feel that the connection has been severed, forgotten or lost and yearn to reconnect. Maybe some people see Elen has a means to re-establish that connection.
British Legends: Elen of the Hosts – Saint, Warrior Queen, Goddess of Sovereignty
