Very little is known about ancient British goddesses, although one of the most important was unquestionably Elen of The Ways.  She is to be experienced, not to be read about.  She is an antlered goddess, her antlers showing her free nature spirit. Her hair is long and red, often entangled with twigs and leaves. Her white limbs glows in the shadows and shine in the moonlight. Her green eyes, full of mischief, hold the secret of the Ways.

For many years Goddess expert, Caroline Wise, has been researching the origins of Elen.  Here are some of her views on this little known deity, who might easily have existed as long ago as Palaeolithic times:

“As the Green Lady, she peeps out between the trees in forests and woods. As a British Venus, Goddess of Gardens, she is the Flower Bride:  at her Holy Wells, mainly to be found in the North of the country, she is guardian of the underground streams that carry sacred waters.  These underground streams have themselves become a metaphor for the secret continuation of sacred wisdom.  She is the Guardian of the ancient track ways, the Leys, the kundalini currents in nature, and as the Horned Goddess, she leads us to the first track ways, the migratory tracks of the reindeer and later, she leads us  to the path of the red deer through the forests.  From here she leads us to the lost Shamanism of the Isles of Britain, and we can follow her acress Scandinavia, Russia, Mongolia, Siberia, India, and beyond.”

Author, dream explorer and teacher, Robert Moss, says, “Elen is Lady of the Ways in many senses. Most significant, for me, is her role as Lady of the Dreamways.” She has a strong link to Shamanism, as a goddess that will guide during spiritual path-working and journeying, as well as the physical journeys we make.  She is a goddess that “walks between the worlds” (Caroline Wise).

Robert Moss shared the following about a possible dream visit from the Goddess:   British visionary artist Chesca Potter says that when she moved to London, she had a vision of an immense goddess figure, dressed in green and gold, over the church of  St Pancras. She painted and sketched several versions of this antlered goddess.  The one shown here, appears on the card labeled “Lady of the Ways” in John Matthews’ Celtic Shaman’s Pack.  Do you have a desire to call on Elen?  I Do!