Shaman Pathways - Elen of the Ways: British Shamanism - Following the Deer Trods

After I received the name "Elen" as being an 'ancestor' in an Ancestral Healing course earlier this year, I did some research on the name. The spelling of this name had been given to me very specifically, so when I discovered that there is an aspect of the divine feminine called "Elen of the Ways" who is a sort of female version of the Green Man, I was intrigued. On reading this book, I felt resonance with so many of the things she mentions in it-- including how the author learned much of what she teaches from the older women of her village who were also midwives and the ones who lay out the dead. I am a midwife and have also tended people as they die, so these teaching really resonate with me, and so appreciate that it comes to me now when I am working to deepen connection to nature. I believe that others who are connected to natural cycles and want a very woman-oriented path will feel grateful for the teaching in this book. Many other aspects of the details that the author shares resonated with my own experience and I feel no doubt that the author truly does speak from deep experience and lineage. I am grateful that Elen Sentier has made this previously private wisdom from her family line available for all. I appreciate how every bit of this book resonates. It feels like there isn't a wasted word, yet there is plenty of space to take it all in. Much gratitude to the author and to the spirit of Elen of the Ways that comes through loud and clear .

It was so hard to get beyond the Young Adults writing style of the author that I couldn't finish the book. I'm a shamanic practitioner (in modern day lingo) and was interested to see what this and other books in the series had to offer; especially with the British Celtic background it touts. In the Kindle copy I have, there are no footnotes, references or bibliography to back up the simplistic renditions Sentier presents; for example, the complicated tribal peoples such as the Saami or the childlike regurgitation of some of the stories from the Mabinogion. She glosses over the fact that ancient Britons had many Gods and many Goddesses by using the terms"Goddess"(Land) and "God" (Guardian) to cover any and all deities of the culture and then goes on to break them out into separate entities, but all having the same role as "Land" and "Guardian". I had to close the book at the point where she states that Gwyn ab Nudd is the Guardian of the Goddess. He has no big relation to the essence of guarding as he is a harvester of the slain in battles who then in later versions became a leader of the Wild Hunt and his hounds became the harvesters of souls. Not really protective and certainly not entities that you should approach without the utmost respect and caution. Sentier intimates: "Gwyn’s hounds, in whatever shape they come, are fierce and wild but will be very good friends and wonderful guardians...". Sentier shows her transpersonal work baldly here as her god/dess descriptions are more or less direct Jungian archetypal images and Jung was the creator of collective (transpersonal) unconscious theory of psychology.Skimming the rest of the book later, I found that the practices are all based in Wicca; while fine in its own right, should not be trotted out as "ancient shamanistic ways". I'm guessing that the lore and skills she learned from family and elders of her community were shoved and squeezed into a Wiccan paradigm as there is no further depth of exploration evidenced in the book. I would not recommend any of the exercises to a novice as the entities Sentier presents are deep and sometimes/often dangerous - not every deity you meet is only there to teach you or give you something! I'm surprised that Llewellyn Publishing didn't pick up this series unless it was too lightweight even for them. For anyone looking to explore shamanism within a cultural context that has no written or existing tradition, first get works by Michael Harner or Sandra Ingerman and build a strong foundation in the practices and and develop a solid habit of moving into and out of the Otherworlds. Then deepen those practices by using them within the Western culture you are immersed in or looking to deepen such as ancient Britain, Ireland, Scotland, Scandinavian, Eastern European, etc. And when studying lore or culture - use good and reputable resources.

I really enjoyed this authors insights on the spirit of Elen, and love how she practices the traditional animistic approach to the goddess... unlike so many authors which tend to focus on the unnatural humanized elements/ literal mythos that was so often altered by Christian scribes. It is a very quick and easy read... but packs a lot of feeling and knowledge. In my opinion, she captured Elen's spirit perfectly.

I remember reading an article awhile ago, about a man who wanted to learn Native American ways. This man was told to find his roots and learn from his ancestors first, then the elder of this Native American tribe said he would gladly share stories and teachings mutually. This left a very indelible impression upon me, resulting in my own ancestral roots search. This is how I found Elen of the Ways and books by Elen Sentier. I read this book first, and rather quickly, but it was like a coming home "aha!" feeling that burned brighter the more I read. Elen Sentier shares the history of British Shamanism that she grew up with, and how today, these ways still compel her to keep following the deer trods with Elen, deer goddess, sovereignty and spirit of the land. A fantastic find for me and I highly recommend it to all seekers, new and old.

Fascinating look at this very obscure British Goddess. Although we have very little in the way of surviving mythology or ancient written tales of Elen of the Ways this books nonetheless succeeds in painting an in-depth picture of her. When I first got the book I was worried about how a subject which has so little factual information available would be handled and I was pleasantly surprised. The author weaves personal experience, mysticism, and folklore together to form a multifaceted introduction to Elen and ways to honor her. I enjoyed the way that the author used stories from her own life as well as her own spirituality to do this, and especially the way she incorporated animism and the inclusion of spirits of place into the text. The end result is a book that feels both gentle and wild, and as primal as Elen herself.

This is an extraordinary book that covers a lot of ground. It is an informative, delightfully readable book that takes us on the author's personal journey following the deer tracks.

The book calls itself 'Elen of the Ways' and then has very little to do with Elen. I feel mislead. After reading the positive reviews I had a lot of hope for this, because the negative reviews can't be right can they? Boy was I wrong! The book has very little to do with Elen of the Ways and there is very little to be learnt here. As someone said, this is more like a personal travel diary and a boring one at that. I skimmed the last half of this nonsense. If you want to learn more about Elen, there are some very well written articles online that say more with fewer words.

I have read a little about shamanism in the past and having walked very regularly along the deer (and other animal) pathways, this book appealed to me.Elen Sentier has a wonderful way of communicating the history and essence of our inter-connection with nature and 'Mother Earth'. The book softly puts us in our place amongst (and certainly not above) the animals, plants and minerals etc., explaining how we all make up the cycles and flows of life-energy which our ancestors were much more closely connected to - and which much of modern life has lost touch with. There is a peace in this understanding and an important message for humanity.The book is wise, up-lifting and written with kindness and spirit. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in reconnecting themselves with more Earthly things than the materialistic, worryingly unsustainable lifestyles that most of us find ourselves in today.

Highly recommended as a corrective in a world where loss of connection with nature (and thus spirit) is so prevalent. Elen Sentier describes herself as “awenydd, a spirit weaver and tale keeper from a long family lineage”. The word is from British Celtic tradition, but it is being used to name a quality of being extending back much further in time, and of universal application. “Walking the deer trods is to learn how close we are to nature … how we are connected to anything whether or not it appears inanimate and this is what the awenydd knows”. The presiding spirit of this path is the elusive deer goddess Elen, Elen of the Ways, who the author encountered as a young adult, thereby entering a lifetime of service to her. This book is about both context and story of this service, an invitation to “open yourself to Elen’s complex, multiple and beautiful ways”.Elen Sentier takes us back to an archaic northern world in which most people lived by following herds of reindeer on their migrations – following rather than leading or managing: the deer decided when and where to go. She evokes the culture and spirituality of this relationship, describing a hunter gatherer society that once lived well without private property or long hours of work. She talks about communities that understood reciprocity and interdependence and lived by a practice of gift-giving and receiving both in the everyday world and that of spirit – themselves seen as hardly separated from each other. She sees this as a culture of sensitivity to all life, including the interconnectedness of “what you eat and what eats you”, and alive to the energies of the land itself.The book traces this history through iconography and myth – with the figure of the antlered female reindeer goddess standing for the Sovereignty of the land. It also describes “journeying” as a here-and-now practice for being in a natural settings, tuning in with respect, entering relationship, and with a minimal reliance on the human technologies of satnavs, compasses and maps. Here is nourishment for spirit, available if we are.

This book is not big but is packed full of insightfulness and wisdom. Archaeology, ancient history, spirituality and modern life are all in this little book, from the ancient Boreol Forest that covered a large proportion of the Northern hemisphere to the tribes that still follow the deer trods, be they the Sami people and their reindeer or the Native tribal people in North America or Canada. You can feel the connection with our ancient ancestors of this part of the world, when reading the book. Most enjoyable, especially if you enjoy walking in the woods and forests. I would definitely recommend this to anyone Pagan who lives in northern realms.

I am not quite certain what to make of this.essay. I t hardly deserves the status of a book.I have written longer short stories myself.A dozen or so pages does not deserve book status and I am no nearer knowing Ellen of the.Easy than I was before I started