Elen Sentier ~ Wye's Woman

Blessed rain :-) It was very heavy and the wind, she did blow, but now it's cleared and the birds are singing, out in the garden feeding, and the whole land looks so refreshed. I was out gardening yesterday, hands in the earth, and our land is not too bad. We've had some rain and the condition of the soil is so good it's able to take it in and hold it, in consequence the plants are doing well. There's lots to eat out there, both cooking greens and salad; the overwintered stuff is coming along nicely too and strawberries in the greenhouse are flowering! But this rain has helped enormously. Where would we be without rain? Starving! As well as nowt to drink, no washing, etc, etc. Listening to the news or the weather you'd think it was all doom and gloom if we don't have wall-to-wall sunshine all the time ... driving treacherous they tell you if we get rain; kids miserable; they call it "bad weather". I ask you, how dumb can you get? Are we really this ...

My drum ... I've been waiting for her for 45 years. Elen, the deer goddess, has been my patron and mentor all my life. She has taken various names and guises for me over the years but always the Lady of the Deer Trods has shown me her paths. Another of her names is Elen of the Hosts, the lady of warriors, the warriors of the rainbow who Arthur meets as he sails through the Caers of the Lower World in his journeying. The drum is both a caller and weaver. I have worked with drum for all my life but I've never had a drum made drum her skin. I've worked with Gwydion all my life too. Again he comes in many forms and with many names. His tree is the Ash, the tree of keys, keys to doors visible and invisible. Elen is Doorkeeper, keeper of doors and thresholds: one of her names is Vivien, threshold keeper. My drum's frame is made of the wood of tree of keys. My drum's skin is made of the hide of the threshold keeper. When we work together we will sing the ways across t...

I felt the need to talk Holly Talk after chatting with a friend on Facebook who had a "situation" with her Holly. Gawain, Gawain, tumbling down, falling, falling, falling.  Here is a Hall. A King’s Hall.  The smell of smouldering peat and apple-wood,  of roast meats, old bones and wet dogs.   Where am I?   Here, says the voice inside your head. Come in! Come in! I welcome you.   There is a lady, dark and fair, with raven hair.  Green eyes melt you.   Sitting now, you hold the wooden table hard, fearing to float again,  the Hall will melt and you be falling, falling, falling.   Ba-Boom! Thunder at the doors.   Ba-Boom! Again the thunder roars.   Ba-Boom! Open!   The doors fly open, wind whistles the snow around your ears.  Blind, you see the darkness fill the doorway.  Your heart makes thunder softly in your breast, ...

by Elen Sentier Quiet, rustling wind, purple-grey clouds, curlews, larks, the sound of the river, the whisper of the trees, the crackle of the fire … We’re here … waiting … watching There are spirits all around us and the Spirit of the Land waits at the edge of our circle to see what we will do: she waits at the edge of darkness. There is nothing to do … as yet. Waiting is what we do. Learning to wait, full of expectancy but with no expectations, is what this beginning-eve is about. Eastern traditions tend to talk of such times as “clearing” but, for us, it’s much more than that. The eve of a happening like this, a coming-together with Spirit, is like a moment of conception; it’s a collecting-together, an opening-up, allowing otherworld to fill you up with expectancy without having any idea what the happening is going to be like, what you’ll actually do, experience, see, feel. We sit, almost quivering with stillness, Neither inside nor out Neither naked nor clad ...

  More Spirit Walk pics here thanks to Eva W-i  

Here are pictures from our Spirit Walk over Coppet Hill, down to the Wye below Coldwell Rock and back along her banks. It was a marvellous walk, we got very wet at one point but it didn't dampen anyone's spirits. Lots of things to see, tracks, birds, and the energy of the track - deer trod - was amazing. the next walk is on Sunday 18th March. We're going to Arthur's Cave and Doward (Vortigern's Castle). Enjoy the pix and many thanks to Eva for taking them and sending them to me - great shots Eva and bringing back the walk so vividly. Elen Sentier Awenydd    Taleweaver   Writer My profiles: