 Rainbow Warrors is a small autonomous fellowship begun by me, Elen Sentier, and carried forward along with Fiona Dove and Jude Greenan . It is founded on teaching and enabling shamanism from a Celtic perspective.It is a fellowship in the old sense of amity – friendship, peace, good relations, goodwill and harmony. Rainbow Warriors are companions of the soul, partners in the work, comrades through the hard times. Ideas are born and come to fruition through earth, air, fire and water as the warriors work and grow together. This centre is in the Welsh Marches, the between-lands of Wales and England. The 3-year course is held on the internet and finish with a two-week-long workshop in the wilds of Exmoor. Other Wye's Woman workshops Exploring the Goddess, and on the Ogham and Alchemy, are held in the Welsh Marches and other parts of Britain. The fellowship was begun in 1995 when I led the first RW workshops. The course, and the workshops centre around learning the structure of nature, and of ourselves, and how to “work with” all of nature. What is a shaman? The word means “one who knows”. Taliesin, one of the great bards of the Celtic tradition said “I am everything …”, meaning that he had walked between worlds and shapeshifted so that he knew what it was to be a stag of seven tines, a hawk on the cliff, wave of the sea and many other things. You may know him better by his Gaelic name of Amergin. It is this “knowing”, called kenning, that the shaman has. To gain this knowing … “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. The latter procedure, however, is disagreeable and therefore not popular.” (Jung, CW13, par335).” Jung put it very well. The 3-year training works through the old stages of Apprentice and Journeyman to Master and is based around the three main tenets of spiritual practice – Study, Experience and Service. What are the 144,000 Rainbow Warriors?You may be wondering why this course is called Rainbow Warriors ... there is a very good reason. They are mentioned in various traditions and you may already know prophecies that relate to the 144,000 Rainbow Warriors, two of them are … · The Book of Revelations says that “the number of the saved” is 144,000. · An old prophecy of the Native American peoples says “When the Earth is sick and all the animals are dying a tribe of people will come, of all colours and creeds, who will restore the Earth. They will be called Warriors of the Rainbow.” The Rainbow Warriors are hidden in occult and esoteric lore - the word occult just means “hidden”, occluded. They are the 144,000 “petals” that hold and carry the energy within the energy centres or chakras. You learn how this works early in the course. As we all contain the 144,000 petals - we all have chakras - we are each of us "the number of the saved". Our purpose is to become conscious of this and able to work with it along with working with Otherworld.The native American prophecy fairly well describes the times we are living in. Only by being conscious of our place as a vital part of the whole, and one that can - through consciousness - make a difference can we restore the Earth. Our first conscious learning is of how we are made and that we are all made of the same stuff as the rest of creation. Joany Mitchell put it rather well in her song when she said "We are stardust ...". We are indeed and Rainbow Warriors know this and work with it for the good of all. Turning Back to Serve This saying comes from a master in the early 20th century and expresses what rainbow warriors do. Please don't be put of by the somewhat archaic language J, take it all in and ponder it for yourself... He who faces the light and stands within its radiance is blinded to the issues of the world of men; he passes on the Lighted Way to the great Centre of Absorption. But he who feels the urge to pass that way yet loves his brother on the darkened path, revolves upon the pedestal of light and turns the other way. He faces toward the dark, and then the seven points of light within himself transmit the outward streaming light and lo! the face of those upon the darkened way receives that light. For them the way is not so dark. Behind the warriors – twixt the light and dark – blazes the light of Hierarchy. So Rainbow Warriors work for others rather than just for themselves. Of course, personal development goes on anyway - you cannot stop developing once your feet are on the path, and you learn continuously from others, But the warrior's focus is not on themselves. They serve, all of creation including other human beings. But, here again, the focus is much broader than humanity alone. As shamans, Rainbow Warriors know the interconnectedness of all life, and know that they play a part in helping everything in creation become its true self. They turn back from personal completion, refusing to be blinded by the light and focused only on self, to shed the light of their own knowing (in as far as they have got) onto the path, to help light the way for others. The Course Rainbow Warriors is a 3 year advanced training in practical shamanism done through the Internet, ordinary mail and a workshop. It is based in, but not exclusive to, the Western & Celtic magical traditions. It gives a solid grounding in and knowledge of experiential shamanic practice and is designed to enable Students to become Walkers Between the Worlds - rather than "shamanic practitioners". I do not give a certificate of graduation. Shamanism is invisible and cannot be accredited in the common academic way. In the course, you come to know (not believe) that the Earth is alive, has a spirit. In the Celtic tradition The Earth goes under several names, but the overall term is Sovereignty, Sovereignty is the spirit of the Land, the Earth herself. The elements - Earth, Air, Fire, Water - animals, trees, plants, fish, birds, insects, the very soil itself, all have spirit. Your work, over the three years, is to learn to contact, listen to and converse with these spirits in order to bring back the gifts and knowledge they have for the benefit of the Earth - not just humanity but the whole Earth and everything that lives and moves and breathes therein. The shaman is the intercessor between these spirits, otherworld and his people. The shaman knows respect for all life, whether it has the same shape as him or her self, the same number of legs, the same language. The shaman knows Life, and soul (anima) and spirit in all things. This is animism. Anima is the soul and animists (and shamans) know the soul within everything - even if many folk cannot see or know it. Shamans learn respect and responsibility, knowing that every action really does have its equal and opposite reaction ... in the east, they call this karma, in Britain the ancient word is geas which has more of the idea of duty, respect and responsibility behind it. Geas is the promise, and whatever promise you make you will be held to. The shaman knows this, hence he does not make promises lightly. In Britain, the old ways are still handed down, but they are well hidden from ordinary view. Many people are unaware that Britain has a living tradition. Rainbow Warriors is one way of handing that tradition on, in ways which make it very pertinent to the 21st century in which we live. Rainbow Warriors are able to help those they come in contact with in many ways, healing can take many forms besides the simple 'curing' of an ailment. Rainbow Warriors are especially concerned with human beings' relationship with the Land and the Earth. They carry their magical work into their everyday jobs, like accountancy, ecology, teaching, engineering, business, counselling, psychotherapy and the arts. This is practical shamanism. Always, shamans are part of their community and that still follows today. If you think this course might be for you read my book Dreamweaver. This gives the basic tenets used in the course and shows you how I work. If you find yourself comfortable with this then Rainbow Warriors may be for you.
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Elen Sentier
behind every creative woman there's usually a rather talented cat
behind every creative woman there's usually a rather talented cat
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