DEER

[SunKat]

Woodland dreams of intuition come with the graceful deer.
I greet you, brothers of the forest.
Your gift of magic will brighten my life.
Transformation will come to me.
Like you, I stand listening to the drum beat of life,
Poised to follow my guiding spirits.


Gentleness and Innocence

Deer teaches us to use the power of gentleness
to touch the hearts and minds of
wounded beings who are in our lives.

Don't push towards change in others,
rather gently nudge them in right direction
with the love that comes from a Deer totem.

When a Deer totem shows up in your life,
a new innocence and freshness in about to be awakened.
There is going to be a gentle lure of new adventures.
There will be an opportunity to express the gentle love
that will open new doors for you.

When we encounter the deer in the wild, our breath catches - we are transfixed by their graceful features and delicate movements. The tender beauty of these beasts has not gone unnoticed by our ancestors.

The deer is linked to the arts, specifically poetry and music in ancient Celtic animal lore due to its graceful form. The Celts also believed that deer were associated with the fairie realm, and would lead troops of fairies - hundreds of them trailing behind them as the stag cut a path through the forest.

Both Celts and Native Americans observed the deer to be savvy when it came to finding the best herbs. These earth-bound peoples would follow the deer to prime herb patches - many of which proved to be highly beneficial in their medicinal purposes.

A quick-list of animal symbolism of the deer may offer a great deal of insight as you are working with the spirit of the deer in your life.

Symbolic Meanings for the Deer

Love
Grace
Peace
Beauty
Fertility
Humility
Swiftness
Regrowth
Creativity
Spirituality
Abundance
Benevolence
Watchfulness

How does this translate into our own life experience?

Just as the deer has an uncanny sense of where to find the green freshness earth provides, we can ask the deer within ourselves to seek out our inner treasures. In meditation or day dream, go on a spiritual hike with the deer. See yourself walking in the woods with the deer leading you into amazing depths within your soul. Each step you and the deer take will lead you deeper into your spiritual knowing, and to limitless treasure within.

The deer (particularly the doe, females) has the capacity for infinite generosity. Their heart rhythms pulse in soft waves of kindness. Match that graciousness by offering your trust to her. She will reward you by leading you to the most powerful spiritual medicine you can fathom.

In China the deer is a symbol of happiness and good fortune. Indeed, its name in Chinese is a homonym for the word abundance.

Meaning of the Deer is Associated With:
The Dawn
The Moon
The Easterly directions
Those wishing to invoke the symbolic meaning of the deer may have most success and profound experiences while incorporating these associations.

For example, we can honor the deer during a full moon to enhance or draw out some of the deer's qualities (listed above) within ourselves.

Likewise, honoring the deer with our attention pointed in an eastern direction at dawn will elicit responsive energy too. Nothing fancy (the deer really has no use for pomp and circumsance - her pleasure comes from quiet simplicities) just a solemn nod of your head and a simple "thank you" for deer's presence will do.

Symbolic Meaning of a White Deer

All creatures are noble, and have profound messages to share with us. However, those animals that are white can be some of our most powerful teachers.

The Native Americans believed the occurrence of a white animal was a huge sign of prophecy – a sign from the great spirit that a major shift in their world was to come.

Usually, white animals were seen during soul-quests, or vision-quests. However, if one was seen during the normal course of day, this would cause a tremendous ripple among the tribe. A great meeting would be called, the elders would be consulted, and great care would be taken to communicate with the animal spirits to determine the meaning of the message.

Not much has changed over time, as you yourself recognize the special power of the white deer that comes to you – and wish to know more about it.

When white occurs in the animal realm it is a message of:

•higher thoughts
•higher ideals
•purity of soul
•cleansing of spirit
•attaining higher knowledge

Compound these attributes with the those that the Female deer represents:

•Benevolence
•Kindness
•Creativity
•Spirituality
•Renewal
•Connectedness

The Male deer holds the same representations, but also includes attributes of:

•Longevity
•Virility
•Abundance
•Endurance
The deer was/is a symbol to the Native Americans representative of the great spirit – a sign of the sun as its antlers spread like the sun’s rays. The Native Americans also recognized the shedding and regrowth of the antlers and deemed this a symbol of regeneration, cycle, and growth.

Above all, we can recognize the sensitivity of the deer - alert, keen, and always aware – we can translate these qualities to of being spiritually aware – and this is why the deer is seen primarily as a spiritual symbol.