According to that tradition, deers are by nature timid and serene animals and their presence in a place represents the purity of a kingdom bereft of fear. In one of this former lives, Buddha was a golden deer that spoke to men. When a male and a female deer are represented together (often beside the Dharma wheel) it is a direct allusion to the first teachings of Buddha near Varanasi. In Buddhism, the deer symbolizes harmony, happiness, peace and longevity. The animals of the forest wanted to know which of the two was the fastest, but the rabbit cheated before the race and the deer won its antlers. There is a Cherokee legend that tells how the deer procured its antlers after winning a race against a rabbit. Some groups would entrust the hunt to the deer, which was also associated with fertility. The stag is the king of the forest, the protector o all other creatures.įor the native tribes of North America, the deer was a messenger, an animal of power, and a totem representing sensitivity, intuition and gentleness. On the other hand, there was also Damh, the masculine element, which was also related to the sacred and to forests, independence, purification and pride. Deer often turned into women in such legends in order to avoid being hunted.
KINGDOM NEW LANDS STAG FREE
It was believed that the deer called to men from the kingdom of the fairies to free them from the trappings of the earthly world and taking them to the world of magic. In Celtic tradition there were two aspects of the deer: the feminine element, called Eilid in Gaelic, the female red deer, symbolizing femininity, gentles and grace. Placido, the Roman name for the saint, gave up hunting and became a Christian. When Eustace looked at the animal’s eyes, the light of Christ shone out of them and the voice of God spoke to him through them. The legend of Saint Eustace, for example, tells the story of the Roman general who, before becoming a saint, was out hunting and came across a magnificent and enormous deer. In the Christian imagination, the deer is a symbol of piety, devotion and of God taking care of his children: men. During a deer’s life the antlers fall off and grow again and the animal is also a symbol of regeneration. In many cultures, the deer is a symbol of spiritual authority. Like a crown, the antlers grow beyond its body, bringing it closer to the sky and making it sacred. The deer’s antlers are one of the characteristics that have made it the figure of a spiritual superiority, according to some. In the same way, the deer is a symbol of many things, the personification of virtues and a character of legends and myths. Within the extensive imagination of myths, legends and cosmogonies, there are animals that, for one reason or another, carry symbolic or archetypical characteristics: the lion, the eagle and the snake are some examples. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer he enables me to stand on the heights.
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