A magical moment occurs when in the dappled light of forest trees you spot a gentle doe staring at you with her deep, dark, liquid eyes. We all feel the grace and peace she bestows – awestruck by an instant of unity.
Tag: Deer Goddess
Elen of the Ways and the Antlered Goddess (Part 2 of 2) by Deanne Quarrie
Click here to read Part 1, published Sunday March 18.
Imagine a fairy chain stretched from mountain peak to mountain peak, as far as the eye could reach, and paid out til it touched the high places of the earth at a number of ridges, banks and knowls. Then visualize a mound, circular earthwork, or clump of trees, planted on these high points, and in low points in the valley, other mounds ringed with water to be seen from a distance. The giant standing stones brought to mark the way at intervals, and on a bank leading up to a mountain ridge or down to a ford the track cut so deep as to form a guiding notch in the skyline as you come up.
– The Old Straight Track by Alfred Watkins.
The Deer Goddess of the Ancient Caledonians were called Colossal Old Women. They were all local spirits, all with different names. Their stores were similar, however as they went with the herds, milked them in their respective districts. Their deer were called “fairy cattle.” The deer were always in the care of the female. In many myths the fairy woman transforms herself into a deer, often antlered.
The bean-sidhe are mistresses of the place and are called the Cailleach or Cailleach Mhor (Huge Od Woman). They are the giants of Celtic myth who sang to the deer calling them “darling deer” or “beast of my love.” All these giantesses are wild, showing no sign of domestication and they date back to Paleolithic times. Continue reading “Elen of the Ways and the Antlered Goddess (Part 2 of 2) by Deanne Quarrie”
Elen of the Ways and the Antlered Goddess (Part 1 of 2) by Deanne Quarrie
Why would a goddess have antlers when only male deer have antlers? These ancient goddesses come from a time when people were closely connected with reindeer. They were hunter gatherers and followed the Deer trods of the reindeer in their migratory patterns. They depended on the reindeer for food, shelter, warm clothing. They survived because of the reindeer.
Both male and female reindeer grow antlers. The antlers begin to grow on males in March or April, for females it is May or June. The male loses his antlers at the end of rutting season (late fall) and the females keep theirs until they calf in the spring. They both grow new antlers every year and each year they grow in bigger. Continue reading “Elen of the Ways and the Antlered Goddess (Part 1 of 2) by Deanne Quarrie”
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