The stag plays big part in various world mythologies. Often associated with the Pagan Horned God, this animal has a vast symbolic meaning and is a personification of virtues, such as gentleness, spirituality, devotion, inactivity, harmony and is a character of many legends and myths.
Different cultures associate the Deer with different things and there are many myths and lore about this animal. It is thought of as the incarnation of deities, an object of heroic quests, or as magical disguise or enchantment/curse for princesses and princes in many folk and fairy tales. The deer also symbolizes a connection to the supernatural, the otherworld or to the fairy realm. It is also a strong spiritual guide and has a strong connection to witchcraft. The antlers are one of the things with most symbolic value as they are believed to symbolize a crown that brings this animal closer to the sky and so turning it into a creature of spiritual supremacy. Another thing that the stag symbolizes is regeneration because of its' antlers that can fall off and grow again. The antlers of the stag are compared to tree-branches and thus may represent fertility.
Paganism
Many Pagans associate the deer with their Horned God and fertility. Now for Pagans the Horned God was associated with the life force of animals and the wild, also he was believed to carry the souls of the dead into the underworld. The Horned God appears in legends with a headdress of deer antlers or in some depictions the antlers grow right out of his head. Furthermore, close to the beginning of time, people would put antlers on their head and perform rituals as a form of worship to the Horned God. In witchcraft the deer symbolizes death & rebirth, wisdom, nobility, and protection. It is a sacred animal to Artemis, Diana, Freyr, Flidais. Antlers may be used in one's craft such as in slices for runes and amulets.
Folklore and Fairy tales
Usually the deer (female deer) appears in many European fairy tales in the form of a princess, who has been enchanted by a fairy or witch. It can also be a transformation curse of a male character or a disguised prince, who is trying to escape or achieve a goal. Another type of character it can appear as is a helper, foster mother, malevolent seductress, ogre or sorcerer in disguise.
Indo-European people
The stag was of importance to the people across the Eurasian steppes. E.g the Kurgan people, whose favorite motif was the stag. It is where the ‘Stag God’ was believed to have originated in. It is also where the mother of the Sun was illustrated as a large horned female doe, that carried the sun, moon and the stars in her horns, and in some legends the sun itself was a stag, which is why in those regions the stag's antlers were depicted as flames.
In Siberia, a reindeer steals the sun, and that is why there is no sun for half a year in the arctic. When a mythical hunter, symbolized by a bear, kills the reindeer, it starts the new days. This is probably where the traditional hunt of the deer, as a symbol of the hunt for the sun, began.
The Santa Claus myth is tied to Finland's Saami people's legend, where Reindeer regularly get high on a type of mushroom and are seen to leap around, which gives the origin of the flying reindeer of Santa.
Norse mythology
In Norse mythology there is a tale of four stags representing the four winds. In this tale four stags eat away and run in the branches of Yggdrasil ( the world tree) . An eagle sits at the top of the tree carrying knowledge of many things and at the roots a snake eats at the roots of the tree. A squirrel runs between both and carries their vicious messages at each other.
Celtic Europe
In Celtic tradition there were two aspects of the deer: the feminine element, called Eilid in Gaelic and the masculine, called Damh.
the female red deer, symbolized femininity, gentleness and grace. It was believed that the female deer called to men from the kingdom of the fairies to free them from the earthly world and take them to the world of magic. Oftentimes to avoid being hunted the female deer would turn into a woman.
On the other hand, the masculine element was related to independence, purification and pride. The stag was thought of as the king and protector of the forest and all forest creatures. In this male element the stag was connected to the Horned God and even to the druid Green man, which later on turns into the Celtic god of the Underworld.
In the Celtic tradition the hunting of a Stag was symbolic for the pursuit of wisdom
Furthermore, a chariot pulled by deer belonged to the Goddess of Wild Things, Flidais.
Greek mythology
The hunt for wisdom motive is also found in Greek mythology, where one of the tasks of Hercules was to capture the hind of Mount Ceryneia.
In Greek mythology this animal is most often found as the Keryneian stag - a fantastic beast with golden horns and brass hooves. The stag was sacred to the goddess Artemis and there are a lot of myths connecting it to her. One of those myths is of a great hunter called Actaeon, who followed a stag while hunting and came across Artemis, who was bathing on a valley. When she discovered him she turned him into a stag in her fury and set his own hounds to tear him apart.
Another popular myth is of Artemis and two giants who tried to violate her. The Goddess turned herself into a white hind and walked between the giant and when they tried to strike her they killed each other instead.
Native Americans
For native Americans the deer was a messenger, an animal of power, and a totem representing sensitivity, fertility, intuition and gentleness.
There is a Cherokee legend of a race between a rabbit and a deer. The rabbit though cheated before the race and so the deer won antlers.
As a patron animal
Many witches may have the deer as a patron animal giving them wisdom to aid in their craft. Many honor the deer via antlers on their altar or putting its favorite foods. Deer as a spirit guide brings the qualities of integrity and dignity. It teaches us authority, grace and wisdom over aggression and brutality. It aids witches to know their own strength and how to use it at best.
A strong connection to the supernatural, the otherworld, and to the fairy realm, a powerful spiritual guide, a symbol of spiritual supremacy. regeneration, and fertility, The deer is therefore considered of great significance to witches and witchcraft.
Blessed be Witches!
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