Deer Medicine
When I began studying shamanism, one of my teachers, Dr. Steven Serr, taught me about power animals and their medicine.
I remember thinking that I knew for sure my power animal was Whale. We were going through an exercise, a journey meditation that took many steps and many sessions. All along the way I was expecting to meet Whale. But at the end of that journey, I met Deer.
It’s funny, I felt a little bit disappointed (sorry Deer!). I really had my mind set on finding Whale. But what I learned through Deer Medicine was that I was not loving myself quite enough.
I has a lot of work to do. You see, Deer is all about the heart and soul of life and of happiness. Deer helps us chase away negative thoughts and beliefs. Deer helps keep our energy pure and loving.
When I first met Deer in a meadow on that journey, they asked me to smudge them. They gave me directions, and told me where to spend extra time with the smoke of the sage bundle. I spent a lot of time on Deer’s feet/hooves, and a lot of extra time on their underbelly and chest.
The whole process took quite some time. I was told by Deer to go slow, and to give thought and intention throughout every wave of the smudge wand. And when we were finished, Deer explained to me that they are me, and I am them. They explained that as I was smudging them, I was also cleansing myself because we are one.
I would have never spent that much time smudging myself prior to that. What I learned is that I need to go to the heart of myself before I reach the heart of others.
Deer holds a very special place in my heart. I’ve met many other power animals along the way, and they’re all very special to me. But Deer was my first experience with power animal medicine, and I think now that I look back, it was really important that I started with Deer.
Nowadays, when Deer appears in my path I stop and give thanks. I stop and think about what the message might be that Deer holds for me in that moment. I stop and let the Deer know that I will always love and protect them.
I am them. They are me.
Here’s a peek at a family of Deer that I came across the other day. It’s some GOOD MEDICINE.
