Deepheart, mountain guardian
who harries the hunter
and knows what belongs to us
and what does not,
give us your speed,
your ability to read the land,
to see what is behind us and around us.
-
May we grow with the seasons
into your branching wisdom
putting up antlers as taproots into the sky
into your branching wisdom
putting up antlers as taproots into the sky
to draw down the power of heaven,
reaching into the wounded places
to heal and make whole,
walking as living candelabra,
crowned with light,
crowning each other with light.
reaching into the wounded places
to heal and make whole,
walking as living candelabra,
crowned with light,
crowning each other with light.
I wrote this invocation many years ago, on a mountain in the Northeast where I lead advanced gatherings of shamanic dreamers. It is a very special place, where we draw on the deep fires of Earth, and the spirits of the land, and where the healing energy of the Deer is very strong.
The symbolism of the antlers is vitally important in every tradition that knows the cervid family. The antlers represent spiritual connection; they rise above the physical body into the spirit realm. They also embody the power of regeneration; the bones die and fall away and grow back stronger and greater than before.
Art: L'Arbre et la Brume by Annick Bougerolle
The symbolism of the antlers is vitally important in every tradition that knows the cervid family. The antlers represent spiritual connection; they rise above the physical body into the spirit realm. They also embody the power of regeneration; the bones die and fall away and grow back stronger and greater than before.
Art: L'Arbre et la Brume by Annick Bougerolle
3 comments:
Thank you for this, Robert. I had the most remarkable experience with a deer a few weeks ago. I was walking through a heavily wooded park and two deer crossed my path about four yards ahead of me, already shaggy with their winter coats. The second deer paused on the path and regarded me, and me it, for what felt like several minutes. I know the deer in this park are relatively tame, given all the human traffic. But this felt..different. It felt like a kind of communion. And then--and this is the only way I can describe it--it bowed its head in my direction, low to the ground. So I did the only courteous thing one could do in this situation; I bowed back, and smiled. Then the graceful animal turned and continued on its way toward its friend without any urgency whatsoever.
Years ago at a very difficult time in my life I had an incredible lucid dream in which I was moving through a dark wood and came into a clearing. Sitting on a tree trunk was Cernunnos, Celtic god of the wild. He had the body of a man except he had hooves instead of feet, and he had the face and antlers of a stag. He looked at me and, surprising to me, had very extraordinary blue eyes. He looked at me with the most penetrating, sympathetic and kindly gaze. I had never felt so "seen" by anyone in my life. I woke with such a sense of peace and protection , a feeling I get whenever I think of that knowledgeable, kindly, wise gaze.
It's snowing here and though there's more cars than deer, I keep imagining them with candelabras for antlers. Magical! and most suited to this season when candles are more
evident as symbols of an inner Light , a greater Light.
Thank you for shedding light through this poem.
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