Nordic Deer Medicine

Grímnismál 33

Hirtir ero ok fiórir,

þeirs af hæfingar á

gaghálsir gnaga:

Dáinn ok Dvalinn,

Dúneyrr ok Duraþrór

Deer here, there are four

From the crown of the tree

Long necked they feed

Dâin and Dvalin,

Duneyr and Durathrôr

(My translation)

This weekend I drove cross country to help facilitate at a workshop. For the last few weeks when we’ve been out and about, I’ve noticed deer at strange times of the day. At lunch time, in the middle of a field by a motorway.

Or eating on the side of the road while driving through a forest.

Or on, Saturday, standing in the middle of the road watching us as we came down the road, and then, nonchantly strolling off into the bush.

Sometimes I can be dense. Ask Lisa. Even I can spot a message. Now, if I was in the woods, or super rural at dawn or dusk, and I saw deer, I’d expect that. Or if I’d gone looking for them. Or, and this is a big one, if I was not driving a big diesel jeep in low gear through a quiet woodland, I’d expect to see a dear.

Not how they’ve shown themselves to me.

There is a host of meanings of deer in indigenous cultures across the world, the European ones have literally been burned. So, we’ve reached out to other cultures. Google will tell you a lot about what deer medicine means, from the Tribes of America to those of Asia.

Words like ‘sensitivity, intuition, and gentleness’. In a northern, Viking context what could deer medicine mean? The poem at the top is from a saga, and it talks of four deer who eat the leaves of Yggdrasil. The obvious thing is to look at the four deer as the four cardinal points of the compass. But, we’ve got them, they are dwarves. Nordri, Sudri, Austri, and Vestri.

Remember Norse mythology was written down by men who spent a lot of time indoors. And with other men, excluding women.

The four deer have names:

Dáinn, could mean Death, or nothing.

Dvalinn, could mean the rising one, the one who awakes.

Duneyrr, could mean the powerful energy, the thundering in the ear.

Duraþrór, could mean the Return to Sleep

I think these four deer are the phases of the moon in Norse mythology. As they move around the tree, eating the leaves, their energy is that off Manni the moon. Deer don’t stand still to eat their food the move constantly. Especially as the moon is chased by a wolf. We see the energy of the moon filtered through the energies of these deer. Dark moon, waxing moon, Full moon, waning moon. This meets with the energies of the deer names I’ve translated.

The deer are a creature of the earth, the soil and the land. In the sagas they walk around the roots of the world tree Yggdrasil. Craining their necks to eat the leaves. Connecting the mundane of the earth, to the spiritual of the sky. The great ash, Yggdrasil connects all of the 9 worlds together in Norse mythology, and the deer, eating the leaves, brings a direct connection from the earth to the heavens.

So, after all the linguistic tomfoolery what about deer medicine?

Well, the phases of the moon are in constant flux and moving around the planet as the planet move around the sun. Have a look at the deer that has presented itself to you. Is it young, or old? Is it half in the sun our half out? Or fully in or fully out?

I’m not going to make this easier for you. The deer you see is bringing the energy from the roots of the world to that of the spiritual crown. This connection to the earth, and to the heavens is a powerful metaphor. One that is used throughout human spirituality. From kundalini rising, to light workers. The deer in Norse spirituality represent the connection between earth and spirit. Seeking nourishment from the cosmic energies that fuel the worlds, the deer bring that energy straight to you.

Deer Medicine in Norse myth:

Connection to spirit.

Changing energies of the moon

Pay attention to the temporarily hidden energy.

Be aware of the Luna effects on your mind body and spirt.