The deer belongs to a family called Cervidae that includes the caribou, the elk, and the moose. They live in many different habitats, including tundra, tropical rainforests, and woodland—anywhere that has plenty of food and places to hide. Deer are beautiful creatures that can run very fast and jump over high obstacles. Throughout time, man has hunted deer, using their meat for food, their hides for clothing, and their antlers for weapons. Deer have appeared in art from the time of cave paintings to the present and have even played a role in heraldry, religion, and literature. The animal’s appearance in mythology extends worldwide, appearing in Egyptian, Greek, Native American, and Celtic legend. For purposes of Chakra Animals, I focus on the female deer. The male deer, the stag (see page 150), has entirely different interpretations.
Key Attributes
Sensitivity, intuition, gentleness, dignity, facing challenges and fears with grace, living from the heart, unconditional love, kindness, gratitude, and honoring the sacred.
Chakra Interpretations
Root
A mother deer will leave her newborn fawns in a safe hiding place while she goes out in search of food. Young fawns aren’t yet able to keep up with mommy while she forages for food, so at dawn she leaves them in a safe place to wait for her return at dusk. Many human families face a similar challenge. They need to leave their children either with a relative or in daycare while they go off to work for the survival of the household. Most likely your job is merely a means of survival, and you look forward to the end of the day when you can be home again with your spouse or partner, your housemates, your children, your companion animals, or even your garden.
Sacral
By observing deer, you can learn the gift of gentleness. Deer can hide in plain sight by being perfectly still while remaining fully alert to their surroundings. Regardless of your gender, deer energy speaks to the feminine aspects within. Deer teaches that caring and gentleness, often toward yourself, can help you overcome stressful situations. It may be time for you to stop being so hard on yourself and treat yourself with more kindness.
Solar Plexus
Deer energy has gentle courage and is not afraid to face internal demons. If you are in a situation, be it at work, home, or school, where you are being terrorized by another, standing up to the person with courage and gentleness and not stooping to their level of behavior may help confuse them enough that they get bored and move on. If not, use the deer’s ability to run and leap to find cover: remove yourself from the situation or seek outside help. Another possibility is the deer may be telling you that you are fearful of your own power. If this is the case, it may be time to call on the male aspect of the stag to help you.
Heart
The deer is a gentle, graceful creature full of subtlety, elegance, and unconditional love. Deer’s energy can see the wounds within another’s soul and will help heal it with gentleness and compassion. You can tell when someone is in pain, and you are called from your core to help them heal with compassion. You might do well in grief counseling, as a minister of some sort, or even working in a hospice setting. The deer’s message for the heart is that we should move through life with pure intention. Only with love, both for ourselves and for others, can we understand the true meaning of wholeness.
Throat
People will close their ears to a shout but will bend closer to hear a whisper. You are one who speaks with the gentleness of the deer and understands that you can get your point across more effectively that way than with aggression. Deer have remarkable hearing. They can determine not only where the sound originated but also if it represents a potential danger. Like a deer, you have sensitive hearing and can quickly tell if what you are hearing presents a threat, be it a strange sound or someone else’s words.
Third Eye
The white-tailed deer’s peripheral vision range is close to 300 degrees, but it doesn’t have much in the way of depth perception. Ever on the defensive for predators, they can pick up the slightest movement that is around them, but they can’t focus or tell what it is unless it is right in front of them. You see the far-reaching perspective of any situation, and you take it all in before acting or making a comment. The deer in this chakra could also mean that you live your life always on the defensive, looking for danger, even when none is there.
Crown
One of the deer’s messages is that when you explore spirituality, you harm none with your actions. You must walk through the world of spirit with love and respect—respect not just for Spirit and the land but for your fellow travelers as well. This is also a reminder for you to be gentle with yourself. Perhaps the deer is calling you to the wild green places so that you can regenerate. Sitting by a stream in the woods may be where you can truly be calm and reflective, drinking in the peace.