The symbolism of Yggdrasil, stags and hares.
So for the past fortnight or so, the following three things have been regularly appearing in my mind's eye - sometimes as the last, fading image burned into my brain as I wake from an already forgotten dream, or from those moments when I'm quiet and still and empty my head of conciously driven thought (meditation, if you like):
- Yggdrasil, the world tree
- stag(s)
- hare
Yggdrasil always appears as a normal yew (I know Yggdrasil is commonly assumed to be an ash, but I always thought it was a yew tree and recently I discovered that there is some debate about that exact definition) - it's not particularly big, or particularly magical in appearance, but I just know what it is. Occassionally there are lights in the branches, though I don't know their source. The stags are always Red Deer - I often see them in an autumnal woodland, or I get a headshot where the stag has a glowing 'disc' suspended between its antlers. The sun, maybe? As for the hare, I only ever see a headshot of a motionless animal, often with a rural background at twilight with a full moon in the sky.
Last Thursday, as I cycled back from work, I left early enough to still have some remaining light to accompany my journey - and I'd only gone a short distance when I looked to my right and saw three hares in one of the arable fields, not far from the road. Two of them were loping round in a small circle, and the third was just watching. At first I thought the two were fighting, but there didn't seem to be any sign of aggression. They paid me no attention.
That is my only "real world" connection to my visions, although a deer did run across the road the last time I was with glenatron. But it was a doe, and not a Red Deer, and I didn't feel anything other than my usual admiration for the beast so I don't think that was anything important.
Stags
- Hungarian legend: "The symbol of the cosmos and the mother of the sun was symbolised as a large horned female doe. The great horned doe often was shown carrying the sun in her horns, in some cases the sun itself was symbolised as a stag the son of the doe of the legend"
- "...the myths of a Stag God, son of the Celestial Doe, who steals the Sun between his antlers and has to be hunted and caught before the Sun can return"
- The Persian version of the above legend features "the queen of the women, who called her self a doe with the name 'Sar-istani'"
- Anglo-Saxon: within the burial mound of Sutton Hoo was found a sceptre, topped with a statue of a stag - "the sceptre to the King who carried it symbolised his power and high status"
- "The antlers of the stag are compared to tree-branches and thus may represent fertility. Since they are shed and re-grown every year, they may also symbolise rejuvenation and rebirth"
- "According to some, [Cernunnos'] antlers symbolise a radiation of heavenly light. Images of stags were supposedly used to symbolise Cernunnos in non-human form.
- "In the Celtic tradition the hunting of a Stag was symbolic for the pursuit of wisdom" - although this idea features in a lot of world myths, including Greek mythology and the trials of Heracles
- "The Stag stands for solitary nobility, honour and a strong commitment to the protection of their herd. The Stag is a symbol of protection and sexuality. They are extremely devoted to the care, and creation, of children. Stags focus on the balance of law and are rigid in their thinking on the issues of justice"
- "Just like they lead heroes to other worlds in many myths, deer can lure a person to new adventures, which are often an opportunity to gain more wisdom"
- "Glucosamine in [deer antler velvet] slowly decreases the pain of arthritis by rebuilding cartilage and significantly reducing joint swelling thus increasing mobility. It is a natural source of anti-inflammatory agents with the added effects of collagen, which lubricates and helps repair joints"
Stags and Yggdrasil
- "Ancient Norse mythology tells how 4 stags browse the foliage of the world-tree Yggdrasil, in this manner eating away the buds (hours), blossoms (days) and branches (seasons)"
- "Their names are: Dain, Dvalin, Duneyr, Durathor. These four stags have been thought to represent the four winds"
- These stags are RED DEER!
Hare
- Symbolises: rebirth, rejuvenation, resurrection, intuition, balance, fertility, fire, madness, transformation
- Dream meanings: "the hare can be a symbol of the trickster who effects transformation";
- A sitting hare in a dream means that a good decision has been made
- "Hare is interpreted in general as a symbol of fertility - this can refer to the sexual power and erotic adventures, but point also to the spiritual activity or the soul life"
- "A lunar animal of the fertility and renewal of the life"
- "The symbol of the moon gazing hare is almost universal meaning fertility and dates back to ancient times"; "The moon-gazing hare was especially important to early Britons"
- "seeing a moon gazing hare would bring growth, re-birth, abundance, new beginnings and good fortune"
- "Boudicca was said to have released a hare as a good omen before each battle and to divine the outcome of battle by the hare's movements"
- "In Cambridgeshire a hare running through the streets is a sign that a fire is about to break out" - haha! Not relevant to my visions, but local so it interested me.
There is also the Three Hares symbol that often appears on churches - three hares sharing three ears, all chasing each other in an eternal circle. Apparantly no one really knows what this means. It's thought to be German in origin (can I suspect Saxon...?). Christian explanation is that it represents the Holy Trinity.
Yggdrasil as a Yew tree
- Dream meanings: "If you dream of the yew tree then this indicates that you are likely to encounter some disappointment or illness in the future"; "To admire the yew tree generally indicates that you are going to have to deal with a sad event in your family"
- "the Yew is associated with immortality, renewal, regeneration, everlasting life, rebirth, transformation and access to the Otherworld and our ancestors"
- "The Yew is considered to be the most potent tree for protection against evil, a means of connecting to your ancestors, a bringer of dreams and otherworld journeys and a symbol of the old magic"
- In Ogham: the yew means "Transference, Passage, Illusion"
- "yew was one of the nine sacred trees for kindling Beltane fires" - and yes, you guessed it, Beltane is of course a fertility festival...
Tl;dr - basically I am/am going to experiance a metaphorical rebirth, regeneration, transformation etc. etc. There is also a distressing amount of fertility nonsense. I'm hoping this just means sexual awakening, which would make more sense, rather than ... you know ... actual fertility. Ee.
Also, how bizarre is it that these things fit so well together? The stags/Yggdrasil thing in particular blows my mind.
Edit: glenatron has just pointed out that moon knowledge is also wisdom, which ties the hare in with the stags ... so added to my metaphorical and fertile rebirth, I believe I will finally stop being a thickie, too! :D
- Yggdrasil, the world tree
- stag(s)
- hare
Yggdrasil always appears as a normal yew (I know Yggdrasil is commonly assumed to be an ash, but I always thought it was a yew tree and recently I discovered that there is some debate about that exact definition) - it's not particularly big, or particularly magical in appearance, but I just know what it is. Occassionally there are lights in the branches, though I don't know their source. The stags are always Red Deer - I often see them in an autumnal woodland, or I get a headshot where the stag has a glowing 'disc' suspended between its antlers. The sun, maybe? As for the hare, I only ever see a headshot of a motionless animal, often with a rural background at twilight with a full moon in the sky.
Last Thursday, as I cycled back from work, I left early enough to still have some remaining light to accompany my journey - and I'd only gone a short distance when I looked to my right and saw three hares in one of the arable fields, not far from the road. Two of them were loping round in a small circle, and the third was just watching. At first I thought the two were fighting, but there didn't seem to be any sign of aggression. They paid me no attention.
That is my only "real world" connection to my visions, although a deer did run across the road the last time I was with glenatron. But it was a doe, and not a Red Deer, and I didn't feel anything other than my usual admiration for the beast so I don't think that was anything important.
Stags
- Hungarian legend: "The symbol of the cosmos and the mother of the sun was symbolised as a large horned female doe. The great horned doe often was shown carrying the sun in her horns, in some cases the sun itself was symbolised as a stag the son of the doe of the legend"
- "...the myths of a Stag God, son of the Celestial Doe, who steals the Sun between his antlers and has to be hunted and caught before the Sun can return"
- The Persian version of the above legend features "the queen of the women, who called her self a doe with the name 'Sar-istani'"
- Anglo-Saxon: within the burial mound of Sutton Hoo was found a sceptre, topped with a statue of a stag - "the sceptre to the King who carried it symbolised his power and high status"
- "The antlers of the stag are compared to tree-branches and thus may represent fertility. Since they are shed and re-grown every year, they may also symbolise rejuvenation and rebirth"
- "According to some, [Cernunnos'] antlers symbolise a radiation of heavenly light. Images of stags were supposedly used to symbolise Cernunnos in non-human form.
- "In the Celtic tradition the hunting of a Stag was symbolic for the pursuit of wisdom" - although this idea features in a lot of world myths, including Greek mythology and the trials of Heracles
- "The Stag stands for solitary nobility, honour and a strong commitment to the protection of their herd. The Stag is a symbol of protection and sexuality. They are extremely devoted to the care, and creation, of children. Stags focus on the balance of law and are rigid in their thinking on the issues of justice"
- "Just like they lead heroes to other worlds in many myths, deer can lure a person to new adventures, which are often an opportunity to gain more wisdom"
- "Glucosamine in [deer antler velvet] slowly decreases the pain of arthritis by rebuilding cartilage and significantly reducing joint swelling thus increasing mobility. It is a natural source of anti-inflammatory agents with the added effects of collagen, which lubricates and helps repair joints"
Stags and Yggdrasil
- "Ancient Norse mythology tells how 4 stags browse the foliage of the world-tree Yggdrasil, in this manner eating away the buds (hours), blossoms (days) and branches (seasons)"
- "Their names are: Dain, Dvalin, Duneyr, Durathor. These four stags have been thought to represent the four winds"
- These stags are RED DEER!
Hare
- Symbolises: rebirth, rejuvenation, resurrection, intuition, balance, fertility, fire, madness, transformation
- Dream meanings: "the hare can be a symbol of the trickster who effects transformation";
- A sitting hare in a dream means that a good decision has been made
- "Hare is interpreted in general as a symbol of fertility - this can refer to the sexual power and erotic adventures, but point also to the spiritual activity or the soul life"
- "A lunar animal of the fertility and renewal of the life"
- "The symbol of the moon gazing hare is almost universal meaning fertility and dates back to ancient times"; "The moon-gazing hare was especially important to early Britons"
- "seeing a moon gazing hare would bring growth, re-birth, abundance, new beginnings and good fortune"
- "Boudicca was said to have released a hare as a good omen before each battle and to divine the outcome of battle by the hare's movements"
- "In Cambridgeshire a hare running through the streets is a sign that a fire is about to break out" - haha! Not relevant to my visions, but local so it interested me.
There is also the Three Hares symbol that often appears on churches - three hares sharing three ears, all chasing each other in an eternal circle. Apparantly no one really knows what this means. It's thought to be German in origin (can I suspect Saxon...?). Christian explanation is that it represents the Holy Trinity.
Yggdrasil as a Yew tree
- Dream meanings: "If you dream of the yew tree then this indicates that you are likely to encounter some disappointment or illness in the future"; "To admire the yew tree generally indicates that you are going to have to deal with a sad event in your family"
- "the Yew is associated with immortality, renewal, regeneration, everlasting life, rebirth, transformation and access to the Otherworld and our ancestors"
- "The Yew is considered to be the most potent tree for protection against evil, a means of connecting to your ancestors, a bringer of dreams and otherworld journeys and a symbol of the old magic"
- In Ogham: the yew means "Transference, Passage, Illusion"
- "yew was one of the nine sacred trees for kindling Beltane fires" - and yes, you guessed it, Beltane is of course a fertility festival...
Tl;dr - basically I am/am going to experiance a metaphorical rebirth, regeneration, transformation etc. etc. There is also a distressing amount of fertility nonsense. I'm hoping this just means sexual awakening, which would make more sense, rather than ... you know ... actual fertility. Ee.
Also, how bizarre is it that these things fit so well together? The stags/Yggdrasil thing in particular blows my mind.
Edit: glenatron has just pointed out that moon knowledge is also wisdom, which ties the hare in with the stags ... so added to my metaphorical and fertile rebirth, I believe I will finally stop being a thickie, too! :D