At Year's End

What does it mean to walk in a woods and come upon a deer?

And what if the deer is still, doesn't run away, looks in your eyes, as if attempting to communicate with you?

Pagan wisdom says the deer symbolizes graceful gentleness and sensitivity, in that they blend very well with their environment but are hyperaware of every sound or movement. Capable of being hidden in plain sight, they choose visibility to very few.

People with a kinship to deer, who have "deer medicine" are often described as being swift and alert. They are intuitive, often appearing to have well developed, even extrasensory, perceptions. Sometimes their thoughts seem to race ahead, and they appear not to be listening.

Just as the deer bounds from one place to another, a person with deer medicine often moves quickly from one situation to another, often never staying long enough in one place to get a "full meal," so much restless energy.

So time spent is valuable. A blessing bestowed, with meaning that comes later, if you're still and listen.

It seems to me a good omen ...