Divination: Deer Medicine - Learning How to Walk in Alignment with the Season’s Stillness

By Melanie Paquette

Recently, I was driving home from the Ninth Wave Arts space, and I hit a deer.

It was late at night, very dark, and I was coming around a corner with limited visibility. As I rounded the corner, two deer were standing in the middle of my lane. I hit the brakes and tried to steer enough to avoid the deer and not put myself at risk of driving into the ditch or potentially hitting another car. One of the deer ran into the ditch and then into the field beyond, but the other seemed to head in the direction that I steered, and I hit it.

It stumbled and fell, and then made its way to the ditch at the side of the road, and stayed there.

I was devastated. 

I’ve been driving for almost 40 years, and I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve hit an animal. I’ve been sad every time, but the experience with this deer was beyond sadness.

I pulled over, got out of my car, and stood at the side of the road, speaking to the deer.

The night was so dark, and so still. There were no other cars, no streetlights, no nearby houses or buildings. Just the stillness of the night, me, and the deer. I stood and spoke to her. I told her how sorry I was for hurting her. How I hoped she understood that I would never deliberately do her harm. How I appreciated her grace and beauty, even as she sat injured in a ditch on the side of a road. As I spoke to the deer, her behaviour shifted from struggling to get away from a threatening human in her injured state to a quiet stillness.

Her dark eyes locked with mine – for an instant I thought she might be seeing into my soul. 

It felt like time paused as I stood and spoke to the deer. Even though my remorse over hurting this beautiful creature was almost palpable and my adrenaline was high, everything around me seemed to slow down, and I felt present with the land, the deer, and the season. It seemed like a very long time, and yet I’m sure it was probably not more than a few minutes. 

After some time, I started hearing a loud, echoing, clanging sound – as if someone was hitting a metal pole with a hammer. The sound seemed to be coming from all directions – I couldn’t figure out what was causing it. The noise broke both the deer and me out of our connectedness. At that point, she made her way out of the ditch into the field beyond, and I could no longer see her.

It was as if the noise served to break the connection and bring us both back to reality.

I proceeded with the practical things – checking the car for damage and driving home since the vehicle was still drivable.

I still don’t know whether the deer was just winded and recovered from the encounter, whether she suffered for some period of time before succumbing to her injuries, or perhaps if a coyote pack found her and was nourished. I suppose I will never truly know. 

In the time that’s passed since that night,  I’ve reflected on how to integrate this experience. This time in cycle is a threshold – a time in between times. A time of stillness, of waiting. A time that can be uncomfortable because it cannot be clearly defined.

I started to wonder, “how can I walk more fully in alignment with the stillness of the cycle?”

The deer was a messenger of the land; one who stepped into my path to teach me a lesson. She left behind a few small pieces of her fur in cracks created in my bumper. I was reminded by those wiser than I am that the deer has offered me her medicine. I collected the pieces of fur she left behind, put them in a vial, and placed it on my ancestor altar to honour her gift. 

Deer medicine carries the message of gentleness, grace, and quiet strength – all things that resonate deeply with walking in alignment with stillness.

I was reminded of the fragility of life and how quickly circumstances can change. Of the need to pay attention, and walk through the world with care. I learned the importance of pausing to honour and acknowledge the outcome of my actions – no matter whether the actions were intentional or not and the outcomes were “good” or “bad”. I was once again offered the opportunity to realize that I must release guilt and heaviness to integrate the lessons offered and move forward with greater awareness.

This experience was both devastating and profound for me – honestly, I’m still processing it.

So this month’s divination honours the deer’s gift to me, with the question “What does this encounter with the deer have to teach me about walking in alignment with the stillness of cycle?” 

I’m using Elder Futhark runes for this reading. The Elder Futhark runic alphabet dates to the first century AD and was used by Germanic peoples for about nine centuries. Runes can be made with almost any material – stones, wood, clay, metal, even paper. I’ve chosen wood runes for this reading to be resonant with the environment where deer live – the forest. 

Runes can be read in many different ways – in this case, I’m doing a 3 rune reading – similar to a tarot or oracle card reading.

The first rune provides guidance on the question “what does this encounter ask me to release?” It seems significant that as I removed the runes from the bag, one fell and landed on the floor, right near the feet of my cat Star, who was sitting near my feet.

That rune is Isa ( ᛁ ) which means ice, and represents stillness.

It would be really tempting to interpret this literally – that I should release stillness and leap into action, but I had to mine a little deeper. Isa reminds us that some situations cannot be changed – its stillness is a message to release the need for quick resolution and acknowledge the discomfort of standing on the side of the road, unable to help. To release any resistance to sitting in stillness and allow lessons to unfold naturally. It also serves as a reminder to reflect on what can cause us to freeze and find ways to release that. In this case, guilt – which if held too tightly, can stop us in our tracks and prevent us from learning and moving forward. In my case, that means acknowledging that my remorse and reverence were genuine and that the experience was part of the greater flow of cycle – not something I could control.

The second rune provides insight to the question “what wisdom does this stillness offer?” Interestingly, once again, as I attempted to draw a rune, one fell to the floor at the feet of my cat Star.

Fehu ( ᚠ ), which means cattle, and represents abundance.

Fehu carries the message that even a moment that is steeped in sorrow and regret holds inner wealth – it brings a gift of reflection and connection. It reminds us that abundance is not always material but can be found in the depth of emotions, in the quiet exchanges between beings, and the lessons that ripple from a single event. It also speaks to the energy of giving and receiving. Fehu’s wisdom here has already become apparent to me, in multiple ways. The strands of hair the deer left behind are a tangible offering of its medicine. A reminder that even in painful encounters, there can be a sacred exchange. The ancient Germanic people knew that wealth only mattered if it was shared – hoarding wealth was frowned upon. It was to be distributed among family and community. I shared my experience with members of the Ninth Wave Arts community, even though I was worried (needlessly) that I would be blamed for being careless. Instead, I received gifts of compassion, understanding, and love, reminding me again of how beautiful the experience of being in community can be, and how it feels to hold, and be held, through all of life’s experiences.

The third and final rune answers the question “how can I carry this wisdom forward?” This time, the rune didn’t fall at my cat’s feet, but slipped through my fingers onto the table.

Raidho ( ᚱ ), which means wheel and represents a journey, hit the table.

Raidho urges us to align with the natural flow of life and the lessons it offers. It reminds me that the wisdom gained from the encounter with the deer is not meant to stay fixed in a moment, but that it is part of the greater journey of life. The message is to integrate the experience and walk forward with a conscious connection to the rhythms of nature. To move with intention, be deliberate, and honour stillness. And ultimately, it’s a reminder that in any journey, we can’t always know ahead of time what each step will bring. Even the most carefully laid plans can be disrupted. Part of being on the journey means trusting the path, the process, and my ability to navigate it. 

Bringing it all together, Isa gave the message to release resistance to stillness, Fehu revealed the abundance that lives within stillness, and the richness of sharing that abundance with community, and Raidho speaks of the need to move forward, carrying the lessons with intention. Align with cycle, walk gently and purposefully, and trust in the unfolding rhythm of the journey.

While this reading was personal, I feel a pull that tells me that the messages will resonate with many who read this. For those inclined to spend more time with this, consider reflecting on your own encounters with nature at this threshold time, and what lessons they carry. What moments of stillness have stopped you in your tracks recently? What gifts or messages might nature be offering you? How can you honour the balance of giving and receiving in your interactions with the natural world?

Explore these questions using a divination method of your choice – something connected with the natural world would be ideal. Choose a crystal to look at and see what patterns it reveals, use a set runes made of wood, stone, or bone, look for messages in the fallen leaves and twigs, listen to the sounds of the trees, birds, and critters for the messages they have to offer. Use a tarot or oracle deck that connects to nature – The Wildwood Tarot or the Wild Unknown Tarot are great choices, as is any animal oracle deck. Journal what comes up for you. The gifts of the in-between are waiting – you just need to accept them.

Thank you for allowing me to share this story with you. I hope that you receive as much beauty from this deer medicine as I have, and would love to hear your experiences as you move through the stillness of this threshold time.

P.S. The image that accompanies this article includes a bindrune that incorporates all of the individual runes from the reading into a single sigil that carries the potency of the entire reading. Bindrunes create an extra layer of magic because in creating the bind, additional runes will be revealed, enhancing the power of the individual runes. You can print or copy the bindrune onto paper to use in meditation, carve it into a candle, or even write it on your skin to remind you to walk in alignment with the stillness of cycle.

Melanie hosts workshops and offers Tarot readings. Check out her offerings on our website.