Oct 11, 2020

DESIGN | Symbolism | Stag

All my work is packed with symbolism, whether it be hidden or in a more obvious form.

Here is one that you will find in my art.

| STAG |

| Zodiac sign of stag/deer (December 24 - January 20) | Element: Earth | Planet: Saturn |

• In the ancient world the stag was held as a magical and sacred animal.

• The stag is a symbol of strength in countless cultures, legends and myth throughout history and across the globe.

Words associated with the stag are;

Noble

Driven

Strategic

Sensitive

Confident

Way-Maker

Perceptive

Successful

Thoughtful

Self-Reliant

Leadership

Responsible

Over-achiever

• The pagan god Pan, had the hooves and headdress of a stag.

• The stag represents the sun in many cultures , e.g. The Hopi Indians, cut the image of their sun god, from deer skin. Antlers resemble expanding rays of the sun.

• The early Swiss buried stags alongside the humans and horses.

• A white stag signifies the spirit world. In Celtic myths, a white Stag was considered a message of divine importance.

• In Arthurian legends, the white stag’s appearance would herald the start of a knights quest.

• In China, the stag is a symbols of Shou-hsien (god of immortality) ¬

• The stag is said to have healing powers. It is sometimes depicted with an arrow placed in its side, with healing herbs in its mouth. It said that a stag has great knowledge of the forest healing plants and herbs.

• A stag can apparently kill serpents, thus symbolising the triumph of good over evil.

• Because the stag hunted to be used in a sacrifice it became the emblem if Christ (seen with a cross between the antlers)

• The stag is associated with the masculine , male sexuality and virility, swift action, sensitivity, courageous fighter, defensive, the sun, the world tree, re birth and renewal.

• Stags grow antlers in the Spring (symbolic of birth, renewal, the return of life), and fall off in the Fall (symbolic of death, introspection and hibernation).¬¬¬

• Antlers are symbolic of age (wisdom), elitism and superiority