#anything cryptid seems so deeply bound with the aspect of a deer

[hastalavistabyebye]

I was wondering, why do we use deer iconography so often to depict cryptids and gods and monsters of the wilderness ?

Well first of, it's based on western imagination, culture and lore of course. This plays obviously a major part of it but why ? Why a deer ?

By the way, deer presence in folklore and everything is old, like very old, and common to lots of cultures. Its antlers renewal is associated with rebirth and life and death cycle. And globally deers are seen as a link with the supernatural. What I'm trying to theorise is why, and maybe why still today.

So let's start.

First, the wilderness pictured is the one of nature. The nature untouched, undomesticable by humans. The savage nature, the wild nature. And what is a wild nature in western biome ? The forest. It's the wild element of the western landscape. It's a huge part of folklore because its darkness and density is home of so many creatures and dangers. You can get lost in it, easily. You hold no power in the Forest, etc, etc. The forest is the best way to start a tale isn't it ? Anyway, that's the first point : magic and secrecy, everything cryptid and other fairies and land monsters, are linked to the Forest. 

And what do we find in a forest ? Well lots of things (and I'm only speaking about wildlife here, so not vegetation). Bears, wild boars, lots of different birds with a lot of variety, rabbits, wolfs and foxes... And of course deers.

So why deers and deer-particularities specifically are so much used and appreciated ? There is so many other animals to use ! So here is what I think, and it's really is just an idea, a simple take on the matter :

Deers are beautiful creatures. They are majestic, mighty. They're also skittish and fast. Finding a deer is hard. This two points put them in two cases of common imagination. 

They are regal : it puts them in a "king of the Forest" sort of position. Especially since their antlers are associated with royalty. It's the symbol of a good hunter and who liked to hunt ? Kings. So yeah, they're heavily associated with royalty and power, must it be as a symbol or because of their appearance and grace.

They are hard to meet and good at hiding : it put them in the "supernatural" case, the fantastic aspect of the Forest. Here and not here. Watching you but impossible to see. As if they were at two places at once. Present but never where you look. 

So that's already two aspects in their favour for being associated to a godlike creature of the Forest.

But there is also something else. Because a bear or a wolf could have similarities in a way or the other. So deers have something else.

They are dangerous but not carnivorous. They are a prey, not a danger for the Forest. Not a danger for the Forest inhabitants. A danger for us. And where does this come from ? Easy : the deer's slab. You hear them from far away, they are noisy like all hell. And it is kind of terrifying. Plus they're also fighting. And it will be dangerous if you get too close because they will attack. Not to eat. Not because they're hurt or because of their instincts specifically. It practically feels like they are angry at you (because it does sound like they are angry at something or each other or well you know anything and everything really, deer's slabs are impressive as hell). And so they can be seen as forces you should not mess with. Forces that will only attack each other or invaders of their territory, protectors.

Mighty, very hard to find, protectors living in the Forest. Oh and very easily identified thanks to their unmistakable antlers.

It's in fact no wonder why deer iconography is so used to depict the Forest (and wilderness at large) dangers, secrets and power.

#i would like to remark that i am very very far from a folklore specialist #i was just wandering about an aspect of our common imagination #and it might be nice to know that there is no word which means exactly “cryptid” in my native language #so there is still a bit to learn about its nuances on my part #but anyway i find it so interesting how we use this symbol to depict a specific thing #anything cryptid seems so deeply bound with the aspect of a deer #i think it's awesome #hasta rambles #or more like wonder aloud about some very specific thing for no other reason than curiosity #thanks for coming to my ted talk #i had a blast thinking about it all #cryptidcore #cryptid #goblincore #monstercore #iconography in pop culture #hi tumbler void