Symbol Dictionary: Animals D-E
Deer: “Universally a symbol of swiftness, agility, gentleness and timidity,” according to Symbolic And Mythological Animals (1992) by J. C. Cooper. The deer has been associated with the Moon Goddesses Artemis, Aphrodite, Athene and Diana, as well as Apollo, and Vayu, the Vedic God of the Wind. In China the deer represented high rank, official success, and wealth. Celtics believed deer took souls to the underworld and they were a totem animal of the Indigenous Americans.
Dog: The dog has been the companion of humans before history was recorded. In mythology, the dog appears at the side of the Goddess, guarding the entrance to her after-world, which is reflected in card number 18 of the Tarot deck, two dogs howling at the full moon. According to The Woman’s Encyclopedia Of Myths And Secrets (1983), by Barbara Walker, “Nearly everywhere one can still find the belief that dogs can see ghosts and other spirits, left over from the formerly universal association of canines with the world of death and the special preserve of the underground Goddess.” The Three-headed hound Cerberus guarded the gates for Hecate, the death-goddess, according to myths. The Celtic gatekeeper was a dog named Dormarth or Death’s Door. The Egyptian Anubis, god of the gateways and of mummification, is one of the oldest God-Dogs and known as the “Opener of the Way” and been associated with Sirius, the Dog Star (also the star the three wise men followed to find the Christ child). Anubis traveled to Christianity and became associated with Gabriel as judge of the dead. Romans worshipped Anubis, as well as other dog deities as keeper of the Great Mother’s gate and guardian of the household and women. The Roman cult Goddess took the form of the She-wolf Lupa, who suckled Romulus and Remus. Diana the Huntress was said to have a dog companion, and dogs are often considered witch’s familiars. As the Great Bitch, the dog was sacred to in Indo-European goddess Sarama, the Roman Goddess Lupa, the Wolf Bitch, and Artemis/Diana as the hunting dogs alani. See Anubis.
Dolphin: “The ‘King of Fishes’ is pre-eminently the symbol of seapower and, as ‘the arrow of the sea,’ it is swiftness,” according to Symbolic And Mythological Animals (1992) by J. C. Cooper. The dolphin is associated with Apollo and is depicted on the walls of his temple at Delphi. It is associated with Astarte and with Ishtar, as well as Isis. From Symbols Of Church Seasons And Days (1997), by John Bradner, “With pagans the dolphin had become a popular symbol of salvation and immortality before Christians took it over for use in the Catacombs.”
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Dragon: From the Greek work for Serpent, dragons appear in mythology both east and west. Generally considered benevolent in Eastern mythology, Dragons tend to represent good fortune, thunder, or wisdom, according to Rowena and Rupert Shepherd in their book 1000 Symbols: What Shapes Mean In Art And Myth (2002). In the West however, they are often depicted as fire-breathing, human-sacrifice demanding, living in caves piled with treasure. This Philistine sea God took the shape of a merman, fish-man, or serpent-man and was the God of farming and fishing. The Woman’s Encyclopedia Of Myths And Secrets (1983), by Barbara Walker says, “On account of the bad publicity given him in the Bible, he naturally became a leading demon of the Christian hell. See UMS Astrology Basics course. Chinese Dragon. |
Elk: “Amerindian and Siberian symbol of stamina and strength, the warrior energy, supernatural power, the whirlwind,” according to Symbolic And Mythological Animals (1992) by J. C. Cooper. The Elk is the totem animal of the Omahas.