Re: Yesterday a deer walked right up to me. Is this a sign?
I know that this thread is a few months old, so I hope no one minds me resurrecting it, but I find the topic of signs and how people interpret them and notice them to be interesting.
I can relate to the OP since I also believe I experienced a sign that was from a deer. Since I worship The Huntress, it wasn't surprising in hindsight that the sign would come from that animal. I've been a polytheist for a very long time, perhaps 10 or 11 years, and I only believe I experienced one sign so far. So although I believe in signs, I don't believe they are frequent (in my humble opinion), so I think people should be wary of assuming everything out-of-the-ordinary (or every coincidence) is a sign. Something that comes along with being religious and spiritual is the fact that many of us can be inclined towards wishful thinking and looking for meaning in life events that corresponds or reinforces our beliefs.
From where I used to grow up, I was exposed to many deer, seeing one was not out of the ordinary for me. So I definitely did not think every deer I saw was a sign, they were as common as rabbits and squirrels. I had some interesting encounters with deer. I remember seeing a buck/stag for the first time (I rarely saw them) when I was walking on a forest trail, he ran directly across my path (total shock moment, the dude came out of bloody nowhere!), and he looked back at me for quite awhile and it was a lovely and intense experience. Another time I remember walking, and almost colliding with a deer head-on as she came out from behind a tree, another out of the ordinary experience. Another time, in a park, I came across a baby fawn, and he cautiously approached me, and it was sweet and one of a kind encounter.
Although all those experiences were the out-of-the-ordinary ones, like the unique experience the OP had, I did not consider any of them signs. Of course, the thought past my mind, "is this a sign? This is a unique experience with my goddess' form", I eventually discarded it. The reason being, I felt a lot of wonder and awe at these experiences, but when I thought about it, I didn't feel or detect any spiritual revelation from them. In short, they were simply awesome and unique encounters.
The sign I believe I did have, was actually, not a unique one. I was driving down a road on a bus, we were going slowly, and there was a deer on the side of the road. A very common experience for that area. It seemed like I locked eyes with the deer, and it turned it's head slowly and followed me. Again, not physically significant at all. But it was the feeling I had when it happened, that was remarkable. Time seemed to completely stop. It seemed like time just froze, I didn't even feel like the bus was still moving. And when I looked in it's eyes, it didn't feel like a regular deer was looking at me, I felt this deep heavy gut feeling that it was The Huntress looking out at me (at that time, I wasn't even a full polytheist, so I wasn't exactly expecting this). I couldn't breathe, it was such an intense and unexpected feeling. And it haunted me for days afterward (actually, haunts me still when I remember). And through those next few days, I experienced a spiritual revelation. And I became a dedicated polytheist since. I almost felt like a hard slap in the face by the goddess, trying to get my attention.
I've had other strange animal experiences. I remember a huge eagle that landed in front of my car and just eyed me like a piece of meat for 10 minutes. I wondered, "is this a sign?" but I ruled it out, since I didn't feel anything. I couldn't even discern what sort of god might have sent a sign like that, so I dismissed it as a cool experience.
Guess what I'm getting at, is that when it comes to signs, I personally believe it's all about the feeling you get. If you're stuck there wondering "is this a sign?", then it probably wasn't. It was most likely a cool and awesome experience, or a creepy coincidence, and since we are religious people, we tend to have wishful thinking and look for confirmation of our beliefs. If something is a sign, I think you should be able to know right away. My experience hit me in the gut, and it was an immediate recognition of a spiritual experience, and I noticed what She was trying to say to me. I didn't doubt it in the slightest.
These are just my personal thoughts on the topic. Perhaps other people believe they experience more signs from their gods. But mine are scarce. I'd venture that it is probably because nowadays I open myself up to any communication with my gods, and meditate on it. When I got that sign, I believe it The Huntress trying to get my attention because I was closed off to Her.
I'm also a very rational person though. And I'm fully aware of the possibility that my sign could just have been a psychological phenomena. But I don't use that to discount it. Whether or not it was a sign from a goddess I believe in, or whether it was my mind trying to subconsciously communicate something to me, it gave me the same positive outcome.
I'm really interested in hearing other people's experiences though with what signs they believe they had. I was too shy to make my own thread, so I hope the OP doesn't mind me digging this one up.
I know that this thread is a few months old, so I hope no one minds me resurrecting it, but I find the topic of signs and how people interpret them and notice them to be interesting.
I can relate to the OP since I also believe I experienced a sign that was from a deer. Since I worship The Huntress, it wasn't surprising in hindsight that the sign would come from that animal. I've been a polytheist for a very long time, perhaps 10 or 11 years, and I only believe I experienced one sign so far. So although I believe in signs, I don't believe they are frequent (in my humble opinion), so I think people should be wary of assuming everything out-of-the-ordinary (or every coincidence) is a sign. Something that comes along with being religious and spiritual is the fact that many of us can be inclined towards wishful thinking and looking for meaning in life events that corresponds or reinforces our beliefs.
From where I used to grow up, I was exposed to many deer, seeing one was not out of the ordinary for me. So I definitely did not think every deer I saw was a sign, they were as common as rabbits and squirrels. I had some interesting encounters with deer. I remember seeing a buck/stag for the first time (I rarely saw them) when I was walking on a forest trail, he ran directly across my path (total shock moment, the dude came out of bloody nowhere!), and he looked back at me for quite awhile and it was a lovely and intense experience. Another time I remember walking, and almost colliding with a deer head-on as she came out from behind a tree, another out of the ordinary experience. Another time, in a park, I came across a baby fawn, and he cautiously approached me, and it was sweet and one of a kind encounter.
Although all those experiences were the out-of-the-ordinary ones, like the unique experience the OP had, I did not consider any of them signs. Of course, the thought past my mind, "is this a sign? This is a unique experience with my goddess' form", I eventually discarded it. The reason being, I felt a lot of wonder and awe at these experiences, but when I thought about it, I didn't feel or detect any spiritual revelation from them. In short, they were simply awesome and unique encounters.
The sign I believe I did have, was actually, not a unique one. I was driving down a road on a bus, we were going slowly, and there was a deer on the side of the road. A very common experience for that area. It seemed like I locked eyes with the deer, and it turned it's head slowly and followed me. Again, not physically significant at all. But it was the feeling I had when it happened, that was remarkable. Time seemed to completely stop. It seemed like time just froze, I didn't even feel like the bus was still moving. And when I looked in it's eyes, it didn't feel like a regular deer was looking at me, I felt this deep heavy gut feeling that it was The Huntress looking out at me (at that time, I wasn't even a full polytheist, so I wasn't exactly expecting this). I couldn't breathe, it was such an intense and unexpected feeling. And it haunted me for days afterward (actually, haunts me still when I remember). And through those next few days, I experienced a spiritual revelation. And I became a dedicated polytheist since. I almost felt like a hard slap in the face by the goddess, trying to get my attention.
I've had other strange animal experiences. I remember a huge eagle that landed in front of my car and just eyed me like a piece of meat for 10 minutes. I wondered, "is this a sign?" but I ruled it out, since I didn't feel anything. I couldn't even discern what sort of god might have sent a sign like that, so I dismissed it as a cool experience.
Guess what I'm getting at, is that when it comes to signs, I personally believe it's all about the feeling you get. If you're stuck there wondering "is this a sign?", then it probably wasn't. It was most likely a cool and awesome experience, or a creepy coincidence, and since we are religious people, we tend to have wishful thinking and look for confirmation of our beliefs. If something is a sign, I think you should be able to know right away. My experience hit me in the gut, and it was an immediate recognition of a spiritual experience, and I noticed what She was trying to say to me. I didn't doubt it in the slightest.
These are just my personal thoughts on the topic. Perhaps other people believe they experience more signs from their gods. But mine are scarce. I'd venture that it is probably because nowadays I open myself up to any communication with my gods, and meditate on it. When I got that sign, I believe it The Huntress trying to get my attention because I was closed off to Her.
I'm also a very rational person though. And I'm fully aware of the possibility that my sign could just have been a psychological phenomena. But I don't use that to discount it. Whether or not it was a sign from a goddess I believe in, or whether it was my mind trying to subconsciously communicate something to me, it gave me the same positive outcome.
I'm really interested in hearing other people's experiences though with what signs they believe they had. I was too shy to make my own thread, so I hope the OP doesn't mind me digging this one up.
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