Rudolf was probably a girl (the biggest, strongest reindeer are females who, unlike the males, don’t shed their antlers in winter)…Santa too (it was the female shamans who originally wore red and white costumes trimmed with fur, horned headdresses or felt red hats)….and the familiar image of them flying together through the skies the sun goddess dragging the light of the sun into the new year beyond the Solstice…just saying! (For source, see article Doe A Deer, A Female Deer – thank you to Gather Victoria for this wonderful information).

I shared a version of this article, about this very long-running reindeer tradition underlying our modern culture across so much of the northern landmass, a couple of years ago and it continues to garner a lot of interest (though the link to the original article seems to have become broken so I wanted to reshare). My original interest grew out of my deep fascination with the Elen of the Ways culture because I continue to feel associated with it in some very personal ways that also feel so profoundly related to the goddess culture that has been “lost” and is ripe to be remembered at this time in our collective story (pick up one of the few books on this topic and discover how stories of Elen weave across much of Europe, Scandinavia, Russia…speaking of a lost matriarchal culture that once linked us all beyond any geographical boundaries, living with complete respect for the earth…we could use spadefuls of that right now). This latest post is right on theme, and very topical given the season, so I thought I would share as food for thought on this day steeped in patriarchal traditions…with a view to redressing the balance just a little.

Here’s the linked video included in the article.

Here’s that fascinating article again – Doe a Deer, A Female Deer from Gather Victoria.

Recommended reading Finding Elen: The Quest for Elen of the Ways – Caroline Wise