My dolls are born on the thresholds, one foot in this world and a foot in the otherworld.
As I create a doll and build up the layers of wool and fabric I am also digging down to her bones, hearing her stories of her people and the landscape.
The inspiration for this doll was born in a time of ice, a time when great herds of reindeer were able to cross from mainland Europe across to Britain. She was there with her people guiding them as they tracked the reindeer.
The female reindeer, like the male, grows antlers. She is the leader of the herd, following the ancestral deer paths over the land that her mother led the herd on and her mother before that – stretching back thousands of years.
There is an ancient connection between women who led her people and these female reindeer – one which has been honored and respected. The wise women of these clans were the women who went into trance to contact this Great Mother of the herds to ask for a sign of where to find the herds and in ritual gave thanks for using them for food, shelter, for sacred objects and clothing.
Even today many women see the wisdom in this great Mother of the Herds, they search out her knowledge, dream of their foremother’s rituals and ceremonies.
Our spiritual journeys, too, take us through bogs of unconsciousness. We too must pass through raging rivers of grief, tread carefully over areas of icy despair, cross craggy ravines that reflect our terror of the unknown, and face feared enemies that threaten to devour us, like hungry wolf packs. As the earthly reindeer struggles to dig up grass and lichen for food to fuel her journey, so we must strive to find what nutures our spirit’.
Linda Schierse Leonard. Creation’s Heartbeat. Following the Reindeer Spirit.
It is not hard today to lose hope, to be overwhelmed by all that is unfolding and sink into despair and apathy. Wherever you are in the world we can be inspired by the Wise Woman who led her people and when they lost the herd it was she, She Who Runs WIth the Herd that moved into the threshold, shapeshifted into deer and ran through the snowfields of the otherworld to find the herd. Once she found them she ran with the reindeer, body running with body, heels clicking in the noise they make which allows them to hear where each reindeer is. She runs with them through valley, through forest recognizing both the reindeer and the terrain so she can return to her people and know which path to take.
Transforming hopelessness into faith requires digging into the depths of the soul, just as the reindeer must dig deep in the snow for lichen
Linda Schierse Leonard. Creation’s Heartbeat. Following the Reindeer Spirit.
Yet running with the herd also allows you to dig deep for what is required to nourish your soul. To find that much-needed magic, the fodder that feeds the soul for this dark journey offers a rebirth of the soul.
Click on the file below to take this journey to run with the herd. Perhaps take some time before you make the journey – consider your intention for your journey. Take some time to journey alone and keep a journal and pen by your side to record any insights or inspirations.
(Meet Mago Contributor) Jude Lally