Celestial Deer

spirit-animal · Mongolia · Central Asia

The celestial deer of Mongolia is the leaping, antlered stag carved on the Bronze Age deer stones that stand across the northern steppe, monuments some three thousand years old. Scholars such as William Fitzhugh interpret these 'flying deer' as spirit beings that carry the souls of warriors and leaders toward the heavens, making the deer a creature of the upper world.

Open in the interactive archive →