User:SimBa698/Nine-horned deer

The nine-horned deer is an ancient Lithuanian mythological creature that carries celestial bodies (mostly the Moon, but also the Sun) in its antlers. There are 9 days from the pre-full moon to the full moon, hence the name nine-horned. Mentioned in archaic songs as an allegory to the position of the heavenly bodies.

It is said that the white deer runs away at the solstice and returns at Christmas. The winter solstice festival is also called the nine-horned deer festival. In some songs, the deer is also a symbol of the Sun, bringing the sun on its horns. It is also mentioned that the deer carries a deer on its antlers, an antler, and blacksmiths hammer on its antlers.

The deer symbol was most likely worshiped as a totem. Lithuanians considered deer as servants of God, they believed that deer can ward off diseases and protect people from floods. They were protected by guards in the alcoves. In the mythology of hunters that arose in the Stone Age in Eurasia, the deer personified the Universe, the sky, the Moon.


 * Apie magišką devyneto reikšmę ir devyniaragį
 * Elnio devyniaragio mitas