Creation’s Heartbeat: Following the Reindeer Spirit

In the Arctic, the “shamanic” peoples who live in accord with the rhythms of nature regard the reindeer as spiritual messengers. Traveling between heaven and earth, the reindeer transport the souls of the dead to rebirth in the spirit world and carry the shaman to the source of wisdom and healing for the community. The peoples of the North have a soul-relationship with the reindeer, live by its rhythms, and follow its annual migration to to give birth. At the same time, they depend on it for their livelihood and live in the paradox between soul and nature. “Reindeer Spirit” is a metaphor for an ancient feminine instinctual rhythm of soul that offers a path to the ecological and creative living needed by the modern world in its “Dark Night of the Soul.” This presentation will explore the challenges of reviving the Reindeer Spirit as a way to nourish the soul.