Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Two Deer Staring into My Headlights … by Delsora Lowe

 Spooky? Yes! Prophetic? Maybe!

Driving home, up Route One around 8 p.m., two deer walked right out in front of me…and stopped. Another vehicle was a few car lanes ahead of me, and no one was coming in the opposite direction. That vehicle was oblivious to my visitors emerging from the darkness. As, was I. Until the deer stood right in front of me and stared.

DEER – Photo or Image

It was as if they dropped from the sky.

I slammed on my brakes and swerved partially into the oncoming lane—the direction from which they came. The car’s front end was a hair’s length away from the 2nd deer’s back flanks. And yes, I cursed.

Neither deer fled. They stayed right where they stopped. I couldn’t really see the first deer well, but the deer I was inches from merely gazed at me. Like spirits in the night, their color was ghostly. Of course, my headlights were on. But they were shining behind the tail end of the last deer, aimed off toward the woods on the opposite side of the road. Of course, I rationalized, the side of my headlight must be shining on the deer.


They continued to stand just off to the passenger side, one gazing straight at me through the right side of the windshield.

Eerie.

Beautiful.

Spiritual

We stared at each other for at least a minute or two, maybe longer, as time seemed suspended. Then, minutes later, as though they had not a care in the world, they moseyed off, out of the glare of my headlights, I believe into the tree line along the edge of the road. But maybe they vanished into thin air, just like they had appeared. I prefer to believe I lost them in the woods. I sucked down a deep breath and pulled my car ahead and back into the northbound lane.

Then it hit me, that besides cussing in fear as I avoided them, my heartrate never rose, A sudden fright should have had my heart drumming in my chest. Strange. I never saw them off to the side of the road as the other car passed them. Why didn’t the other car and then my headlights scare them? Why did they seem to just appear out of nowhere, as if dropped from the sky? Then, after what seemed like a good chunk of time, they took a few steps and disappeared. All the way home, all I could focus on was why did that deer stared at me the entire time we faced each other—it’s gaze mesmerizing me? And why was my heartrate still steady?

I can still envision the ghostly shadows of the deer. Was it the angle of my headlights that made them seem ethereal and calm? Or were they really ghosts? Why did my heartrate not rise? Were the deer trying to tell me something?

When I returned home, I told my son. The few other people I told about this interaction said the same—that the long-ago natives of this country believed in the spirit of the deer. And a sighting, such as this, means something.

When I Googled this, the search mentioned, and I quote, “When a deer crosses your path, it is often regarded as a significant spiritual event with deep symbolism and profound meaning. The deer symbolizes purity, devotion, gentleness, and intuition. Seeing a deer may be an invitation to embrace these qualities in your spiritual journey and trust your inner wisdom and intuition.”

From an article entitled 17 Spiritual Meanings of Deer Crossing Your Path: Harness the Energy, I learned the deer sighting “can offer guidance, inspiration, and a deeper connection to the world around you.” They claim that the sighting is not random, but intentional. Meant as a message to the one they are appearing before.

Of course, I could think of no message or lesson learned from this experience as I moved through the following days and weeks. The vision of the immobile, ghostly deer, staring directly at me, still haunts. The miraculous notion that neither the deer nor I were injured, amazes me.

But when I look at the explanations in the article, I have to wonder…

Was the sighting a “beacon” to guide me through a difficult time or to emphasize my journey in life and give me greater understanding of where I am today? Or where I need to go, and how my actions will either affect me or guide me?

Below are the seventeen lessons listed in the article 17 Spiritual Meanings Of Deer Crossing Your Path: Harness The Energy. To paraphrase

1.      Guidance toward peace = seek serenity among the chaos

2.      Symbol of protection = protection from higher up

3.      Harbinger of good luck = a sign of upcoming fortunes or positive outcomes

4.      Call for Adventure = embrace changes and new adventures

5.      Reminder of fertility or new life = personal growth or new ideas and projects

6.      Spiritual Authority = protection from higher up

7.      Messenger of Unconditional Love = to give or receive

8.      Self-reflection = encouraging introspection and improvement

9.      Perseverance = keep moving forward

10.  Awakening to Psychic Abilities = a nudge to explore and develop intuitive skills

11.  Symbol of Regeneration = rebirth or the ability to renew oneself

12.  Embodying Gracefulness = learning to handle situations with ease and poise

13.  Indicator of Sacrifice = personal sacrifice for the greater good

14.  Humanity’s Fragility = reflection of actions & decisions and impact on the world

15.  Adaptability = a prompt to be more flexible and adaptable

16.  A Call to Natural Living = closer connections to nature & living a simpler, more organic lifestyle

17.  Beacon of Hope – a symbol of hope and encouragement to persist in challenging times.

I’m still not sure where the deer wished to lead me in thought or action.

Will I know what the message was when I see it? Or will the guidance they wished to bestow on me, just happen without my noticing?

Furthermore, do I believe in the supernatural? Do I believe some entity has bigger plans for my life than I have recognized? Should I obsess on these questions? Or let my life’s journey continue to unfold to surprise me? If I do the later, will I have missed a chance while on this earth to make a difference in my life or perhaps in someone else’s?

HAVE YOU EVER HAD AN ENCOUNTER THAT HAS NO EXPLANATION?


 Moonlighting (also in print as a collection: Starlight Grille)

Amazon

Books2Read

~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns, from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine (most recently, an Easter romance in the April 1, 2024 edition.) The Love Left Behind is a Hartford Estates, R.I. wedding novella with Book 2 on the way. A Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker – the youngest brother of the Mineral Spring’s ranching family) were the most recent releases. Look for book 3 of the cowboy’s series, as well as book 2 of the Hartford Estates series, to be released in 2025.

Author Links:

Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page:
https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe

Photo Credits:

Deer: Deer Silhouette Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures
Headlights: photo taken by blog author
Heartrate: heart-rate-icon-free-png.png (1920×1755)
Ghost: free clipart - ghost images free download - Search Images 
Hope, Peace, Faith free clipart spiritual images free - Search Images
Wondering: free clipart wondering images free - Search Images
Guidance: free clipart guidance images free - Search Images

9 comments:

Diana McCollum said...

Delsora,
I love your explanations of what it means to have a deer cross your path. As I've had quite a few deer cross my path living in the country, I'm wondering when I shall have an epiphany and know what the sighttings meant. I hope all is revealewd to you!!!

Sarah Raplee said...

HAVE YOU EVER HAD AN ENCOUNTER THAT HAS NO EXPLANATION? Yes, I have a number of times. For Example:
When I was pregnant with my daughter, I met my mother for lunch at a restaurant.After we were seated, she asked me out of the blue, "Guess what (a young couple she knew whose names I don't remember) bought for their new house?"

Without missing a beat or having a thought, I said, "A Coocoo Clock?"

My mom blinked in surprise. "How did you know?"

I had no idea.
I still have no idea.

Judith Ashley said...

As I read your post and the explanations and list and thought of you and your writing, your stories, your interaction with others, I see many of those messages manifest in your life. And yes, I've had life events that I've no explanation for.

Deb N said...

Diana - I have had many deer run across in front of me but never stop right in front of me - and just seem to appear out of nowhere. It was very eerie. I'm not sure if the answer has been revealed to me...yet!

Deb N said...

Sarah, I have had moments, where I knew what was going to happen and then it did - trying to think of examples but can't right now. My brain is in editing-a-novel mode - so no room to think about much else - HA!

Deb N said...

I assume, when the reason manifests itself, I might recognize it. But who knows. Oh, I remember one- I was driving down the highway and a car passed me in the left lane. My thought was - that car is going to get in an accident. And not because they were doing anything wrong. Just driving a bit faster than I was in the left lane. And sure enough, a few minutes later they had hit the back end of a truck. I've had others, but... Oh, and another - I woke up from a bizarre dream with my dad waving to me from a psychedelic-colored bus with no roof and wings, flying by, and filled with smiling people - I sat right up in bed, just as the phone rang. It was my sister telling me my dad had passed away. Whoa!

Paty Jager said...

I had an encounter when I was a teenager. I think it is why I write Native American characters. I was riding my horse bareback and I had on shorts and bare feet. I was up on a logging road on the mountain behind our house. Staring up at the light flashing through the leaves of the aspen trees, I was laying along my mare's back with my head on her rump. She flinched and moved sideways. I sat up to clench with my legs and stared the direction she'd shied from, thinking it was a cougar or a bear. But instead, I saw a warrior on a horse watching me. I blinked and he was gone. I remember that day vividly and my younger brother said he always felt something when he was in that grove of trees.

Anonymous said...

OMG - Paty - that gives me the shivers. My deer definitely looked ghostly, and seemed to appear out of nowhere. It just stared at me and finally walked off. But I never saw where it went, so it also seemed to vanish. Still trying to figure out what it was trying to tell me.

Deb said...

Whoops - anonymous above was me - Deb!