The motif of the white deer has haunted our arts and culture for millennia; however, until my book The White Deer: Ecospirituality & the Mythic was published earlier this year, it had not been subjected to comprehensive investigation. Drawing on interdisciplinary research, this  lecture will focus on what it means when these animals appear – both as living beings and as omens and mythic beings in our cultural representations – and what we might understand from encounters with them. 
 
When the white deer appears, it reminds us that we have confined ourselves inside stories that are too limiting and that we are over-taxing our ecosystem. This can be observed at the level of deer population genetics: for instance, roads, walls, and settlements can block gene flows, causing related animals to breed and express their recessive genes (e.g. leucism). Turning to the narrative and mythopoetic, traditional tales about white deer have much to say about balancing ecology and gender relations, as well as figuring in reflections on sovereignty, violence, and healing – themes that still resonate powerfully today. Melinda proposes that softening boundaries and becoming receptive to a living world where humans and other beings appear as a result of specific conditions and communicate through symbols and subtle messages is the way we may all help to heal the wasteland and bring it back to flourishing.
 
There will be time for Q & A at the end of the lecture, and PDF handouts will be emailed to attendees a the conclusoin of the class, that summarize its main themes and remind the audience that, de te fabula narratur: “the story is told about you." The handouts also contain suggestions for revitalizing degraded lands, and tips for connecting with the spirits of place and listening for messages that guide us to rewilding and healing the land and ourselves.
 
About the Presenter:
Melinda Reidinger holds a B.A. from Williams College in Art History and Literary Studies, and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in Cultural Anthropology. She was also a Fulbright scholar, and used to teach anthropology and sociology at a private university in Prague. Currently, she works as a freelance writer, translator and editor. Her interest in the occult goes back to her childhood, and she is a practicing hedge witch and devotee of both fayerie and classical cults. Both her fiction and nonfiction works explore themes that interweave her interest in ecology, healing arts, and occult lore and practices.
 
 
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