On Deer Yoni:
There is a book called "The Hidden Life of Animals" by Peter Wohlleben with little passages about his observations of the animal life.
I came across the chapter called "grief" and it was about deers. He says that the male deers were violent and hostile by the age 2, the age they mature, and they leave the rest of the family to go on their own. He says that this approach is also true for the adopted families. People who take care of male deers while they are mere babies, are subjected to the violence of the male deer when they grow up. He relates this to the male deers seeing everyone, especially their own family, as rivals, competitors and they instinctually act hostile towards them to eliminate competition.
About the female deers, he says that the family is a matrionly hierarchy. The leader of the family is a female deer who has instincts that the others trust. She has to be a mother, because a leader is one who has proven that they can take on another's burden on top of theirs, and a mother who does it well is already a leader. But to be the leader of the family, usually it has to be one of the older female deers, more experienced, one who knows the area, the dangers and therefore doesn't spook easily/unnecessarily, only when the danger perceived is an accurate one. And that requires lived experience.
I found that it was an interesting insight on the nature of deers therefore the deer yonis. Male deers are quite similar to the jyeshtas who are hostile and competitive. Though I do wonder, if the wisdom of experience is transferred mostly through family life in female deers, they would be much more wiser than the male deers who mostly discover the wisdom on their own with each generation. The male deers' life story seems like a loop whereas the female deers life story seems like a tree ever-branching and deepening it's roots. This would also bring some sense to the "eldest one" label of the jyeshta nakshatras if it were also observed in male deers. It got me a little confused.
There was an even more tragic part to the observation the writer had. The female leader who has lost her child, would also be lost by grief herself. She would be distracted, due to visiting the child's grave and the pain of loss, and would no longer be depended on or seen fit for leading the family. All the while still belonging in the family. What is worse is, if the female leader dies before her child, her child won't be adopted by anyone. And apparently there is in fact an adoption culture among deers, yet the welcome is not extended to the child of the leader who has died. On the contrary the child would be badly treated and ostracized. I still am confused on this matter and horrified by the ruthlessness. I am confused about the male deer nature too, I have to learn more about how they live their life, I wonder if their wandering around makes for some sort of territorial marking for other animals and maybe protects the family in a nondirect way.
I thought it was interesting to see the Anuradha-Jyeshta nakshatras through these lenses. Anuradha's loyalty, dependability, wisdom and Jyeshta's hostility, dislike of communal/family life could be seen through these animals' way of living.
