Predators — griffins, eagles, wolves, snow leopards — appear attacking prey: deer, horses, mountain goats.

These predator-prey interactions are not simply violent; they represent a dynamic relationship between different categories of being, a visual statement about power and transformation.

The hybrid creatures — the griffin-deer combination on the Ice Maiden’s shoulder, and many other variants across the Pazyryk corpus — combine elements of multiple animals in a single form.

These hybrids may represent spiritual beings that partake of multiple natures simultaneously: not a deer and a griffin in the same space, but a creature that is essentially both.

In the context of shamanic traditions, such hybrid beings are often associated with spirit guides or spirit helpers — entities that exist in the spiritual dimensions that a shaman can access and that can assist in spiritual work.