Horse Worship

Riders take to the trail from Horn Rapids Park on a 50-mile endurance ride through grueling shrub steppe habitat.

In view of the controversy over the over-population of horses in the American West I think
it is a good time to renew the human association with the mammal that has one toe: Equus.
Are they feral because they are not broken to the saddle and roam untethered?

What a study the horse is! Riding. Racing. Plowing. Breeding. Companionship. Pleasure. Excitement. Profit. How long have humans been in love with the horse? Probably forever. There was a horse goddess. Her awesome power perhaps led to our present distinction of dreams as night mares. In ancient mythology a sun goddess was always present. The symbol was a circle with radiating rays of light and heat. The sun was conquered by some Hercules figure. The winged horse, Pegasus, was born from her blood. When the patriarchy took power the sun goddess was changed to an offensive female by changing the rays to snakes relating to original sin of the Garden of Eden fairy tale known as The Holy Bible. Goddesses were replaced but horse worship continued. In the fifteenth century Pope Calixtus III decreed that no more religious ceremonies should be held in "the cave with the horse pictures." Ancient pagan horse worship co-existed with Christianity well into the twelfth century. Traces of horse sacrifices persisted in England up to the sixteenth century when it was still customary for all horses to be bled for luck on St. Stephen's Day, the day after Christmas. Some anthropologists make a connection of the horse hoof print to the Greek quintessence, Omega, which is a notion discounted by others. The imprint of a horseshoe on a man's upturned behind would indicate a connection to luck of a different sort. The concept of luck coming from horses is evident in the use of horse shoes hung above doors in various parts of the world as an emblem of luck. Although correctly hung as a "U" to hold luck, the symbolic purpose has been forgotten because we more often see horseshoes hung upside down still in the expectation that what the door leads to will be luck. When there is an unused horse shoe laying around why not hang it up? Any which way - just put it to some use. Maybe it will change your luck. Naomi Sherer   Send mail to Webmaster regarding any questions or comments about this web site. Copyright © 1997 - 2010 - Salmon River Gazette - All Rights Reserved Last Modified: Sunday, 20-Mar-2011 19:29:35 EDT

 

What a study the horse is! Riding. Racing. Plowing. Breeding. Companionship. Pleasure. Excitement. Profit.

How long have humans been in love with the horse? Probably forever. There was a horse goddess. Her awesome power perhaps led to our present distinction of dreams as night mares.

In ancient mythology a sun goddess was always present. The symbol was a circle with radiating rays of light and heat. The sun was conquered by some Hercules figure. The winged horse, Pegasus, was born from her blood. When the patriarchy took power the sun goddess was changed to an offensive female by changing the rays to snakes relating to original sin of the Garden of Eden fairy tale known as The Holy Bible. Goddesses were replaced but horse worship continued.

In the fifteenth century Pope Calixtus III decreed that no more religious ceremonies should be held in "the cave with the horse pictures." Ancient pagan horse worship co-existed with Christianity well into the twelfth century. Traces of horse sacrifices persisted in England up to the sixteenth century when it was still customary for all horses to be bled for luck on St. Stephen's Day, the day after Christmas.

Some anthropologists make a connection of the horse hoof print to the Greek quintessence, Omega, which is a notion discounted by others. The imprint of a horseshoe on a man's upturned behind would indicate a connection to luck of a different sort.

The concept of luck coming from horses is evident in the use of horse shoes hung above doors in various parts of the world as an emblem of luck. Although correctly hung as a "U" to hold luck, the symbolic purpose has been forgotten because we more often see horseshoes hung upside down still in the expectation that what the door leads to will be luck. When there is an unused horse shoe laying around why not hang it up? Any which way - just put it to some use. Maybe it will change your luck. Naomi Sherer

Send mail to Webmaster regarding any questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 1997 - 2010 - Salmon River Gazette - All Rights Reserved