My husband and I were in the rural part of New Jersey a couple of months ago after dropping one of our sons off at college. We found ourselves riding behind a horse cart. The same evening, I was watching a television episode of Raising the Bar, the one where a man was taken into custody for beating his own horse. The event in question saw the owner hitting the horse, an act that many witnesses thought cruel. They and the police officer that was attacked during the incident believed the man to be heartless. But the judge knew horses. He knew the horse would not survive on his stomach and sympathized with the owner. A veterinarian testified in the horse owner’s behalf. The master was not being cruel. Rather, he was trying to save the horse’s life. The horse was affected by a medical problem and refused to stand up, causing his chest to be compressed. The owner was hitting the horse, but only to prompt him to stand in order to save his own life. Unfortunately, the horse died.
Standing, planting one’s feet on the ground, standing up to others, and being upright is indicative on some level of power. It is indicative of grounding and it may also serve to strengthen the first chakra. According to Dr. Steven Farmer’s Animal Spirit Guides, when the horse shows up in your life, it can mean a number of things from the appearance of an unexpected adventure to freeing the self from those who either physically or emotionally constrict you, requiring one to muster warrior energy and a great deal of strength. Denise Linn explains in her book The Secret Language of Signs that if a horse is tethered, maybe you are feeling tied down. Indeed, the horse is symbolic of freedom.
I had seen the horse symbol in my life before. It was a New Year’s Eve when the idea of horses, horse movies, and even a small statue just showed up. I didn’t know what it meant, but I thought I might like to have more horses in my life. I first began to see the symbol of the horse again within an hour of dropping my youngest off at college. It would be the last child to leave the home. Of course, we all know that the nest does not really empty until the children are done with college, at the very least, but perhaps the universe is trying to tell me that a new phase is about to begin.
The television show that I just happened to watch that evening had a case centered on an ailing horse. The horse would not get up and do what it was supposed to do and so it died. All the horses I had come across on that Sunday were restricted in some way. Perhaps I need to do something else. Hopefully, the lashing that will get me to change will not be as brutal. In any case, it is with the powerful energy of horse that I begin this blog.