Horse Magick: Spells and Rituals for Self-Empowerment, Protection, and Prosperity - Lawren Leo 2020

Introduction

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The idea for this book was born during a conversation with Judika Illes about our mutual love of horses and magick, at which time invisible hooves first struck ground. Shortly thereafter, research, meditation, and writing commenced in earnest. But equestrian Beverly Tarbell Patrick is responsible for introducing my brother and me to horses, riding, and Pony Club, and for giving years of mentoring and friendship in and out of the ring. We are grateful to both for their help, advice, and support.

Researching a book as wide-ranging as Horse Magick necessitated input from writers and scholars and professionals in wildly diverse fields, covering history, literature, anthropology, mythology, philology, zoology, crystals, genetics, fashion, and psychology. We would also like to mention and thank those who were kind enough to offer important, thought-provoking leads: Marie DeFeo, Judy Hall, Kerry Handron, Marlene Hennessy, Stacey Pierson, Sarah Thal, and Olga Zakharova-Kaetano. And, without a doubt, the spirit of Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau was one of the main occult driving forces behind this book.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

Thriving or extinct, real or mythical, familiar or little-known, each manifestation of Horse Spirit offers magickal powers. I have designed Horse Magick to embrace the 21st-century spirit of globalism and have tried to direct its spells to the most pressing issues of our times—from self-esteem, anxiety, and substance abuse to gender issues and social media. Specifically, I have written this book in a nonlinear fashion to allow readers to delve into any chapter or any spell that corresponds to their individual needs, be they love, money, or empowerment in a world filled with social injustice and misunderstanding. You can go directly to the most appropriate spell and use it following the simple instructions. Nothing further is required!

If, however, you prefer a more in-depth approach, Horse Magick joins magick with studies in art history, archaeology, literature, and folklore at the beginning of each chapter. It identifies and describes potent examples from worldwide and historical cultures to expand your vocabulary of spellwork. In this way, I show how you can use specific deities to control the “inner horse” we all have—a trustworthy spiritual ally.

To broaden your knowledge, my brother brings to light a host of horse deities, both time-honored and forgotten, and discusses them for the first time in clear language, despite the esoteric context. He documents his research carefully, giving you ample opportunity to pursue the topics in ancient myths and literature, in the writings of ancient and modern historians, and through examples of related art, architecture, and sculpture.

My brother and I have jointly written on the art of practicing magick with Horse Spirit from two different perspectives. Our combined points of view can help improve your magickal success rate by offering access to a rich body of knowledge based on primary-source research—research based on original documents, myths, and prayers, rather than secondhand resources, which are often based in opinion.

In this book, I guide you through original spells, chants, and meditations that are based on knowledge I gained as an initiate in clandestine mystery schools. My contributions include instructions on how to use magick for love, prosperity, astral travel, protection, and curse-breaking. My spells defy stylistic description and draw on multiple sources from high magick and Wicca, classics in literature and folklore, and, most important, my personal psychic experiences.

I also offer spells for bonding with and protecting your animals, as well as for remembering those who have passed to the other side. The spells in this book are designed to make you look within; your inner world is the source of all magick! When used properly, the spells awaken the latent symbolism of Horse Spirit. This energy existed as a primal force before humanity appeared on planet Earth. The power of Horse Spirit is akin to that of Jungian archetypes. Indeed, we encounter the importance of the horse—and sometimes even distinct and surprising similarities—in myths from all times and places.

In chapter 22, I give a variety of spells that can be performed quickly and still promote, challenge, and enhance deeper thinking. If you are busy and need a powerful, yet convenient, solution to a dilemma, these quick and profound spells may give you just what you require. They are inspired by and based on idioms, proverbs, and phrases centered around horses and are designed to be performed more quickly than usual. With each, I offer additional information describing why I chose certain magickal ingredients and correspondences so that you have not only a fast yet effective spell, but also a ready-made reference guide and a chance to return to the spell after you have performed it so you can delve more deeply into its meaning.

I end the book with a dictionary that will help you interpret your equine dreams. This dictionary combines traditions including my cultural heritage of stregheria (Italian witchcraft), the psychoanalytic schools of C. G. Jung and Sigmund Freud, superstition, folklore, and personal experience.

Literary Background

As Judika Illes, author of Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells, brought to my attention in a discussion some years ago, there is no formal history or compilation of horse-related magick. British author Mary Gertrude Oldfield Howey wrote the only book devoted to horses and magick in 1923, The Horse in Magic and Myth. She was following a venerable tradition of creating grand, historical overviews, with compilations of anecdotes taken from worldwide history, myth, and folklore. The title can, however, be misleading; hers is not a spellbook.

Generations later, in 1993, Ted Andrews published Animal Speak. By this time, a new genre had evolved that included Wicca and the practice of earth-based religions. His revolutionary series of books concentrated on teaching readers about bonding with animal totems. Moving in a new direction, D. J. Conway departed from the Native American tradition and explored Western European mythology. Conway's new perspective, exemplified in her 1995 book, Animal Magick, was carried forward in her 2018 compilation, Magickal Mystical Creatures: Invite Their Powers into Your Life.

Yet, perhaps ironically, it is Tarl Warwick's 2017 revised edition of Robert Means Lawrence's 1898 The Magic of the Horse Shoe with Other Folklore Notes that remains the most succinct treatment of the subject. Numerous other publications have touched on isolated elements of horse magick, but none concentrate solely on it. Horse Magick returns to Oldfield's focus on horse magick, but moves beyond both the Native American and Western European traditions.

This book is not intended as an exhaustive history of the horse. If this subject interests you, I highly recommend the comprehensive and readable 2015 publication by Wendy Williams, The Horse: The Epic History of Our Noble Companion, as well as J. Edward Chamberlin's 2006 How the Horse Has Shaped Civilizations and Gerald and Loretta Hausman's 2003 book, The Mythology of Horses: Horse Legend and Lore throughout the Ages, which, although it alludes to magick, remains distinctly secular. You will find other recommended readings targeted on the topics discussed at the end of each chapter.

INTRODUCTION

The primordial image, or archetype, is a figure—

be it a daemon, a human being, or a process.

Carl Jung

As a practicing magician and witch, there is a rule that I have found to be true within the world of spells and magick: When a sincere desire and a force from Mother Nature combine to inspire your magick, it becomes more powerful. After all, everything mystical and occult (hidden) is already gestating within our subconscious, just waiting for us to bring it to life, to reawaken it. But there must be something that sets this into action. For some, it may be using a seal or sigil. For others, it may be as simple as meditating by the ocean or a body of water that emits negative ions, like a waterfall. For myself, I have learned to evoke the strongest powers through inspiration, which I find most often in my interactions with animals—in this case, the horse and its herd. The human-animal bond can be symbiotic, imparting mutual benefits on the physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and psychic levels. Do not underestimate it.

A single horse, even at an early age, is powerful enough to trample, cripple, and even kill. Now, imagine the power behind a herd of fully grown horses. The adrenaline rush that drives the pounding hooves of a herd in motion exists on a plane that is accessible to us—the plane that psychologist C. G. Jung called the “collective unconscious.” This plane is also known as the astral realm, which holds all equine energy and where archetypes come alive. In Horse Magick, you will work with extremely powerful spells, rituals, chants, and meditations that ignite your subconscious mind and connect it with the energy of the horse and herd.

It is a commonly held belief throughout the world that each animal, rock, stone, and piece of nature has a spirit or spirits that preside over it. It is also part of a universal creed that the gods and goddesses, faery folk, and myriad mythological beasts live within us, somewhere deep in the folds of our subconscious minds and our personal astral realms. Horse Magick points the way to these spirits or daemons, which range from earthy and coarse figures like dragons and the Russian witch Baba Yaga, to more delicate and refined archetypes like the ancient Greek Muses and the winged horse Pegasus. The horse's totemic, energetic power is tied to saints, mythological beasts, elementals and faery folk, Voodoo, and ancient gods and goddesses, some of whom have remained obscure until now and were, for the most part, rarely used in ritual work. Whichever totem, energy, or archetype you choose, Horse Magick offers the guidance and knowledge you need to challenge your deeper thinking and help you meet your magickal goals.

Our world is filled with social injustice—to the point where it has become difficult for the true self to emerge. But the 21st century is ripe with change, and magick is now a necessary and fitting remedy for the disempowered. This is especially true in our present era, as we witness the move away from restrictive definitions of gender and struggle to annihilate lifestyle labels. For activists ready to become arbiters of justice, or for seekers ready to learn new spells, Horse Magick can provide a problem-solving grimoire that draws on the ultimate symbol of freedom, passion, and power—the horse.

This book seeks to revivify that power. Don't discard that special dream that never reached fruition or that certain someone or something you have sought! You can bring this all back in a healthy, balanced way as something new. Energy is inherently indestructible; you can only banish or change it. Horse Magick teaches you how to manifest new desires, dreams, and goals by using crystals, herbs, essential oils, and the Tarot. Actual contact with horses is not required. With these magickal items and in conjunction with spells, rites, and meditations, you can harness horse power in its most refined and controllable forms.

The book contains a storehouse of original spells that resonate with the distinctive energies of the 21st-century collective consciousness. I have carefully crafted them to retain the ancient and undefinable mystique and allure of various occult forces from the earliest origins of witchcraft, drawing on traditional as well as progressive currents of magick that allow me to teach them in a truly intimate and manageable fashion. No chapter depends on the others. Feel free to dip into one chapter to discover little-known deities like the Egypto-Canaanite Reshef. Then try another to learn new information about popular mythological creatures like centaurs and Pegasus. I have tried to keep the text user-friendly, with clear and concise directions for the spells and ample explanation of the symbolism and significance of all elements in them, from numerology to essential oils.

As you work with Horse Spirit, you may begin dreaming of all things equine in nature. This is the power of the horse totem flowing through your subconscious mind to help further develop and refine your psychic, magickal, and spiritual gifts. To help you learn from these dreams, I end the book with a dictionary of terms for interpreting equine dreams. Use it to help understand your dreams. Let it guide you as you fill your grimoire and journal with illuminations and begin to understand the nature of your power as an energy worker, witch, and magician. Dreams are the doorways to our inner world and memory palace.

Horse Magick utilizes the energy behind the symbol of the horse as it appears in the guise of the many deities it inspired around the world and throughout the ages. In fact, while researching this book, I found that each new horse breed, deity, and work of art opened a floodgate of stimulation. This manifested in the form of new magick (horse magick). Learn how to call on the energy of these deities and associated forces individually and collectively. The horse, a creature that lives in a herd, reminds us that we are not alone and that we should not alienate others. The great, fierce mare proves that we are always loved. The powerful stallion offers us a timeless source of leadership. Their procreative urges and raw sexuality teach us to love and respect our bodies and the gifts of sex and sexuality. By becoming one with equine energy, we find empowerment in all aspects of our lives, as well as the promise that positive change is not just for you, the practitioner, but for our posterity and our great planet, Mother Earth.