Horse Magick: Spells and Rituals for Self-Empowerment, Protection, and Prosperity - Lawren Leo 2020
The Wise Horse
The horse has historically been a symbol of wisdom throughout the world and in many different cultures. The Hindu deity Hayagriva and the ancient Greek mythological centaur Chiron are two examples of this. These two manifestations of Horse Spirit played important roles in their day and age and can still play an integral role in your life today. They inspired art and sacred literature and were both revered as teachers of multiple disciplines. You can petition Hayagriva to learn how to meditate and enter a trance state. You can petition Chiron, whose gifts were so precious that he was sought out by the ancient Greek god Asclepius, for help with medical problems or even to hone your skills in hunting.
Hayagriva
Hayagriva, which means “horse neck” in Sanskrit, is one of the many avatars of the Hindu deity Vishnu in the Vaishnavistic (Vishnu-centered) tradition. In this incarnation, Vishnu has the body of a man and the head of a pure white horse. In art, he is depicted wearing resplendent white garments and seated on a white lotus. He has four arms. One hand makes a mudra, or gesture of teaching, in which he touches thumb to forefinger. It is also a directive for patience, a recognition that there is much to learn to raise the mind beyond the mundane. In his other hands, Vishnu holds three symbolic items: the shankha conch shell, Panchajanya, which is sounded as a call to prayer and used as a vessel to pour out lustral, cleansing waters; a chakra wheel with 108 blades, symbolic of the transformational energy he offers to help worshippers avoid straying from dharma, the path for virtuous living; and a book with sacred texts.
In one of the great Hindu compilations of sacred myths and prayers, the Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu takes on the form of Hayagriva during the creation of the world. In this myth, he is awakened from a deep, meditative state to learn that two demons have stolen the Vedas, holy literature, from the god Brahma. He successfully retrieves them, slays the thieves, and returns the books to Brahma. One Sakta-based myth tells that, during the creation, Vishnu compiled the Vedas in the Hayagriva avatar. Hayagriva is associated with the sun and is said to ride a solar chariot into the sky, bringing light every day. Worship of him is particularly efficacious on the full moon in August.
SPELL TO ENHANCE FOCUS AND CONCENTRATION
Appeal to Hayagriva, the horse-neck god, to enhance your focus and concentration. This ancient Hindu deity bestows knowledge and wisdom on those who undertake studies, whether sacred or secular.
What you need:
Essential oil of wisteria, an oil diffuser, and one yellow candle (any size).
Instructions:
Burn the essential oil of wisteria in the oil diffuser as an offering to Hayagriva. Light the yellow candle. Concentrate on its flame while you chant the following spell at least six or nine times:
Concentration, memory—
I remember all I see.
Answers now directly fed
Fall easily into my head;
Intelligence gives me the key,
Every test passed easily.
Hawking, Tesla, da Vinci too,
All the knowledge that they knew.
Hayagriva, river of wisdom
Flowing through my nervous system,
A genius now make of me,
And as my will so mote it be.
Why did I choose wisteria? The magickal properties of wisteria enhance memory, focus, and concentration—the three building blocks of a strong intellect and psychic ability.
Why did I choose a yellow candle? Yellow and its complimentary color, violet, represent the element most closely associated to the intellect—air.
Chiron, Immortal Centaur
The zodiacal centaur we know today as Sagittarius derives from the ancient Greek myth of Chiron, half-brother to Zeus. Because he was the son of the Titan Kronos, Chiron was immortal. By contrast, the race of mortal centaurs came from the union of Ixion, king of the Lapiths, and Nephele, who took the form of a cloud during the sexual act. Chiron's appearance in art clearly demonstrates his unique status among the centaurs. Rather than having a human torso on a horse's body, as is the norm for mortal centaurs, Chiron is shown on ancient Greek vases and sculpture with a full human body and only a horse's back and hind legs.
Chiron was not only the eldest centaur; he was also the wisest. The gods Apollo and Artemis educated him, and he was renowned for his multifaceted intellect. He was as well-versed in medicine as in the arts, and his skills in hunting and weaponry were unparalleled. His most renowned student was Achilles, the main character in Homer's Iliad. He also schooled a host of other prominent figures from ancient Greek mythology, including Asclepius, the god of medicine. Chiron was no cruel taskmaster, however, and the Greek poet Pindar describes him as kind.1 In one anecdote, Achilles' mother, Thetis, looks on with jealousy as her son chooses to sleep with his arms entwined about Chiron rather than with her.
Chiron left a lasting impression on Achilles. In a poem by Statius, Achilles says that the centaur filled him with the concept of divine justice.2 Chiron's relationship with Achilles was described by the ancient Greeks and Romans as paternal and loving. Philostratus the Elder makes this clear in his book on ancient paintings.3 According to him, there was an image of the education of Achilles in Chiron's cave on Mount Pelion, in Thessaly. In it, the child Achilles rides Chiron, who is instructing him in horsemanship. The artist captured a crucial moment when Chiron turns to speak to the child. Achilles begins to laugh with glee as Chiron suddenly picks up his pace and turns to his pupil to say that he is controlling himself to give Achilles a gentle ride, unlike the horses who will draw his chariot one day in the Trojan War. This prophesy is perhaps the reason that Chiron was also known to have taught soothsaying.
In the end, Chiron suffered a bittersweet fate. Despite being immortal, he was not impervious to suffering, and he was inflicted with a wound he could not cure. This came to pass through his ill-fated friendship with Hercules. The myth describes how, one day, Hercules, the strongest man alive, approached Chiron out of love and, out of reverence for the god Pan, had sex with him in his cave on Mount Pelion.4 Later, Hercules inadvertently cut the centaur with an arrow that had been dipped in the Hydra's venom. So terrible was the pain that Zeus took pity on Chiron and turned him into the constellation Centaurus.
In the context of this myth, it is not surprising that Chiron is often invoked to ensure a correct medical diagnosis.
SPELL FOR A CORRECT MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS
For this spell, you will first invoke Chiron using the Chiron conjuration, then call on his help using the Chiron in the Sky chant.
What you need:
A fresh celery leaf as an offering to Chiron (cut the leaves from a bunch you buy at the local market), one white votive candle, one deep-green votive candle, a shallow Pyrex bowl, and a quarter cup of water.
Instructions:
Pour the water into the bowl and add the celery leaves. Place the two votive candles in the same bowl. The candles may touch one another. Light the white candle first, the deep-green candle second. Say the Chiron conjuration once:
Chiron, immortal font of compassion,
Constellation of relief and knowledge shining in the night sky above,
Teacher of Asclepius, the God of Medicine,
With all the power in me and with all my heart and soul,
I conjure, command, and invoke all your powers and energies.
Light the white votive candle with absolute confidence that Chiron will do your bidding, and say:
This white flame represents the correct medical diagnosis that I
seek for myself [if you are doing this on someone else's behalf,
state their name here].
Light the green votive with the same confidence that you felt while lighting the white votive, and say:
This green flame represents the health of mind, body, and soul
that will be a natural by-product of a correct medical diagnosis
for myself [if you are doing this on someone else's behalf, state
their name here].
Then repeat the Chiron in the Sky chant three, six, or nine times:
Chiron, star in the sky, shoot your arrow on the by and by;
Successfully target illness unknown, its true nature must be
shown.
Within four elements now I stand, their correct combination I
demand.
Caterpillar, butterfly, chrysalis, bee, I channel all your energies
now through me.
Health I demand, therefore health I have found; great Chiron,
hale in my heart we are bound.
Let the candles burn out naturally. Drain the water, then discard the melted wax and celery leaves into the trash.
Why did I choose celery for this spell? There is a temple dedicated to the god Asclepius on the island of Sicily in the town of Selinunte (ancient Greek for “wild celery”). Here, the ill ate celery and then slept on the temple steps and grounds hoping for a dream that would lead them to the physician or medicine that would ultimately heal them.
Why did I choose a white votive? In magick, white is traditionally associated with purity and the “highest intent.” Also, in this particular spell, its neutrality gives the ability to associate it with the correct medical diagnosis.
Why did I choose a deep-green votive? Deep green is associated with wealth, abundance, great health, vitality, and a strong immune system. In this particular spell, it is used to represent peace and health of mind, body, and soul.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
For a prayer to Hayagriva, see: Dhyana Sloka (Verse for Meditation) by Vedanta Desika (1268—1370), trans. P. R. Ramachander. Retrieved from http://celextel.org (accessed 2/3/2018).
Primary sources
Homer. The Iliad, trans. CarolineAlexander (London: HarperCollins, 2015).
Menon, Ramash. Bhagavata Purana: The Holy Book of Vishnu, 2 vols. (Calcutta, India: Rupa & Co., 2011).
Philostratus the Elder, Philostratus the Younger, and Callistratus. Philostratus the Elder, Imagines. Philostratus the Younger, Imagines. Callistratus, Descriptions, trans. Arthur Fairbanks (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1931).
Pindar. Pindar II: Nemean Odes, Isthmian Odes, Fragments, trans. William H. Race (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997).
Pseudo-Eratosthenes. The Constellations in Theony Condos, trans. and comm. Star Myths of the Greeks and Romans: A Sourcebook (Containing the Constellations of Pseudo-Eratosthenes and the Poetic Astronomy of Hyginus) (Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press, 1997).
Statius. Statius: Thebaid, Books 8—12. Achilleid, trans. D. R. Shackleton Bailey (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004).
Secondary sources
Babu, Sridhara D. Hayagriva: The Horse-Headed Deity in Indian Culture (Tirupati, India: Sri Venkateswara University, 1990).
NOTES
1. Pindar, Nemean Ode 3.53
2. Statius, Achilleid 2, 96.
3 Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 2, Image 2
4. Condos, p. 79 (Constellations p. 40).