Horse Magick: Spells and Rituals for Self-Empowerment, Protection, and Prosperity - Lawren Leo 2020
The Native American Horse
Long before the first peoples inhabited what are now the Americas, prehistoric eohippus (the Dawn Horse) roamed this portion of the globe. Eohippus evolved over time, and its descendants spread far and wide as tectonic shifts separated land masses into the continents we know now. Equids (mammals of the horse family) grazed the plains of North America from four million to a half million years ago—the Late Pleistocene period—as we know from fossil records recently discovered in the Yukon Territory in Canada. The horse became extinct in the Americas about ten thousand years ago, probably due to climatic changes: the land became akin to the tundra of Alaska.
In fact, it was Christopher Columbus who reintroduced Horse Spirit to the Americas on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (now known as Haiti and the Dominican Republic) in 1493, bringing with him horses of Spanish stock. Domestic horses were first introduced to North America in Florida in 1538. It was the descendants of these horses that populated the Americas.
Native American Traditions
It cannot be coincidence that the bond that formed between the indigenous people of the Americas, especially in North America, and Horse Spirit is so strong and mystical. Native Americans did not “encounter” the horse, in my opinion; rather they were reacquainted with kindred spirits whose fossils and life force fertilized, energized, and fortified the ground on which they lived for millennia. Native Americans traded for horses and tamed feral horses—mustangs—then established breeding programs. But the ensuing spiritual union between them and their horses has become nothing short of mythical.
This happened first in the American Southwest, where each tribe had a different rapport—physical and spiritual—with the horse, which they first called “elk-dog.” The Cherokee and Creek, for example, preserve a sacred horse dance. On the other hand, the Shawnee, who lived in the area of the Ohio Valley, have a Horse Clan (mseewiwomhsoomi) whose members share the nature of this animal and, unlike the docile rabbit or turtle people, can be predisposed to the fiery and feisty temper that leads a horse to lash out and kick.1
There are many horse tales and myths from these diverse indigenous cultures. Among them is the forbidding Aisoyimstan, the Blackfeet people of Montana's god of snow and ice. He is completely white, wears white clothes, and rides a white horse. Blackfeet elders tell of Water Spirit, who gifted an orphan boy with the first horse.2 The Navajo tell the story of Johano-ai, the Sun God, who carries the sun across the sky. A retelling of the myth relates that Johano-ai rides across the sky on one of five horses that were created from different crystals, shells, and minerals: turquoise, white shell, abalone, red shell, and coal. The color of the sky reflects the color of horse he chooses to mount. When Johano-ai's horses' hooves strike the ground, they create clouds of sparkling minerals (pitistichi); when they run, the sacred pollen that is offered to the gods rises like mist on the horizon. Holy men scatter this same pollen and sing songs to bless and protect horses.3
Turquoise, the stone that Native Americans often set in jewelry and ritual regalia, is associated with horses in many cultures. Judy Hall (author of The Crystal Bible series) relates turquoise to the horse's inherent spirit of liberty, whereas Judika Illes (author of Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells) shares that it was meant to be worn or carried by those riding horses to prevent them from falling.4 Claude Lecouteux recounts that, in ancient times, it was believed that placing turquoise in a horse's manger would protect it from inclement weather.5 Regardless of its exact use, it is clear that turquoise was a stone of enormous power to Native American tribes, as you can see in this next spell, which draws on the powers of Johano-ai.
TALISMAN BLESSING FROM THE SUN GOD JOHANO-AI
In this practice, you will use turquoise to call down a blessing from the sun god, Johano-ai. In it, you will create a pouch in a color corresponding to your intention. Here is a list of some intentions and their corresponding colors:
· Protection from enemies and black magick—black
· Astral travel and alignment of spinal chakras (especially the crown chakra)—white
· Self-discipline and a stronger will to live—red
· Protection for a love relationship or friendship—pink
· Health and peace of mind, body, and soul—cobalt blue
· Safe travels and safety while riding a horse—light blue
· Protection for vitality and wealth—emerald green
· Rapid career advancement—light green
· Illumination, recognition, and defeat of depression— golden yellow
· Joy, focus, and concentration—light yellow
· Increase of spirituality or psychic ability—deep purple
· Harmony, meditation—light purple
What you need:
A piece of paper approximately two inches by six inches, a writing tool, a piece of turquoise, some cellophane tape, and a small pouch of a color that matches your intention.
Instructions:
Fold the paper in half to create a central vertical crease and then fold it horizontally. Open it. At the center, where the creases meet, draw the astrological glyph of the sun (a circle with a dot in the center). Above the glyph, write the name “Johano-ai,” and under the glyph, write your wish or intention. Now, take the piece of turquoise and roll it in the paper, sealing it with the tape. After choosing your intent, place the turquoise, wrapped in paper, in the appropriate color pouch and seal it (you can get a drawstring pouch or sew the pouch closed yourself). Hold it between your hands in a prayer position in front of your chest, where your heart chakra lies.
Imagine a white light coming down from your head, down through your neck and throat, chest, arms, wrists, hands, and into your palms, through the pouch and into the turquoise talisman. Say:
Great sun god Johano-ai, teach me how to channel all your
positive energies. Consecrate this talisman with your rays of
might and power. May it shine with all your glory!
State your intent. For example:
Grant me health and peace of mind, body, and soul.
Thank Johano-ai and tell him what you intend to do with your new blessing. For example:
With health and peace of mind, body, and soul, I will move
forward with my life and help myself and those both close and
near to me. Thank you, Johano-ai, great god of the sun.
Carry the talisman on your person (especially when you go riding or when you travel), put it under or beside your bed, or do both.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
I found two websites particularly useful for accessing tribal lore and myths: www.aaanativearts.com and www.firstpeople.us.
Secondary sources
Bruchac III, Joseph. Native American Animal Stories (Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing, 1992).
Clark, La Verne Harrell. They Sang for Horses: The Impact of the Horse on Navajo and Apache Folklore (Boulder, CO: Arizona University Press, 2001).
GaWaNi Pony Boy. Horse, Follow Closely: Native American Horsemanship (Irvine, CA: Bow Tie Press, 1998).
Lecouteux, Claude. A Lapidary of Sacred Stones: Their Magical and Medicinal Powers Based on the Earliest Sources, trans. Jon E. Graham (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2012).
O'Donnell, James H. Ohio's First Peoples (Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2004).
Orlando, Ludovic, et al. “Recalibrating Equus Evolution Using the Genome Sequence of an Early Middle Pleistocene Horse,” Nature 499 (July 4, 2013), pp. 74—78. Retrieved from https://nature.com (accessed 1/13/2019).
Price, Steve. America's Wild Horses: The History of the Western Mustang (New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2017).
Singer, Ben. “A Brief History of the Horse in America: Horse Phylogeny and Evolution,” Canadian Geographic (May 2005). Retrieved from https://web.archive.org (accessed 1/13/2019).
Vögelin, Carl F., and E. W. Vögelin. “Shawnee Name Groups,” American Anthropologist 37 issue 4 (October—December 1935), pp. 617—635.
NOTES
1 Vögelin, 1935, p. 628.
2 See http://firstpeople.us.
3 Ibid.
4 I thank Judy and Judika for sharing these insights via private communication.
5 Lecouteux, 2012, p. 323.