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

The Humble Horse

In 391 CE, the Christian emperor of Rome, Theodosius I (born 347 CE, emperor in the East from 379 to 392 CE, and of the entire empire from 392 to 395 CE), formally banned the worship of Vesta (Greek Hestia), goddess of the hearth and fertility. In doing so, however, he did not silence the thunder-ringing hooves of a stallion racing off to battle. Instead, he halted the muffled thuds of a humble donkey. But we are revoking this edict!

Vesta was one of the first and last “pagan” deities associated with Rome and was central to the city for over 1000 years before Theodosius's arrival. Now, nearly 2000 years later, Vesta's name must once again ring out from the mouths of those calling for protection in their homes and on the road, and for fruitfulness in their wedding beds.

Vesta's Donkey

The gentle, steadfast donkey was sacred to Vesta. It powered the mills for tens of thousands of bakers across the Roman Empire, and the goddess held this profession, also proper to the home, dear to her heart. During her festival, the Vestalia (June 5 to 17), Vesta temporarily raised the donkey's mundane status and on June 9, her worshippers crowned this creature with garlands made of flowers and pieces of bread. It is no coincidence that many civilizations prized the donkey as a strong pack animal and reliable mount—especially for women, children, and the elderly.

You only need to recall the Ascended Master, Jesus, who chose to ride a donkey rather than a horse into Jerusalem on the day he was hailed king to understand the symbolism this animal held in ancient times.

But Vesta and her priestesses, the Vestal virgins, were far from humble. They formed part of an imperial cult of immense significance that had a major, government-funded temple in Rome. Unlike most other deities, Vesta's iconography is not a person but a flame, as we often see her on Roman coins, sometimes with a phallus in the center.

SPELL FOR SAFE PASSAGE

This spell calls for a sacrifice—in this case, making bread. It enhances the power of the spell to use something associated with your own home, like your family's traditional bread recipe. Going out of your way to make the bread increases the power of this magick. In fact, the amount of sacrifice you put into the making of your bread is directly proportional to the degree of success the spell will have.

What you need:

A bread recipe or a store-bought prepared dough mixture, if you are not inclined to baking, a plate to put the bread on, and three yellow birthday candles.

Instructions:

After you've baked the bread, cut a decent portion, put it on a plate, and place three yellow birthday candles in it. Light the one in the middle first, then the one to the right, and finally the one to the left. Chant the following spell three, six, or nine times:

Kindly, slowly,

Round and round;

Steady, reliable,

Hoof to ground;

Gods' and goddesses' chosen mount,

Everyone's safety's paramount.

Let the candles burn out naturally. Throw the bread back to Mother Earth. Share the remaining loaf with loved ones.

Why did I choose yellow candles? Yellow is associated with the sun, equilibrium, health, success, and safety.

Why did I choose three candles? Three is associated with the mind, body, and soul, all of which this spell is geared to protect.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Secondary sources

Beard, Mary, John North, and Simon Price. Religions of Rome, vol. 1 (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1998).

DiLuzio, Meghan J. A Place at the Altar: Priestesses in Republican Rome (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2016).

Fraschetti, Augusto. Roman Women, trans. Linda Lappin (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2001).

Johnston, Sarah Iles. Religions of the Ancient World: A Guide (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2004).

Shai, Itzhaq, et al. “The Importance of the Donkey as a Pack Animal in the Early Bronze Age Southern Levant: A View from Tell e-fil Gath,” Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 132 (2016), pp. 1—25.

Way, Kenneth C. Donkeys in the Biblical World: Ceremony and Symbol (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011).