Neolithic Shamanism: Spirit Work in the Norse Tradition - Raven Kaldera 2012
Horse
The Brown World: Animals
Raven: Three waves of people passed through northern Europe over the many thousands of years. First were the hunters and herders who wandered north as the glaciers receded; we can tell from the creation myth—which has the snows melting from the mountains through the warm winds of the Place of Fire—that they saw the ending of the Ice Age. They had stone tools and lived in a cold world with wolves, frost, fire, deer, and the open sea. Then the first wave of conquerors—and intermarries—came, with their oxcarts and their agricultural Gods, settling in one place and farming instead of wandering. At this point the Mesolithic gave way to the Neolithic, and the hunter-gatherer Gods and goddesses of the first pantheon were relegated to “giants” by the new Indo-European-speaking peoples, who still feared and respected them, however, as the embodiments of wild Nature. The second pantheon of Gods were agricultural and oversaw farming and fishing rather than hunting and herding.
Then, thousands of years later, the latecomers rode in. While they spoke a branch of the same language as the earlier arrivals, they were warriors rather than farmers, and their Gods were warrior-Gods. They swept in on horseback—a sea of horses and armed people—and as it was said of the much later Huns, “their country was the back of a horse.” It was with the horse that they conquered the lands in front of them, and then they settled down to rule those lands. Three waves of people, three pantheons: Rökkr, Vanir, Aesir, as we call them today. But it is to the third wave that we look to celebrate this animal spirit—the third pantheon, and the beauty of its favored animal . . . pounding across the land like water and fire, bearing the amazed human on its back with speed he would never otherwise know.
Galina: My sister has a powerful Horse spirit, and from her I have learned two important things: that horses measure our capacity for kindness and that they will not tolerate being bound. Horse, more than any other animal I have encountered, detests and adamantly resists binding ties. It will enter into a relationship freely and willingly, but insists on freedom to come and go as it wishes, and equal partnership rather than subjugation. Horse is cagey and would rather hedge and dance away than commit to the exclusion of escape. Horse can teach one to work without the comfort of self-imposed limitations, as this spirit possesses a tremendous core of self-confidence and ease of being. Horse is a particularly good ally for those struggling with codependent tendencies. Horse dismisses that behavior with a toss of its head, a stomp of its hoof, and a disdainful neighing cry. It is a glorious animal, and one more than willing to partner with humanity, but it partners as an equal, not a servant.
Love not the world unless it runs like horses. Love not the wind unless it ripples wild manes. Love not the Sun if it cannot gallop, nor find hope in paradise if there be no pasture. Neither wind nor Sun can graze with angels, or dream in full motion while standing asleep, pressing high heaven and leaping for starlight, volcanic with fireblood and rock crop for bone: such magic is music and music runs hard— the footfalls of horses are whispers of thunder sagas of heart fire in ancient tongues— for what breath be holy if it prick not soft ears? And what loves the world if it does not love horses?*1
Norse/Germanic myth contains more named horses than any other animal, because so many of the Gods have a horse with whom they are partnered, just as high-ranking people in past days had a special horse to bear them. The most famous, of course, is Odin’s eight-legged horse, Sleipnir (meaning Spider), who was sired by the magic horse Svadilfari and borne by Loki in mare form. Horses were considered the best possible sacrifice to Odin, the leader of the Aesir, the Gods of the horseback wave. There were other divine horses as well—Heimdall’s horse was Gulltop (Gold Tuft); Gna, the messenger goddess, rode Hofvarpnir (Hoof Thrower); and so on. Sunna was pulled in a chariot drawn by two horses, Arvaker (Early Awake) and Alsvidur (Very Quick); we’ve mentioned the golden Trundholm chariot in the Golden World chapter. Daeg, the God of Day, rode on a horse named Skinfaxi (Shining Mane); Nott, the Goddess of Night, rode Hrimfaxi (Frost Mane). Heroes, too, had horses; Sigurd is given a horse named Grani by Odin, who tells him that it is a descendant of Sleipnir. In the Icelandic saga of Hrafnkel, warring over a sacred horse of Frey begins generations of trouble. A “horse” could also be a kenning (or poetic name) for anything that one rode on, sat on, or was otherwise borne up by. For example, the World Tree itself was referred to as Yggdrasil—the “Horse of Ygg,” or Odin in his aspect as the Hanged One—when he performed his nine-day shamanic ordeal to gain wisdom by hanging himself from its branches.
While horses can be tamed, there is always something wild in them, and it seems to be the primal wild part that you get when you call Horse spirit. It is rare that you will be allowed to ride on Horse spirit; that would come only after a long period of friendship. If you do get to ride Horse spirit, he would decide where to go, not you; you would be granted the favor of a lift, not any control over the situation. When Horse runs, he goes into an altered state of peace and serenity . . . and, indeed, this state of peace and serenity is the ideal state of Horse, no matter what he is doing. It is easily disrupted, of course; Horse never forgets that he was once a knee-high prey animal, and on some level he is still that fragile, frightened prey animal who shies away from potential dangers. The lesson of Horse spirit is to be able to get into the serene place even when your brain tells you that the world is full of frightening things, real or imagined; to run not in fear but in joy.
Exercise: Borrowing the Peace of Horse
This exercise is best done while running, or at least walking for a good period of time. Horses like to move around. They even do about half their sleeping on their feet. Horse excels at the art of the moving meditation, which is exceptionally good for joggers, athletes, stressed people, and people who have trouble with any kind of sitting meditation. First, go communicate with Horse. As with Goat and other animals who are kept tame by humans, you have no excuse not to find a horse farm and at least observe horses from a distance, drinking in their presence and forging a link to their grandparent spirit. Giving Horse’s children a treat is always an offering to Horse, as is helping out at a stable or giving aid to a horse rescue organization.
See if you can get a few horsehairs to twist into a ring and bring home—it shouldn’t be hard, as horses are groomed regularly, and their owners often have whole bags of such hair. This ring of horsehair will be the central piece of your spirit home for Horse. Give Horse some food that he loves, and ask if he will help you. Ask him to teach you the trick of finding peace in movement. If he agrees, go out and run or walk with him. He will probably run or walk beside you, and eventually you will feel something passing from his head to yours. Take hold of it, and hold on as best you can, without pausing in your movements. Feel his serenity pass through you, until you are in a perfectly peaceful state, aware of the beat of your heart, the passing of your breath, and your feet hitting the ground . . . and believe that nothing else is necessary during this moment of life. This is Horse’s gift. Afterward, it shouldn’t be hard to find some food that Horse likes—carrots and apples come to mind—and eat it while offering Horse a chance to taste it through your mouth.