 The speed, courage, intelligence of the horse were all admired by the Celts and they thus formed part
of the symbolism of divinities to who such qualities were ascribed.
The horse-goddess Epona, from whom is derived the word 'pony', originated in Gaul. But she was so
popular that her cult spread to Britain and she became the only Celtic deity to be worshipped in Rome,
with a feast day on December 18. In Welsh tradition her equilvalent is Rhiannon and in Ireland, the goddesses
Macha and Etain. To cavalrymen the horse-goddess was undoubtedly a protectrees, but to the common folk she was
the mother-goddess who presided over the life-cycle. In images of bounty and fertility she feeds two foals from
the corn in her lap. In other images she holds a key which unlocks the gateways to the Underworld or Otherworld.
Shape-shifting into the form of a horse, she would carry the souls of the dead to the Summerlands. As horse of the
dead, she is sometimes seen as a phantom creature or as the provoker of nightmares. In Scotland the kelpie or Each
Uisge haunts lochs and appears like a sleek pony, offering its back to travellers to help them cross the water. But
once the victim is astride, it becomes a terrifying creature with huge teeth and long wild hair and it plunges deep
into the loch carrying its rider into the Underworld. In Skye it is said that unicorns live within certain lochs and
an eel-horse with twelve legs swims in Loch Awe. In the Celtic tradition the time of Beltane, of mating, symbolises
the gateway for the soul to enter the world and the time of Samhain, of death, at the other side of the year symbolises
the gateway for the soul to leave the world. These two gateways act as fundamental points in the life-cycle. The
horse-goddess opens the gates of life at Beltane, allowing in a great flood energy. As the gates are
closed at Samhain, she carries the soul to the afterlife, back to the Summerlands to be renewed again. Being associated
with the life-cycle and hence sexuality, the horse represents not only human fertility but the power and fertility of
the land itself. In Ireland certain kings undertook a symbolic marriage to a white mare to ally their
own sovereignty with the power of the land. And as if to reinforce the Celts awareness of the horse's connection with
the earth, great images of the horse were carved on the chalk hillsides of Britain. As well as symbolising the power
of the land, the horse also had a close affinity with the sun. As a solar animal, it was depticted pulling the sun's
chariot across the sky, making it not only sacred to the Goddess but also to the sun and sky god. Whether allied
with god or goddess, the horse provides the power and the ability to journey into this world or the next.
Resources:
Animal Symbolism in Celtic Myth
Print:
Green, Miranda J. Animals in Celtic Life and Myth
Graphics:
Courtesy MacMorna Niafer and Clipart.com
|
|
leabharlann
|
