In legends told throughout the Far East, central Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, horses were considered mediums between the Spirit and Material Worlds. Certain Celtic tribes used a white mare as an oracle. Arabic tales exalted the horse’s sixth sense. Horses were also perceived as carrying riders between the seen and unseen realms or leading people to some form of lost knowledge. Modern Yakut shamans wouldn’t dream of visiting the Other world without the aid of their horses.
Shamanism may be thought of as a system of knowledge and a process of seeing with the heart for the purpose of accessing spiritual guidance. It bridges the visible and invisible worlds as well as the human and animals realms with a special knowledge of healing. Shamans align themselves with the spirits of the animals. A kind of collective consciousness binds them together with the animal kingdom. So intimate was the sharing of the mind with the animals, that shamans believed it possible to actually become an animal. The animal with which the shaman identified himself was a powerful spirit guide throughout their life.
Some of the greatest teachers we can have are animal spirit helpers. They teach us about the animal world and their special perceptions and awareness of life, which can open up new dimensions for us. They reflect things about us in a unique way. They communicate to humans through dreams, visions and the shamanic journey. Your personal Power animals can be retrieved so that you begin to develop that special relationship with them in your daily life.
Horses are our spirit guides in this journey to discover our inner selves. Horses encourage us to ‘be in the moment’. The size of such an animal alone inspires a heightened state of awareness. When we engage with the horse with no agenda but to enter into the circle of life and just ‘be’, we enter a gateway that brings us more fully into the present moment and moves us into alignment with life. We place ourselves in the sacred realm of the natural world, open the way for experience, reflections and dialogue and then stand aside and allow the process to happen
