the archetypal mythology of horses
Copyright
2004-2022 Beverley Kane, MD
Page 10 of 20
of resolve, Keshi's from the surprise of defeat, indicated by the corpse of his horse
below.
Centaurs, a hybrid race of horse and human, are
known for their barbarism. We must conclude that the
centaur's directives, coming from its head, are human.
While some centaurs, notably Chiron and Pholus, were
benevolent, most are depicted as having atrocious
appetites for debauchery, especially with liquor and sexual
intercourse. Centaur myths often feature them drunk and
attempting to abduct women.
In seasonal street parades in the British Isles, men
dressed as horses chase women as part of the pantomime.
The most famous of these festivals is the May Day antics
of the 'Obby 'Oss at Padstow in Cornwall. Men dressed as a full-skirted horse attempt to
capture women under the folds of cloth. To be caught in such a way is supposed to bring
a pregnancy to the married and a fine husband to the single miss. The frolic relates to the
horse as a fertility (and perhaps potency) symbol who, as in the asvamedha rites, also
ensures a rich harvest. Thus a woman's worst nightmare of a being molested by a
Shadow figure is transformed into an enactment of potency and fulfillment with an
Animus figure. In fact, all archetypes show protean forms that merge and shift and
become one another.
BRIGHT SHADOW/THE DIVINE/HERO
Bright Shadow is the archetype that holds our esteemed qualities such as goodness,
rightness, intelligence, creativity, beauty, entitlement, talent, and power. When we fear
we do not have these qualities, or are blocked by our inhibitions from acting on them, we
project them onto movie stars, elite athletes, heroes, gods, saints, and pets or totem
animals.
Most horse myths are tales that depict horses in heroic deeds of strength, speed,
and endurance. While many of these stories portray horses in battle, there is a delightful
legend from China, thousands of years old, where the horse acts as a different kind of
hero.
In this story, The Good Luck Bad Luck
Horse, a lonely little boy, the son of a man
wealthy with horses, longs for a horse of his
own. The stern Father will not give the boy a
horse, so he makes one out of paper. A wizard
hears the boy's wish for a real horse and
makes the paper horse come alive. But
because the boy forgot to draw eyes on his
horse, the little pony cannot see. It proceeds to
blindly stumble through the Father's garden,
trampling everything in its path. The Father banishes the horse, whereupon the wizard
Centaurs
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