Horse Sense

Does everyone have a symbol of their inner self? A vision, a dream, a picture that sweeps them away from their own flesh and blood and connect them with something beyond themselves? When you see a Northern Harrier coursing over a meadow, does part of you fly with it, wings rocking, eyes piercing? When you drive along the highway on your way to a job you abhor, do you ever imagine that you are the big guy from the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s nest who ripped the sink out of the floor and plunged it through the asylum window so he could escape? Do you run with him over the dry field to hop into a truck to unknown promises? Are scenes like this so memorable because they symbolize, at least at some time in our lives, what we would like to do ourselves?

I wonder if other people have symbols they carry around with them throughout the day to help them through the rough bits. Wiccans refer to their familiars (which can be an animal or not) that helps guide them through their spiritual realm.

My parents tell this “when-you-were-growing-up” story:

“When you were a baby, you were awful in the car. You screamed from the moment the engine started to the moment we reached our destination. The only thing that would stop you from crying was seeing one of those Flying Red Horse signs at a gas station. You would stop screaming and stare at it for as long as you could see it. Then you would start all over again.”

I no longer scream in the car, but the sight of a horse still stops me in my tracks. Can’t explain it, but you horse people know exactly what I mean. The closest I can come is to say it has a lot to do with spirit and passion, wildness and movement, honesty and strength. For readers who were not born with “the horse thing” it must be puzzling to read my blog posts that refer to “pricking my ears” or pretending my car is a galloping mare. My “inner horse” is part of my internal spiritual landscape. It is one of my most important personal symbols.

The definition of a symbol is something that points beyond itself. It’s like trying to see in the dark. If you look directly at an object, you can’t see it but if you turn your head to the side, the object becomes clear, identifiable. But you have to look at it from the corner of your eye because you can’t quite make it out when confronting it directly. Sort of like some knotty challenges in life.

What is your symbol? If you don’t have one, what would it be if you did?