Sunday, December 5, 2010

Black and White Horses: Uniting the Opposites



 Since the Sun is in the sign of the horse-man, Sagittarius, I thought I'd talk about what horses symbolize in dreams.

 This is Thor, a Gypsy Vanner breed.  He has blue eyes!

Animals in dreams usually represent our instinctive energies.  Different animals embody different instincts.  We, who live so much of our lives in our heads or lost in the collective virtual reality, really need to get back in touch with our instincts, which can help us survive and thrive in life.  Our animal dream guides let us know what instinct will help in a given situation, as well as inform us of the state of our instincts.

A woman dreamed:

There are two horses - one is white, the other black.  Two of us are there with them (both are 'me', and I am aware that one person is 'strong', whilst other is 'waiting' ...or something). The 'strong' person's horse (the black one) is laying down and 'in trouble', but somehow, that person gets the horse to get up.

I’ve been getting to know horses lately on my morning walks, and they are strong and shy and sweet.  But my heart breaks to see them shut up in small fields, separated from each other, forced into pregnancy, unable to fly with the wind, unable to be free.  All that power, subdued to the will of mankind.

We also have to go back and see what horses meant to our ancestors, because dreams speak to us from a deep place, a soulful place that gives meaning to life.

In this dream, the black horse is down and in trouble.  Black is the color of mystery, of night.  Like a black hole, it absorbs all light. It is despair and death.  It is chaos, it is the Void.  But it is also the sensual, the body. 

The white horse seems to be fine, its rider waiting for something to happen. White is the color of purity and innocence; simplicity and illumination; sacredness and love.

Horse symbolizes our urge for freedom and independence, for unrestrained movement and adventure.  Horse is also a symbol of power, pulling heaving loads, helping spread civilization.  Movement and power.  We even speak of ‘horsepower’ when we want to know how powerful a car engine is.

In this dream, the black horse is somehow injured.  This dreamer’s earthy instincts need healing.  Like the horses I pass on my walk, she might be too caged in to realize that she can fly free of her situation.   She might want to do something (the white horse and the waiting rider – the ideal she wants to live up to) but can’t figure out how to make it happen.

The two colored horses can also symbolize two types of power and consciousness: the ability to move within herself into the dark of the unconscious and explore what’s there, as well as the ability to expand her vision and travel in the outer world. The horse/men - like Sun in Sagittarius - are about combining both the physical and the spiritual realms, knowing what our instincts are saying and thinking of how we can act on them.  (Like knowing that you should run from a tsunami rather then stand there and watch it.)

So with the black horse down, perhaps there's something out of balance - the balance between dualities in her life. Perhaps there's a risk she needs to take but she’s not yet up to it.  Perhaps her physical energy is low, even though her strong ‘part’ can get it up and moving again. 

I would suggest that this dreamer become a ‘horse-whisperer’ and find out what’s wrong with the black horse in an active imagination.  Maybe it’s alright for the ‘strong’ person to make it get up, but perhaps that dark horse needs a rest!

Until next time,

Sweet Dreams! 

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