We Ate Horses, We Rode Horses, We Worshiped Horses

We ate horses.  In fact, clear up until the eleventh and twelfth centuries, heathen Swedes were called horse eaters.  For tens of thousands of years humans have hunted and eaten horses.  Some of the oldest cave paintings ever discovered in France show scenes of ritual hunting of horses for food 
The bond between horses and humans is ancient and runs deep.  The horse was a sacred creature that carried the gods on adventures and exploits, pulled chariots across the sky and was worshiped and used in sacred ritual and fertility practices by many ancient European tribes. There were horse cults where it is said that the King mated with a sacred mare to insure the blessing of the realm.  Horse penises were preserved or mummified and used as sacred objects to promote or bless fertility.  It’s no surprise then that Odin who rides between the worlds on his the eight-legged horse Sleipner goes by the name of Volsi, Horse’s Penis, which is also translated The Dangler.  In some cultures it is believed that centaurs came into being when the sacred horse penis mated with Mother Earth.  Who are these magical creatures?  The imagery of the centaur is found even among the stone carvings of the Pictish people in ancient Scotland. 
Our ancestors knew that sexuality, spirituality and creativity were bound together in life and that riding these energies allowed them to move between the worlds.  
How far can you ride the energies of Ehwaz? 
What boundaries could you cross? 
What realms of greatness are you willing to explore to become equal to yourself?
Ehwaz is the rune of horse and horses, of horse and rider, of freedom and control, mastery and surrender. You can’t ride a horse by pulling back on the reins any more than you can drive a car with one foot on the break and the other on the gas.
Often in a reading Ehwaz will ask the question, where in your life are you bound, harnessed or yoked to someone or something that is not your equal? 
It’s easy to be fooled.  Both a donkey and a draft horse can pull a cart or wagon to market.  But they can’t do it if they're bound together.  They will only go in circles.   
They can walk the same road in the same direction. 
They can walk the road with the same intention. 
But they must do it separately.
So ask yourself again, where in my life am I bound to someone or something that is not my equal?  Where in my life am I going in circles?  
Who in my life do I need to disconnect myself from?
Ehwaz may also show up when there’s something great and powerful trying to move you and move through you.  Movement is both creative and destructive.  Movement can be both frightening and uncertain.  Set the fear and uncertainty aside, relax the reins and become one with the energy and ride the Ehwaz.

Ehwaz

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sacred horse 
saddled 
you carry the gods 
to their greatness 
the dangler knows 
rhythm and movement 
mastery and surrender 
riding your energies 
Ehwaz 
I set boundaries 
while crossing them 
I become my equal

The Ehwaz rune poem is one of 33 original poems written by Ingrid Kincaid and first published in her limited edition, completely handmade book 
(un) familiar.  You can read the story of its creation on her website.

the story of (un) familiar