Due to its natural companionship with man in both work and art, the Horse easily wins a special seat in history, ranking high marks of honor, reverence and symbolism.Serving man in war, mobility, productivity, agriculture, development of all kinds, the Horse is by far one of the largest contributor to the enhancement of civilization.
With such recognition and accomplishments, a vast and diverse trail of symbol meanings is sure to follow the Horse’s rich history with humankind.
The Horse symbol meanings of power are widespread through most cultures, and it is linked as an emblem of life-force. Many cultures assign the attributes of the four elements to the Horse: Earth, Fire, Air, and Water.
As a Celtic symbol, the Horse was associated with war. With war, comes attributes of victory, conquer, longevity as well as procurement of territory and other spoils that come with triumph in battle. All of these heady aspects of valor were associated with the Horse in Celt symbolism. In fact, so much so, the Celts hailed the Horse as the beast belonging to the sun god, and assigned it a place with the goddess Epona.
The Greco-Romans also associated the Horse with the spoils of war and attributed it to symbolism such as power, victory, honor, domination and virility. In Greco-Roman myth the Horse is said to be created by Poseidon (Neptune) and is devoted to Hades (Pluto) and Ares (Mars). Romans also believed the Horse to be a symbol of the continuity of life, and would sacrifice a horse to the god Mars every October, keeping its tail through the winter as a sign of fertility and rebirth.
In Hindu Brihadaranyaka, the Horse is linked to Varuna and as such, is equated to the cosmos. Additionally, a white horse is believed to be the last incarnation of Vishnu.
Buddha is said to have left this physical plane riding a white horse. Also in Buddhism a winged horse is often depicted carrying the Book of Law.
As one of the symbols in the Chinese zodiac, the horse in Chinese culture is equated with Gemini, and represents practicality, love, endurance, devotion and stability.
As a Native American symbol, the Horse symbol meanings combine the grounded power of the earth with the whispers of wisdom found in the spirit winds. The Horse has long been honored has helper, messenger, and harbinger of spirit knowledge to the Native American. Considered wild and an emblem of freedom, the Native American sees many potentialities in the symbolic nature of this noble creature. Another aspect of Native American symbol meanings of the horse comes with the understanding that the wild freedom of the Horse can be harnessed and used to the benefit of the tribe. This understanding comes only when man and best enter a silent contract – acknowledging mutual respect and awareness of responsibility to each other.
The colour of the Horse is also steeped with symbol meanings. Here are the most common color meanings for the Horse:
Black Horse: Mystery, death, night, secret, messenger of esoteric knowledge
White Horse:Light, sun, day, vitality, illumination, resurrection, messenger of birth
Source: What's Your Sign.com