Wow, there are a lot of white horses all over mythology. I must say, though, none as strange and disturbing as this Irish fertility ritual I stumbled across...
As instructed, I googled Giraldus Cambrensis in connection with Irish fertility myths. This is one of the things I found.
It seems that one of the Irish rituals associated with fertility involved the king/king-to-be and a white mare. It's all totally disgusting and incredibly unhygienic, but supposedly granted that man power and dominion as well as ensuring the fertility of the land. Fun.
And there's that spiral symbol again...
I'm pretty sure that the criss-cross pattern on the horse's neck that looks kind of like a braid has some sort of significance as well. I can't remember where I saw it before though, and I'm not quite sure how to search for it on google.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say about that ritual is "That poor poor mare....". At least she doesn't live with the trauma for TOO long.
ReplyDeleteRoland, I know what you mean. It's very Celtic. I really don't know much beyond that though. :\
ReplyDeleteKaylin, no kidding! Eew. :(
I think the braid is the Celtic Knot - a symbol of eternity and the interconnectedness of life/nature/etc.
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