Saturday, September 12, 2015

A Grounded Pegasus: The White Horse

"White Horse at St. Michael's, AZ"  copyright Paula Scott Molokai Girl Studio
He stared back at me as if to say, 'you're interrupting me". After all, he was content to be quietly grazing on a sunny Sunday morning in St. Michael's, AZ. It was also as if to say, 'if you come any closer, I will leave'. So, I snapped my images-after all, that is what I came for. Silently, I thanked him in my heart for these few moments of pleasure to have seen him in the dappled sunlight like this. A free spirit, not to be tamed by man.

Yes, white horses are special. Mostly because they are uncommon and this sense of rarity has given it a mythical status:

"As a rare or distinguished symbol, a white horse typically bears the hero- or god-figure in ceremonial roles or in triumph over negative forces. Herodotus reported that white horses were held as sacred animals in the Achaemenid court of Xerxes the Great (ruled 486-465 BC),[2] while in other traditions the reverse happens when it was sacrificed to the gods.

In more than one tradition, the white horse carries patron saints or the world saviour in the end times (as in Hinduism, Christianity, andIslam), is associated with the sun or sun chariot (Ossetia) or bursts into existence in a fantastic way, emerging from the sea or a lightning bolt.

Though some mythologies are stories from earliest beliefs, other tales, though visionary or metaphorical, are found in liturgical sources as part of preserved, on-going traditions."

A few years back, I also had the pleasure of seeing two white horses running, racing, chasing each other. They were young-around 2 years old and seemed to be siblings-a brother and sister. Brother kept pouncing on sister as they galloped everywhere in and out of the arroyo playing a game of 'tag, you're it'. Sister seemed to be 'it' more than brother though. When I got home and pulled the images up on my monitor, I gasped as I realized that sister was not only a white horse, but an albino! To this day, I am still amazed that I was fortunate enough to see one and photograph it.



Join us as a group of us (yes-there are many of us!) from around the world post our shadow shots over at Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Entertain your muse and be amused by stopping by to see what others have posted!

11 comments:

Denny1600 said...

Wonderful photos. Makes me think of Shadow at Hubbell.

Ralph said...

Well, these lovely equines in white know of their beauty (if not their mythical status), and actually tolerated the photo artist at work. Secretly they liked these photos and later told the rest of the herd about their 15 minutes of blog fame...

abrianna said...

Beautiful horses. A friend of my stepsister had a white horse. Pogs was his name and he lived to be about 30. He died a couple of years ago. We would take Blessing to see him and ride him while the friend walked him on a lead. Special times.

Gemma Wiseman said...

White horses have been like enchanted sign posts or guides in my life. I have always been fascinated by white horses. Lovely photos.

colleen said...

Looks like he should be the star of a fairy tale.

Magical Mystical Teacher said...

I'm with Colleen---a fairy tale, indeed!

Rajesh said...

Wonderful photos and nice wrute up.

Nonnie said...

Isn't it wonderful what our cameras capture in spite of our being unaware? Thank you for sharing your story and the photos.

fredamans said...

Wonderful white horses.

NatureFootstep said...

lol, this was my dream when I was a teen :)

bj said...

Yes, the pink eyes made me realize she was an albino=....maybe both...

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