The Horse: Animal Metaphor for the Heart
“ I will not change my horse with any that treads on four pasterns. Ca, ha! he bounds from the earth, as if his entrails were hairs, le cheval volant, the Pegasus, chez les narines de feu! When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it; the basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes…he is pure air and fire…the prince of palfreys; his neigh is like the bidding of a monarch and his countenance enforces homage.” William Shakespeare, “Henry V”
Wild Horses
The horse is the animal metaphor for the heart. As a symbol, the horse can represent the qualities of the sun, vitality, illumination and resurrection, as well as mystery, death, night and esoteric knowledge. This sort of duality of character can also been seen in how the spleen manifests, and the earth and fire relationship here can be remembered by noting that the heart and the spleen constellations both have some aspects in the Western Gemini. The anatomical heart is in the center of the body and acts as a vessel for the spirit, both of these qualities also accenting it’s earth qualities.
The horse has an awareness that should also be found in a healthy heart. A horse has a highly developed cerebellum, and this can be seen in their uncanny ability to balance their heavy bodies with an acute awareness of terrain and proper placement of their feet. They are aware of a mosquito or fly that has landed on their body before the insect even has a chance to bite. Their sense of taste is highly refined, and it is highly improbable that a horse would eat a poisonous plant or a spoiled meal. Their prehensile lips can sort through tiny grains, picking out only what they determine worthy of their bodies.
A healthy heart should maintain balance in the body. It serves as the empress and in this role, should hold an awareness of everything that happens in the kingdom of the body. It should notice if anything is out of place, or any xieqi has entered the body, and it should order the armies to attack and remove any invader.
Horses also served in the military, particularly as the animals who took riders to patrol the border. This once again brings in the qualities of the Shenming, which the healthy heart holds. This ability to patrol the borders, as well as all parts of the country and then report back to the empress so that action can be taken is a prime component of the heart’s function. The heart knows about purity and loyalty, as it is in charge of promoting these things in the body, but in it’s being a fire organ, it also has a wildness and through this, an ability to “think outside the box” and find creative solutions for healing in the body.
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