Horses as a Master Medicine

Huachuma (San Pedro), Ayahausca, Peyote, Cannabis, and Teonanácatl (Psylocybin) are considered to be the Five Master Plant Medicines that have been offering healing throughout the evolution of the human species.  These Medicines are held sacred in many indigenous communities not just for their spiritual properties but also their gift to physical and mental health.  When integrated with respect and sacred alignment, each of these Medicines offer their unique gift to the puzzle of a healthy and happy human race.  On a spiritual level, all of these Masters form a pathway to the holy self that lives within us and help us to connect to the holiness that exists all around us.  No one is ever the same once they have integrated any of these Medicines into their life journey.  They each have the ability to take us to our core, show us what needs healing, and help us with that process.  However, in addition to the well-known spiritual gifts, each of these Medicines offer physical and mental health benefits.  The indigenous cultures who have had access to these Medicines since the beginning of time, understand the every day value these plants have on health and wellness and thus modulate their use outside of sacred Ceremony.  Not only do these Medicines influence cultural practices and ways of life, but life is designed in a way to support the integration of these Medicines.  

While these Medicines are becoming much more accessible to the world, the teachings and support for respect and sacred alignment are often missing.  Life outside of the indigenous communities (and sometimes within) lacks the support for integration.  This leads to well-intentioned individuals communing with these Medicines in a disrespectful, and often unsafe, manner.  It also limits the effect of the Medicines and leaves people either "chasing" the Medicine and overusing, or believing that it has no purpose.  Overuse of Huachuma, Peyote, and Ayahuasca are placing these plants on a path towards extinction.  Particularly Peyote, which takes 15 years to reach maturity for harvesting and only grows in one particular area of the United States and Mexico.  Finally, there is A LOT of stigma, and questionable racism, around these Medicines which has made them mostly illegal in the United States and sometimes criminalized. 

So, what the heck does this have anything to do with the Horse Nation?! In a simple statement:  

Horses are a Master Medicine that provide deeply spiritual, mental, and physical health benefits to the human species.

If you have ever stepped into partnership with the Horse Nation, you probably are starting to form the connections.  I believe the "magic" that many people experience with horses is actually their Medicine that we can see, feel, and integrate into our life.  In my experience, some horses can go straight to the wounded places that we put so much energy guarding.  In a similar way to the spirit of Ayahuasca, our experience can be directly related to 1) how safe we are and feel to process and receive, 2) how much we can put down our "sword and shield", 3) how aware we are of our wounded places, and 4) the level of support we have for processing and making changes to align our life and support integration.  In a similar way to running off to the jungle for an Ayahuasca retreat only to return to life as is (or not having an understanding of what the Medicine can stir up), stepping "into the arena" with a horse  without the intention and commitment to making systemic changes will likely lead to feeling unsettled, incomplete, frustrated, disappointed, etc.  In addition, not having support for what is brought to the surface can lead to deeper feelings of disconnection and dis-ease.  Being in relationship with all the Master Medicines requires us to "serve an experience" verses simply "having an experience."

A difference between these two particular Medicines (and most of the others previously mentioned) is that there is an obvious level of control that the individual has when working with Horse Medicine verses any of the more psychoactive Medicines.  It is much easier to hit the "pause button" during an equine session than it is during an Ayahuasca journey.  Additionally, horses generally know what we are available for and what we are not, and with the support of a good facilitator, the "purging process" can be gentler and the revelations can come slower.  Or Not! 

When a teacher of mine was describing the spirit of Huachuma (San Pedro), I immediately saw the image and felt the Medicine of the Horse.  While some equine facilitated sessions can leave you feeling similar to an Ayahuasca Ceremony, I find that when it's properly guided, the Horse Nation generally shows up more gentle.

The name "Huachuma" is Quechua and translates to mean "directed mind" or "mind of a leader".  And the loving, heart-centered spirit of this Master Plant gifts us with an opportunity to understand and integrate a different type of leadership that has toxified our modern world.

Horses offer us teachings and practice in heart-centered leadership.

The Andean origin story of Huachuma is that of a celestial spirit who came to Earth during a time when the human species was highly intelligent but engaging in too much competition and not enough cooperation.  

Immediately as soon as the Apu Huachuma arrived, people learned peace. They did not experience peace before. Here everything was in constant activity, in constant chaos, a lot of turmoil. When Apu Huachuma arrived here, with its first wave of energy brought peace and brought that calm harmonious energy. [The circle of Apu Huachuma] wanted to work on is consciousness. Everything they want to work on is the mindset, the perception, the conception, the intelligence of the beings living in this planet. They believed we were very unadvanced. As they were teaching us about telepathy, as they were teaching us about peace, as they were teaching us about joy, life started changing on our planet. . A new humanity was literally bred.  - Puma Fredy Quispe Singona

Kerri Lake (author, teacher, equine specialist, and animal communicator) shared that her consensus from communicating with many horses is that they are here to be of service to the human species.  Not necessarily in the way we have traditionally (and still do) looked at the purpose and service of the Horse Nation, but rather in service to helping us be better servants ourselves.  Better humans.  Everyone in the realms of equine facilitated growth and development stand witness to the indescribable ways that horses show up for people.  Even those who have experienced severe neglect and abuse at the hands of humans, still often show up.  

The survival of an individual horse is dependent upon their relationship with the herd and the survival of the herd is dependent upon the cooperation of each individual horse.  Peace and harmony is chosen in a healthy herd with everyone accepting their role and respecting the roles of others.  Just simply by witnessing a healthy herd dynamic, and even better, becoming a part of it, we can learn a lot about being in better relationship with our fellow humans in the same spirit of Huachuma.  

Research shows that psychosocial stressors increase peripheral cytokine concentrations and this results in inflammation.  Research is also connecting inflammation to a number of mental and physical health issues.   A heightened stress response - and/or exposure to extreme stress -  in combination with a dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis feeds dis-ease.  

A big part of the Medicine of the Master Plants is their ability to alter the chemicals in the brain and bring them into balance, thus supporting a more healthy stress response.  As research continues to be approved, these plant medicines (when used appropriately) are consistently showing to reduce the symptomatology of stress-related disorders in clinical populations and decrease feelings of stress in healthy populations.  Research is also showing the same effects from simply being in the presence of horses.  

Maybe there is more of a connection between the Master Plants and Horses than anyone has ever considered, with a difference being that one is working from the inside and one is working from the outside.  Another difference is the time and investment it takes to get the desired results.  Horses ask us to do our work outside the arena, every day.  While anyone can get the effects from the Master Plants, a horse will walk away if you aren't ready/willing to "show up for yourself".  They ask us to be congruent...not just sometimes, but ALL the time.  They often will not throw their seeds at concrete because their survival instincts have taught them to use their energy wisely.

***Special Note:  These thoughts are simply my perspectives based on my knowledge and experiences.  They are not intended to be referenced as facts, nor represent any particular Indigenous culture or teaching lineage, but simply intended to stimulate curiosity and inspiration.