What's in a name?

While watching the movie Secretariat recently, I began to wonder why I admire horses so much. I thought to myself, what connection do I have to the horse? Why am I so attracted to them? I’ve never owned one, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved them.

When the movie ended, I went straight to the internet to research the symbolic meaning of the horse. What I found surprised me.

In most ancient cultures, the horse was associated with war, fertility, and symbolic of power, victory, honor, domination and virility. In Greco-Roman mythology, Poseidon (Neptune) created the horse and dedicated it to Hades (Pluto) and Ares (Mars). Romans believed the Horse to be a symbol of the continuity of life, and would sacrifice a horse to the god Mars every October. In Chinese culture, one of the symbols of the Chinese zodiac is the horse and is equated with the Gemini zodiac sign.

Interestingly the name Martin and its derivative Marty comes from the Latin word “Mars” and means “dedicated to Mars,” the “God of War”; my zodiac sign just happens to be Gemini. Furthermore, like the horse, my name is also associated with war, and like the horse who is dedicated to the god Mars, my name means “dedicated to Mars” also. Now, my wife would agree that I like to fight and that I am frustratingly practical, which is probably true. Of course, I like think of myself as powerful, honorable, dominating, and virile. All of these virtues are masculine qualities.

These are serendipitous findings because I had no idea these connections existed. However, I can think of other connections. For instance, I was born in Baltimore, Maryland, home of Pimlico Park and the venue for the Preakness Stakes (part of horse racing’s Triple Crown) and the past home of my favorite NFL team growing up, the Baltimore Colts.

I grew up in Oklahoma where horses are plentiful; in fact, it was in Oklahoma that I began wanting a horse of my own. In Tulsa, I began riding horses at an early age because we lived three miles from a horse stable. At 14, I wanted a car called the Mustang, probably because my neighbor owned one along with several family friends. I have since owned four Mustangs in the last 15 years, and I currently drive one every day. I currently live a mile away from - you guessed it - a horse stable.

I was actually named after a family member, and I knew my name meant war-like. However, the connection to horses, be it perceived or otherwise, is interesting and may have no spiritual meaning at all, or does it?