Color of the day: Amber Incense of the day: Cinnamon Incense of the day: Cinnamon Epona was the horse goddess of the Celts and Romans. From Epona we get our word "pony." She is the goddess believed to watch over draft animals-such as horses, donkeys and oxen-and also of the war horse. She was the only Celtic goddess whose feast day was also celebrated by the Romans. Deposits of Roman coins and other artifacts have been found buried near the large Paleo-lithic-era chalk hill figure in Uffington, England known as the White Horse. The figure is thought to be dedicated to Epona. This area is also known as White Horse Hill, and horses are still grazed in the many fertile pastures nearby. It is believed that the well-known British aversion to eating horsemeat during wartime food shortages and rationing comes from a deep-seated reverence and worship of the horse as practiced by their Celtic ancestors. |