Ilona Melker, MSW, LCSW, JA, CST-T
Journal of Sandplay Therapy
Volume 21, Issue 2, 2012
Keywords
horse, symbol, black horse, sandplay, analysis, shadow, anima, libido, instinctual energies, creativity, child, clinical example, ADHD
Abstract
In "The Black Horse: Exploration of a Symbol," the symbolic significance of the black horse is considered. Natural and historical aspects of the horse are explored as well as its significance in a number of mythologies around the world, its rich and varied symbolic function in dreams and sandtrays, and its possible meaning in the sandtrays of a 9-year-old girl for whom the black horse had special significance in her process as she began to confront her shadow side. As the powerful archetypal, instinctual energies symbolized in the dark, shadow figure of the black horse appeared, its integration also became possible. In her 3-year-long therapy, during which there was substantial ego development, the black horse symbol appeared somewhere in the middle, the client had shown signs that her imagination and creativity were binding the unruly energies, as she became a better student at school, appreciated for her art work and began making friends with those of similar creative interest.
German / Deutsch
Das Schwarze Pferd: Untersuchung eines Symbols
ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Im »Das schwarze Pferd: Untersuchung eines Symbols« wird die symbolische Bedeutung des schwarzen Pferdes betrachtet. Naturgegebene und historische Aspekte des Pferdes werden erforscht, ebenso wie seine Bedeutung in verschiedenen Mythologien der Welt, seine symbolische Funktion in Träumen und in Sandkästen, und die mögliche Bedeutung in den Sandkästen eines 9-jährigen Mädchens.
Schlüsselwörter: Pferd, Symbol, schwarzes Pferd, Analyse, Schatten, Anima, Libido, instinktive Energien, Kreativität, Kind, Fallbeispiel, ADHD
Suggested Citation
Melker, I. (2012). The black horse: Exploration of a symbol. Journal of Sandplay Therapy, 21(2). https://doi.org/10.61711/jst.2012.21.2.800
