Introduction

Epona from Champoulet (Loiret, Centre, France) - www.epona.net

Epo-Na, meaning the ‘divine mare’, from epo or hippo, horse, and na, divine female, was from the iron age on the prime goddess of the Celts and later on got adopted by the Romans. Her official name was Epona Regina.  Protectress of horses, foals and riders she guarded her devotees in this life and the next and brought dreams and visions in answer to their questions, revealing the profound mysteries of life and death. At the end of their life she carried her devotees to the Otherworld.
In thousands of statues and pictures found all over Europe she was depicted as either a white mare surrounded by foals, or as a long-robed woman sitting sideways on a white mare carrying the horn of plenty and the keys to the Otherworld (www.epona.net )

The ‘Discussions with Epo-Na’ are partly written for my own pleasure and amusement - in fact, I had a lot of fun writing them - but also to support the Epona-foundation in Normandy, founded by Marlies Kamps, which gives a home to horses that are old or no longer wanted, and on their way to the slaughter house. Most human animals are either indifferent to the other animals, or even downright cruel to them (vivisection, etc), or exploit them without scruple, or just slaughter them for food, even though in our times there are many alternatives to eating meat.
Some human animals, however, want to give a hand to nature and animals in difficulty, like the WWF, Greenpeace, the Sea Shepherd Society and other organizations. Maybe one of the most famous private supporters of animals in difficulty is Brigitte Bardot (see www.fondationbrigittebardot.fr) .

Please send your comments to epona@donaholleman.com. If you want to and they are appropriate, I will publish them on this website.