since the beginning of time, the bull has been revered as a sacred animal. when you try to imagine the ancient aurochs running through fields of tall, golden grass you begin to understand why.

throughout history many cultures and religions have set aside the bull as a holy figure. from the apis bull of egypt to nandi to auðumbla. the bull holds great importance in it's symbology of nature, often representing the summer and earthquakes. the bull holds many different meanings and purposes.

sacrifice, power, the order of the natural world itself. these are the things that come to my mind when i picture the curved sloping horn before ending at its tapered point.

humans have depended on bovids for food since we learned how to hunt. the bull was there to feed us in times of need. though we still depend on them for food today, the meaning and the significance is long gone.

long ago in the balkans during intense droughts, some villages would sacrifice a bull to perun, the god of thunder. the bull served as a symbol for summer, bringing the summer heat between its horns. the killing of the bull in august symbolizes the end of summer and beckons the autumn rain.

sumerian mythology also associates the bull with water. this post talks about enki and utu and their ties to the bull and is worth reading through to learn about how these legends tie to the seasons and the physical world.

now, the aurochs are long gone. hunted to the ends of the earth once man forgot the importance of balance and taking only what is needed. like the other extinct animals, they serve as a quiet reminder of greed.

i like to close my eyes and picture them; herds of wild bison moving through tall green prairie, aurochs running through the naked steppe, gaur stepping carefully through streams in deciduous forests. it doesn't matter what species, the bull holds powerful meaning and importance wherever it resides.