THE BOAR, SOW or PIG:The Sumerian deity Tammuz, as a symbolic figure of Winter killed by Spring, was slain by a boar.Any myth that tells of a hero/god being gored in the groin refers to ritual castration. The Greek Adonis also was slain by a boar; therefore, the boar was a sacrifice made to Aphrodite, lover of Adonis. Homer wrote that the teeth of boars were used as a decoration on the helmets of Greek warriors. The boar was also considered sacred to Ares/Mars, who was the god of war, destruction, and strife. Piglets were sacrificed at the Eleusinia and Thesmophoria celebrations to Demeter and Persephone. Demeter was sometimes known as Phorcis the Sow. The Romans offered pigs to Mars, Ceres, Tellus Mater, and Proserpina. On Crete, the Crone aspect of the Goddess was represented as a sow. The goddess Circe was connected with pigs as seen in the legend of turning Odysseus's men into swine. Tantric Buddhists still worship Marici, the Diamond Sow. A clear connection between the sow and the Moon is found in a carving on Malta; this engraving shows a sow with thirteen teats, which represent the thirteen lunar months of a Goddess year. The Hindu god Rudra was known as the "Boar of the Sky". Vajnavrahi, goddess of the dawn, was symbolized by a sow as the source of all life. Vishnu, in one of his aspects, was called the Boar; he had three boar sons who were sacrificed. To Egyptians, the pig was an evil animal and belonged to the god Set, yet they allowed this animal to trample seeds into the ground during sowing. To both Egyptians and the Phoenicians, the pig was an unclean animal and taboo as food, although the Egyptians ate it once a year at a Full Moon. A white boar in China and Japan represnted the Moon, courage, conquest, and the qualities needed by a warrior. The Chinese considered the pig to be greedy and dirty and only useful if tamed. The Pig Faery, Chu Pa-chieh, was a half-man, half-pig entity. In Scandanavian and Teutinic lore, the boar was a funerary and storm animal, also symbolizing fertility and the harvest. At Yule, a boar was sacrificed to the god Freyr; this deity also rode a golden boar called Gullinbursti (Golden Bristles). Freyr's sister, Freyja, rode a sow whose name was Hildisvini (Battle Pig); one of her names was Syr (the Sow). The Norse-Teutonic god Heimdall was said to have been fathered by boar's blood. Norse and Anglo-Saxon invaders of England brought with them the custom of offering a boar to the god Freyr and a sow to the goddess Freyja at the Winter Solstice. They worshiped the boar or pig as a symbol of fertility of the land. The apple in the mouth of the boar represented the charmed apple of immortality. Pigs were considered by the Celts to be the food of the gods and were sacred to the god Manannan mac Lir. To the Celts, the boar, and pigs in general, symbolized war, the warrior, hunting, protection, and fertility. The black sow was considered to be an evil animal, symbolizing death, cold, and great evil. The goddess Brigit owned the boar Orc Triath. The name "Airc" (which comes from Orc) means "battle sow". In Welsh tales, Pwyll was given a gift of pigs by Arawn, and Merlin spoke with a little pig in visions. The Welsh goddess Cerridwen, a Great Mother and lunar deity, was known as the White Sow. The sow was a lunar animal connected with the Underworld and the Sacred Cauldron, a symbol of divine inspiration. This animal also represented death and rebirth to the Cetlic peoples.. SuperstitionsThe people of Scotland and Yorkshire say that it is unlucky for a pig to cross your path, especially if you are a fisherman.A pig carrying straws in its mouth is a prediction of a coming storm. In Ireland, they say a pig can see the wind. A pig can get hairballs like cats do...(this is true) Magickal AttributesThe ability to set up an ambush for an attacker and not give up until the aggressor has been sent on his wayConcealing oneself when in danger; cunning, intelligence. A symbol of the spiritual food necessary for the developing magician. BOAR: Courage and protection, the Earth Lord. SOW: Crone Goddess, deep Earth magick, knowledge of past lives. ChantBOAR--Golden Bristles, friend of Freyr, Expose the traps laid for my feet By cunning aggressors secretly. Join with me in their total defeat. Boar of courage, Earth Lord guide, Protect me always. Be at my side. SOW-- Battle-SOW, companion of Freyja, Lead me to knowledge of lives long past. Instruct me in the deep Earth magick That strong may be the spells I cast. |
