Wild Boar: Pagan Warrior Spirit
Symbolic of Courage, Leadership, Abundance, Nourishment
To Celtic Pagans, Boar and Sow are sacred to the Goddess. Boar is courage and bravery; Sow, generosity and fertility. They are symbols of the male and female aspects.
Wild boars are a species in the fauna family, suidae, comprised of 16 classifications of pigs and hogs. Suids, native to Eurasia and Africa, were brought to America by Spanish explorers in the 1500s to be used for food. Later, huntsmen brought them to this continent as game for “sport.” Because Boar and Sow are ferocious fighters, they are challenging and dangerous quarries.
The word “boar,” generically, is used to refer to male swine and cavies. Sow is the female of these species.
Wild boars grow up to five feet long and weigh as much as 300 pounds. Their fur is stiff. Tails and ears are straight. Males have tusks ranging from 2 to 5 inches long that curl outside their mouths. Females’ tusks are shorter. Snouts are tough, helping them root for food. Eyesight is poor, but hearing and sense of smell are keen.
These omnivores eat roots, fungi, grass, bulbs, vegetation, smaller animals, mushrooms, nuts, insects, eggs, and carrion.
Symbolism of Boar
Boar, Torc, symbolizes warrior spirit, courage, leadership and direction. He is strong, dangerous, intrepid and difficult to kill. Boar meets enemies with nobility and courage, signifying bravery and perseverance. He’s a fierce fighter, refusing to yield.
To the Celts, he’s a sacred, supernatural and magickal creature. Boar's head represents health, protection from danger, power of the life-force and vitality. He is the animal of Celtic ritual feasts and the food for the gods and heroes.
Pictures of Boar include the forest’s edge, dandelion, mugwort, wild asparagus, wheels and ravens.
Symbolism of Sow
Sow, Muc, symbolizes abundance, nourishment, generosity, fertility, wealth, and discovery.
She is often depicted with her piglets, thistles, beechnuts, the food of a tree sacred to the Druids, and deadly nightshade, not toxic to her species.
Celtic Lore
Both Boar and Sow are sacred to the Goddess. Sow represents the giving aspect; Boar, the taking away.
According to legend, Boar is sacred to the Celtic Goddess Arduinna, patroness of the Ardennes forests. He was sacrificed as the Yule pig, served with an apple in his mouth. Eating Boar’s meat is believed to restore health and happiness.
There are many sagas of a Great Boar hunted by heroes. Irish lore speaks of divine, magical and prophetic boars and supernatural otherworldly swine who usher in death and disaster.
In one Celtic saga, Finn McCool, the elderly leader of the Fianna, the ancient Irish Army, arranged for Diarmuid, his formerly trusted lieutenant, to be killed when boar-hunting figures were on altars because Finn’s wife ran away with the betrayer.
Twrch Trywth was a king who turned into a boar King Arthur and his army chased across the Celtic lands before he disappeared into the sea. Twrch appears in the Mabinogion, a collection of Welsh legends in the Red Book of Hergest. In this legend, he’s portrayed as a devastating enemy to Arthur and his realm.
The Goddess Cerridwen is also known as the White Sow. She embodies Moon’s three aspects: Maiden, Mother and Crone, and is most often paid homage to as the Crone. Her cauldron represents inspiration, wisdom, transformation, femininity, justice and rebirth.
Sow is considered a very powerful being in the Otherworlds and a creature of death and rebirth. She’s associated with the Sacred Cauldron and bestows wisdom and inspiration.
Related Article:
Raven, Enigmatic Pagan Symbol: Feathered Kin: Symbol of Magick ...
Sources:
The Druid Animal Oracle, Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm (A Fireside Book, 1994)
The Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom, Caitlin & John Matthews, (Element Books Limited, 1997)
