The wild Boar is one of the most prolific symbols of the North, appearing on Celtic banner, and Germanic warriors helmet alike. This enigmatic symbol has had a profound effect upon my own views, in fact no other symbol draws me to it in quite the same way. It is a symbol I have been meaning to write on in some detail, but as work stacks up the idea of a small book is some way off, so I have decided to explore the Boar symbol in a reduced fashion here. I say reduced, but it will still take me a small series of articles to even give a simple version of the symbolic meaning of the Boar.
When I first saw the Boar image I was instantly drawn to it, but when trying to find more information on it all I found were very simplistic ideas. Because of its vast usage by warriors spanning several thousand years, many had simply reduced the symbol to a trinket of war and little more. Not content with this I began a journey of exploration. This journey led me many places, in fact it was this journey that really made me appreciate the depth of understanding our forebears had of not only the natural world, but, themselves.
A symbol is the reduced form that through correct usage can invoke the whole. The symbol is the ultimate reduction of a divine expression of nature. In the case of animal symbols, we have both the animalistic understanding, that is how the animal behaves in the natural world and how its essence shapes the world around it, as well as how this relates to the deeper psychological aspects of man. The symbol is born out of both outward and inward observations containing both mundane and super-mundane wisdoms of nature and man’s relationship with it. Before we begin to unravel the symbol via etymological and esoteric understandings of the boar and find out why this symbol was such a powerful talisman of the North we must first start at the symbols roots with real world observations of the Boar in nature.
The Boar is a creature eerily familiar to ourselves. Like us it is an omnivore, sustaining itself upon a diet equally as varied as our own. When it comes to food few opportunities are missed. Modern terms such as “greedy as a pig” are a perfect example of the Boars ravenous appetite. Sadly, the pig being a domesticated descendent of the Boar, bred for docility and living in captivity has little opportunity to express the nobility of its ancestors. I am sure though, as many a rancher will testify, it doesn’t take long for the domesticated pig once free to revert to a more natural state (there may be a metaphor for the modern human condition in there somewhere!).
In its natural state the Boar will even hunt small mammals to sustain itself. At this time of year though, the wild Boar would have been able to indulge in its favourite food, the beech nut and Acorn. In man’s early adventures into animal husbandry it was these deciduous forests where captive Boars would have been put out to pasture. The image of the Boar Furrowing among the fallen leaves of the mighty King (Oak) and the dignified Queen (beech) of the forest already begins to invoke a deeper meaning to their existence. This is especially true of our forebears, the forests were sacred places and I am sure it was quite a common sight for a small family group going out foraging in autumn to stumble upon a lone male, or sounder of Sows with young in to doing much the same thing as them!
This image would have been compounded by the fact that Boars, because of their natural hardiness lived in much the same places as our ancestors. This is especially true of the European, the Boars territories are almost identical in overlay to that of the “Indo European” language groups spread. No matter where our ancient ancestors migrated, the Boar would have been a constant. Such things could be easily overlooked by our modern eyes, but in times of great turmoil, when neither climate or vegetation was the same any constant would become a powerful anchoring point of both tradition and culture.
In North western Europe the Boars favourite habitat was deciduous forests of Oak, Beech or both, with marshy outlying areas. Again like the Oak and Beech, marsh lands, which would normally be accompanied by many springs, were of special importance to our ancestors too. A place once again favoured by human settlements.
The character of the boar is also something to be admired. Whilst not a natural predator, it is no prey either. Boars are one of the most tenacious creatures on the planet. No mighty predator, for all its speed and power takes on an adult Boar unless desperate. The Boar whilst being reasonably nimble and cunning, was more of a jack of all trades than a master of a single one. This meant unlike an animal gifted for extreme speed the Boar was forced to pull upon many skills in his bid for survival. The speedy animal will only run, and even if this will ultimately prove fruitless will continue to run regardless. When caught it can offer little other resistance, it squirms and kicks out in desperate attempt to be able to run again. For a Boar though, when it cannot outrun or out wit its opponent it turns to face its aggressor. This is where the Boars true nobility comes to light.
This defiant and noble nature is admirable in itself, but it is not just a hopeless stance. The male Boar is armed with sharp tusks and the female with a savage bite, neither of which the predator wishes to engage. Whilst predators are mighty and powerful creatures their existence is a fragile balance, even after a successful hunt a minor injury could lead to a miserable fate. The Boar essentially challenges the predator to fight. In doing such an act the Boar presents itself as a noble creature, that meets its fate head on.
Once a Boar has decided upon the action of standing its ground, it becomes an indomitable presence. It tenaciously holds its position, and even when mortally wounded will fight on till its last breath. Whole packs of wolves would prefer to wear him out than enter in fair dual. Once they have done enough to put the Boar to ground they will wait for hours for the boar to succumb to its injuries, rather than risk injury from the fallen creature. Again we have a powerful image of a creature that even in total defeat never submits.
Even via this small glimpse of the Boar as a creature in nature, we can begin to see glorious symbol emerge. A symbol connected to the scared places, Noble in nature and intriguingly similar to man. Our ancestors, unlike us had time to observe in great detail and as such these qualities would of not been lost on them. From these observations of the first men a symbol began to take form in their minds, rooted in nature and expanded within.