Keynote: Sacred to prophecy, protection and magical powers

Cycle of power: Year-round

The boar is related to the wart hog and the pig. The wild boar is a forerunner to the domestic pig. The boar has traits of fidelity, strength, bravery, boldness and irrational urges. Boars were considered sacred in Babylon. The Celts thought of the boar as having positive character and distinction. The Celts also thought the boar as sacred to prophesy and giving protection. The boar was seen in the eyes of the Celts as magical and teaching you magic. Vishnu (the savior god of India) once incarnated as a boar. The god Frey and Freyja road boars and provided protection for warriors in Scandinavia.

Because the boar or pig had large litters they were often times symbols of fertility. The wild boar lives in the thick underbrush environments. If boar enters your life they can teach you to maneuver quickly and powerfully through areas of congestion that is effecting your life. Grey, brown or black is the color range of the boar. The boar has bristle style hair that are sparsely distributed on their bodies to protect them from the environment they live. This is a good totem to get because if people are abrasive, negative words, accusative and making innuendos about you, boar will help you get a thick skin so their darts will not hurt you. Boar will also teach you how to protect yourself against the projections of others.

The disk-like snout helps boar in rooting. The tusks of the boar is to protect it and get food.

The boar is an animal if it comes as a totem it means that if you want any treasures and pleasures out of life, we have to dig them out for ourselves. As the boar relies on his own strength, we must also if boar turns up as a totem.

The wart hog, which is found in the open fields of Africa, south of the Sahara, have a large shovel shaped head. It is part of the boar family. The males have two lumps on each side of the snout, near the tusks, hence the term wart hog. The tusks of the wart hog can do severe damage. They will fight very hard to protect their young. The lion is the predator of the wart hog. If your boar or pig comes in the form of wart hog than the lion should be looked at as well for balancing medicine.

Boars live in small family groups. The old males live solitary, hence the druids who also lived as solitaries, called themselves boars. To the Europeans the boar was a powerful symbol of strength and family.

The boar is one of the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. The year of the boar comes in 2007, after the year of the Dog, which is this year. The Chinese describe boar people as cheerful, patient encouraging, very honest and sometimes naive. Boar people to the Chinese are also generous and delight in their pursuits, especially in the good life for them and their family. When boar turns up we should look at our fidelity and how good are we protecting our family.

To the ancient Hebrews and Jews today, the boar, wart hog and pig are seen as unclean and is forbidden in the Old testament. The Jews can not eat pork as well as the Muslims.

The American Indians value the boar as with any other animal totem and will seek its wisdom. No plant, animal or the earth itself, is seen as unclean since the American Indians see all as coming from Great Spirit and have spirit as well so we learn from all beings on the earth. The American Indians and the Ancient Japanese observed the animals to learn the lessons they teach. They danced to call God and prey and mimicked the animals to call the energies associated with that animal to help them. Later in the Far east, such as China and Japan they observed the Animals and developed Martial Arts skills. The totem and how it fights, lives and procures food is important to both energy work and martial arts work. They are inter linked. So those of you who do the martial arts can see the value of the more religious side and daily life side of totems. Here is a Boar.