|
This Little Pig–More Than Meets the Eye!!
By Michelle Jennings
At first glance, I
thought that this Ickleton formation must be a hoax because of the
reference to a former design made by the Wakker Dier foundation in 1998.
Then after Martin Keitel pointed out that both circles had centers in the
standing crop and there was no sign of damage or a centre marker for
forming the body and head of the pig shape, I reconsidered the idea of a
message coming in such a playful and mundane package.
To my mind, the
message is essentially lighthearted and an invitation to enjoy the
changes to come. Amidst all the quite serious and complex formations like
Weyland Smity, Avebury Trusloe, Savernake, and New Barn, etc., we are
reminded to look also to the benevolence of the Great Mother Goddess who
was represented in many parts of the world by the Sow: Nut in Egypt, Freya
as Syr in Scandinavia, Cerridwen in Wales, Henwen, a Celtic Goddess, Marici,
a Buddhist Goddess known as the Diamond Sow, Tara the Great Mother Goddess
in India. In this aspect, the Goddess represents fecundity, fertility,
protection of human life, abundance. Demeter, the Greek Great Mother
Goddess, known as Ceres in the Roman pantheon, was offered sacrifices of
pigs for gratitude and propitiation. The sacredness of the animal is what
made it ‘unclean’–only to be eaten at certain times and on certain
occasions devoted to the Goddess. The pig is, by the way, an ancient totem
animal of the Hebrews.
The fall of status
of the pig to a gluttonous, unclean, dirty creature could be due partly to
the rise of patriarchal organization of societies whereby the Goddess and
all Her attributes and associations would of necessity be devalued over
time so that another standard could be set. This formation recalls for us
the times in our history when the life giving gifts of the Goddess were
appreciated around the world. Perhaps it encourages us to welcome the
great changes we are undergoing presently and in the near future with
confidence that they are preparations for a future of peace and harmony,
joy and celebration. A time when there is no room for fear of lack or
danger.
Nut is the Sky
Mother: She is said to give birth to the stars and then swallow them at
daybreak, to give birth to the sun and then swallow it up at sunset–just as
sows were known to eat their piglets under some circumstances. Implicit in
this imagery is the notion of cycles of life, death and time.
Nut
as the Sky Goddess arching over creation, and as the Sow with her
piglets
Freya is known as the Protector of
Human Life. In Malta, a carving of a sow with thirteen teats at the
Tarxian temple indicates the association with lunar Goddess worship.
Freya
Tarxian sow carving (circled)
Cerridwen, Goddess of wisdom and
poetry, who gave the gifts of grain, bees, piglets, and fertility is the
Welsh counterpart to the Celtic Goddess Henwen–both are Sow Goddesses.
Henwen is said to have given birth to the gifts of life such as the bee and
the grain of wheat, as well as a kitten, an eagle and a wolf. The birch
tree, first in the Ogham tree alphabet, is one of Cerridwen’s symbols. As
tripartite Goddess, Cerridwen rules over birth, life and death.
Cerridwen at her home
‘Elysium’ at the bottom of Lake Tegid
In India, Tara is called The
Most Revered of the old pre-vedic Goddesses. She is Goddess of Compassion,
The Diamond Sow, Tibetan Buddhist Great Mother. As a bodhisattva, she vowed
to incarnate only as a female until all humanity reaches enlightenment. She
governs the Underworld, the Earth and the Heavens, birth, death and
regeneration, love and war, the seasons, all that lives and grows, the Moon
cycles. Green Tara is Her Nature-related aspect. Her animals are the sow,
mare, owl and raven. She is Goddess of spiritual transformation.
Marici, in the Buddhist
tradition, is also known as the Diamond Sow as well as ‘The Sun of
Happiness’. She is the personification of the Sun, Dawn and the Sun’s
Rays. Her light also represents the light of intelligence which banishes
ignorance.
Tara
Marici
Demeter is Mycenean/Greek
Great Mother Goddess, ‘Doorway of the Mysterious Feminine’. Her spirit was
manifest in the final sheaf of the harvest. She is Mistress of Earth and
Sea, Goddess of the Corn and Sacred Sow. Her festivals as well as those of
Ceres, Her counterpart in Rome, were the most sacred of all.
Demeter, Mother Goddess
Sacrifice of pig at festival in honour of Ceres
What an immense body of
meaning can be derived from a simple, cartoon-like image of a pig!!! The
significance of the formation in grain is fundamental, since grain is a
basic food all over the world and the Great Goddess was universally
associated with grain. The Goddess represented by the pig is ever-present
to Earth creatures and life. She is the overseer of human life and the
provider as well, through Nature. In a humourous and endearing way, we are
reminded of the source of our being, our sustenance, our purpose on Earth.
Our Mater (Mother, Matter) is speaking. The message is none other than to
remember and honour the abundance of Life itself. This done in peace and
with generosity results in safety of human life on Earth. Trust in the
bounty. Enjoy!!
Sources:
Ann,
Martha & Dorothy Myers Imel. Goddesses in World Mythology: a
Biographical
Dictionary.
Oxford University Press. Oxford. 1993.
Carr-Gomm,
Philip & Stephanie. The Druid Animal Oracle. Simon & Schuster Inc.
New York. 1994.
Neumann, Erich. The Great Mother: An Analysis of the Archetype.
Bollingen Series
XLVII. Princeton University Press. Princeton. 1972.
Tresidder, Jack. Dictionary of Symbols: an Illustrated Guide to
Traditional Images,
Icons and Emblems.
Chronicle Books. San Francisco. 1998.
Walker, Barbara. The Woman’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets.
Harper & Row.
San Francisco. 1983.
Walker, Barbara. The Woman’s Dictionary of Symbols & Sacred Objects.
Castle Books.
Edison, N.J. 1988.
www.mothergoddess.com/completelist.htm
www.paghat.com/saffronmyth2.html
www.ilpaesedeibambinichesorridono.it/cerriwde |
