The Green Man is the ever-returning energy of vegetation (Spring rebirth) and wild Nature. His magic is celebrated throughout the world, but he is most often associated with northern Europe and Celtic cultures.

The deity we know as the Green Man has a long worldwide history. In the Indus religion he is the �?I>Green Thing�? in ancient Babylon myth he bears the name, Tammuz. Elsewhere in the Islamic faith he is Ilyas, in Greece, Dionysus; in Sweden, the Pfingstl; �?I>Green George�?is his European name and locally, in the British Isles, he is known variously as Green George, Jack-in-the-Green or Jack-in-the-Bush; the Green Man, Lord of the Forest and Robin Hood. He also has strong connections with Herne the Hunter, Cernunnos, and also in the stories of King Arthur as the fearsome Green Knight who Gawain encounters. In the late Iron Age this deity was known to the Celtic population of Britain as Erriapus and on the continent of Europe as Esus. Under both names, images of this deity have been found on Celtic stone and metalwork as a head emerging from foliage.

His face stares down at us from the roofs , pillars and doorways of the great cathedrals and churches of Europe, he appears on second century Roman columns in Turkey and in Jain temples in Rajasthan. He is found all over England, some parts of Wales and Scotland and a few rare places in Ireland. On the continent he has been seen and noted in Germany, France, Italy, Holland and is said to be found in Spain, Hungary and Poland. India and Malaysia have their own Green Man.

His roots may go back to the shadow hunters who painted the caves of Lascaux and Altimira and may climb through history, in one of his manifestations through Robin Hood and the Morris Dances of Old England to be chiselled in wood and stone even to this day by men and women who no longer know his story but sense that something old and strong and tremendously important lies behind his leafy mask.

Churches and Cathedrals

The great cathedrals of Europe are adorned with thousands of Greenman gargoyles and carvings. During the church's most virulent wars on the people's belief in the sanctity of Nature, stone masons carved images of the Greenman and Sheela-Na-Gig into christian churches and cathedrals as part of the ornamentation as a strong and constant source of strength to the local people.

With enduring veneration of the Green Man, Lord of Trees, it is not surprising that his image found its way into church buildings, in fact practically every church in Britain. Interestingly, his earlier connection as the guardian or consort of the Earth Mother was reinterpreted by the Church and the Green Man found himself associated with that other great mother, the Virgin Mary. The Green Man inn sign adorning pubs all over England may be due to his association with drinking and feasting at May time.

Rites of Spring

The rites of the Green Man appear to have been based mainly, but not solely around the rebirth festival of May. The ceremonies included the construction of green bowers, dancing around sacred trees (maypoles) and feasting, including the consumption of an image of the deity (often made from gingerbread) which was ritually eaten, not unlike similar ritual consumption of deities around the world, including 'the body of Christ' in the Christian faith. These events appear to have been led by a woman who would later become the May Queen.

Chimney sweeps with their black faces took on the role of Morris dancers which originated from the dance of 'Jack of the Green'. Early rites dating back to before written history associate the stamping style dance of the Morris men with the Spring rites; the stamping was supposed to reawaken the sleeping spirit and bring it back to life. Also it is known that the blackening of the face was commonly used in Celtic fertility rites. A memory of this may have survived to the present day with the fact that it is considered lucky still for a bride to touch a black-faced chimney sweep. Apart from the Cadi in North Wales, however, few Morris dancers continued to black their faces in the traditional style.

Some suggest that with the Gaia hypothesis, in which there is the notion that the earth is a single living organism, namely the Great Mother (the female counterpart), there is also a second complementary aspect. This aspect is the male counterpart, the Green Man. The Green Man represents irrepressible life. He shows the unity that exists between man and vegetation, the secret governing laws of Nature, fertility, and the wild uncategorisable symmetry inherent in nature. He has many appearances, but in all of them, he universally is a symbol of renewal and continual rebirth - as is the prime function of nature.

The Greenman today

The return of the Greenman brings new hope and understanding of the true strengths of balanced masculine energy. For too long, men have been isolated from that part of themselves that honours the Sacred Mother, the divine in Nature, and the true divinity in themselves.

Today the Greenman is re-emerging into our consciousness, along with the Goddess. His presence brings balance and energy to the reclaiming of our ancient heritage. It is through the Greenman that many men come to understand Nature's mysteries and connect with the Goddess.

Drumming, stamping, piping and chanting draws the Greenman close. The slow, steady healing rhythm of drumming opens the psyche and expanded awareness, attracting the playful and powerful aspects of the Greenman.

"He dances the Moon with power and grace
Amidst the hills and trees, in His sacred space
A dancer moving swiftly between the realms
There in the leaves . . . . what do you see?
If you honour the Old Ways ~ it may be He"

The mysteries of Nature are waiting to reveal themselves to you, just outside the realm of the mundane. . . . . If you follow the path of the dancing God, you may find that the world is a much more magical place than you ever imagined. . . . . Embrace a tree, relax in a garden, or sit in a wooded glen, to find the Greenman. Focus on the mystery of a single clump of grass or a leaf. . . If you are patient and engrossed in your appreciation of simple nature, the Greenman will come to you!

 

      (Many Thanks to Wyrmwood for his fantastic site and essays on www.paganmen.com!)