Rose Ariadne's Chitchcraft Blog

Dear Friends,

The Green Man is what a lot of Pagans use to associate with the Great God. Maybe you’ve seen his face displayed in garden decorations, or in artwork. He is generally portrayed with a human face, surrounded by leaves or grapes. He sometimes has the ears of a goat, much like Pan. Who is this mysterious face in the foliage?

The Green Man is the personification of the spirit of nature in vegetation form. He is the living heartbeat in every cell of a plant, shrub or tree. He is the divine essence of all seasons. The Green man is the great nature God, a Pan or Cernunnos of the vegetation. He is the essence of the trees and flowers that surround us. He is the health that we gain from eating natural foods, like plants and fruit. He represents the ongoing cycle of the year, which emulates the infinite wheel of life. The Druids, who were focus on vegetation and nature, received prophetic messages and inspiration from the Green Man.

He is worshipped throughout regions covered with trees and wooded areas, such as England, Holland, Germany, France and Italy. He is also known in India and Malaysia. In fact, in England his image appears in the Exeter cathedral. The oak-woods that surround the cathedral seem the perfect setting for this God of the Trees.

The Green Man, as I mentioned, is a form of Pan – the Horned God. The main difference is the lack of animal sexuality in the Green Man (Pan was quite the ladies’ man, er, goat). The Green Man does, however, represent fertility, regeneration and different seasonal phases (just like those that are reflected in nature). His leafy God-form was embraced by Christianity, and is displayed in many churches, but Pan was proclaimed to be the Devil himself. The forces of nature always find a way to come to the surface. Even though Pan was buried by religious misunderstanding, his masculine energy was channeled through the Green Man.

His image also represents a great solar God, he rises in the spring, blooms in the summer, fades during the fall and dies in wintertime. He is reborn each spring. The Green Man in the great fertilizing force of his female counterpart, Mother Earth. Their union results in a lush landscape of color flowers, rich foliage and abundant crops. He is long-lasting youthfulness and bears much fruit.

As more men today turn to naturally divine concepts of Deity, the Green Man and all that he represents is becoming more and more important. They accept him as a figurehead for masculinity that is both powerful and in balance in nature. Male, outward energy does not have to be destructive energy. The Green Man shows us this through his strength, boldness and independence. Men can draw power from this archetype.

Nature is vital to us, and as such the Green Man is vital and important. Science has proven that without Nature, we cannot be completely human. Evidence shows that when we are deprived from natural surroundings (like while in a submarine for an extended period of time) we get highly stressed and it may drive us crazy. It is essential for us to have natural minerals in our environment surrounding us. Nature is a life force, and the Green Man’s face in the leaves reminds us that we belong within it. Honor the Green Man by keeping natural objects in your home. Use plants, flowers and wooden items to remind you of your deep connection with Nature and with this Deity. Perform a special ceremony in the Spring to him and fill your altar with green, with leaves and with grapes. Thank him for Nature’s bounty and welcome him back to this plane.

Love And Light,

Rose Ariadne, Your Warm And Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”