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RavenStar · Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 11:34 am Post subject: The Green Man

I've been doing a bit of reading about the Green Man lately and it's got me thinking.......

How many of you acknowledge him/include him in your workings? Do you recognise him as a diety at all? Or do you think he's just a combination or representation of many different things??

I'd be intersted to here peoples views on this.

What does the Green Man mean to you...... if anything.

sethur · VII - The Chariot Joined: 09 Oct 2007 Posts: 113

I'm afraid that I'm not sure the Green Man is pagan. I have seen gree man carvings on churches as far away as Crete, and the explanation is of "the vine of the gospel" - in other words it's a symbolic representation of Jesus. However, humans recognise new gods and goddesses all of the time, so i suppose we can take the Green Man as a modern myth.

Steve W

RavenStar · Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 5:23 pm Post subject:

I'm not sure if it's striclty a Pagan symbolism either Sethur.

Koko · Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 7:09 pm Post subject:

I agree Raven. I believe the image of the greenman does predate any christian image. The name is a moot point. All Gods/Goddesses have various representatives in many various religions, ie..the goddess of love, the god/goddess who created all, but does not negate the value of each god/goddess. I believe that most of the religious icons of the world are important no matter the name spoken, or the origin. I also believe that one should use whatever name they feel comfortable using.

Sorry for rambling...
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SageCat · Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 8:11 pm Post subject:

I don't look on The Green Man as a deity, but as a symbol of nature itself. Personally, I don't think that Jesus comes into it at all. Yes, there are many. many Green Man carvings on churches all over the world, but we all know that Christianity 'stole' many Pagan symbols and celebrations and called them their own!

As far as I know, no one as yet has managed to find the true origin of the symbol, apart from the fact that he pre-dates Christianity.

I love the Green Man symbol ~ I always get the sense of him being ancient, wise and benign.

Here are a couple of links to have a look at ...................

http://www.mikeharding.co.uk/greenman/greenindex.html

http://website.lineone.net/~dominicow/
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RavenStar · Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 10:54 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the links SC.

He's very much a representation of Nature for me.

SageCat · Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 2:05 pm Post subject:

How's this for coincidence?

I was reading my local paper this morning and came across a little article about a Country Park and Anglo-Saxon Village that's not too far from me, and it mentioned The Green Man! Here's an extract:-

'The Father Christmas we know today is usually dressed in red, (believed to have been introduced in the 1930'a by Coca-Cola) but before that he was often depicted in a green outfit, as a symbol of the returning Spring. It is quite possible that this 'Green Santa' is related in some way to the Green Man image. Scholars have yet to agree on the source of the Green Man, but many believes that he pre-dates Christianity and is a Pagan symbol of fertility. It's thought that early Christians very sensibly did not try to supplant all the beliefs of the Pagans whom they were converting, but instead transposed the Green Man into Christianity to represent Christ's kingdom over all living things. Indeed, the Green Man appears in the stonework of cathedrals and churches all over Eurpope, dating back to the 6th century.

In Charles Dickens's 1843 book A Christmas Carol, his 'Ghost of Christmas Present' is based on the Father Christmas of that time, and is described as a large man with a red beard and a fur-lined green robe.'
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RavenStar · Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 8:53 pm Post subject:

How weird

Anyhow ~ that was a really interesting extract SC. I didn't know he could be related to the Green Santa.
And I think all evidence points to the fact he did pre-date christianity