Symbolism: The "Green Man"

Image: The Oak King - by Emily Balivet

The Oak King - by Emily Balivet

sym·bol·ism

ˈsimbəˌlizəm/

noun

1. the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.

   "he has always believed in the importance of symbolism in garden art"

   • symbolic meaning attributed to natural objects or facts.

     "the old-fashioned symbolism of flowers"
   • an artistic and poetic movement or style using symbolic images and indirect suggestion to express mystical ideas, emotions, and states of mind. It originated in late 19th century France and Belgium, with important figures including Mallarmé, Maeterlinck, Verlaine, Rimbaud, and Redon.

Right now, as we watch winter waning in deference to the sensuality of spring, we would do well to remember that the seasons speak to us constantly and clearly - as they do to all creatures of the Earth - cajoling us with mysterious, subtle hints of adventure and new life, with lush promises of budding beauty and warmth, as if to say,"It's time to rise up, to reach out, to revel and embrace new beginnings."

Hawk waiting for a chipmunk to appear - photo by TJBG 2015

Symbolism in the natural world abounds throughout the year, but for me it is even more abundant during seasonal changes, like now. I see geese returning to New England, wild turkeys crossing back roads, forests of trees just waiting for their leaves to awaken and be born anew.

Tree at Dusk - photo by TJBG 2016

A forest can be a beautiful, meditative place (in a quiet, almost eerie kind of way) but it was not always so. Back when trees covered much more acreage than they do now, people were reluctant to venture into dark, seemingly impenetrable forests, not only for fear of being attacked by predators but fearing the hidden menace of vengeful gods and goddesses, demons and dragons, or the unknown beasts and spectral spirits that surely dwelt within.

Trees covered with Spanish moss - Florida - altered HipstaMatic photo by TJBG 2015

As I have written before, my favorite spiritual amalgam is the Green Man: a mythical creature combining both human and botanical qualities, usually depicted as a man with leaves sprouting from his head and/or body. His image has been immortalized for centuries with carved effigies in churches and other buildings all over Europe and elsewhere, but his importance within the pantheon of pagan deities has neither been known or understood. Was he a fantasy or based on something real? Was he pagan or Christian, or a combination? What was his story? What does he represent? 

One of 500 Green Man carvings in Scotland's Rosslyn Chapel - BBC News

Perhaps he symbolizes the Tree of Life, or maybe he's the connection between mankind and Nature, as defined by animism. Either way, organized religion incorporated many pagan elements, like Green Man, into their ideologies as a way to indoctrinate more people, using fear and reverence as bait. He could be the elusive Wild Man, or Bigfoot, or an "ancient alien" who visited our planet thousands of years ago - right? There is no legend or fable to explain his existence, and no reason for him to still have any relevance today, and yet... Climate change, environmentalism and the growing green movement indicates that the spirit of the Green Man is alive and well. 

My personal Green Man (plaster relief) photo by TJBG 2016

Having recently read an intriguing article that ran in the New Yorker magazine (The Remarkable Persistence of The Green Man, by Josephine Livingstone - March 7, 2016 - see link below), I was moved once more to share my Green Man "creature crush." I know he is waiting patiently for me outside, telling me spring is near, urging me to dance with him, barefoot, on the grass.

http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-remarkable-persistence-of-the-green-man