A Little About Greenman

I find myself thinking about the Greenman a great deal lately.  I have always found a kinship with the various depictions I have collected over the years.  I always seem to find them - or do they find me?  Either way, I feel compelled to document all of my knowledge - some intuitive, some found on the internet.  

I find myself surrounded by the Greenman and since the Greenman is the masculine form of the God...I begin thinking about all the men in my life.  While I do not necessarily see many of these aspects in the important men in my life, I do find his  legend, lore, statues, art, carvings...any depictions comforting.  When I use the term "Lord" in ritual prayers - I always picture him.

The Green Man and The Green Woman by Terri Windling.

I plan to do a proper greeting and invitation to Him soon - since we are approaching the Autumn Equinox (Mabon) and that is when Greenman surrenders himself for the winter - I think a proper greeting and a show of appreciation would be in order.  When I think about what offerings to provide - I get the feeling that homemade hearty bread, some stout beer, and a healthy portion of pumpkin butter would be in order.  

Whatever I offer him - I truly feel like I am being 'pinged' by him.  I know there are no accidents in the universe.  There is a reason and I need to figure it out.

Here are the facts;

• The Greenman is a legendary pagan God who roams the woodlands. 
• He usually is depicted as a horned man peering out of a mask of foliage, usually the sacred oak. 
• He represents the spirit of vegetation which returns to the Earth in Spring and flourishes in Summer.  
• He is present wherever crops are grown and harvested. He is there when animals mate and give birth. 
• He is there when the seasons change and the Sun shines. 
• We worship the spirit of the Green Man in which we recognize the mystic energy of nature and vegetation.
• The Green Man is also known by other names such as "Green Jack, "Jack-in-the-Green" and even "Robin Hood".  
• In Spring Pagan Rites he may be called Green George, and is represented by a young man dressed head to foot in greenery, who leads the festival procession.
• Since the color green is a faerie color, I believe that they share an affinity with the Green Man.  
• In the British Isles faeries are called "Greenies" and "Greencoats", and some are believed to have green skin.
• During the Middle Ages, stone masons carved the Green Man's likeness into the walls and arches of the finest cathedrals; there are thousands of Green Man heads carved across Europe.
• The Green Man's wisdom is that of the eternal truths, cycles, and passages. 
• He embodies the cycle of birth, growth, death and rebirth, and teaches us the sacred truths of nature.  
• He is a magickal bridge between nature and ourselves for he is both vegetable and animal at once.  
• From him we learn the mysteries of all growing things, and he is present in all things green and growing. 
• His energy fills the trees that make the oxygen we breathe.  
• At harvest, he surrenders himself for the good of the tribe, to sustain them trough the long cold winter.  
• In the spring, his seed is planted in the warm moist earth and the Green Man is reborn.  

Green Man Correspondences

• Colors - Green for growth and vegetation.  White or Light Blue to represent Air.  Yellow for the light of the Sun
• Symbols - Growing plant, a branch, fruit,  a small bowl of earth, leaves, berries and acorns or nuts 
• Herbs - Oak leaves, grains 
• Incense - Patchouli 
• Essential Oils -  Vetivert, Cinnamon, Sweet Birch, Oak Moss

 A Green Man Invocation
I call to you now, spirit of nature, strong and free
Come and teach me, I am ready to honor you
I celebrate your gifts; I am ready to learn your truths,
As my ancestors did before me,
I see your power and your pain, beneath the green mantle
Of the scars on your body and the great sadness in your eyes.
You are no longer abandoned, we hear you again;
We are ready, to honor your ways.
Reveal yourself, Green Man,
Weave your spells of green magic.
Teach me and I will listen for your voice; 

I will celebrate your sacred wisdom ways.