The GreenMan Gnome
The Mystery of the GreenMan
The Green Man is a deep archetypal symbol and a historical idea who represents the eternally renewing energy and wisdom of Nature. While the Green Man embodies the entirety of Nature’s energy he especially represents the male connection to Nature – a connection that has been too long ignored by the modern world. The Green Man usually appears as a male face completely made of or covered in green leaves. Sometimes vines and other plants are growing out from the Green Man’s mouth and nose, and in some forms a whole body accompanies his head. While the Green Man has appeared in different forms in both the East and the West his most popular modern image is based upon the hundreds or even thousands of foliate or leaf heads that were mysteriously carved into the elaborate medieval ‘gothic’ cathedrals throughout Europe.
The ‘Male Face of Nature’
Though the Green Man has existed as an important symbol throughout history and in many different cultures, he has only recently begun to re-emerge as a male representation of humankind’s connection to Nature. While the idea of ‘Mother Nature’ has remained prominent in Western culture, there has long been a lack of a positive male image of connection to the natural world. For the last few hundred years our male-dominated culture and scientific developments have been increasingly abusive to Nature and cut us off from our crucial connection to the world that sustains us. While women are still commonly encouraged to forge a bond with the nurturing forces of Nature, men have increasingly been led away from a peaceful connection to Nature and towards an obsession with technology, business, and other domineering ways of life. It is almost as if the Green Man has reemerged from our collective subconscious to help us reconnect with our World before we make it unlivable.
The Green Man as the ‘Spirit of Nature
A timeless symbol with a ‘life’ of his own the ‘energy’ and core meanings of the Green Man can be seen in many world mythologies, folk tales, and sacred teachings. His role as the eternally growing and self-renewing energy of Nature is well expressed by the pagan nature god Pan, and Jack in the Green; and even as Robin Hood, Peter Pan, and the Fool card of the Tarot. In other countries throughout the World he similarly appears as India’s god ‘Rama’, China’s ‘PanGu’ and Fu Hsi, and ‘Enkidu’ from the Babylonian tale of Gilgamesh.
The Green Man as Vegetation and Dying-Rising God
Normal 0 As a reflection of the cycle of growth and decay expressed through the seasons of the year, the Green Man is closely connected to many of the vegetation and dying-rising gods of various cultures, such as: Dionysus, Bacchus, Mithra, and Tammuz in the Mediterranean, and Osiris in Egypt (who was generally depicted with a green face.
The Green Man as Shaman
The Green Man is also closely related to shamanic wisdom-magicians in various cultures because he knows the secrets of Nature and is ‘at one’ with the natural world - as shamans must learn to become. The Celtic shaman-god Cernunnos, the Green Knight from King Arthur mythology, Mercury or Hermes in Graeco-Roman traditions, the Norse magician Odin, the Hindu god Krishna, and the Islamic-Sufi saint-prophet ‘Al-Khidr’ are all related to this aspect of the Green Man.
The Green Man and the World Tree of Life
The Green Man often appears in combination with the Universal symbol of the Tree of Life. He is often born from the Great Tree and more commonly dies while crucified upon it and is then reborn. Some multicultural examples of this are: the Norse magician-god(W)Odin hanging from a tree for ten days in order to learn the secrets of the Runes, the Meso-American Quetzalcoatl, some uses of the Judaic and Western-Esoteric Kabbalistic Tree of Life, the ‘Hanging Man’ card of the Tarot, and of course more well-known crucifixion imagery from Christianity and related traditions. In a sense the World Tree can be seen as representing one’s spine and nervous system and the Crucified dying-rising ‘Green Man’ figure as being the human personality which is reborn to a new life more closely connected to Nature and the Divine. In our modern world the artificial patterns, routines, and requirements our day to day lives could be seen as the ‘Tree’ to which we must ‘die’ in order to be ‘reborn’ to a more harmonious way of living.
History, Origins, and ‘Future’ of the Green Man
A Greenman-Ent in a recent parade in Fremont, Washington
Early depictions of the Green Man can be found in the Middle East and Egypt, but it seems that the symbology and energy of the Green Man has existed for as long as humanity itself. He has appeared on temples and other buildings throughout both the East and West. It seems that whenever humans have built vast cities over once green forestlands the Green Man eventually appears to ‘decorate’ those buildings and to remind us of what really supports our lives. In some countries – such as the U.S. – of course such symbols have largely been lacking. Perhaps the spirit of the Green Man has been reaching out to us in other ways – such as through movies and other media – or perhaps – we’re about to connect back to Nature in a stronger way – sometime soon?
Honoring the Green Man in the Modern World
One of the most important and immediately practical ways to connect with the energy of the Green Man in today’s world is to become more aware of and involved in environmental issues. Whether you make a special effort to recycle more (and to buy less packaged items in the first place), drive your car less and ride a bike and walk more, or to just watch one of the good new films about global warming you’ll be taking important steps to honor the natural world that truly supports our lives. In Portland we’re lucky to have a huge number of excellent very progressive environmental organizations including many great bicycle-related groups, environmentally-focused schools, recycling and compost programs, (especially SCRAP – recycled art supplies, etc., and Free Geek – computer recycling and education).
Another great habit to get into is to stay involved with Nature on a regular basis – whether you go on a good hike in the woods at least once a month, or help to replant trees, or start your’ own garden in the backyard (to keep your’ gnome company perhaps).
A convenient and powerful way to spend more time out in Nature while participating in important environmental activism is to get involved with forest and wildlife protection organizations such as BARK.
A convenient and powerful way to spend more time out in Nature while participating in important environmental activism is to get involved with forest and wildlife protection organizations such as BARK.
On a deeper personal level practices such as meditation, chi kung, and yoga can help us connect with the deeper energies of the Universal life force and Spirit that the Green Man represents at his deeper level. Sitting completely still and relaxed, following your breathing, and gradually clearing and emptying your mind as you release all anxieties and any negative thoughts is one of the best ways to really connect to the heart of Nature as well as ourselves. And ‘meditating’ like this – or doing chi kung or Tai Chi - out in a forest or even a park can be even more rewarding. Additionally, on a ‘spiritual’ note looking into the deeper side of world religious and spiritual traditions can also be very worthwhile as you grow in your connection to the natural world.
Looking at the food we eat - and gradually moving away from artificial ‘junk’ foods and towards more natural and organic foods is yet another great way to connect to Nature and our to own bodies. Obviously humans have only been eating candy bars and McDonalds hamburgers for a very brief period of the time we have existed on this planet – and the massive increases in cancer and heart disease seem to suggest that it might be better for us to eat a bit more like our ancestors did. For most people increasing the amount and kind of vegetables they eat and consuming less sugar can make dramatic improvements in health. Vegetarianism can also be a good way of life to look into – but even though they say ‘You are what you eat,’ don’t worry, even if you start to eat a lot of lettuce and cabbage you probably won’t end up looking like the Green Man yourself.
Looking at the food we eat - and gradually moving away from artificial ‘junk’ foods and towards more natural and organic foods is yet another great way to connect to Nature and our to own bodies. Obviously humans have only been eating candy bars and McDonalds hamburgers for a very brief period of the time we have existed on this planet – and the massive increases in cancer and heart disease seem to suggest that it might be better for us to eat a bit more like our ancestors did. For most people increasing the amount and kind of vegetables they eat and consuming less sugar can make dramatic improvements in health. Vegetarianism can also be a good way of life to look into – but even though they say ‘You are what you eat,’ don’t worry, even if you start to eat a lot of lettuce and cabbage you probably won’t end up looking like the Green Man yourself.
A few other miscellaneous Nature and spirit honoring things to look into include: Getting more involved with your local community – City Repair is a great way to get tied into some creative community activities in Portland – they do an amazing annual Earth Day celebration, ‘Intersection Repairs’, and a lot of other great fun events. Learning how to build with natural earthen materials can also be very rewarding, and in addition being home to several skilled natural builders, Portland also hosts an annual natural-Village Building Convergence! And of course visiting any of the great farmers’ markets around town is a good way to both connect with community and find some great natural and local foods. There are so many other great local organizations and activities that there’s not nearly enough space to list them all here – but if you start looking around – you’ll probably surprised at what you’ll find.
Whatever actions you choose or choose not to take on the journey of reconnecting to Nature may the eternally renewing spirit of the Green Man assist and nurture you on your’ path!
Whatever actions you choose or choose not to take on the journey of reconnecting to Nature may the eternally renewing spirit of the Green Man assist and nurture you on your’ path!
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 A City Repair 'Intersection Repair' in SE Portland |
 The City Repair community 'Tea Horse' in action |
 A Kids' Zone corner at the first Intersection Repair |