There are many nature spirits that have been honored since ancient times.
Today,
The Green Man is probably the most well-known in contemporary culture,
As well as among Wiccans and other Neo-Pagans.
The Green Man is the deity of plant life,
Forests,
And all things earth and green,
And he represents growth and rebirth.
He is often depicted as a human face surrounded by trees or greenery or dressed in foliage.
His prominence went somewhat underground during the Christianization of Europe,
Yet symbols of him,
Particularly in architecture,
Eventually rose and have gained popularity to this day.
Images of him can be seen in the arches of many cathedrals.
He is said to represent the Wiccan horned god and the Celtic god Cernunnos.
From a secular standpoint,
His image has become one of many symbols of environmentalism.
Pagans celebrate his rebirth at the Sabbath of Beltane,
Seeing him being born anew and strengthening like the sun after the winter slumber.
In Neo-Paganism,
There is a yearly battle between the Oak King and the Holly King.
The Oak King winning at the winter solstice and the summer solstice being when the Holly King triumphs.
This annual struggle for domination symbolizes the changing of the seasons or the switch between the light and dark halves of the year,
With both kings seen as aspects of the horned god or the green man.
We see this in the invocation of the Green Man of the Oak from the Pagan Book of Hours.
Oak King,
You who give your life every year at midsummer,
Teach us when to stand strong and when to gracefully yield.
We hail you,
Sacred Oak King,
Green Man of the Summer,
On this,
Your day of greatest triumph.
The Green Man is said to roam the woods and is present wherever crops are thriving.
His spirit is that of nature,
Rebirth,
And vegetation.
Followers learn from him agriculture,
Conservation,
And respect for the earth.
It is said that he awakens the earth each year at the spring equinox,
Beginning the yearly process of new growth and new life.
Some though view the Green Man as nothing more than an invention of modern literature.
Even those who do not revere him as a deity have admiration for him as a figure of building a better relationship with the earth,
Or at the very least,
View him as one of the many faces of nature.
Whether he is viewed as a deity or simply as a decorative motif,
It's hard to find anyone who is completely unfamiliar with any representation of the Green Man.
And if his presence is purely symbolic rather than literal,
It's difficult to find fault in anything that elevates our awareness and fondness of nature.
Blessed Be.
