Of all the many forms in which our Lord God takes, I must say that I love His Green Man aspect the most! He is both lover and consort to our Lady Goddess, the Earth Mother, and our Father always -The Oak King and Holly King respectively.
Historically speaking, the Green Man goes all the way back to pre-Christian Europe, Ireland, Scotland and Russia. He represents our kinship with the trees and the woods and the cycle of renewal and rebirth. He is known by many different names as He is recognized in almost every tradition. For example, he is heavily associated with Cernunnos (Celtic god of the forest), Dionysus (Greek god of Wine) and Bacchus (Roman god of wine), to name a few.
My Green Man Yule tree ornament
Our Wiccan group, Old Path Enlightener’s Circle, always honors The Green Man or “The Oak King” at our Beltane celebrations. This is the time when our Lord God and Lady Goddess unite in the “sacred rite of holy marriage.” We re-enact this sacred marriage ceremony during the symbolic Great Rite. This is one of the many reasons why I love Beltane so much and why it is amongst my favorite of our Wiccan celebrations. Lady Sabrina Rhiannon’s group, The Coven of the Silver Moon Circle, chooses a May King and Queen during their Beltane ritual. Everyone inside the circle walks in between two balefire cauldrons for a total of 9 times while making one wish each. Typically, the Celtic Fire god Bel or Belinus is honored at this particular sabbat, as the word Beltane literally means, “Bel-Fire,” but we much prefer to honor The Green Man.
Draco & Rhiannon lighting the Spirit candle during the symbolic Great Rite - Beltane 2008
“I GIVE TO THEE MY GREATEST GIFT,
A LOVE THAT’S PURE AND TRUE
ACCEPT IT WITH OPEN ARMS,
AS I HAVE DONE FOR YOU.” ~ Sal Ranieri
I majored in English and concentrated on Medieval English Literature. I first came across The Green Man in the poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight". Fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI love your Yule tree ornament. The Green Man, guardian and protector of trees.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting and beautiful post! Thank you Kim! Big Hugs! (I hope the cleaning up is going well!)
ReplyDeleteThanks Stacy! And thanks for asking about my cleaning. I just seriously started yesterday and have much to do, but so far it is going very well! ;)
DeleteBlessings and love to you!