The Green man and the Green Maiden
The other day I mentioned the Green Maiden. She is a lesser known aspect of the Green Man, the spirit of growth. You will see Green Men and Women in many places, including medieval churches and even the occasional modern advertisement (have you ever wondered about the Jolly Green Giant?) Together the Green Man and Maiden make up the male and female aspects of the earth and life itself.
Where do they come from? Some claim they are ancient, others say they are nothing more than the product of a medieval mason’s imagination. They can certainly be found in just about every country, not just in Britain and northern Europe, but all over the world. Sometimes they’re green, sometimes parti-coloured, their faces wreathed in leaves.
To me they represent the Life Force, what the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas described as "The force that through the green fuse drives the flower." Sometimes the faces are clearly male, sometimes female, and sometimes it’s difficult to be certain. Often they laugh at us out of their shelter of leaves, and occasionally they snarl, but always they appear wild and untameable.
For me the Green Man and Maiden are my guides on my chosen path. They help me recognise the touch of green wherever anything is growing. They urge us to cherish the earth and treat it with respect, for it is not only our home in this lifetime but in all our lives to come. Now there’s a thought – not just for our children’s future but for our own, too!
