Friday, February 26, 2010

The Green Man


 The Green Man archetype is found in many cultures throughout the world.  It is symbolized by the face or head of a man (Green Woman are very rare) made of leaves, often with leaves sprouting out from the mouth, nose and ears of the face.  The Green Man is commonly thought to symbolize fertility or rebirth, but I believe the symbol of the Green Man is more complex than that.

Though the true purpose of the Green Man may forever remain unknown, I believe the it represents the intermediary between the chaos of creation and the order of nature.  The Green Man serves as the Guardian and moves through the forest ensuring that the creations of the Creatrix act in accord with the laws of nature. The Green Man could be found carved in wood and stone and often appeared in churches, abbeys, and cathedrals. Perhaps the Green Man served as a reminder that we are not so far removed from nature and are still subject to nature's law. 

It makes me wonder how different our relationship to nature might now be if we hadn't stopped displaying the Green Man on our buildings.   Perhaps it is not too late to begin again...

DoAn
Subscribe in a reader

Prints and Greeting Cards are available at my Print on Demand Site.

Donate now!

DoAn Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions in behalf of DoAn Art may be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

All artwork, photos and text © Copyright 2005-2009 DoAn Art (Antony Galbraith) unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Antony Galbraith.

1 comment:

Nyayu Amibae said...

i like it................

Related Posts

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...