The magic in everything

 

Inspired by our world

 

Gorse

 

Feel your own immense power

 

For one minute

 

Green Man

 

God of Spring and Summer

The Green Man is often perceived as an ancient Celtic symbol. In Celtic mythology, he is a god of spring and summer. He disappears and returns year after year, century after century, enacting themes of death and resurrection, the ebb and flow of life and creativity. The Arthurian legend of Sir Gawain, The Green Knight, is a notable image of the Green Man from the Middle Ages. Gawain had a green helmet, green armor, and green shield... even a green horse. When he was decapitated, he continued to live. ¹

For our ancient ancestors, many spirits and deities were associated with nature, wildlife, and plant growth. After all, if you had just spent the winter starving and freezing, when spring arrived it was certainly time to give thanks to whatever spirits watched over your tribe. The spring season, particularly around Beltane, is typically tied to a number of pre-Christian nature spirits. Many of these are similar in origin and characteristics but tend to vary based on region and language. In English folklore, few characters stand out -- or are as recognizable -- as the Green Man.

Strongly connected to Jack in the Green and the May King, as well as John Barleycorn during the fall harvest, the figure known as the Green Man is a god of vegetation and plant life. He symbolizes the life that is found in the natural plant world, and in the earth itself. Consider, for a moment, the forest. In the British Isles, the forests a thousand years ago were vast, spreading for miles and miles, farther than the eye could see. Because of the sheer size, the forest could be a dark and scary place.

However, it was also a place you had to enter, whether you wanted to or not, because it provided meat for hunting, plants for eating, and wood for burning and building. In the winter, the forest must have seemed quite dead and desolate... but in the spring, it returned to life. It would be logical for early peoples to have applied some sort of spiritual aspect to the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. ²

The Green Man is connected with the god Fionn where he is known as the Derg Corra or “man in the tree”. He is the symbol of wisdom, closely connected, like Fionn, with the stag. He is described as a curious character who sometimes goes about “on the shanks of a deer,” but is described in the tale of Fionn as seated in a tree, with a raven on his shoulder and a deer at his feet. He carries a bronze cup containing a salmon and shares among his companions' various fruits of wisdom. ³

Source: ¹ Ancient Symbols; ² Pagan Wiccan About; ³ The Book of Celtic Myths

Image: Green man

Shared from Celtic Bard Jeff on FB

2023 Lunar Calendar

 

Warriors of the Rainbow

 

I wish I were a glow worm

 

Tiny Happy Things

 

Our earth walk

Walk peacefully on earth

Page Popularity

In order of popularity, this is how you viewed pages to date ;)

1. South African Myths and Legends

2. Maori Insights

3. African Proverbs

4. Buddhism

5. Aboriginal Wisdom

6. Native American Sages

7. Fairy Tales

8. Christmas Tales

9. Inspirational Stories

10. Lore of Arcana

11. Lore of Reaume

Freedom Deserved!

Trees are poems

Hello November!

In the southern hemisphere we're moving towards those VERY hot months!

Hello September!

Hole in the Wall

Hole in the Wall 

Near Coffee Bay is a prominent rock formation with a big hole in the middle, which has become a symbol for the Xhosa of a great historical tragedy, the "Great Cattle Killing". It is a unique structure with a huge detached cliff that has a giant opening carved through its centre by the waves. The local Xhosa call this place "izi Khaleni", which means "place of thunder". At certain seasons and water conditions (high tide) the waves clap is such a fashion that the concussion can be heard throughout the valley.

A young girl called Nongqawuse had seen a messenger from the realm of the ancestors at a waterhole. She told her uncle Mhlakaza about her vision. As he was an important Xhosa priest, his social rank granted a great impact to the prophecy he derived from his niece's vision. He announced that soldiers who were incarnations of the souls of dead Xhosa warriors, would arrive on the 18th of February over the sea, come onto land through the "Hole in the Wall" and defeat the hated British. But, he continued, the Xhosa had to make a sacrifice to help the warriors by destroying all their cereals and killing all their cattle. After the victory, there would be food in abundance for everybody. The Xhosa followed the instructions in his prophecy and killed their whole stock of cattle. The catastrophe took its course. Thousands of Xhosa starved and the British had an easy time conquering the remaining people.

Two roads overcome the hyena

Two roads overcome the hyena (African)

A very hungry hyena went out on the Tanzanian plains to hunt for food. He came to a branch in the bush road where the two paths veered off in different directions. He saw two goats caught in the thickets at the far end of the two different paths. With his mouth watering in anticipation, he decided that his left leg would follow the left path and his right leg the right path. As the two paths continued to veer in different directions he tried to follow them both at once. Finally he split in two. As the well-known African proverb says: Two roads overcame the hyena.

The lion's share

The lion's share (South African)

One day the lion, the wolf and the fox went out hunting together. They caught a wild ass, a gazelle and a hare. The lion spoke to the wolf, "Mr. Wolf, you may divide the venison for us today." The wolf said, "I would have thought it best, sire that you should have the ass and my friend the fox should take the hare; as for me, I shall be content to take only the gazelle." On hearing this, the lion was furious. He raised his mighty paw and struck the wolf on the head. The wolf's skull was cracked, so he died. Whereupon the lion spoke to the fox, "Now you may try and divide our meal better." The fox spoke solemnly, "The ass will be your dinner, Sire, the gazelle will be your Majesty's supper and the hare will be your breakfast for tomorrow morning." Surprised, the lion asked him, "When did you learn so much wisdom?" Said the fox, "When I heard the wolf's skull cracking."