The Green Man Archetype, continued

We are meditating on the archetype of the Green Man, who is often depicted with a beard that surrounds his head like a wreath, and in it dwell living things, including fauna, birds, grapes, and more. He is a symbol of humanity’s profound interdependence with the vegetative world and of male generativity, indeed of healthy masculine sexuality.

Often the beard emerges from his throat, the fifth chakra, from which we speak our deepest wisdom and truth that heal and welcome one another.

Thus, the Green Man honors the prophet in all of us; propheto in Greek means to “speak out,” which is what prophets do when they speak truth to power. The fifth chakra is essentially a birth canal, located between our heart and our mind chakras, a force of imagination that can heal and uplift the world.

The twelfth century was a time of the return of the goddess and creativity—historian Pere Chenu used to say that it birthed “the only renaissance that worked in the West.” The Green Man arrived along with the goddess–at Chartres Cathedral, for example, there are about 172 images of the divine Mother and about 42 images of the Green Man.

Hildegard of Bingen, a towering figure in the 12^th century, called Christ a “green man” because he brings wellness and aliveness to the human soul along with wetness and creativity. He is the opposite of what she called the worst of all sins, “drying up.” Viriditas or greening power accompanies Christ and the Holy Spirit. Green is also the color of the fourth or heart chakra.

A Green Man or Woman is also in touch with his or her inner silence. Some Green Men are pictured as cross-eyed, and this represents the willingness to look inside and examine what is there, including habits of solitude and silence.

Contemplation/meditation is part of the Green Man’s power, therefore, and is a means to taming the reptilian brain.

The Biblical images of Christ as a vine feed the symbol of Christ as a Green Man. “I am the vine; you are the branches…You will bear fruit, fruit that remains.” (See Jn.15.1-17) So too does the theology of Christ as Word or Logos resonate with Christ as Green Man.

Twelfth-century images of the Green Man depict men at diverse stages in life—some are young, some middle-aged, some old. Some are lying on the ground and dying like leaves in the fall, returning their spirit to the Earth for recycling.

Their moods are diverse as well—some are playful, some are awestruck, some are fierce. The fierceness represents strength and warrior energy. Some Green Men incorporate boughs that resemble antlers. In this way, the Green Man connects to the animal as well as the plant world. Antlers are tree-like, and men are stags who carry antler-like powers.

Male creativity, sexuality, and sensuality are honored, and the archetype places male sexuality in a larger context of service and not mere ego-strutting. But neither is sexuality to be repressed or sublimated. The Green Man honors and praises male sexuality within a cosmic context of contributing to the ongoing creative energy of the universe and of community.

Of course, today the archetype of the Green Man is returning in a strong way because Mother Earth is being maligned and abused by humankind.

The Green Man is a warrior defending Mother Earth, a linker of Father Sky to Mother Earth, a Celebrator of Mother Earth, and potentially a consort to the Black Madonna. He is a champion of the return of the Divine Feminine, which includes the goddess, of whom Gaia or Mother Earth are prominent faces. A reminder of the healthy and sacred masculine.

Banner Image: (L) ”The Green Man,” center of a dish by Alan Caiger-Smith; photo by Clive Hicks, detail of the cover of The Green Man: The Archetype of our Oneness with the Earth by William Anderson. (R) “Black Madonna” by Arden Mason, detail of the cover of Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna: Chants, Music, and Sacred Practices of the Great Goddess by Alessandra Belloni. Images used with permission.

Queries for Contemplation

Which of the many layers of meaning around the Green Man archetype speak to you most deeply? Which do you think are most necessary for men and women to heed at this time in human and Earth history?

Related Readings by Matthew Fox

The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine, pp. 21-26, 231-244

Stations of the Cosmic Christ, pp. 89-96

Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality

Christian Mystics: 365 Readings & Meditations

The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance

Hildegard of Bingen, A Saint for Our Times: Unleashing Her Power in the 21st Century

Charles Burack, ed., Matthew Fox: Essential Writings in Creation Spirituality

Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth

Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson and Jen Listug: Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action

Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ