The Green Man and the Great Goddess

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Seek to embody the Green Man in your Spring rituals and sabbat celebrations: Wild, Untamed and Primal Blodeuwedd is a Welsh Celtic goddess of the Spring, probably because she was literally created from flowers. To get specific, she’s made of oak, broom and meadowsweet and her name translates to “Flower-Face”. This Spring goddess is one who represents female empowerment in a day and age when we are exploring our rights to choose our life path, partners and more. This simple charm is designed to honour the Spirit of those who have passed onto the Summerland. The seeds you scatter will grow in memory, a gift of remembrance to the Earth. Go on a hike and ask these deities to send you Spring signs like soaring birds, butterflies, symbols in the clouds, etc. A piece of green ribbon (for abundance), a piece of gold ribbon (for prosperity and gathering) or ribbon in Lammas harvest colours would be equally suitable.

Pause to add: I am not talking about the current state of the discipline, which is very much Serious and Worthy of Respect and therefore Not Hilarious, but about the joyous nonsense interspersed with serious scholarship which is where all the children’s folklore books my grandma had got their ideas.)At your Samhain feast, consider laying an extra place for them to join you at the table - cook and eat their favourite dishes, talk about them - re-member them, bring them closer. While the Cailleach rules over the cold, dark half of the year in Celtic Ireland and Scotland, Brigid rules over the light, warm half of the year. Therefore, we’re including her here as one of the Spring goddesses. Truly, Brigid’s time began at Beltane on May 1st and lasted until Samhain when the Crone goddess Cailleach took over. Brigid was and still is a beloved goddess of the fire, smithery, inspiration, poetry and healing. She is frequently depicted as a triple goddess and some believe she is the sister of the Cailleach. Interestingly, Brigid is associated not just with the sacred fire but also with sacred water held within wells. Fire and water being too key elements to the Spring and Summer seasons. 5. Flora: Roman Spring Goddess Whatever you do, remember this is the Great Wedding! Dress in your best, especially in green, and wear a flower crown. Handfasting Beltane is the Great Wedding of the Goddess and the God, it is a popular time for pagan weddings or Handfastings, a traditional betrothal for 'a year and a day' after which the couple would either choose to stay together or part without recrimination. Today, the length of commitment is a matter of choice for the couple, and can often be for life. Handfasting ceremonies are often unique to the couple, but include common elements, most importantly the exchange of vows and rings (or a token of their choice). The act of handfasting always involves tying the hands Handfasting ('tying the knot') of the two people involved, in a figure of eight, at some point in the ceremony and later unbinding. This is done with a red cord or ribbon. Tying the hands together symbolises that the two people have come together and the untying means that they remain together of their own free will. This charm works very well as an offering of thanks to Spirit of Place. The instructions are exactly the same, except that when you prepare the seeds the night before the words are 'I give thanks for your beauty, it warms my heart. Merry Meet Merry Part.'

The idea of Christ as a second Adam appears in the New Testament and probably forms the origin of this legend. Thus, the figure of a man with leaves bursting forth from his mouth would have been understood by medieval churchgoers as a triumphant symbol of resurrection, redemption and the triumph of Christ. It is not, then, an inappropriate symbol to be chosen by the head of the Church of England for the coronation invitations, but one proudly declaring the victory of Christ over sin and death. Image credit: https://www.royal.uk/coronation-invitation OGL Make your own Grain Mother or Corn Dolly. Go for a walk and see what you can find - stalks of wheat, oats, barley, rye often left growing on the edges of fields after harvesting, failing that any grasses and/or reeds you can find.Let your creativity out - if you feel confident, weave your Grain Mother into being, but equally you can just lace and tie her into being with Lammas coloured ribbons. As you do so, give thanks for the gifts of Harvest. Place your Grain Mother on your altar or at the centre of celebrations. At Samhain, return the grain stalks to the earth, they contain the seeds of future harvest... Sandars, p. 283, "the 'Green Man' peering through hawthorn leaves in the Norwich cloisters and at Southwell is the true descendant of the Brno-Maloměřice heads" (famous bronze Celtic pieces)Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and pat it into a circle. With a sharp knife lightly score the bread into two halves to represent The Lord and Lady. Glaze with beaten egg and sprinkle sugar over the top. Bake in a moderate oven for about 20-25 minutes. When the bread is cooled break it into two halves along the score mark. Repeat the words of the charm and tie with purple ribbon. Purple represents the union of red (love in all its forms) and blue (unity and harmony). Enjoy. Brightest Blessings. This image is derived from a carving on the Gunderstrup Cauldron, as well as other sources, however, I would like to note that Celtic scholar John Matthews in his book The Celtic Shaman states that he believes the image on the Gunderstrup cauldron to be that of a Celtic shaman and not the god Cernnunos. Honouring your ancestors is a very special thing to do at this time and can be done in many simple ways. You can make a besom at this time of year by gathering a large bundle of birch twigs tied together. Drive a broom handle into the middle of the bundle - ideally hazel or ash. From the Renaissance onward, elaborate variations on the Green Man theme, often with animal heads rather than human faces, appear in many media other than carvings (including manuscripts, metalwork, bookplates, and stained glass). They seem to have been used for purely decorative effect rather than reflecting any deeply held belief.

Early folklorists—many of whom seem to have been basically just frustrated fantasy authors—were right about this: you can just say stuff, and everyone will be into it as long as it sounds cool. Which is to say, as long as it sounds right , and meaningful , and important : because a myth is a story that rings with echoes like the peal of a church bell. And by that metric the Green Man is as authentic as any myth as can be. The story almost tells itself. It says: he’s still here. The spirit of ancient woodlands, the enormous quiet of a different, wilder, less terrible world. You can see him lurking in the church; you might glimpse him striding through the forest. He is strange and strong and leaf-crowned. The fearsome forces of civilisation might try to bury him, but his roots are deep, and he will not die. Anderson, William. Green Man: The Archetype of our Oneness with the Earth. London: HarperCollins Publishers Limited, 1990. Beltane is a Fire Festival. The word 'Beltane' originates from the Celtic God 'Bel', meaning 'the bright one' and the Gaelic word 'teine' meaning fire. Together they make 'Bright Fire', or 'Goodly Fire' and traditionally bonfires were lit to honour the Sun and encourage the support of Bel and the Sun's light to nurture the emerging future harvest and protect the community. Bel had to be won over through human effort. In his Underworld aspect Cernnunos is The Dark Man, the god who dwells in the House Beneath the Hill, the Underworld. He is the one who comforts and sings the souls of the dead to their rest in the Summerlands of the Otherworld. Cernnunos, as Master of the Wild Hunt, who pursues the souls of evil doers, is not associated with a biblical or even modern morality, but with the protection and continuance of the Land and Nature and the spirits that dwell therein.The besom is used as this time both practically and symbolically. It sweeps away the last of the Autumn leaves, but is also used ritually to sweep out the old, to clean and clear away old energy, creating space for the new. Traditionally besoms are made from birch twigs - the birch is associated with purification and renewal.