I do believe the Green Man has awoken from is slumber, a scent on the air, a whisper among grasses, I sense him......

An archetype that is very close to my heart is that of 'The Green Man' . In fact my belief in the existence of archetypes is based on an experience I had when I was a teenager that involved him. But before I get to that I suppose first, I should give a brief description of him for those who aren't familiar. This is not the easiest of tasks, for he is an extremely elusive fellow, defying definition, yet boldly existing in the imaginations of many, his image set in stone yet no one really knows quite who he is.
The Green Man can be found all around the world in various forms but most often in the architectural decorations of churches and other buildings in Europe. Considering the fact that there is no mention of his character in the bible it is surprising to hear that there are 10 times more images of the Green Man in old churches than there are of Christ. It is thought that the image was used to encourage people of the older pagan religions into church, adapting Christianity to include the old gods. Although this doesn't really explain to me why he was featured so abundantly and was given such pride of place.
Symbolically the Green Man motif is interpreted as a symbol of rebirth/renaissance/resurrection, 'the cycle of growth reborn anew each spring'. He also represents for many the idea of oneness with the earth and the creative force that inspires artists.
Although there is no definite answer to explain exactly who he is, parallels can be drawn with many mythological characters. The Woodwose (the Wildman of the woods) Cernunnos (the horned god), John Barleycorn, Puck, Robin Goodfellow, Robin Hood, Jack in the green, The Green Knight (from the Arthurian legend of Sir Gawain), Green George, the Holly King, to name but a few, could all be representations of the Green Man archetype. Jesus and Osiris also have similarities in their resurrection symbolism. And it doesn't stop there the world over the motif appears again and again. The Muslim religion has Al-Khidr which translated means 'the green one' and foliate heads have also been found on Hindu temples in India, Jain temples in Rajasthan, and Templar churches in Jeruslam.
To me the Green Man has come to represents many things, nature, rebirth, creativity, the spirit of the wild wood and the underworld landscapes that lie beneath our reality, the intuitive connections to Jung's 'Self', he may even be the great man himself. But when I first came across him I knew nothing of him at all, which is peculiar as I first encountered him in a dream.
In my dream I was watching a performance of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' on a small stage set up in a wood, (I might add here that I had never read or seen a performance of this play at the time.) When the play had finished I went backstage to meet the actors and it was here I encountered the Green Man. There was no mistaking that he was the Green Man, he was green, with a bushy green beard, and it was always very apparent. He was kind of like a big green Santa Claus, but as I saw Santa as a child, when I truely believed. I huged him and I got an amazing feeling of benevolent warmth from him, protective love, he radiated love and wisdom. I wish I could describe it all better, but it was magical. I think the dream ended there. Ever since I've felt compelled to get to the bottom of this dream and boy has it sent me on a journey!
It lead me to the Green Man archetype and Jung's theories about dreams, myths, and archetypes. He believed that the symbols and archetypes that appear in dreams are the same for everybody, that they are recieved to us through a collective unconcious. This made sense to me, it just fits, how else could I have dreamed of this mythological character without even knowing anything about him yet in my dream feel completely sure who he was, like I knew him so well.
When I later read A Midsummer Night's dream and realised I'd been dreaming about watching a play about a play and a dream this seemed to add deeper significance. I also found extracts on the internet about how Puck is a representation the green man and that Shakespeare was said to have written Midsummer Nights dream in the 'Green Language' a symbolic writing system that gave words double or deeper meaning. There is also an article written about how Shakespeare would have been very aware of the Green Man as many places he would have visited would be adorned with his stone image.
I've also since read of other people who have encountered the Green Man in there dreams and were similarly moved by the experience. My meeting with him has opened up a multi-dimensional world of possibilties and many many more questions. He's strengthened my beliefs and my love of nature and brought a wonderous richness to my life. I've felt compelled to write this, in acknowledgement to him and because over the last few days I feel he has awoken from his death, reborn, and his presence is strong. I hope you all get to meet him someday.