The Green Man in Celtic Symbolism Information Jewelry Books

                                                    The Celtic symbol known as the Foliate
                                                    Head or, more affectionately,
                                                    the Green Man, can be found carved in
                                                    stone and wood in numerous churches and
                                                    cathedrals throughout Europe, particularly
                                                    Britain, France and Germany. Like so
                                                    many other pre-Christian symbols the
                                                    Green Man was used to decorate
                                                    churches, although it is believed to date
                                                    back to prehistoric Europe (around the
                                                    fifth or fourth millennia before Christ,
                                                    according to some experts). This is the
                                                    age in which many of the rural customs
                                                    and traditions still faithfully celebrated
                                                    today have their roots. It was the age of the first farmers, when the rhythms and cycles of nature began to be regarded increasing in agricultural terms - ploughing, sowing, harvesting, etc.

It is widely believed that the ancient Celtic populations shared a belief that the human head was the seat of the soul, and that this cult of the head is related to the great popularity of the Green Man or Foliate Head.

The Green Man is thought to derive from Cernunnos, the ancient Celtic god of nature and all living things. However remote his origins may be, however, his basic characteristics give a fairly clear indication of what he represented to the early European populations who depicted him. He is invariably shown, in fact, as a male head either formed out of leaves (hence the term 'foliate head') or disgorging vegetation from his mouth and often also his ears and eyes. In all his appearances the Green Man symbolises irrepressible life, renewal and rebirth, the eternal cycle of life, death and regeneration. The combination of human head with leaves and vegetation, moreover, can be said the be a symbol of the union of mankind with nature.