Myth and spirit of trees

Although these images predate Christian culture, Green Man grotesques became frequent features in carved stone of churches after the Sixth Century. In the Twentieth Century, this nature spirit became a prevalent pagan deity, and often appears in commercial garden sculpture and contemporary art.

The name Green Man was coined in 1939. The image itself can be traced back to the Second Century AD, but its origin is unknown. However a carving at the Abbey of Saint Denis, France, bears the title Silvanus

Van's namesake

I find this particularly intriguing because Silvanus Waffle was my grandfather's name, and I got my name, Van, from him. Silvanus was the Roman god of forests, groves and wild fields, also the patron of shepherds. He bears similarities to the Greek god, Pan, that familiar horned, hoofed satyr from whom many modern images of the Devil are derived. Silvanus was an unpredictable prankster, but then so is nature, don't you think?

Silvanus gave his name to the modern practice of silviculture, or forest management. In the past, the emphasis of forestry may have been largely on exploitation of resources. But we must begin to take a much more responsible approach.

Tree spirit

The use of trees for wilderness or commerce is now hotly debated, but Thomas Moore argues that we won't resolve this conflict until we begin to see them in a spiritual context. In The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life, he says:

Without a sensitivity to the soul of trees, neither our protection nor our exploitation will benefit from the wisdom of the tree itself. Our arguments will all be human ones, when the issue is fundamentally a matter of theology: our use of the earth's materials has to be done in a sacred manner, or we will have no deep guidance in knowing how to build and how to preserve.

We must begin to see trees as what Moore calls, "silent members of a community." Perhaps our forbearers were wiser and more in-tune when they mythologized and personalized their trees.

Next week I shall write about a few of the trees who I have known.

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