WHY "GREEN MAN"

The Green Man or Foliate Man is a character from Celtic mythology. He is perhaps the only pre-Christian figure that sneaked into the great cathedrals of England and western Europe -- usually hidden in a frieze or peeking out at the base of a column. Among his other duties, the Green Man is the bringer of spring -- if necessary dragging spring out of the forest while holding the dying winter at bay.

Even today in rural England and Wales, the villages mark the vernal Equinox with a festival honoring the Green Man. A villager dressed in an elaborate wickerwork costume parades from the forest to the village accompanied by the village children and Morris dancers.  Bringing spring seems like such a good idea to me that I adopted the Green Man as my totem. (Besides, my wife says that I kind of look like him.)

The green man to the left is from an illustration in a very old book -- alas, I have no idea where I found it or where it is now. The one the the right is based on a ceramic green man from England that my son and daughter-in-law gave me.