Green Man, Cernunnos, Pan, Prince of Pentacles, The Great Work, Caretaker, Spirit-Earth Brother, Life, Death and Rebirth, Green Lady, Persephone, Proserpina, Princess of Pentacles
Winter Solstice, the first day of winter. The weather has since began to change and we are naturally turning inward for warmth. It is also a time to enter our own darkness to start getting to know our true selves.
In the winter the seeds are deep in the ground, protected and awaiting their time to grow. But for those seeds to germinate, sprout and grow, the earth or ground must be nurtured to give the seeds what they need to grow. The Green man represents the work it takes to prepare the lands for growth. The Green Lady protects those seeds in the meantime. Those seeds are our ideas, and dreams. Our thoughts and inspirations. We must go deep (Persephone) into our own darkness and find those ideas and dreams. Then we must clear out the clutter in ourselves and our lands to prepare for the germination of those ideas. The material qualities of the Prince of Pentacles may cause growth for good or evil. As we can force things along, but it is unbalanced without the feminine energy of our unconscious. The grounding element for the Prince, is the Princess, who gives appreciation and purpose to what we create in the material world. The energies of winter are calm and passive, a time to meditate (focus on one thing) and come up with our whys to what we will create in the new year. The Green Man energy represents the coming and going of an event. The coming and going of the seasons of life. The Green Lady represents the approval or disapproval of a matter. The whys and appreciation of the actions.
The Great Work is the manifesting of Higher States of Conscious Energy, in the lower states of consciousness below, on earth, by physical focus and attention to work. This focus being driven by our deep contemplations to its purpose. The Pan force’s job is to bring forth, from the Earthly element, Vegetation, which is the sustenance of Spirit itself. Mother Earth makes the form, he enlivens it and enforces the design. The stable but active force of the “Green man” as he brings forth from the Earth, vegetation which is the substance that Spirit enlivens. He is barely clothed because we have a “pan-force” here who is both fertile and lustful…fertilization. He is Earth’s Husband which means ‘keeper of her property”. He is a Caretaker of Her Earthly Forms. He is “the salt of the Earth” because his character is so trustworthy. And like all “slow quiet types” is easy to get along with…but terrible in anger. He is a force of Nature, that should be respected and loved in all of Us and a very necessary “power of the body” needed by Spiritual-Life itself. The Power of Spirit must be aligned with the Power of the Body…..for those egos who malign the body, proclaiming its nature as evil, are doomed to failure in the Great Work. Life obviously adores the Body as we are a Spiral Energy Expression of Life. Seeds will not prosper in malnourished ground so we must take care of our bodies and our spirit. The Spirit-Earth Brother (Green Man and Lady) represents the understanding that all is accomplished through meditation. He reminds us that we must first meditate on what type of “soil” we are working with before we are able to “plant” the right kind of “seeds”. There is no point in working against Nature.
Prior to the Winter Solstice, we collected 12 logs to fit into our fireplace, preferably from the same tree cut down. They will burn slowly all day, every day. To start that fire, we first toast to the beginning of the Yule season and the time of contemplation. Afterward we sprinkle that toast unto the log to help it burn and ignite. Once lit the fire will stay going for 12 days and nights. All leaves and debris raked from the yard are ground up and put into compost pile to be spread around the trees and garden beds. Any seeds or seedlings that are planted this time of year are planted, like certain trees. We like to plant a tree each year. Berries and nuts are gathered (or bought). Root vegetables that are recently harvested are prepared for a feast. Singing songs of Yule as we prepare the harvest for dinner.
Our dinner consists of: Turkey, various greens, sweet potatoes Squash, nut bread, berries and nuts. And of course our Yule Log cake. As we sit around the table, we converse about the Green Man and Lady energies and encourage all to take time this winter season to go into deep contemplation about our dreams this coming year. Also ponder how to nurture our bodies for the growth of inspiration and strength to work for those dreams. Our Second day of Yule is our gift to Nature. The planting and nurturing of another tree. You may plant trees or other plants for this season. Or prepare your lands, and yards for the the season ahead. If you are not able to attend to your land, you can help others with theirs or a community garden. A compost can be made anywhere and the new soil put on land or in pots.
Acknowledge your connection to this great planet and your blessings will be great.
Blessed Be on this Beautiful Winter Solstice
“To help with planning out your unique 12 Days of Yule celebration, Agape Covens has designed a 12 Days of Yule planner printable. It is available at AgapeCovens.Etsy.com.”
