Green Man A pagan deity of the woodlands, usually represented as a horned man peering out from a mask of foliage, usually the sacred oak. The Green Man, also called “Green Jack,” “Jack-in-the-Green” and “Green George,” represents the spirits of the trees, plants and foliage. He is attributed with the powers of making rain and fostering the livestock with lush meadows. He appears often in medieval art, including carved church decorations.
In spring Pagan rites, Green George, as he is usually called then, is represented by a young man clad from head to foot in greenery, who leads the festival procession. In some festivals, Green George, or an effigy of him, is dunked into a river or pond in order to ensure enough
rain to make the fields and meadows green.
As the woodlands deity, the Green Man shares an association with the forest-dwelling fairies (green is the fairy color). In some locations in the British Isles, the fairies are called “Greenies” and “Greencoaties.” “The Green Children” is a myth of two fairy children, a brother and a
sister, whose skin is green, and who claim to be of a race with green skin.
