[Woodcarver] woodspirit history

Mon Jun 21 08:49:35 EDT 2004

Wood spirits are a kin to a much older motif/image called the Green Man.
The Green man dates back to circa 50 A.D. in Roman carvings.  He first
appears as a profile image with the leaves or vines emanating form his
mouth and nostrils.  By 200 A.D. he has become much of what we think of
today with the full front facing male face that uses leaves in place of
hair.  This motif appears in just about every culture as a symbol of man
being part of nature or man coming from nature, he is nature
personified.  It also implies man's control over or dominance over
nature. Variations include leaf masks, American Indians wearing wolf
skins, and the China's Shen Nong emperor.

Mike is quite correct about it's appearance in Europe, some of the
earliest are a pair of leaf masks in a frieze at Trier Cathedral, circa
200 A.D.  The Green man eventually became a major repetitive theme in
Cathedral sculptures during  the Medieval era.  "The Green man" by
Kathleen Basford, published by D. S. Brewer of Suffolk, UK, reprinted
1996 is an excellent source guide for both information and historic
imagery.

The Wood Spirit, a version of the Green Man, can be traced to the Pagan
religions with one of the best known called the Apple Man.  Now the
legend goes that the gods lived on earth and traveled among us.  Each
god or goddess had their specific influences upon nature and man.  The
Apple Man was the guardian for tree especially orchard trees and was
said to reside inside the oldest Apple Tree in the orchard.  Therefore,
the oldest tree was both protected and revered by the orchard owner.
Should the oldest apple tree die, then the Apple Man would die and so
would the orchard. 

Several of the Pagan gods sleep through winter, not finding much
enjoyment in the cold weather.  These gods take up their winter
residence inside a fir or pine tree ... that's why the pine and fir do
not lose their green needles during winter as the sleeping god protects
the trees from the cold climate. So where deciduous trees appear dead
having lost their leaves the pine still appears alive even in the worst
weather conditions.  Because early man considered winter the 'small
death' for earth he used superstition to try and protect himself from it
and to hopefully insure the return of spring.  This was done by cutting
a pine or fir tree, which of course had a sleeping god (Wood Spirit)
inside it, then he brought the tree inside his home.  The pine became
the center of several rituals and was carefully tended to keep the god
happy and safe.  When it was about time for spring to come the tree was
taken back outside to 'release' the god. Since the faithful Pagans had
served/cherished their god well through the cold months, that god
naturally rewarded his people by returning life to the earth.

And that, my dear friends, is why Christians have Christmas trees!!!
The Christian church during their expansion era would enter a new area
then begin to incorporate many of the area's religious practices and
rights into their own rituals. That way the Pagan rituals and beliefs
got sort of swallowed up by the Christian faith, making conversion more
acceptable to the Pagans.  

:) One day I'll tell you all about All Hallows Eve and the English
Catholic Church  :)

Susan

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-----Original Message-----
From: woodcarver-bounces at six.pairlist.net
[mailto:woodcarver-bounces at six.pairlist.net] On Behalf Of Mike
Bloomquist
Sent: Monday, June 21, 2004 7:35 AM
To: [Woodcarver]
Subject: Re: [Woodcarver] woodspirit history

Al,

Here's something that's on the tag that's on the woodspirits I sell at
Artworks.  It's a condensation of things read in several sources.

*************************************
The Woodspirit

Being fierce and powerful protectors of the forests, woodspirits
encourage respect for their world.  One does not wish to cross a
woodspirit, but are counted as fortunate and charmed to have seen one.
Carving woodspirits is a European tradition which predates the
colonization of America.  A frequent project of Swiss and Austrian
woodcarvers is to carve their interpretation of the woodspirit, and that
tradition has caused them to migrate into our homes to be protectors of
house and hearth.

*************************************

Keep on Carvin'
-Mike Bloomquist->

Wooden Dreams Woodcarving
http://www.borg.com/~bloomqum

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Al  <mailto:pilsl at uniontel.net> & Sue Pilsl 
To: [Woodcarver] <mailto:woodcarver at six.pairlist.net>  
Sent: Saturday, June 19, 2004 12:58 PM
Subject: [Woodcarver] woodspirit history

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Hello Everyone,

Am giving a cottonwood bark woodspirit/housespirit to a friend as a
gift, and thought it would be nice to include a short
history/explanation of them.  Can anyone point me in the right direction
to find a concise explanation of woodspirits?  Have tried a Google
search, but didn't come up with anything that seemed appropriate.

Thank you very much for any and all answers.

Al Pilsl
>From Beautiful Hancock, WI
pilsl at uniontel.net

  _____  

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