Ursi's Eso Garden

‘The Green Man’, a name coined by Lady Raglan in 1939, is a mediaeval image usually found in churches. Carved in stone or wood, depicted on stained glass, illuminated manuscripts and where else, he can be recognised as a face, often grotesque, with foliage sprouting from his mouth, nose, eyes or ears. Alternatively, he may be a face composed entirely of leaves. Exterior or interior, he features on capitals, corbels, choir stalls, bench ends, fonts, screens, roof bosses - indeed, any surface open to ornamentation.

The Green Man is one of the commonest decorative motifs which we can put a name to, yet there is very little indication of its meaning. We know what an angel is; we know what a mermaid and a dragon are but we know almost nothing about the face made out of leaves.

The Search for the Green Man
by Nigel Rushbrook.

Many pictures from the Green Man in Canterbury, Kent, Devon and Green Man Curiosities.

Many pictures from the Green Man in Bremen, Köln, Dessau, Erfurt, Frabkfurt and more.

A sequence of medieval Heads-with-Leaves (aka Green Men, Foliate Heads etc.) from Chester Cathedral, UK; filmed by Sabrina Eden with music by Sedayne.

For more see:
Heads with Leaves

Many pictures and 6 clips at the bottom of the page.

For over a thousand years, storytellers have spun tales of King Arthur of Britain, his Queen Guinevere, and the circle of his noble Knights. Why do these stories endure? How does an outlaw in Lincoln green with a taste for disguise and foolery survive for six hundred years to inspire disguised tricksters from Alta California to Revolutionary France to the farthest reaches of the galaxy?

How have these songs and stories twisted and turned over the centuries, and how have they defined our expectations of heroism, romance, and adventure?

In her monumental The Festival of Lughnasa, MŸire Mac Neill writes:

Fuller understanding of the old goddess's part in the harvest festival must wait on studies, still to be made, of the local legends of the myth of the mythological old woman known as the Cailleach BhÑara, and also of the cults of St Brigid and St Ann . . . Brigid must have been closely connected at least two important Lughnasa sites were dedicated to her, and she is named at several others. Still she hardly appears in the festival legends. She has only a passive part in the Lughnasa complex.

The Festival of Brigit the Holy Woman (Oiche Fhéile Bríde agus Lá Lúnasa) by The School of Celtic Studies. (PDF, 30 pages)

No, you can't see a Bigfoot but over 3,000 of sightings can be loaded up to Google Earth. Clicking on a place mark icon for a report on the Google Earth map will reveal a hyperlink to the sighting report.

You can get the file from Mangani's BigfootMaps (near the bottom of the page). Or download it here by the Google Earth Community.

It's easy to use.
Of course you need to have Google Earth. See the Google Earth home page for details, or just go download GE 4 now. GE 4 has many new features not available in the earlier version.

Once installed, download the bigfootreports.kmz file and double click it.
Done!
It will open in Google Earth.

What Does the Symbol Mean?

The three hares motif was clearly revered in all the different contexts in which it is found, but, as yet, we have not come across a contemporary written record of its meaning. It may be expected that the motif would have had different meanings in different cultures but, as an archetype, perhaps there was an element of meaning common to all.

The hare is strongly represented in world mythology and from ancient times has had divine associations.

Three hares are chasing one another in an everlasting circle. They share between them only three ears which form a triangle in the center of the design, yet each animal has two ears. The earliest known appearance of this motif is in the Mogao caves near Dunhuang, China, which were created during the Sui to Tang dynasties (581-907 AD). Along the Silk Road other sightings of the three hares (and sometimes four hares) are found. The hares seem to have traveled in distance and time, adapting to different religions and taking on new meanings where they settled.

November 2nd became All Souls Day, when prayers were to be offered to the souls of all who the departed and those who were waiting in Purgatory for entry into Heaven. Throughout the centuries, pagan and Christian beliefs intertwine in a gallimaufry of celebrations from Oct 31st through November 5th, all of which appear both to challenge the ascendancy of the dark and to revel in its mystery.

'Happy Samhain!' by Liliane Grenier

Diwali comes from the Sanskrit words deepa and avail and literally means "row of lights." The festival is associated with several Hindu myths about the triumph of dharma (righteousness) over adharma (unrighteousness) and light over darkness.
Padmanabhan explains that one story holds that on Diwali, the Hindu Lord Krishna destroyed Narakasura, the demon and titan of hell who conquered and plundered heaven and Earth.

Fireworks, Lights Brighten Diwali Hindu Festival by National Geographic

What is the difference between Halloween and the Day of the Dead? Halloween is based on a medieval European concept of death, and is populated by demons, witches (usually women) and other images of terror -- all of them negative. The Day of the Dead, in contrast, is distinctly different, It is a uniquely Indo-Hispanic custom that demonstrates strong sense of love and respect for one’s ancestors; celebrates the continuance of life, family relationships, community solidarity and even finds humor after death -- all positive concepts!

Day of the Dead by Carl Franz & Lorena Havens


This is an ancient festivity that has been much transformed through the years, but which was intended in prehispanic Mexico to celebrate children and the dead. Hence, the best way to describe this Mexican holiday is to say that it is a time when Mexican families remember their dead, and the continuity of life.

A Must!

Mermaids exist in the twilight place between land and sea, in the psychological intertidal zone between life-giver and life-taker. Wanton, seductive and alluring, these amphibious goddesses of classical myth toy unabashedly with a man’s affections, offering him sweetness yet bringing only death. The paintings of the pre-Raphaelites portray mermaids as lovely maidens with a silvery aquatic tail, who comb their luxurious tresses in serene repose along a placid shore, but the mermaids of old were neither so innocent nor demure. With the sultry curve of their breasts and the dulcet darkness of their dreamy eyes, those half-forgotten ocean deities promised to reveal the secrets of the unattainable fathoms, only to drown men with their savage affection.

Glamorous and spooky: Glamis Castle

William Morris, Vision of the Holy Grail, 1890

Nessie himself

Great King Arthur