The Green Man is old, he saw the first rain drop fall and the first acorn of the old forest sprout. He walked the mountains when the world was free of care.

The cycle of the seasons is the rythm of life to The Green Man and the pulse of the earth takes a beat as we approach Samhain (pronounced sah-ween). It is the holiest day in the Celtic calendar, marking the end of the northern hemisphere summer. It is a day when the dead return to walk among us. The world of faerie intersects with the our world and we may encounter mighty knights of that realm who are at once both magnificent and terrible.

As the Romans overran the Celtic heartlands they recognised the significance of this day and embraced it. So, in turn, did the Christians who named it the day of all sanctities, or All Hallows in old English.

Through the passing of the ages the day has retained a deep spiritual significance. Sadly popular culture has seen an end to that. Not abandoned to wither like many ancient beliefs, it has been hijacked and reduced to the trivial.

The Green Man sadly shakes his head as, from the eves of the ancient forest, he observes obese children in costume seeking more obesity via sweets where priests used to seek sustenance in exchange for assisting the dead to the afterlife.

The earth's pulse is burdened by ischemia these days.