Is the Green Man an ancient Pagan woodland god, or is he something far more recent and with a different message?

Handfasting Beltane is the Great Wedding of the Goddess and the God, it is a popular time for pagan weddings or Handfastings, a traditional betrothal for 'a year and a day' after which the couple would either choose to stay together or part without recrimination. Today, the length of commitment is a matter of choice for the couple, and can often be for life. Handfasting ceremonies are often unique to the couple, but include common elements, most importantly the exchange of vows and rings (or a token of their choice). The act of handfasting always involves tying the hands Handfasting ('tying the knot') of the two people involved, in a figure of eight, at some point in the ceremony and later unbinding. This is done with a red cord or ribbon. Tying the hands together symbolises that the two people have come together and the untying means that they remain together of their own free will.

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In his Underworld aspect Cernnunos is The Dark Man, the god who dwells in the House Beneath the Hill, the Underworld. He is the one who comforts and sings the souls of the dead to their rest in the Summerlands of the Otherworld. Cernnunos, as Master of the Wild Hunt, who pursues the souls of evil doers, is not associated with a biblical or even modern morality, but with the protection and continuance of the Land and Nature and the spirits that dwell therein. The Green Man is an integral character in Max Porter's novel Lanny, which was longlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize. The Green Men (including a suffragist irritated by the name) and their powers figure significantly in K. J. Charles's novel The Spectred Isle (2017), which was nominated for a RITA Award. [9] This figure, I am convinced, is neither a figment of the imagination nor a symbol, but is taken from real life, and the question is whether there was any figure in real life from which it could have been taken.’

And here’s the Golden Bough of it all: this might be, historically speaking, dubious, but you can’t deny it sounds cool.The term Green Man was first used by Lady Raglan (Julia Somerset, née Hamilton) in a 1939 article The Green Man in Church Architecture, published in The Folklore Journal. If you seek them out, Earth spirits may share their joy and magic with you as you celebrate life’s mysteries within the Eight Festivals. Centerwall, Brandon S. (January 1997). "The Name of the Green Man". Folklore. 108 (1–2): 25–33. doi: 10.1080/0015587X.1997.9715933. ISSN 0015-587X. Varner, Gary R. (2006). The Mythic Forest, the Green Man and the Spirit of Nature. New York: Algora. p.103. ISBN 9780875864358. Little charm made of shell as I hang you here may all be well. May all things grow. May all things flow. Blessings for the turning of the Wheel."