Here are a few of my thoughts, and reasonings as to why I choose to use these symbols in the GreenMan Shawl. I think that the need to work towards the renewal of our environment has more to do with some aspects of our past. From when we were closer to the environment and had more understanding of why it was so important to our well being.

This is a circular shawl. Why?

Circles are magic. Circles in knitting are even more magical! Where else can you take a straight line and make it do circles and spirals.

Knitting is a straight line.

Knitting is a straight line made with curves.

Every individual stitch is curved.

It is tremendously fun to take something that most people think of as a straight line and make the knitting run in circles, hence my love for circular shawls.

In history, in folklore, in magic, circles are powerful objects. They hold, they contain, they encompass. They can be everything and nothing.

I love to knit circular shawls.

A circular shawl is very important to the concept behind the GreenMan KAL. Because circles are magic. Because the Green Man is an ancient and powerful concept. Because I may be more than a little superstitious and have a tendency to be intuitive and to trust my intuition.

This shawl is full of superstition. It starts on Friday the Thirteenth of September. Usually considered unlucky, the number 13 has always had a positive influence in my life. The Green Man is a figure of legend and lore. There will be mistletoe in the Oak and Acorn band. and there is power in the spirals that form the knitting of the shawl. Our knitting spirals out from the center of the shawl.

A spiral that spins clockwise (from the inside-out) represents growth, expansion, evolution, harmony and cosmic energy. It can also represent the inner (spiritual) and outer (physical) worlds and the connection between the two.

The center of the spiral is often associated with the Source, God, or One Consciousness, out of which everything emerges. The spiral emerging from the center and expanding outwardly in all directions in an everlasting manner represents creation, cosmic energy, and infinite possibilities. It also represents the cyclic nature of the universe.

22 Powerful Spiral Symbols & Their Deeper Symbolism, by Lyza Hayn

The spiral and the Green Man are related in their basic representational meanings of growth, rebirth and future possibilities.

Together, the oak tree and acorn represent the cyclical nature of life. The oak tree, with its roots firmly planted in the earth, represents the past and the present, while the acorn symbolizes the future and the potential for growth and change.

Oak Symbolism and Meaning – Thorn & Claw

The Oak has for centuries represented strength in thought and purpose, the Oak stands for longevity. It stands tall in growth and last long when used to create the things of man. The Acorn, the seed of the Oak, is a symbol of fertility and growth, but also of wisdom because of the slow growth of the Oak, the Acorn also represents the slow passage of time as wisdom is attained.

And Mistletoe, because it produces berry’s in Winter and is evergreen, represents rebirth, life and fertility!

I hope that I have entertained you, enticed you and made you curious.

Apologies to “Queen” here – Knitting is a “kind of magic”!

Happy Knitting

Lynette