Tree of Life/Green Man/Thursday Doors

The tree of life grows as it turns–
its fruit must be experienced,
its seeds released to be nurtured
by the earth, air, water and light,

opening in all directions–
the tree of life grows as it turns–
each season a new patterning
on the rim of the yearly wheel

of abundance and scarcity–
we must navigate between them
as the tree of life grows, then turns,
expanding both branches and roots–

path-changing continuously,
balancing on uncertainty,
shimmered with mysterious songs–
the tree of life grows as it turns

I’ve done Green Man guardians before, but it seems there are always more. Once again, I’ve taken unlabeled photos from my archives. These guardians appear also as window ornaments.

Green Man is a forest spirit, Gaia’s protector, who connects humans with the natural world. I think of him first as Irish, but he is an ancient god, seen throughout Europe, the Middle East, and in parts of Asia as well.

Here’s another door with Green Man guarding the threshold.

This house’s guardians are at the bottom of the staircase.

Each side is different, with different faces as well.

I wonder if the staircase itself was originally more elaborate.

My poem is a quatern, for Suzanne’s W3 prompt on the subject of transformation. You know I can never resist a poetic form with repetition.

The Tree of Life collage is another in my Niki de Saint Phalle-inspired Tarot series. She included the Tree of Life in her Tarot Garden, so I thought I would make it into an additional card.

And, as always, look for more doors from all over the world at Thursday Doors, hosted by Dan Antion.