Green Man Nature Spirit Symbolism in George Romero’s Movie “Season of the Witch” or “Jack’s Wife”

by Sophia diGregorio.

Young Pan by L. Bakst

(This is my third review and analysis of “Season of the Witch.” The first one is entitled, “Traditional Witch’s Review of the 1973 George Romero Movie, “Season of the Witch,” aka. “Hungry Wives” and “Jack’s Wife” and the second one is entitled, “Review of “Season of the Witch” (1973) or “Hungry Wives.”)

The Green Man is a nature spirit who represents licentiousness and liberation in the untamed wilderness. He represents mankind’s untamed nature. You’ll see  images of the Green Man in a lot of people’s gardens because he’s a spirit of growth and abundance.

He represents the difference between the “civilized” town-life and life in the wild, untamed forest. The pagans and the wise ones usually lived outside the city and were closer to nature, so he might be seen as a representation of paganism vs. Christianity. He is sometimes associated with Cernnunos, Pan, “The Horned God” or the Satyr.

Christian doctrine is opposed to the natural man. It is something I heard often among the Mormons. They said that god doesn’t like “the natural man” and his natural desires must be subordinated to the will of god. We find it in the Bible in the King James version of 1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

To many neo-pagans, Wiccans and other modern witches, the Green Man may be seen as a symbol of personal transformation. His face sprouting with new growth is a representation of a person transforming from a Christian (city-dweller) to a pagan (natural man or woman of the forest).

The Green Man motif is seen often in English literature. In Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” he is the fairy Puck, who places a spell on all of the people of the forest, including the fairy queen, the actors and the four lovers. The Green Man is a god of the Spring, of renewal and rebirth.’

Robin Goodfellow or Robinhood is another example of the use of the Green Man motif. Robin Goodfellow is a natural man, a law unto himself. He is a trickster and a little devil in the classic sense of the term, who gets the best of the evil Sheriff of Nottingham.

Another classic use of the Green Man motif can be seen in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” The Green Knight is a representation of the unknown dangers of the forest. We see J.R.R. Tolkein make use of this theme in the first book of “The Lord of the Rings” when the hobbits first leave the shire and meet Tom and his wife.

In Season of the Witch, we see writer and director George Romero make use of this classic literary motif to show what is happening to the main character, Joan. Joan is a Catholic who is slowly transforming into a natural woman – a witch.

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Green Man Symbolism in Season of the Witch

If you haven’t already read my review of Season of the Witch, you’ll find them here: The first one is entitled, “Traditional Witch’s Review of the 1973 George Romero Movie, “Season of the Witch,” aka. “Hungry Wives” and “Jack’s Wife” and the second one is entitled, “Review of “Season of the Witch” (1973) or “Hungry Wives.”) These reviews discuss more of this movie’s theme and its overall use of symbolism.

Romero lamented in the documentary footage of the DVD for this movie that he didn’t have the money to shoot the scene where the main character, Joan, is being pursued in a nightmare by a man wearing a Green Man mask. He compares it to a similar scene in Rosemary’s Baby, which achieves a film effect closer to what he probably had in mind. But, the corresponding scene in Season of the Witch has marvelous symbolism in it and this really makes up for the whole thing. Romero’s use of symbolism throughout this movie is nothing short of brilliant.

You’ll want to pay close attention right from the opening sequence on because there’s nothing in this movie that’s not supposed to be there. The Green Man transformation happens to the main character, Joan, who is apparently a pretty heavily indoctrinated Catholic. While we’re all born witches, those who’ve been indoctrinated by the Christians have to find their way back to the forest and that’s symbolically what this movie is about… and it’s about women finding their freedom at the same time.

There is a sexual theme, but this has always been part of “selling your soul to the devil” – it’s in all the old witch trial accounts and folk lore about witches. Women who are witches are sexually free because they understand they are not owned by the church or a man. This is part of the green man transformation theme in this movie, which Romero really wrote to express his views on the Women’s Movement in the early 1970s.

Romero’s “Season of the Witch” is a movie is about both sexual liberation and witchcraft and these two things are intertwined throughout the movie. For example, in the ritual she conjures “Virago” – The term means a powerful, Amazon-like woman. So, she is conjuring her own power, essentially (this was adapted from Huson’s book and the original entity’s name is Vassago). And, the actress who plays this role is very statuesque and powerful-looking like an Amazon-woman, but her power has been usurped by her white, middle-class suburban life, which is what she has been told is an ideal. This was supposed to be the thing that made women happy, but she’s not happy, at all. Joan is about 40-years old and her life-choices were not very broad. Her friend Shirley is a little older and feels this even more intensely, that life has passed her by, she’s lost her sex appeal and she’s not ready for things to be over because there are so many things she wants to “cut loose” and do.

The man in the mask coming after her in her dreams is her own sexual liberation coupled with her interest in the occult, which subconsciously really scares her. She verbalizes her fear of the occult at the tarot reading and again before the conjuration. But, we really see her fear of both the occult and her own sexuality in the nightmare of the man in the Green Man mask.

Here the Green Man is a representation of Joan’s freedom from both Christianity (Green Man is a representation of the god of the witches) and her life in “the dog pound,” which is the prison of the middle-class existence of women. As much as Joan wants what he represents, she is afraid of him, so she her subconscious mind produces these nightmares about him chasing her though the house.

The ending is a little ironic, if that’s the right word. She ends up shooting her husband. As much as she’s afraid of witchcraft and all it represents, she is even more afraid of staying trapped in her present situation. Her fears drive her to accidentally shoot her husband.

Joan doesn’t like swearing and in the extended version, she and Shirley are about to leave Greg and Nikki during the discussion about witchcraft because of his use of foul language – in the theatrical version he uses the “F” word, which we’re used to now, but was really out of line, especially in the company of women in the 1970s. Also, at the dinner table, when she’s wearing the ashes on her head, the tea pot starts shaking (as if from her annoyance or anger) at her husband who is swearing on the phone. And, then the last thing we hear from her husband as he’s trying to open the door downstairs in the rain is “Son of a …” – and then there’s the shotgun blast and he’s dead!

I urge you to see Season of the Witch, especially if you like complex horror or have an interest in the subject of witchcraft because this movie portrays it very well.

The movie was done in Philadelphia in 1972 and released in 1973. But, it wasn’t promoted properly and maybe it was a little too deep for some audiences, especially those who were expecting a porno movie, which was one of the ways they tried to promote it. That’s why they called it “Hungry Wives.” The original title was “Jack’s Wife.” It wasn’t re-released again until 2005 under the title “Season of the Witch.” By this time people knew who George Romero was. But, this movie isn’t much like his later work. It’s much better, I think.

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What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan and Traditional Witchcraft

What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan Occult Practices and Traditional Witchcraft

What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan and Traditional Witchcraft was written to show the true history of Wicca in Britain and the development of neo-Wicca in the U.S. It tells the benefits and the drawbacks of what has become the most popular, accessible and socially acceptable form of witchcraft. Wicca is the most popular aspect of the occult today, but it is certainly not all there is. This book encourages readers who want more to continue their exploration of witchcraft and their study of its origins.

It was written by a metaphysical bookstore owner who often heard the question, “What else is there?” Find “What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan and Traditional Witchcraft“ by Sophia diGregorio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble.

Amazon.com: “What’s Next After  Wicca?  Non-Wiccan and Traditional Witchcraft“

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Review of “Season of the Witch” (1973) or “Hungry Wives”

by Sophia diGregorio

 

(This is my second review and analysis of this fascinating film. The first one is entitled, “Traditional Witch’s Review of the 1973 George Romero Movie, “Season of the Witch,” aka. “Hungry Wives” and “Jack’s Wife, and the third one involves an analysis regarding Green Man symbolism, entitled, “Green Man Nature Spirit Symbolism in George Romero’s Movie “’Season of the Witch or Jack’s Wife’”, which follows this post.)

About Season of the Witch or Hungry Wives

“Season of the Witch” was originally filmed and directed by George A. Romero in 1972, but not released to theaters until 1973 as “Hungry Wives.” The original title was “Jack’s Wife,” which really describes the main character, Joan Mitchell (played by Jan White), who, as a suburban, middle-class housewife has no real identity of her own.

Although, the director has expressed regrets about this film, which was one of his earliest efforts, it is truly an amazing work of art and one I just can’t stop watching. It is outstanding for its script and its actors, but possibly the first amazing thing about the movie is the opening dream sequence, which makes wonderful use of symbolism to tell us almost everything about the main character in just a few minutes.

Although, Romero denies any personal belief in “the devil,” it is evident that someone was familiar with the work of Paul Huson and his book, “Mastering Witchcraft,” which is quoted throughout the film. Rituals are taken verbatim from the book, in fact, the exact symbol of the Goetic demon Vassago from Huson’s book is used in the conjuration rite, along with other spells for new witches.

Season of the Witch seems to tell two stories depending upon the viewer’s perspective. Based on the deeply divided reviews of this film, it seems that those unfamiliar with witchcraft see a completely different movie than those familiar with the subject.

Other viewers are confused about the kind of witchcraft that is portrayed in the film, which is not Wicca. Wicca, although not entirely unknown in the U.S. at the time this film was made, was not very popular. It was certainly not popular with the author Paul Huson, who was originally from England and familiar with British Traditional Wicca. Wicca, mainly in the form of Neo-wicca, would not become popular in the U.S. for another 20 to 25 years.

This movie is, at least, as relevant now as it was back in the early 1970s when the Women’s Movement was first getting underway. It may be even more relevant now as women’s basic human rights in the U.S. are more threatened than ever by extremist Christian organizations and the increasing violence of the secular patriarchy.

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The Representation of Witchcraft in This Movie

Some reviewers have complained that there is too little about witchcraft in this film because we only see a couple of ritual scenes at the end. But, the theme of witchcraft runs throughout this film from beginning to end, if you know what you’re looking at. This film is not an in-your-face kind of horror film and it is sure to disappoint people who are looking for something sensationalistic. What it is is a remarkably realistic movie about real witchcraft.

From the beginning, we see that Joan has the power to dream things that later happen in one way or another. For instance, her dream of being locked up at the dog pound by her husband is realized that night at the cocktail party. They do a Mad Lib reading wherein,”Jack Mitchell works at the dog pound.” Joan’s psychiatrist, who locked her into the kennel in her dream, is present at the party, too. And, while these things are subtle, they are the kinds of things that happen to people when their psychic abilities begin to open up.

At the cocktail party, Joan’s best friend Shirley mentions a friend of theirs who is involved in witchcraft. The following night, the two of them visit this lady and Shirley has a tarot reading. Joan expresses both an interest in and fear of witchcraft. The tarot reader gives a very accurate reading, acknowledging to Shirley that her husband has been having an affair and describing the woman involved. This is something Shirley already knew about, but had not told anyone else.

After the tarot reading Joan and Shirley return to Joan’s house where her daughter Nikki and her boyfriend, Greg get into a discussion about the power of the mind. Joan has never met Greg before, but she’s had a dream about him, in which his sexual services were offered to her. During the discussion Greg expresses his doubts about the reality of witchcraft and says its effects can all be explained psychologically.

Joan’s dreams continue to carry a great deal of meaning, especially to the viewer, because they tell a lot about her life and her state of mind, however, they become increasingly frightening and violent. Some of the nightmares feature an intruder wearing a Green Man mask. Interestingly, this mask has been interpreted as a “devil mask” by some viewers. But, the Green Man is Puck or Robin Goodfellow, a familiar motif in pagan literature and lore as a spirit of the forests and nature, also, at times associated with lust and licentiousness.

Read more about Green Man Symbolism in Season of the Witch at the hub: “Green Man Nature Spirit Symbolism in George Romero’s Season of the Witch or Jack’s Wife.”

From time to time throughout the film, when something significant to the plot happens, we see a shot of of an interesting bull figurine, which represents the pre-christian era. It is a representation of the Sacred Bull of Mesopotamia and has been used to represent pagan gods and goddesses, such as Moloch of Canaan and Hathor of Egypt.

After Joan comes home early and overhears her daughter having sex with her boyfriend, the girl runs away. Her husband is angry at Joan’s response to the situation and hits her across the face. As Joan’s oppression becomes more profound, her interest in witchcraft deepens and she continues to read more about it.

With the song, “Season of the Witch,” by Donovan playing in the background Joan shops for all the ritual items and things she needs to set up her altar, paying for it all with MasterCard!

When her husband returns from his most recent business trip, Joan has to pretend that she’s still Catholic. But, we see that her witch powers have grown because as her husband speaks angrily on the phone with a colleague during dinner, a pitcher on the table rocks back and forth.

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Joan Performs a Conjuration from Paul Huson’s “Mastering Witchcraft”

Joan does a ritual, as recommended in Paul Huson’s “Mastering Witchcraft,” to renounce Christianity. We see her opening up a page of the bible and writing the Our Father prayer backwards. Afterward, she attempts to bring her daughter’s boyfriend Greg to her by means of witchcraft. When this fails or, at least, doesn’t work quickly enough, she calls him on the phone.

To many viewers this appears as just a little extra-marital sex justified by dabbling in witchcraft, but it is far more than that. We know from Joan’s own words that she is very sexually repressed. This programming is related to her relationship to the conventional morality of the patriarchy and the Catholic church. Reversing this kind of repression is not a simple matter, but anyone who has done it will recognize the procedure in the film. After doing the ritual to renounce her Christianity, she embraces witchcraft by having sex with Greg and breaking down the psychological and emotional barriers she has attached to sex.

In other words, this is not sex simply for the sake of sex. At least, it isn’t to Joan. She is using him for her own purpose. Although, Greg (and a lot of viewers) believe this is just a “cop out.” It isn’t. It is a method of deprogramming one’s self that is used by many women who escape a misogynistic mind control cult.

Joan tries to conjure a spirit with the help of Greg. The sigil of the Goetic demon Vassago will be immediately recognized by anyone who is familiar with it. Although, the spirit is renamed “Virago.” The word “virago” means a strong, brave or war-like, Amazon woman, which seems to indicate that this entity represents her own power.

The conjuration is a success. We know this because we see a cat (the form taken by familiar spirits) entering through a basement window and crawling up the stairs. When Joan leaves the room and comes back, she sees a strange cat standing in the middle of the circle and she screams.

In the final scenes, Joan’s nightmares seem to come true in a very real and violent way. These scenes are woven in between scenes of Joan being initiated into the coven.

At the end of the film, Joan is sitting among her friends at a cocktail party, again. But, this time she looks very regal and powerful. Someone comments about how good she looks an her last words are, “I’m a witch.” According to Romero, during the filming of the scene as she said these words, the ceiling cracked above her head. He called this one of many coincidences that occurred during the filming.

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The Theme of Misogyny

Throughout the film, we see hints of the varying types and degrees of repression the women suffer from. Joan has a daughter, thus fulfilling what woman’s purpose was thought to be by some people at this time. In fact, there are still people who think this way. She finds her role as Jack’s wife unfulfilling and lonely and she feels more like the family dog than a real human being.

At the beginning, we see a woman at the party being assaulted and degraded. While this man should have been prosecuted or, at least, chastised for what he did, it is just brushed off. Anyone who has been in this situation knows that all of the blame always falls on the victim or she is told that it’s no big deal and just something she knows she has to put up with.

The sexualized sense of ownership that Jack has of his daughter Nikki is disturbing, although it is subtle. It, too, is the sort of thing that many people might write off as just the words and actions of a concerned, loving father. But, it is in fact a form of sex abuse and we can imagine that it is something he has made a habit of. In the patriarchy, wives and children, especially daughters, are property. As Jack tells us when he hits Joan, they are to be brutalized into conformity, if necessary.

Some of the last lines of the film are from misogynistic police who say that “she’ll get away” with what’s she’s done to her husband. “Women always get everything in the end,” one of them says bitterly.

This film depicts something that was really happening in the 1970s and is still happening today, which is the fusion of the original Women’s Movement with witchcraft. This is why “Season of the Witch” is mentioned in “What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan Occult Practices and Traditional Witchcraft,” in reference to the growing interest in this subject of witchcraft as a social under-current in the 1960s and ’70s in the U.S.

I can’t recommend “Season of the Witch” strongly enough to anyone interested in the portrayal of witchcraft in movies or witchcraft, in general. This film has been called “feminist” by some and maybe it is, given the era it portrays and the way in which this is done. But, more than this, it is a film about the lives of women and about witchcraft. It depicts both realistically. It has as much value as a lot of great literature that gives us historical insights into the lives of people. Although, it is hard to imagine a film more relevant to many women’s lives.

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What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan and Traditional Witchcraft

What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan Occult Practices and Traditional Witchcraft

What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan and Traditional Witchcraft was written to show the true history of Wicca in Britain and the development of neo-Wicca in the U.S. It tells the benefits and the drawbacks of what has become the most popular, accessible and socially acceptable form of witchcraft. Wicca is the most popular aspect of the occult today, but it is certainly not all there is. This book encourages readers who want more to continue their exploration of witchcraft and their study of its origins.

It was written by a metaphysical bookstore owner who often heard the question, “What else is there?” Find What’s Next After Wicca? Non-Wiccan and Traditional Witchcraft by Sophia diGregorio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble.

Amazon.com: “What’s Next After  Wicca?  Non-Wiccan and Traditional Witchcraft“

See other books by Sophia diGregorio

 

How Learning to Read the Tarot Cards Can Open Up Your Psychic Abilities and Increase Your E.S.P.

The painting depicts Prince Francesco Antelminelli Castracani Fibbia (1360-1419) with a deck of Tarot cards, tarocchino bolognese. The Queen of Batons can be seen, bearing the Fibbia arms. There is no historical evidence that Tarot had been invented until two decades after the Prince’s death. From Andrea Vitali’s Il Tarocchino di Bologna, Late 1600s, Artist Unknown.

One of the biggest benefits of learning to read the tarot is the increased psychic sensitivity that comes along with the practice. It may be that working with the Kabbalistic and astrological symbolism in the cards stimulates something in the brain that makes us more in tune with our psychic abilities. Or, it may simply be that as we become more accustomed to tapping into the subtle frequencies of the spiritual planes, it becomes easier to do.

Regardless of why you decide to learn to read the tarot, you will find the experience rewarding. And, as you become more adept as a tarot reader, the benefits of being a reader will grow. While you can use the tarot to increase your personal popularity or to make a little extra money – even establish yourself in a new career as a tarot reader – one of the most profoundly rewarding benefits is your connection with something most people only wonder about the existence of. There’s no word for it. But, it is a relationship with something beyond our ordinary, five-sense world.

Get: How to Read the Tarot for Fun, Profit and Psychic Development for Beginners and Advanced Readers

Which are the Best Tarot Decks?

Your first deck is an important one. My first deck was a Zolar deck, which belonged to my great-grandmother. This deck had the meanings written upon each card. The Quick & Easy Rider-Waite Tarot is a good choice to begin with. After which, the plain Rider-Waite is desirable.

I am a tarot deck collector. I’ve never seen a tarot or oracle deck I didn’t like, at least, a little, but my absolute favorite deck to work with is Aleister Crowley’s Thoth deck. You can use any deck for a reading and get decent results. But, this deck has the most powerful imagery and symbolism in it, which will help you in your reading. Unlike the Rider-Waite deck is Kabbalistically correct.

Do not limit yourself to one deck when you are learning. Different decks illuminate and focus on different aspects of a card’s meaning. It helps to use multiple decks, at least, at some early intermediate stage in your study. Besides, tarot deck collecting is wonderfully fulfilling hobby!

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How to Learn to Read the Tarot

How to Read the Tarot for Fun, Profit and Psychic Development for Beginners and Advanced Readers

You can go a long way learning the tarot on your own. The more dedicated you are, the faster you will progress in your study, which in the beginning is an exercise of memorization. If you have difficulty, check with a local metaphysical store to see if anyone is giving lessons on the tarot. For many people, learning in a workshop or group environment helps them learn faster and impresses the meanings of the cards on their minds more deeply than working entirely solo. Of course, you’ll still want to set aside plenty of time for self-study. Overall, learning the tarot is a solitary process.

You may find it helpful to keep a journal of meanings of the cards as you understand them individually. Also, record the meanings of cards in relation to other cards in readings. These can be mock readings in the beginning. Record any other impressions or sensations you experience during a reading, as well. Your journal can be fancy or plain. The best thing to start with is a simple spiral notebook.

You may choose to read the cards reversed or not. It may be in the beginning, that it is easier for you to read without considering the reversed position. You can always change your practice later.

Use the tarot manual that comes with your deck when you first begin to learn. But, do not rely too heavily on tarot manuals or you will never get past the rudimentary aspects of reading. Truly being able to read the tarot requires a thorough study of the Kaballah, astrology and numerology combined with your own gnosis or inner knowing.

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Reading the Tarot Expands Your Psychic Abilities

Even in the beginning stages of reading, you will get some very satisfactory readings. As you become more skilled and more confident, your accuracy will grow. You will begin to amaze other people. And, then you will begin to amaze yourself!

And that, of all the rewards of becoming a psychic tarot reader, is the most highly beneficial outcome. It gives you a “knowing”. It is an amazing thing to simply know something that could not be known by any conventional means.

How to Read the Tarot for Fun, Profit and Psychic Development for Beginners and Advanced Readers

Furthermore, what you will know for yourself, beyond the shadow of a doubt, is that there is something beyond the world of the five senses. You will know that you are more than a human being or, as many people claim, a human animal – you are part of the divine and you have a divine mind. You will know this in a way which is beyond the power of ordinary words to express.

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