If you look at the image above, we may see different things according to our beliefs and programming.
The image is of Pan, the Greek and pagan god of nature, of the wild woods. He’s a fertility god of the spring, of sex and of the wild nature of mankind. He’s a god of music, of gatherings of friends and of merrymaking. He symbolises all that it is to be a being of the earth, and of our wild spaces.
Yet early Christianity sought to end that.
When Christianity became a recognised religion in around 313, paganism was still highly prevalent, just as it had been for thousands of years beforehand. With the growing popularity of the Christian faith, there was a religious propaganda campaign created in order to eradicate paganism and make Christianity the main religion in the western world.
But pagan Britain especially, was not so easily turned. Our long held customs and traditions were sacred to us.
So in order to begin to decline in paganism, the church decided to demonise, quite literally, one of our most revered and respected deities.
The church began to embark on a propaganda campaign, whereby they took the image of Pan, and crafted a horned, evil, goat like figure from it. They gave it the name of the devil, and frightened people with the threat of losing their soul to him if they didn’t follow the churches doctrine and dogma.
This bastardisation of what was once a much respected, loved and revered figure brought about the gradual decline of the pagan belief system.
Due to his association with early Spring, he stood in the way of another of the church's bastardisations, Easter, from being given centre stage. So the campaign was harsh and direct to get rid of him as a figure to be worshipped.
Poor Pan was resigned to the idea of hell and time did the rest.
But Pan is a particularly important figure for now, as we embark on the first light of spring time, he embodies what it is to be human and what it is to live.
Pan is not just about existing, he’s about actually living - of making the most of the beautiful existence we have, of deepening our connection with the natural world, and embracing the “wild woods” in us all.
So give a nod to Pan as he reminds us that life is for living, for fun, for frivolity and growth. He’s not a figure to be feared, but one to be cherished, as he reminds us of our very natural humanity.
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