The Green Lady Press
The Green Lady is featured in many Highland ghost stories as either a benevolent protective spirit or some sort of demon, depending on the source and setting of the tale. She is similar to the Irish banshee, but where the banshee protects a particular family, the Green Lady is a house spirit, protecting whoever lives in a specific house. She is often associated with a specific castle, and tours of castles where Green Lady spirits may be seen are available at many locations in Scotland.
The form of the Green Lady is that of a beautiful young woman with long blond hair. She wears a long green gown, and is often associated with water. In some stories, she will arrive at a home dripping wet and asks if she may enter to dry herself and her clothing. If she is welcomed into the home, she will then stay and become that home's own Green Lady. It is said that her long dress either hides a hairy, goat-like body, or only covers goat's hooves with which she has been cursed.
Our Green Lady shown above is more along the lines of the legendary Green Man of the forest, a vegetation spirit of ancient origin thought to symbolize the everliving life force that renews itself with the coming of Spring each year. For this reason, it is often looked upon as a pagan symbol, yet in the context of everlasting life, it is also often seen engraved on Christian churches. Whatever symbolism you may wish to attribute to it, our leafy Green Lady is meant to suggest there is more to reality than we can know or even imagine.
The original of this Green Lady was as a stone sculpture. The stained glass artist, Lisa Macfarlane, photographed it and then painted the image on glass. She has graciously given her permission to use the image for publishing our Green Lady Press line of books. To see more of Lisa's work, visit www.artofglass.uk.com. She can be contacted at Art of Glass, Newquay, Cornwall, England. Email info@artofglass.uk.com.