On Princess Mononoke...

Personally, I think it was used as yet another way to show that the forest spirit is not all happy-life-love-joy but instead nature… which includes death.

I agree. Nature’s balance. Life, growth, death.

I thought it might be shown to be an extreme example of the spirit’s powers.
i.e.
Foot placed on floor, Floor given life
Foot taken away, life taken away.

I would say that the Forrest Spirit is an embodiment of the cycle of life. He’s a symbol of balance, looking at the transformation into the god of the night, and i bet if we saw more of him in the night-time form, then he would appear more a death god, and thus make the theme of balance more apparent.

in agreement with all the above

I remember someone saying in the film, that if you go to him when you need curing etc, he could cure or kill you :\

i think it show his power to give and to take life…but im not sure…perhabs the others are right ^^

In Dungeons and Dragons you can die if healed too much… (like if you were sent in the positive plane in the multiverse for more than three times your hit points in rounds) |So I would say that they were burned out from too much life, Like burning a candle at both ends, destroying the balance between health and illness.