The World Tree : Symbols of Cosmologic Structures of Reality

Like the octave, the spiral, the mandala, or the fractal, the image of the tree represents a template for the structure of reality, and the emergence of multiplicity (branches, twigs, and leaves) out of unity (the trunk), of the visible (the tree above ground) out of the invisible (the hidden part of the tree - the roots below ground). The World Tree, or Tree of Life, was a symbol common to many ancient tribal societies. The tree specifically connects the three aspects of man, the otherworld, and the underworld. It is both a feminine symbol, bearing sustenance, and a masculine, visibly phallic symbol. The Tree of Life represents one of the oldest spiritual symbols in human history, predating Christianity and Islam. The Tree of Life links mankind to reality and has been a part of almost all cultures from Europe to the Orient. In the world of Islam predominantly, the Tree of Life retains a religious significance, symbolizing the path between heaven, earth, and the underworld. In Norse mythology, Odin’s 9-night suspension in the tree’s branches (Yggdrasil) is similar to Finnish shamanistic practices with a 9-night stay in a birch tree. The Bhagavad-Gita (ch.15, v.1) refers to the Asvattha (Ficus religiosa, more popularly known as the Bodhi tree,) or World Tree as growing with its roots in the heavens, and its trunk and branches extending downwards through earth. It is while meditating under a Bodhi tree that Buddha received his enlightenment; the Norse God Odin received the gift of language while suspended upside down in the World Ash.

In the system of Kabbala (esoteric Judaism, later adopted and modified by the Hermetic magical tradition as Qabalah) there is the Tree of Life with its ten Sephirot and twenty-two connecting paths. To the Mayas, it is Yaxche, whose branches support the heavens. The Egyptian’s Holy Sycamore stood on the threshold of life and death, connecting the worlds. In ancient Egyptian texts it is written of the Tree of Life, “I am the plant which comes from Nu.” The Tree of Life grew out of the Sacred Mound, it’s branches reaching out and supporting the star and planet studded sky, while it’s roots reached down into the watery abyss of the Netherworld. The trunk of the Tree of Life represented the World Pillar or Axis Munde (literally “Axis of the Mound”) around which the heavens appeared to revolve. The World Pillar was the centre of the universe. It also illustrates the interaction of the forces behind all of creation as we know it, whether it is that which has its origins in some sort of deity or deities or that which is made by mortal man.

Irish tradition supports evidence of the ancient Celtic tradition of tree veneration. Place-names leave traces of proof that latter-day Christian sites were often converted pagan sanctuaries, often the names contain the words for certain kinds of trees. The Celtic Tree of Life is one of the most enduring motifs of Celtic art, found on Celtic crosses and within illuminated manuscripts, such as the Book of Kells.

The Celtic Tree of Life is the symbol of balance between these worlds; the unification of above and below; a symbol of balance and harmony. It’s branches and roots form a map of the cosmos wherein all things are interwoven and interconnected. The Realms of Land, Sea and Sky unite within a tree, as also at a seashore for example, and therefore were the embodiment of an In-Between Place — a loci of limnality, or gateway to the otherworld — an idea much revered by the ancient Celts, as can be seen in their songs and stories. The Three Realms (Sky, Sea & Land) appear throughout Celtic literature and can still be found in traces in modern Irish blessings. Quite different from the idea of the four Greek elements (earth, air, fire, and water), the Three Realms were an integral part of the Celtic (triadic) idea of the world and how it existed.

Trees were also regarded as living, magical beings who bestowed blessings from the Otherworld. Wood from the nine sacred trees kindled the need-fire that brought back the sun to earth on May Eve; tree names formed the letters of the Ogham alphabet which made potent spells when carved on staves of yew; rowan protected the byre; ash lent power to the spear�s flight.

The Green Man is a pre-Christian symbol later adopted by Gothic carvers and placed in thousands of churches and cathedrals throughout Europe, from Ireland to Russia. He is usually shown as a male head formed as a leaf mask. He stands for humanity’s connection to nature, as part and parcel of the world represented by the Tree of Life, irrepressible life, and a symbol of the cycle of renewal and birth. His significance in various cultures includes Robin of the Wood, the Green Knight of Arthurian legend, Jack in the Green, Wicker Man, and the Celtic God, Cerunnos.

In the days of the Celts, Northern Europe was covered with forests so thick it was said a squirrel could hop from branch to branch from one end to the other without touching the ground. Italy was covered from coast to coast with dense woods of oak, elm and chestnut; the great Hercynian forest rendered Germany impenetrable in Caesar’s time; Scotland was clothed with the magnificent Caledonian, Ireland with oak-woods, the whole of Southern England with the ancient trees of Anderida.

In this environment, it is no wonder the forest was perceived as the matrix of a tribe’s sustenance, culture and spirituality. A food-store of nuts, berries and game, a pharmacopeia of medicines, wood supply for shelter and the kindling of sacred fires — the forest was all of these to the early Celtic peoples.

When a tribe cleared the land for a settlement, they always left a great tree in the middle, known in Ireland as the “crann bethadh,” or Tree of Life, that embodied the security and integrity of the people. Chieftains were inaugurated at the sacred tree, for, with its roots stretching down to the lower world, its branches reaching to the upper world, it connected him with the power both of the heavens and the worlds below. One of the greatest triumphs a tribe could achieve over its enemies was to cut down their mother tree, an outrage punishable by the highest penalties.

For trees not only provided earthly sustenance: they were regarded as living, magical beings who bestowed blessings from the Otherworld. Wood from the nine sacred trees kindled the need-fire that brought back the sun to earth on May Eve; tree names formed the letters of the Ogham alphabet which made potent spells when carved on staves of yew; rowan protected the byre; ash lent power to the spear’s flight.” — The Celtic Tree of Life

Even geneaological diagrams resemble, and in some esoteric sense, relate to the World Tree. Indeed, we talk about the tracing of our family heritage and history as “the search for roots.” Interesting metaphor, no? Consider too, the symbolic attachment to the World Tree inherent in such things as totem poles and standing stones; the trunk of the Tree of Life represents the earthly life and it’s connection to the otherworld (the upper reaches) and underworld (that which reaches beneath the surface). Even now, we build structures that symbolically represent that connection, a sort of “model of reality” or “structure of the universe,” in the form of skyscrapers and towers.

The reality is that unless all of the principles that are embodied in the Tree are perfectly matched in any human creation or structure then whatever it is, it will surely and inevitably fail. This applies no matter whether we consider the Cosmos; the alchemy of a steam locomotive, or the nature of our everyday life.

Interesting Links:

Tree of Life Project
Champion Trees