tree of Life

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Yggdrasil

The tree of life (also tree of life or world tree ) is a symbol and mythical motif that is widespread in the history of religion. It is related to mythological-religious reinterpretations of tree cults (sacred trees) and fertility symbols as well as creation myths and genealogy . The tree of life belongs to the mythology of many peoples and is an ancient symbol of the cosmic order.

As a world axis ( axis mundi ) it stands in the center of the world. Its roots reach deep into the earth and its tops touch or carry the sky. Thus it connects the three levels heaven , earth and underworld .

imaginations

However, the idea of ​​how many levels or worlds there were was different. From three (heaven, earth, underworld) to, for example, nine worlds (Germanic peoples). Some peoples also imagined that its tip reached to the pole star. In different cultures, different tree species were associated with the world tree, for example the birch , oak , yew or ash .

As a rule, mythical animals populate the world tree. In Indo-European peoples, there is often an eagle in the crown and a snake is at the bottom of the tree. In Indian, Germanic and Slavic mythology, there is quarrel between these two animals. In the Minoan culture, however, it is the celestial bull that rotates the world axis in a stoic circling course .

In most ancient cultures and religions , trees or groves were worshiped as the seat of gods or other supernatural beings. In mythology, the tree also plays as a tree of life (for example the sycamore in the Egyptians or the tree of life in Jewish mythology), as a tree of immortality (the peach tree in China) or as a symbol of awakening in Buddhism (the bodhi tree ) a role. In Babylonian mythology , Xixum extends its branches into the sky while its roots are deep in the underworld. Its trunk symbolizes the connection of the spheres.

Mesopotamia to India

In a myth that extends from ancient Mesopotamia to India, the world tree on the summit of the world mountain ( Meru in India ) extends vertically from the underworld to the sky, where the gods live and where the birds fly, which sit in the tops of the tree. At the same time, this tree symbolizes the center of the four world regions in a cosmogonic model, occasionally supplemented by four smaller trees in the four world regions. The tree with birds is also a symbol of fertility and stands for the periodic renewal of life, depicted on Bronze Age seals and amulets by Tilla Tepe in today's Afghanistan from the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. With the same motif of birds in the treetop, golden royal crowns from the first centuries BC were also found in this necropolis . Found.

Kalpavriksha is an auspicious sky tree in Indian mythology, which is revered in India and is depicted in medieval temples from Java .

The motif on Assyrian reliefs known as the “holy tree” consists of a vertical post with knots at several points, from which horizontal branches branch off. The motif was interpreted as a tree of life, a date palm or a cult object.

Shamanism

In classical shamanism , the world tree plays a major role. On the one hand it is the center of the world, on the other hand the path leads back to it to the beginning of creation. In this way he connects the real world with the former world in its original state, which was not yet separated from heaven. Via the world tree, the shaman can establish contact with the center of creation and take a flight into the realms of spirits and gods. Sometimes this connection between the worlds is also marked by a river. Then the shaman arrives on his soul journey in a boat across this river into the spirit world. The world tree also serves as the resting place of deceased shamans, from where the soul leaves the body to enter the realm of the spirits.

Occurrence

Tampan , ceremonial fabric from South Sumatra with a ship motif and a tree of life with a triangular crown as a mast. The ship is a soul ship with which the souls of the dead reach the afterlife and at the same time a symbol for life.

With peoples

As a symbol

In fairy tales

In Grimm's fairy tales as a tree with golden apples , sometimes explicitly referring to the tree of life :

In art

The tree of life is a form of ornament . The representation of the tree of life has changed significantly over time. While the whole tree was originally depicted, it was now only the branches, later only stems or bouquets of flowers that mostly protruded from a vase. Often these decorative elements are shown together with Adam and Eve , with pairs of animals or growing out of a heart.

See also

literature

  • Wolfgang Bauer, Irmtraud Dümotz, Sergius Golowin (Hrsg.): Lexicon of symbols. 14th edition. Fourier Verlag, Wiesbaden 1993, ISBN 3-921695-54-6 , pp. 97-99 (Different Indian ideas of the world tree).
  • Heinrich Elijah Benedikt: The Kabbalah as a Jewish-Christian initiation path. Volume 2: The Tree of Life: Mirror of the Cosmos and Man . Hermann Bauer Verlag, Freiburg 1988; 9th edition: Ansata-Verlag, Munich 2003.
  • Hans Biedermann: Knaurs Lexicon of Symbols. Droemer Knaur Verlag, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-426-66403-8 .
  • Uno Holmberg : The Tree of Life (= Suomalaisen Tiedeakatemian toimituksia. Sarja B = Series B, 16, 3, ISSN  0066-2011 ). Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, Helsinki 1922 (also: Edition Amalia, Bern 1996, ISBN 3-9520764-2-2 ).
  • Trisha Lepp: Trees . In: Mariko Namba Walter, Eva Jane Neumann Fridman (eds.): Shamanism. An encyclopedia of world beliefs, practices, and culture . 2 volumes. tape 1 . ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara CA / Denver / Oxford 2004, ISBN 1-57607-645-8 , pp. 263 f . (Meaning of the world tree for the shamans).
  • Susanne Müller Trufaut:  World Tree. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The Scientific Biblical Lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff.
  • Harald Schweizer (Ed.): "... you need trees!" The symbol of the tree between hope and destruction. Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Sigmaringen 1986, ISBN 3-7995-4096-2 .

Web links

Commons : Tree of Life  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : World tree  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Mariana Giovino: The Assyrian Sacred Tree: A History of Interpretations. ( Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis, 230) Academic Press, Friborg / Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007