The concept of the tree of life exists and existed in many cultures. For the Germans it was the world tree Yggdrasil, the ash. In Southwest Asia it was often an olive or cedar. The mighty tree reaches high with its branches to the sky, firmly rooted in the earth, the trunk as a connection. Even the cross of Christ could be regarded as a variant of the tree of life, if it were not more of a tree of death, but with a figure of Christ who has risen again. The concept of the tree of life captures how life and death, heaven and earth, are inextricably linked. Eternity is expressed in the form of a tree. You can also see man himself as a kind of tree of life, the backbone being the sturdy, connecting channel. Man is also a link between heaven and earth.
- Why a tree?
- The tree of life symbolizes life itself
- The tree of life in paradise
- You yourself as the connection between heaven and earth
- Excercise
Why a tree?
It is not surprising that the tree functions as a link between heaven and earth. What living form or being is more suited to it? A bird can fly high above what is human, but then it is far away from the earth. An angel certainly has no anchor on the earth. But a tree is firmly anchored in the earth and thus gives confidence, it can serve as a symbol of safety and solidity. The earthly needs security, just as the heavenly needs space and freedom. The branches that seem to reach into the sky when you stand under a large tree, take up all the space and freedom.
The tree of life symbolizes life itself
In Europe, the oak, or ash, but also the yew were symbolic of the tree of life and eternal life. In Northern Asia it was the birch, pine, or larch. In Mesopotamia there was the image of an enormous column, tower or mountain or a large tree that sometimes grew on the mountain. This place was the navel of the earth. The Sumerian goddess Inanna found an uprooted tree in the river and planted it as a tree of life in her sacred garden. The tree originally belonged to the wisdom god Enki. All life sprang from where the world tree was located. Paradise was often here too, heavenly on earth. Here springs flowed with medicinal and life-giving water, nectar and milk. But snakes could also be found at the foot of the tree; the battle for existence on the earthly plane had to be fought. It could also be a dragon. At the top of the tree lived a mythical bird such as Garuda, or the eagle. This one went into battle with the snakes or dragons. Garuda was half man and half bird and was the mount of Vishnu (the maintainer of heaven and earth), he was the son of a seer and he symbolized the sun. So you see that all life takes place around the tree of life, the various forces, of good and evil, life and death, can be found here at the navel of the world.
The tree of life in paradise
In addition to the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the Hebrew Bible also mentions the tree of life. God planted these trees, whoever ate the fruit of the tree of life acquired immortality. After Adam and Eve ate the apple from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil against God’s command, God sent them out of Paradise to prevent them from also eating the apples from the tree of life. And so man was caught in the duality of good and evil, and his fear of his own mortality. We can call this the birth of the ego.
You yourself as the connection between heaven and earth
The tree of life can also be found in man himself. Feet on the earth, head and perhaps arms reaching towards heaven and catching the heavenly inspiration. The back as a channel for all those heavenly and earthly energies that flow through man and want to find their expression through man
Excercise
It feels good to pretend to be a tree as a relaxing exercise. Your feet are firm, but the rest of your body rocks back and forth, sometimes quietly, sometimes more violently, as it feels. You are now the connection between heaven and earth. It can be quite an experience, you are free to be a stiff or a playful tree, as long as you stay balanced and your feet remain firmly anchored. Nice music makes it a pleasant experience, for example on a wasted Sunday afternoon, or a dark winter evening, or early in the morning, as a morning greeting, or before going to sleep.
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- The yew as a tree of life and tree of strength
