Thetree of life is a fundamentalarchetype in many of the world'smythological,religious, andphilosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of thesacred tree.[1] Thetree of the knowledge of good and evil and thetree of life which appear inGenesis'Garden of Eden as part of the Jewish cosmology of creation, and the tree of knowledge connecting toheaven and theunderworld such asYggdrasil, are forms of theworld tree orcosmic tree,[2] and are portrayed in variousreligions andphilosophies as the same tree.[3]
Various trees of life are recounted infolklore,culture andfiction, often relating toimmortality orfertility. They had their origin in religious symbolism. According to professor Elvyra Usačiovaitė, a "typical" imagery preserved in ancient iconography is that of two symmetrical figures facing each other, with a tree standing in the middle. The two characters may variously represent rulers, gods, and even a deity and a human follower.[4]
TheAssyrian tree of life was represented by a series of nodes and crisscrossing lines. It was apparently an important religious symbol, often attended to inAssyrian palace reliefs by human or eagle-headedwinged genies, or the King, and blessed or fertilized withbucket and cone.[5]Assyriologists have not reached consensus as to the meaning of this symbol. The name "Tree of Life" has been attributed to it by modern scholarship; it is not used in the Assyrian sources. In fact, no textual evidence pertaining to the symbol is known to exist.
TheEpic of Gilgamesh is a similar quest for immortality. InBabylonian religion,Etana, theKing of Kish, searched for a 'plant of birth' to provide him with a son. This has a solid provenance of antiquity, being found incylinder seals from theAkkadian Empire (2390–2249BCE).
The tree of life appears inAsherah iconography, particularly on theLachish ewer and Pithos A fromKuntillet Ajrud, where it is flanked by ibexes.[6][7] The tree's design, with buds, flowers, and possiblyalmond drupes, resembles themenorah, which is thought to represent a stylizedalmond tree inExodus 25:31-36[8] This suggests a continuation of Asherah's cultic representation in the temple.[9] Scholars have explored these connections, noting parallels between sacred trees, Asherah, and the menorah.[10][11]
InUrartu in theArmenian highlands, the tree of life was a religious symbol and was drawn on walls of fortresses and carved on the armor of warriors. The branches of the tree were equally divided on the right and left sides of the stem, with each branch having one leaf, and one leaf on the apex of the tree. Servants stood on each side of the tree with one of their hands up as if they are taking care of the tree.
In theAvestan literature andIranian mythology, there are several sacred vegetal icons related to life, eternality and cure, such asAmesha Spenta;Ameretat, the guardian of plants and goddess of trees and immortality;Gaokerena or whitehaoma, a tree that its vivacity would certify continuance of life in the universe; the bas tokhmak, a tree with remedial attribute, retentive of all herbal seeds, and destroyer of sorrow;Mashya and Mashyana, the parents of the human race;barsom, copped offshoots ofpomegranate, gaz (Tamarix gallica), or haoma that Zoroastrians use in their rituals; andhaoma, a plant, unknown today, that was the source of sacredpotable.[12]
The Gaokerena is a large, sacred haoma planted byAhura Mazda.Ahriman created a frog to invade and destroy the tree, aiming to prevent all trees from growing on the earth. As a reaction, Ahura Mazda created two kar-fish staring at the frog to guard the tree. The two fish always stare at the frog and stay ready to react to it. Ahriman is responsible for all evil, including death; Ahura Mazda is responsible for all good (including life).
Haoma is another sacred plant because of the drink made from it. Preparing the drink by pounding and drinking it is a central feature of Zoroastrian ritual. Haoma is also personified as a divinity. It bestows essential qualities—health, fertility, husbands for maidens, and even immortality. The source of the earthly haoma plant is a shining white tree that grows on aparadisiacal mountain. Sprigs of this white haoma were brought to earth by divine birds. The tree is considerably diverse.
Haoma is the Avestan form of the Sanskritsoma. The identity of the two in ritual significance is considered by scholars to point to a salient feature of anIndo-Iranian religion antedating Zoroastrianism.[13][14]
Another related issue inPersian mythology isMashya and Mashyana, two trees that were the ancestors of all living beings. This myth is a prototype for thecreation myth, in which gods create living beings.
A genre of the sacred books ofHinduism, thePuranas, mention a divine tree called theKalpavriksha. This divine tree is guarded bygandharvas in the garden of the mythological city ofAmaravati under the control ofIndra, the king of thedevas. In one story, for a very long time, the devas and theasuras decided tochurn the milky ocean to obtainamrita, the nectar of immortality, and share it equally. During the churning, along with many other mythical items, emerged the Kalpavriksha. It is described to be gold in colour and bear a mesmerising aura. It is said to be pleased with chanting and offers: when it is pleased, it grants every wish. Hindu tradition holds that there are five separate kalpavrikshas and each of them grant different types of wishes. These trees also appear in the beliefs ofJainism.[15]
InChinese mythology, a carving of a tree of life depicts aphoenix and adragon; the dragon often represents immortality. ATaoist story tells of a tree that produces apeach of immortality every three thousand years, and anyone who eats the fruit receives immortality.
Anarchaeological discovery in the 1990s was of a sacrificial pit atSanxingdui inSichuan,China. Dating from about 1200BCE, it contained threebronze trees, one of them 4 meters high. At the base was a dragon, and fruit hanging from the lower branches. At the top is a bird-like (Phoenix) creature with claws. Also found in Sichuan, from the lateHan dynasty (c. 25–220 CE), is another tree of life. Theceramic base is guarded by a horned beast with wings. The leaves of the tree represent coins and people. At the apex is a bird with coins and theSun.
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The tree of life first appears in Genesis 2:9 and 3:22–24 as the source ofeternal life in theGarden of Eden, from which access is revoked when man is driven from the garden. It then reappears in the last book of the Bible, theBook of Revelation, and most predominantly in the last chapter of that book (Chapter 22) as a part of the new garden of paradise. Access is then no longer forbidden, for those who "wash their robes" (or as the textual variant in the King James Version has it, "they that do his commandments") "have right to the tree of life" (v. 14). A similar statement appears in Rev 2:7, where the tree of life is promised as a reward to those who overcome. Revelation 22 begins with a reference to the "pure river of water of life" which proceeds "out of the throne of God". The river seems to feed two trees of life, one "on either side of the river" which "bear twelve manner of fruits" "and the leaves of the tree were for healing of the nations" (v. 1–2).[16] Alternatively, this may indicate that the tree of life is a vine that grows on both sides of the river, as John 15:1 would hint at.
Pope Benedict XVI has said that "the Cross is the true tree of life."[17]Saint Bonaventure taught that the medicinal fruit of the tree of life is Christ himself.[18]Saint Albert the Great taught that theEucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ, is the Fruit of the Tree of Life.[19]Augustine of Hippo said that the tree of life is Christ:
All these things stood for something other than what they were, but all the same they were themselves bodily realities. And when the narrator mentioned them he was not employing figurative language, but giving an explicit account of things which had a forward reference that was figurative. So then the tree of life also was Christ... and indeed God did not wish the man to live in Paradise without the mysteries of spiritual things being presented to him in bodily form. So then in the other trees he was provided with nourishment, in this one with a sacrament... He is rightly called whatever came before him in order to signify him.[20]
In Eastern Christianity the tree of life is the love of God.[21]
The tree of life vision is described and discussed in theBook of Mormon. According to the Book of Mormon, the vision was received in adream by the prophetLehi, and later in a vision by his sonNephi, who wrote about it in theFirst Book of Nephi. The vision includes a path leading to a tree, the fruit of the tree symbolizing the love of God, with an iron rod, symbolizing the word of God, along the path whereby followers ofJesus may hold to the rod and avoid wandering off the path into pits or waters symbolizing the ways of sin. The vision also includes a large building wherein the wicked look down at the righteous and mock them.
The vision is said to symbolize love of Christ and the way toeternal life and is a well known and cited story with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A member of the church reflected that the vision is "one of the richest, most flexible, and far-reaching pieces of symbolic prophecy contained in the standard works [scriptures]."[22]
Different views on the Tree of life can be found in theNag Hammadi library codices, writings belonging toGnosticism. InOn the Origin of the World, the Tree of Life is said to be located to the north ofparadise, providing life to the innocent saints who will come out of their material bodies during what is called the consummation of the age. The color of the tree is described as resembling the Sun, its branches are beautiful, its leaves are similar to that ofcypress, and its fruit is like clusters of white grapes. However, in theSecret Book of John, the Tree of Life is portrayed negatively. Its roots are described as bitter, its branches are death, its shadow is hatred, a trap is found in its leaves, its seed is desire, and it blossoms in the darkness.[23]
In theGnostic religionManichaeism, the Tree of Life helped Adam obtain the knowledge (gnosis) necessary for salvation and is identified as an image of Jesus.[24]
In Greek mythology,Hera is gifted a branch growinggolden apples by her grandmotherGaia, which are then planted in Hera'sGarden of the Hesperides. The dragonLadon guards the tree(s) from all who would take the apples. The three golden apples thatAphrodite gave toHippomenes to distractAtalanta three times during their footrace allowed him to win Atalanta's hand in marriage. Though it is not specified in ancient myth, many assume that Aphrodite gathered those apples from Hera's tree(s). Eris stole one of these apples and carved the words ΤΗΙ ΚΑΛΛΙΣΤΗΙ, "to the fairest", upon it to create theApple of Discord.Heracles retrieved three of the apples as the eleventh of hisTwelve Labors. The Garden of the Hesperides is often compared toEden, the golden apples are compared tothe forbidden fruit of the tree inGenesis, and Ladon is often compared to thesnake in Eden, all of which is part of why the forbidden fruit of Eden is usually represented as an apple in European art, even though Genesis does not specifically name nor describeany characteristics of the fruit.
InDictionnaire Mytho-Hermetique (Paris, 1737),Antoine-Joseph Pernety, a famousalchemist, identified the tree of life with theElixir of life and thePhilosopher's Stone.
InEden in the East (1998),Stephen Oppenheimer suggests that a tree-worshipping culture arose inIndonesia and was diffused by the so-calledYounger Dryas event of c. 10,900 BCE or 12,900 BP, after which the sea level rose. This culture reached China (Sichuan), thenIndia and theMiddle East. Finally the Finno-Ugric strand of this diffusion spread throughRussia toFinland where the Norse myth ofYggdrasil took root.
TheBorjgali (Georgian:ბორჯღალი) is an ancientGeorgian tree of life symbol.
InGermanic paganism, trees played (and, in the form of reconstructive Heathenry andGermanic Neopaganism, continue to play) a prominent role, appearing in various aspects of surviving texts and possibly in the name of gods.
The tree of life appears inNorse religion asYggdrasil, the world tree, a massive tree (sometimes considered ayew orash tree) with extensive lore surrounding it. Perhaps related to Yggdrasil, accounts have survived ofGermanic Tribes honouring sacred trees within their societies. Examples includeThor's Oak,sacred groves, theSacred tree at Uppsala, and the woodenIrminsul pillar. InNorse Mythology, the apples fromIðunn's ash box provide immortality for the gods.
The "Tree of Immortality" (Arabic:شجرة الخلود) is the tree of life motif as it appears in theQuran. It is also alluded to in hadiths and tafsir. Unlike thebiblical account, the Quran mentions only one tree in Eden, also called " the tree of immortality and power that never decays",[25] whichGod specifically forbade to Adam and Eve.[26][27]
The tree in Quran is used as an example of a concept, idea, way of life or code of life. A good concept/idea is represented as a good tree and a bad idea/concept is represented as a bad tree[28] Muslims believe that when God created Adam and Eve, he told them that they could enjoy everything in the Garden except this tree (idea, concept, way of life).Satan appeared to them and told them that the only reason God forbade them to eat from that tree was that they would becomeangels or they start using the idea/concept ofOwnership in conjunction with inheritance generations after generations whichIblis convinced Adam to accept[25][29]
When Adam and Eve ate from this tree their nakedness appeared to them and they began to sew together, for their covering, leaves from the Garden.[30]
The hadiths also speak about other trees in heaven.[31]
The tree of life in Islamic architecture is a type ofbiomorphic pattern found in many artistic traditions. It is considered to be any vegetal pattern with a clear origin or growth. The pattern inal-Azhar Mosque,Cairo'smihrab, a uniqueFatimid architectural variation, is a series of two or three leavepalmettes with a central palmette of five leaves from which the pattern originates. The growth is upwards and outwards and culminates in a lantern like flower towards the top of the niche above which is a small roundel. The curvature of the niche accentuates the undulating movement which despite its complexity is symmetrical along its vertical axis. The representations of varying palm leaves hints to spiritual growth attained through prayer while the upwards and side wards movement of the leaves speaks to the different motions of the worshiper while insalah.[32]
According to the IndianAhmadiyya movement founded in 1889, Quranic reference to the tree is symbolic; eating of the forbidden tree signifies that Adam disobeyed God.[33][34]
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Etz Chaim (Hebrew:עץ חיים), Hebrew for "tree of life," appears in theBook of Genesis and is part of the story of the creation ofAdam and Eve in theGarden of Eden. Thus the term is a common term used in Judaism. The expression, found in theBook of Proverbs, is figuratively applied to theTorah itself.Etz Chaim is also a common name foryeshivas andsynagogues as well as for works ofRabbinic literature. It is also used to describe each of the wooden poles to which the parchment of aSefer Torah is attached.
The tree of life is mentioned in theBook of Genesis; it is distinct from thetree of the knowledge of good and evil. AfterAdam andEve disobeyed God by eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they were driven out of theGarden of Eden. Remaining in the garden, however, was the tree of life. To prevent their access to this tree in the future,cherubim with a flaming sword were placed at the east of the garden.[35]
In the Book of Proverbs, the tree of life is associated withwisdom: "[Wisdom] is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy[is every one] that retaineth her."[36] In Proverbs 15:4, the tree of life is associated with calmness: "A soothing tongue is a tree of life; but perverseness therein is a wound to the spirit."[37][38]
In theAshkenazic liturgy, the Eitz Chayim is apiyyut commonly sung as theSefer Torah is returned to theTorah ark.
TheBook of Enoch, generally considerednon-canonical,[39] states that in the time of the great judgment, God will give all those whose names are in theBook of Life fruit to eat from the tree of life.[40]
Jewishmysticism depicts the tree of life in the form of ten interconnected nodes, as the central symbol of theKabbalah. It comprises the tenSefirot powers in the divine realm. Thepanentheistic andanthropomorphic emphasis of thisemanationist theology interpreted the Torah, Jewish observance, and the purpose of Creation as the symbolic esoteric drama of unification in thesefirot,restoring harmony to Creation.
From theRenaissance onwards, Kabbalah became incorporated as tradition in ChristianWestern esotericism asHermetic Qabalah.
Mandaean scrolls often include abstract illustrations of trees of life that represent the living, interconnected nature of the cosmos.[41] One of these trees is given the name ofShatrin.[42]
The concept of world trees is a prevalent motif in theMesoamerican cosmovision andiconography, appearing in thepre-Columbian era. World trees embody the fourcardinal directions, which represented also the fourfold nature of a central world tree, a symbolicaxis mundi connecting the planes of the Underworld and the sky with that of the terrestrial world.[45]
Depictions of world trees, both in their directional and central aspects, are found in the art and mythological traditions of cultures such as theMaya,Aztec,Izapan,Mixtec,Olmec, and others, dating to at least the Mid/Late Formative periods of theMesoamerican chronology. The tomb ofKʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal of theMaya city-state ofPalenque, who became itsajaw or leader when he was twelve years old, has tree of life inscriptions within the walls of his burial place, showing just how important it was.[46] Among the Maya, the central world tree was conceived as or represented by aCeiba pentandra and is known variously as awacah chan oryax imix che in differentMayan languages.[47]
The trunk of the tree could also be represented by an uprightcaiman, whose skin evokes the tree's spiny trunk.[45]
Directional world trees are also associated with the four Year Bearers inMesoamerican calendars and associated with the directional colors and deities.Mesoamerican codices which have this association outlined include theDresden,Borgia andFejérváry-Mayer codices.[45] It is supposed that Mesoamerican sites and ceremonial centers frequently had actual trees planted at each of the four cardinal directions, representing the quadripartite concept.
World trees are frequently depicted with birds in their branches, and their roots extending into earth or water, sometimes atop a "water-monster," symbolic of the underworld. The central world tree has also been interpreted as a representation of the band of theMilky Way.[48]
In a myth passed down among theIroquois,The World on the Turtle's Back, explains the origin of the land in which a tree of life is described. According to the myth, it is found in the heavens, where the first humans lived, until a pregnant woman fell and landed in an endless sea. Saved by a giant turtle from drowning, she formed the world on its back by planting bark taken from the tree.
The tree of life motif is present in the traditionalOjibwe cosmology and traditions. It is sometimes described as Grandmother Cedar, orNookomis Giizhig inAnishinaabemowin.
In the bookBlack Elk Speaks,Black Elk, an OglalaLakota (Sioux)wičháša wakȟáŋ (medicine man and holy man), describes his vision in which after dancing around a dying tree that has never bloomed he is transported to the other world (spirit world) where he meets wise elders, 12 men and 12 women. The elders tell Black Elk that they will bring him to meet "Our Father, the two-legged chief" and bring him to thecenter of a hoop where he sees the tree in full leaf and bloom and the "chief" standing against the tree. Coming out of his trance he hopes to see that the earthly tree has bloomed, but it is dead.[49]
The Oneidas tell that supernatural beings lived in the Skyworld above the waters which covered the earth. This tree was covered with fruits which gave them their light, and they were instructed that no one should cut into the tree otherwise a great punishment would be given. As the woman had pregnancy cravings, she sent her husband to get bark, but he accidentally dug a hole to the other world. After falling through, she came to rest on the turtle's back, and four animals were sent out to find land, which the muskrat finally did.[50]
InSerer religion, the tree of life as a religious concept forms the basis ofSerer cosmogony. Trees were the first things created on Earth by the supreme beingRoog ("Koox" among theCangin). In the competing versions of theSerer creation myth, theSomb (Anonychium africana) and theSaas tree (Faidherbia albida) are both viewed as trees of life.[51] However, the prevailing view is that, theSomb was the first tree on Earth and the progenitor ofplant life.[51][52] TheSomb was also used in theSerer tumuli and burial chambers, many of which have survived for more than a thousand years.[51] Thus,Somb is not only the tree of life in Serer society but the symbol of immortality.[51]
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The tree of life connects the upper world, middle world and underworld. It is also imagined as the "white creator lord" (yryn-al-tojon),[53] thus synonymous with the creator deity, giving rise to different worlds.
The world tree or tree of life is an important symbol inTurkic mythology.[54] It is a commonmotif in carpets. It is used in the logo of theMinistry of Culture and Tourism (Turkey) and in 2009 it was introduced as the main design of the commonTurkish lira sub-unit 5kuruş.
Tree of life is known asUlukayın orBaiterek in Turkic communities. It is a sacred beech tree planted byKayra Han. Sometimes, it is consideredaxis mundi.[55]
The concept of the tree of life appears in the writings of theBaháʼí Faith, where it can refer to theManifestation of God, a great teacher who appears to humanity from age to age. An example of this can be found in theHidden Words ofBahá'u'lláh:[56][57]
Have ye forgotten that true and radiant morn, when in those hallowed and blessed surroundings ye were all gathered in My presence beneath the shade of the tree of life, which is planted in the all-glorious paradise? Awestruck ye listened as I gave utterance to these three most holy words: O friends! Prefer not your will to Mine, never desire that which I have not desired for you, and approach Me not with lifeless hearts, defiled with worldly desires and cravings. Would ye but sanctify your souls, ye would at this present hour recall that place and those surroundings, and the truth of My utterance should be made evident unto all of you.
Also, in theTablet of Ahmad of Bahá'u'lláh: "Verily He is the Tree of Life, that bringeth forth the fruits of God, the Exalted, the Powerful, the Great".[58]
Bahá'u'lláh refers to his male descendants as branches (Arabic:ﺍﻏﺼﺎﻥʾaghṣān)[59] and calls women leaves.[60]
A distinction has been made between the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The latter represents the physical world with its opposites, such as good and evil and light and dark. In a different context from the one above, the tree of life represents the spiritual realm, where this duality does not exist.[61]
In contemporary biology, the "tree of life" is a graphical shorthand for the historical pattern of descent with modification across organisms, not a ladder of progress.Stephen Jay Gould emphasized that trees should be read as branching genealogies rather than hierarchies culminating in humans, and he analyzed how different tree iconographies shape scientific and public thinking about evolution.[62]
Austriansymbolist artistGustav Klimt portrayed his version of the tree of life in his 1909 painting,The Tree of Life, Stoclet Frieze. It later inspired the external facade of the "New Residence Hall" (also called the "Tree House"), a colorful 21-story student residence hall atMassachusetts College of Art and Design inBoston, Massachusetts.[63]
In his 1927 novellaKappa (Japanese: 河童) Japanese authorRyūnosuke Akutagawa wrote of a fictitious religion called 'Lifeism' whose adherents believe their God, the Tree of Life, teaches them to 'live avidly'.[64]
The 2006Darren Aronofsky filmThe Fountain features the Judeo-Christian tree of life as a major plot element in its non-linear narrative. InCentral America during theAge of Discovery, it is the sought-after object of a Spanishconquistador, who believes its gift of eternal life will freeSpain and its queen from the tyranny of areligious inquisition. In the present day, a sample from what is implied to be the same tree of life is used by a medical researcher—who seeks a cure for his ailing wife—to develop a serum that reverses the biological aging process. In the distant future, a space traveler (implied to be the same man from the present) uses the last vestiges of a tree's bark (again, implied to be the same tree of life) to keep himself alive as he journeys toXibalba, a fictional dying star lying inside a nebula in theconstellation Orion, which he believes will rejuvenate the tree—thereby granting him eternal life—when it explodes.[65]
Alex Proyas' 2009 filmKnowing ends with the two young protagonists directed towards the tree of life.[66]
There are literal and thematic references to the tree inTerrence Malick's free-flowing 2012 filmThe Tree of Life, including in the title.
The 2021 adventure filmJungle Cruise follows a boat captain (Dwayne Johnson) who takes a scientist (Emily Blunt) on a quest to find the Tree.[67]
Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet Muhammad said: "In Paradise is a tree in the shade of which the stars course 100 years without cutting it: the Tree of Immortality.
Unlike the biblical account of Eden, the Qur'an mentions only one special tree in Eden, the Tree of Immortality, from which Adam and Eve were prohibited.
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