{"id":62996,"date":"2022-04-25T06:20:41","date_gmt":"2022-04-25T06:20:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/?p=62996"},"modified":"2022-04-25T06:20:41","modified_gmt":"2022-04-25T06:20:41","slug":"tree-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/blog\/tree-of-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Tree of Life"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RrAz1YLh8nY?autoplay=1&#038;mute=1\"><\/iframe>I&#8217;ve created a blog called Tree of Life that will be a place to share my research into the cultural and mythological origins of the tree of life, especially in relation to religion, but also in relation to cultures, art and other fields. If you are interested in this subject, please take a look at the website. There&#8217;s an introduction with some background information on the blog. If you have any suggestions or questions that you would like to see addressed on the blog, please leave a comment. I hope the website can grow into a place where people interested in this subject can share their knowledge and discuss their ideas.<\/p>\n<p>The Tree of Life is a universal symbol depicting the interconnection of all life on our planet. The tree symbolizes the source of human life and the existence of spirit in all living things.<\/p>\n<p>This site is dedicated to the exploration of this powerful archetypal image. It will be a virtual resource on tree symbolism and its manifestations in cultures, religions, and art forms.<\/p>\n<p>The earliest known trees were representations of cosmic pillars from which the sky was believed to hang. In prehistoric times, humans observed that sun, moon, planets, and stars traced out patterns as they moved through the sky. They saw that these heavenly bodies appeared to &#8220;rise&#8221; or &#8220;set&#8221; in relation to earth&#8217;s surface. Thus they believed that the universe consisted of a huge celestial dome with a fire-filled hole at its center. They imagined that the dome was held up by three gigantic pillars at its edges: one at the east (the rising sun), one at the south (the setting sun), and one at the west (the setting moon). Because these imaginary pillars were thought to support all creation, they were personified as gods who ruled over human destiny.*<\/p>\n<p>*A brief history of tree symbolism can be found here: http:\/\/www.druidry.org\/library\/<\/p>\n<p>The Tree of Life is a common theme in different mythologies and philosophies. The tree symbol itself is an ancient one, and the general idea of a tree that connects Earth to the heavens has been known from time immemorial.<\/p>\n<p>It is the subject of a great deal of art and comment in contemporary culture, not just in religious symbolism, but also in philosophy and science.<\/p>\n<p>The Tree of Life is not just a creation myth. It&#8217;s a statement about how we find meaning in the world, how we create connections between our inner selves and our external environment.<\/p>\n<p>The Tree of Life is an important symbol in many religions and cultures, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam and others. It is also found in ancient Egyptian art, tomb decorations and some early Chinese symbols. The Tree of Life is a mystical symbol representing the interconnection between all life forms on Earth.<\/p>\n<p>Trees have been used throughout history to symbolise life. There are many references to trees in the Bible, the Koran, and other religious texts and writings. The Tree of Knowledge is known as the &#8220;Tree of Life&#8221; in many religions. Trees are also symbolic in mythologies around the world. They have been depicted on ancient cave walls, in cathedrals, on tapestries, mosaics and paintings. In these images the central trunk represents the tree&#8217;s connection to the heavens or God while its branches represent man and his connection with nature or God.*<\/p>\n<p>The tree has appeared in various forms; it has been drawn as a simple line or as a complex shape. Its roots dig deep into the earth while its branches reach high into the skies.*<\/p>\n<p>It has also been used as a decoration on tombs and sarcophagi* depicting life after death. This symbol was used by Egyptians when mummifying their dead.*<\/p>\n<p>For many cultures, trees were considered sacred<\/p>\n<p>The Tree of Life is a motif found in the mythologies, art and religions of many cultures throughout history.<\/p>\n<p>In ancient Mesopotamia, the Tree of Life was seen as a giant Cedar tree located in the center of the universe with the Earth floating in space beneath it. It was associated with Enlil, the god of air and wind. Several different species of cedar were believed to be symbols of the Tree of Life. In the Babylonian creation myth Enuma Elish, a cosmological depiction of creation centered on a sacred tree.<\/p>\n<p>Trees are also important symbols in Christianity. In Christ&#8217;s parable of the Vineyard, he likens himself to &#8220;a man taking a branch from his own tree&#8221; (Mark 3:29), and his followers to branches on that tree, co-inheritors with him in God&#8217;s kingdom. The New Testament has over 300 references to trees, but does not mention the word &#8220;tree&#8221; explicitly except for two verses mentioning trees among other plants: Galatians 6:7 which says that God &#8220;calls into question every human effort&#8221; including &#8220;trees&#8221;, and 2 Corinthians 12:2 which says that people can be physically harmed by demonic powers entering through their &#8220;unclean lips&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The<\/p>\n<p>Trees are a very ancient symbol of life. The tree of life is known from many different cultures, from the ancient Egyptians to the Norse and the Native Americans, who believed that all life originated in a world tree.<\/p>\n<p>The Tree of Life (or World Tree) was believed to connect heaven and earth, and it often had branches reaching down to the underworld. The Mayans believed that the underworld was an extension of our world, an inverted replica of Earth, with roots above and branches below.<\/p>\n<p>The tree is also found in the Bible: &#8220;And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden&#8221; [Genesis 2:9].<\/p>\n<p>In Buddhism there is a similar idea, but instead of a tree it is a column called Bo-Tree. The Bo-Tree is said to be rooted in heaven and its top reaching into Suddhavasa, where all creatures are pure and free from suffering. In Chinese mythology there are also two giant trees called Yggdrasil and Jambudvipa which hold up heaven and earth.<\/p>\n<p>In Egyptian mythology there were two trees planted on either side of Ra&#8217;s boat.<\/p>\n<p>The tree of life is a universal symbol found in mythologies, religions and cultures around the world. The Tree of Life is also known as Yggdrasil and the World Tree. In Genesis, it is the tree that Adam and Eve ate from, gaining knowledge and intelligence. It can be seen in the Sumerian myth of Utnapishtim, in the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, in Babylonian mythology, Assyrian mythology and Hebrew mythology.<\/p>\n<p>4. The Kabbalah: Tree of Life with the Sephiroth<\/p>\n<p>The Kabbalah is another story that features a tree of life. This tree has ten spheres on it called Sefirot. The Kabbalah was adopted by Judaism from an earlier religion called Gnosticism which was a mixture of Christianity and Paganism.<\/p>\n<p>Enoch (meaning initiated) was the first prophet who saw God face to face in a dream or vision, who was then transformed into the archangel Metatron (Enoch&#8217;s name means &#8220;initiated&#8221; or &#8220;dedicated&#8221;).<\/p>\n<p>The Bible says that Enoch walked with God; he became so close to God that he was transformed into an angel himself and taken up to heaven (Genesis 5:<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ViowcwfiWMU?autoplay=1&#038;mute=1\"><\/iframe><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sEyg1GP5-tU?autoplay=1&#038;mute=1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve created a blog called Tree of Life that will be a place to share my research into the cultural and mythological origins of the tree of life, especially in relation to religion, but also in relation to cultures, art and other fields. If you are interested in this subject, please take a look at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":63135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62996"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62996"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62997,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62996\/revisions\/62997"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}