Yggdrasil a famous World Tree
The World Tree is recurring motive in religions and mythologies across the world, which often connects all of creation.
Description[]
The world tree is represented as a colossal tree which supports the heavens, thereby connecting the heavens, the terrestrial world, and, through its roots, the underworld. It may also be strongly connected to the motif of the tree of life, but it is the source of wisdom of the ages.
Overview[]
Scholarship states that many Eurasian mythologies share a motif of a tree whose branches reach the skies and whose roots connect the human or earthly world with an underworld or subterranean realm. A bird perches atop its foliage, and a snake or serpentine creature crawls between its roots. A more elaborate description is thus: on the treetops are located the luminaries and heavenly bodies, along with an eagle's nest; several species of birds perch among its branches; humans and animals of every kind live under its branches, and near the root is the dwelling place of snakes and every sort of reptiles.
Notable World Trees[]
- Tree of Life/Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil - Judeo-Christian
- Yggdrasil - Norse
- Kalpavriksha - Hindu
- Gaokerena - Persian-Zoroastrian
- Wacah Chan - Mayan
- Aušros medis - Lithuanian
- Austras koks - Latvian
- Iso Tammi - Finnish
- Égig érő fa - Hungarian