Everything about Trees In Mythology totally explained
Trees have played an important role in many of the world's
mythologies and
religions, and have been given deep and sacred meanings throughout the ages. The most ancient cross-cultural symbolic representation of the
universe's construction is the
world tree. Other examples of trees featured in mythology are
Yggdrasil and the modern tradition of the
Christmas Tree in
Germanic mythology, the
Tree of Knowledge of
Judaism and
Christianity, and the
Bodhi tree in
Buddhism. In
folk religion and
folklore, trees are often said to be the homes of
tree spirits. Historical
Druidism as well as
Germanic paganism appear to have involved cultic practice in
sacred groves. The term
druid itself possibly derives from the Celtic word for
oak.
Ficus religiosa plays an important role in Indian mythology.
Trees are a necessary attribute of the archetypical
locus amoenus in all cultures. Already the
Egyptian Book of the Dead mentions
sycomores as part of the scenery where the soul of the deceased finds blissful repose (Gollwitzer p. 13).
Various forms of
trees of life also appear in folklore, culture and fiction, often relating to
immortality or
fertility. These often hold cultural and religious significance to the peoples for whom they appear. For them, it may also strongly be connected with motif of the world tree.
The tree, with its branches reaching up into the sky, and roots deep into the earth, can be seen to dwell in three worlds - a link between heaven, the earth, and the underworld, uniting above and below. It is also both a feminine symbol, bearing sustenance; and a masculine,
phallic symbol - another union.
In literature, a mythology was notably developed by
J. R. R. Tolkien, his
Two Trees of Valinor playing a central role in his
mythopoeic cosmogony. Tolkien's 1964
Tree and Leaf combines the allegorical tale
Leaf by Niggle and his essay
On Fairy-Stories.
William Butler Yeats describes a "holy tree" in his poem
The Two Trees (1893).
Mythology of trees
Further Information
Get more info on 'Trees In Mythology'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://trees_in_mythology.totallyexplained.com">Trees in mythology Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
