“You will find more in the forests than in books. Trees and stones will teach you things that no man will tell you.
Bernard of Clairvaux”
“Nature is the best teacher of man, it exists and develops according to inherent laws and principles, fulfilling and following cosmic archetypes.”
“One manifestation of divine forces is trees, deeply revered in all cultures and all times. The life of trees has always been closely connected to the life of man. Trees represented a manifestation of the sacred, a hierophany, an expression of cosmic creative forces and the unity of universal life.”
“At the beginning of historical time, Europe was covered with primeval forests in which rare clearings seemed like islands in a green sea. The lives of people at that time were closely intertwined with the forest and trees. Wood fueled the fire: until recently, wood and lignite were the only fuels. Wood is an ideal raw material, easy to work with and usable for various purposes. Bees lived in trees and provided honey, wax, and The ash tree and honey; it provided not only fruit, but also essential food items, primarily pine cones that were ground into flour and baked into bread. Resin was also used as glue, tar, scents such as frankincense, and spices.
Man lived in a close symbiosis with trees for a long time and believed that he owed his existence to them. He even saw the origin of the world in them. Universal cosmic principles were expressed through trees, they embodied the power of life, and represented aspects of the divine and the sacred. They were never revered solely as trees, but always for what they expressed through them and what it implied and meant.
Symbolism of the Tree
In many mythologies, the tree (or the tree) is a symbol of the center of the world and the connection between heaven and earth, as its roots penetrate deep into the ground and its branches reach high into the sky.
Cosmic Tree
The cosmic tree is often an inverted tree or an arbor inversus, representing creation as a movement that comes from above. The spiritual roots of that tree lie in the sky, in the divine world, and its branches spread over the world. It connects three levels of the cosmos: heaven – the world of gods, earth – the world of humans, and the underworld – the world of the dead.
The cosmic tree stands at the center of the world; it is the central pillar, axis mundi, that supports the world and is located in a holy place. For ancient humans, sacred places represented a microcosm: a landscape of stone, water, and trees. The stone signifies permanence, indestructibility, and static nature. Through its cyclical renewal, the tree represents the sacred power of the living, while water and the source represent the hidden forces from within the earth, germination, and purification. Over time, this microcosmic landscape was reduced to one essential element: the tree or the sacred pillar that symbolizes the cosmos.
Sumerian Tree of Life.
Tree of Life.
The tree is a manifestation of life, through it, the universal vital principle is revealed. Some tree species reach an age of thousands of years, making them The tree embodies eternal life. The soma tree in the Vedas or the haoma in the Avesta are sometimes portrayed as a source or sacred elixir of immortality.
The fruits of the Tree of Immortality are always difficult to obtain. It is located at the edge of the world or in the sky – like the Chinese peach tree, P’an mou, whose fruits grant immortality – or in some other inaccessible place, guarded by monsters, such as the apples of the Hesperides or the Tree of Life in paradise. The symbolism is clear: man or hero must find a way, and victory over the monster has initiatory significance. Such or similar settings can be found in many myths.
The Tree of Knowledge
Trees in legends
Sycamore, the Egyptian tree of the world and life, grows from the “depths of the waters”. From its branches, the goddess provides food and drink to humans, granting them immortality and eternal life force.
Egypt
Since ancient times, trees have been objects of worship in Egypt, perhaps because they were so rare.
In the eastern sky stands a tall sycamore, the cosmic tree, where the gods reside. In the west, the divine cow Hathor, the Mistress of the sycamore, resides, who created the world and everything in it. She descends from the branches with compassion and greets the recently deceased. She provides them with food and drink, ensuring them life after death. The souls of the departed take the form of birds and sit on the branches of the sycamore. Through this sacred tree, the souls return to the embrace of the divine world of eternal beings, which they left only during one human life.
In Egyptian depictions, the motif of the Tree of Life is very often encountered, from which divine hands full of gifts emerge, and water of life pours out from a vessel.
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Greece
In the pre-Hellenic Aegean world, the goddess mother Rhea was associated with the cult of trees. The tree is an inexhaustible source of fertility, which is why Rhea was depicted next to a symbolic plant or under the Tree of Life. The great goddess is the personification of the inexhaustible source of creation, while the tree represents the Universe in constant regeneration. As we have seen before, the tree is always a symbol of the center of the world, eternal life, or wisdom. Therefore, the symbolic connection between the goddess and the tree indicates to us that life, fertility, growth, and immortality have their origin in the universal vital principle. One aspect of the Great Mother is also the wise woman, from which the connection with the Tree of Knowledge is visible.
In classical mythology, certain gods are associated with specific trees. The connection between a specific tree and the characteristics of the corresponding deity is always meaningful. Some examples of these connections are: Zeus – oak; Poseidon – ash; Apollo – laurel; Hades – myrtle, poplar; Hera – pear, willow; Athena – olive.
Oak In Epirus, in northeastern Greece, there was the oldest Greek oracle – the sacred oak forest in Dodona. The oracle was led by three priestesses, Pleiades or Peristeres, which means “doves”. According to Plato, the priestesses prophesied in ecstasy, interpreting the rustling of the leaves. The Greeks attributed great antiquity to the oracle in Dodona; they believed that it originated from the time of the Pelasgians. According to myths, this oracle predicted to Heracles the end of his labors and his death.
The cult of the oak tree and the mythology associated with oak trees were widespread throughout Europe in pre-Christian times. In archaic times, it was believed that man was born from the oak; the Arcadians claimed that before they became human, they were oaks. Among the Germanic peoples, we find a similar tradition: the first humans were made from two tree trunks. The notion that man originated from a tree belongs to the Indo-European heritage. This may be connected to the fact that fire can be produced by friction between two pieces of wood. Thus, Agni, the Indian god of fire, was born. A person carries a divine spark within themselves, the fire that Prometheus brought from Olympus…
Olive tree
For the Greeks, there was no more useful fruit than the olive, which is why it had an important symbolic role. It was dedicated to Athena, who planted the first olive tree on the Acropolis. The olive tree was also sacred to the Jews, who considered it to be God’s most precious gift. The Arabs adopted the worship of the olive tree from them, and in Islam, it is known as the Tree of the World, its center and support pillar.
Rome
Oak tree
The oak tree was also worshipped in Italy. There are many legends about sacred oak trees. Supposedly, seven hills were covered with oak forests dedicated to Jupiter. The eternal fire, maintained by the Vestal Virgins, could only be lit with oak wood, and a wreath of oak leaves was given as a symbol of victory.
Ovid’s Metamorphoses is a collection of numerous legends, and several of them tell the story of nymphs magically transforming into trees. The nymph Daphne was pursued by Apollo because she did not reciprocate his love. She found salvation by being transformed into a laurel tree by her father, the river god. and Penej, turned into a laurel tree. Leucus was chased by Hades and was transformed into a silver poplar. The Oceanid Philyra, who gave birth to the centaur Chiron by Kronos, was turned into a linden tree by the gods upon her request. Carya, who died of sorrow for her sister, was turned into a walnut tree by Dionysus. The poor Philemon and his wife Baucis offered hospitality to Zeus and Hermes. As a reward, after their death, they were transformed into an oak and a linden tree at the entrance of the temple.
In Ovid’s time, these myths were known only as fairy tales, but they certainly reflected very ancient religious beliefs. It is assumed that these stories are based on ancient knowledge of nature spirits, geniuses who reside in trees and plants in general.
The Fig Tree
The fig tree also plays an important role in mythology. In Rome, several holy fig trees were worshiped. Special honor was given to a fig tree on the Roman Forum which, according to myths, nourished the founders of the Empire. It was dedicated to Mars because he conceived Romulus and Remus with the vestal virgin Rhea Silvia. Romulus and Remus.
Celts
Trees and plants held great importance for the Celts. For them, everything in nature had a soul and was infused with powers and energies.
Celtic temples were sacred groves or forests. Before Roman rule, the Celts did not have constructed temples. Many writers reported on sanctuaries, but it always referred to a place in the forest or clearing. In his work De bello gallico, Caesar reports on a locus consecratus (“consecrated place”). These were sacred groves also referred to as nemus, “grove” or “forest”. A typical Celtic sanctuary was therefore a nemeton, a sacred or celestial forest clearing. The nemeton was a place of connection between the divine and human worlds. Each nemeton was also an omphalos – the center of the world.
Mircea Eliade identifies Yggdrasil from Germanic mythology as the cosmic tree. It is an ash or oak tree that stands upright and connects three worlds. Its roots penetrate to the heart of the earth, to the realm of giants, underground deities, and the realm of the dead. The trunk of Yggdrasil goes through Zi travels through the world of humans, Midgard, and its canopy forms Asgard, the realm of the gods. At its base are three springs. One of them is the Mimir spring, which imparts knowledge and understanding. Odin sacrificed one of his eyes to it. Odin hung from the tree branch for nine days and nine nights, successfully enduring trials and gaining ultimate knowledge. He always returns to this spring to maintain his wisdom. Numerous animals are depicted on the branches of Yggdrasil: a goat, an eagle, a deer, and a squirrel. Nidhög, the dragon, lives by its roots and attempts to bring it down.
The oak is a symbol of knowledge and power. If it grows with mistletoe, it signifies the presence of a deity. Mistletoe has always been a symbol of ever-fresh life force. While all other plants appear dead during the winter season, mistletoe bears its white fruits, symbolizing the youthful strength of eternal life and immortality.
The cult trees of the Druids also included the yew, hazelnut, medlar, and apple.
The apple tree played an important role. Avalon, the mysterious island, was often associated with the apple tree. the mysterious island to the west, according to myth, was completely covered with apple trees that give immortality, knowledge, and wisdom, just like the apples from the Gardens of Hesperides in Greek mythology.
A well-known Celtic motif is the so-called “Battle of the Trees” (Cad Goddeu), which we also recognize in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. The current interpretation of this myth tells the story of Gwydion, who protects the island’s Bretons from a terrible defeat by turning them into trees and bushes, and in that form they defeat the enemy.
It is known that in all Celtic languages, the names of trees were adopted for the letters of the alphabet. The name of the oldest Irish alphabet, Beith-Luis-Nion, comes from the names of three trees: birch, rowan, and ash. The initials of the tree names form a sequence of letters in that alphabet, consisting of five vowels and thirteen consonants. The number of consonants is equal to the number of lunar months, the calendar months measured by the phases of the moon in one solar year, making this alphabet also a sacred calendar. The summer solstice falls on. The oak month had to always be fueled by oak wood, and the solstice fire had to be lit using oak wood.
Prayer to the Trees
My ancient brothers,
Teach my heart the virtue of endurance
And how to draw strength from the earth
And grow tall and upright
Where with your leaves
You summon the birds and touch the sky.
Branka Kovačević
21st century
Today, in the 21st century, forests are losing their magic for humans. What began with the attempt to eradicate all “pagan customs” has been completed by rationalism and positivist-materialist atheism.
Man exploits nature with techniques that are destructive to forests: building roads through them, poisoning water and air, depriving them of their life source, and destroying the ozone layer so that they are no longer exposed only to the beneficial rays of sunlight.
If for millennia there has been a deep, mystical bond between humans and trees, we must ask ourselves what will become of humanity that has so abruptly severed that bond?
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