A tree sinks its roots into the earth, lifts its trunk toward the sky and spreads its branches into space. It is no surprise that almost every culture has seen in the tree an image of the cosmos and of the human being. The Tree of Life is one of the most universal symbols there is: it appears in myths, sacred texts, folk art and the most elaborate esoteric systems, such as Kabbalah.
The tree as the axis of the world
In a great many traditions the tree is the axis of the world, the pillar connecting the different levels of reality:
- the roots reach into the underworld, the realm of ancestors and hidden forces;
- the trunk passes through the human world, that of everyday life;
- the crown touches the sky, the spiritual and divine dimension.
Climbing the tree, in the shamanic stories of various cultures, means making a journey between worlds. The tree thus becomes a ladder, a bridge, a centre.
Yggdrasil, the world ash
In Norse mythology the cosmic tree is called Yggdrasil, an immense ash whose branches extend over all the worlds. At its roots lie sacred springs, and at its foot the Norns, the figures who weave destiny, tend it every day. The myth also tells that Odin hung on the tree for nine nights to obtain knowledge of the runes: a powerful image of the sacrifice needed to reach wisdom.
The two trees of the garden
In Genesis, at the centre of the garden of Eden, stand two trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. After eating the fruit of the second, humanity is sent away from the garden so that it cannot also reach the first. In mystical reading this account has been interpreted as the separation of the human being from its source and the beginning of a long journey of return.
In the Book of Revelation the tree of life reappears in the heavenly Jerusalem, beside the river of the water of life: the journey ends where it began.
The tree of the sefirot
The most complex and studied form of the symbol is the Tree of Life of Jewish Kabbalah, later taken up by Christian Hermeticism and modern occultism. It is a diagram made of ten spheres, the sefirot, connected by twenty-two paths, which correspond to the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
The ten sefirot represent the aspects through which the divine manifests and descends into the material world:
| No. | Sefirah | Indicative meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keter | crown, origin |
| 2 | Chokhmah | wisdom |
| 3 | Binah | understanding |
| 4 | Chesed | mercy, generosity |
| 5 | Gevurah | strength, severity |
| 6 | Tiferet | beauty, harmony |
| 7 | Netzach | victory, endurance |
| 8 | Hod | splendour, glory |
| 9 | Yesod | foundation |
| 10 | Malkhut | kingdom, manifest world |
The sefirot are arranged in three columns: the right one linked to mercy, the left one to severity, the central one to balance. The spiritual path is described as an ascent up the tree, from Malkhut toward Keter, integrating the qualities of each sphere.
In the modern occult tradition the twenty-two paths have also been associated with the twenty-two major arcana of tarot, creating a network of correspondences widely used in symbolic study.
The tree in everyday life
The Tree of Life also appears in the crafts of many peoples: in oriental carpets, folk embroidery and jewellery. It is often shown inside a circle, with branches and roots mirroring each other. This symmetry expresses a simple and profound idea: as much as you grow upward, you must be rooted below.
The Studio's reading
In the teaching of Maestro Cornelio the Tree of Life is a map of inner growth. No tree grows by skipping seasons, and none bears fruit without deep roots. Serious spiritual study follows the same law: first stability, then opening.
A simple exercise for working with the symbol:
- sit with your back straight and imagine roots descending from your feet into the earth;
- feel your spine as a stable trunk;
- imagine branches opening above your head, toward the light;
- ask yourself which of the three parts, roots, trunk or crown, most needs care at this moment.
In short
- The Tree of Life is a universal symbol of the axis uniting earth and sky.
- In Norse mythology it is Yggdrasil, linked to destiny and the winning of wisdom.
- In Genesis it represents the original life from which humanity moved away.
- In Kabbalah it is a diagram of ten sefirot and twenty-two paths.
- On the inner level it teaches that growth requires roots and stability.