Symbolism the wheel / sun # 2
The tree, symbolism – The Wheel / Sun # 2
In my previous blog post „Symbolism – The Wheel / Sun # 1”, we discussed the recurring theme in our (Indo) European traditional (pre-Christian) culture: the reciprocal cycle of dying and reviving. The tree played a very important role in the worldview of our ancestors. In mythology one could turn to the cosmic tree of life "Yggdrasil".
The idea was that the cosmic tree propped up the celestial vault and that the entire universe revolved around the trunk as a sort of central axis.
This meant that in earlier times the tree was actively worshiped, because through the tree one could come into contact with the divine. As a result, the tree was always involved in all kinds of social functions, parties, moments of life and rituals (more about this later). There are still many of these practices that we use today, although for most people without realizing where it comes from. The Christmas tree is the biggest example of this. This is still revered in the Joel period, early December, when the winter solstice (around Christmas) starts. We still plant trees of life at birth and still speak of a family tree. These are just a few examples of the ancient tree cult in our modern times. Of course there are many more ...
Apart from the above, the tree fits perfectly into the central theme of dying and reviving. The leaves die, fall and revive in a reciprocal cycle, under the impulse of the sun (symbolic = the wheel).
Björn Meuris
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