What does a tree mean to you? Life, prosperity, flourishing, rootedness, connection with nature? Every religion thinks one thing about trees, but one concept is common to many of them: the tree of life!

Check in this article what is the tree of life, what is the origin of this symbol of nature, what does it mean, what is its symbolism, and what is, after all, the reason why this symbol is so well known!

What is the Tree of Life?

The tree of life is a concept that is present in various religions, beliefs, and branches of spiritual knowledge. For Christians, for example, it represents the Garden of Eden and creation; for the Celts, it is a symbol of nature; for the Norse, it was the connection between worlds; for students of Kabbalah, it is the harmony between body, spirit, and mind.

The Bible, Christianity's holy book, says very little about the tree of life, but describes it as the central and leafiest tree in the Garden of Eden. The Celts usually depicted it as a thick old tree, like an oak, full of leaves on its branches and with many roots below ground.

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The Norse Yggdrasil, on the other hand, is usually represented with the Norse worlds spread across its roots and branches and supporting Midgard (the Earth). Finally, for Kabbalah, it is represented as a diagram with 11 circles, each at one end of the tree, symbolizing a spiritual concept; there are "branches" connecting each of the circles, and each of these branches corresponds to a tarot card.

Anyway, as each of these religions or schools of knowledge understands the tree of life in a different way, the ideal is to get to know each one of them to understand it and to understand what makes more sense from it! Follow along in the reading of the article.

Origin of the Tree of Life

The origin of the tree of life usually coincides with the creation myth of religions, that is, it is usually a representation of the beginning of everything. In Christianity, for example, it represents the beginning of humanity, since it symbolizes the Garden of Eden, which was the first place inhabited by human beings.

In Norse mythology, the tree of life is also the beginning of everything, because the Yggdrasil tree is the one that sustains all the worlds of this religion, while for the Celts, it is called Crann Bethadh and is also at the heart of the question of origin, because it represents nature - for them, everything comes from nature.

Finally, for students of Kabbalah, the origin is similar to the meaning attributed by the Celts, which is the tree as a symbol of life, birth, and rooting.

What Tree of Life Means

The meaning of the tree of life, as we have seen in the previous topics, varies according to the belief or religion we are talking about. In other words, the tree of life means, for each understanding and/or branch of world knowledge, something different.

In Christianity, the tree of life means both the tree that God placed in the center of the Garden of Eden - this was eternal and represented eternal life - and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, from which Adam and Eve eat the fruit that separates them from God.

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For the Celts, the tree of life is Crann Bethadh, which literally means "tree that gives life. This meaning demonstrates how they believe that everything comes from nature, especially life.

According to the Norse, Yggdrasil was the tree of life, and its meaning comes from the Old Norse language: "yggr" ("terrible") + "drasill" ("support"). This nomenclature probably derives from the idea that this tree is the one that supports all the nine kingdoms of Norse mythology.

Symbolism of the Tree of Life

The tree of life is a concept that appears in several existing religions, each with a different meaning. There is no consensus about the symbolism of the tree of life or which religion started using this symbol first, but it is understandable that the tree, which represents life, flourishing, and rooting, is used by religions.

For Christianity, for example, the symbolism of the tree of life is to represent the Garden of Eden, which was the first place where God placed human beings to dwell. There was in this garden a tree known as the tree of life, which was responsible for giving a "breath of life" to everything that was there in that primitive location.

According to the Celts, a people who inhabited the region where Ireland is today, the tree of life is a symbol of balance, harmony, and protection, since it is a representation, above all, of nature itself and of the entire cycle of life and harmony that surrounds nature.

For the Norse, the tree of life is Yggdrasil, a huge tree that connects all nine realms of the Norse world. At its roots lies the origin of the world, as well as shortcuts and cutaways to get around all the worlds in this mythological universe.

For Kabbalah, the tree of life represents the structure of the emotional, physical, and spiritual worlds, that is, from this symbol that is the tree, it is possible to understand each of the spheres of the human being, be it the body, the mind, or the spirit. And there is even the concept of balance, since the harmony between these three dimensions is what provides a harmonious life.

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How to use the Tree of Life

If you feel connected to this symbol, however, you can put it permanently on your body with a tattoo, or buy accessories that have pendants or details in the shape of a tree. The most important thing is to have faith and believe in the power of this symbol.

Besides this, another good idea is to really get in touch with a real tree. Whether in times of prayer, meditation, study, among others, being close to something with such a great and impressive meaning can help you spiritually, if you really believe it to be true.

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Finally, this is the main information related to this powerful and well-known symbol called the Tree of Life. Why don't you start using it to see if it can really influence you positively, improving some aspect of your life, awakening your spirituality, more harmony or connection with the divine?