WORLD TREE
http://jungiangenealogy.weebly.com/cosmic-tree.html
THE TREE OF LIFE IS THE CENTRAL SYMBOL OF MANKIND,
AND THE CENTRAL SYMBOL OF GENEALOGY
http://jungiangenealogy.weebly.com/cosmic-tree.html
THE TREE OF LIFE IS THE CENTRAL SYMBOL OF MANKIND,
AND THE CENTRAL SYMBOL OF GENEALOGY
YOUR TREE IS YOUR SANCTUARY
Tree of Spirits, Initiation, & Fate
"This plant is an inner, spiritual growth, the development of a tree of life and knowledge which played a great role in alchemy....
"In general it is advisable to watch these inner developments and not let them slip back into the unconscious, lest they get stuck in the physiological sphere, or rather in the realm of the [psychoid] unconscious which merges with the body, where they give rise to pathological formations which a wise man carefully avoids." (Jung, Letters Vol. II, Pages 607-608)
For the archetype is nothing human; no archetype is properly human.
~Carl Jung, Zarathustra Seminar, Page 1343.
The World Tree is the great archetype. The World Tree is a common image in shamanic experiences from both traditional societies and in modern shamanic groups. In this tree spirits pass from one world to another. It is the holy center. http://www.shamaniccircles.org/2002oraclefolder/worldtree.html
The World Tree is the center of the world, but in a typical piece of shamanic paradox, the center of the world is also everywhere. In shamanic ritual or performance, the shaman operates in an altered state of consciousness with one foot in both realities. In this state, the the shaman 'becomes' the World Tree, and the place of that ritual becomes the center of the world.
The World Tree forms an integral part of the shamanic cosmos, linking the world of humanity with the world of the spirits. It is depicted in numerous tales of shamanic ritual and in power objects.
Climbing trees is part of the natural growth process which helps us become more fully human. You may remember when you were a child, climbing up into a tree in your yard, or that of your grandparents -- a place to hide and lick your childhood wounds and let the imagination soar, or maybe watch an approaching storm. That tree was your first archaic temple.
From that lofty perch you felt the wind in your hair, experienced the dabbled sunlight, and gained a new perspective, from which you could observe a bigger picture of the landscape and the unfolding story of your life. You may also have been aware of the elegance and beauty of the tree itself as your sanctuary and haven.
You might even have had a treehouse, a sanctuary in the green leaves and a lively space far above ordinary life where your 'observer self' and imagination could roam or 'fly', and you felt you could see forever. Then, perhaps you climbed even higher. Did you keep your power objects there? As an adult, you may have created a treehouse for your own children.
Traditionally, such a treehouse reminds us that climbing up and down trees was the work of ancient shaman, who entered that sacred space to speak with the ancestors, find healing, enter altered states, and commune with the cosmos.
Your family treehouse of the imagination is the House of your family surname -- your dynastic inheritance and legacy. It is the repository of your family history, including all the maternal lines of the realm of the mothers. Such a treehouse is where we can go for family reunions, relational intimacy, and to commune with ourselves.
That tree embodies our family. "We suffer very much from the fact that we consist of mind and have lost the body." (Jung, Zarathustra Seminar, Page 251.) The self is a fact of nature and always appears as such in immediate experiences, in dreams and visions, and so on; it is the spirit in the stone, the great secret which has to be worked out, to be extracted from nature, because it is buried in nature herself. (Zarathustra Seminar, Page 977.)
Your family tree is a synthesis of the ascent to higher consciousness and descent into more soulful living. All your beloved relatives still have a place there, or in your collateral lines -- a place where we can visit and honor them, or even work toward healing. It helps us live a sacred life of wisdom, heart and service, honoring all the parts of our being and all the dimensions of our life.
This work is at the heart of an embodied and inspiring expression of higher consciousness in day-to-day life, in which we come to honor our unique quirks, challenges and personality traits, as well as our depths, and the lives and legacies of our ancestors.
We learn to perceive the blessing in our wounds, and the liberation that beckons to us from our shadows. We simultaneously open to the vastness of Spirit and the beauty and depth of soul.
Tree of Spirits, Initiation, & Fate
"This plant is an inner, spiritual growth, the development of a tree of life and knowledge which played a great role in alchemy....
"In general it is advisable to watch these inner developments and not let them slip back into the unconscious, lest they get stuck in the physiological sphere, or rather in the realm of the [psychoid] unconscious which merges with the body, where they give rise to pathological formations which a wise man carefully avoids." (Jung, Letters Vol. II, Pages 607-608)
For the archetype is nothing human; no archetype is properly human.
~Carl Jung, Zarathustra Seminar, Page 1343.
The World Tree is the great archetype. The World Tree is a common image in shamanic experiences from both traditional societies and in modern shamanic groups. In this tree spirits pass from one world to another. It is the holy center. http://www.shamaniccircles.org/2002oraclefolder/worldtree.html
The World Tree is the center of the world, but in a typical piece of shamanic paradox, the center of the world is also everywhere. In shamanic ritual or performance, the shaman operates in an altered state of consciousness with one foot in both realities. In this state, the the shaman 'becomes' the World Tree, and the place of that ritual becomes the center of the world.
The World Tree forms an integral part of the shamanic cosmos, linking the world of humanity with the world of the spirits. It is depicted in numerous tales of shamanic ritual and in power objects.
Climbing trees is part of the natural growth process which helps us become more fully human. You may remember when you were a child, climbing up into a tree in your yard, or that of your grandparents -- a place to hide and lick your childhood wounds and let the imagination soar, or maybe watch an approaching storm. That tree was your first archaic temple.
From that lofty perch you felt the wind in your hair, experienced the dabbled sunlight, and gained a new perspective, from which you could observe a bigger picture of the landscape and the unfolding story of your life. You may also have been aware of the elegance and beauty of the tree itself as your sanctuary and haven.
You might even have had a treehouse, a sanctuary in the green leaves and a lively space far above ordinary life where your 'observer self' and imagination could roam or 'fly', and you felt you could see forever. Then, perhaps you climbed even higher. Did you keep your power objects there? As an adult, you may have created a treehouse for your own children.
Traditionally, such a treehouse reminds us that climbing up and down trees was the work of ancient shaman, who entered that sacred space to speak with the ancestors, find healing, enter altered states, and commune with the cosmos.
Your family treehouse of the imagination is the House of your family surname -- your dynastic inheritance and legacy. It is the repository of your family history, including all the maternal lines of the realm of the mothers. Such a treehouse is where we can go for family reunions, relational intimacy, and to commune with ourselves.
That tree embodies our family. "We suffer very much from the fact that we consist of mind and have lost the body." (Jung, Zarathustra Seminar, Page 251.) The self is a fact of nature and always appears as such in immediate experiences, in dreams and visions, and so on; it is the spirit in the stone, the great secret which has to be worked out, to be extracted from nature, because it is buried in nature herself. (Zarathustra Seminar, Page 977.)
Your family tree is a synthesis of the ascent to higher consciousness and descent into more soulful living. All your beloved relatives still have a place there, or in your collateral lines -- a place where we can visit and honor them, or even work toward healing. It helps us live a sacred life of wisdom, heart and service, honoring all the parts of our being and all the dimensions of our life.
This work is at the heart of an embodied and inspiring expression of higher consciousness in day-to-day life, in which we come to honor our unique quirks, challenges and personality traits, as well as our depths, and the lives and legacies of our ancestors.
We learn to perceive the blessing in our wounds, and the liberation that beckons to us from our shadows. We simultaneously open to the vastness of Spirit and the beauty and depth of soul.
Genealogical Proofs
It is an unfortunate result of learning how to do genealogy on sites like Ancestry.com that so many of us (including myself) were not at first antiquated with which sources we should consult and cite for genealogy research of early 17th century New England colonists. That being said once we start to read quality research in peer reviewed journals we being to understand what proper sources to use, how to cite them. Learning how to do this is vital if for example you wish to join the Mayflower Society or the Daughters/Son of the American Revolution, etc. It's also important if you actually want your tree to reflect reality. So much bad information is out there and the result is many erroneous trees and DNA results that make no sense. So we all have to take the steps to move beyond bad data sets. The following sources should never be used as evidence in genealogy:
1) North American Family Histories
2) Compiled Marriages, 1633-1850
3) U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s
These are all databases based on unsourced trees.
They are not considered sources by genealogists.
For research in 17th New England valid sources include primary records recorded at the time of the event: wills, probate records, vital records, town records, land records, colony records, church records, journals kept by people living at the time, court records, deeds, passenger lists, town lists, jury lists, land grants, cemetery records etc.
Secondary sources include quality peer reviewed journals like The American Genealogist, The Genealogist, The Essex Genealogist, etc. They also include books published by NEHGS especially those who are members of FASG like Robert Charles Anderson, John Brooks Threlfall, Donald Lines Jacobus, Dean Crawford Smith, Melinde Lutz Sanborn, Gary Boyd Roberts, Walter Goodwin Davis, etc. Books published by the Mayflower Society (The so called Silver Books).
What all these books and journals have in common is they are based primary sources and they reject any inference that is not based on primary sources and in general they give the reader the exact citation for the source used. Most of these are peer reviewed before publication. For immigrants to arrived from 1620-1640 the first sources to consult should always be:
Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn Jr. and Melinde Lutz Sanborn, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, 7 Volumes
Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, 3 volumes (Boston 1995)
Robert Charles Anderson. The Great Migration Directory: Immigrants to New England, 1620–1640 (Boston, Massachusetts. New England Historic and Genealogical Society. 2015)
Sybil Noyes, Charles Thornton Libby and Walter Goodwin Davis,Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire (Portland, Maine, 1928-1939; rpt. Baltimore 1972)
Mayflower Families -
See the General Society of Mayflower Descendants for a list of titles.
NEHGS databases on AmericanAncestors.com and Findmypast.
These are where we should start. Follow that up by visiting Clarance Almon Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, April 2011) 3 Volumes
These books will list all of their primary and secondary sources. Take those and look them up individually. Always pay attention to the date of the publications be certain to consult the latest publication because research is never static and new discoveries are made all the time.
It is OK to consult 19th century and early 20th century genealogies such as family genealogies, place histories etc. But know that these genealogies are often not evidence based when it comes to English origins of early 17th century immigrants and must of what was published then was pure fantasy or lacked supporting evidence. You'll notice the sources I used below follow these guidelines. They are primary sources or quality peer reviewed secondary sources.
Start by downloading this sketch written by Robert Charles Anderson in the Great Migration Series. He and his crew at NEHGS are *the* authorities on the subject of Great Migration immigrants:
https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000051568974869&
Notice how each fact is followed by a pair of "[]" and within those brackets are abbreviations for the title of the source used, the volume and the page number like VOL#:PG#. These are standardized abbreviations for sources used by most peer reviewed journals and NEHGS publications. You can look up most of them here:
https://www.greatmigration.org/
Specifically here:
https://www.greatmigration.org/abbreviations_a.html
The arrival date for John is given specifically in Robert Charles Anderson's Great Migration Directory p 371 as 1638 in Weymouth. He cites the following sources: MBCR 1:375; SPR Case #2012; Weymouth Hist 4:753; Charles H Farnam, History of the Descendants of John Whitman of Weymouth, Mass. (New Haven, Connecticut, 1889)] See also his brother in GM2:7:359-63
The arrival date is critical. He is using primary records for example MBCR 1:375 stands for Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England , 1628–1686, Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, ed., 5 volumes in 6 (Boston 1853–1854) Vol 1 p 375. SPR Case #2012 standard for Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Probate Records, New Series which has his actual will and probate records and can be accessed online in americanancestors. These are primary sources and this is evidenced based genealogy.
There is no evidence of John Whitman on any ship passenger list or any colony record prior to 1638. So that has to be our starting date. Any source that you read that claimed 1635 was sloppy. We know that he is brother to both Zachariah and Elizabeth (Whitman) [Stream] Otis because they state so directly in their probate records or indirectly by naming each other's children.
We know via primary records (see below and the above article) that they came from Leigh, Buckinghamshire, England. We know that on Elizabeth Whitman's marriage record it states the name of their father as Richard Whitman of Leigh, Buckinghamshire, England. These are the primary records we have on the subject.
Much conjecture was made about the origins of this family in 19th and early 20th century genealogies such claims lacked evidence. That Abijah was their father is just one such baseless claim. We now have conclusive evidence to the origins of these three immigrants. By the way Zachariah did indeed arrive in 1635. Zachariah is listed on p 371 of the Great Migration Directory as arriving on the truelove. Great Migration 2:7:359-63 (attached via the URL above) gives the sources for this information. He arrived with the children of Elizabeth Whitman his sister. Her two sons are listed in the GM Dir on pages 322 and have their own sketches in GM2:6:573-77 and GM2:6:578-80.
If you haven't purchased a copy of the Great Migration Directory and are serious about doing early 16th century genealogy than I would highly recommend you do so. You can buy it directly from the publisher and you can also get 10% off all NEHGS books if you become a member:
https://www.americanancestors.org/admin/ShopifyPassThrough/?return-url=https%3A//shop.americanancestors.org/collections/great-migration/products/the-great-migration-directory
Membership includes access to all the volumes of the Great Migration Series (except the directory) Torrey's 3 vol set including sources (not the ridiculous abbreviated version you get on ancestry.com with no sources), The American Genealogist, NEHGR, and many other journals and hundreds of databases, probate records, etc. These resources will give you solid evidence for your research and are invaluable.
As far as the name of his wife being Ruth Reed this is a conflation with his son John who died 1 Feb 1712/3 in Weymouth who married Ruth Reed on 19 Oct 1662. This sort of mix up between marriages of a father and a namesake son are typical of these sorts of databases and you have to ignore them.
If you decide to join americanancestors and get the GMDIR feel free to reach out to me and I'll show you how I setup my reference lookup system using Excel so I can quickly convert citation abbreviations to full source names and access their databases quickly.
It is an unfortunate result of learning how to do genealogy on sites like Ancestry.com that so many of us (including myself) were not at first antiquated with which sources we should consult and cite for genealogy research of early 17th century New England colonists. That being said once we start to read quality research in peer reviewed journals we being to understand what proper sources to use, how to cite them. Learning how to do this is vital if for example you wish to join the Mayflower Society or the Daughters/Son of the American Revolution, etc. It's also important if you actually want your tree to reflect reality. So much bad information is out there and the result is many erroneous trees and DNA results that make no sense. So we all have to take the steps to move beyond bad data sets. The following sources should never be used as evidence in genealogy:
1) North American Family Histories
2) Compiled Marriages, 1633-1850
3) U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s
These are all databases based on unsourced trees.
They are not considered sources by genealogists.
For research in 17th New England valid sources include primary records recorded at the time of the event: wills, probate records, vital records, town records, land records, colony records, church records, journals kept by people living at the time, court records, deeds, passenger lists, town lists, jury lists, land grants, cemetery records etc.
Secondary sources include quality peer reviewed journals like The American Genealogist, The Genealogist, The Essex Genealogist, etc. They also include books published by NEHGS especially those who are members of FASG like Robert Charles Anderson, John Brooks Threlfall, Donald Lines Jacobus, Dean Crawford Smith, Melinde Lutz Sanborn, Gary Boyd Roberts, Walter Goodwin Davis, etc. Books published by the Mayflower Society (The so called Silver Books).
What all these books and journals have in common is they are based primary sources and they reject any inference that is not based on primary sources and in general they give the reader the exact citation for the source used. Most of these are peer reviewed before publication. For immigrants to arrived from 1620-1640 the first sources to consult should always be:
Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn Jr. and Melinde Lutz Sanborn, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, 7 Volumes
Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, 3 volumes (Boston 1995)
Robert Charles Anderson. The Great Migration Directory: Immigrants to New England, 1620–1640 (Boston, Massachusetts. New England Historic and Genealogical Society. 2015)
Sybil Noyes, Charles Thornton Libby and Walter Goodwin Davis,Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire (Portland, Maine, 1928-1939; rpt. Baltimore 1972)
Mayflower Families -
See the General Society of Mayflower Descendants for a list of titles.
NEHGS databases on AmericanAncestors.com and Findmypast.
These are where we should start. Follow that up by visiting Clarance Almon Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, April 2011) 3 Volumes
These books will list all of their primary and secondary sources. Take those and look them up individually. Always pay attention to the date of the publications be certain to consult the latest publication because research is never static and new discoveries are made all the time.
It is OK to consult 19th century and early 20th century genealogies such as family genealogies, place histories etc. But know that these genealogies are often not evidence based when it comes to English origins of early 17th century immigrants and must of what was published then was pure fantasy or lacked supporting evidence. You'll notice the sources I used below follow these guidelines. They are primary sources or quality peer reviewed secondary sources.
Start by downloading this sketch written by Robert Charles Anderson in the Great Migration Series. He and his crew at NEHGS are *the* authorities on the subject of Great Migration immigrants:
https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000051568974869&
Notice how each fact is followed by a pair of "[]" and within those brackets are abbreviations for the title of the source used, the volume and the page number like VOL#:PG#. These are standardized abbreviations for sources used by most peer reviewed journals and NEHGS publications. You can look up most of them here:
https://www.greatmigration.org/
Specifically here:
https://www.greatmigration.org/abbreviations_a.html
The arrival date for John is given specifically in Robert Charles Anderson's Great Migration Directory p 371 as 1638 in Weymouth. He cites the following sources: MBCR 1:375; SPR Case #2012; Weymouth Hist 4:753; Charles H Farnam, History of the Descendants of John Whitman of Weymouth, Mass. (New Haven, Connecticut, 1889)] See also his brother in GM2:7:359-63
The arrival date is critical. He is using primary records for example MBCR 1:375 stands for Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England , 1628–1686, Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, ed., 5 volumes in 6 (Boston 1853–1854) Vol 1 p 375. SPR Case #2012 standard for Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Probate Records, New Series which has his actual will and probate records and can be accessed online in americanancestors. These are primary sources and this is evidenced based genealogy.
There is no evidence of John Whitman on any ship passenger list or any colony record prior to 1638. So that has to be our starting date. Any source that you read that claimed 1635 was sloppy. We know that he is brother to both Zachariah and Elizabeth (Whitman) [Stream] Otis because they state so directly in their probate records or indirectly by naming each other's children.
We know via primary records (see below and the above article) that they came from Leigh, Buckinghamshire, England. We know that on Elizabeth Whitman's marriage record it states the name of their father as Richard Whitman of Leigh, Buckinghamshire, England. These are the primary records we have on the subject.
Much conjecture was made about the origins of this family in 19th and early 20th century genealogies such claims lacked evidence. That Abijah was their father is just one such baseless claim. We now have conclusive evidence to the origins of these three immigrants. By the way Zachariah did indeed arrive in 1635. Zachariah is listed on p 371 of the Great Migration Directory as arriving on the truelove. Great Migration 2:7:359-63 (attached via the URL above) gives the sources for this information. He arrived with the children of Elizabeth Whitman his sister. Her two sons are listed in the GM Dir on pages 322 and have their own sketches in GM2:6:573-77 and GM2:6:578-80.
If you haven't purchased a copy of the Great Migration Directory and are serious about doing early 16th century genealogy than I would highly recommend you do so. You can buy it directly from the publisher and you can also get 10% off all NEHGS books if you become a member:
https://www.americanancestors.org/admin/ShopifyPassThrough/?return-url=https%3A//shop.americanancestors.org/collections/great-migration/products/the-great-migration-directory
Membership includes access to all the volumes of the Great Migration Series (except the directory) Torrey's 3 vol set including sources (not the ridiculous abbreviated version you get on ancestry.com with no sources), The American Genealogist, NEHGR, and many other journals and hundreds of databases, probate records, etc. These resources will give you solid evidence for your research and are invaluable.
As far as the name of his wife being Ruth Reed this is a conflation with his son John who died 1 Feb 1712/3 in Weymouth who married Ruth Reed on 19 Oct 1662. This sort of mix up between marriages of a father and a namesake son are typical of these sorts of databases and you have to ignore them.
If you decide to join americanancestors and get the GMDIR feel free to reach out to me and I'll show you how I setup my reference lookup system using Excel so I can quickly convert citation abbreviations to full source names and access their databases quickly.
There are not too many truths, there are only a few. Their meaning is too deep to grasp other than in symbols.
~Carl Jung, The Red Book, p. 291.
And everywhere there, the Tree of Life,
and the resurrection of flesh from the Tree … --Origen
Many ancient cultures venerated the Milky Way as the World Tree, cosmic axis between Earth, sky, and underworld -- a model of the world and heavenly prototype. A world tree spanning heaven is also associated with the center of the world and the primordial substance of creation. This cosmic axis is also the place "Where Flesh Came Forth." Flesh grew where heaven was separated from earth by the Tree in this seminal event.
Ancient ancestors believed this celestial Tree of Life holds all life in balance and alignment and facilitates our spiritual journey. The 'cosmic' tree emerges from the rootless root of all being, the Pleroma, and often appears upside-down with its roots in heaven and its foliage on earth. The snake in the Tree is the spiral symbol of cosmic cycles which characterize the revealed world.
The gathering of souls on heavenly paths and the connections stars have with the birth and death of people is a universal theme. This road of souls, ladder to heaven, or trail of the dead was the path to the Otherworld traveled by spirits, deities, and shamans. The Oglala called the Milky Way the "Ghost Road," Wanagi Tacanku.
The World Tree is linked to the center of the world and our own center. We are each the nexus of the cosmic drama where the Milky Way is also a cosmic womb -- the source of life and where souls return -- mirroring the creative potential of the human womb for birth. Archaic cave temples also mirrored such ideas. Thus, we find at Lascaux, some of the first cave art depicts heavenly constellations.
We have a nostalgic desire to break the bonds that keep us tied to earth, and to free ourselves from limitation. To break from earth with shamanic flight or ascent similarly signifies an act of transcendence. We long to see the human body act in the manner of a spirit, to transmute our corporeal modality into spirit’s modality. Paradoxically, we want long life, yet we defy life by breaking the rules and often compulsively challenging all boundaries.
Our genealogy is that Tree and cosmic center that keeps us connected and balanced, and upon which we can ascend and descend in a way that keeps deep time, the transcendent, and our family of flesh alive within us. Many mythologies say the world tree was the abode of gods and our genealogical roots show that. The tree is the primordial symbol that unites the physical and the sacred. Hillman cautions that loss of soul, not loss of life should be our main dread.
Jung said, "The tree of life may have been, in the first instance, a fruit-bearing genealogical tree, and hence a kind of tribal mother (CW5, Para 321). The Tree of Life fills space with bodies. It restores the lost elements of Nature and our nature.
As Jung also notes, "Sometimes a tree tells you more than can be read in books…" (Letters Vol. 1, Pg. 479). He links the Tree with the wisdom of Sophia: "the one that is rooted in the earth as well as in the heaven, both root and branch of the tree." (Zarathustra Seminar, Pg. 533).
The celestial Tree denotes life of the cosmos; its growth, proliferation, generative and regenerative processes. It stands for inexhaustible life, which is equivalent to immortality. Some families plant a tree for every child born; others plant a memorial tree when someone dies.
The Serpents in our Tree are the individual lines of descent from various common ancestors, including legendary and divine progenitors. They lead us to question who and what we are, what we know and what we thought we knew about our roots. They offer us Knowledge. They are still a part of our Truth -- that we are born and we die -- and we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. Genealogy is a Ritual in which we climb up and down, through our family tree in deep remembrance, an exercise in time travel that expands consciousness.
Circulation
This Cosmic Tree or World Tree represents the sustaining wisdom, beauty, love, strength, and power of the Universe.
Trees symbolize the living structure of our inner selves. To forget one's ancestors, is like a river without a source, or a tree without roots. Life-giving sap circulates throughout the Tree much like the ancestral bloodlines circulate through us in an unbroken circle. Life is immortal and we realize we are to the extent we partake of the fruits of that Tree and its eternal Mystery.
Jung says, "It is the tree that nourishes all the stars and planets; and it is the tree out of which come the first parents, the primordial parents of humanity, and in which the last couple, also representing the whole of humanity, are buried." (Zarathustra Seminar, Pages 1432-1434). Our 'leaf' may fall off the tree and die but what gave us life remains -- interpersonal existence remains.
“The alchemist saw the union of opposites under the symbol of the tree… the symbol of the cosmic tree rooted in this world and growing up to heaven -- the tree that is also man. In the history of symbols this tree is described as the way of life itself, a growing into that which eternally is and does not change; which springs from the union of opposites and, by its eternal presence, also makes that union possible.” (Carl Jung, CW 9i, para. 198)v
~Carl Jung, The Red Book, p. 291.
And everywhere there, the Tree of Life,
and the resurrection of flesh from the Tree … --Origen
Many ancient cultures venerated the Milky Way as the World Tree, cosmic axis between Earth, sky, and underworld -- a model of the world and heavenly prototype. A world tree spanning heaven is also associated with the center of the world and the primordial substance of creation. This cosmic axis is also the place "Where Flesh Came Forth." Flesh grew where heaven was separated from earth by the Tree in this seminal event.
Ancient ancestors believed this celestial Tree of Life holds all life in balance and alignment and facilitates our spiritual journey. The 'cosmic' tree emerges from the rootless root of all being, the Pleroma, and often appears upside-down with its roots in heaven and its foliage on earth. The snake in the Tree is the spiral symbol of cosmic cycles which characterize the revealed world.
The gathering of souls on heavenly paths and the connections stars have with the birth and death of people is a universal theme. This road of souls, ladder to heaven, or trail of the dead was the path to the Otherworld traveled by spirits, deities, and shamans. The Oglala called the Milky Way the "Ghost Road," Wanagi Tacanku.
The World Tree is linked to the center of the world and our own center. We are each the nexus of the cosmic drama where the Milky Way is also a cosmic womb -- the source of life and where souls return -- mirroring the creative potential of the human womb for birth. Archaic cave temples also mirrored such ideas. Thus, we find at Lascaux, some of the first cave art depicts heavenly constellations.
We have a nostalgic desire to break the bonds that keep us tied to earth, and to free ourselves from limitation. To break from earth with shamanic flight or ascent similarly signifies an act of transcendence. We long to see the human body act in the manner of a spirit, to transmute our corporeal modality into spirit’s modality. Paradoxically, we want long life, yet we defy life by breaking the rules and often compulsively challenging all boundaries.
Our genealogy is that Tree and cosmic center that keeps us connected and balanced, and upon which we can ascend and descend in a way that keeps deep time, the transcendent, and our family of flesh alive within us. Many mythologies say the world tree was the abode of gods and our genealogical roots show that. The tree is the primordial symbol that unites the physical and the sacred. Hillman cautions that loss of soul, not loss of life should be our main dread.
Jung said, "The tree of life may have been, in the first instance, a fruit-bearing genealogical tree, and hence a kind of tribal mother (CW5, Para 321). The Tree of Life fills space with bodies. It restores the lost elements of Nature and our nature.
As Jung also notes, "Sometimes a tree tells you more than can be read in books…" (Letters Vol. 1, Pg. 479). He links the Tree with the wisdom of Sophia: "the one that is rooted in the earth as well as in the heaven, both root and branch of the tree." (Zarathustra Seminar, Pg. 533).
The celestial Tree denotes life of the cosmos; its growth, proliferation, generative and regenerative processes. It stands for inexhaustible life, which is equivalent to immortality. Some families plant a tree for every child born; others plant a memorial tree when someone dies.
The Serpents in our Tree are the individual lines of descent from various common ancestors, including legendary and divine progenitors. They lead us to question who and what we are, what we know and what we thought we knew about our roots. They offer us Knowledge. They are still a part of our Truth -- that we are born and we die -- and we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. Genealogy is a Ritual in which we climb up and down, through our family tree in deep remembrance, an exercise in time travel that expands consciousness.
Circulation
This Cosmic Tree or World Tree represents the sustaining wisdom, beauty, love, strength, and power of the Universe.
Trees symbolize the living structure of our inner selves. To forget one's ancestors, is like a river without a source, or a tree without roots. Life-giving sap circulates throughout the Tree much like the ancestral bloodlines circulate through us in an unbroken circle. Life is immortal and we realize we are to the extent we partake of the fruits of that Tree and its eternal Mystery.
Jung says, "It is the tree that nourishes all the stars and planets; and it is the tree out of which come the first parents, the primordial parents of humanity, and in which the last couple, also representing the whole of humanity, are buried." (Zarathustra Seminar, Pages 1432-1434). Our 'leaf' may fall off the tree and die but what gave us life remains -- interpersonal existence remains.
“The alchemist saw the union of opposites under the symbol of the tree… the symbol of the cosmic tree rooted in this world and growing up to heaven -- the tree that is also man. In the history of symbols this tree is described as the way of life itself, a growing into that which eternally is and does not change; which springs from the union of opposites and, by its eternal presence, also makes that union possible.” (Carl Jung, CW 9i, para. 198)v
Embodying Ancestor Wisdom
By Iona Miller, (c) 2016
"There is an alchemical saying: Man is the heaven of woman and woman
is the earth of man. The woman’s task is to bring things down to earth."
~Marie Louise von Franz, Psychological Perspectives by E. Rossi
When the ancestors call and you answer, you are infused with their organic wisdom. Your worldview widens to encompass deep time. We become oblivious to the names and experiences of even our recent ancestors; we get ancestral amnesia. We forget their burdens and their blessings. But we can raise them into the light of consciousness with a bit of joyful effort. Then we are rewarded with new meaning and self-knowledge. Like all initiatory journeys, it is about the death of the old self and rebirth of the new. This is family you can keep with for the rest of your life.
“Trees depict the living structure of our inner self. Its roots show our connection with our physical body and the earth; its trunk the way we would direct the energies of our being–varied and yet all connected in the common life process of our being. The tree can also symbolize new growth, stages of life and death, with its springs leaves and blossoms, then the falling leaves. The top of the tree, by the end of the branches, are our aspirations, the growing bendable tip of our personal growth and spiritual realization. The leaves may represent our personal life which may fall off the tree of life (die) but what gave it life continues to exist. The tree is our whole life, the evolutionary urge which pushes us in two being and grow it depicts the forces are processes which is behind all other life forms–but seen as it expresses interpersonal existence.”
“I am an orphan, alone: nevertheless I am found everywhere. I am one, but opposed to myself. I am youth and old man at one and the same time. I have known neither father nor mother, because I have had to be fetched out of the deep like a fish, or fell like a white stone from heaven. In woods and mountains I roam, but I am hidden in the innermost soul of man. I am mortal for everyone, yet I am not touched by the cycle of aeons.” (Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections, P. 227)
By Iona Miller, (c) 2016
"There is an alchemical saying: Man is the heaven of woman and woman
is the earth of man. The woman’s task is to bring things down to earth."
~Marie Louise von Franz, Psychological Perspectives by E. Rossi
When the ancestors call and you answer, you are infused with their organic wisdom. Your worldview widens to encompass deep time. We become oblivious to the names and experiences of even our recent ancestors; we get ancestral amnesia. We forget their burdens and their blessings. But we can raise them into the light of consciousness with a bit of joyful effort. Then we are rewarded with new meaning and self-knowledge. Like all initiatory journeys, it is about the death of the old self and rebirth of the new. This is family you can keep with for the rest of your life.
“Trees depict the living structure of our inner self. Its roots show our connection with our physical body and the earth; its trunk the way we would direct the energies of our being–varied and yet all connected in the common life process of our being. The tree can also symbolize new growth, stages of life and death, with its springs leaves and blossoms, then the falling leaves. The top of the tree, by the end of the branches, are our aspirations, the growing bendable tip of our personal growth and spiritual realization. The leaves may represent our personal life which may fall off the tree of life (die) but what gave it life continues to exist. The tree is our whole life, the evolutionary urge which pushes us in two being and grow it depicts the forces are processes which is behind all other life forms–but seen as it expresses interpersonal existence.”
“I am an orphan, alone: nevertheless I am found everywhere. I am one, but opposed to myself. I am youth and old man at one and the same time. I have known neither father nor mother, because I have had to be fetched out of the deep like a fish, or fell like a white stone from heaven. In woods and mountains I roam, but I am hidden in the innermost soul of man. I am mortal for everyone, yet I am not touched by the cycle of aeons.” (Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections, P. 227)
FORBIDDEN FRUIT
Healing Across Life Lines
"I myself was, so it seemed, in the Pardes Rimmonim, the garden of pomegranates, and the wedding of Tifereth with Malchuth was taking place. Or else I was Rabbi Simon ben Jochai, whose wedding in the afterlife was being celebrated. It was the mystic marriage as it appears in the Cabbalistic tradition. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was. I could only think continually, “Now this is the garden of pomegranates! Now this is the marriage of Malchuth with Tifereth!” I do not know exactly what part I played in it. At bottom it was I myself: I was the marriage. And my beatitude was that of a blissful wedding (C. G. Jung, Memories, dreams, reflections" (A. Jaffe, Ed.). New York: Random House, 1961, p. 293)
Pomegranate seeds sprout readily in the right environment. They became a symbol for fertility. Some believe the pomegranate was the forbidden fruit, not the apple, but its Latin name literally means "apple with many seeds."
The fleshy fruits with numerous blood-red seeds are a good symbol for multiple descendants. From earliest times, the pomegranate has been the fruit of fertility, of death and rebirth, of hope -- and guardian against the evil eye. The folktale goes, "Three pomegranates fell down from heaven: One for the story teller, one for the listener, and one for the whole world."
The "fruit of the gods," or "fruit of heaven," pomegranate is s Semitic symbol of life, abundance and wealth. In the Babylonian empire the fruit was served at weddings and represented the symbol of love and fertility. The pomegranate symbolized the soul’s immortality -- eternal life -- and the perfection of nature for Zoroastrians.
But, maybe it was also a "forbidden fruit." Pomegranate seeds were used by women of antiquity as a hormonal contraceptive. Taken regularly, it prohibited pregnancy during treatment. So, the forbidden fruit is about the knowledge of good and evil, sex, and reproductive power -- to have fertility or knowingly thwart it with reduced fertility rates.
A paradoxical union of opposites it symbolizes both fertility and contraceptive. Modern testing has shown that pomegranate does have contraceptive effects. The uterine contracting property of these fruits may cause serious hazard like abortion, when consumed in early trimesters of pregnancy. Contraction-stimulating compounds increase the chances of miscarriage. In ancient times pomegranate seeds were used as abortifacient.
Hippocrates and others prescribed the seeds and rind of the pomegranate to prevent conception. Oestrone, a compound that is identical to estrogen, is found in high levels in pomegranate seeds. The seeds have tested as the highest concentration of oestrone among all plants.
Soranus writes about six contraceptive and abortive recipes for vaginal suppositories, five of which use the rind or peel of a pomegranate, in addition to recommendations for pomegranate as an oral contraceptive. There are other well known religious traditions involving the testimony of pomegranate as an oral contraceptive.
Pomegranate and its distinctive ruby-red jewel-like seeds have been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. Ayurveda uses pomegranate as a contraceptive and abortifacient. Consuming the seeds, pulp, or rind is supplemented by using the rind as a vaginal suppository. This practice is recorded in ancient Indian literature, in medieval sources, and in modern folk medicine.
In ancient Greek mythology this fruit was the symbol of life, marriage and rebirth in the abduction story of Persephone by Hades, the god of the underworld, who abducted her to the land of the dead. Pomegranates, as a symbol of fertility, were used in the worship of Demeter during her ancient festival. The third and final day, the Calligenera, was devoted to the fertility of women where eating of pomegranate seeds was an important part of the rituals.
In Asia the pomegranate played a part in the wedding ceremony. The guests were provided with pomegranates and were told to throw them sharply upon the floor of the newlywed’s honeymoon room, scattering the seeds. This ritual was intended to encourage a fruitful union and many children. Jewish tradition teaches that the pomegranate is a symbol for righteousness and fruitfulness.
Likewise, the pomegranate is the Armenian symbol of fertility, abundance and marriage. A bride was given a pomegranate fruit, which she threw against a wall, breaking it into pieces. Scattered pomegranate seeds ensured the bride future children. In medieval legend the pomegranate tree is a symbol of abundance and fertility and an important feature in the hunt for the magical unicorn.
Symbolically, "forbidden fruit" with its unconscious meanings can be incest, or illegitimate descent -- the fruit of unwed or unwanted unions, or mythically-rooted cross cousin marriage. Just one adoption or family secret can lead to long lost family lines, only retrievable through genetic genealogy.
Yet, unknown family patterns and traits have a way of being passed along. Cross-cousin marriage, designed to keep power and assets in the family, is based on the archetype of the quaternio.
Because we do not tend to live out such archaic patterns in modern life, the dynamic is pushed down into the unconscious. But we can see it in our genealogy, especially when it is practiced through generations; it is called pedigree collapse. Reproduction between two individuals who share an ancestor causes the number of distinct ancestors in the family tree of their offspring to be smaller than it could otherwise be.
A single individual alive today would, over 30 generations going back to the High Middle Ages, have roughly a billion ancestors -- more than the total world population at the time. This apparent paradox is explained by shared ancestors, referred to as pedigree collapse. Instead of consisting of all unique individuals, a tree may have multiple places occupied by a single individual. This typically happens when the parents of an ancestor are related to each other (sometimes unknown to themselves).
When cousins marry, you get inbreeding, ancestor paradox, pedigree collapse or the 'family braid'. Instead of having all different ancestors, the same couple appears more than once in your pedigree. First cousins share a pair of grandparents, for example, so any children they have will show one pair of great-grand-parents ‘repeated’ in their pedigree.
Pedigree collapse is caused by inbreeding; both recent close breeding and more distant founder effects. When a breeder inbreeds they are cutting the pedigree pyramid of their stock down dramatically. When two cousins mate, they have actually permanently cut out 25% of the possible ancestors for their offspring.
Within the same general population, the chances are almost 100% that your spouse is a distant cousin, and you share a common ancestor from 20 generations ago. Once you go back 20 generations (a million distinct ancestors), you are almost guaranteed to see a common ancestor, and all ancestors of the common ancestor reduce the overall number of unique ancestors.
This early form of mating that ensured that endogenous (kinship) libido -- incest -- held the family together but didn't overpower exogamous libido. The endogamous side wants a sister, the exogamous urge desires a stranger, so marrying a cousin balances the two. Marriage of a man's sister to his wife's brother is a relic of the "sister-exchange marriage" of many primitive tribes and the basis of alliance theory.
Native Americans could not marry cousins from the father's line, but they could marry cousins from their mother's line. This was called cross-cousin marriage.
Preferential cross-cousin marriage exists in Tibet, Nepal, Pakistan, Africa, and elsewhere.
Levi-Strauss also discovered that a wide range of historically unrelated cultures had the rule that individuals should marry their cross-cousin, meaning children of siblings of the opposite sex - from a male perspective that is either the FZD (father's sister's daughter in kinship abbreviation) or the MBD (mother's brother's daughter in kinship abbreviation). Accordingly, he grouped all possible kinship systems into a scheme containing three basic kinship structures, constructed out of two types of exchange. He called the three kinship structures elementary, semi-complex and complex.
Common reasons behind cousin marriages are:
a) Better to marry in a family we know so that the bride/groom can adjust to their new life easily.
b) Better marry within the family so that our `wealth' does not go out.
c) Better marry within the family because we are better/superior than others.
d) Better marry within the family so disputes can be settled easily, reducing the likelihood of divorce.
e)Agreements are made by parents who are usually related.
Such marriage between 'the respective descendants of a brother and a sister', 'despite the very close degree of consanguinity between the spouses, is regarded as an ideal'. Bilateral cross-cousin marriage is often prescribed.
Diamond Pedigree Collapse -- How the shape of your genealogy expands & contracts with increasing occurrence of cousin marriages the further back you go.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/369435975654167827/
If we consider as a function of time t the number of a given individual's ancestors who were alive at time t, it is likely that for most individuals this function has a maximum at around 1200 AD. Some geneticists believe that everyone on Earth is at most 50th cousin to everyone else. We are born, we fruit, and die.
BEST ROYAL DESCENT
A royal descent is a lineal descent from a past or present monarch. Royal descent is sometimes claimed as a mark of distinction and is seen as a desirable goal of genealogy. Pretenders, impostors and those hoping to improve their social status have often claimed royal descent and some have fabricated lineages.
There were at least 650 colonists with traceable royal ancestry, and 387 left descendants in America (almost always numbering many thousands, and some as many as one million). Due to primogeniture, many colonists of high social status were younger children of English aristocratic families who came to America looking for land because, given their birth order, they could not inherit. Many of these immigrants initially enjoyed high standing where they settled. They could often claim royal descent through a female line or illegitimate descent.
The idea is that the "best" Royal descent is the descent from the most recent Monarch. In other words, a descent from a youngest son of Edward III of England (d. 1377) is considered "better" than descent from a daughter of Edward I of England (d. 1307).
One wrinkle in the idea of "best" is when the person is descended from
Monarchs of two different countries. In the past, several researchers would hold that a descent from any English king (such as Edward I, d. 1307) was "better" than a descent from any Scottish king (such as Robert III, d. 1406), but all of the major genealogy researchers have switched over to the strictly chronological definition.
A descent from, say, Henry VII, is "better" than a descent from Edward III ---- because it means that one is descended from some of those monarchs in between [Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Edward IV] ---- giving a greater overall count of Total Overall Royal Descents [TORD].
By the same token, a descent from Queen Victoria would be far better, but not if your main interest is archaic royal lines prior to the Donation of Constantine, which allowed the church to choose merchant kings, rather than ancient lineage heirs.
"Genealogy is an infinite progressive and regressive binary series, propagated by means of a terminal, sexually transmitted disease, producing a 100% death rate -- which we call Life." [DSH] -- 4 June 1997
Healing Across Life Lines
"I myself was, so it seemed, in the Pardes Rimmonim, the garden of pomegranates, and the wedding of Tifereth with Malchuth was taking place. Or else I was Rabbi Simon ben Jochai, whose wedding in the afterlife was being celebrated. It was the mystic marriage as it appears in the Cabbalistic tradition. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was. I could only think continually, “Now this is the garden of pomegranates! Now this is the marriage of Malchuth with Tifereth!” I do not know exactly what part I played in it. At bottom it was I myself: I was the marriage. And my beatitude was that of a blissful wedding (C. G. Jung, Memories, dreams, reflections" (A. Jaffe, Ed.). New York: Random House, 1961, p. 293)
Pomegranate seeds sprout readily in the right environment. They became a symbol for fertility. Some believe the pomegranate was the forbidden fruit, not the apple, but its Latin name literally means "apple with many seeds."
The fleshy fruits with numerous blood-red seeds are a good symbol for multiple descendants. From earliest times, the pomegranate has been the fruit of fertility, of death and rebirth, of hope -- and guardian against the evil eye. The folktale goes, "Three pomegranates fell down from heaven: One for the story teller, one for the listener, and one for the whole world."
The "fruit of the gods," or "fruit of heaven," pomegranate is s Semitic symbol of life, abundance and wealth. In the Babylonian empire the fruit was served at weddings and represented the symbol of love and fertility. The pomegranate symbolized the soul’s immortality -- eternal life -- and the perfection of nature for Zoroastrians.
But, maybe it was also a "forbidden fruit." Pomegranate seeds were used by women of antiquity as a hormonal contraceptive. Taken regularly, it prohibited pregnancy during treatment. So, the forbidden fruit is about the knowledge of good and evil, sex, and reproductive power -- to have fertility or knowingly thwart it with reduced fertility rates.
A paradoxical union of opposites it symbolizes both fertility and contraceptive. Modern testing has shown that pomegranate does have contraceptive effects. The uterine contracting property of these fruits may cause serious hazard like abortion, when consumed in early trimesters of pregnancy. Contraction-stimulating compounds increase the chances of miscarriage. In ancient times pomegranate seeds were used as abortifacient.
Hippocrates and others prescribed the seeds and rind of the pomegranate to prevent conception. Oestrone, a compound that is identical to estrogen, is found in high levels in pomegranate seeds. The seeds have tested as the highest concentration of oestrone among all plants.
Soranus writes about six contraceptive and abortive recipes for vaginal suppositories, five of which use the rind or peel of a pomegranate, in addition to recommendations for pomegranate as an oral contraceptive. There are other well known religious traditions involving the testimony of pomegranate as an oral contraceptive.
Pomegranate and its distinctive ruby-red jewel-like seeds have been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. Ayurveda uses pomegranate as a contraceptive and abortifacient. Consuming the seeds, pulp, or rind is supplemented by using the rind as a vaginal suppository. This practice is recorded in ancient Indian literature, in medieval sources, and in modern folk medicine.
In ancient Greek mythology this fruit was the symbol of life, marriage and rebirth in the abduction story of Persephone by Hades, the god of the underworld, who abducted her to the land of the dead. Pomegranates, as a symbol of fertility, were used in the worship of Demeter during her ancient festival. The third and final day, the Calligenera, was devoted to the fertility of women where eating of pomegranate seeds was an important part of the rituals.
In Asia the pomegranate played a part in the wedding ceremony. The guests were provided with pomegranates and were told to throw them sharply upon the floor of the newlywed’s honeymoon room, scattering the seeds. This ritual was intended to encourage a fruitful union and many children. Jewish tradition teaches that the pomegranate is a symbol for righteousness and fruitfulness.
Likewise, the pomegranate is the Armenian symbol of fertility, abundance and marriage. A bride was given a pomegranate fruit, which she threw against a wall, breaking it into pieces. Scattered pomegranate seeds ensured the bride future children. In medieval legend the pomegranate tree is a symbol of abundance and fertility and an important feature in the hunt for the magical unicorn.
Symbolically, "forbidden fruit" with its unconscious meanings can be incest, or illegitimate descent -- the fruit of unwed or unwanted unions, or mythically-rooted cross cousin marriage. Just one adoption or family secret can lead to long lost family lines, only retrievable through genetic genealogy.
Yet, unknown family patterns and traits have a way of being passed along. Cross-cousin marriage, designed to keep power and assets in the family, is based on the archetype of the quaternio.
Because we do not tend to live out such archaic patterns in modern life, the dynamic is pushed down into the unconscious. But we can see it in our genealogy, especially when it is practiced through generations; it is called pedigree collapse. Reproduction between two individuals who share an ancestor causes the number of distinct ancestors in the family tree of their offspring to be smaller than it could otherwise be.
A single individual alive today would, over 30 generations going back to the High Middle Ages, have roughly a billion ancestors -- more than the total world population at the time. This apparent paradox is explained by shared ancestors, referred to as pedigree collapse. Instead of consisting of all unique individuals, a tree may have multiple places occupied by a single individual. This typically happens when the parents of an ancestor are related to each other (sometimes unknown to themselves).
When cousins marry, you get inbreeding, ancestor paradox, pedigree collapse or the 'family braid'. Instead of having all different ancestors, the same couple appears more than once in your pedigree. First cousins share a pair of grandparents, for example, so any children they have will show one pair of great-grand-parents ‘repeated’ in their pedigree.
Pedigree collapse is caused by inbreeding; both recent close breeding and more distant founder effects. When a breeder inbreeds they are cutting the pedigree pyramid of their stock down dramatically. When two cousins mate, they have actually permanently cut out 25% of the possible ancestors for their offspring.
Within the same general population, the chances are almost 100% that your spouse is a distant cousin, and you share a common ancestor from 20 generations ago. Once you go back 20 generations (a million distinct ancestors), you are almost guaranteed to see a common ancestor, and all ancestors of the common ancestor reduce the overall number of unique ancestors.
This early form of mating that ensured that endogenous (kinship) libido -- incest -- held the family together but didn't overpower exogamous libido. The endogamous side wants a sister, the exogamous urge desires a stranger, so marrying a cousin balances the two. Marriage of a man's sister to his wife's brother is a relic of the "sister-exchange marriage" of many primitive tribes and the basis of alliance theory.
Native Americans could not marry cousins from the father's line, but they could marry cousins from their mother's line. This was called cross-cousin marriage.
Preferential cross-cousin marriage exists in Tibet, Nepal, Pakistan, Africa, and elsewhere.
Levi-Strauss also discovered that a wide range of historically unrelated cultures had the rule that individuals should marry their cross-cousin, meaning children of siblings of the opposite sex - from a male perspective that is either the FZD (father's sister's daughter in kinship abbreviation) or the MBD (mother's brother's daughter in kinship abbreviation). Accordingly, he grouped all possible kinship systems into a scheme containing three basic kinship structures, constructed out of two types of exchange. He called the three kinship structures elementary, semi-complex and complex.
Common reasons behind cousin marriages are:
a) Better to marry in a family we know so that the bride/groom can adjust to their new life easily.
b) Better marry within the family so that our `wealth' does not go out.
c) Better marry within the family because we are better/superior than others.
d) Better marry within the family so disputes can be settled easily, reducing the likelihood of divorce.
e)Agreements are made by parents who are usually related.
Such marriage between 'the respective descendants of a brother and a sister', 'despite the very close degree of consanguinity between the spouses, is regarded as an ideal'. Bilateral cross-cousin marriage is often prescribed.
Diamond Pedigree Collapse -- How the shape of your genealogy expands & contracts with increasing occurrence of cousin marriages the further back you go.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/369435975654167827/
If we consider as a function of time t the number of a given individual's ancestors who were alive at time t, it is likely that for most individuals this function has a maximum at around 1200 AD. Some geneticists believe that everyone on Earth is at most 50th cousin to everyone else. We are born, we fruit, and die.
BEST ROYAL DESCENT
A royal descent is a lineal descent from a past or present monarch. Royal descent is sometimes claimed as a mark of distinction and is seen as a desirable goal of genealogy. Pretenders, impostors and those hoping to improve their social status have often claimed royal descent and some have fabricated lineages.
There were at least 650 colonists with traceable royal ancestry, and 387 left descendants in America (almost always numbering many thousands, and some as many as one million). Due to primogeniture, many colonists of high social status were younger children of English aristocratic families who came to America looking for land because, given their birth order, they could not inherit. Many of these immigrants initially enjoyed high standing where they settled. They could often claim royal descent through a female line or illegitimate descent.
The idea is that the "best" Royal descent is the descent from the most recent Monarch. In other words, a descent from a youngest son of Edward III of England (d. 1377) is considered "better" than descent from a daughter of Edward I of England (d. 1307).
One wrinkle in the idea of "best" is when the person is descended from
Monarchs of two different countries. In the past, several researchers would hold that a descent from any English king (such as Edward I, d. 1307) was "better" than a descent from any Scottish king (such as Robert III, d. 1406), but all of the major genealogy researchers have switched over to the strictly chronological definition.
A descent from, say, Henry VII, is "better" than a descent from Edward III ---- because it means that one is descended from some of those monarchs in between [Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Edward IV] ---- giving a greater overall count of Total Overall Royal Descents [TORD].
By the same token, a descent from Queen Victoria would be far better, but not if your main interest is archaic royal lines prior to the Donation of Constantine, which allowed the church to choose merchant kings, rather than ancient lineage heirs.
"Genealogy is an infinite progressive and regressive binary series, propagated by means of a terminal, sexually transmitted disease, producing a 100% death rate -- which we call Life." [DSH] -- 4 June 1997
"ONE of the most interesting legends concerning the cross is that preserved in Aurea Legenda_, by Jacobus de Vorgaine. The Story is to the effect that Adam, feeling the end of his life was near, entreated his son Seth to make a pilgrimage to the Garden of Eden and secure from the angel on guard at the entrance the Oil of Mercy_ which God had promised mankind. Seth did not know the way; but his father told him it was in an eastward direction, and the path would be easy to follow, for when Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of the Lord, upon the path which their feet had trod the grass had never grown.
Seth, following the directions of his father, discovered the Garden of Eden without difficulty. The angel who guarded the gate permitted him to enter, and in the midst of the garden Seth beheld a great tree, the branches of which reached up to heaven. The tree was in the form of a cross, and stood on the brink of a precipice which led downward into the depths of hell. Among the roots of the tree he saw the body of his brother Cain, held prisoner by the entwining limbs. The angel refused to give Seth the Oil of Mercy, but presented him instead with three seeds from the Tree of Life (some say the Tree of Knowledge). With these Seth returned to his father, who was so overjoyed that he did not desire to live longer. Three days later he died, and the three seeds were buried in his mouth, as the angel had instructed. The seeds became a sapling with three trunks in one, which absorbed into itself the blood of Adam, so that the life of Adam was in the tree. Noah dug up this tree by the roots and took it with him into the Ark. After the waters subsided, he buried the skull of Adam under Mount Calvary, and planted the tree on the summit of Mount Lebanon.
Moses beheld a visionary being in the midst of this tree (the burning bush) and from it cut the magical rod with which he was able to bring water out of a stone. But because he failed to call upon the Lord the second time he struck the rock, he was not permitted to carry the sacred staff into the Promised Land; so he planted it in the hills of Moab. After much searching, King David discovered the tree; and his son, Solomon, tried to use it for a pillar in his Temple, but his carpenters could not cut it so that it would fit; it was always either too long or too short. At last, disgusted, they cast it aside and used it for a bridge to connect Jerusalem with the surrounding hills. When the Queen of Sheba came to visit King Solomon she was expected to walk across this bridge. Instead, when she beheld the tree, she refused to put her foot upon it, but, after kneeling and praying, removed her sandals and forded the stream. This so impressed King Solomon that he ordered the log to be overlaid with golden places and placed above the door of his Temple. There it remained until his covetous grandson stole the gold, and buried the tree so that the crime would not be discovered.
From the ground where the tree was buried there immediately bubbled forth a spring of water, which became known as Bethesda. To it the sick from all Syria came to be healed. The angel of the pool became the guardian of the tree, and it remained undisturbed for many years. Eventually the log floated to the surface and was used as a bridge again, this time between Calvary and Jerusalem; and over it Jesus passed to be crucified. There was no wood on Calvary; so the tree was cut into two parts to serve as the cross upon which the Son of Man was crucified. The cross was set up at the very spot where the skull of Adam had been buried. Later, when the cross was discovered by the Empress Helena, the wood was found to be of four different varieties contained in one tree (representing the elements), and thereafter the cross continued to heal all the sick who were permitted to touch it." -- Manly P. Hall, The Cross and the Crucifixion
Seth, following the directions of his father, discovered the Garden of Eden without difficulty. The angel who guarded the gate permitted him to enter, and in the midst of the garden Seth beheld a great tree, the branches of which reached up to heaven. The tree was in the form of a cross, and stood on the brink of a precipice which led downward into the depths of hell. Among the roots of the tree he saw the body of his brother Cain, held prisoner by the entwining limbs. The angel refused to give Seth the Oil of Mercy, but presented him instead with three seeds from the Tree of Life (some say the Tree of Knowledge). With these Seth returned to his father, who was so overjoyed that he did not desire to live longer. Three days later he died, and the three seeds were buried in his mouth, as the angel had instructed. The seeds became a sapling with three trunks in one, which absorbed into itself the blood of Adam, so that the life of Adam was in the tree. Noah dug up this tree by the roots and took it with him into the Ark. After the waters subsided, he buried the skull of Adam under Mount Calvary, and planted the tree on the summit of Mount Lebanon.
Moses beheld a visionary being in the midst of this tree (the burning bush) and from it cut the magical rod with which he was able to bring water out of a stone. But because he failed to call upon the Lord the second time he struck the rock, he was not permitted to carry the sacred staff into the Promised Land; so he planted it in the hills of Moab. After much searching, King David discovered the tree; and his son, Solomon, tried to use it for a pillar in his Temple, but his carpenters could not cut it so that it would fit; it was always either too long or too short. At last, disgusted, they cast it aside and used it for a bridge to connect Jerusalem with the surrounding hills. When the Queen of Sheba came to visit King Solomon she was expected to walk across this bridge. Instead, when she beheld the tree, she refused to put her foot upon it, but, after kneeling and praying, removed her sandals and forded the stream. This so impressed King Solomon that he ordered the log to be overlaid with golden places and placed above the door of his Temple. There it remained until his covetous grandson stole the gold, and buried the tree so that the crime would not be discovered.
From the ground where the tree was buried there immediately bubbled forth a spring of water, which became known as Bethesda. To it the sick from all Syria came to be healed. The angel of the pool became the guardian of the tree, and it remained undisturbed for many years. Eventually the log floated to the surface and was used as a bridge again, this time between Calvary and Jerusalem; and over it Jesus passed to be crucified. There was no wood on Calvary; so the tree was cut into two parts to serve as the cross upon which the Son of Man was crucified. The cross was set up at the very spot where the skull of Adam had been buried. Later, when the cross was discovered by the Empress Helena, the wood was found to be of four different varieties contained in one tree (representing the elements), and thereafter the cross continued to heal all the sick who were permitted to touch it." -- Manly P. Hall, The Cross and the Crucifixion
The serpent in Genesis is an illustration of the personified tree numen; hence it is traditionally represented in or coiled round the tree.
It is the tree's voice, which persuades Eve—in Luther's version—that "it would be good to eat of the tree, and pleasant to behold that it is a lusty tree."
In the fairytale of "The Spirit in the Bottle," Mercurius can likewise be interpreted as a tree numen.
In the Ripley "Scrowle" Mercurius appears as a snake in the shape of a Melusina descending from the top of the Philosophical Tree ("tree of knowledge").
The tree stands for the development and phases of the transformation process, and its fruits or flowers signify the consummation of the work.
In the fairytale Mercurius is hidden in the roots of a great oak-tree, i.e., in the earth.
For it is in the interior of the earth that the Mercurial serpent dwells.
~Carl Jung, CW 9, Aion, Page 235, Para 372.
It is the tree's voice, which persuades Eve—in Luther's version—that "it would be good to eat of the tree, and pleasant to behold that it is a lusty tree."
In the fairytale of "The Spirit in the Bottle," Mercurius can likewise be interpreted as a tree numen.
In the Ripley "Scrowle" Mercurius appears as a snake in the shape of a Melusina descending from the top of the Philosophical Tree ("tree of knowledge").
The tree stands for the development and phases of the transformation process, and its fruits or flowers signify the consummation of the work.
In the fairytale Mercurius is hidden in the roots of a great oak-tree, i.e., in the earth.
For it is in the interior of the earth that the Mercurial serpent dwells.
~Carl Jung, CW 9, Aion, Page 235, Para 372.
Tree of Life” by Willow Arlenea
“If we try to achieve a general view of all the myths and rites just briefly reviewed, we are struck by the fact that they have a dominant idea in common: communication between heaven and earth can be brought about—or could be in illo tempore —by some physical means (rainbow, bridge, stairs, ladder, vine, cord, ‘chain of arrows’, mountain, etc., etc.). All of these symbolic images of the connection between heaven and earth are merely variants of the World Tree or the axis mundi ...the myth and symbolism of the Cosmic Tree imply the idea of a ‘Center of the World,’ of a point where earth, sky, and underworld meet.” -Eliade
“If we try to achieve a general view of all the myths and rites just briefly reviewed, we are struck by the fact that they have a dominant idea in common: communication between heaven and earth can be brought about—or could be in illo tempore —by some physical means (rainbow, bridge, stairs, ladder, vine, cord, ‘chain of arrows’, mountain, etc., etc.). All of these symbolic images of the connection between heaven and earth are merely variants of the World Tree or the axis mundi ...the myth and symbolism of the Cosmic Tree imply the idea of a ‘Center of the World,’ of a point where earth, sky, and underworld meet.” -Eliade
Cosmic Tree, Family Tree
We climb the ladder of the Tree of Life, and at its summit we descend back to our roots to inform our being.
Not being able to get the necessary help from above, I need to fetch it from below, and what I was able to do you might do also. ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Page 361
The mystery of cosmic sacrality is symbolized in the World Tree. The universe is conceived as an organism that must be renewed periodically--in other words, each year. 'Absolute reality,' rejuvination, immortality are accessible to certain privileged persons through the power residing in a certain fruit or in a spring near a tree. The Cosmic Tree is held to be at the center of the world, and it unites the three cosmic regions, for it sends its roots down into the underworld, and its top touches the sky."
"...The Cosmic Tree is the most widespread expression of the axis mundi; but the symbolism of the cosmic axis probably precedes--or is independent of--the agricultural civilizations, since it is found in certain arctic cultures." (Eliade, 1978).
We climb the ladder of the Tree of Life, and at its summit we descend back to our roots to inform our being.
Not being able to get the necessary help from above, I need to fetch it from below, and what I was able to do you might do also. ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Page 361
The mystery of cosmic sacrality is symbolized in the World Tree. The universe is conceived as an organism that must be renewed periodically--in other words, each year. 'Absolute reality,' rejuvination, immortality are accessible to certain privileged persons through the power residing in a certain fruit or in a spring near a tree. The Cosmic Tree is held to be at the center of the world, and it unites the three cosmic regions, for it sends its roots down into the underworld, and its top touches the sky."
"...The Cosmic Tree is the most widespread expression of the axis mundi; but the symbolism of the cosmic axis probably precedes--or is independent of--the agricultural civilizations, since it is found in certain arctic cultures." (Eliade, 1978).
The Tree of Life is an important symbol in nearly every culture. With its branches reaching into the sky, and roots deep in the earth, it dwells in three worlds- a link between heaven, the earth, and the underworld, uniting above and below. It is both a feminine symbol, bearing sustenance, and a masculine, visibly phallic symbol- another union.
In Jewish and Christian mythology, a tree sits at the center of both the Heavenly and Earthly Edens. The Norse cosmic World Ash, Ygdrassil, has its roots in the underworld while its branches support the abode of the Gods. The Egyptian’s Holy Sycamore stood on the threshold of life and death, connecting the worlds. To the Mayas, it is Yaxche, whose branches support the heavens.
The tree has other characteristics which lend easily to symbolism. Many trees take on the appearance of death in the winter- losing their leaves, only to sprout new growth with the return of spring. This aspect makes the tree a symbol of resurrection, and a stylized tree is the symbol of many resurrected Gods- Jesus, Attis, and Osirus all have crosses as their symbols. Most of these Gods are believed to have been crucified on trees, as well. The modern Christmas tree hearkens back to trees decorated to honor Attis, the crucified God of the Greeks.
A tree also bears seeds or fruits, which contain the essence of the tree, and this continuous regeneration is a potent symbol of immortality. It is the fruit of a tree that confers immortality in the Jewish creation story. In Taoist tradition, it is a divine peach that gives the gift of immortality. In ancient Persia, the fruit of the haoma bears this essence. The apples of Idun give the Norse gods their powers, much like the Gods of the Greek pantheon and their reliance on Ambrosia. This aspect of the tree as a giver of gifts and spiritual wisdom is also quite common.
It is while meditating under a Bodhi tree that Buddha received his enlightenment; the Norse God Odin received the gift of language while suspended upside down in the World Ash (an interesting parallel is the hanged man of the tarot). In Judeo-Christian mythology, the Tree of heaven sits at the center of creation, and is the source of the primordial rivers that water the earth-
The Tooba Tree of the Koran is a similar idea, from whose roots spring milk, honey, and wine.
This tree and its gifts of immortality are not easy to discover. It is historically difficult to find, and almost invariably guarded. The tree of Life in the Jewish bible is guarded by a Seraph (an angel in the form of a fiery serpent) bearing a flaming sword. To steal the apples of knowledge, the Greek hero Hercules had to slay a many-headed dragon Ladon. In Mayan legends, it is a serpent in the roots that must be contended with. Similarly, the Naga, or divine serpent guards the Hindu Tree. The Serpent Nidhog lives under Ygdrassil, and gnaws at the roots.
The tree as the abode of the Gods is another feature common to many mythologies; in some, the tree itself is a God. The ancient Sumerian God Dammuzi was personified as a tree, as is the Hindu Brahman. The Byzantine World tree represents the omnipotence of the Christian god.
Another form, the inverted Tree, represents spiritual growth, as well as the human nervous system. This tree, with its roots in heaven, and its branches growing downward, is most commonly found in Kabbalistic imagery.
A similar tree is mentioned in the Vedic Bhagavad Gita: “The banyan tree with its roots above, and its branches below, is imperishable.”
In Jewish Kabbalah, the inverted tree represents the nervous system as well- the ‘root’ in the cranial nerves, with the branches spreading throughout the body; it also represents the cosmic tree- rooted in heaven, the branches all of manifest creation.
In Jewish and Christian mythology, a tree sits at the center of both the Heavenly and Earthly Edens. The Norse cosmic World Ash, Ygdrassil, has its roots in the underworld while its branches support the abode of the Gods. The Egyptian’s Holy Sycamore stood on the threshold of life and death, connecting the worlds. To the Mayas, it is Yaxche, whose branches support the heavens.
The tree has other characteristics which lend easily to symbolism. Many trees take on the appearance of death in the winter- losing their leaves, only to sprout new growth with the return of spring. This aspect makes the tree a symbol of resurrection, and a stylized tree is the symbol of many resurrected Gods- Jesus, Attis, and Osirus all have crosses as their symbols. Most of these Gods are believed to have been crucified on trees, as well. The modern Christmas tree hearkens back to trees decorated to honor Attis, the crucified God of the Greeks.
A tree also bears seeds or fruits, which contain the essence of the tree, and this continuous regeneration is a potent symbol of immortality. It is the fruit of a tree that confers immortality in the Jewish creation story. In Taoist tradition, it is a divine peach that gives the gift of immortality. In ancient Persia, the fruit of the haoma bears this essence. The apples of Idun give the Norse gods their powers, much like the Gods of the Greek pantheon and their reliance on Ambrosia. This aspect of the tree as a giver of gifts and spiritual wisdom is also quite common.
It is while meditating under a Bodhi tree that Buddha received his enlightenment; the Norse God Odin received the gift of language while suspended upside down in the World Ash (an interesting parallel is the hanged man of the tarot). In Judeo-Christian mythology, the Tree of heaven sits at the center of creation, and is the source of the primordial rivers that water the earth-
The Tooba Tree of the Koran is a similar idea, from whose roots spring milk, honey, and wine.
This tree and its gifts of immortality are not easy to discover. It is historically difficult to find, and almost invariably guarded. The tree of Life in the Jewish bible is guarded by a Seraph (an angel in the form of a fiery serpent) bearing a flaming sword. To steal the apples of knowledge, the Greek hero Hercules had to slay a many-headed dragon Ladon. In Mayan legends, it is a serpent in the roots that must be contended with. Similarly, the Naga, or divine serpent guards the Hindu Tree. The Serpent Nidhog lives under Ygdrassil, and gnaws at the roots.
The tree as the abode of the Gods is another feature common to many mythologies; in some, the tree itself is a God. The ancient Sumerian God Dammuzi was personified as a tree, as is the Hindu Brahman. The Byzantine World tree represents the omnipotence of the Christian god.
Another form, the inverted Tree, represents spiritual growth, as well as the human nervous system. This tree, with its roots in heaven, and its branches growing downward, is most commonly found in Kabbalistic imagery.
A similar tree is mentioned in the Vedic Bhagavad Gita: “The banyan tree with its roots above, and its branches below, is imperishable.”
In Jewish Kabbalah, the inverted tree represents the nervous system as well- the ‘root’ in the cranial nerves, with the branches spreading throughout the body; it also represents the cosmic tree- rooted in heaven, the branches all of manifest creation.
TREE SYMBOLISM
Tree of Creation; Tree of Life; World Tree;
Philosophical Tree; Tree of Immortality
And everywhere there, the Tree of Life,
and the resurrection of flesh from the Tree … --Origen
These are our roots. A tree can only renew itself
through its roots. --von Franz
The World Tree is said to dwell in three worlds: Its roots reach down to the underworld, its trunk sits on the Earth, and its branches extend up to the heavens. Many cultures share a belief that this tree is the Axis Mundi or World Axis which supports or holds up the cosmos.
Tree of Creation; Tree of Life; World Tree;
Philosophical Tree; Tree of Immortality
And everywhere there, the Tree of Life,
and the resurrection of flesh from the Tree … --Origen
These are our roots. A tree can only renew itself
through its roots. --von Franz
The World Tree is said to dwell in three worlds: Its roots reach down to the underworld, its trunk sits on the Earth, and its branches extend up to the heavens. Many cultures share a belief that this tree is the Axis Mundi or World Axis which supports or holds up the cosmos.
The Serpents in our Tree are the individual lines of descent from various
common ancestors. They lead us to question who and what we are,
what we know and what we thought we knew about our roots. They offer us Knowledge. Like it or not, they are all still a part of our Truth -- that we are born and we die -- and we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us.
Tree: denotes life of the cosmos; its growth, proliferation, generative and regenerative processes. It stands for inexhaustible life, and is, therefore, equivalent to immortality.
The growing one is the TREE OF LIFE. It greens by heaping up growing living matter.
Good and evil unite in the growth of the tree. In their divinity life and love stand opposed. ~Diahmon, Liber Novus, Page 351.
“If I accept the lowest in me, I lower a seed into the ground of Hell. The seed is invisibly small, but the tree of my life grows from it and conjoins the Below with the Above. At both ends there is fire and blazing embers. The Above is fiery and the Below is fiery. Between the unbearable fires grows your life. You hang between these two poles. In an immeasurably frightening movement the stretched hanging welters up and down." ~Carl Jung, The Red Book, Page 300.
Over the course of the millennia, all these ancestors in your tree, generation upon generation, have come down to this moment in time-to give birth to you. There has never been, nor will ever be, another like you. You have been given a tremendous responsibility. You carry the hopes and dreams of all those who have gone before. Hopes and dreams for a better world. What will you do with your time on this Earth? How will you contribute to the ongoing story of humankind? History remembers only the celebrated, genealogy remembers them all. --Laurence Overmire
“The tree is an image of spiritual development… You see the tree is a plant and it symbols a strange development entirely different from animal life, like the development we call spiritual… As a tree extracts mineral substances from the earth, the spirit transforms the course body, or the coarseness of matter, into the subtly of organic matter. The tree represents, then, a sort of sublimation. It grows from below up into the air above, has roots in the earth as if it were part of the earth, and extends roots again into the kingdom of air; and so the spirit of development rises out of the material, animal man and grows into different regions above. Therefore the tree has forever been a symbol of spiritual value or philosophical development, like the tree of knowledge in Paradise for instance or the philosophical tree, the Arbor Philosophorum, the tree with the immortal fruits –a Hermetic symbol– also the world tree in the Edda.” (Jung, Notes of the Seminars, from 1934-39, p. 1071)
The need for fluid transformation seems to be the first law of alchemy. Such a transformation does not mean merciless hacking away at the coarse woody debris of our past life, but rather acknowledging that even that which needs to be left behind paradoxically nourishes us, just as the fallen tree logs actually recycle nutrients essential for all living organisms, provide shelter for countless creatures of the forest, and, when placed in streams, provide shelter for fish and a place for turtles to lay their eggs. On slopes, coarse wood debris “stabilizes soils by slowing downslope movement of organic matter and mineral soil“ (source: Wikipedia). Dead trees, just as the dying and crumbling structures of our lives, are a valuable resource that needs to be maintained and protected as a sine qua non of our regeneration.
The world tree is a motif present in several religions and mythologies, particularly Indo-European religions, Siberian religions, and Native American religions. The world tree is represented as a colossal tree which supports the heavens, thereby connecting the heavens, the terrestrial world, and, through its roots, the underworld. It may also be strongly connected to the motif of the tree of life. “The alchemist saw the union of opposites under the symbol of the tree… the symbol of the cosmic tree rooted in this world and growing up to heaven-the tree that is also man. In the history of symbols this tree is described as the way of life itself, a growing into that which eternally is and does not change; which springs from the union of opposites and, by its eternal presence, also makes that union possible.” (Carl Jung, CW 9i, para. 198)
Genealogy is our map of the unconscious -- the Land of the Dead. The Red Thread, the thread of destiny, connects to the Source. It shows us the way, igniting imagination with the alchemy of 'seeing', awakening the soul. The red threads of your blood link you and your Tree to the World Tree, your history to world history and mythology. The bloodline is also called the "underground stream". The Red Thread is a transmission of cultural influences of ancestors.
common ancestors. They lead us to question who and what we are,
what we know and what we thought we knew about our roots. They offer us Knowledge. Like it or not, they are all still a part of our Truth -- that we are born and we die -- and we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us.
Tree: denotes life of the cosmos; its growth, proliferation, generative and regenerative processes. It stands for inexhaustible life, and is, therefore, equivalent to immortality.
The growing one is the TREE OF LIFE. It greens by heaping up growing living matter.
Good and evil unite in the growth of the tree. In their divinity life and love stand opposed. ~Diahmon, Liber Novus, Page 351.
“If I accept the lowest in me, I lower a seed into the ground of Hell. The seed is invisibly small, but the tree of my life grows from it and conjoins the Below with the Above. At both ends there is fire and blazing embers. The Above is fiery and the Below is fiery. Between the unbearable fires grows your life. You hang between these two poles. In an immeasurably frightening movement the stretched hanging welters up and down." ~Carl Jung, The Red Book, Page 300.
Over the course of the millennia, all these ancestors in your tree, generation upon generation, have come down to this moment in time-to give birth to you. There has never been, nor will ever be, another like you. You have been given a tremendous responsibility. You carry the hopes and dreams of all those who have gone before. Hopes and dreams for a better world. What will you do with your time on this Earth? How will you contribute to the ongoing story of humankind? History remembers only the celebrated, genealogy remembers them all. --Laurence Overmire
“The tree is an image of spiritual development… You see the tree is a plant and it symbols a strange development entirely different from animal life, like the development we call spiritual… As a tree extracts mineral substances from the earth, the spirit transforms the course body, or the coarseness of matter, into the subtly of organic matter. The tree represents, then, a sort of sublimation. It grows from below up into the air above, has roots in the earth as if it were part of the earth, and extends roots again into the kingdom of air; and so the spirit of development rises out of the material, animal man and grows into different regions above. Therefore the tree has forever been a symbol of spiritual value or philosophical development, like the tree of knowledge in Paradise for instance or the philosophical tree, the Arbor Philosophorum, the tree with the immortal fruits –a Hermetic symbol– also the world tree in the Edda.” (Jung, Notes of the Seminars, from 1934-39, p. 1071)
The need for fluid transformation seems to be the first law of alchemy. Such a transformation does not mean merciless hacking away at the coarse woody debris of our past life, but rather acknowledging that even that which needs to be left behind paradoxically nourishes us, just as the fallen tree logs actually recycle nutrients essential for all living organisms, provide shelter for countless creatures of the forest, and, when placed in streams, provide shelter for fish and a place for turtles to lay their eggs. On slopes, coarse wood debris “stabilizes soils by slowing downslope movement of organic matter and mineral soil“ (source: Wikipedia). Dead trees, just as the dying and crumbling structures of our lives, are a valuable resource that needs to be maintained and protected as a sine qua non of our regeneration.
The world tree is a motif present in several religions and mythologies, particularly Indo-European religions, Siberian religions, and Native American religions. The world tree is represented as a colossal tree which supports the heavens, thereby connecting the heavens, the terrestrial world, and, through its roots, the underworld. It may also be strongly connected to the motif of the tree of life. “The alchemist saw the union of opposites under the symbol of the tree… the symbol of the cosmic tree rooted in this world and growing up to heaven-the tree that is also man. In the history of symbols this tree is described as the way of life itself, a growing into that which eternally is and does not change; which springs from the union of opposites and, by its eternal presence, also makes that union possible.” (Carl Jung, CW 9i, para. 198)
Genealogy is our map of the unconscious -- the Land of the Dead. The Red Thread, the thread of destiny, connects to the Source. It shows us the way, igniting imagination with the alchemy of 'seeing', awakening the soul. The red threads of your blood link you and your Tree to the World Tree, your history to world history and mythology. The bloodline is also called the "underground stream". The Red Thread is a transmission of cultural influences of ancestors.
The axis mundi (also cosmic axis, world axis, world pillar, center of the world, world tree), in certain beliefs and philosophies, is the world center, or the connection between Heaven and Earth. As the celestial pole and geographic pole, it expresses a point of connection between sky and earth where the four compass directions meet. At this point travel and correspondence is made between higher and lower realms.[1] Communication from lower realms may ascend to higher ones and blessings from higher realms may descend to lower ones and be disseminated to all.[2] The spot functions as the omphalos (navel), the world's point of beginning.[3][4][5]
The image is mostly viewed as feminine, as it relates to the center of the earth (perhaps like an umbilical providing nourishment). It may have the form of a natural object (a mountain, a tree, a vine, a stalk, a column of smoke or fire) or a product of human manufacture (a staff, a tower, a ladder, a staircase, a maypole, a cross, a steeple, a rope, a totem pole, a pillar, a spire). Its proximity to heaven may carry implications that are chiefly religious (pagoda, temple mount, minaret, church) or secular (obelisk, lighthouse, rocket, skyscraper). The image appears in religious and secular contexts.[6] The axis mundi symbol may be found in cultures utilizing shamanic practices or animist belief systems, in major world religions, and in technologically advanced "urban centers". In Mircea Eliade's opinion, "Every Microcosm, every inhabited region, has a Centre; that is to say, a place that is sacred above all."[7] The axis mundi is often associated with mandalas. -Wikipedia
He sees the tree of life, whose roots reach into Hell and whose top touches Heaven. He also no longer knows differences: Who is right? What is holy? What is genuine? What is good? What is correct? He knows only one difference: the difference between below and above. For he sees that the tree of life grows from below to above, and that it has its crown at the top, clearly differentiated from the roots. To him this is unquestionable. Hence he knows the way to salvation.
To unlearn all distinctions save that concerning direction is part of your salvation. Hence you free yourself from the old curse of the knowledge of good and evil. Because you separated good from evil according to your best appraisal and aspired only to the good and denied the evil that you committed nevertheless and ailed to accept, your roots no longer suckled the dark nourishment of the depths and your tree became sick and withered.
Therefore the ancients said that after Adam had eaten the apple, the tree of paradise withered. Your life needs the dark. But if you know that it is evil, you can no longer accept it and you suffer anguish and you do not know why: Nor can you accept it as evil, else your good will reject you. Nor can you deny it since you know good and evil. Because of this the knowledge of good and evil was an insurmountable curse.
But if you return to primal chaos and if you feel and recognize that which hangs stretched between the two unbearable poles of fire, you will notice that you can no longer separate good and evil conclusively, neither through feeling nor through knowledge, but that you can discern the direction of growth only from below to above. You thus forget the distinction between good and evil, and you no longer know it as long as your tree grows from below to above. But as soon as growth stops, what was united in growth falls apart and once more you recognize good and evil.
You can never deny your knowledge of good and evil to yourself so that you could betray your good in order to live evil. For as soon as you separate good and evil, you recognize them. They are united only in growth. But you grow if you stand still in the greatest doubt, and therefore steadfastness in great doubt is' a veritable flower of life.
He who cannot bear doubt does not bear himself. Such a one is doubtful; he does not grow and hence he does not live. Doubt is the sign of the strongest and the weakest. The strong have doubt, but doubt has the weak. Therefore the weakest is close to the strongest, and if he can say to his doubt: "I have you," then he is the strongest. But no one can say yes to his doubt, unless he endures wide-open chaos. Because there are so many among us who can talk about anything, pay heed to what they live. What someone says can be very much or very little. Thus examine his life.
My speech is neither light nor dark, since it is the speech of someone who is growing. ~Carl Jung, Red Book, Page 301
The image is mostly viewed as feminine, as it relates to the center of the earth (perhaps like an umbilical providing nourishment). It may have the form of a natural object (a mountain, a tree, a vine, a stalk, a column of smoke or fire) or a product of human manufacture (a staff, a tower, a ladder, a staircase, a maypole, a cross, a steeple, a rope, a totem pole, a pillar, a spire). Its proximity to heaven may carry implications that are chiefly religious (pagoda, temple mount, minaret, church) or secular (obelisk, lighthouse, rocket, skyscraper). The image appears in religious and secular contexts.[6] The axis mundi symbol may be found in cultures utilizing shamanic practices or animist belief systems, in major world religions, and in technologically advanced "urban centers". In Mircea Eliade's opinion, "Every Microcosm, every inhabited region, has a Centre; that is to say, a place that is sacred above all."[7] The axis mundi is often associated with mandalas. -Wikipedia
He sees the tree of life, whose roots reach into Hell and whose top touches Heaven. He also no longer knows differences: Who is right? What is holy? What is genuine? What is good? What is correct? He knows only one difference: the difference between below and above. For he sees that the tree of life grows from below to above, and that it has its crown at the top, clearly differentiated from the roots. To him this is unquestionable. Hence he knows the way to salvation.
To unlearn all distinctions save that concerning direction is part of your salvation. Hence you free yourself from the old curse of the knowledge of good and evil. Because you separated good from evil according to your best appraisal and aspired only to the good and denied the evil that you committed nevertheless and ailed to accept, your roots no longer suckled the dark nourishment of the depths and your tree became sick and withered.
Therefore the ancients said that after Adam had eaten the apple, the tree of paradise withered. Your life needs the dark. But if you know that it is evil, you can no longer accept it and you suffer anguish and you do not know why: Nor can you accept it as evil, else your good will reject you. Nor can you deny it since you know good and evil. Because of this the knowledge of good and evil was an insurmountable curse.
But if you return to primal chaos and if you feel and recognize that which hangs stretched between the two unbearable poles of fire, you will notice that you can no longer separate good and evil conclusively, neither through feeling nor through knowledge, but that you can discern the direction of growth only from below to above. You thus forget the distinction between good and evil, and you no longer know it as long as your tree grows from below to above. But as soon as growth stops, what was united in growth falls apart and once more you recognize good and evil.
You can never deny your knowledge of good and evil to yourself so that you could betray your good in order to live evil. For as soon as you separate good and evil, you recognize them. They are united only in growth. But you grow if you stand still in the greatest doubt, and therefore steadfastness in great doubt is' a veritable flower of life.
He who cannot bear doubt does not bear himself. Such a one is doubtful; he does not grow and hence he does not live. Doubt is the sign of the strongest and the weakest. The strong have doubt, but doubt has the weak. Therefore the weakest is close to the strongest, and if he can say to his doubt: "I have you," then he is the strongest. But no one can say yes to his doubt, unless he endures wide-open chaos. Because there are so many among us who can talk about anything, pay heed to what they live. What someone says can be very much or very little. Thus examine his life.
My speech is neither light nor dark, since it is the speech of someone who is growing. ~Carl Jung, Red Book, Page 301
The tree brings back all that has been lost through Christ's extreme spiritualization, namely the elements of nature. Through its branches and leaves the tree gathers the powers of light and air, and through its roots those of the earth and the water. ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Pages 163-174
The symbolic history of the Christ's life shows, as the essential teleological tendency, the crucifixion, viz. the union of Christ with the symbol of the tree. ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Pages 163-174
The tree of life may have been, in the first instance, a fruit-bearing genealogical tree, and hence a kind of tribal mother ~Carl Jung, CW 5, Para 321.
Today I finished a long essay on the "Philosophical Tree," which kept me company during my illness. ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Page 104
Writing it [Philosophical Tree] was an enjoyable substitute for the fact that so few of my contemporaries can understand what is meant by the psychology of the unconscious. ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Page 104
I am rather certain that the sefiroth tree contains the whole symbolism of Jewish development parallel to the Christian idea. ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Pages 91-93.
But, since I appear in your dream, I cannot refrain from making the remark that I like thick walls and I like trees and green things, and I like many books. Perhaps you are in need of these three good things. ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Pages 26-27.
Christ’s redemptive death on the cross was understood as a “baptism,” that is to say, as rebirth through the second mother, symbolized by the tree of death… The dual-mother motif suggests the idea of a dual birth. One of the mothers is the real, human mother, the other is the symbolical mother. ~Carl Jung, CW 5, para 494-495.
Trees in particular were mysterious and seemed to me direct embodiments of the incomprehensible meaning of life. For that reason the woods were the place where I felt closest to its deepest meaning and to its awe-inspiring workings. ~Carl Jung, MDR, Page 68.
Adam and Eve would indeed have been inadequate people if they had not noticed which tree the right apples grew on. ~Carl Jung, Jung-Ostrowski, Page 48.
... at any time in my later life, when I came up at a blank wall, I painted a picture or hewed stone. Each such experience proved to be a "rite d 'entree" for the ideas and works that followed hard upon it. ~Carl Jung, MDR, Page 175.
The ancients said: it is terrible to fall into the hands of the living God. They spoke thus because they knew, since they were still close to the ancient forest, and they turned green like the trees in a childlike manner and ascended far away toward the East. ~Carl Jung, Liber Novus, Page 281.
This new world appears weak and artificial to me. Artificial is a bad word, but the mustard seed that grew into a tree, the word that was conceived in the womb of a virgin, became a God to whom the earth was subject. ~Carl Jung to his Soul, Liber Novus, Pages 242-243.
The Christian-my Christian-knows no curse formulas; indeed he does not even sanction the cursing of the innocent fig-tree by the rabbi Jesus" ~Carl Jung, CW 18, §1468.
I wait, secretly anxious. I see a tree arise from the sea. Its crown reaches to Heaven and its roots reach down into Hell. ~Carl Jung, Liber Novus, Page 300.
As I look into its reflection, the images of Eve, the tree, and the serpent appear to me. After this I catch sight of Odysseus and his journey on the high seas. ~Carl Jung, Liber Novus, Page 245.
Good and evil unite in the growth of the tree. In their divinity life and love stand opposed. ~Diahmon, Liber Novus, Page 351.
The growing one is the TREE OF LIFE. It greens by heaping up growing living matter. ~Diahmon, Liber Novus, Page 351.
"One is the beginning, the Sun God.
"Two is Eros, for he binds two together and spreads himself out in brightness.
"Three is the Tree of Life, for it fills space with bodies.
"Four is the devil, for he opens all that is closed. He dissolves everything formed and physical; he is the destroyer in whom everything becomes nothing. ~Philemon, Liber Novus, 351.
Good and evil unite in the growth of the tree. In their divinity life and love stand opposed. ~Diahmon, Liber Novus, Page 351.
Parents must realize that they are trees from which the fruit falls in the autumn. Children don't belong to their parents, and they are only apparently produced by them. ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. 1, Pages 217-218.
You must go in quest of yourself, and you will find yourself again only in the simple and forgotten things. Why not go into the forest for a time, literally? Sometimes a tree tells you more than can be read in books… ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. 1, Page 479.
It is even very important that the anima is projected into the earth, that she descends very low, for otherwise her ascent to the heavenly condition in the form of Sophia has no meaning…She is the one that is rooted in the earth as well as in the heaven, both root and branch of the tree. ~Carl Jung, Zarathustra Seminar, Page 533.
No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell. ~Carl Jung, Aion, Page 43.
The symbolic history of the Christ's life shows, as the essential teleological tendency, the crucifixion, viz. the union of Christ with the symbol of the tree. ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Pages 163-174
The tree of life may have been, in the first instance, a fruit-bearing genealogical tree, and hence a kind of tribal mother ~Carl Jung, CW 5, Para 321.
Today I finished a long essay on the "Philosophical Tree," which kept me company during my illness. ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Page 104
Writing it [Philosophical Tree] was an enjoyable substitute for the fact that so few of my contemporaries can understand what is meant by the psychology of the unconscious. ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Page 104
I am rather certain that the sefiroth tree contains the whole symbolism of Jewish development parallel to the Christian idea. ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Pages 91-93.
But, since I appear in your dream, I cannot refrain from making the remark that I like thick walls and I like trees and green things, and I like many books. Perhaps you are in need of these three good things. ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Pages 26-27.
Christ’s redemptive death on the cross was understood as a “baptism,” that is to say, as rebirth through the second mother, symbolized by the tree of death… The dual-mother motif suggests the idea of a dual birth. One of the mothers is the real, human mother, the other is the symbolical mother. ~Carl Jung, CW 5, para 494-495.
Trees in particular were mysterious and seemed to me direct embodiments of the incomprehensible meaning of life. For that reason the woods were the place where I felt closest to its deepest meaning and to its awe-inspiring workings. ~Carl Jung, MDR, Page 68.
Adam and Eve would indeed have been inadequate people if they had not noticed which tree the right apples grew on. ~Carl Jung, Jung-Ostrowski, Page 48.
... at any time in my later life, when I came up at a blank wall, I painted a picture or hewed stone. Each such experience proved to be a "rite d 'entree" for the ideas and works that followed hard upon it. ~Carl Jung, MDR, Page 175.
The ancients said: it is terrible to fall into the hands of the living God. They spoke thus because they knew, since they were still close to the ancient forest, and they turned green like the trees in a childlike manner and ascended far away toward the East. ~Carl Jung, Liber Novus, Page 281.
This new world appears weak and artificial to me. Artificial is a bad word, but the mustard seed that grew into a tree, the word that was conceived in the womb of a virgin, became a God to whom the earth was subject. ~Carl Jung to his Soul, Liber Novus, Pages 242-243.
The Christian-my Christian-knows no curse formulas; indeed he does not even sanction the cursing of the innocent fig-tree by the rabbi Jesus" ~Carl Jung, CW 18, §1468.
I wait, secretly anxious. I see a tree arise from the sea. Its crown reaches to Heaven and its roots reach down into Hell. ~Carl Jung, Liber Novus, Page 300.
As I look into its reflection, the images of Eve, the tree, and the serpent appear to me. After this I catch sight of Odysseus and his journey on the high seas. ~Carl Jung, Liber Novus, Page 245.
Good and evil unite in the growth of the tree. In their divinity life and love stand opposed. ~Diahmon, Liber Novus, Page 351.
The growing one is the TREE OF LIFE. It greens by heaping up growing living matter. ~Diahmon, Liber Novus, Page 351.
"One is the beginning, the Sun God.
"Two is Eros, for he binds two together and spreads himself out in brightness.
"Three is the Tree of Life, for it fills space with bodies.
"Four is the devil, for he opens all that is closed. He dissolves everything formed and physical; he is the destroyer in whom everything becomes nothing. ~Philemon, Liber Novus, 351.
Good and evil unite in the growth of the tree. In their divinity life and love stand opposed. ~Diahmon, Liber Novus, Page 351.
Parents must realize that they are trees from which the fruit falls in the autumn. Children don't belong to their parents, and they are only apparently produced by them. ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. 1, Pages 217-218.
You must go in quest of yourself, and you will find yourself again only in the simple and forgotten things. Why not go into the forest for a time, literally? Sometimes a tree tells you more than can be read in books… ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. 1, Page 479.
It is even very important that the anima is projected into the earth, that she descends very low, for otherwise her ascent to the heavenly condition in the form of Sophia has no meaning…She is the one that is rooted in the earth as well as in the heaven, both root and branch of the tree. ~Carl Jung, Zarathustra Seminar, Page 533.
No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell. ~Carl Jung, Aion, Page 43.
The tree brings back all that has been lost through Christ's extreme spiritualization, namely the elements of nature.
Through its branches and leaves the tree gathers the powers of light and air, and through its roots those of the earth and the water. ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Pages 163-174
If I accept death, then my tree greens, since dying increases life.
If I plunge into the death encompassing the world, then my buds break open. How much our life needs death! ~Carl Jung, The Red Book, Page 275.
TRANSCENDENTAL TREE
World Tree/World Axis
Campbell refers to the Kabbalah: “The Hebrew cabala represents the process of creation as a series of emanations out of the I AM of the Great Face. […] The emanations are represented also as the branches of a cosmic tree, which is upside down, rooted in “the inscrutable height.” The world that we see is the reverse image of that tree” (271).
Joseph Campbell’s portrayal of the Tree of Immortal Life
is an early symbol of spiritual development:
“… From all we know of the Sumerian tradition—and there are other seals in which this tree is shown—there was no sense of sin involved in people’s view of this tree. The deity that attended the tree was there to dispense its fruits, and the fruit of immortal life is to be eaten” (pp. 188-189).
He also discussed the role of the Tree of Immortal Life for both Buddha and Christ:
“… The Tree of Immortal Life is the very tree under which the Buddha sits. When you approach a Buddhist shrine, you see two military-looking door guardians there. Those are the cherubim to keep you out. What do they signify in Buddhism? They signify your psychological fear and desire. The fear of death is the fear of death to your ego, and the desire that the ego should enjoy the goods that it is interested in—these are what keep you from realizing your immortality. Fear and desire are the slashing rocks that exclude us from the intuition of our own immortal character.
“This is the big theme of the mystery religions of Buddhism and Christianity—Christ when through that door and becomes himself the fruit of immortal life by hanging on the tree” (p. 189)
TREE OF THE GOLDEN LIGHT
Trees Symbolize the Living Structure of Our Inner Selves
To forget ones ancestors, is like a river without a source. Or a tree without roots.
“The alchemist saw the union of opposites under the symbol of the tree… the symbol of the cosmic tree rooted in this world and growing up to heaven -- the tree that is also man. In the history of symbols this tree is described as the way of life itself, a growing into that which eternally is and does not change; which springs from the union of opposites and, by its eternal presence, also makes that union possible.” (Carl Jung, CW 9i, para. 198)
Why was Eve created from Adam's rib in the Bible? Because the term TI(L) in Sumerian had a double meaning. It can mean "life" or it can mean "rib". So that the Biblical version became misunderstood by later scribes who were not familiar enough with Sumerian. The "tree of life" or "world tree" is also a very common motif in Sumerian and in many other traditions, but especially in the northern Mesopotamian Hurrian religion. It is also common in many early Shamanistic religions of the far north, as the connection between heaven and earth and the axle of the world. Similar "world trees", without lions or date flowers, are found painted on the sacred drums of shamans in Asia. In Hungarian folktales the tree is climbed by some hero to enter the other realms of heaven or the underworld, in a quest for some important knowledge. Shamans also used the birch tree and the mushrooms that grew near it to enhance their ecstatic experience. The Sumerian notion kept key elements of it like the connection to sacred knowledge.
http://users.cwnet.com/millenia/Sumer-origins.htm
Like an acorn sprouting to become a tree, transcendence is the instinctual impulse of humans to grow and individuate. This impulse towards growth takes the spirit up to lofty heights, but it is only the initial movement of the spirit.
“Trees depict the living structure of our inner self. It’s roots show our connection with our physical body and the earth; its trunk the way we would direct the energies of our being–varied and yet all connected in the common life process of our being. The tree can also symbolize new growth, stages of life and death, with its spring leaves and blossoms, then the falling leaves. The top of the tree, by the end of the branches, are our aspirations, the growing bendable tip of our personal growth and spiritual realization. The leaves may represent our personal life which may fall off the tree of life (die) but what gave it life continues to exist. The tree is our whole life, the evolutionary urge which pushes us into being and growing. It depicts the forces or processes behind all other life forms– expressed through interpersonal existence.” http://thejungian.com/2013/03/01/trees-depict-the-living-structure-of-our-inner-self/
“The tree is an image of spiritual development… You see the tree is a plant and it symbols a strange development entirely different from animal life, like the development we call spiritual… As a tree extracts mineral substances from the earth, the spirit transforms the course body, or the coarseness of matter, into the subtly of organic matter. The tree represents, then, a sort of sublimation. It grows from below up into the air above, has roots in the earth as if it were part of the earth, and extends roots again into the kingdom of air; and so the spirit of development rises out of the material, animal man and grows into different regions above. Therefore the tree has forever been a symbol of spiritual value or philosophical development, like the tree of knowledge in Paradise for instance or the philosophical tree, the Arbor Philosophorum, the tree with the immortal fruits –a Hermetic symbol– also the world tree in the Edda.” (Jung, Notes of the Seminars, from 1934-39, p. 1071)
Through its branches and leaves the tree gathers the powers of light and air, and through its roots those of the earth and the water. ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Pages 163-174
If I accept death, then my tree greens, since dying increases life.
If I plunge into the death encompassing the world, then my buds break open. How much our life needs death! ~Carl Jung, The Red Book, Page 275.
TRANSCENDENTAL TREE
World Tree/World Axis
Campbell refers to the Kabbalah: “The Hebrew cabala represents the process of creation as a series of emanations out of the I AM of the Great Face. […] The emanations are represented also as the branches of a cosmic tree, which is upside down, rooted in “the inscrutable height.” The world that we see is the reverse image of that tree” (271).
Joseph Campbell’s portrayal of the Tree of Immortal Life
is an early symbol of spiritual development:
“… From all we know of the Sumerian tradition—and there are other seals in which this tree is shown—there was no sense of sin involved in people’s view of this tree. The deity that attended the tree was there to dispense its fruits, and the fruit of immortal life is to be eaten” (pp. 188-189).
He also discussed the role of the Tree of Immortal Life for both Buddha and Christ:
“… The Tree of Immortal Life is the very tree under which the Buddha sits. When you approach a Buddhist shrine, you see two military-looking door guardians there. Those are the cherubim to keep you out. What do they signify in Buddhism? They signify your psychological fear and desire. The fear of death is the fear of death to your ego, and the desire that the ego should enjoy the goods that it is interested in—these are what keep you from realizing your immortality. Fear and desire are the slashing rocks that exclude us from the intuition of our own immortal character.
“This is the big theme of the mystery religions of Buddhism and Christianity—Christ when through that door and becomes himself the fruit of immortal life by hanging on the tree” (p. 189)
TREE OF THE GOLDEN LIGHT
Trees Symbolize the Living Structure of Our Inner Selves
To forget ones ancestors, is like a river without a source. Or a tree without roots.
“The alchemist saw the union of opposites under the symbol of the tree… the symbol of the cosmic tree rooted in this world and growing up to heaven -- the tree that is also man. In the history of symbols this tree is described as the way of life itself, a growing into that which eternally is and does not change; which springs from the union of opposites and, by its eternal presence, also makes that union possible.” (Carl Jung, CW 9i, para. 198)
Why was Eve created from Adam's rib in the Bible? Because the term TI(L) in Sumerian had a double meaning. It can mean "life" or it can mean "rib". So that the Biblical version became misunderstood by later scribes who were not familiar enough with Sumerian. The "tree of life" or "world tree" is also a very common motif in Sumerian and in many other traditions, but especially in the northern Mesopotamian Hurrian religion. It is also common in many early Shamanistic religions of the far north, as the connection between heaven and earth and the axle of the world. Similar "world trees", without lions or date flowers, are found painted on the sacred drums of shamans in Asia. In Hungarian folktales the tree is climbed by some hero to enter the other realms of heaven or the underworld, in a quest for some important knowledge. Shamans also used the birch tree and the mushrooms that grew near it to enhance their ecstatic experience. The Sumerian notion kept key elements of it like the connection to sacred knowledge.
http://users.cwnet.com/millenia/Sumer-origins.htm
Like an acorn sprouting to become a tree, transcendence is the instinctual impulse of humans to grow and individuate. This impulse towards growth takes the spirit up to lofty heights, but it is only the initial movement of the spirit.
“Trees depict the living structure of our inner self. It’s roots show our connection with our physical body and the earth; its trunk the way we would direct the energies of our being–varied and yet all connected in the common life process of our being. The tree can also symbolize new growth, stages of life and death, with its spring leaves and blossoms, then the falling leaves. The top of the tree, by the end of the branches, are our aspirations, the growing bendable tip of our personal growth and spiritual realization. The leaves may represent our personal life which may fall off the tree of life (die) but what gave it life continues to exist. The tree is our whole life, the evolutionary urge which pushes us into being and growing. It depicts the forces or processes behind all other life forms– expressed through interpersonal existence.” http://thejungian.com/2013/03/01/trees-depict-the-living-structure-of-our-inner-self/
“The tree is an image of spiritual development… You see the tree is a plant and it symbols a strange development entirely different from animal life, like the development we call spiritual… As a tree extracts mineral substances from the earth, the spirit transforms the course body, or the coarseness of matter, into the subtly of organic matter. The tree represents, then, a sort of sublimation. It grows from below up into the air above, has roots in the earth as if it were part of the earth, and extends roots again into the kingdom of air; and so the spirit of development rises out of the material, animal man and grows into different regions above. Therefore the tree has forever been a symbol of spiritual value or philosophical development, like the tree of knowledge in Paradise for instance or the philosophical tree, the Arbor Philosophorum, the tree with the immortal fruits –a Hermetic symbol– also the world tree in the Edda.” (Jung, Notes of the Seminars, from 1934-39, p. 1071)
Psychological & Spiritual Roots in the Divine
The tree of life may have been, in the first instance, a fruit-bearing genealogical tree, and hence a kind of tribal mother. ~Carl Jung, CW 5, para 321.
The ancient Tree of Life is a central symbol of spiritual unity and strength for peoples throughout the world. This Cosmic Tree or World Tree represents the sustaining wisdom, beauty, love, strength, and power of the Universe.
"(It is with people as with trees.) The more one seeks to rise into height and light, the more vigorously do ones roots struggle earthward, downward, into the dark, the deep — into evil." - Nietzsche
The moment we eat from the Tree of Knowledge we cleave into opposites of divine conflict and our shadow is born. We begin to separate and fragment ourselves.
The tree of life may have been, in the first instance, a fruit-bearing genealogical tree, and hence a kind of tribal mother. ~Carl Jung, CW 5, para 321.
The ancient Tree of Life is a central symbol of spiritual unity and strength for peoples throughout the world. This Cosmic Tree or World Tree represents the sustaining wisdom, beauty, love, strength, and power of the Universe.
"(It is with people as with trees.) The more one seeks to rise into height and light, the more vigorously do ones roots struggle earthward, downward, into the dark, the deep — into evil." - Nietzsche
The moment we eat from the Tree of Knowledge we cleave into opposites of divine conflict and our shadow is born. We begin to separate and fragment ourselves.
Carl Jung on The Tree of Life, World Tree, Tree of Evolution,
Cosmic Tree, Soma Tree, The Human Spinal Column
Prof. Jung:
Here is a very valuable contribution from Mrs. Baumann, a photograph of Nestor's ring, that famous intaglio with the representation of the world-tree.
And here is a contribution from Mrs. Crowley about the tree in Egypt:
"In the early Pyramid texts, there is a passage in which the Pharaoh on his way to Re, comes upon a tree of Life on the Mysterious island, situated in the midst of the Field of Offerings. 'This king Pepi went to the great isle in the midst of the Field of Offerings, over which the gods make the swallows fly. The swallows are the imperishable stars. They give to this king Pepi this tree of Life, whereof they live, and Ye-Pepi and the Morning Star may at the same time live thereof.'
This image belongs, prior to the Osiris faith, to the Solar religion of the old kingdom, about 3000 B.C.
The tree has many different aspects.
It appears first in ancient mythologies as the cosmic tree, the tree of development-of cosmic as well as human evolution, like the great tree of the Germanic sagas, Yggdrasil.
Another more specific aspect is the tree of life, the tree which gives life to human beings and animals and to the universe.
And this tree has also the aspect of the world axis: the branches up above are the kingdom of the heavens; the roots below form the kingdom of the earth, the nether world; and the trunk is the world axis round which the whole world revolves, and at the same time a life-giving center or the main artery of life throughout the world.
So the tree is more or less equivalent to the spinal column in a human body.
You know in the interior of the cerebellum, a certain part in the middle part branches in such a way that it has a treelike appearance and is called the arbor vitae, the tree of life.
Also this famous symbol of Osiris, the Tet, is a sort of tree form.
It is identified with the os sacrum, that part of the spinal column which is inserted in the middle of the pelvic basin, and it also refers to the whole length of the spinal column,
which maintains the straightness of the body and carries the arteries along the backbone.
These anatomical facts are the same in animals, so naturally they have been known forever, practically.
Moreover, they knew that the arteries carried the blood, which was supposed to be the seat of the soul, so blood is itself a symbol for the soul, as warmth and breath symbolize blood, the indispensable essence of life.
Then another aspect of the tree is the tree of knowledge.
It is the carrier of revelation: out of the tree come voices; in the whispering of the wind in the tree words can be discerned, or the birds that live in the tree talk to one.
We have endless material as evidence for those traditions.
The tree of paradise, for instance, is really one and the same tree but with a three-fold aspect: the tree which carries the evolution of the world, the tree which gives life to the universe, and the tree which gives understanding or consciousness.
And the nyagrodha is the sacred tree of Buddha at the monastery of the Holy Tooth at Bodh Gaya, that famous Buddhist place of pilgrimage and worship in Ceylon.
It is really a pi pal tree, and looks like a willow. The soma tree is also sacred in Hinduism.
According to its oldest definition, soma is a life-giving or intoxicating drink, but is also called a tree because it has the life-giving quality.
One sees no resemblance to a tree, yet because it is life-giving they are identical.
That is the primitive way of thinking: when two things function in the same way, even though they are utterly incommensurable, they are supposed to be one and the same thing.
For instance, things that give life in the way of nourishment are identical.
They say a sort of life power or mana circulates through these different things, uniting them, making them one.
Then the tree is a very central symbol in the Christian tradition, having even taken on the quality of death-just as Yggdrasil is not only the origin of life, but also the end of life.
As life originates in the tree, so everything ends in the tree of evolution; the last couple enters the tree again and disappears therein.
So the mummy of Osiris transforms into a tree. And Christ ends on the tree.
As I told you, the Christian cross was supposed to have been made from the wood of the tree of life, which had been cut down after the fall of the first parents and used later on for the two obelisks or pillars, Aachim and Boas, in front of Solomon's temple.
Those are analogous to the Egyptian pillars or obelisks that flanked the way on which the sun-barque passed to and fro.
One is now in Rome and another is in Paris, but happily enough, there are still a number left at Karnak.
When Solomon's temple was destroyed those two pillars were thrown into one of the ponds of the river valley and much later discovered again, and tradition says the cross was made from the wood of those ancient beams.
So Christ was crucified on the tree of life.
Therefore those medieval pictures where Christ is represented as hanging crucified on a tree with branches and leaves and fruits. ~Carl Jung, Thus Spake Zarathustra, Pages 1437-1438.
Cosmic Tree, Soma Tree, The Human Spinal Column
Prof. Jung:
Here is a very valuable contribution from Mrs. Baumann, a photograph of Nestor's ring, that famous intaglio with the representation of the world-tree.
And here is a contribution from Mrs. Crowley about the tree in Egypt:
"In the early Pyramid texts, there is a passage in which the Pharaoh on his way to Re, comes upon a tree of Life on the Mysterious island, situated in the midst of the Field of Offerings. 'This king Pepi went to the great isle in the midst of the Field of Offerings, over which the gods make the swallows fly. The swallows are the imperishable stars. They give to this king Pepi this tree of Life, whereof they live, and Ye-Pepi and the Morning Star may at the same time live thereof.'
This image belongs, prior to the Osiris faith, to the Solar religion of the old kingdom, about 3000 B.C.
The tree has many different aspects.
It appears first in ancient mythologies as the cosmic tree, the tree of development-of cosmic as well as human evolution, like the great tree of the Germanic sagas, Yggdrasil.
Another more specific aspect is the tree of life, the tree which gives life to human beings and animals and to the universe.
And this tree has also the aspect of the world axis: the branches up above are the kingdom of the heavens; the roots below form the kingdom of the earth, the nether world; and the trunk is the world axis round which the whole world revolves, and at the same time a life-giving center or the main artery of life throughout the world.
So the tree is more or less equivalent to the spinal column in a human body.
You know in the interior of the cerebellum, a certain part in the middle part branches in such a way that it has a treelike appearance and is called the arbor vitae, the tree of life.
Also this famous symbol of Osiris, the Tet, is a sort of tree form.
It is identified with the os sacrum, that part of the spinal column which is inserted in the middle of the pelvic basin, and it also refers to the whole length of the spinal column,
which maintains the straightness of the body and carries the arteries along the backbone.
These anatomical facts are the same in animals, so naturally they have been known forever, practically.
Moreover, they knew that the arteries carried the blood, which was supposed to be the seat of the soul, so blood is itself a symbol for the soul, as warmth and breath symbolize blood, the indispensable essence of life.
Then another aspect of the tree is the tree of knowledge.
It is the carrier of revelation: out of the tree come voices; in the whispering of the wind in the tree words can be discerned, or the birds that live in the tree talk to one.
We have endless material as evidence for those traditions.
The tree of paradise, for instance, is really one and the same tree but with a three-fold aspect: the tree which carries the evolution of the world, the tree which gives life to the universe, and the tree which gives understanding or consciousness.
And the nyagrodha is the sacred tree of Buddha at the monastery of the Holy Tooth at Bodh Gaya, that famous Buddhist place of pilgrimage and worship in Ceylon.
It is really a pi pal tree, and looks like a willow. The soma tree is also sacred in Hinduism.
According to its oldest definition, soma is a life-giving or intoxicating drink, but is also called a tree because it has the life-giving quality.
One sees no resemblance to a tree, yet because it is life-giving they are identical.
That is the primitive way of thinking: when two things function in the same way, even though they are utterly incommensurable, they are supposed to be one and the same thing.
For instance, things that give life in the way of nourishment are identical.
They say a sort of life power or mana circulates through these different things, uniting them, making them one.
Then the tree is a very central symbol in the Christian tradition, having even taken on the quality of death-just as Yggdrasil is not only the origin of life, but also the end of life.
As life originates in the tree, so everything ends in the tree of evolution; the last couple enters the tree again and disappears therein.
So the mummy of Osiris transforms into a tree. And Christ ends on the tree.
As I told you, the Christian cross was supposed to have been made from the wood of the tree of life, which had been cut down after the fall of the first parents and used later on for the two obelisks or pillars, Aachim and Boas, in front of Solomon's temple.
Those are analogous to the Egyptian pillars or obelisks that flanked the way on which the sun-barque passed to and fro.
One is now in Rome and another is in Paris, but happily enough, there are still a number left at Karnak.
When Solomon's temple was destroyed those two pillars were thrown into one of the ponds of the river valley and much later discovered again, and tradition says the cross was made from the wood of those ancient beams.
So Christ was crucified on the tree of life.
Therefore those medieval pictures where Christ is represented as hanging crucified on a tree with branches and leaves and fruits. ~Carl Jung, Thus Spake Zarathustra, Pages 1437-1438.
(The) Philosophical Tree, Arbor Philosophica - a common alchemical symbol, associated with the seven planets known at the time. These planets correspond to the seven metals - gold, sometimes substituted by sulphur, silver, copper, iron, mercury, lead, and tin, which were said to "grow" on the Philosophical Tree. The fruit of this Tree is the eternal and incorruptible Mercurial manifestation as the Philosopher’s Stone.
The Tree of Life is an age-old symbol of unity consciousness. Many ancient traditions have used the symbol of the Tree of Life to represent the understanding that all life is sacred and interconnected. In the bible it appears in the Garden of Eden as an alternative to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which represents the consciousness of separation between God and man.
In the Jewish mystical tradition, the Tree of Life is the central symbol of the Kabbalah, and is a symbolic map of the process by which an individual can achieve inner wholeness and reconnect with the divine.
The Tree of Life has also been an essential element of the Essene spiritual tradition, representing the unity of God, man and nature. In alchemy the Tree of Life was often used to symbolize the culmination of the Great Work, a state of being unifying the dualities of male and female, Soul and Spirit, the human and the divine.
The Tree of Good and Evil Knowledge There is one tree bearing two kinds of fruits. Its name is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Like its name, are its fruits: namely, good and bad fruits of life and death, of love and hate, of light and darkness. This tree was put before Adam, and even if he had in his innocence the liberty to look upon it as a tree of God's wonders. God's prohibition did not allow him to place his desire in it and eat of it, but threatened that (if he would do so) he would die from its fruit. For this was a tree of division where good and evil battled with each other: but in a battle there can be no life: For battle brings forth destruction, and destruction brings forth death, life lives in the sweet unity of love. Therefore, when Adam ate from this tree, a battle started within him, and in this battle he lost his life.
Nevertheless wretched men will not learn through such fall and damage. His desire is still for that tree and its fruits. Man is always desirous to have the division of manifold things, and man is always battling, when he could return to the unity of simplicity, if he only would come in peace. Life's light stands in the middle to point out to men the way to this first rest, and the Father in the heaven lets his Sun rise over good and evil: But everything grows after its own fashion, and man is only too apt to look upon the stars of the manyfoldness, and in his own discretion, to choose them for his ladders, though they make him stray many times from the true light, and detain him in the whirlpool of uncertainty. This whirlpool of uncertainty leads more and more out of the innermost face of the Sun into the outer (world) and can find neither end nor place of rest, unless it leads from the outer (world) back again and seeks the beginning, from which all the smaller star-lights originated.
There is also among 7 stars, hardly one turning its rays inward to direct the searching mind to Bethlehem, and amongst 7 eyes winding around the whirlpool of searching desire is hardly one which stands towards the Sabbath in the innermost; but the restless movement of the working days move them through all spheres, and even if they take a look at God's wonders, they only look upon the surface and every eye looks upon that which is shown through its own desire. God made man to live in an eternal Sabbath, he should not work, but let God work in him, he should not take with his own hands, but only receive what God bestowed plentifully upon His mercy. But man left the Sabbath, and wanted to work himself, raised his hand against the law to take in his own desire what he should not have taken. Therefore, God let him fall, and since he had despised the quiet, he had to feel painfully the restlessness. In such restlessness of life all children of man still extend their hands, trying to grasp their pleasures.
And as is their understanding and will, so is their grasping. Some grasp for the good, some grasp for the evil. Some grasp for the fruit, some only for the leaves, some for a branch with fruits and leaves on it. And they derive pleasure from the things they have grasped, these poor fools do not know that all their pain and labor had only been a Studium particulare. They grasp for pieces, where they could obtain the whole. They seek for quiet and cannot find it; for they look from the outside into the restlessness of movement, which dwells in the inner solitude of the inner Centri, and though one may grasp more than the other, it is still piece-work. At times there may be one amongst 7 hands coming near the secret and it grasps the whole stem of the tree at that point where all the divided branches return to unity.
But even this hand is still far from the roots of the tree, only grasping and holding the secret from the outside and cannot yet see it from the inside. For the root of this tree is understood only by the eye of wisdom, standing in the Centro of all spheres. These roots go from the visible world of mingled good and evil, into the sphere of the invisible world. This eye looks with the greatest peace upon the wonders of all movements and also looks through all the other eyes, wandering about outside of the rest in the unrest, all those eyes which want to see for themselves without the right eye of wisdom, from which they have received all their seeing-power.
This eye can prove all spirits, how intelligent, pure and acute they be. It understands the sources of good and evil. Plain before it is light and darkness. It understands time and eternity, visible and invisible, present and future things, earthly and heavenly things, things of the body and things of the spirit, high and deep, outwardliness and inwardliness. And nevertheless, none of these things are disturbed by it, for the eye lives in the Centro of peace, where everything stands in equality outside of any strife, and whatever it sees it possesses. For in the Centro of its peace is its kingly throne, everything being subject to it. Therefore, dear man! If thou wouldst return to right understanding and right peace, cease from thy works and let God alone work in thee, so that the eye of wisdom will open in thine own self and thou wilt attain a studio particulari ad universale and One find All.
The Tree of Life is an age-old symbol of unity consciousness. Many ancient traditions have used the symbol of the Tree of Life to represent the understanding that all life is sacred and interconnected. In the bible it appears in the Garden of Eden as an alternative to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which represents the consciousness of separation between God and man.
In the Jewish mystical tradition, the Tree of Life is the central symbol of the Kabbalah, and is a symbolic map of the process by which an individual can achieve inner wholeness and reconnect with the divine.
The Tree of Life has also been an essential element of the Essene spiritual tradition, representing the unity of God, man and nature. In alchemy the Tree of Life was often used to symbolize the culmination of the Great Work, a state of being unifying the dualities of male and female, Soul and Spirit, the human and the divine.
The Tree of Good and Evil Knowledge There is one tree bearing two kinds of fruits. Its name is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Like its name, are its fruits: namely, good and bad fruits of life and death, of love and hate, of light and darkness. This tree was put before Adam, and even if he had in his innocence the liberty to look upon it as a tree of God's wonders. God's prohibition did not allow him to place his desire in it and eat of it, but threatened that (if he would do so) he would die from its fruit. For this was a tree of division where good and evil battled with each other: but in a battle there can be no life: For battle brings forth destruction, and destruction brings forth death, life lives in the sweet unity of love. Therefore, when Adam ate from this tree, a battle started within him, and in this battle he lost his life.
Nevertheless wretched men will not learn through such fall and damage. His desire is still for that tree and its fruits. Man is always desirous to have the division of manifold things, and man is always battling, when he could return to the unity of simplicity, if he only would come in peace. Life's light stands in the middle to point out to men the way to this first rest, and the Father in the heaven lets his Sun rise over good and evil: But everything grows after its own fashion, and man is only too apt to look upon the stars of the manyfoldness, and in his own discretion, to choose them for his ladders, though they make him stray many times from the true light, and detain him in the whirlpool of uncertainty. This whirlpool of uncertainty leads more and more out of the innermost face of the Sun into the outer (world) and can find neither end nor place of rest, unless it leads from the outer (world) back again and seeks the beginning, from which all the smaller star-lights originated.
There is also among 7 stars, hardly one turning its rays inward to direct the searching mind to Bethlehem, and amongst 7 eyes winding around the whirlpool of searching desire is hardly one which stands towards the Sabbath in the innermost; but the restless movement of the working days move them through all spheres, and even if they take a look at God's wonders, they only look upon the surface and every eye looks upon that which is shown through its own desire. God made man to live in an eternal Sabbath, he should not work, but let God work in him, he should not take with his own hands, but only receive what God bestowed plentifully upon His mercy. But man left the Sabbath, and wanted to work himself, raised his hand against the law to take in his own desire what he should not have taken. Therefore, God let him fall, and since he had despised the quiet, he had to feel painfully the restlessness. In such restlessness of life all children of man still extend their hands, trying to grasp their pleasures.
And as is their understanding and will, so is their grasping. Some grasp for the good, some grasp for the evil. Some grasp for the fruit, some only for the leaves, some for a branch with fruits and leaves on it. And they derive pleasure from the things they have grasped, these poor fools do not know that all their pain and labor had only been a Studium particulare. They grasp for pieces, where they could obtain the whole. They seek for quiet and cannot find it; for they look from the outside into the restlessness of movement, which dwells in the inner solitude of the inner Centri, and though one may grasp more than the other, it is still piece-work. At times there may be one amongst 7 hands coming near the secret and it grasps the whole stem of the tree at that point where all the divided branches return to unity.
But even this hand is still far from the roots of the tree, only grasping and holding the secret from the outside and cannot yet see it from the inside. For the root of this tree is understood only by the eye of wisdom, standing in the Centro of all spheres. These roots go from the visible world of mingled good and evil, into the sphere of the invisible world. This eye looks with the greatest peace upon the wonders of all movements and also looks through all the other eyes, wandering about outside of the rest in the unrest, all those eyes which want to see for themselves without the right eye of wisdom, from which they have received all their seeing-power.
This eye can prove all spirits, how intelligent, pure and acute they be. It understands the sources of good and evil. Plain before it is light and darkness. It understands time and eternity, visible and invisible, present and future things, earthly and heavenly things, things of the body and things of the spirit, high and deep, outwardliness and inwardliness. And nevertheless, none of these things are disturbed by it, for the eye lives in the Centro of peace, where everything stands in equality outside of any strife, and whatever it sees it possesses. For in the Centro of its peace is its kingly throne, everything being subject to it. Therefore, dear man! If thou wouldst return to right understanding and right peace, cease from thy works and let God alone work in thee, so that the eye of wisdom will open in thine own self and thou wilt attain a studio particulari ad universale and One find All.
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All Rights Reserved, Sangreality Trust; GenIsis Genealogy
on all graphic and written content.
If you mirror my works, pls include the credit and URL LINK for reference.
iona_m@yahoo.com
http://ionamiller.weebly.com
Fair Use Notice
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
