Sacred Trees and the Human Condition
When I first began my contemplation of trees and their role in my life, I thought of the myths that I was raised with. Jesus hanging on a cross, Adam and Eve eating from the tree of Knowledge, and Moses and the burning bush. These stories were formative for me. My inquiry into their meaning led me to evolve my exploration of how humanity engages with the sacred. As I grew and found my own spiritual path in life, I engaged with many traditions and noticed some similarities between the role of trees. Specifically, I noticed that trees often stand as an interlude between humans and the realization of divine states. This prompted me to explore the role of trees in human myth and their roles as sacred beings.
Trees take on a symbolic representation of auspicious and overwhelming elements of the human experience. Being able to witness the power and presence of trees enables us to somehow figuratively touch what we cannot witness within ourselves. For example, in the Christian myth of Jesus, we see how he suffered under the weight of the cross that he dragged through the town until he reached Golgotha. It is my perspective that the tree here represents the burden of all the elements of humanity that separate us from our inner knowing of our divine nature. But, I also wonder if the cypress crossbar of Jesus’s cross represents everlasting life. The cypress is known as a wisdom tree and is often recognized as an “elder relative” of humans. The elder is a source of wisdom. Once Jesus dies on the cross on a hill shaped like the human head — representing the human psyche — he descends into hell and defeats death's hold on humanity. Ultimately, dissolving the shadow aspects. I can't help but wonder how this representation relates to the eternal life that was sacrificed at the beginning of the Christian myth when Adam and Eve chose knowledge over eternal life. Perhaps the burden of eternal life is too much for the mind to comprehend, and the desire to remain in embodied form is a cause of the suffering endured by Jesus. This story could be compared to two other narratives that also tell of the suffering caused by being unaware or separated from our essential nature or our divine self.
In Norse mythology, Odin hangs from the Yggdrasil, the giant Ash, a cosmic tree at the center of Norse mythology. A cosmic tree is a tree that formed at the Earth’s axis, with roots that venerate the underworlds, and branches that reach the higher realms. In this myth, Odin hung from the Yggdrasil in order to gain the knowledge of the runes and the favor of the fates, which take the form of three women who wove together time and represent past, present, and future. Again, we see here a man hung from a tree to acquire divine insight and to somehow alter the course of natural order by sacrificing himself. However, in this story, Yggdrasil encompasses all of the elements of Norse mythology. It’s three parts connect the nine worlds. The foundation of the realm of the gods is the tops of its leaves, the trunk is connected to the realm of humans, and the roots are connected to the unseen underworld. Perhaps the price of being connected to all the realms was the sacrifice of his life on the tree.
Looking at the narrative surrounding Buddha’s enlightenment, we see that the recesses of the underworld could also represent the hidden aspects of the mind that create deep levels of suffering. It is said that Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree and gained enlightenment. It is often thought that meditation is a peaceful experience and that Buddha simply waited for enlightenment to arrive. The myth of Buddha and his enlightenment involves an intense battle with Mara and his demons, death, rebirth, and desire. This battle happened under the magnificent Bodhi Tree, which is considered a tree of wisdom. Buddha emerges from the battle and brings the eightfold path to the world, which teaches how to transcend the cycles of death, rebirth, and desire. Again, we see the themes of eternity represented in the cycles. In the Christian perspective, eternity is a permanent and stationary position, and in Buddhism, the same is depicted as the cycle of death and rebirth, often referred to as the impermanence of life.
The sacred elements of all three stories are the same. Humanity has a burden of knowing our divine nature, or the part of ourselves that is free from death and rebirth. But this knowledge creates suffering. And to become liberated from the pain caused by the divide between us and our eternal expression (supreme Self or God) requires wisdom that can only be found by traversing all aspects of existence.
There is deep wisdom in understanding the representation of trees in myths. In my experience, I have often looked to the trees to explain the things my mind just can't comprehend. During the final semester of my undergrad, I designed an independent study called The Psychospiritual Significance of Trees, and I spent time with Maclura Pomifera (the Osage Orange or Hedge Apple tree), whom I met during my wanderings in the woods. While walking the trail, the path forked, and in the middle stood the tree with an identical fork in its trunk. As if the tree were saying it had traveled this road before me. I found comfort as my path had recently split off from my partner of the previous three years. The relationship ended suddenly, and I had been reeling from it that whole week. But, Maclura Pomifera showed me through its split trunk and reaching branches that a broken relationship was just a fork in the road, and my journey could continue. This brought comfort to me, and I found a new place to cultivate trust.
I have so many more questions about the sacred nature of trees. I wonder how trees can be restored to a sacred position in the world rather than a place where they are used for our aesthetic intrigue or as a tool to clean our air. What would happen if we sat and offered our breath to the trees as a means of energetic exchange? Or just told them that they are beautiful? How would the paradigm of the world shift if we witnessed these beings with awe and devotion just where they stand? How can we learn to trust our desire to be near trees without resisting the inner pull toward them? These questions inspire me and intimidate me. Luckily, I have Maclura Pomifera to sit and speak with about how to be in right-relationship with trees.
Have you been advised by a non-human nature being? Share your experience with a comment.
I have many great childhood memories of playing under/near and tending to trees in our family yard, then later my own yard as an adult. Also, of the bountiful fruits shared from trees that were and still are eaten for health and pleasure. I love starting and/or ending my day on my front porch gazing with awe at the beauty and strength of trees in my yard and neighborhood.