Tree of life

The concept of a tree of life, a many-branched tree illustrating the idea that all life on earth is related, has been used in science (see tree of life (biology)), religion, philosophy, mythology, and other areas. A tree of life is variously:a motif in various world theologies, mythologies, and philosophies; a mystical concept alluding to the interconnectedness of all life on our planet; and a metaphor for common descent in the evolutionary sense.

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the tree of knowledge, connecting to heaven and the underworld, and the tree of life, connecting all forms of creation, are both forms of the world tree or cosmic tree.^[1] According to some scholars, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, portrayed in various religions and philosophies, are the same tree.^[2] According to others, however, the tree of life concept is distinct from the tree of knowledge of good and bad, if only because eating from the latter leads to death and not life, and because it is mentioned in Genesis that there exists a distinct tree of life in the Garden of Eden (although humans are barred from entry to the Garden by the time it is mentioned). The Abrahamic religions are Semitic in origin, and not Indo-European- which might serve to explain relegating the idea of a cosmological tree to esoteric sects(e.g. Kabballah) in most Semitic cultures.

Contents 1 Conceptual and mythological "trees of life" 1.1 Ancient Egypt 1.2 Armenia 1.3 Assyria 1.4 Baha'i Faith 1.5 China 1.6 Germanic paganism and Norse mythology 1.7 Jewish sources 1.8 Christianity 1.8.1 Swedenborgianism (The New Church / New Jerusalem Church) 1.8.2 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1.9 India 1.10 Turkic world 1.11 Mesoamerica 1.12 Other cultures 1.13 Modern interpretations 2 Modern use 2.1 Art 2.2 Music 2.3 Science 2.4 Fiction 2.4.1 Literature 2.4.2 Video games 2.4.3 Film 2.4.4 Anime 2.4.5 Other 2.5 Decorative arts 3 Physical "trees of life" 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Conceptual and mythological "trees of life"

Various trees of life are recounted in folklore, culture and fiction, often relating to immortality or fertility. They had their origin in religious symbolism.

Ancient Egypt

• In Egyptian mythology, in the Ennead system of Heliopolis, the first couple, apart from Shu & Tefnut (moisture & dryness) and Geb & Nuit (earth & sky), are Isis & Osiris. They were said to have emerged from the acacia tree of Iusaaset, which the Egyptians considered the "tree of life," referring to it as the "tree in which life and death are enclosed." A much later myth relates how Set killed Osiris, putting him in a coffin, and throwing it into the Nile, the coffin becoming embedded in the base of a tamarisk tree.^[3]

• The Egyptians' Holy Sycamore also stood on the threshold of life and death, connecting the two worlds.

Armenia

• Armenian: Կենաց Ծառ. In ancient Armenia, the Tree of Life was a religious symbol and was drawn on walls of fortresses and carved on the armor of warriors. The branches of the tree were equally divided on the right and left sides of the stem, with each branch having one leaf, and one leaf on the apex of the tree. Servants stood on each side of the tree with one of their hands up as if they are taking care of the tree.

Assyria

• What is known as the Assyrian Tree of Life was represented by a series of nodes and criss-crossing lines. It was apparently an important religious symbol, often attended to by Eagle-Headed Gods and Priests, or the King. Assyrilogists have not reached consensus as to the meaning of this symbol. It is multi-valent. The name "Tree of Life" has been attributed to it by modern scholarship; it is not used in the Assyrian sources. In fact, no textual evidence pertaining to the symbol is known to exist.

Baha'i Faith

The concept of the tree of life appears in the writings of the Baha'i Faith, where it can refer to the Manifestation of God, a great teacher who appears to humanity from age to age. The concept can be broken down still further, with the Manifestation as the roots and trunk of the tree and his followers as the branches and leaves. The fruit produced by the tree nourishes an ever-advancing civilization.

A distinction has been made between the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The latter represents the physical world with its opposites, such as good and evil and light and dark. In a different context from the one above, the tree of life represents the spiritual realm, where this duality does not exist.^[4]

China

• In Chinese mythology, a carving of a Tree of Life depicts a phoenix and a dragon; the dragon often represents immortality. A Taoist story tells of a tree that produces a peach every three thousand years. The one who eats the fruit receives immortality.
• An archaeological discovery in the 1990s was of a sacrificial pit at Sanxingdui in Sichuan, China. Dating from about 1200 BCE, it contained three bronze trees, one of them 4 meters high. At the base was a dragon, and fruit hanging from the lower branches. At the top is a strange bird-like (phoenix) creature with claws. Also found in Sichuan, from the late Han dynasty (c 25 – 220 CE) is another tree of life. The ceramic base is guarded by a horned beast with wings. The leaves of the tree are coins and people. At the apex is a bird with coins and the Sun.

Germanic paganism and Norse mythology

• In Germanic paganism, trees played (and, in the form of reconstructive Heathenry and Germanic Neopaganism, continue to play) a prominent role, appearing in various aspects of surviving texts and possibly in the name of gods.
• The tree of life appears in Norse religion as Yggdrasil, the world tree, a massive tree (sometimes considered a yew or ash tree) with extensive lore surrounding it. Perhaps related to Yggdrasil, accounts have survived of Germanic Tribes' honouring sacred trees within their societies. Examples include Thor's Oak, sacred groves, the Sacred tree at Uppsala, and the wooden Irminsul pillar.
• In Norse Mythology, the apples from Iðunn's ash box provide immortality for the gods.

Jewish sources

• Etz Chaim, Hebrew for "tree of life," is a common term used in Judaism. The expression, found in the Book of Proverbs, is figuratively applied to the Torah itself. Etz Chaim is also a common name for yeshivas and synagogues as well as for works of Rabbinic literature. Further, it is also used to describe each of the wooden poles to which the parchment of a Sefer Torah is attached.
• The tree of life is mentioned in the Book of Genesis; it is distinct from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. After Adam and Eve fell from God's favour by eating fruit from the tree of knowledge, they were cast out of the Garden of Eden. Remaining in the garden, however, was the tree of life. To prevent access to this tree in the future, two cherubs with a flaming sword were placed at the garden's entrance. (Genesis 3:22-24)
• In the book of Proverbs the tree of life is associated with wisdom: "[Wisdom] is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy is every one that holdest her fast." (Proverbs 3:13-18) In 15:4 the tree of life is associated with calmness: "A soothing tongue is a tree of life; but perverseness therein is a wound to the spirit."^[5]

• The Tabernacle and The Ark of the Covenant were both made of acacia or shittah-tree (Ex 25:10, 26:15), identified by the Egyptians with the Tree of Life. Traditionally, the burning bush was believed to be acacia.
• The prophet Ezekiel's vision of restoration, recorded in chapters 40 to 48 of the Book of Ezekiel, includes: "Along the river, on either bank, will grow every kind of fruit tree with leaves that never wither and fruit that never fails; they will bear new fruit every month, because this water comes from the sanctuary. And their fruit will be good to eat and the leaves medicinal." (Ezekiel 47:12)
• The Book of Enoch, generally considered non-canonical, states that in the time of the great judgment God will give all those whose names are in the Book of Life fruit to eat from the Tree of Life.
• Jewish mysticism depicts the tree of Life in the form of ten interconnected nodes, as an important part of the Kabbalah. As such, it resembles the ten Sephirot.

Christianity

• In addition to the Hebrew Bible verses mentioned above, the tree of life is symbolically described in the Book of Revelation as having curing properties: "the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations." (Revelation 22:1-2)
• In Catholic Christianity, the Tree of Life represents the immaculate state of humanity free from corruption and Original Sin before the Fall.
• In Eastern Christianity the tree of life is the love of God.^[6]

Swedenborgianism (The New Church / New Jerusalem Church)

According to the doctrine of Swedenborgian's worldwide, belonging to various independent organisations, the first twelve chapters of Genesis are a symbolic retelling of ancient truths. In his large exegis Arcana Coelestia (see AC Potts), Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) expounds on the symbolism and underlying spiritual meaning of both Genesis and Exodus. The symbolism regarding the tree of life, according to Emanuel Swedenborg, reflects the perception of our mind (or spirit, which is the same thing according to Swedenborg's phylosophy). As the tree (perception) is in the midst of the garden (representing our mind), it represents that part of our mind, which is the will (or heart). Thus knowledge of good is absorbed by our will and immediately applied to life (in the case with the tree of life).

The nature of the tree, or quality of the tree, is dependent on our inner state. It is described as the tree of life, when our will is focussed on what is good and true (spiritual truths or truths of faith), yet as the tree of knowledge of good and evil, when our will is focussed on mere natural memory knowledges and a 'seeing is believing' attitude. The result of us relying and living our life according to our own understanding is that, from that moment (the eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil) on, we are to rationally consider what to believe and filter with our natural understanding, rather than accepting what is good directly in our will, which was depicted of the Most Ancient people by Adam. Eve then represents a separate will being given to us, and the two (will and understanding) are separated.

In Revelation the tree again appears in the middle of the garden (taking the entire Bible as a spiritual symbolic journey of self discovery and improvement (spiritual growth) - also called regeneration), which provides then that the leaves are for the healing (which is that the truths which can be understood) are able to be applied to one's spiritual life for the betterment of our character, if you will "healing" our innate selfish tendencies. It takes a whole cycle of self-discovery and rejection of our negative self, to see the tree of life back in the middle.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The tree of life appears in the Book of Mormon in a revelation to Lehi (see 1 Nephi 8:10). It is symbolic of the love of God (see 1 Nephi 11:21-23). Its fruit is described as "most precious and most desirable above all other fruits," which "is the greatest of all the gifts of God" (see 1 Nephi 15:36). In another scriptural book, salvation is called "the greatest of all the gifts of God" (see Doctrine and Covenants 6:13). In the same book eternal life is also called the "greatest of all the gifts of God" (see Doctrine and Covenants 14:7). Because of these references, the tree of life and its fruit is sometimes understood to be symbolic of salvation and post-mortal existence in the presence of God and his love.

India

Turkic world

• "World Tree" or "Tree of Life" is a central figure in Turkic mythology and also in Turkish mythology as a branch of it.
• World tree defines "tree worlds cosmology"

Mesoamerica

• Among pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures, the concept of "world trees" is a prevalent motif in Mesoamerican mythical cosmologies and iconography. World trees embodied the four cardinal directions, which represented also the fourfold nature of a central world tree, a symbolic axis mundi connecting the planes of the Underworld and the sky with that of the terrestrial world.^[7]
• Depictions of world trees, both in their directional and central aspects, are found in the art and mythological traditions of cultures such as the Maya, Aztec, Izapan, Mixtec, Olmec, and others, dating to at least the Mid/Late Formative periods of Mesoamerican chronology. Among the Maya, the central world tree was conceived as or represented by a ceiba tree, and is known variously as a wacah chan or yax imix che, depending on the Mayan language.^[8] The trunk of the tree could also be represented by an upright caiman, whose skin evokes the tree's spiny trunk.^[9]
• Directional world trees are also associated with the four Yearbearers in Mesoamerican calendars, and the directional colors and deities. Mesoamerican codices which have this association outlined include the Dresden, Borgia and Fejérváry-Mayer codices.^[10] It is supposed that Mesoamerican sites and ceremonial centers frequently had actual trees planted at each of the four cardinal directions, representing the quadripartite concept.
• World trees are frequently depicted with birds in their branches, and their roots extending into earth or water (sometimes atop a "water-monster," symbolic of the underworld).
• The central world tree has also been interpreted as a representation of the band of the Milky Way.^[11]

Other cultures

• In the Japanese religion of Shinto, trees were marked with sacred paper symbolizing lightning bolts, as trees were thought to be sacred. After they died, ancestors and animals were often portrayed as branches on the tree.
• The Book of One Thousand and One Nights has a story, 'The Tale of Buluqiya', in which the hero searches for immortality and finds a paradise with jewel-encrusted trees. Nearby is a Fountain of Youth guarded by Al-Khidr. Unable to defeat the guard, Buluqiya has to return empty-handed.
• The Epic of Gilgamesh is a similar quest for immortality. In Mesopotamian mythology, Etana searches for a 'plant of birth' to provide him with a son. This has a solid provenance of antiquity, being found in cylinder seals from Akkad (2390–2249 BCE).
• One of the earliest forms of ancient Greek religion has its origins associated with tree cults.
• In a myth passed down among the Iroquois, The World on the Turtle's Back, explains the origin of the land in which a tree of life is described. According to the myth, it is found in the heavens, where the first humans lived, until a pregnant woman fell and landed in an endless sea. Saved by a giant turtle from drowning, she formed the world on its back by planting bark taken from the tree.
• Contemporary Welsh artist Jen Delyth created a Celtic Tree of Life symbol, in part based on ancient Celtic veneration of trees and traditional Celtic designs.
• The tree of life motif is present in the traditional Ojibway cosmology and traditions. It is sometimes described as Grandmother Cedar, or Nookomis Giizhig in Anishinaabemowin.

Modern interpretations

• In Dictionaire Mytho-Hermetiqe (Paris, 1737), Antoine-Joseph Pernety, a famous alchemist, identified the Tree of Life with the Elixir of Life and the Philosopher's Stone.
• In Eden in the East (1998), Stephen Oppenheimer suggests that a tree-worshiping culture arose in Indonesia and was diffused by the so-called "Younger Dryas" event of c8000 BCE, when the sea-level rose. This culture reached China (Szechuan), then India and the Middle East. Finally the Finno-Ugaritic strand of this diffusion spread through Russia to Finland where the Norse myth of Yggdrasil took root.
• Rastafari movement^[12] and some Coptic Christians^[13] consider cannabis to be the Tree of Life.

Modern use

Art

• A 2½ story high "Tree of Life" sculpture by Wisconsin artist Nancy Metz White was installed in Mitchell Boulevard Park in Milwaukee in 2002. The tree is made of brightly painted welded steel and forge flashings recycled from Milwaukee heavy industry.

• A painting by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt Image of Painting at klimttreeoflife.com/

• Paintings by California/French artist Elle Nicolai Link to art gallery at ellenicolai.com

Music

• Pictorial representations of the Tree of Life can be found in the album artwork for rock band Mudvayne's L.D. 50(NOPE); and on the outer casing of the album Salival, by rock band Tool. In addition, the Tree of Life was used in the visual displays shown during several of Tool's concerts, especially during the song Triad.
• Metal band Dååth (pronounced 'doth') also uses the Tree of Life as a basis for their music.
• In their album Emissaries the black metal Melechesh make a reference to the Tree of Life in their song "Touching the Spheres of Sephiroth."
• One of the tracks on the soundtrack album for the film The Fountain is called "Tree of Life."
• The duo "Trees of Life" did the soundtrack for the animated film Tamala 2010.
• Guitar virtuoso Steve Vai has a Tree of Life inlay in his Ibanez JEM guitars
• Dillinger Escape Plan bassist Liam Wilson has a Tree of Life tattoo on his chest
• American rock band O.A.R. featured a tree of life both on the cover art and on the actual c.d. for the album In Between Now and Then
• Double album "Bath"/"Leaving Your Body Map" by avant-garde metal band maudlin of the Well was constructed based upon a parallel qabalistic Tree of Life structure.
• The double album Axis Mutatis by the electronic group The Shamen contains in some limited editions the instrumental album "Arbor Bona Arbor Mala." The title refers to the tree of life, the ancient symbol found in virtually all Shamanic cultures, linking the underworld with the earth and the heavens. Also, on the cover of Axis Mutatis appears a representation of the tree of life by William Latham.

Science

• The tree of life in science is a well worn metaphor describing the relationships of all life on Earth in an evolutionary context.^[14] Charles Darwin talks about envisioning evolution and ecosystems as a "tangled bank" in On the Origin of Species; however, the book's sole illustration is of a branched diagram that is very tree-like. The evolutionary relationships of the tree of life were refined using genetic data by the great American microbiologist Carl Woese, the discoverer of the domain Archaea and a pioneer in molecular (genetic) methods in evolutionary biology.

From the first growth of the tree, many a limb and branch has decayed and dropped off; and these fallen branches of various sizes may represent those whole orders, families, and genera which have now no living representatives, and which are known to us only in a fossil state. As we here and there see a thin, straggling branch springing from a fork low down in a tree, and which by some chance has been favoured and is still alive on its summit, so we occasionally see an animal like the Ornithorhynchus (Platypus) or Lepidosiren (South American lungfish), which in some small degree connects by its affinities two large branches of life, and which has apparently been saved from fatal competition by having inhabited a protected station. As buds give rise by growth to fresh buds, and these, if vigorous, branch out and overtop on all sides many a feebler branch, so by generation I believe it has been with the great Tree of Life, which fills with its dead and broken branches the crust of the earth, and covers the surface with its ever-branching and beautiful ramifications.

— Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species^[15]

• The Tree of Life on the Web is an ongoing Internet project containing information about phylogeny and biodiversity, produced by biologists from around the world. Each page contains information about one group of organisms and is organized according to a branched tree-like form, thus showing hypothetical relationships between organisms and groups of organisms.
• The phrase the tree of life is often used in association with the DNA molecule, and has sometimes been associated with the maternal placenta.
• The neuroanatomical term tree of life describes the branching pattern between the cortical grey matter and subcortical white matter of the cerebellum.
• In the world's rain forests, trees' leaves and branches form a canopy, which traps moisture and protects the diverse ecology underneath from the equatorial Sun. The phrase trees of life is used to describe this protective barrier, as, in its absence, life quickly abandons the area, due to extinction or migration.
• In February 2009, BBC One broadcast an animated, interactive tree of life as part of its "Darwin Season." The program was narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

• Software Engineers will recognize the "tree of life" as a "source code tree" where the "source code" is the genetic hereditary material (e.g., genes). The common concept of "tree" as a branched acyclic graph is the relevant concept.

(Albeit, horizontal gene exchange confuses this.)

Every single organism (alive or extinct) has an ancestral path back to the ancestral replicator. The (mostly useful, aka adaptive at a certain time and place) accumulation of copying errors along that path constitutes an individual's (and species') evolutionary history. In a software tree, the modifications are typically deliberate and intentional, instead of random and filtered by the environment as seen in natural (or artificial) selection.

The point is, to a software engineer used to trees full of branches, revisions, dead-ends and improvements, the "tree of life" is not so much an abstract metaphor as an instance of useful code being maintained and improved.

Fiction

Literature

• References to 'the tree of life' are in Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot.
• In J.R.R Tolkien's The Silmarillion, the Two Trees of Valinor are the sources of light in Middle-earth.
• In Stephen Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, The One Tree (or Tree of Life) is the tree from which the Staff of Law was produced.
• In C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, the Tree of Life plays a role, especially in the sixth published book (the first in the in-world chronology) The Magician's Nephew
• In Terry Brooks' Shannara series, the Ellcrys, an Elf-turned-tree, plays some sort of role in many of the novels
• In Robert Jordan' Wheel of Time the Tree of Life – "Avendesora" – as the last of its kind plays a pivotal role. This tree also linked to the Buddhist "Bodhi" tree, beneath which the Buddha attained Nirvana
• The Tree of Life appears in Larry Niven's Known Space novels
• The Hyperion Cantos series of novels contains several concepts and (indirect) references to the Tree of Life
• In the Roger Zelazny's 1978 novel The Chronicles of Amber: The Courts of Chaos prince Corwin encounters Ygg (a nick from Yggdrasil), a tree who speaks and is planted on the border between Order and Chaos, between Amber and Courts of Chaos
• In The Sea of Trolls written by Nancy Farmer, the Tree of Life (Yggdrasil) is a place holding magical powers.
• In Michael Chabon's 2002 novel Summerland, the four great limbs of the Lodgepole – also known as the "Tree of Worlds" and the "Ash o' Ashes" – hold up the four Worlds of the Summerlands, the Winterlands, the Middling, and the Gleaming.

Video games

• In La-Mulana the Tree of Life is primarily shown in the "Chamber of Birth". When the flywheel item is obtained, the Trees of Life spawn mudmen.
• In the Mana series of video games, there is the Mana Tree which feeds the world its life force. Players are often granted Mana power and the Sword of Mana by the tree, on top of a mission to remove a certain threat to the Mana Tree, and thus the world.
• Similarly, the sentient Great Deku Tree in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time grants eternal youth and protection to the inhabitants of Kokiri Forest.
• The Norse Tree of Life, Yggdrasil, is either featured or referenced in many games, including those of the Tales RPG-series, the 2002 video game Wild Arms 3 and the 2008 video game Too Human.
• In the Atari 2600 game Swordquest: Fireworld, the map of the game world is patterned after the Kabbalah Tree of Life.
• In the 1997 video game Final Fantasy VII the main antagonist, Sephiroth, gets his name from the Kabbalah Tree of Life.
• In the 1998 video game Breath of Fire III the Yggdrasil tree.
• In the 1999 video game The Legend Of Dragoon the Divine Tree represents a Tree of Life.
• In the 1999 video game Homeworld, there is a map called the Tree of Life, probably named after the distinctive shape that the space dust forms.
• In the 2000 video game Final Fantasy IX an ancient Tree of Life - known as the lifa tree - is featured.
• In the 2000 video game The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask there appears a tree in an open field just before the final boss battle with a tree very much like the Tree of Life.
• In the 2002 video game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, a Tree of Life is the central building of the Night Elf race.
• In the 2004 MMORPG World of Warcraft, the Tree of Life is a shapeshifting form used by druids for healing fellow party members.
• In the 2004 video game Warlords Battlecry III, the Wood Elves have a Tree of Life.
• In the 2007 video game Dragoneer's Aria, The Great Spirit guards a World Tree.
• In the 2008 video game Prince of Persia, a gigantic, ancient tree in the middle of the desert is used to keep the evil deity Ahriman sealed in a temple at its trunk. This game's story heavily borrows from Zoroastrianism.
• In the 2009 video game Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, the Tree of Life grows within the city of Shambala, and the sap or fossilized resin from the tree is seen to be consumed by the inhabitants of the city. This in turn grants the user incredible regenerative abilities, strength, increased height and possible biological immortality. The sap from the tree represents the Cintamani Stone of Buddhist mythology, a giant raw sapphire with supposed wish-fulfilling properties.
• In the 2009 video game Dragon Quest IX, the player must harvest fyggs from Yggdrasil, the World Tree, to attain passage into the realm of the Almighty.
• In the 2010 video game Darksiders, the Tree of Life is located in Eden where War(Horseman of the Apocalypse) sees the future and a way to defeat Abaddon. The Tree of Life gives War the Armageddon sword.

Film

• Darren Aronofsky's film The Fountain (as well as the graphic novel based on the screenplay) centers on immortality given by the Tree of Life.
• In Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, a tree of life is shown.
• In the 2008 movie The Librarian, the religious mention of the Tree of Life is clearly seen in parts with a Crusade-era picture of a knight with his shield in that of the Tree of Life. Another part of the movie depicts a fake secret area beneath a New York City museum, where there are historical items such as the Fountain of Youth and Noah's Ark. At the end of the movie the camera angle changes and the ground's walking surface is revealed to be that of the Tree of Life.
• In Dragon Ball Z's third movie Tree of Might, a giant tree named the Tree of Might is represented as an evil version of the Tree of Life. Its roots take so much nutrients from the planet it has been seeded on that it kills the planet to support its fruit and growth. It is also a very massive tree much like the Tree of Life can be represented as.
• In the 2009 film Avatar, the Na'vi live in Hometree, the spiritual and physical home of the tribe; over 300 meters tall, Hometree is connected with all the other plant life of Pandora through a neural-like network. They revere the Tree of Souls, which is also connected with all other living things.
• In the 2007 horror movie Sublime, Katherine Cunningham-Eves who plays the nurse, Zoe, has a Tree of Life "waiting for spring" tattoo on her back.
• The Tree of Life is a Terrence Malick film released in May 2011, starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain.
• In the 2011 Marvel Studios superhero film Thor, god of thunder Thor explains that the Nine Realms of the Asgardian cosmos are linked by the theoretical Tree of Life, which is here interpreted as a nebula in space connecting the planets in an orbit. The Tree of Life can be briefly seen in the tie-in film of the same year Captain America: The First Avenger.

Anime

• In the anime movie Ghost in the Shell (Kokaku Kidotai), the auditorium in the old sunken part of Newport City shows one of the walls of the building bearing one type of the Tree of Life being shot at from its base by a tank.
• In the 1997 anime movie The End of Evangelion, the Eva series summon the Tree of Life with the Eva-01
• In the anime Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water there is a giant tree beneath Antarctica that is identified as the Tree Of Life by Captain Nemo
• In the anime Ah! My Goddess as the tree that supports earth and the heavens.
• In the manga Fullmetal Alchemist, the Gate of Alchemy depicts a representation of the Tree of Life
• In the anime Genesis of Aquarion the Tree of Life is being fed to create a new Genesis.
• In the anime Rin - Daughters of Mnemosyne (Mnemosyne (anime)) The Tree of life is an eternal tree that bears fruit that grants immortal life to woman, while men are turned into short-lived angel-like creatures who have sex with and then kill the immortal woman.

Other

• The logo of American health service and insurance company CIGNA makes use of a tree of life motif.

Decorative arts

• The grandfather of British studio pottery, Bernard Leach, famously used a 'tree of life' on many of his works. Something which was continued by his Son David Leach, among others.
• A motif of the tree of life is featured on Turkish 5 Kuruş coins, to be circulated in early 2009.

Physical "trees of life"

• The Arborvitae gets its name from the Latin for "tree of life."
• The Tule tree of Aztec mythology is also associated with a real tree. This Tule tree can be found in Oaxaca, Mexico.
• There is a Tree of Life in the island country of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf.
• Metaphor: The Tree of Utah is an 87-foot (27 m) high sculpture in the Utah Bonneville Salt Flats that is also known as the Tree of Life.
• The ancient Zoroastrians and modern Rastafari consider cannabis to be the Tree of Life.
• In some parts of the Caribbean, coconut trees are given the title of "tree of life," as they can produce everything needed for short/medium term survival.
• Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park features an artificial tree dubbed "The Tree of Life," which has about 325 carvings of different species of animals. Inside the tree is the It's Tough to be a Bug! attraction.
• An acacia tree in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya. It is a symbol of life in the vast expanses of thorny savanna, where wild animals come to take advantage of its leaves or its shade. Tsavo National Park in southeastern Kenya, crossed by the Nairobi-Mombasa road and railway axis, is the country's largest protected area (8,200 square miles, or 21,000 square kilometers) and was declared a national park in 1948.
• The West African Moringa oleifera tree is regarded as a "tree of life" or "miracle tree" by some because it is arguably the most nutritious source of plant-derived food discovered on the planet.^[16] Modern scientists and some missionary groups have considered the plant as a possible solution for the treatment of severe malnutrition^[17] and aid for those with HIV/AIDS.^[18]

See also

References

Notes

External links

• tolweb.org – Tree of Life Web Project

Origin of life Quasispecies model · Protobiont · Universal common descent · Last universal ancestor · RNA world hypothesis · Iron–sulfur world theory · PAH world hypothesis · Miller–Urey experiment · Panspermia