- published: 18 Dec 2010
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The concept of a tree of life 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.
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, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica, and are portrayed in various religions and philosophies as the same tree.
Various trees of life are recounted in folklore, culture and fiction, often relating to immortality or fertility. They had their origin in religious symbolism.
In Egyptian mythology, in the Ennead system of Heliopolis, the first couple, apart from Shu and Tefnut (moisture and dryness) and Geb and Nuit (earth and sky), are Isis and 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.
Flowing through the air
like an ethereal presence
suspended high above the water
alone
with nothing but the wind
whispering in my ears
no sounds, no signs
no one but me, here
I fly through the clouds and higher
where there's just the sky
nothing but sparkles and reflections
come into sight
down there's just the sea
a drop of water in the cosmic landscape
where the seed of life will shortly sprout
even if I don't know why, I know this
The drop is shining
and the sphere is cracking
as the seed falls in the abyss
at the speed of light
wandering the void
searching for some signs of life
now I float on the surface of the water
tired of flying, tired of everything
a dead world is what I'm in
I am alone and lost here
I'm floundering in the waves now
the weight of this cerulean sky
a heavy burden on my shoulders
keeps me down
I struggle not to fall
in the abyss opening under me
only my screams rip this vast silence
that permeates this world so sad and cruel
the abyss under me is shining
and the sphere is cracking
as the seed suddenly sprouts
and time flies at the speed of light
and the flower blossoms
and the fish swims
as life conquers the earth
and the bird flies