LIFE AS MYTH
JOURNAL
JOURNAL 2009
A feminine myth
Creating a new myth
SUMMER 2009
Mythology of planet
LIFEWORKS
ATLAS
SUMMER 2009
TREES WITH MAGICAL GIFTS
The apple tree. Gustav Klimt. 1912. Adele and Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, Vienna (acquired from the artist). Seized by the Viennese Magistrate, May 1938 (following the Nazi Anschluss of March 1938).
With Dr. Erich Führer, Vienna (the state-appointed administrator for Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer).
Österreichische Galerie, Vienna (acquired from the above, October 1941). Restituted to the heirs of Adele and Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer by the Republic of Austria, March 2006.Axis Mundi (meaning the central pole of the earth) is a universal mythological concept which describes the place where heaven and earth, spirit and matter, and/or the four points of the compass meet. There are many forms that are used to represent the concept, including plants, trees, humans, geometric forms, objects, and specific geographical locations. According to mythic tradition, the individual's experience of the axis mundi often correlates with the receipt of divine knowledge or gifts. The divine gifts can take many extraordinary forms: healing, writing, painting, prophecy, dreams and visions.
According to Judeo-Christian tradition (Genesis 2-3), there were three trees that grew in the Garden of Eden. The first was the Tree of the food that was good to eat. The second was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, traditionally an apple tree. And the third was the Tree of Immortal Life.
In mythology, the linden tree is a symbol of peace, truth and justice. This connection is from Germanic mythology where the linden tree is associated with Freyja, the motherly goddess of truth and love. According to German folklore, it was not possible to lie while standing under a linden tree. Consequently, Germans often met under linden trees not only to dance and celebrate, but also to hold their judicial proceedings. Christianity later replaced Freyja with the Madonna and rededicated the trees to Mary, the mother of God.
Aspen groves share one root system, which makes them highly adaptive and regenerating, and also results in each grove exhibiting a collective consciousness. A grove can advance across a landscape toward a more favorable environment, or sucker and completely reforest in less than sixty years. In earlier times, recognizing the unusual sentience of this species, Native American shamans wove aspen leaves into crowns, believing that the leaves possessed the power to transport them back and forth between this world and the other.
The Rowan, variously known as the Whispering Tree, Witch wood, Quickbane, Delight of the Eye, and Rune tree, is a tough, small tree which is able to survive in poor, overworked soil. According to the Finnish creation myth, when the Goddess Rauni descended to earth at the beginning of Time, there were no plants. She assumed the form of a Rowan tree and mated with Ukko, the God of thunder. Their offspring are all the plants of the world. Therefore, in this mythology, all plant life is directly descended from the Rowan tree. Many cultures throughout the world incorporate this tree into their mythology. For instance, the Celts believed that Rowan wood offered protection from evil spirits. It was common practice to plant a Rowan tree next to a Celtic house to protect the home's occupants.
The jade palace of Hsi Wang Mu, ruler of the western paradise, is on the peaks of the snowy mountain range of K'un-lun and is the home of the Immortals. Every six thousand years Hsi Wang Mu has a birthday celebration which is called P’an-t’ao Hui, ‘the Feast of Peaches.’ The date for the festival exactly coincides with the ripening of the immortal peaches. According to Taoist myth, the peach orchards of Hsi Wang Mu leaf out once every three thousand years but it is only after an additional three thousand years that the peach trees bear a season of fruit. The banquet to celebrate this event takes place on the shores of the Yao Ch’ih (Lake of Gems) and is attended by all of the Immortals. The feast includes such delicacies as dragons' liver and phoenix marrow. However, the highlight of the banquet is the rarest of rare Immortal Peach, which has the magical property of bestowing immortality on all who taste it.
