Some other people believed that people lived in a giant tree in the sky before the world was created while the earth was water and provided sustenance for the tree. Native Americans had stories about mythical trees, such as the Natchez tribe, who believed a large cedar tree connected the heavens, earth, and underworld. The tree is, therefore, a symbol of life, death, and rebirth. The third one reaches to the depths of Niflheim – the world of the dead. The second one is in Jotunheim – where the giants live. The first one is in Asgard, where the Gods reside. The tree is eternal and expands its branches across all the 9 worlds in Norse mythology.ģ giant roots uphold Yggdrasil. It is considered to be the connection to everything in the universe as it stands at the center of Asgard. In Nordic mythology, the tree of life is called Yggdrasil, the World Tree. The great tree would sustain all life and help nurture it – almost identical to how a mother would care for her young. In ancient Celtic culture, the tree of life is also known as Crann Bethadh, and it appears as a symbol of peace, harmony, and balance, which is visually represented with a deep-rooted Oak or Ash tree with overarching branches in a circle.Ĭelts greatly respected and admired trees as the Oak tree was especially revered by the druids who performed religious rites and sacraments under the tree.Ĭelts believed that the tree of life represented the entire universe. Now, let’s take a closer look into the existence of the tree of life in religions and different cultures around the world. But there have also been some depictions discovered in Arcadia (in ancient Greece) going back to 3000 BC featuring pine trees, evergreen plants with extended lifespans, which makes them a perfect reference for the Tree of Life. The oldest depiction dates back to 7000 BC in the Domuztepe Mounds of Turkey. Even the origin of the tree of life is unclear as there have been mentions of the tree in various ancient civilizations such as the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Assyrian civilizations. There is folklore and mythology associated with the tree of life in different cultures. The concept of the tree of life is rooted in religion and spiritualism, therefore, it has become one of the most prominent ancient symbols throughout history which has been used commonly in symbolism to represent: Even after their “death”, trees can be used to build homes and construct structures allowing them to carry on living, in a sense, while supporting the lives of other creatures in this form.