In many cultures, specific trees are objects of worship it’s taboo to cut them. The Tree of Life not only stands for growth, proliferation and regeneration it is associated with the inexhaustible abundance of life, reflecting immortality and the cyclic ebb and flow of cosmic life. The tree is seen as a point of contact or an antenna, which reaches out to the beyond. Once he reaches the seventh stage, the soul is released and the purified spirit rests with God. Among the Bhil tribes in Western India, a dead ancestor’s soul is ritually appeased by the priest as he climbs the steps cut into the tree or a pole. In Shamanistic ritual, the priest ascends up the tree, step by step, calling out at every stage the visions that come to him until he reaches the seventh step, the highest. The trunk is the means of ascending upwards and reaching beyond, thereby connecting three worlds. Its roots plunge deep into the nether world branches reach upwards towards heaven and support it. The Cosmic Tree symbol occurs in practically all cultures. They are part of what analytical psychologist Carl Jung calls our “collective consciousness”. Finally, there are universal symbols, which transcend time and space and seek out deeper reality, expressive of the universal consciousness. Secondly, there are interpretations, which are linked with cultural history. They in turn are derived from symbols, which are part of the social group and overall tradition.
They may be personal, such as those occurring in the use of language, imagery and in the doodling and dream motifs of an individual. Even if the original meaning is obscured, the symbol retains an unconscious link with our primeval memory and becomes a source of strength. Its significance transcends conscious reality, touching the subconscious and beyond the undefinable. It connects us to the three worlds, writes Jasleen Dhamija, of the tree that both soars upward and plunges deep down while standing erect on the ground The Tree of Life concept is sacred to most cultures.
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