Page 39 - The Flickering Cauldron Magazine - April 2022

All life would have revolved around trees, so the practical was obvious. However, the need to believe was understandably very powerful. Many cultures would have worshipped what was tangible to them - the Sun and the Moon being the most obvious. Logically, if your very existence depended on trees, you’d hold them in pretty high esteem too.
This wasn’t limited to Northern Europe. Trees in ancient Egypt were nowhere near as abundant and in fact good quality timber was imported. But the Goddess Hathor was also known as the ‘Lady of the Sycamore’ and features (alongside Isis) in funerary scenes, as a Tree Goddess - offering refreshments to the dead. (Yep, you’re thinking what we are, pointless as they’re dead, who are we to contradict a Goddess?)
So - we know trees were worshipped by cultures that existed long before the Celts, but what were the origin and or the source of that fabulous symbol of The Tree of Life? Why were the roots of a tree seen as the source of life and the branches of a tree held the realms were where we exist?
The most probable answer is Yggdrasil. So, there you have it - in a nutshell.
Whilst we intended to just leave it there, and move on, our glamorous familiar, Willow, has been kind enough to inform us that not everybody may have been taught Norse legend by their village elders...
So let’s start with pronouncing Yggdrasil - Ig-drah-zill. The legendary Nordic Ash, the Tree of life which encompassed and supported the nine branches of the world in Nordic mythology and was thus the singular source of all life.
The Celtic Tree of Life, with which we are more familiar, is clearly similar but features just three branches (realms) of life and in ancient depictions is normally encircled by its roots.
This circle is clearly a reference to the ever turning, Wheel of Life.
Ancient settlements would need to have been created by clearing a part of the forest, but one tree would have been chosen as a sign of respect to the forest and that would be the village Tree. It would be a focal point for village meetings, feasting and a place where handfastings would be celebrated.
However, it would also be a point where judgements over disputes would be made by village elders or Druids and punishments carried out.
It’s important that we try to understand the symbolic power of The Tree of Life as a religion not just a decorative item.
Whilst Celts believed that each tree held the soul of a deceased person, they also believed that we originally sprang from the trees, not that bonkers when you consider that their lives were dependent on the trees and forests, as were many wild animals. They would literally have been seen and accepted (as the Druids told them) as the source of life itself.
Most trees would have outlived many generations of our ancestors - the average age at death of ancient Celts was 35...
The longevity of the trees would have been seen as symbolic of both strength and wisdom.
Moreover, trees were not just of this world, they were the foundation of it. The roots of a tree go deep under the earth, connecting them to the dark spirit world, whilst the branches connected with the upper world, the trunk, on earth, connected both worlds.
Effectively, trees were both the gateway and the guardians of all three worlds.
The Flickering Cauldron® Magazine - The Tree of Life | 39