Axis mundi
The
axis mundi (
world axis), in religion or mythology, is the world center and/or the connection between heaven and Earth. It exists in virtually all cultures on Earth, although it plays a much more explicit role in those cultures utilizing
shamanic practices or those with
animist belief systems. It is thought that the axis mundi idea spread throughout
Eurasia as a part of the
Proto-Indo-European religion, more specifically as the
world tree concept. It is familiar today as the
Rod of Asclepius, the symbol of medicine, and the similar
caduceus; the staff is the axis itself, and the
serpent (or serpents) are the guardians or guides to the other realm. It is a common
shamanic concept, the healer traversing the axis mundi to bring back knowledge from the other world. The axis mundi connects heaven and earth as well as providing a path between the two. The axis mundi is commonly represented as a rope, tree, vine, ladder, pillar or staff, among other things. In addition to the
caduceus, the
yin-yang descends from this idea. Sometimes, depending on representation and belief system, the axis mundi is considered explicitly male or even
phallic.
Many cultures consider a specific place, almost always a hill, a mountain or a pyramid to be the axis mundi. For example, the
Sioux consider the
Black Hills to be the axis mundi, while
Mount Kailash is holy to several religions in
Tibet. Often, within the same belief system, several places may be considered the axis mundi; in Islam, the
Dome of the Rock, where
Muhammed was raised and lowered from heaven, as well as the shrine at
Mecca play this role. The
Temple Mount, site of the Dome of the Rock, is also holy to Judaism and Christianity. Other nearby sites that are considered sacred and are on hills include the
Mount of Olives and
Calvary. The
ancient Greeks had several sites that were considered places of the
omphalos (navel) stone, such as the oracle at
Delphi, while also maintaining a belief in a world tree and
Mount Olympus as the abode of the gods.
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Yggdrasil |
Many religious structures explicitly mimic axis mundi. The
stupa of
Hinduism, and later
Buddhism, reflects
Mount Meru. The upright bar of the
cross is sometimes seen as representing a world axis, while the
steeple of a church or
minaret of a mosque indicates a place where the earthly and the divine meet. In
Mesopotamian civilizations, the
ziggurat works as an axis mundi. Structures such as
maypoles in pre-Christian Europe, linked to the
Saxon's
Irminsul, and
totem poles among
Pacific Northwest Native Americans also formed local or temporary world axes.
Other times a specific plant is considered the axis mundi. In some
Pacific island cultures the
banyan tree, of which the
Bodhi tree is of the
Sacred Fig variety, is the abode of ancestor spirits. The Bodhi Tree is also the name given to the tree under which
Gautama Siddhartha, the historical
Buddha, sat on the night he attained
enlightenment. Other corrolaries include
Yggdrasil of
Norse mythology,
Jievaras of
Lithuanian mythology, the pre-Christian
Germanic peoples's
Thor's Oak, the
Sefirot of Judaism, the
Chakras common to many Eastern religions, and the
Trees of Life and
Knowledge of Good and Evil in the
Garden of Eden.
Entheogens are often considered to be the axis mundi, such as the
Fly Agaric mushroom among the
Evenks of
Russia.
Some scholars have stated that the architectural axis mundi have transferred into secular societies. In this conception, the
Washington Monument of the
United States and
Eiffel Tower of
France represent world axes proclaiming secular power. This transfer of the idea of axis mundi from a religious to non-religious context is sometimes contentious.
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Tree of Life*
Palmette*
Fleur de lys
