Tray Tree of Life mango wood

Round tray of mango wood with a detailed Tree of Life. Suitable for serving tea or other drinks with intention, or as a decorative object in a mindful setting.

The Tree of Life in spiritual traditions

Trees have, in many cultures, represented life, growth, wisdom and the connection between realms of existence. Although these traditions developed independently, their imagery is often grouped under the modern term “Tree of Life”.

In Buddhism, the sacred fig known as the Bodhi tree marks the place of the Buddha’s awakening at Bodh Gaya. In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil is the immense world tree connecting the different realms of the cosmos. In Maya traditions, the sacred ceiba similarly links the underworld, the earthly realm and the sky.

The Tree of Life also has an important place in Jewish tradition. In Kabbalah, its ten sefirot, or aspects, represent the ways in which the infinite divine becomes manifest in creation. Together they form a symbolic structure for contemplating the relationship between the divine, the cosmos and the human being.

Later Western esoteric traditions adapted this structure into what is commonly called Hermetic Qabalah. Here, the Tree of Life became both a map of the cosmos and a system for spiritual development. Practitioners work with the qualities represented by the Tree to better understand, balance and transform different aspects of themselves. In this respect, it is sometimes compared with the chakra system: both offer symbolic maps of the human being and stages of inner development, although they come from distinct traditions.