world tree
Realms' connecting trunk
A world tree is a mythological concept of a colossal tree that connects different realms of existence—typically heaven, earth, and the underworld.
The idea appears across many cultures: Yggdrasil in Norse mythology, the sacred ceiba in Mayan cosmology.
In fantasy fiction and video games, world trees often serve as sources of life or magic: The world tree was dying, and with it, all creation. (Capitalized World Tree often names a specific mythological or fictional tree.)
- axis mundiCosmic connection point
- cosmogonyStudy of universal origins
- shamanicOf spirit-world intermediaries
- shamanic journeyRitual trance voyage
- sacred groveWoodland deemed divine
genesis · creation myth · Metaphysics · pantheon · Asgard · Ontology · Multiverse · realms · Odin · Midgard · eagle · oral tradition · serpent · Norse · canopy · wisdom · eternal · branches
- Maya mythologyfeathered serpent, rain god, moon goddess, sun god, sacred caves
- deitiesZeus, Odin, Thor, goddess, Ra
- mythologyZeus, Apollo, Athena, Poseidon, Odin
- mythsmyth, legend, fable, fairy tale, folk tale
- Nature Fantasyenchanted forest, talking animals, nature spirits, haunted woods, sacred grove
- Nordic heritageVikings, Norse mythology, Norse gods, longships, Odin
world treeprimordial chaos
Formless state before creation
the void · Ginnungagap · Chaos · ouroboros · nihil
world, wood, tree, terrestrial, arboreal