Everyone has ancient people there were their own legends describing the structure of the world. Many of them are radically different, but the worldviews of neighboring cultures tend to be very similar. The legends of the Slavic and Scandinavian peoples are especially similar. For both of them, the axis that supports all existing worlds is World tree.
The pagan Slavs believed that the world was like an egg. According to the legends of the same tribes
peoples, this egg was laid by a certain “cosmic” bird, and in the legends of the Slavs, Zhiva, the Great Mother, who gave birth to the earth and sky, is mentioned. The earth in this giant egg takes the place of the yolk, on the upper half of which is the world of people, and on the lower half is the Night Country or the World of the Dead. The earth is surrounded by a “squirrel” - the ocean-sea. The shell of the “world egg” consists of nine layers corresponding to the Nine Heavens. Each sky has its own purpose. The Sun and stars “walk” around the Earth one at a time, the Moon lives on the other, the next sky is reserved for winds and clouds. The Slavs considered the seventh celestial layer to be the solid bottom of the Ocean, an inexhaustible source of living and rain water.
The World Tree of the Slavs connects all parts of the “egg”. The Tree is reminiscent of a huge oak tree, the roots of which go to the World of the Dead, and the crown reaches the Seventh Heaven. The ancestors believed that one could climb to heaven using the Oak tree. Echoes of these beliefs have reached us in the form of fairy tales. On the branches of the Tree
The seeds and fruits of all plants on Earth ripen. Where it touches the Seventh Heaven, there is the island of Irey or Buyan, on which the ancestors of all earthly birds and animals live. But even the Oak did not reach the Eighth and Ninth Heavens. These last heavens remained a mystery to
In Old Norse legends, the world works a little differently. The Scandinavian World Tree - Yggdrasil - was an ash tree. This Great Ash Tree, which grew in the center of the universe, had three roots. One descended directly into the underworld of Hel, the second reached the kingdom of the wise frost giants of Jotunheim, and the third root grew into Midgard, the world of people. This world order seems somewhat strange, since the World Ash of Scandinavian myths grows with its crown down. This is exactly how the Old Scandinavian peoples used logs, propping up the walls and ceilings of their homes with them. Ash was looked after by the sisters of Norna, the goddess of the present, past and future. Every day the Norns watered the World Tree alive
and the water of the Urd spring, flowing at the roots of the Tree. The Ash Crown gave shelter to a wise eagle endowed with the gift of omniscience. The trunk of the Tree united all the worlds described in it, and its crown reaches Valhalla, the palace of Odin. The Scandinavian ash tree united not only worlds. He tied times together.
It appears not only in the legends of northern peoples. This image is also present in the Seven Roots of Kisi-Mutozhe, the Chinese are fed from seven sources hidden in the bowels of the earth. Its seven branches touch the seven heavens where the gods live. The Chinese tree not only connects heaven and earth, but also serves as a staircase along which the Sun and the Moon, as well as heroes and sages - mediators between the human world and heaven, “walk up and down.”
TREE OF LIFE OF THE SLAVS
Slavic worldview
The origins of the original Slavic worldview:
How many years of our history do we know: 100, 200, 1000? How old are our Bylinas? After all, the epic is what it was: Whose calendar are we living by now? What year is it now according to the original Slavic calendar? Based on the chronicles, now it is 7516 years from the Creation of the world. And this is probably not the first date. And if chronology was kept, that means there was culture, that means there was literacy and literate people who observed the sun and stars, noticed various natural phenomena, etc.
Where did the 6,500 years of our unknown go? Why don't we remember them? How did our Ancestors live in those distant times? We do not know the answers to these questions and may never know. However, there are some milestones of the Slavic tradition that are known for certain. Let's figure out which ones?!...
Everything in the world and the Universe is similar to each other and is permeated with the finest relationships. This idea is best reflected in the Slavic Tradition. Our Great Ancestors lived in complete harmony with the world around them, which was once created by Rod and Rozhanitsa, by the unity of two principles, primary energies. Hence, from ancient times, we have called everything that surrounds us “nature,” that is, that which is always with the Family, the Great Rozhanitsa, the Foremother, personified and embodied feminine energy Universe: The World is one and many-sided at the same time, like the Rod itself. Man is part of the world and exists according to its laws. Consequently, the life of the world and man, material and spiritual, are closely connected. Our great-great-grandfathers and great-great-grandmothers knew this for sure, so what surrounded them in everyday life, was the most necessary, formed the basis of this life, and became the most important symbols and archetypes.
Ancient Slavic legends tell us that the whole world, the cosmos, is organized like an egg, as the source from which life arises. The center of the “egg” - the yolk is identified with the earth, upper part the yolk is the earthly world, and the lower part is the underground. According to legend, the egg is surrounded by the World Ocean, a symbol of the elements of life. And the whole world is surrounded by 9 heavens, which were equated to 9 films of an egg, to spheres, among which each has its own meaning.
Hence the well-established expression about seventh heaven. The seventh heaven is the “firmament of heaven,” i.e. the transparent bottom of the heavenly World Ocean. According to legend, it contains “heavenly abysses” - reserves of rainwater; when they break through, the water seems to pour onto the ground in a stream, so we get the expression “heavenly abysses have opened up.”
The main axis of the world is the World Tree (Tree of Life), most often identified with an oak tree. It connects all space - heaven, earth and the underworld. The crown of the tree represents the “upper world”, in which there are 9 heavens, the sun, stars, birds live, it is also the world of the Gods and Ancestors, the world of Rule, Heavenly Svarga (hence the words and concepts - truth, rule, correct :). The tree trunk is " middle world”, which included our entire earthly world, the world of Reveal (explicit, phenomenon, manifested:). The roots of the tree reached the “underworld”, with the chthonic, dark, that is, creatures unknown to us, living there, the world of Navi.
The metaphor of the World Tree reflects the inextricable connection of the worlds, the “circular movement in nature,” the change of seasons, the principle of “rotation of the year” (the cycle of the seasons and the cyclical nature of time in general) and the sacred meaning of human life.
Our ancestors had very deep knowledge about the world around us, space and the universe. Natural forces and elements received names based on their functions and properties. And then the figurativeness, metaphorical nature of our thinking and language personified them and turned them into Gods and Goddesses.
Everything in the world is endowed with a soul, spiritualized, is in constant and continuous interaction, the world is holistic and diverse. “Every cloud has a silver lining,” “there would be no happiness, but misfortune would help,” we remember our proverbs, which reflect the dualism of the world around us, as our ancestors understood it. Life and death, good and evil, love and hate, man and woman are two sides of the same coin, two halves of a single whole and do not exist separately. So our Gods are all paired - Rod and Rozhanitsa, Svarog and Makosh, Perun and Perunitsa, etc.
Each person has his own creators - the creators are his PARENTS, who also have their own parents, and who, in turn, also have their own parents. Who was at the beginning and where is it? And in the beginning we all had common creators, first ancestors, progenitors - Rod and Rozhanitsa. The genus is the progenitor of all things; it is one and many-sided at the same time. He has many names (like our parents), the main one of which is Svarog - heavenly father, and the name of Rozhanitsa - Makosh - Mother Cheese Earth, Mother Nature or Lada (okay, get along, okay, settle :). All the rest are the children and grandchildren of Svarog, Svarozhichi.
The myth about Rod and Rozhanitsa tells that the love of Earth and Heaven was so strong that it came to life and split into two: female Love (Lada) and male Love (Rod).
This is where the ideas of our ancestors, the Slavs, about gods and goddesses come from. The Slavs understood God as a pre-eternal and eternally creative being. God is everywhere and everywhere - in the wind, rain, thunder, grass, stone, water and fire. So it turns out that our Gods are our Ancestors, and we are the Slavs, their children and grandchildren, and not slaves, like later Christians. And our Ancestor Gods have already given us everything we need for life (the universe, earth, fire, law, knowledge and various tools), now it’s up to us. Each person chooses his own destiny, which path to follow - the path of truth or falsehood, creation or destruction. And only our Co-Message is our judge. Our Ancestors rarely turned to the Gods with requests, but only glorified them and sang them in their poems and hymns, precisely because it does not suit a Slav - a descendant of the great Ancestors and Gods - to ask something from someone, he can do everything himself . And only in the most exceptional cases - when the matter depends not only on the will of a person, but also on the will natural forces and the elements (Gods), you can turn to them with filial need.
We, the Slavs, are “Dazhbozh’s grandchildren, who should not be in awe of the gods, we must know and remember them, then they will be able to help us, since “the gods have no eyes but ours and no hands but ours”...
Likhanova Tatyana, Museum employee
World tree (tree)- this is a symbol of the center of the world, the axis around which everything that surrounds us exists. The image of the World Tree is found in many cultures, not only among the Slavs. We find descriptions of a tree serving as the axis of the world in Scandinavian myths, in the legends of shamans from all countries, in ancient myths and fairy tales.
What are the features of the image of the World Tree in Slavic mythology?
In Slavic tales and conspiracies, the World Tree is described as a “damask oak” growing on the island of Buyan, which is located “on the umbilical cord of the sea” - in the center of the world ocean. Sometimes there is a description of a tree growing upside down. This image seems to us closest to the mythology of the Russian North.
The roots of the World Tree go to the world of Navi, the top - to the heavens, where the world of Rule, the world of the bright Slavic Gods, is located. The trunk of the magic tree passes through the world of Reveal - the world where people live, the Gods of the world of Revealing (elemental Gods of water, fire, air, earth), small Gods or spirits (brownies, goblins, mermaids) and animals. The image of the World Tree connects and balances the three Slavic worlds.
In fairy tales we also find a description of the nine heavens located at the top of the World Tree. A separate sky for the sun, for the month, for the stars. In the seventh heaven is the dwelling of the Gods of Rule. Sayings about “seventh heaven” have survived to this day in our language.
Appeal to the World Tree in conspiracies and Slavic rituals
The world tree, connecting the three worlds, helps you move between them. We have preserved fairy tales about how a person managed to get into the world of Rule by climbing the trunk of the World Tree.
The image of moving along the trunk of a magic tree is preserved in Slavic conspiracies. In many ancient conspiracies, a person enters the “God’s World” through the image of a “damask oak” or “oak upside down” growing on the Alatyr-stone, located in the center of the sea-ocean. Moving along the World Tree during the ritual, the Master found himself in the world of the Slavic Gods, where he could turn to them with a request.
Images of the World Tree on household items and amulets
We find drawings of the World Tree on wooden utensils, spinning wheels, and ancient chests. Often the image of a tree growing in three worlds can be seen in the subjects of Mezen painting.
The image of the World Tree is also found in amulets. In the old days, this was most often embroidery or amulets for the home. There are also images of the World Tree in patterns decorating bracelets and other amulets. Nowadays, craftsmen often make amulets in the shape of the World Tree itself.
The center of the world for the ancient Slavs was World Tree(World Tree, World Tree). It is the central axis of the entire universe, including the Earth, and connects the World of People with the World of the Gods and the Underworld. Accordingly, the crown of the tree reaches the World of the Gods in heaven - Iriy or Svarga, the roots of the tree go underground and connect the World of the Gods and the World of people with the underground World or the world of the Dead, ruled by Chernobog, Madder and other “dark” Gods.
Somewhere in the heights, behind the clouds (heavenly abysses; above the seventh heaven), the crown of a spreading tree forms an island, and here is Iriy (Slavic paradise), where not only the Gods and ancestors of people live, but also the ancestors of all birds and animals. Thus, the Tree of the World was fundamental in the worldview of the Slavs, its main component. At the same time, it is also a staircase, a road along which you can get to any of the worlds. In Slavic folklore, the Tree of the World is called differently. It can be oak, sycamore, willow, linden, viburnum, cherry, apple or pine.
In the ideas of the ancient Slavs, the World Tree is located on the Buyan island on the Alatyr-stone, which is also the center of the universe (the center of the Earth). Judging by some legends, light Gods live on its branches, and dark Gods live in its roots. The image of this tree has come down to us both in the form of various fairy tales, legends, epics, conspiracies, songs, riddles, and in the form of ritual embroidery on clothes, patterns, ceramic decorations, painting of dishes, chests, etc. Here is an example of how the Tree of the World is described in one of the Slavic folk tales, which existed in Rus' and tells about the extraction of a horse by a hero-hero: “... there is a copper pillar, and a horse is tied to it, there are pure stars on the sides, a moon is shining on the tail, a red sun in the forehead...”. This horse is a mythological symbol of the entire universe (Dazhdbog’s Horse, if you remember), which is still tied to the center-pillar or tree.
The image of the World Tree was imitated during funeral rites. In ancient times, people were buried in tree branches. Later, this ritual was modified and now, after cremation, the ashes of people were left on the so-called Bdyny - pillars with huts, which are also a prototype of the World Tree and help the deceased both to ascend to the World of the Gods and to descend along this tree to the World of People to visit their descendants. It is also worth saying that ancient tribes built huts and temples in such a way that there would be a living tree inside, that is, they built a dwelling around a tree - oak, ash, birch and others. Like the idols representing the Gods on earth, the tree inside the house was the embodiment of the World Tree, which could also connect all three worlds and be the main place for some home rituals. This tradition was alive until the beginning of the 20th century throughout almost the entire territory of Russia and beyond, but in a simplified form. Before building a house, a young tree was dug up and planted in the center or red corner of the future log house of the building, and the sentence was said: “Here is a warm house and a shaggy cedar for you!” There it grew until the very end of construction. Then they took him out and planted him in another place. In ancient times, it grew together with people and towered with its crown above the roof, as if above the firmament.
In ritual songs and traditional folklore in general, the following descriptions of the World Tree have reached us: a nightingale makes a nest in its crown (as well as other sacred birds - Gamayun, Sirin, Alkonost, Duck, Firebird, etc.), bees live in its trunk, they bring honey, an ermine lives at the roots, a snake (Skin) lives in a hole (nest), a demon is chained on a chain (the latter is apparently a later stratification that appeared after Christianization), the fruits of the Tree of Peace are the seeds of all existing herbs, flowers, and trees. Traditional in folklore are squabbles between the same snake that lives in the roots and the bird that lives in the crown. At the same time, the snake constantly threatens to burn the tree, and the bird always defends itself or uses cunning. The Sun and Moon are often placed in the crown of this tree. In Belarusian folklore, beavers live at the roots of a tree, and a falcon lives in the crown, the leaves are covered with beads, the flowers are like silver, the fruits are pure gold. Since this is the World Tree, the Slavic tradition in its folklore placed here all the most amazing creatures, from mythological birds to half-humans, half-horses, half-bulls, half-dogs, all possible Deities and creatures. Here is their place - next to the center of the world.
The World Tree was so revered by the Slavs that it took part in many celebrations. In particular, the tradition has reached us to this day of installing New Year Christmas tree Now no one thinks about why this is being done, but the main and sacred meaning New Year tree- precisely the image of the Center or Axis of the Universe. In a sense, this is the idol of the Sacred World Tree. Also, the ritual tree was installed just before the construction of a new house in the very center of the planned construction, thus attracting power to this place and making it sacred, with a powerful energy basis. The builder of a new home makes his house a kind of projection of the center of the universe; the same mystical modeling of the center occurs when a tree is brought into the house, placed in the middle of it or in the red corner. Another ritual can be a round dance on sunny holidays around a tree, which is often chosen to be a birch or an oak. In ancient times, there were entire sacred groves, sacred forests, where it was strictly forbidden to cut down or damage trees. This directly relates to the very figure of the World Tree, since by analogy with it, sacred trees were the habitat of spirits, creatures, and peculiar staircases (portals) to other worlds. Holidays, ceremonies, and rituals for curing diseases took place in such groves, but this is a topic for a separate article.
It must be said that the Tree of the World, in one form or another, existed in almost all ancient beliefs, from Scandinavian (the evergreen tree Yggdrasil or the Great Ash) to Indian (Ashwattha). In Erzya beliefs, the tree is called Echke Tumo, where the nest of the sacred duck Ine Narmun is located, which gives birth to the very egg from which the whole world is born. In Turkic mythology, the tree is called Baiterek - with its roots it holds the earth in place, and with its branches it props up the sky so that it does not fall down. In Kabala, this is the Mekabtsiel Tree. In the Koran it is Sidrat al-muntaha. In China, this is Kien-Mu, along which the Sun and Moon, lords, sages, Gods, spirits, and so on descend and descend.
The symbol of the World Tree is depicted in different ways. This can be either a fairly accurate image with roots, branches, leaves and other attributes of an ordinary tree, or a schematic image in the form of a vertical stick and three branches that rush upward (Rune Mir). The World Tree is also depicted as a woman with her arms raised, with birds flying around her. Embroidery and painting often contain elements such as a green tree with leaves and flowers, as a symbol of life, and a dry tree, as a symbol of death. There are such images where spirits and deities are placed on one side of the tree, and glorious warriors, heroes, and priests on the other.
Among the Slavic peoples, the world tree symbolized the center of the planet and was the central axis of the entire universe. It is noteworthy that the top of the tree reached the heavens themselves, where the world of the gods was traditionally located. The world of the dead was hidden underground, which included the root of a powerful plant. According to legends, this tree grows from the Altyr-stone, located on Buyan Island. In culture, the image was used in funeral ceremonies, because it was in the crowns of trees that the deceased were buried. Along such a tree, the soul went to the gods and could descend along it back to people to visit its relatives. The veneration of the cult of the tree was firmly entrenched in cultural traditions and was actively used until the 20th century. For example, when building a new house in the center, it was necessary to bury a young shoot, while counting on the kindness of the brownie. When the house was ready, such a tree was planted not far from the new building. Few people think about it, but the New Year tree is also a tribute to the cultural past. At the beginning of the New Year, we honor the world tree and decorate it in every possible way. The Tree of Peace is also found among other peoples. Its description is different, but the sacred meaning is the same for everyone.
After the universal catastrophe, the Earth slowly began to come to life. Eternal Winter and Night with the Waters of Death were inferior to Early Spring. The glaciers, leaving behind huge boulders, retreated to the north, and the planet, washed by the spring waters, changed, became prettier, and became kinder to its inhabitants. People first cautiously looked out of the caves, then left them, looking around in surprise. The huge spaces amazed the imagination with the abundance of beauty and wonders, food, light and warmth! This joyful discovery of a renewed world happened according to our human chronology around 12 thousand BC.
However, people were not the first and not the main inhabitants of this world: its spaces had already been mastered by other, more developed creatures. Ancient people observed, remembered what they saw, composed songs about it, passed them on from generation to generation, and later wrote them down. Thanks to myths, we can find out what the world looked like thousands of years ago.
The culture of all earthly peoples has preserved the memory of the World Axis, which connected three different universes: the heavens with their inhabitants, our middle world and the underground kingdoms of monsters. There is no point in distrusting the tales of the Legendary Times. In the ancient Indian books, the Vedas, the World Tree of Ashwattha is described and it is said: “At the top of this tree, they say, there is sweet fruit, which only those who do not want to know their ancestors do not strive for.” The ancient Chinese were convinced that the World Tree was the Pantao peach tree, whose fruits bestow immortality on those who taste them. However, not only immortality: longevity peaches change the very nature of a person, turning him into a deity. The Chinese book “Journey to the West” describes a whole garden of huge peach trees, on which the fruits ripen very slowly: on some - once every three thousand years, on others - twice as long, and on others - once every nine thousand years. The lucky one who tastes the fruit from the first tree is guaranteed immortality and knowledge of the truth. If picked from the second tree, he will gain eternal youth and the ability to fly among the clouds. The peach of the third tree gives you the highest power: you become equal to Heaven and Earth, the Sun and the Moon.
The Chinese god of longevity is depicted as a smiling old man holding a peach tree branch in his hands. Apparently, he was able to taste the fruit only from the first tree: having acquired eternal life, he did not become young.
The ancient Scandinavians considered the Yggdrasil ash tree to be the center of the world: “That ash tree is larger and more beautiful than all the trees. Its branches are stretched over the world and rise above the sky. Three roots support the tree, and these roots spread far.” The Elder Edda describes a wise eagle sitting on the top of Yggdrasil. The eagle is so big that the hawk Vedfrelnir has built a nest between his eyes. Below, at the roots of the ash tree, there is a house in which wise sisters live - the Norns, who determine the destinies of people and their life span. At another root lies a source of knowledge and wisdom, guarded by the giant Mimir. The roots of the tree are being gnawed by the dragon Nidhogg. In a word, the World Tree is a whole world inhabited by strange, inhuman creatures.
The Slavic Tree of the Universe was located on the island of Buyan, where all the creative forces of nature, everything wonderful and amazing that exists in the world were concentrated. Here is the navel of the Earth, and therefore in the middle of the island grows an evergreen oak tree, whose roots go to the center of the planet and its branches reach to the heavens. This is described in the “Pigeon Book”:
What holds the earth?
The water is high.
What keeps the water high?
The stone is flat.
What does the stone hold?
River of fire.
What holds that fire?
The iron oak that appeared
above all trees. He holds everything
The prophetic birds Sirin and Alkonost sing in the branches of the tree. Near the tree trunk lies the magical Alatyr stone, under which all earthly power is hidden. The snake Garafena wrapped itself around the stone. Whoever she bites will begin to understand the language of animals and birds.
The World Tree organized the space of the world not only vertically, but also horizontally, indicating the direction of light, which symbolized four sacred animals, four deities or four colors. Among the Mayan Indians, the Chaki gods guarded the four cardinal directions, each with its own color symbolism: east - red, north - white, west - black, south - yellow. In Hindu mythology, the guardians of the world are: Indra - in the east, Kubera - in the north, Varuna - in the west and Yama - in the south.
The World Axis in the form of a tree also served as a kind of chronometer, a model of time, the universe. Many peoples have riddles about a tree with twelve branches - the months of the year, with four branches - weeks, with seven leaves on each.
The Bible describes the Garden of Eden with the Tree of Knowledge. God Yahweh Elohim raised trees on the earth, whose fruits were beautiful to look at and pleasant to eat. In the middle of the Garden of Eden grew the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God placed the first man in this garden, Adam, to care for the plants and protect them, but warned: “You can eat from every tree in the garden. But do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for the day on which you eat from it will be your last.” Alas, Adam violated the ban and this day became the last of his stay in Eden, from where he was expelled. And yet Yahweh took pity on the people: he sent the third son of Adam, Seth, a branch from the tree of knowledge.
The Scandinavian god Odin also gained wisdom from the tree of knowledge: he sacrificed himself and, pierced by his own spear, hung for nine days and nights on the trunk of the world tree Yggdrasil. After this test, Odin invented divinatory runes. Having drunk the sap of the sacred tree - the honey of poetry, I acquired a poetic gift. From now on, he could soar to the celestials or descend into the gloomy underworld. This was a common shamanic practice, which was also resorted to by Slavic holy accordion singers.
In “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” it is said: “The prophetic Boyan, if he wanted to sing a song to someone, he ran like a cape squirrel through a tree, like a gray wolf along the ground, and like a gray eagle under the clouds.”
Time passed, and the World Tree began to change. Strange birds disappeared from its branches, dragons flew away. They were replaced by new gods. One of them was the ancient Roman Jupiter, who, unlike the Greek Zeus, was initially the spirit of the sacred oak and trees in general. This is evidenced by his epithets: “fruitful”, “beech”, “reed”, “fig tree”.
In the sacred groves of the ancient Greeks, beautiful women's perfume trees: dryads, shallow hells and hamadryads. If the first of them are quite famous, then the rest are almost not remembered. Meanwhile, ash nymphs appeared earlier than the others. They were considered the ancestors of people. The World Tree first moved from the center of the universe to the outskirts - to the Lukomorye, and then left the middle, our world, breaking off communication with the heavens and underground kingdoms. It was replaced by sacred groves.
