World tree

From Freepedia

In certain Indo-European religions there was a belief in a world tree, such as Yggdrasil, in Norse mythology, an Oak in Slavic mythology and in Hinduism, a banyan tree.

Although the concept is absent from the Greek mythology, medieval Greek folk traditions and more recent ones claim that the Tree that holds the Earth is shewn by goblins (Kallikantzaroi).

A World Tree (Wacah Chan) also appears in the Maya religion as the axis mundi. It connects the Middleworld of man, with Xibalba (Otherworld) and the heavens (Schele & Friedle, 1990).

There is a extensive book on the world tree and the axis mundi tracing all possible mythological sources and meeting scientific demands: Santillana, Giorgo de / Dechend, Hertha von: Hamlet's Mill. Gambit, Boston 1969

World Tree is also the name of a anthropomorphic role-playing game by Bard Bloom - see World Tree at WikiFur.