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Author Topic: Axis mundi/world pillar  (Read 1467 times)

Eastling

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Axis mundi/world pillar
« on: October 20, 2018, 07:28:27 pm »
Or, "Make Like A Tree And Hold Up The Cosmos."

I've always been deeply attracted to the notion of the axis mundi as a concept and fascinated by all the manifestations it can take, from Yggdrasil of Norse lore to the eponymous Dark Tower in Stephen King's books. That only makes it all the more frustrating that I can't quite figure out how the idea works in my path. Cosmic trees are background figures in Greek myth; mountains assume some of their role, but they're tricky as analogues. I find no particular help in my pop culture lore either.

What does your path say about the concept of the world pillar?
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TheGreenWizard

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Re: Axis mundi/world pillar
« Reply #1 on: October 20, 2018, 10:00:49 pm »
Or, "Make Like A Tree And Hold Up The Cosmos."

I've always been deeply attracted to the notion of the axis mundi as a concept and fascinated by all the manifestations it can take, from Yggdrasil of Norse lore to the eponymous Dark Tower in Stephen King's books. That only makes it all the more frustrating that I can't quite figure out how the idea works in my path. Cosmic trees are background figures in Greek myth; mountains assume some of their role, but they're tricky as analogues. I find no particular help in my pop culture lore either.

What does your path say about the concept of the world pillar?

My world map is still being created as I go through my studies. I can understand and relate to the whole Norse Yggdrasil concept, as well as the three spheres concept (Underworld is within the World, and both are within the Overworld/Cosmos).  It's a fascinating concept, but I really have no idea how this would play out...
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― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go

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Re: Axis mundi/world pillar
« Reply #2 on: October 20, 2018, 11:53:24 pm »

What does your path say about the concept of the world pillar?

In my mythos, the Myriad Tree sits at the center of this and all the alternate universes, spreading into countless myriad branches with each "what if...?" and reaching through eternity. Only Chronos, the lord of time, perceives it; the staff the old god leans on in his wandering is one of its living branches, the one for our reality distinct from the other possibilities. With this staff, he guides the three Tempusts--his horses of past, present, and future--on their proper path.

Don't despair if you don't have a world tree yet. I had none, and wasn't looking for one, though as with you the idea resonated with me. Then one day I asked myself, "this staff that Chronos carries; where did it come from?" The answer came as if someone had switched on a lightbulb--more like a floodlight--and suddenly I could see the glorious tree that Chronos had been seeing all along.
The first song sets the wheel in motion / The second is a song of love / The third song tells of Her devotion / The fourth cries joy from the sky above
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The last song echoes through the ages / to ask its question all night long / And close the circle on these pages / These, the metamythos songs

Redfaery

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Re: Axis mundi/world pillar
« Reply #3 on: October 21, 2018, 02:19:08 am »


What does your path say about the concept of the world pillar?

Buddhist cosmology varies widely even within many schools, but the concept of a mountain as axis mundi is pretty common. It's usually Mt. Meru aka Sumeru, which I believe is also one of the cosmic mountains in Hindu lore.


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Hariti

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Re: Axis mundi/world pillar
« Reply #4 on: October 21, 2018, 03:12:24 am »
What does your path say about the concept of the world pillar?

Mt. Kailash in Tibet is supposed to be the perfect center of the multiverse, and the first point in all creation, in Hindu mythology, and it's also supposed to be the home of Shiva and his family. The Tibetan Bon religion also sees it as a very holy site, as do Tibetan Buddhists. By some estimates, it actually gets more pilgrims every year than any site other than Mecca! It seems like very few people in the West have heard of it, which is a shame since it's so important.

Climbing it is both taboo and illegal, and as far as anyone knows, nobody has ever done so. Pilgrims walk around the base of the mountain, set up camps, share food and stories, and meditate on spiritual matters.
"The worshippers of the gods go to them; to the manes go the ancestor-worshippers; to the Deities who preside over the elements go their worshippers; My devotees come to Me." ... "Whichever devotee desires to adore whatever such Deity with faith, in all such votaries I make that particular faith unshakable. Endowed with that faith, a votary performs the worship of that particular deity and obtains the fruits thereof, these being granted by Me alone." - Sri Krishna

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Re: Axis mundi/world pillar
« Reply #5 on: October 23, 2018, 01:12:43 pm »
What does your path say about the concept of the world pillar?

I found one by accident!

One of the minor chthonic gods in Egyptian texts is the Tree Goddess, generally portrayed as a tree with a woman growing out of it (in much the same way that a centaur is a horse with a human growing out of it) or a sycamore tree with breasts.  She is a a nurturer of the dead, linked to the concept of the wooden coffin as womb-of-the-dead and of course trees supplying food in general, and is affiliated with a number of other goddesses in the standard Egyptian divine blending.

Among the powers most often associated with the Tree Goddess are Hetharu (Hathor), Aset (Isis), and Nut.

Hetharu, whose name means "House of Heru (Horus)", is the bride of Heru the sky god and reigning king; Aset is the bride of Wesir (Osiris), god of the otherworld and the deceased king; Nut is the bride of Geb, the earth and primal principle of rulership.  Thus, by a syllogistic leap, the Tree Goddess can be considered a triune power akin to the World Tree, a cosmological principle that binds the three worlds of heaven, earth, and otherworld together.  (And that's not getting into the kingship aspects which are additionally shiny.)

(On my more UPGish days I will also note that there is some evidence for ancient Egypt having at least some theological stew reminiscent of Shakti theology, in which the male power is the principle and theory and the female is animating power; consider Ra and his Eyes in that light, and the urgency of the Distant Goddess myth hinging on the cosmological creator's feebleness.  Which places the Tree as a cosmological principle par excellence, containing the pooled energies of the active, powerful counterparts of the realm governors.)
as the water grinds the stone
we rise and fall
as our ashes turn to dust
we shine like stars    - Covenant, "Bullet"

arete

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Re: Axis mundi/world pillar
« Reply #6 on: October 25, 2018, 03:55:51 pm »
What does your path say about the concept of the world pillar?
Atlas  :)

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Re: Axis mundi/world pillar
« Reply #7 on: December 22, 2018, 11:44:49 pm »
What does your path say about the concept of the world pillar?

The Axis Mundi is the line from the North Pole to the Pole Star.

It's symbolized by the rune Tiwaz, and therefore the God Tyr/Ziu.

I've lately been reading up on the concept of the World Mill, which in the Germanic tradition is connected to Mundilfari.  Indications are that he is the handle, not the center point.

I'm currently contemplating Mundilfari as the Wain / Ursa Major (and therefore also Artio, Arthur...) and wondering if that connection exists in lore or has been brought up in any existing scholarship.

I'm certainly coming to believe in a relationship between Mundilfari and Ziu.

As a syncretic and softer-polytheist, the relationships between deities can get confusing and contradictory.  Often, the Celtic lore has conflicting information about the family trees.  And that usually differs from the Germanic lore.

A part of me just wants to focus on figuring out the members of my personal pantheon (Who is more distinct personalities, vs Who are the usually triple-aspects), and let the details of their interrelationships fall out later.

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