Category: Cosmology
-
The World Axis as the Conduit Between Heaven and Earth
There’s a long and ancient tradition of religious belief in the world axis as a conduit between the sky and the earth, and the polar region of the sky as being a gateway to the divine realm. This belief goes back at least 4500 years, probably even longer. The ancient Egyptians believed that the soul…
-
The World Tree and Holy Mountain
In religion, many symbols have been used to represent the world axis and the pole. These include the tree, column, ladder, cross, swastika, mountain, mill, whirlpool and hearth. Of these many motifs, the tree has probably been the most historically important, and it’s a simple metaphor to visualize. The trunk represented the central axis of…
-
The Omphalos or Navel of the Earth
Many ancient civilizations believed in a navel or sacred centre, the earthly end of the world axis. For the Sumerians it was Nippur, for the Babylonians it was Babylon, for the Greeks it was Delphi, for the Jews and Christians it’s Jerusalem, for Buddhists it’s Bodh Gaya, and for Muslims it’s Mecca. One of the…
-
The Celestial Pole and World Axis
As viewed from the earth, all the stars in the night sky appear to revolve around one pivotal point, the celestial pole. This is the extension of the earth’s North Pole into space. It’s at the centre of the whole celestial dance, and is thus the logical seat for the conductor. Due to precession (that’s…
-
The Sacred Numbers Seven and Twelve
The numbers seven and twelve played a central part in ancient religion, particularly those from the first millennium BCE. In Greek mythology, Pan had seven reeds in his pipe, Zeus had seven consorts, and there were originally seven Titans. In Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq), the Babylonian goddess Ishtar removed seven items of clothing in her descent…
-
Ancient Cosmology
The first key to understanding ancient religion is realizing that the ancients had a vastly different view of the universe to ourselves. The earliest civilizations believed in a flat earth which was either a circle or a square, depending on the tradition. Above the earth, the heavens / sky was seen as being a dome.…
World Axis 