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Available in 24 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-24" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">24 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-af mw-list-item"><a href="https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_mundi" title="Axis mundi – Afrikaans" lang="af" hreflang="af" data-title="Axis mundi" data-language-autonym="Afrikaans" data-language-local-name="Afrikaans" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Afrikaans</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%88%D8%B1_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85" title="محور العالم – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="محور العالم" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bn mw-list-item"><a href="https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%85%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B7%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%A3%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A1%E0%A6%BF" title="অক্ষমুণ্ডি – Bangla" lang="bn" hreflang="bn" data-title="অক্ষমুণ্ডি" data-language-autonym="বাংলা" data-language-local-name="Bangla" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>বাংলা</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_mundi" title="Axis mundi – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Axis mundi" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_mundi" title="Axis mundi – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Axis mundi" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weltachse" title="Weltachse – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Weltachse" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_mundi" title="Axis mundi – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Axis mundi" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_mundi" title="Axis mundi – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Axis mundi" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gl mw-list-item"><a href="https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_mundi" title="Axis mundi – Galician" lang="gl" hreflang="gl" data-title="Axis mundi" data-language-autonym="Galego" data-language-local-name="Galician" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Galego</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%84%B8%EA%B3%84%EC%B6%95" title="세계축 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="세계축" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_mundi" title="Axis mundi – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Axis mundi" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_mundi" title="Axis mundi – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Axis mundi" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%A8_%D7%94%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%9D" title="ציר העולם – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="ציר העולם" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lt mw-list-item"><a href="https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasaulio_a%C5%A1is" title="Pasaulio ašis – Lithuanian" lang="lt" hreflang="lt" data-title="Pasaulio ašis" data-language-autonym="Lietuvių" data-language-local-name="Lithuanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lietuvių</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_mundi" title="Axis mundi – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Axis mundi" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C%E8%BB%B8" title="世界軸 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="世界軸" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_mundi" title="Axis mundi – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Axis mundi" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_mundi" title="Axis mundi – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Axis mundi" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9E%D1%81%D1%8C_%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B0" title="Ось мира – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Ось мира" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_mundi" title="Axis mundi – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Axis mundi" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maailmanpylv%C3%A4s" title="Maailmanpylväs – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Maailmanpylväs" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_mundi" title="Axis mundi – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Axis mundi" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" 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style="display:none">The world center in some religions and philosophies, as the connection between Heaven and Earth</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">"Navel of the World" redirects here. For other uses, see <a href="/wiki/Navel_of_the_World_(disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig" title="Navel of the World (disambiguation)">Navel of the World (disambiguation)</a>.</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">This article is about the connection. For the album, see <a href="/wiki/Axis_Mundi_(album)" title="Axis Mundi (album)">Axis Mundi (album)</a>.</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Hindukailash.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Hindukailash.JPG/220px-Hindukailash.JPG" decoding="async" width="220" height="303" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Hindukailash.JPG/330px-Hindukailash.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Hindukailash.JPG/440px-Hindukailash.JPG 2x" data-file-width="500" data-file-height="689" /></a><figcaption>18th-century illustration of <a href="/wiki/Mount_Kailash" title="Mount Kailash">Mount Kailash</a>, depicting the holy family: <a href="/wiki/Shiva" title="Shiva">Shiva</a> and <a href="/wiki/Parvati" title="Parvati">Parvati</a>, cradling <a href="/wiki/Murugan" class="mw-redirect" title="Murugan">Skanda</a> with <a href="/wiki/Ganesha" title="Ganesha">Ganesha</a> by Shiva's side</figcaption></figure> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Astronomy" title="Astronomy">astronomy</a>, <span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la"><b>axis mundi</b></i></span> is the Latin term for the <a href="/wiki/Axial_tilt" title="Axial tilt">axis of Earth</a> between the <a href="/wiki/Celestial_pole" title="Celestial pole">celestial poles</a>. In a geocentric coordinate system, this is the <a href="/wiki/Axis_of_rotation" class="mw-redirect" title="Axis of rotation">axis of rotation</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Celestial_sphere" title="Celestial sphere">celestial sphere</a>. Consequently, in ancient <a href="/wiki/Greco-Roman_astronomy" class="mw-redirect" title="Greco-Roman astronomy">Greco-Roman astronomy</a>, the <span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la">axis mundi</i></span><sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> is the axis of rotation of the <a href="/wiki/Celestial_spheres" title="Celestial spheres">planetary spheres</a> within the classical <a href="/wiki/Geocentrism" class="mw-redirect" title="Geocentrism">geocentric</a> model of the cosmos.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 20th-century <a href="/wiki/Comparative_mythology" title="Comparative mythology">comparative mythology</a>, the term <span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la"><b>axis mundi</b></i></span> – also called the <b>cosmic axis</b>, <b>world axis</b>, <b>world pillar</b>, <b>center of the world</b>, or <b><a href="/wiki/World_tree" title="World tree">world tree</a></b> – has been greatly extended to refer to any mythological concept representing "the connection between <a href="/wiki/Heaven" title="Heaven">Heaven</a> and <a href="/wiki/Earth" title="Earth">Earth</a>" or the "higher and lower realms".<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Mircea_Eliade" title="Mircea Eliade">Mircea Eliade</a> introduced the concept in the 1950s.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la">Axis mundi</i></span> closely relates to the mythological concept of the <span title="Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text"><i lang="grc"><a href="/wiki/Omphalos" title="Omphalos">omphalos</a></i></span> (navel) of the world or cosmos.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Items adduced as examples of the <span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la">axis mundi</i></span> by comparative mythologists include plants (notably a <a href="/wiki/Tree" title="Tree">tree</a> but also other types of plants such as a <a href="/wiki/Vine" title="Vine">vine</a> or <a href="/wiki/Plant_stem" title="Plant stem">stalk</a>), a <a href="/wiki/Sacred_mountains" title="Sacred mountains">mountain</a>, a column of <a href="/wiki/Smoke" title="Smoke">smoke</a> or <a href="/wiki/Fire" title="Fire">fire</a>, or a product of human manufacture (such as a staff, a <a href="/wiki/Tower" title="Tower">tower</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Ladder" title="Ladder">ladder</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Staircase" title="Staircase">staircase</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Maypole" title="Maypole">maypole</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Cross" title="Cross">cross</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Steeple_(architecture)" class="mw-redirect" title="Steeple (architecture)">steeple</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Rope" title="Rope">rope</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Totem_pole" title="Totem pole">totem pole</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Column" title="Column">pillar</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Spire" title="Spire">spire</a>). Its proximity to heaven may carry implications that are chiefly religious (<a href="/wiki/Pagoda" title="Pagoda">pagoda</a>, <a href="/wiki/Temple_mount" class="mw-redirect" title="Temple mount">temple mount</a>, <a href="/wiki/Minaret" title="Minaret">minaret</a>, <a href="/wiki/Church_(building)" title="Church (building)">church</a>) or secular (<a href="/wiki/Obelisk" title="Obelisk">obelisk</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lighthouse" title="Lighthouse">lighthouse</a>, <a href="/wiki/Rocket" title="Rocket">rocket</a>, <a href="/wiki/Skyscraper" title="Skyscraper">skyscraper</a>). The image appears in religious and secular contexts.<sup id="cite_ref-Alain_Gheerbrandt_1982._pp.61-63_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Alain_Gheerbrandt_1982._pp.61-63-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la">axis mundi</i></span> symbol may be found in cultures utilizing <a href="/wiki/Shamanism" title="Shamanism">shamanic</a> practices or <a href="/wiki/Animism" title="Animism">animist</a> belief systems, in major world religions, and in technologically advanced "urban centers". In <a href="/wiki/Mircea_Eliade" title="Mircea Eliade">Mircea Eliade</a>'s opinion: "Every Microcosm, every inhabited region, has a Centre; that is to say, a place that is sacred above all."<sup id="cite_ref-Mircea_Eliade_1991._p.39_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mircea_Eliade_1991._p.39-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Specific examples of cosmic mountains or centers include one from Egyptian texts described as providing support for the sky,<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESeely1991233_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESeely1991233-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Mashu" title="Mashu">Mount Mashu</a> from the <a href="/wiki/Epic_of_Gilgamesh" title="Epic of Gilgamesh">Epic of Gilgamesh</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Adam%27s_Peak" title="Adam's Peak">Adam's Peak</a> which is a sacred mountain in <a href="/wiki/Sri_Lanka" title="Sri Lanka">Sri Lanka</a> associated with <a href="/wiki/Adam" title="Adam">Adam</a> or <a href="/wiki/The_Buddha" title="The Buddha">Buddha</a> in <a href="/wiki/Islam" title="Islam">Islamic</a> and <a href="/wiki/Buddhism" title="Buddhism">Buddhist</a> traditions respectively,<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Mount_Qaf" title="Mount Qaf">Mount Qaf</a> in other Islamic and Arabic cosmologies,<sup id="cite_ref-Lebling_13-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Lebling-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> the mountain <a href="/wiki/Hara_Berezaiti" title="Hara Berezaiti">Harā Bərəz</a> in <a href="/wiki/Zoroastrian_cosmology" title="Zoroastrian cosmology">Zoroastrian cosmology</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPanaino201924–25_14-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPanaino201924–25-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Mount_Meru" title="Mount Meru">Mount Meru</a> in <a href="/wiki/Hindu_cosmology" title="Hindu cosmology">Hindu</a>, <a href="/wiki/Jain_cosmology" title="Jain cosmology">Jain</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Buddhist_cosmology" title="Buddhist cosmology">Buddhist cosmologies</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPanaino201924–25_14-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPanaino201924–25-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and <a href="/wiki/Mecca" title="Mecca">Mecca</a> as a cosmic center in <a href="/wiki/Sufi_cosmology" title="Sufi cosmology">Sufi cosmology</a> (with minority traditions placing it as <a href="/wiki/Medina" title="Medina">Medina</a> or <a href="/wiki/Jerusalem" title="Jerusalem">Jerusalem</a>).<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Background">Background</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Axis_mundi&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Background"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Kailash-Barkha.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Kailash-Barkha.jpg/240px-Kailash-Barkha.jpg" decoding="async" width="240" height="160" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Kailash-Barkha.jpg/360px-Kailash-Barkha.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Kailash-Barkha.jpg/480px-Kailash-Barkha.jpg 2x" data-file-width="5472" data-file-height="3648" /></a><figcaption>Mount Kailash (viewed from the south) is holy to <a href="/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism">Hinduism</a> and several religions in <a href="/wiki/Tibet" title="Tibet">Tibet</a>.</figcaption></figure> <p>There are multiple interpretations about the origin of the concept of the axis mundi. One psychological and sociological interpretation suggests that the symbol originates in a natural and universal psychological perception – i.e., that the particular spot that one occupies stands at "the center of the world". This space serves as a microcosm of order because it is known and settled. Outside the boundaries of the microcosm lie foreign realms that – because they are unfamiliar or not ordered – represent chaos, death, or night.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> From the center, one may still venture in any of the four cardinal directions, make discoveries, and establish new centers as new realms become known and settled. The name of <a href="/wiki/China" title="China">China</a> — meaning "Middle Nation" (<span title="Chinese-language text"><span lang="zh">中国</span></span> <a href="/wiki/Pinyin" title="Pinyin">pinyin</a>: <span title="Chinese-language text"><i lang="zh-Latn-pinyin">Zhōngguó</i></span>) – is often interpreted as an expression of an ancient perception that the Chinese polity (or group of polities) occupied the center of the world, with other lands lying in various directions relative to it.<sup id="cite_ref-Alain_Gheerbrandt_1982._pp.61-63_8-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Alain_Gheerbrandt_1982._pp.61-63-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>A second interpretation suggests that ancient symbols such as the axis mundi lie in a particular philosophical or metaphysical representation of a common and culturally shared philosophical concept, which is that of a natural reflection of the macrocosm (or existence at grand scale) in the microcosm (which consists of either an individual, community, or local environment that shares the same principles and structures as the macrocosm). In this metaphysical representation of the universe, mankind is placed into an existence that serves as a microcosm of the universe or the entire cosmic existence, and who – in order to achieve higher states of existence or liberation into the macrocosm – must gain necessary insights into universal principles that can be represented by his life or environment in the microcosm.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In many religious and philosophical traditions around the world, mankind is seen as a sort of bridge between either: two worlds, the earthly and the heavenly (as in Hindu, and Taoist philosophical and theological systems); or three worlds, namely the earthly, heavenly, and the "sub-earthly" or "infra-earthly" (e.g., the underworld, as in the Ancient Greek, Incan, Mayan, and Ancient Egyptian religious systems). Spanning these philosophical systems is the belief that man traverses a sort of axis, or path, which can lead from man's current central position in the intermediate realms into heavenly or sub-earthly realms. Thus, in this view, symbolic representations of a vertical axis represent a path of "ascent" or "descent" into other spiritual or material realms, and often capture a philosophy that considers human life to be a quest in which one develops insights or perfections in order to move beyond this current microcosmic realm and to engage with the grand macrocosmic order.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In other interpretations, an axis mundi is more broadly defined as a place of connection between heavenly and the earthly realms – often a mountain or other elevated site. Tall mountains are often regarded as sacred and some have shrines erected at the summit or base.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Kunlun_Mountain_(mythology)" class="mw-redirect" title="Kunlun Mountain (mythology)">Mount Kunlun</a> fills a similar role in China.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Mount_Kailash" title="Mount Kailash">Mount Kailash</a> is holy to <a href="/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism">Hinduism</a> and several religions in <a href="/wiki/Tibet" title="Tibet">Tibet</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Pitjantjatjara_people" class="mw-redirect" title="Pitjantjatjara people">Pitjantjatjara people</a> in central Australia consider <a href="/wiki/Uluru" title="Uluru">Uluru</a> to be central to both their world and culture. The <a href="/wiki/Teide" title="Teide">Teide</a> volcano was for the Canarian aborigines (<span title="Spanish-language text"><i lang="es"><a href="/wiki/Guanches" title="Guanches">Guanches</a></i></span>) a kind of <span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la">axis mundi</i></span>. In ancient <a href="/wiki/Mesopotamia" title="Mesopotamia">Mesopotamia</a>, the cultures of ancient <a href="/wiki/Sumer" title="Sumer">Sumer</a> and <a href="/wiki/Babylon" title="Babylon">Babylon</a> built tall platforms, or <a href="/wiki/Ziggurat" title="Ziggurat">ziggurats</a>, to elevate temples on the flat river plain. Hindu temples in India are often situated on high mountains – e.g., <a href="/wiki/Amarnath_Temple" title="Amarnath Temple">Amarnath</a>, <a href="/wiki/Tirumala_Venkateswara_Temple" class="mw-redirect" title="Tirumala Venkateswara Temple">Tirupati</a>, <a href="/wiki/Vaishno_Devi" title="Vaishno Devi">Vaishno Devi</a>, etc. The pre-Columbian residents of <a href="/wiki/Teotihuac%C3%A1n" class="mw-redirect" title="Teotihuacán">Teotihuacán</a> in <a href="/wiki/Mexico" title="Mexico">Mexico</a> erected huge <a href="/wiki/Pyramid" title="Pyramid">pyramids</a>, featuring staircases leading to heaven. These <a href="/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas" title="Indigenous peoples of the Americas">Amerindian</a> temples were often placed on top of caves or subterranean springs, which were thought to be openings to the underworld.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Jacob%27s_Ladder" title="Jacob's Ladder">Jacob's Ladder</a> is an axis mundi image, as is the <a href="/wiki/Temple_Mount" title="Temple Mount">Temple Mount</a>. For Christians, the <a href="/wiki/Cross" title="Cross">Cross</a> on Mount <a href="/wiki/Calvary" title="Calvary">Calvary</a> expresses this symbol.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The Middle Kingdom, China, had a central mountain, <a href="/wiki/Kunlun_Mountain_(mythology)" class="mw-redirect" title="Kunlun Mountain (mythology)">Kunlun</a>, known in <a href="/wiki/Taoism" title="Taoism">Taoist literature</a> as "the mountain at the middle of the world". To "go into the mountains" meant to dedicate oneself to a spiritual life.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>As the abstract concept of <span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la">axis mundi</i></span> is present in many cultural traditions and religious beliefs, it can be thought to exist in any number of locales at once.<sup id="cite_ref-Mircea_Eliade_1991._p.39_9-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mircea_Eliade_1991._p.39-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Mount_Hermon" title="Mount Hermon">Mount Hermon</a> was regarded as the axis mundi in <a href="/wiki/Canaan" title="Canaan">Canaanite</a> tradition, from where the sons of God are introduced descending in <a href="/wiki/1_Enoch" class="mw-redirect" title="1 Enoch">1 Enoch</a> 6:6.<sup id="cite_ref-Bautch2003_24-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bautch2003-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Urartu" title="Urartu">ancient Armenians</a> had a number of holy sites, the most important of which was <a href="/wiki/Mount_Ararat" title="Mount Ararat">Mount Ararat</a>, which was thought to be the home of the gods as well as the center of the universe.<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Likewise, the <a href="/wiki/Ancient_Greece" title="Ancient Greece">ancient Greeks</a> regarded several sites as places of Earth's <span title="Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text"><i lang="grc"><a href="/wiki/Omphalos" title="Omphalos">omphalos</a></i></span> (navel) stone, notably the oracle at <a href="/wiki/Delphi" title="Delphi">Delphi</a>, while still maintaining a belief in a cosmic world tree and in <a href="/wiki/Mount_Olympus" title="Mount Olympus">Mount Olympus</a> as the abode of the gods. Judaism has the <a href="/wiki/Temple_Mount" title="Temple Mount">Temple Mount</a>; Christianity has the <a href="/wiki/Mount_of_Olives" title="Mount of Olives">Mount of Olives</a> and <a href="/wiki/Calvary" title="Calvary">Calvary</a>; and Islam has the <a href="/wiki/Ka%27aba" class="mw-redirect" title="Ka'aba">Ka'aba</a> (said to be the first building on Earth), as well as the <a href="/wiki/Temple_Mount" title="Temple Mount">Temple Mount</a> (<a href="/wiki/Dome_of_the_Rock" title="Dome of the Rock">Dome of the Rock</a>). In <a href="/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism">Hinduism</a>, <a href="/wiki/Mount_Kailash" title="Mount Kailash">Mount Kailash</a> is identified with the mythical <a href="/wiki/Mount_Meru" title="Mount Meru">Mount Meru</a> and regarded as the home of <a href="/wiki/Shiva" title="Shiva">Shiva</a>; in <a href="/wiki/Vajrayana_Buddhism" class="mw-redirect" title="Vajrayana Buddhism">Vajrayana Buddhism</a>, Mount Kailash is recognized as a similarly sacred place. In <a href="/wiki/Shinto" title="Shinto">Shinto</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Ise_Shrine" title="Ise Shrine">Ise Shrine</a> is the <span title="Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text"><i lang="grc">omphalos</i></span>.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (April 2014)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>Sacred places can constitute world centers (<span title="Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text"><i lang="grc">omphaloi</i></span>), with an <a href="/wiki/Altar" title="Altar">altar</a> or place of prayer as the axis. Altars, incense sticks, candles, and torches form the axis by sending a column of smoke, and prayer, toward heaven.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (November 2021)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> It has been suggested by Romanian religious historian <a href="/wiki/Mircea_Eliade" title="Mircea Eliade">Mircea Eliade</a> that architecture of sacred places often reflects this role: "Every temple or palace – and by extension, every sacred city or royal residence – is a Sacred Mountain, thus becoming a Centre."<sup id="cite_ref-Mircea_Eliade_1971._p.12_26-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mircea_Eliade_1971._p.12-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Pagoda" title="Pagoda">Pagoda</a> structures in Asian temples take the form of a stairway linking earth and heaven. A <a href="/wiki/Steeple_(architecture)" class="mw-redirect" title="Steeple (architecture)">steeple</a> in a church or a <a href="/wiki/Minaret" title="Minaret">minaret</a> in a mosque also serve as connections of earth and heaven. Structures such as the <a href="/wiki/Maypole" title="Maypole">maypole</a>, derived from the <a href="/wiki/Saxons" title="Saxons">Saxons</a>' <a href="/wiki/Irminsul" title="Irminsul">Irminsul</a>, and the <a href="/wiki/Totem_pole" title="Totem pole">totem pole</a> among <a href="/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas" title="Indigenous peoples of the Americas">indigenous peoples of the Americas</a> also represent world axes. The <a href="/wiki/Calumet_(pipe)" class="mw-redirect" title="Calumet (pipe)">calumet</a>, or sacred pipe, represents a column of smoke (the soul) rising from a world center.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A <a href="/wiki/Mandala" title="Mandala">mandala</a> creates a world center within the boundaries of its two-dimensional space analogous to that created in three-dimensional space by a shrine.<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In the <a href="/wiki/Classical_element" title="Classical element">classical elements</a> and the Vedic <a href="/wiki/Pancha_Bhoota" class="mw-redirect" title="Pancha Bhoota">Pancha Bhoota</a>, the <span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la">axis mundi</i></span> corresponds to <a href="/wiki/Aether_(mythology)" title="Aether (mythology)">Aether</a>, the quintessence.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (January 2021)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Yggdrasil.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Yggdrasil.jpg/150px-Yggdrasil.jpg" decoding="async" width="150" height="167" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Yggdrasil.jpg/225px-Yggdrasil.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Yggdrasil.jpg/300px-Yggdrasil.jpg 2x" data-file-width="896" data-file-height="999" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Yggdrasil" title="Yggdrasil">Yggdrasil</a>, the World Ash in Norse myths</figcaption></figure> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Plants">Plants</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Axis_mundi&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Plants"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Plants often serve as images of the axis mundi. The image of the <a href="/wiki/Cosmic_Tree" class="mw-redirect" title="Cosmic Tree">Cosmic Tree</a> provides an axis symbol that unites three planes: sky (branches), earth (trunk), and underworld (roots).<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In some <a href="/wiki/Pacific_Island" class="mw-redirect" title="Pacific Island">Pacific Island</a> cultures, the <a href="/wiki/Banyan" title="Banyan">banyan</a> tree – of which the <a href="/wiki/Bodhi_tree" class="mw-redirect" title="Bodhi tree">Bodhi tree</a> is of the <a href="/wiki/Sacred_Fig" class="mw-redirect" title="Sacred Fig">Sacred Fig</a> variety – is the abode of ancestor spirits. In Hindu religion, the banyan tree is considered sacred and is called <span title="Sanskrit-language text"><i lang="sa">ashwath vriksha</i></span> ("Of all trees I am the banyan tree" – <i><a href="/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita" title="Bhagavad Gita">Bhagavad Gita</a></i>). It represents eternal life because of its seemingly ever-expanding branches. The Bodhi tree is also the name given to the tree under which <a href="/wiki/Gautama_Siddhartha" class="mw-redirect" title="Gautama Siddhartha">Gautama Siddhartha</a>, the historical <a href="/wiki/Buddhahood" title="Buddhahood">Buddha</a>, sat on the night he attained <a href="/wiki/Bodhi" class="mw-redirect" title="Bodhi">enlightenment</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Mesoamerican_world_tree" title="Mesoamerican world tree">Mesoamerican world tree</a> connects the planes of the underworld and the sky with that of the terrestrial realm.<sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Yggdrasil" title="Yggdrasil">Yggdrasil</a>, or World Ash, functions in much the same way in <a href="/wiki/Norse_mythology" title="Norse mythology">Norse mythology</a>; it is the site where <a href="/wiki/Odin" title="Odin">Odin</a> found enlightenment. Other examples include <a href="/wiki/Jievaras" class="mw-redirect" title="Jievaras">Jievaras</a> in <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_mythology" title="Lithuanian mythology">Lithuanian mythology</a> and <a href="/wiki/Thor%27s_Oak" class="mw-redirect" title="Thor's Oak">Thor's Oak</a> in the myths of the pre-Christian <a href="/wiki/Germanic_peoples" title="Germanic peoples">Germanic peoples</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Tree_of_Life" class="mw-redirect" title="Tree of Life">Tree of Life</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Tree_of_Knowledge_of_Good_and_Evil" class="mw-redirect" title="Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil">Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil</a> in <a href="/wiki/Book_of_Genesis" title="Book of Genesis">Genesis</a> present two aspects of the same image. Each is said to stand at the center of the <a href="/wiki/Garden_of_Eden" title="Garden of Eden">paradise garden</a> from which four rivers flow to nourish the whole world. Each tree confers a boon. <a href="/wiki/Bamboo" title="Bamboo">Bamboo</a>, the plant from which Asian calligraphy pens are made, represents knowledge and is regularly found on Asian college campuses. The <a href="/wiki/Christmas_tree" title="Christmas tree">Christmas tree</a>, which can be traced in its origins back to pre-Christian <a href="/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">European</a> beliefs, represents an axis mundi.<sup id="cite_ref-ReferenceA_31-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ReferenceA-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In <a href="/wiki/Yoruba_religion" title="Yoruba religion">Yoruba religion</a>, <a href="/wiki/Elaeis_guineensis" title="Elaeis guineensis">oil palm</a> is the axis mundi (though not necessarily a "world tree") that <a href="/wiki/%E1%BB%8Crunmila" title="Ọrunmila">Ọrunmila</a> climbs to alternate between heaven and earth.<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Da_Vinci_Vitruve_Luc_Viatour.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Da_Vinci_Vitruve_Luc_Viatour.jpg/170px-Da_Vinci_Vitruve_Luc_Viatour.jpg" decoding="async" width="170" height="231" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Da_Vinci_Vitruve_Luc_Viatour.jpg/255px-Da_Vinci_Vitruve_Luc_Viatour.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Da_Vinci_Vitruve_Luc_Viatour.jpg/340px-Da_Vinci_Vitruve_Luc_Viatour.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2258" data-file-height="3070" /></a><figcaption><i><a href="/wiki/Vitruvian_Man" title="Vitruvian Man">Vitruvian Man</a></i> by <a href="/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci" title="Leonardo da Vinci">Leonardo da Vinci</a> (<abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 1492</span>)</figcaption></figure> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Human_figure">Human figure</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Axis_mundi&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Human figure"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The human body can express the symbol of the world axis.<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Some of the more abstract Tree of Life representations, such as the <i><a href="/wiki/Sefirot" title="Sefirot">sefirot</a></i> in <a href="/wiki/Kabbalism" class="mw-redirect" title="Kabbalism">Kabbalism</a> and the <i><a href="/wiki/Chakra" title="Chakra">chakra</a></i> system recognized by Hinduism and Buddhism, merge with the concept of the human body as a pillar between heaven and earth. Disciplines such as <a href="/wiki/Yoga" title="Yoga">yoga</a> and <a href="/wiki/Tai_chi" title="Tai chi">tai chi</a> begin from the premise of the human body as axis mundi. The Buddha represents a world center in human form.<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Large statues of a meditating figure unite the human form with the symbolism of the temple and tower. <a href="/wiki/Astrology" title="Astrology">Astrology</a> in all its forms assumes a connection between human health and affairs and celestial-body orientation. World religions regard the body itself as a temple and prayer as a column uniting earth and heaven. The ancient <a href="/wiki/Colossus_of_Rhodes" title="Colossus of Rhodes">Colossus of Rhodes</a> combined the role of the human figure with those of portal and skyscraper. The Renaissance image known as the <i><a href="/wiki/Vitruvian_Man" title="Vitruvian Man">Vitruvian Man</a></i> represented a symbolic and mathematical exploration of the human form as world axis.<sup id="cite_ref-ReferenceA_31-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ReferenceA-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Homes">Homes</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Axis_mundi&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Homes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Secular structures can also function as <span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la">axes mundi</i></span>.<sup id="cite_ref-Mircea_Eliade_1971._p.12_26-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mircea_Eliade_1971._p.12-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In <a href="/wiki/Navajo" title="Navajo">Navajo</a> culture, the <a href="/wiki/Hogan" title="Hogan">hogan</a> acts as a symbolic cosmic center.<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In some Asian cultures, houses were traditionally laid out in the form of a square oriented toward the four compass directions. A traditional home was oriented toward the sky through <a href="/wiki/Feng_shui" title="Feng shui">feng shui</a>, a system of <a href="/wiki/Geomancy" title="Geomancy">geomancy</a>, just as a palace would be.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (November 2021)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> Traditional Arab houses are also laid out as a square surrounding a central fountain that evokes a primordial garden paradise. Mircea Eliade noted that "the symbolism of the pillar in [European] peasant houses likewise derives from the 'symbolic field' of the <span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la">axis mundi</i></span>. In many archaic dwellings the central pillar does in fact serve as a means of communication with the heavens, with the sky."<sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The nomadic peoples of Mongolia and the Americas more often lived in circular structures. The central pole of the tent still operated as an axis, but a fixed reference to the four compass points was avoided.<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Caduceus_large.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Caduceus_large.jpg/110px-Caduceus_large.jpg" decoding="async" width="110" height="131" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Caduceus_large.jpg/165px-Caduceus_large.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Caduceus_large.jpg/220px-Caduceus_large.jpg 2x" data-file-width="299" data-file-height="356" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Caduceus" title="Caduceus">caduceus</a></figcaption></figure> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Shamanic_function">Shamanic function</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Axis_mundi&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Shamanic function"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A common <a href="/wiki/Shamanism" title="Shamanism">shamanic</a> concept, and a universally told story, is that of the healer traversing the axis mundi to bring back knowledge from the other world. It may be seen in the stories from <a href="/wiki/Odin" title="Odin">Odin</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Yggdrasil" title="Yggdrasil">World Ash Tree</a> to <a href="/wiki/The_Garden_of_Eden" class="mw-redirect" title="The Garden of Eden">the Garden of Eden</a> and <a href="/wiki/Jacob%27s_Ladder" title="Jacob's Ladder">Jacob's Ladder</a> to <a href="/wiki/Jack_and_the_Beanstalk" title="Jack and the Beanstalk">Jack and the Beanstalk</a> and <a href="/wiki/Rapunzel" title="Rapunzel">Rapunzel</a>. It is the essence of the journey described in <i><a href="/wiki/The_Divine_Comedy" class="mw-redirect" title="The Divine Comedy">The Divine Comedy</a></i> by <a href="/wiki/Dante_Alighieri" title="Dante Alighieri">Dante Alighieri</a>. The epic poem relates its hero's descent and ascent through a series of spiral structures that take him through the core of the earth, from the depths of hell to celestial paradise. It is also a central tenet in the <a href="/wiki/Southeastern_Ceremonial_Complex" title="Southeastern Ceremonial Complex">Southeastern Ceremonial Complex</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Anyone or anything suspended on the axis between heaven and earth becomes a repository of potential knowledge. A special status accrues to the thing suspended: a <a href="/wiki/Serpent_(symbolism)" class="mw-redirect" title="Serpent (symbolism)">serpent</a>, a rod, a fruit, <a href="/wiki/Mistletoe" title="Mistletoe">mistletoe</a>. Derivations of this idea find form in the <a href="/wiki/Rod_of_Asclepius" title="Rod of Asclepius">Rod of Asclepius</a>, an emblem of the medical profession, and in the <a href="/wiki/Caduceus" title="Caduceus">caduceus</a>, an emblem of correspondence and commercial professions. The staff in these emblems represents the axis mundi, while the <a href="/wiki/Serpent_(symbolism)" class="mw-redirect" title="Serpent (symbolism)">serpents</a> act as guardians of, or guides to, knowledge.<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Modern_expressions">Modern expressions</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Axis_mundi&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Modern expressions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A modern artistic representation of the <span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la">axis mundi</i></span> is the <span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr">Colonne sans fin</i></span> (<i><a href="/wiki/The_Endless_Column" class="mw-redirect" title="The Endless Column">The Endless Column</a></i>, 1938) an abstract <a href="/wiki/Sculpture" title="Sculpture">sculpture</a> by Romanian <a href="/wiki/Constantin_Br%C3%A2ncu%C8%99i" title="Constantin Brâncuși">Constantin Brâncuși</a>. The column takes the form of a "sky pillar" (<span title="Romanian-language text"><i lang="ro"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238216509">.mw-parser-output .vanchor>:target~.vanchor-text{background-color:#b1d2ff}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .vanchor>:target~.vanchor-text{background-color:#0f4dc9}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .vanchor>:target~.vanchor-text{background-color:#0f4dc9}}</style><span class="vanchor"><span id="columna_cerului"></span><span class="vanchor-text">columna cerului</span></span></i></span>) upholding the heavens even as its rhythmically repeating segments invite climb and suggest the possibility of ascension.<sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Axis_mundi&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1184024115">.mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}</style><div class="div-col"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Celestial_sphere" title="Celestial sphere">Celestial sphere</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Comparative_mythology" title="Comparative mythology">Comparative mythology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_center_of_the_Universe" title="History of the center of the Universe">History of the center of the Universe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hyperborea" title="Hyperborea">Hyperborea</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/North_Pole" title="North Pole">North Pole</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Potomitan" title="Potomitan">Potomitan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Religious_cosmology" title="Religious cosmology">Religious cosmology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sacred_natural_site" title="Sacred natural site">Sacred natural site</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Taiji_(philosophy)" title="Taiji (philosophy)">Taiji (philosophy)</a></li></ul> </div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Axis_mundi&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> </div> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">as a <a href="/wiki/Declension" title="Declension">declined</a> form in <a href="/wiki/Latin" title="Latin">Latin</a>, <a href="/wiki/Plural" title="Plural">plural</a> <i>axes mundorum</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">The term is used by <a href="/wiki/Geminus" title="Geminus">Geminus</a> in his <span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la">Elementa</i></span>, in early modern editions misattributed to <a href="/wiki/Proclus" title="Proclus">Proclus</a> as <span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la">Commentarius in sphaeram</i></span>. R. B. Todd, "The Manuscripts of the Pseudo-Proclan Sphaera", <span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr">Revue d'histoire des textes</i></span> 23 (1993), 57–71. The term continues to be used in modern astronomical works throughout the 18th century, e.g., <a href="/wiki/Johann_Samuel_Traugott_Gehler" title="Johann Samuel Traugott Gehler">Johann Samuel Traugott Gehler</a>, <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Physikalisches Wörterbuch</i></span> (1791), <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_5qEtAAAAcAAJ/page/n701">p. 688</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Mircea Eliade (tr. Philip Mairet). "Symbolism of the Centre". In <i>Images and Symbols</i>. Princeton, 1991. <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/069102068X" title="Special:BookSources/069102068X">069102068X</a>. p.48–51</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Mircea Eliade (tr. Philip Mairet). "Symbolism of the Centre". In <i>Images and Symbols</i>. Princeton, 1991. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/069102068X" title="Special:BookSources/069102068X">069102068X</a>. p.40</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">J. C. Cooper. <i>An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols.</i> Thames and Hudson: New York, 1978. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0500271259" title="Special:BookSources/0500271259">0500271259</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Mircea Eliade (tr. Willard Trask). "Archetypes and Repetition". In <i>The Myth of the Eternal Return</i>. Princeton, 1971. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0691017778" title="Special:BookSources/0691017778">0691017778</a>. p.16</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Winther, Rasmus Grønfeldt (2014). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.academia.edu/8727362/World_Navels">"World Navels"</a>. <i>Cartouche</i> 89: 15–21.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Alain_Gheerbrandt_1982._pp.61-63-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Alain_Gheerbrandt_1982._pp.61-63_8-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Alain_Gheerbrandt_1982._pp.61-63_8-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/wiki/Jean_Chevalier_(writer)" class="mw-redirect" title="Jean Chevalier (writer)">Jean Chevalier</a> and Alain Gheerbrandt. <i>A Dictionary of Symbols</i>. Penguin Books: London, 1996. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0140512543" title="Special:BookSources/0140512543">0140512543</a>. pp.61–63, 173–175</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Mircea_Eliade_1991._p.39-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Mircea_Eliade_1991._p.39_9-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Mircea_Eliade_1991._p.39_9-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Mircea Eliade (tr. Philip Mairet). "Symbolism of the Centre". In <i>Images and Symbols</i>. Princeton, 1991. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/069102068X" title="Special:BookSources/069102068X">069102068X</a>. p.39</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTESeely1991233-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESeely1991233_10-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFSeely1991">Seely 1991</a>, p. 233.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBilić2022" class="citation journal cs1">Bilić, Tomislav (5 September 2022). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://brill.com/view/journals/aioo/82/1-2/article-p3_1.xml">"Following in the Footsteps of the Sun: Gilgameš, Odysseus and Solar Movement"</a>. <i>Annali Sezione Orientale</i>. <b>82</b> (1–2): 3–37. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1163%2F24685631-12340126">10.1163/24685631-12340126</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0393-3180">0393-3180</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Annali+Sezione+Orientale&rft.atitle=Following+in+the+Footsteps+of+the+Sun%3A+Gilgame%C5%A1%2C+Odysseus+and+Solar+Movement&rft.volume=82&rft.issue=1%E2%80%932&rft.pages=3-37&rft.date=2022-09-05&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1163%2F24685631-12340126&rft.issn=0393-3180&rft.aulast=Bili%C4%87&rft.aufirst=Tomislav&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbrill.com%2Fview%2Fjournals%2Faioo%2F82%2F1-2%2Farticle-p3_1.xml&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAxis+mundi" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMuhammad2018" class="citation journal cs1">Muhammad, Bilal (2018). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://bliis.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Bilal-Muhammad_Adams-Peak-1.pdf">"Sri Lanka: The Axis Mundi and the Cradle of Mankind"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>Berkeley Institute for Islamic Studies</i>: 3–6.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Berkeley+Institute+for+Islamic+Studies&rft.atitle=Sri+Lanka%3A+The+Axis+Mundi+and+the+Cradle+of+Mankind&rft.pages=3-6&rft.date=2018&rft.aulast=Muhammad&rft.aufirst=Bilal&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbliis.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F08%2FBilal-Muhammad_Adams-Peak-1.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAxis+mundi" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Lebling-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Lebling_13-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFLebling2010" class="citation book cs1">Lebling, Robert (30 July 2010). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=qKL3AgAAQBAJ"><i>Legends of the Fire Spirits: Jinn and Genies from Arabia to Zanzibar</i></a>. 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London: Luzac & Co., 1907. p. 337.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-21">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBailey2005" class="citation book cs1">Bailey, Gauvin Alexander (2005). <span class="id-lock-registration" title="Free registration required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/artofcoloniallat0000bail"><i>Art of Colonial Latin America</i></a></span>. New York: Phaidon Press Limited. pp. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/artofcoloniallat0000bail/page/21">21</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7148-4157-1" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-7148-4157-1"><bdi>978-0-7148-4157-1</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Art+of+Colonial+Latin+America&rft.place=New+York&rft.pages=21&rft.pub=Phaidon+Press+Limited&rft.date=2005&rft.isbn=978-0-7148-4157-1&rft.aulast=Bailey&rft.aufirst=Gauvin+Alexander&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fartofcoloniallat0000bail&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAxis+mundi" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-22">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrandt. <i>A Dictionary of Symbols</i>. Penguin Books: London, 1996. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0140512543" title="Special:BookSources/0140512543">0140512543</a>. pp. 680–685</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-23">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrandt. <i>A Dictionary of Symbols</i>. London: Penguin, 1996. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0140512543" title="Special:BookSources/0140512543">0140512543</a>. pp. 681</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Bautch2003-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Bautch2003_24-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBautch2003" class="citation book cs1">Bautch, Kelley Coblentz (25 September 2003). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=3FPNFEtWNrQC&pg=PA62"><i>A Study of the Geography of 1 Enoch 17–19: 'no One Has Seen what I Have Seen'<span></span></i></a>. BRILL. p. 62. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-90-04-13103-3" title="Special:BookSources/978-90-04-13103-3"><bdi>978-90-04-13103-3</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=A+Study+of+the+Geography+of+1+Enoch+17%E2%80%9319%3A+%27no+One+Has+Seen+what+I+Have+Seen%27&rft.pages=62&rft.pub=BRILL&rft.date=2003-09-25&rft.isbn=978-90-04-13103-3&rft.aulast=Bautch&rft.aufirst=Kelley+Coblentz&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3D3FPNFEtWNrQC%26pg%3DPA62&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAxis+mundi" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-25">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.peopleofar.com/2013/08/11/noahs-ark-in-the-mountains-of-armenia/">"Noah's ark in the Mountains of Armenia"</a>. 11 August 2013.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Noah%27s+ark+in+the+Mountains+of+Armenia&rft.date=2013-08-11&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.peopleofar.com%2F2013%2F08%2F11%2Fnoahs-ark-in-the-mountains-of-armenia%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAxis+mundi" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Mircea_Eliade_1971._p.12-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Mircea_Eliade_1971._p.12_26-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Mircea_Eliade_1971._p.12_26-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Mircea Eliade (tr. Willard Trask). "Archetypes and Repetition". In <i>The Myth of the Eternal Return</i>. Princeton, 1971. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0691017778" title="Special:BookSources/0691017778">0691017778</a>. p. 12</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-27">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrandt. <i>A Dictionary of Symbols</i>. Penguin Books: London, 1996. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0140512543" title="Special:BookSources/0140512543">0140512543</a>. pp. 148–149</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-28">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Mircea Eliade (tr. Philip Mairet). "Symbolism of the Centre". In <i>Images and Symbols</i>. Princeton, 1991. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/069102068X" title="Special:BookSources/069102068X">069102068X</a>. p. 52–54</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-29">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Mircea Eliade (tr. Philip Mairet). "Symbolism of the Centre". In <i>Images and Symbols</i>. Princeton, 1991. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/069102068X" title="Special:BookSources/069102068X">069102068X</a>. pp. 42–45</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-30">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMillerTaube1993" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Mary_Miller_(art_historian)" title="Mary Miller (art historian)">Miller, Mary</a>; <a href="/wiki/Karl_Taube" title="Karl Taube">Taube, Karl</a> (1993). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/godssymbolsofa00mill/page/186"><i>The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya</i></a>. London: Thames and Hudson. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/godssymbolsofa00mill/page/186">186</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0500050686" title="Special:BookSources/0500050686"><bdi>0500050686</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Gods+and+Symbols+of+Ancient+Mexico+and+the+Maya&rft.place=London&rft.pages=186&rft.pub=Thames+and+Hudson&rft.date=1993&rft.isbn=0500050686&rft.aulast=Miller&rft.aufirst=Mary&rft.au=Taube%2C+Karl&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fgodssymbolsofa00mill%2Fpage%2F186&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAxis+mundi" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-ReferenceA-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-ReferenceA_31-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-ReferenceA_31-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Chevalier, Jean and Gheerbrandt, Alain. <i>A Dictionary of Symbols</i>. Penguin Books: London, 1996. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0140512543" title="Special:BookSources/0140512543">0140512543</a>. pp. 1025–1033.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-32">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFOgunnaike2019" class="citation journal cs1">Ogunnaike, Ayodeji (Spring 2019). "The Tree That Centres The World: The Palm Tree As Yoruba Axis Mundi". <i>Africana Studies Review</i>. <b>6</b> (1). Southern University at New Orleans: 43–58.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Africana+Studies+Review&rft.atitle=The+Tree+That+Centres+The+World%3A+The+Palm+Tree+As+Yoruba+Axis+Mundi&rft.ssn=spring&rft.volume=6&rft.issue=1&rft.pages=43-58&rft.date=2019&rft.aulast=Ogunnaike&rft.aufirst=Ayodeji&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAxis+mundi" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-33">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Mircea Eliade (tr. Philip Mairet). "Symbolism of the Centre". In <i>Images and Symbols</i>. Princeton, 1991. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/069102068X" title="Special:BookSources/069102068X">069102068X</a>. p. 54</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-34">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Mircea Eliade (tr. Philip Mairet). "Indian Symbolisms of Time and Eternity". In <i>Images and Symbols</i>. Princeton, 1991. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/069102068X" title="Special:BookSources/069102068X">069102068X</a>. p. 76</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-35"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-35">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBradley2012" class="citation book cs1">Bradley, Richard (11 October 2012). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=KE4-OmYtMBwC"><i>The Idea of Order: The Circular Archetype in Prehistoric Europe</i></a>. Oxford University Press. p. 37. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-960809-6" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-19-960809-6"><bdi>978-0-19-960809-6</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Idea+of+Order%3A+The+Circular+Archetype+in+Prehistoric+Europe&rft.pages=37&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press&rft.date=2012-10-11&rft.isbn=978-0-19-960809-6&rft.aulast=Bradley&rft.aufirst=Richard&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DKE4-OmYtMBwC&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAxis+mundi" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-36">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Mircea Eliade. "Brâncuși and Mythology". In <i>Symbolism, the Sacred, and the Arts</i>. Continuum, 1992. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0826406181" title="Special:BookSources/0826406181">0826406181</a>. p. 100.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-37"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-37">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrandt. <i>A Dictionary of Symbols</i>. Penguin Books: London, 1996. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0140512543" title="Special:BookSources/0140512543">0140512543</a>. pp. 529–531</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-38"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-38">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFTownsend2004" class="citation book cs1">Townsend, Richard F. (2004). <a href="/w/index.php?title=Hero,_Hawk,_and_Open_Hand&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Hero, Hawk, and Open Hand (page does not exist)"><i>Hero, Hawk, and Open Hand</i></a>. <a href="/wiki/Yale_University_Press" title="Yale University Press">Yale University Press</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-300-10601-7" title="Special:BookSources/0-300-10601-7"><bdi>0-300-10601-7</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Hero%2C+Hawk%2C+and+Open+Hand&rft.pub=Yale+University+Press&rft.date=2004&rft.isbn=0-300-10601-7&rft.aulast=Townsend&rft.aufirst=Richard+F.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAxis+mundi" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-39"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-39">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrandt. <i>A Dictionary of Symbols</i>. Penguin Books: London, 1996. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0140512543" title="Special:BookSources/0140512543">0140512543</a>. pp.b142–145</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-40">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Mircea Eliade. "Brâncuși and Mythology". In <i>Symbolism, the Sacred, and the Arts</i>. Continuum, 1992. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0826406181" title="Special:BookSources/0826406181">0826406181</a>. pp. 99-100</span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Sources">Sources</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Axis_mundi&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Sources"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFPanaino2019" class="citation book cs1">Panaino, Antonio C.D. (2019). <i>A Walk through the Iranian Heavens: Spherical and Non-Spherical Cosmographic Models in the Imagination of Ancient Iran and Its Neighbors</i>. Brill.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=A+Walk+through+the+Iranian+Heavens%3A+Spherical+and+Non-Spherical+Cosmographic+Models+in+the+Imagination+of+Ancient+Iran+and+Its+Neighbors&rft.pub=Brill&rft.date=2019&rft.aulast=Panaino&rft.aufirst=Antonio+C.D.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAxis+mundi" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSeely1991" class="citation journal cs1">Seely, Paul H. (1991). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.adventistas.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Seely-Firmament-WTJ.pdf">"The firmament and the water above: Part I: The meaning of raqia in Gen 1:6-8"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>Westminster Theological Journal</i>. <b>53</b>: 227–240.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Westminster+Theological+Journal&rft.atitle=The+firmament+and+the+water+above%3A+Part+I%3A+The+meaning+of+raqia+in+Gen+1%3A6-8&rft.volume=53&rft.pages=227-240&rft.date=1991&rft.aulast=Seely&rft.aufirst=Paul+H.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.adventistas.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F07%2FSeely-Firmament-WTJ.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAxis+mundi" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: 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