Spiral christmas tree design8/24/2023 Ī 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). The name of China - meaning "Middle Nation" ( 中国 pinyin: Zhōngguó) – 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. 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. Outside the boundaries of the microcosm lie foreign realms that – because they are unfamiliar or not ordered – represent chaos, death, or night. This space serves as a microcosm of order because it is known and settled. 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". There are multiple interpretations about the origin of the concept of the axis mundi. In Mircea Eliade's opinion: "Every Microcosm, every inhabited region, has a Centre that is to say, a place that is sacred above all." Background Mount Kailash (viewed from the south) is holy to Hinduism and several religions in Tibet. The axis mundi symbol may be found in cultures utilizing shamanic practices or animist belief systems, in major world religions, and in technologically advanced "urban centers". The image appears in religious and secular contexts. Its proximity to heaven may carry implications that are chiefly religious ( pagoda, temple mount, minaret, church) or secular ( obelisk, lighthouse, rocket, skyscraper). Items adduced as examples of the axis mundi by comparative mythologists include plants (notably a tree but also other types of plants such as a vine or stalk), a mountain, a column of smoke or fire, or a product of human manufacture (such as a staff, a tower, a ladder, a staircase, a maypole, a cross, a steeple, a rope, a totem pole, a pillar, a spire). Axis mundi closely relates to the mythological concept of the omphalos (navel) of the world or cosmos. Mircea Eliade introduced the concept in the 1950s. In 20th-century comparative mythology, the term axis mundi – also called the cosmic axis, world axis, world pillar, center of the world, or world tree – has been greatly extended to refer to any mythological concept representing "the connection between Heaven and Earth" or the "higher and lower realms". In a geocentric coordinate system, this is the axis of rotation of the celestial sphere.Ĭonsequently, in ancient Greco-Roman astronomy, the axis mundi is the axis of rotation of the planetary spheres within the classical geocentric model of the cosmos. In astronomy, axis mundi is the Latin term for the axis of Earth between the celestial poles. For the album, see Axis Mundi (album).ġ8th-century illustration of Mount Kailash, depicting the holy family: Shiva and Parvati, cradling Skanda with Ganesha by Shiva's side
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