Tree of Life

The concept of a tree of life, a many-branched tree illustrating the idea that all life on earth is related, has been used in science, religion, philosophy, mythology, and other areas. A tree of life is variously;

    a motif in various world theologies, mythologies, and philosophies;

    a metaphor for the livelihood of the spirit.

    a mystical concept alluding to the interconnectedness of all life on our planet; and

    a metaphor for common descent in the evolutionary sense.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the tree of knowledge, connecting to heaven and the underworld, and the tree of life, connecting all forms of creation, are both forms of the world tree or cosmic tree. According to some scholars, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, portrayed in various religions and philosophies, are the same tree. According to others, however, the tree of life concept is distinct from the tree of knowledge of good and bad, if only because eating from the latter leads to death and not life, and because it is mentioned in Genesis that there exists a distinct tree of life in the Garden of Eden (although humans are barred from entry to the Garden by the time it is mentioned). The Abrahamic religions are Semitic in origin, and not Indo-European- which might serve to explain the lack of a cosmological tree idea in any of them, as well as in most Semitic cultures.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_life]