World Tree: Difference between revisions

 

The health of the '''World Tree''' is [[Empathic Environment|tied to that]] of the [[Fisher King|world itself]]; injuring it may have [[The End of the World as We Know It|catastrophic consequences]].

 

* Right at the start of the most recent wave of anime hitting the West — there is a large tree of life painted on the wall of the final showdown in ''[[Ghost in the Shell]].''

** Which of course was lifted straight out of one of [[Mamoru Oshii]]'s earlier films called ''[[Angel's Egg]].''

* In Sharon Lee's and Steve Miller's [[Liaden Universe]], Jelaza Kazone, the gigantic tree that literally lies at the foundation of clan Korval's family tree, and which in modern times is about a quarter of a mile high. The name - Jela's Fulfillment - is a remembrance of the promise that Jela's partner made to him that she would protect the tree - a promise that is considered (according to Val Con, the current head of the family) to have led directly to the colonization of the planet, since she needed a safe place for the Tree. It is an intelligent being (although most outsiders don't seem to be aware of this), and is considered a member of the family.

* A world tree is mentioned very occasionally and always in passing in the ''[[Chronicles of Narnia]]'' by [[C. S. Lewis]], too, alluding specifically to Yggdrasil.

** ''The Magician's Nephew'' also features the Wood Between the Worlds, which connects all worlds together in a [[Dark Tower]] -like fashion.

* [[Larry Niven]]'s ''[[Rainbow Mars]]'' had a tree that [[Space Elevator|stuck up into space]] and [[Planet Looters|drained entire planets of their water]]. It is explicitly compared to Yggdrasil.

* Used metaphorically in the [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future]] [[Sci Fi]] novel ''[[Gradisil]]'' by Adam Roberts to refer to the shape of the Earth's magnetic field at the poles, which are used by the characters to propel electromagnetic flight. The title character's name is a misspelling/mispronunciation of Yggdrasil.

* In Dan Simmons Hyperion/Endymion-series there is a world called Gods' Grove which consisted of forests of Mammoth-trees and a large world tree. It is burned due to an attack of aggressive aliens; its burned stump is some kilometers high. Later events consist of a Dyson sphere made out of a tree—which is also burnt.

** The Two Trees were sufficiently holy (and large) that not only were their (damaged) fruits sufficient to light the moon and the sun, but the Silmarils made from them power the whole mythos. Eventually, one is put in the sky, {{spoiler|one is thrown in the ocean, and one falls into a fiery pit with its owner where it burns at the heart of the earth}}. After [[Gotterdammerung|Dagor Dagorath]] it is said the Silmarils will be renunited, and [[Nature Spirit|Yavanna]] will use them to bring the trees back to life.

** Also the various White Trees that were either made in the image of Telperion, or descended from its seedlings (depending on which version of the mythology you read). The [[Fisher King|withered tree]] of Gondor in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' is the "son" of the White Tree of Númenor, which is the "son" of the one from Tol Eressëa, which is the "son" of the one from Tirion, etc. Earendil's star is used to create the Phial of Galadriel, making it the reflected light of the Trees two times over.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:The Tower]]

[[Category:Otherworld Tropes]]

[[Category:Motifs]]

[[Category:Tree Tropes]]