| Biblical | Tree in Eden (Gen 2:9) | Source of eternal life; access blocked after the Fall (Gen 3:24); restored in New Jerusalem (Rev 22:2) |
| Jewish/Kabbalistic | 10 Sefirot + 22 Paths | The entire map of creation and divine emanation. 10 spheres (Sefirot) connected by 22 paths (Hebrew letters). The master diagram of reality in Kabbalah. The Qliphoth is its dark shadow |
| Christian | Cross as Tree | The cross = the “true Tree of Life.” Christ on the cross = access to eternal life restored |
| Masonic | Acacia tree | The acacia placed on Hiram Abiff’s grave = immortality of the soul. The sprig of acacia is a Masonic funerary symbol |
| Esoteric | Universal glyph | Adopted by Hermeticists, Golden Dawn, Thelemites as a map of consciousness. Each Sefirah corresponds to a planet, Tarot card, and path of initiation |
| Norse | Yggdrasil | The World Tree connecting nine realms. Odin hung on it for 9 days to gain the runes |
| Black Church | The lynching tree / the cross | James Cone’s The Cross and the Lynching Tree draws a direct parallel: the lynching tree IS the cross in African American experience. The tree of death becomes the tree of liberation |
The Hexagram 
The All-Seeing Eye 
The Hamsa 
Pillars: Jachin 
The Skull 
The Crown