The Tree of Life and The End of Time
(From Ancient Science)

One of the very ancient  aspects of the idea of Celestial Archetypes was the concept of the “Axis Mundi,” or “Center of the World”. This was a point where Heaven, Earth and Hell met and where Time was abolished and passage to one region or another was possible. At any point where there was a convergence of the three realms, a “temple” was considered to exist whether one was constructed there or not. This center was the zone of the sacred — of absolute reality  — and was symbolized by trees, fountains, ladders, ropes, and so forth. Interaction with these symbols was considered initiatory  and took place in a timeless state. Thus, it has been theorized that religious  rituals were developed in an attempt to “connect” to this Divine Model or archetype. In this way, a sacrifice was not only an imitation of the original sacrifice of the god, it somehow was seen to be an alignment of the three realms, the creating of a “passage” of some sort along the Axis Mundi. So, for a moment, during the ritual or sacrifice, the supplicant was identifying him or her self with the primordial gesture and thereby abolishing time, the burden of the Terror of History, and regenerating him or her self and all the related participants. There are endless examples of scapegoats and dying gods and sacrificed kings, as well as a host of “substitutes” in terms of a variety of animals and other products offered to the gods. We are going to suggest that it is, indeed, through “sacrifice” that man “identifies with the gods,” and “aligns himself with the Axis Mundi.” But, it is in a sacrifice of a very different sort — one that sacrifices our “animal nature,” and that this has been corrupted to mean that an “external” sacrifice or ritual is required. We are going to suggest that this “ladder” or “tree ” image is a reflection of our very own DNA , and that it is through the DNA that man regains his “Timeless State.”

What is important, however, is that the myths  are only a much later formulation of an archaic content that presuppose an absolute reality , or levels of reality which are extra-human or hyper dimensional .

There is another interesting key to the ancient  myths and rituals: in nearly every case, everywhere there is a conception of the end and the beginning of a Cyclical Temporal Period; and, coincidental to this idea, is the expulsion of demons, diseases and sins. These ideas are demonstrated by the ubiquitous carnival celebrations of the New Year.

At this period, the expulsion of evils and sins takes place by means of a scapegoat, and the cycle is closed by the Hierogamy (“sacred marriage”), which initiates  the new creation. The more ancient  ceremonies are nearly global in their proliferation among “primitive ” societies, and it could be conjectured that it is to these “purer” examples we should look for the more common elements to discover if there is any hidden meaning that might serve as a clue.

For the most part, the beginnings of these rites comprise a series of dramatic elements that represent a condition of universal confusion, the abolition of order and hierarchy , and the ushering in of chaos. There is a “symbolic Deluge” that annihilates all of humanity in order to prepare the way for a new and regenerated human species. In numerous myths  and rites we find the same central idea of the yearly return to chaos, followed by a new creation. The chaos that preceded the rebirth was as essential as the birth itself. Without chaos there could be no rebirth.

In many of the more “modern” versions, the Deluge and the element of water are present  in one way or another as either libations or baptism. Baptism is the subjective , microcosmic equivalent of a macrocosmic level deluge : a return to the formless state.

This formlessness, this chaos, was exemplified in many ways: fasting, confession, excess grief, joy, despair or orgy — all of them only seeking to reproduce a chaotic state from which a New Creation could emerge.

It is also interesting to note that, at the time of renewal, the New Year festival, it was thought that the fate of men was fixed for a “whole year.” In short, it was the “formation of the Ark ” that determined if and how and who would pass through the deluge .

What is important in the preceding idea is that the end of a past  year and the beginning of a new year are predicated upon the idea of an exhaustion of biological resources on all cosmic planes, a veritable end of the world. In this view, the “end” is not always occasioned by a deluge , but can also occur through the effects of fire, heat and other causes. Fulcanelli  writes:

In Le Probleme des centaures, Georges Dumezil studies and discusses the scenario of the end and beginning according to a large selection of material derived from the Indo-European world including Slavs, Iranians, Indians and Greco-Romans. He noted several elements from initiation ceremonies that have been preserved in more or less corrupt form in mythology and folklore. Another examination of the myths  and rites of Germanic secret  societies by Otto Hofler brought out similar relationships. Both of these researches point up the importance of the twelve intercalary days, and especially New Year’s Day.

Take particular note of the ideas of “exhaustion of physical  resources, invasion by the souls  of the dead, and sexual excess” as being  indicative of the suspension of time. These are significant in our present  time wherein it seems there are a veritable “invasion” of “otherworldly” visitors masquerading as “aliens ” as well as a rapid descent of morality into greater and greater sexual excesses; a veritable frenzied “return to chaos,” as it were!

The rites still mark the abolition of all norms and violently illustrate an overturning of values and a reversion of all forms to indeterminate unity. The very locus of the orgies, when the seed was buried in the ground, demonstrates the dissolution of form into orgiastic chaos. We are in the presence of a very ancient  idea: a return to primordial unity, the end/beginning in which limits, contours, distances, no longer hold sway. What is primordial and essential is the idea of regeneration through chaos, repetition of creation: a Time Loop.