All the different symbols of the center: combine to suggest a mythical point where the center of the Cosmos and the center of Man’s life is one and the same.

Tom Chetwynd, Dictionary of Symbols

To remain centered in today’s chaotic world is quite a worthwhile achievement. If you are centred you are still, calm, focussed and aware, no matter what is going on around you.

Many people successfully use meditation in combination with symbols to connect to their center.

One symbol that is great to use to access your center is the Tree. The Tree of Life is an ancient and universal symbol and is synonymous with the world axis.

The Tree unifies the ‘three worlds of the cosmos’ – The Underworld, through its roots burrowing deep into the soil; The Mundane/Earthly world, represented by its trunk and lower branches; and the Heavens, with its upper branches reaching up into the sky. These three world aspects in turn are a perfect model for the human psyche. The subconscious mind, the place for all our thoughts and stored memories, (the Underworld); the conscious self, that surface part of ourselves that is most visible in the world (the mundane/Earthly); and the Higher Consciousness, the wise, all-knowing self that connects us to the rest of the universe, (the Heavenly aspect)

You may be feeling fragmented within or perhaps unbalanced (focussed on one aspect of your life and neglectful of other aspects) This is a good time to reconnect with your center by practicing a guided meditation with the Tree as a focal point.

In my travels, whilst looking for a good quote or poem dedicated to trees, I found this site which is a database or portal dedicated to the Lore, Myths, Magick, Facts, Folklore, Legends, Esoterica & Superstitions regarding trees. In helpful place, especially if you are trying to find out particular information about specific types of trees.

The poem quoted below by American poet Robert Frost, is from this site dedicated to the poetry of famous poets. Another great resource for me! I love discovering new poems to add to these posts.

Tree At My Window by Robert Frost

Tree at my window, window tree,
My sash is lowered when night comes on;
But let there never be curtain drawn
Between you and me.
Vague dream-head lifted out of the ground,
And thing next most diffuse to cloud,
Not all your light tongues talking aloud
Could be profound.
But tree, I have seen you taken and tossed,
And if you have seen me when I slept,
You have seen me when I was taken and swept
And all but lost.
That day she put our heads together,
Fate had her imagination about her,
Your head so much concerned with outer,
Mine with inner, weather.

Other symbols used to represent centredness are:

Maze- The journey to the centre

Onion- peeling away the layers to reveal the centre

Spinal column- In body symbolism the center is the Spinal column, with its centers of consciousness, the chakras

navel- contemplative centre

The hub of a wheel- The fixed in contrast with the volatile

Imagine the flame of the candle as a symbol for your soul. When you stare at the flame for a while, what thoughts go through your mind? Do you find yourself more connected to the sacred in life? Do you feel your daily life’s concerns slipping from your thoughts? Can this simple act become a part of your day?

It is the fifth day of Hanukkah -the Jewish Festival of Lights, and I thought I’d briefly look at the symbolism of the candle lighting in this festival.

One main aspect of the celebration is the lighting of a new candle every day for eight days, which relates back to a conflict between the Jewish people and the Greco-Romans in the second century B.C. As a consequence of the conflict, the sacred oil in the Jewish Temple of Jerusalem was defiled by the enemy. The eternal flame had only enough oil left to burn for one day but miraculously remained burning for eight days- just enough time in which to have some more sacred oil brought in.

An article written by Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh which not only explains the origin of Hanukkah in depth but also goes on to discuss his views on Judaism and Science, which relates to the origins of the celebration of Hanukkah.