I am blown to and fro!
Cradle and grave,
An eternal sea;
A changing web,
A glowing life." —Goethe: Faust.
That [Greek: xu/lon zôê~s], the wood of life, or the tree of life, is a maternal symbol would seem to follow from the previous deductions. The etymologic connection of [Greek: u(/o], [Greek: u(/le], [Greek: ui(o/s], in the Indo-Germanic root suggests the blending of the meanings in the underlying symbolism of mother and of generation. The tree of life is probably, first of all, a fruit-bearing genealogical tree, that is, a mother-image. Countless myths prove the derivation of man from trees; many myths show how the hero is enclosed in the maternal tree—thus dead Osiris in the column, Adonis in the myrtle, etc. Numerous female divinities were worshipped as trees, from which resulted the cult of the holy groves and trees. It is of transparent significance when Attis castrates himself under a pine tree, i. e. he does it because of the mother. Goddesses were often worshipped in the form of a tree or of a wood. Thus Juno of Thespiæ was a branch of a tree, Juno of Samos was a board. Juno of Argos was a column. The Carian Diana was an uncut piece of wood. Athene of Lindus was a polished column. Tertullian calls Ceres of Pharos "rudis palus et informe lignum sine effigie." Athenaeus remarks of Latona at Dalos that she is [Greek: xu)linon a)/morphon], a shapeless piece of wood.[22] Tertullian calls an Attic Pallas "crucis stipes," a wooden pale or mast. The wooden pale is phallic, as the name
