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In astronomy, axis mundi is the Latin term for the Axial tilt between the . In a geocentric coordinate system, this is the axis of rotation of the celestial sphere. Consequently, in ancient Greco-Roman astronomy, the axis mundias a Declension form in Latin, plural axes mundorum is the axis of rotation of the planetary spheres within the classical Geocentrism model of the cosmos.The term is used by Geminus in his Elementa, in early modern editions misattributed to Proclus as Commentarius in sphaeram. R. B. Todd, "The Manuscripts of the Pseudo-Proclan Sphaera", Revue d'histoire des textes 23 (1993), 57–71.
The term continues to be used in modern astronomical works throughout the 18th century, e.g., Johann Samuel Traugott Gehler, Physikalisches Wörterbuch (1791), p. 688.
In 20th-century comparative mythology, the term axis mundi – also called the cosmic axis, world axis, world pillar, center of the world, or world tree – has been greatly extended to refer to any mythological concept representing "the connection between Heaven and Earth" or the "higher and lower realms".Mircea Eliade (tr. Philip Mairet). "Symbolism of the Centre". In Images and Symbols. Princeton, 1991. . p.48–51 Mircea Eliade introduced the concept in the 1950s.Mircea Eliade (tr. Philip Mairet). "Symbolism of the Centre". In Images and Symbols. Princeton, 1991. . p.40 Axis mundi closely relates to the mythological concept of the omphalos (navel) of the world or cosmos.J. C. Cooper. An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols. Thames and Hudson: New York, 1978. .Mircea Eliade (tr. Willard Trask). "Archetypes and Repetition". In The Myth of the Eternal Return. Princeton, 1971. . p.16Winther, Rasmus Grønfeldt (2014). "World Navels". Cartouche 89: 15–21. Items adduced as examples of the axis mundi by comparative mythologists include plants (notably a tree but also other types of plants such as a vine or Plant stem), a Sacred mountains, a column of smoke or fire, or a product of human manufacture (such as a staff, a tower, a ladder, a staircase, a maypole, a cross, a steeple, a rope, a totem pole, a Column, a spire). Its proximity to heaven may carry implications that are chiefly religious (pagoda, Temple Mount, minaret, church) or secular (obelisk, lighthouse, rocket, skyscraper). The image appears in religious and secular contexts.Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrandt. A Dictionary of Symbols. Penguin Books: London, 1996. . pp.61–63, 173–175 The axis mundi symbol may be found in cultures utilizing shamanism practices or animism belief systems, in major world religions, and in technologically advanced "urban centers". In Mircea Eliade's opinion: "Every Microcosm, every inhabited region, has a Centre; that is to say, a place that is sacred above all."Mircea Eliade (tr. Philip Mairet). "Symbolism of the Centre". In Images and Symbols. Princeton, 1991. . p.39
Specific examples of cosmic mountains or centers include one from Egyptian texts described as providing support for the sky, Mashu from the Epic of Gilgamesh, Adam's Peak, which is a sacred mountain in Sri Lanka associated with Adam or The Buddha in Islam and Buddhism traditions respectively, Mount Qaf in other Islamic and Arabic cosmologies, the mountain Hara Berezaiti in Zoroastrian cosmology, Mount Meru in Hindu cosmology, Jain cosmology, and Buddhist cosmologies, Mecca as a cosmic center in Sufi cosmology (with minority traditions placing it as Medina or Jerusalem), and, in Tenrikyo, the Jiba at the Tenrikyo Church Headquarters in Tenri, Nara, Japan. In pre-Islamic Arabia, some central temples, including the Temple of Awwam, were cosmic centers.
A second interpretation suggests that ancient symbols such as the axis mundi lie in a particular philosophical or metaphysical representation of a common and culturally shared philosophical concept, which is that of a natural reflection of the macrocosm (or existence at grand scale) in the microcosm (which consists of either an individual, community, or local environment that shares the same principles and structures as the macrocosm). In this metaphysical representation of the universe, mankind is placed into an existence that serves as a microcosm of the universe or the entire cosmic existence, and who – in order to achieve higher states of existence or liberation into the macrocosm – must gain necessary insights into universal principles that can be represented by his life or environment in the microcosm.Fritjof Schuon. From the Divine to the Human: Survey of Metaphysics and Epistemology. World Wisdom Books, 1982 p. 23–27. In many religious and philosophical traditions around the world, mankind is seen as a sort of bridge between either: two worlds, the earthly and the heavenly (as in Hindu, and Taoist philosophical and theological systems); or three worlds, namely the earthly, heavenly, and the "sub-earthly" or "infra-earthly" (e.g., the underworld, as in the Ancient Greek, Incan, Mayan, and Ancient Egyptian religious systems). Spanning these philosophical systems is the belief that man traverses a sort of axis, or path, which can lead from man's current central position in the intermediate realms into heavenly or sub-earthly realms. Thus, in this view, symbolic representations of a vertical axis represent a path of "ascent" or "descent" into other spiritual or material realms, and often capture a philosophy that considers human life to be a quest in which one develops insights or perfections in order to move beyond this current microcosmic realm and to engage with the grand macrocosmic order.Fritjof Schuon. From the Divine to the Human: Survey of Metaphysics and Epistemology. World Wisdom Books, 1982 p. 27–31
In other interpretations, an axis mundi is more broadly defined as a place of connection between heavenly and the earthly realms – often a mountain or other elevated site. Tall mountains are often regarded as sacred and some have shrines erected at the summit or base.Mircea Eliade (tr. Philip Mairet). "Symbolism of the Centre". In Images and Symbols. Princeton, 1991. . p.41–43 Mount Kunlun fills a similar role in China.Wang, Chong. Lunheng Part I: Philosophical Essays of Wang Ch'ung. Trans. Alfred Forke. London: Luzac & Co., 1907. p. 337. Mount Kailash is holy to Hinduism and several religions in Tibet. The Pitjantjatjara people in central Australia consider Uluru to be central to both their world and culture. The Teide volcano was for the Canarian aborigines (Guanches) a kind of axis mundi. In ancient Mesopotamia, the cultures of ancient Sumer and Babylon built tall platforms, or , to elevate temples on the flat river plain. Hindu temples in India are often situated on high mountains – e.g., Amarnath Temple, Tirupati, Vaishno Devi, etc. The pre-Columbian residents of Teotihuacán in Mexico erected huge , featuring staircases leading to heaven. These Amerindian temples were often placed on top of caves or subterranean springs, which were thought to be openings to the underworld. Jacob's Ladder is an axis mundi image, as is the Temple Mount. For Christians, the Cross on Mount Calvary expresses this symbol.Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrandt. A Dictionary of Symbols. Penguin Books: London, 1996. . pp. 680–685 The Middle Kingdom, China, had a central mountain, Kunlun, known in Taoism as "the mountain at the middle of the world". To "go into the mountains" meant to dedicate oneself to a spiritual life.Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrandt. A Dictionary of Symbols. London: Penguin, 1996. . pp. 681
As the abstract concept of axis mundi is present in many cultural traditions and religious beliefs, it can be thought to exist in any number of locales at once. Mount Hermon was regarded as the axis mundi in tradition, from where the sons of God are introduced descending in 1 Enoch 6:6. The Urartu had a number of holy sites, the most important of which was Mount Ararat, which was thought to be the home of the gods as well as the center of the universe. Likewise, the Ancient Greece regarded several sites as places of Earth's omphalos (navel) stone, notably the oracle at Delphi, while still maintaining a belief in a cosmic world tree and in Mount Olympus as the abode of the gods. Judaism has the Temple Mount; Christianity has the Mount of Olives and Calvary; and Islam has the Ka'aba (said to be the first building on Earth), as well as the Temple Mount (Dome of the Rock). In Hinduism, Mount Kailash is identified with the mythical Mount Meru and regarded as the home of Shiva; in Vajrayana Buddhism, Mount Kailash is recognized as a similarly sacred place. In Shinto, the Ise Shrine is the omphalos.
Sacred places can constitute world centers (omphaloi), with an altar or place of prayer as the axis. Altars, incense sticks, candles, and torches form the axis by sending a column of smoke, and prayer, toward heaven. It has been suggested by Romanian religious historian Mircea Eliade that architecture of sacred places often reflects this role: "Every temple or palace – and by extension, every sacred city or royal residence – is a Sacred Mountain, thus becoming a Centre."Mircea Eliade (tr. Willard Trask). "Archetypes and Repetition". In The Myth of the Eternal Return. Princeton, 1971. . p. 12 Pagoda structures in Asian temples take the form of a stairway linking earth and heaven. A steeple in a church or a minaret in a mosque also serve as connections of earth and heaven. Structures such as the maypole, derived from the Saxons' Irminsul, and the totem pole among indigenous peoples of the Americas also represent world axes. The calumet, or sacred pipe, represents a column of smoke (the soul) rising from a world center.Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrandt. A Dictionary of Symbols. Penguin Books: London, 1996. . pp. 148–149 A mandala creates a world center within the boundaries of its two-dimensional space analogous to that created in three-dimensional space by a shrine.Mircea Eliade (tr. Philip Mairet). "Symbolism of the Centre". In Images and Symbols. Princeton, 1991. . p. 52–54
In the classical elements and the Vedic Pancha Bhoota, the axis mundi corresponds to Aether, the quintessence.
Anyone or anything suspended on the axis between heaven and earth becomes a repository of potential knowledge. A special status accrues to the thing suspended: a serpent, a rod, a fruit, mistletoe. Derivations of this idea find form in the Rod of Asclepius, an emblem of the medical profession, and in the caduceus, an emblem of correspondence and commercial professions. The staff in these emblems represents the axis mundi, while the serpents act as guardians of, or guides to, knowledge.Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrandt. A Dictionary of Symbols. Penguin Books: London, 1996. . pp.b142–145
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