page_title: Axis mundi
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Axis mundi / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: Mount kailash from Barkha plain.
context_page_description: In astronomy, axis mundi is the Latin term for the axis of Earth between the celestial poles.
  In a geocentric coordinate system, this is the axis of rotation of the celestial sphere.
  Consequently, in ancient Greco-Roman astronomy, the axis mundi is the axis of rotation of the planetary spheres of the classical geocentric model of the cosmos.
  In 20th-century comparative mythology, the term axis mundi, also called the cosmic axis, world axis, world pillar, center of the world, world tree was greatly extended to refer to any mythological concept representing "the connection between Heaven and Earth" or the "higher and lower realms".
  The concept was introduced by Mircea Eliade in the 1950s. It is closely related to the mythological concept of omphalos of the world or cosmos.
  Items adduced as examples of the axis mundi by comparative mythologists include plants, a mountain, a column of smoke or fire, or a product of human manufacture.
  Its proximity to heaven may carry implications that are chiefly religious or secular. The image appears in religious and secular contexts.
context_section_description: There exist multiple interpretations as to the origin of the symbol. One psychological and sociological interpretation suggests that the symbol originates in a natural and universal psychological perception: that the particular spot in which one occupies stands at "the center of the world". This space serves as a microcosm of order because it is known and settled. Outside the boundaries of the microcosm lie foreign realms that, because they are unfamiliar or not ordered, represent chaos, death or night. From the center one may still venture in any of the four cardinal directions, make discoveries, and establish new centers as new realms become known and settled. The name of China, meaning "Middle Nation" (中国 pinyin: Zhōngguó), is often interpreted as an expression of an ancient perception that the Chinese polity (or group of polities) occupied the center of the world, with other lands lying in various directions relative to it. 
  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 an natural reflection of the macrocosm, or existence at grand scale, in the microcosm, which consists of either an individual, community, or local environment but shares the same principles and structures as the macrocosm. In this metaphysical representation of the universe, mankind is placed into an existence which 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 which can be represented by his life or environment in the microcosm . 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 Judeo-Christian, 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 through 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 which considers the 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 . 
  In concepts of the axis mundi, certain geographic representations are used to capture this symbolic connection between the heavenly and the earthly -- often a mountain or other elevated place, a spot where earth and sky come closest, gains status as center of the center, the axis mundi. High mountains are typically regarded as sacred by peoples living near them. Shrines are often erected at the summit or base. Mount Kunlun fills a similar role in China. 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. In ancient Mesopotamia the cultures of ancient Sumer and Babylon erected artificial mountains, or ziggurats, on the flat river plain. These supported staircases leading to temples at the top. The Hindu temples in India are often situated on high mountains. E.g. Amarnath, Tirupati, Vaishno Devi etc. The pre-Columbian residents of Teotihuacán in Mexico erected huge pyramids 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 the symbol. Th
caption: Mount Kailash (viewed from the south) is holy to Hinduism and several religions in Tibet.
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