With the general importance of symbols still ringing through your ears, let's briefly discuss a common and simple symbol- the tree. Trees have significance in every culture and religion, including our modern culture. Generally, trees signify the totality of existence, with all places, things, and people interconnected through its branches and roots.

Probably the most well-known example of this is Yggdrasil, the "World Tree" of Norse mythology. With its branches that reach into the sky towards the home of the gods, and its roots running deep through the earth, Yggdrasil unites the multiple worlds of Norse myth into a single entity. This union of duality is further signified by how the tops of the branches are home to the eagle, a classic sky symbol (sometimes called 'Uranian'), while the roots are inhabited by a serpent, a classic symbol of earth and hell (sometimes called 'Chthonic'). It is because of this connection to both earth and sky that Odin, head of the pantheon, chose to hang himself upon Yggdrasil in his quest for knowledge. And this is also probably why, after Ragnarok (the Norse apocalypse), the next human race is born within Yggdrasil's trunk.

While Yggdrasil may no longer be the center of existence, and Odin may not be worshipped anymore, we still see something in trees beyond its chemical and physical make-up. That environmentalists often use the tree as a symbol of all nature shows that we still see the tree as somehow representing all of reality.