Before Eden: The Tree of Life and the Forgotten Goddess
Long before the story of Eve and the serpent entered the cultural imagination, the Tree of Life was a sacred symbol deeply intertwined with the divine feminine. Far from being a site of shame, temptation, or exile, the tree was revered as a source of life, nourishment, and cosmic wisdom. It was tended not by a patriarchal god, but by goddesses — creators, guardians, and embodiments of the sacred cycle of life and death.
The Tree as a Feminine Symbol
In ancient cultures across the Near East and beyond, trees were seen as living representations of the Great Goddess — her body, her womb, her power. The roots reached deep into the underworld, the trunk grounded the material plane, and the branches stretched into the heavens. The tree was a bridge between worlds, just like the Goddess herself.
In Mesopotamia, the sacred tree appears in connection with Inanna and Ishtar, goddesses of fertility, love, and war. A Sumerian myth speaks of Inanna planting a sacred huluppu tree in her garden, which she intends to craft into a throne and a bed — symbols of sovereignty and sexuality. This story, which predates Genesis by over a thousand years, centers not on sin, but on a woman claiming her power and preparing to rule.
The Goddess As Tree
Many ancient goddesses were represented as trees, or as the spirit within the tree. The Egyptian Isis, the Canaanite Asherah, and the Anatolian Cybele were all associated with sacred groves and life-giving trees. Asherah, in particular, was worshipped as the consort of El (and later Yahweh), and was often depicted as a stylized tree or a wooden pole — the asherah — planted near altars. She was the Tree of Life herself, the mother of all living.
In Ugaritic texts from the 13th century BCE, Asherah is described as the one who “nurtures the gods,” dwelling in a lush garden by the sea. Sound familiar? Before the Garden of Eden was a place of exile, it was a paradise of the Goddess — a sacred grove filled with trees, symbols of divine feminine abundance and knowledge.
Reframing the Fall
With the rise of patriarchal religions, the Tree of Life — once a symbol of feminine power and divine connection — became a trap. The Eden story flipped the script: the tree became dangerous, the woman became disobedient, and the knowledge she sought became forbidden. The serpent, long associated with wisdom and cyclical renewal (also sacred to the Goddess), was demonized.
This wasn’t just a shift in mythology — it was a political and spiritual erasure. The Eden story cast a long shadow, redefining feminine curiosity as sin, feminine power as dangerous, and feminine divinity as heresy.
Reclaiming the Tree
As modern witches, mystics, and seekers, we are invited to remember what came before — to root ourselves in the older, earthier wisdom of the Tree of Life. In our magical practice, the Tree can be reimagined not as a symbol of fall and punishment, but as a powerful feminine archetype of wholeness.
Here’s how you might work with the Tree of Life in your practice:
Create a sacred tree altar with branches, leaves, fruits, and symbols of the divine feminine.
Meditate on the Tree as a reflection of your body: rooted, rising, and reaching.
Write or speak to the Goddess as she once was: the Keeper of the Garden, the Tree of Life, the Source of all.
Work with serpentine energy to awaken intuition and reclaim sacred knowledge.
The Garden Was Hers First
The Garden of Eden did not mark the beginning of the human story — it marked a rewriting. Before Eve, there was Inanna. Before Adam, there was Asherah. Before shame, there was sacred knowing.
The Tree of Life is not a site of punishment. It is a symbol of power, sovereignty, and divine feminine wisdom. And it is ours to reclaim.
