A Tree (n.) is the symbol modern man harks back to when he can stand neither on a past that is no more nor a future not yet: rooted in this world, growing to heaven — the tree that is also man.
A Tree (n.) cannot grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.
A Tree (n.) can end hunger — he that eats of the fruits of this most precious tree shall hunger no more, and it grows and bears fruit precisely while the adept lies passive in the fiery prison.
A Tree (n.) has individuality and is often a symbol of personality; the mighty old oak, king of the forest, is a prototype of the self, the source and goal of individuation.
A Tree (n.) drawn by a patient is the self in profile, the self pictured as a process of growth, while the mandala shows it in cross-section.
The Tree (n.) was from ancient times man's birthplace and so a source of life; in alchemy it stands in the King's bath as stock, vessel and sheltering mother, sometimes with a mermaid anima in its branches.