Babylonian Tree of Life (Mesopotamian Tree of Life)

This image represents the early Mesopotamian Tree of Life. In Babylonian mythology, the Tree of Life was a magical tree that grew in the center of paradise. The Apsu, or primordial waters, flowed from its roots. It is the prototype of the tree described in Genesis: the biblical Tree of Paradise evolved directly from this ancient symbol; it is the symbol from which the Egyptian, Islamic, and Kabbalistic Tree of Life concepts originated. 

The stylized images may also represent the spine and branches of the human nervous system. Its design is similar to that of the Egyptian djed and the Norse Irminsul.

The Epic of Gilgamesh describes a plant with powers of rejevenation; the hero acquires the plant- only to lose it to a passing snake, which obtains the ability to shed its skin and renew itself.

The intricate Tree of Life may represent the spinal cord and energy points.