Why the "Wood Wide Web" Touches the Human Soul

The Archetypes of the “Mother Tree” and the “Great Mother”

Image generated by Gemini 3

"Amid the rustling of leaves swaying in the gentle breeze, messages seem to come from the trees..." Don't you sometimes feel that way under the dappled sunlight of spring or early summer?

In my previous post, I wrote about why the concept of the Wood Wide Web has been widely accepted in popular science. In this post, I’d like to delve deeper into the reasons behind this.

The discovery of the Wood Wide Web has been captivatingly presented in the context of popular science as a story in which “trees are communicating” or “Mother Tree nurturing young saplings,” and it permeated society by becoming a motif in best-selling books and the movie Avatar.

This led me to recall that many societies have cultures that regard large and ancient trees as sacred, and I began to wonder if this might be connected to the human subconscious or the depths of the human psyche.

Large and Ancient Trees as Archetypal Symbols

In Carl Jung’s psychology, large and ancient trees are not merely background elements but important archetypal symbols rooted in the collective unconscious. Jung explored this deeply in works such as The Symbolism of the Tree in Alchemical Imagery, and these trees primarily carry the following four symbolic meanings.

1. The Self and the Process of Self-Realization They symbolize the “Self”—a core concept in Jungian psychology (the whole personality, integrating the conscious and unconscious). The “roots” extending deep into the earth represent the unconscious; the “trunk” standing above ground represents the conscious; and the “branches and leaves” spreading toward the sky represent spirituality. The process by which a single seed grows into a great tree over hundreds of years is the very embodiment of “individuation”—the process through which a person grows into their true self over the course of their life.
2. The Great Mother and Embracing Power The vast, enveloping branches and foliage, as well as the hollow trunks of ancient trees, symbolize the mother’s womb and maternal protection (the Great Mother). While possessing the embracing power to nurture and protect life, they also embody an unconscious aspect that can at times hold people back and swallow them whole.
3. The World Axis (Axis Mundi) Connecting Heaven and Earth Like the “World Tree Yggdrasil” in Norse mythology, ancient trees serve as the axis connecting heaven (spirit/consciousness) and earth (body/unconscious). They are a bridge that unites two opposing worlds and brings inner balance.
4. Wisdom and Vitality (The Wise Old Man Archetype) Having survived harsh times, ancient trees symbolize knowledge and stability that transcend human time, resonating with the Wise Old Man archetype.

When large trees appear in dream analysis or sandplay therapy, they are interpreted as deeply fundamental and significant signs indicating “stability of one’s spiritual foundation,” “preparation for self-actualization,” and “harmony with the deep unconscious.”

Archetypal Symbolism and the Wood Wide Web

The archetypal symbolism of large and ancient trees has become a crucial framework for our intuitive and profound understanding of the ecological discovery known as the Wood Wide Web (a network connecting trees via mycorrhizal fungi).

1. A Paradigm Shift from the “Individual” to the “Invisible Network” In traditional ecology, trees were viewed as competing “individuals,” whereas Jungian psychology conceives of them as “roots = the world of the unconscious.” With this imagery as a foundation, the concept that “trees above ground are connected on a massive scale underground” naturally resonated with and was accepted by people.
2. An Analogy with the “Collective Unconscious” Jung proposed that a “collective unconscious”—shared by all humanity—exists deep within the individual psyche. The Wood Wide Web is precisely the natural world’s counterpart to this concept. The way individual trees (consciousness/ego) share nutrients and information through an underground mycelial network (collective unconscious) aligns beautifully with the psychological view of humanity. People superimposed (projected) psychological archetypes onto this natural phenomenon to understand it.
3. The Correspondence Between the “Mother Tree” and the “Great Mother” In ecology, the concept that ancient trees in a forest act as “Mother Trees”—command centers that send resources and warning signals to surrounding young trees—has garnered significant attention. This is the very embodiment of the “Great Mother” archetype, which nurtures and protects life. The way ancient trees sustain the life of the entire forest can be seen as an example of a mythological symbol manifesting in a real ecosystem.

Conclusion

The archetype of large and ancient trees seems to function as the “eye of the mind” through which humans can understand the profound depths of nature. Therefore, when science elucidated the Wood Wide Web, we were able to accept it not merely as a new scientific fact, but as “evidence of the wholeness of life (the Self) that we had sensed deep within our myths and the unconscious”. Regardless of the scientific facts, the very fact that we are so strongly drawn to that story is a manifestation of the human subconscious.

Personal Reflection: Humans as a Dynamic Equilibrium

For some time now, whenever I look at a large tree, the image of an “elder sage” often comes to mind. I have sometimes felt that such a great tree must have quietly and silently watched over human folly and regret time and time again. After researching the points mentioned above, I came to understand that the collective unconscious was indeed at work there. It seems to me that the concept of the Wood Wide Web served to further emphasize the aspects of “system” and “network” within the concepts of the “Mother Tree” and the “Great Mother.” It is not a transcendent entity isolated from humanity, but rather an entity that encompasses all beings, including humans. This perspective seems to suggest that humans are neither merely passive beings nor entirely independent entities, but rather exist in a dynamic equilibrium that balances these two aspects.

This article was inspired by the following article:

[embed]*They Never Speak, But They Never Stop Loving: The Quiet, Aching Life of a Tree *There is a tree somewhere right now maybe outside your window, maybe standing alone at the edge of a field that has been alive longer than… medium.com

Special thanks to zainab for the inspiration.

Note: Translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI/DeepL.