Centre of the World
The very heart of the real Within the complex of ideas concerning the ‘centre’, the one that explains the ubiquitous use of Centres of the World refers that every human being tends, even unconsciously, towards the Centre, and towards his own centre, in the deeply rooted desire to find himself at the very heart of the real, where he can find integral reality – sacredness (Eliade, 1961, p. 54).
A supremely creational place One of the most impressive ideas defines the Centre as a ‘supremely “creational place”, because the source of all reality and consequently of energy and life is to be found there’ (Eliade, 1971, Patterns in Comparative Religion, London: Sheed and Ward, p. 377). This idea derives from cosmological traditions that express the idea of creation borrowing from embryology (Eliade, 1971, p. 377), considering that ‘the creation of a sacred place is, in its way, a cosmogony, a creation of the world’ (Eliade, 1961, Images and Symbols. London: Harvill Press, p. 52) and that, ‘since the creation of the world began in a given centre, the creation of man could only take place on that same spot, real and living in the highest degree’ (Eliade, 1971, p. 378).
Heaven and Earth The main sense of the symbolism of the Centre of the World, however, corresponds to one of the ultimate functions of a sacred place, which is the reunion of Heaven with Earth. ‘The bridge or ladder between Heaven and Earth were possible because they were set up in a Centre of the World’, and the union of Heaven with Earth ‘alludes to the immortality that is attained in consequence of the ascent into Heaven’ (Eliade, 1961, p. 45). The primordial image of the Centre, as it were, is met chiefly in the early Oriental civilizations (Eliade, 1961, p. 41) and is replicated into figurations such as the Cosmic Mountain, the World Tree, or the Centre Pillar, which sustains the planes of the Cosmos.
Cosmic axis, navel Communication between Heaven and Earth becomes possible by means of these Centres (Eliade, 1961, p. 45). Their summit is not only the highest point on Earth, but is also assimilated to its navel, ‘the point at which creation began’, a central point where numerous traditions place Paradise. Therefore, the ascent to the summit is ‘equivalent to an ecstatic journey to the Centre of the World’ (Eliade, 1961, p. 43), by a cosmic axis.
The way towards absolute reality Furthermore, when a dwelling-place is assimilated as a Centre of the World, ‘the act of climbing or ascending symbolises the way towards absolute reality; and to the profane consciousness, the approach towards that reality arouses an ambivalent feeling, of fear and of joy, of attraction and repulsion, and involves the ideas of death, love and deliverance, representing the cessation of the profane human condition, that is, a breaking of the ontological plane’ (Eliade, 1961, p. 51).
Illud Tempus As the place of passage from the profane mode of being to a non-profane mode of being, a place of ontological mutation, ‘every “construction”, and every “contact” with a “centre” involves doing away with profane time, and entering the mythical illud tempus of creation’ (Eliade, 1971, p. 378).
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