Note 510 — Chapter V · SYMBOLISM OF THE MOTHER AND OF REBIRTH

According to the German legend (Grimm: Vol. II, p. 809), the redeeming hero will be born when the tree, which now grows as a weak shoot from the wall, has become large, and when from its wood the cradle can be made in which the hero can be rocked. The formula reads: “A linden shall be planted, which shall bear on high two boughs from the wood of which a “poie” shall be made; the child who will be the first to lie therein is destined to be taken by the sword from life to death, and then salvation will enter in.” In the Germanic legends, the appearance of a future event is connected most remarkably with a budding tree. Compare with this the designation of Christ as a “branch” or a “rod.”