Symbolism at
The Magic Garden
Our symbol
The butterfly is the ancient symbol of death and rebirth, and a symbol of the soul.
It also refers to the famous old story, The Soul and the Butterfly, by Chuang Tzu:
Once Chuang Tzu dreamt he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased.
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He didn’t know he was Chuang Tzu.
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Suddenly he woke up and there he was, solid and unmistakable Chuang Tzu.
But he didn’t know if he was Chuang Tzu who had dreamt he was a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming he was Chuang Tzu.
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Between Chuang Tzu and a butterfly, there must be some distinction! This is called the Transformation of Things.
The Sun Wheel &
the Yin-Yang symbol
Adorning the left wing is the ancient symbol of the sun: the holy circle with the four corners of the world and the four elements, and in the middle, the center of the Universe.
Inside the circle is mythical time and space; outside the circle is profane time and space.
The vertical line also symbolizes the Axis Mundi, which goes from the Under World through Middle Earth to the Upper World.
The horizontal line symbolizes the temporal axis with the past, present, and future.
On the opposite wing is the Far Eastern universal symbol of Yin and Yang.
Lord of the Trees
In front of the Magic Garden, we have a stub of Denmark's oldest beech tree that was situated in the Garden of Fredensborg Castle from 1666 - 1999.
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At the top, a tree is planted.
This is to mark and symbolize several of the fundamental ideas of the whole place:
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Out of the old, the new is born
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Death and rebirth
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Transformation
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The experience of - and to think and act from the view of - cyclic time instead of linear time.
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The Front Gate
The first tarot card in the Great Arcana is "The Fool" and it is located at the gateway leading to the main road of The Garden.
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At the port is an old lightning rod from the Powder House in Christiania and the hinges are from one of Christiania's ancient gates.
The following tarot cards from the Great Arcana are set in accordance with the architecture and describes man's journey from childhood to the fully enlightened human being.
The Promised Land & the system of paths
In order to enter the sacred space, the "Promised Land", the seeker must cross a lake.
The Magic Garden is divided into two: a profane garden and a sacred garden.
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The entrance and all paths in the entire garden are made with tile stones from Norwegian mountain rocks in many colours.
They form the skeletal structure of this microcosmos and lead into the lobby of the studio and to the Portal with carved animals, which leads to the sacred garden.
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“For a tree's branches to reach to heaven, its roots must reach to hell.”
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- Medieval alchemical dictum
The heart of the place
The Foyer
The entrance of the studio is the heart of the place and connects the inner and outer space.
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Some plants have a direct connection through the building's foundation into the earth.
An old vine plant stretches out from this room through the other rooms and goes through the wall to the outside, where it embraces the Axis Mundi Studio.
The vine plant symbolizes the Tree of Life. Some of the furniture, doorposts, shelves, etc. are carved by hand and are highly aesthetic.
Mandala
There is a mandala on the floor of the studio’s cockpit. Each of the six equally sized parts holds symbols of one of the six world religions:
The three largest western religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism
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The three largest Far Eastern religions: Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism.
In mutual respect, the six world religions point to the same source.
Surrounding the circle is four animals (Dolphin, Tiger, Snake, and Eagle)
which for me represent the four elements and mankind’s primal religion: Shamanism.
Encompassing the circle is a square representing agnosticism and atheism.
We are all sisters and brothers who share the same planet.
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The Key to the Universe
Axis Mundi Studios' ground plan is exactly 123.4 m2 and is shaped so that the basic form seen from above forms a key.
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The key to life, creativity, innovation, and the Universe.
All rooms in the Axis Mundi Studio and The Magic Garden are deliberately placed in different levels to go beyond "Flatland" and invite people to think and experience the multidimensional.
Flatland is the denial of the existence and importance of the inner world
Through The Portal to
The Sacred Garden
The Magic Garden is built like
the Garden of Eden - a mythological landscape.
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The sacred garden is not visible from the profane garden. The only hint of its existence is a large Portal supported by two pillars with carved power animals.
Going through the portal, you find the three classic paths, one going off to the left, one to the right, and in the middle, we have the golden mean.
Three Paths of The Hero’s Journey
Going through the Portal, you enter a very important location we call:
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”The Hero’s Choice”
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To the right is the Path of the Hermit leading to the Wizards Tower
and the Subterranean Meditation Chamber.
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The middle path, The Golden Mean, leads to the center of the sacred garden.
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To the left is the Death-Rebirth Tunnel.
The Death-Rebirth Tunnel
In the middle of The Magic Garden, just beside the Portal, the Death-Rebirth Tunnel can be found.
This is one of the very important archetypes which is manifested, and it is central for the function of the whole place.
The practice of rites of passages exists throughout all ages and cultures.
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Modern consciousness research has demonstrated, that a deep experience of psycho-spiritual death and rebirth is essential for our life quality and general well-being. It leads to the healing experience of Oneness and releases our fear and anxiety.
The Center of
The Sacred Garden
The innermost part of The Magic Garden is quiet, hidden and undisturbed behind trees and hedges.
It is built as a Medicine Wheel. It is centered around a lake with branches going off to smaller lakes and waterfalls.
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This has a freshening effect on the plants, animals, and spirits of the garden with its purling.
The Garden is divided into different sections and levels connected by paths, stairs, winding stairwells, footbridges, a suspension bridge, platforms, plateaus, a tunnel, and little hills.
The places for immersion, relaxation, regeneration, and inspiration-gathering include flowerbeds, a tower, an elf castle, a pavilion, a tribune, a subterranean meditation chamber as well as stage among the trees.
One of the garden’s unique dimensions is that it consciously creates a synthesis between nature and culture by synthesizing the plants and trees with the man-made contraptions.
Thus the beech, oak, poplar, and willow trees are guided to carry the upper levels in several places, with their branches intertwined with the footbridges.
I started building the Magic Garden in 1995, so now the trees and the ivy have started growing together with all the buildings.
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The footbridges go through the crowns of the fruit trees (cherry, plums, apples, nuts), whose branches are bent into tunnels. So there’s easy access to fresh vitamins and natural nourishment.
Climbing plants have been planted everywhere (Ivy, Woodbine, Clematis, Wisteria, Winter Jasmine), intertwining and flowing in a rainforest symphony.
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The Garden is also endowed with an abundance of magical light and fountains, all powered completely by green energy.
The figures, symbols, and characters from different parts of the world contribute to creating the vision of a microcosm.
Among others, Odin and his two ravens gazing out over the world, a Mayan mushroom god and the Cosmic Tree.
Many who come here feel swept off their feet and say they feel they have returned to childhood or that they are entering other states of consciousness.