The Esoteric Meaning of the Tree of Knowledge

''And the Lord God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.''' Genesis 2:16-17

''Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.'' Genesis 2:25

''You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 'For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.''' Genesis 3:4-5

''When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.'' Genesis 3:6-7

The Tree of Knowledge (of Good and Evil) is a crucial part of Genesis, but only a portion of its meaning is widely known. In this post, I will explain the most relevant metaphors that can be applied to the story of the Tree and the information it reveals to us about the nature of man and his god.

The first and most important, intentional metaphor for eating the fruit is the coming of age. Adam and Eve were initially child-like; they did not know they were naked for they had no sense of morality and thus felt no shame. They were pure and operated via the unconscious, the instinctual.

The Serpent that tempted Eve is a metaphor for an erect phallus*; in fact, as bizarre as it may appear, once you notice the subtext of Eve's temptation it can't be unseen; and as profane as this notion seems, one must understand that the Old Testament comes from the oral tradition of the Jews, and those familiar with Judaism - especially with the Kabbalah and the Talmud -, as well as with other ancient, mystery religions, know such things are quite common. Thus, the act of eating the Fruit is like Eve's first sexual experience; one that is not pleasing to her 'father', the Demiurge; which is why Adam and Eve's reaction to eating the Fruit is like that of a young couple scared that their parents might catch them in the act.

*The phallus is tied to hidden knowledge in esoteric tradition since ancient times. See the myth of Osiris for a clean example of that. And the Serpent is emblematic of temptation and sin because it is symbolic of the phallus.

''He (Adam) answered (to the Demiurge), 'I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.''' Genesis 3:10

The coming of age results in the loss of one's innocence. While pure, one is incapable of commiting deliberate acts of evil (and also of good). A child is, in this sense, closer to an animal than to an adult man; as such, it can't sin. But with maturity, one is faced with morality; with confronting the world and its chaotic duality. In fact, the very idea of the Fruit alludes to the concept of maturity; after all, a fruit should be ripe for us to eat it.

Fitting, then, is the punishment inflicted upon Eve and Adam. The woman was sentenced to painful childbirth (a consequence of sex) and marriage (a consequence of the loss of a girl's maidenhead); and the man with tiresome labour (a consequence of adulthood).

''To the woman he said,

'I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.'

To Adam he said,

'Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat from it,' 'Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.''' Genesis 3:16-19

The Demiurge lying about the nature of the fruit is symbolic of a father lying about the nature of biological reality to his children to prevent unwanted, early pregnancies. If we are to view the Bible as a coherent structure for religion, as non-literal as Genesis may be, it proves that the god of Genesis is farsical and incompetent in nature; far from being all-knowing and all-powerful like he presents himself as.

Though the Fruit of Knowledge did not cause death as god claimed, the punishment he inflicted upon Adam and Eve also included their exile from the Garden of Eden. This sentence is analogous to a father banishing his mature sons and daughters from his home; and as they were barred from eating the Fruit of Life, they were sure to meet death - a passage that evokes the idea of the memento mori, which also comes with age and maturity.

''And the Lord God said, 'The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.''' Genesis 3:22-23

Besides coming-of-age, the Fruit is, above all else, a symbol of duality itself. Thus, it is the Fruit of Knowledge of Good and Evil. I've discussed the implications of duality on a previous post, so I will not delve too deep into it in this one.

Knowledge is intrinsically linked to technology; therefore, the Fruit can also serve as a metaphor for scientific advancement - another force that embodies duality, much like the Fruit itself. This duality is a recurring principle in our world: tools can be used to cultivate the soil, yet weapons allow us to kill with ease. Nuclear energy has the potential to power nations with abundance and efficiency, but the same force can be harnessed to annihilate them through nuclear weapons.

The last piece that is integral to the Fruit's puzzle is the depths of enlightenment - but that will be discussed in more detail in another post.

And this is it for this article. Thank you for your continued support! I know it is 'out of topic' for The Firelink Conspiracy, but I am working on a series of videos about Naruto - a deeply esoteric manga - which will be uploaded after the Dark Souls 2 series is concluded. I hope some of you will look forward to that!