The Universal Moral Law & Devolution since the Fall

Trees are a pretty common theme, AFAIK. The Germanic/Norse tribes had Yggdrasil, the World Tree that linked the nine planes. It also guarded three wells (Wisdom, Fate and Water - the latter being the source of all rivers). Finally, it even had resident snakes (sometimes described as dragons) which gnawed at its roots. The most important of these serpents was Nihggr - who is variously held to be the harbinger of Ragnarok, an eater of the dead, or a poisoner of the world. Some interesting parallels, no?