Trees, Vines, and Branches: Rooted in Imagination

The Bible’s natural imagery—trees, vines, branches, roots—is not just decoration. In Neville Goddard’s teaching, these symbols describe profound inner processes governed by imagination. They reveal how the Garden of Eden, the Song of Solomon, and the prophecy of Jesse’s root all tell the same story: the journey from separation to union with our creative power.

The Tree as Consciousness: Eden’s Divine Symbol

“Out of the earth the Lord God made every tree come, delighting the eye and good for food— Genesis 2:9

Genesis 1:11 says, 

“And God said, Let the earth give grass, plants producing seed, and fruit-trees giving fruit, every one producing seed in its kind: and it was so.”

This verse lays the foundation for all biblical tree symbolism. The seed “in itself” mirrors Neville’s core teaching: every state of consciousness carries its own outcome within. Your imagination, like a tree, holds the seed of what you will become.

The Tree of Life represents pure “I AM” awareness — consciousness unconditioned and limitless. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil symbolises the fall into duality, where man judges by appearances instead of creating through inner conviction. To “eat” of a tree is to accept an idea as true and embody it, planting its seed within.

Branches as Projected Identity

“I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. You are the branches.”
— John 15:1, 5

Branches are the extensions of your inner state — the visible expressions of your assumptions. In Romans 11:17 (BBE), Paul says, “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were joined to them and took your part in the root and the fat of the olive tree…”

Neville shows this is psychological: to be “grafted in” means to assume a new identity and adopt a new state consciously.

If your root (your core assumption) is fear, the branches (your outer life) will reflect fear. If the root is love or abundance, your branches bear matching fruit.

The Vine as Imagination: Union in the Song of Solomon

“I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener.”
— John 15:1

The vine is your human imagination, which Neville calls the Christ within. The “Father,” or gardener, is the deeper subconscious that receives and nurtures the seed of assumption.

In the Song of Solomon, the lover sitting under the “apple tree” symbolises dwelling in the felt reality of the wish fulfilled.

“As an apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my loved one among the sons. I took my rest under his shade with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.”— Song of Solomon 2:3

The apple tree becomes the Tree of Life rediscovered — imagination reclaimed as the true source of creation.

“They made me keeper of the vineyards; but my own vineyard I have not kept.”
— Song of Solomon 1:6

This laments neglecting one’s own inner vineyard (imagination) in favour of outer obligations and opinions. True transformation begins within, tending your own vineyard before looking outward.

Roots as Hidden Origin: The Mystery of Jesse

“And there will come a rod out of the broken tree of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will give fruit.”
— Isaiah 11:1

Jesse’s root symbolises the deep, often hidden subconscious belief from which your visible life grows. When this root is aligned with divine imagination, the branch that emerges is the Christ nature — the awakened realisation that “I AM” is the creator of all experience.

David, Jesse’s son, represents the visible manifestation of this inner alignment — the external fruit of an inner seed.

Eden Revisited: The Song and the Garden as One

The Garden of Eden and the Song of Solomon both illustrate the same mystery. Eden shows the departure from unity with imagination into division and sense-dependence. The Song of Solomon depicts the return to that unity through desire, intimacy, and assumption.

In both, trees, vineyards, and gardens stand for the pattern mind — the creative soil where seeds (assumptions) are planted and bear fruit. Genesis 1:11 already declared this principle: the seed is within itself, meaning your inner state alone determines your outer world.

Final Thoughts: Graft Yourself In

Neville reminds us that the Bible is not literal history but a living code of consciousness. Trees, branches, and vines are you. Your assumptions are the seeds; your imagination is the vine; your life is the fruit.

Genesis 1:11 reveals the key: each tree bears fruit “after his kind,” with the seed inside. Your inner state (root and seed) alone determines your outer world.

Tend your vineyard, assume the wish fulfilled, and let your imagination — the true vine — bring forth the fruit of your chosen reality.