The Garden of Eden presents us with two trees:
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The Tree of Life
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The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
Traditional theology often views these as moral opposites, but through the teachings of Neville Goddard, we see them as two modes of consciousness—two psychological states within us. This duality isn’t confined to Eden. It appears again and again throughout scripture in symbolic pairs. Most notably, in the women of Genesis: Sarah and Hagar, and later, Leah and Rachel.
These women are not historical figures or wives in a patriarchal narrative. They are living allegories of inner creation, faith, and the psychological process of manifestation. Eden was never a garden outside of us. It is a state of being, and these women are its trees, its wombs, its voices.
Hagar: The Tree of Knowledge – The Outer, Divided Mind
The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil symbolises judgement, duality, and effortful reasoning. It introduces death not because it’s “sinful” in the moral sense, but because it splits awareness into separation from the source. It is the mindset that looks outwards for solutions, that acts before it trusts.
Hagar, the Egyptian handmaid, is the embodiment of this state. She is given to Abraham not by divine instruction, but by Sarah’s reasoning. She becomes pregnant through human calculation, not inner conviction. Neville would say this is the act of trying to change the outer world without changing the inner state.
Hagar produces Ishmael—a child born of outer action, of the natural womb, not the spiritual one. Just like eating from the Tree of Knowledge, this act leads to tension, comparison, and exile. It creates something real, but not free.
Sarah: The Tree of Life – The Inner, Undivided Faith
Sarah represents the inner world—the Tree of Life. She is barren for most of her life, laughed at the promise, and yet conceives by faith, not force.
This mirrors Neville’s teaching perfectly: all things are possible to the one who imagines boldly and persists. Sarah doesn’t scheme; she waits. And in that waiting, a new state is born: Isaac, the child of joy, the symbol of fulfilment through spiritual receptivity.
To eat from the Tree of Life is to imagine instead of react, to assume instead of strive. It is not passive—it is quietly authoritative. Sarah’s womb is the place of unseen power, the imagination that believes before it sees.
Leah and Rachel: Extensions of the Eden Pattern
The pattern deepens with Leah and Rachel, wives of Jacob. They are not a repetition but an expansion—showing the psychological journey from discipline to delight, from effort to embodiment.
Leah: The Unloved, Productive State
Leah mirrors Hagar, but with a twist. She is not rejected, only unloved. She is the state of inner persistence, the daily assumption, the state you dwell in before the feelings catch up. Neville often emphasised that you must persist in the assumption, even if it feels lifeless at first.
Leah births many sons—representing the natural results that come from dwelling in the desired state, even when it feels unattractive. Her son Judah (Praise) becomes the line of kings. Out of the “unloved” state comes dominion.
Rachel: The Beautiful, Barren Ideal
Rachel is the desired one, the beloved. She symbolises the spiritual ideal—the beautiful state we yearn to embody. But she is initially barren, just like Sarah. This teaches us that alignment with the ideal doesn’t produce fruit instantly.
Only after Leah has produced much through persistence does Rachel bear Joseph (Imagination) and Benjamin (Completion)—the highest symbols of divine creation. These children come not through effort, but through mature, inner union with vision.
Four Wombs, One Pattern
Together, these four women represent a living map of manifestation:
| Woman | Symbolic Tree | Mode of Consciousness | Offspring |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hagar | Tree of Knowledge | Outer effort, reason, natural will | Ishmael (natural effort) |
| Sarah | Tree of Life | Inner faith, promise, divine imagination | Isaac (joy, spiritual birth) |
| Leah | Tree of Knowledge (redeemed) | Persistence in assumed state | Judah (praise, kingship) |
| Rachel | Tree of Life (fulfilled) | Spiritual vision fulfilled in imagination | Joseph (imagination), Benjamin (completion) |
This isn’t just theology—it’s a psychological journey. It is the movement from trying to make things happen, to allowing them to unfold. From separation to union. From effort to embodiment.
Eden Revisited
Eden was never lost. It was internal all along. The two trees still stand in the midst of us:
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One is Hagar and Leah—the world of appearance, effort, and persistence.
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The other is Sarah and Rachel—the world of vision, promise, and rest.
We are all eating from one or the other at every moment.
The question is not “What should I do?” but “From which consciousness am I acting?”
As Neville would say:
“You are already that which you seek, but you deny it by your sense of lack.”
Final Word: The Child Will Tell You
Each “womb” bears a child. Your external world is your child—a mirror of your inner assumptions. When you see what you’ve brought forth, trace it back: was it born of fear, or faith? Of striving, or stillness?
Choose this day whom you will serve—not a god outside, but a consciousness within.
Let Sarah laugh. Let Rachel rejoice. Let your inner life conceive again.
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