Despite early references to biblical trees, the Book of Genesis and such, the bulk of ''Aquarion'' is tied to many other non-Christian myths.
Age of Aquarius
Age of Aquarius, also known as the ''Aquarian Age'', was a concept popularized by Carl Gustav Jung. The Age of Aquarius was seen in contraposition with current the ''Age of Pisces'': whereas the Age of Pisces represents duality and antithesis (thus, conflict), the Age of Aquarius is an age of synthesis and spiritualism (in some ways, a new golden age). In the ''New Age'', because of the implications of love, comprehension and one-ness, it can be associated with the fourth chakra. Aquarion as a name is a reference to this concept, but the show digs deeper in symbolism in using the Aquarion as an instrument for a "new era of holy genesis", managing to resolve conflict between the opposing parties of humans and Shadow Angels and showing a not-so-metaphorical process of oneness with the Earth.Yoga
''Aquarion'''s main theme references Indian lore. The word ''yoga'' is translated as "unite" and means "union with the divine through the integration of body, mind and spirit" (in Japanese, the word "kokoro" refers to both heart or mind, but is more often translated as just the heart). During Unification, the Elements merge together their bodies, minds and spirits, but a ''real'' Unification of the Aquarion can only be obtained with a Shadow Angel onboard, fitting the scheme of the divine element necessary into order to achieve true Unification and completing Aquarion's power.Prapti and the Mugen Punch
''Yogis'' are said to develop special powers called ''siddhis''. One of them is called ''prapti'' (acquisition) and with this siddhi, the perfect mystic yogi can not only touch the moon, but he can extend his hand anywhere and take whatever he likes. In the series, the Solar Aquarion's Mugen Punch manages to reach the moon, although the real prapti should not involve greatly elongated arms, but rather the ability to cancel distances between objects (resulting in the idea of omnipresence). In this sense, the real prapti in the show is perhaps used by Gen Fudo, who makes things appear out of nothing from his hand. It is worth noting another siddhi called ''Mahima'' is the ability to become incredibly big; this may be referenced to the Aquarion's ability to expand itself in size during particular battles with the Cherubim.Apollonius
The character Apollonius is a passing nod to Greek mythology. Seemingly inspired by ''Apollo'', the Greek god of light and ''Prometheus'', who gave fire to humans and was punished by ''Zeus'' by having an eagle feast on his liver. Similarly, Apollonius is a Shadow Angel who seems to have light-like powers and gives the humans a fighting chance against the Shadow Angels with the Aquarion, but loses his wings as punishment from the other Shadow Angels. Like ''Apollonius of Tyana'', ''Aquarion'''s Apollonius dies and reincarnates as the protagonist Apollo, while the Greek god Apollo is stated to have been born in the bank of a lake, ''Aquarion'''s Apollo is given his name after he swims in a lake.The Tree of Life
Atlandia's Tree of Life took on two roles throughout the series. It is basically a large pile of multicolored flowers. The arrangement of the flowers at the end of the top central flowering portion can be easily seen forming the ten interconnecting nodes of the ''Sephirot'' from Hebrew Bible/Christianity, only that the flower at top middle center of this arrangement, the spot that is supposed to symbolize the unity of the nodes is absent. The tree's first role was made by the Shadow Angels to use it to re-start the Shadow Angel race. The second role was its original role and was a similar function to its name. It literally contained the entire planet's life force. Because of this, if that force was unleashed as a power such as to give birth to a race of species, the planet would become lifeless and the tree would die, causing its remains to fall to the Earth's core and make the planet fall apart. This was something the Shadow Angels who had possession of and took care of the tree oddly did not know.Adapted from the Wikipedia article Genesis of Aquarion, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
