Order Amongst Chaos

The axis mundi represents more than just the physical center of the world in most religions. It is also the cultural center and exists near to the culture that perceives it. The further you travel from the axis mundi, the more chaotic the world grows. This idea is tied to divinity in most, if not all cases, as it is usually a divine being who brings order to the primordial chaos of the universe. The chaos is either ordered by an intelligent being or the chaos gives birth to new gods which impose order, but it stands to reason that the place closest to the divine is where you'd find the most order.

What represents the axis mundi varies quite a bit from place to place. In most cases, the object is something large, such as a mountain, column, or tree that stretches far up into the sky. However, Leonardo DaVinci also saw his Vitruvian Man drawing as a microcosm of the universe, with man's navel as the center of everything. It's a little solipsistic for my taste, but to each their own. I happen to know that the center of the world is Yggdrasil, because I've carried it on my back, Atlus style.