The Tree of Life in Fullmetal Alchemist I've noticed references to the Kabbalah in a couple of anime I've watched.  One of them is Fullmetal Alchemist.

Fullmetal Alchemist has the Tree of Life on the Gate:



So, my question is, Is there any deeper meaning to the use of the Kabbalistic tree of life, or is it just used because it looks cool?
The Tree of Life is one of the most important symbolism in western alchemy.

The spiritual nature was especially highlighted among early practitioners of alchemy, but I would say that it was more Hermetic occultism than religious Judaism/Christianity. (Therefore, some people might spell it Qabalah rather than Kabbalah.)

The 10 emanations/attributes and the paths in the Tree were associated with the alchemical metals, elements, and planets that govern the alchemical process. The image below shows the tree with astrological planetary symbols associated. In alchemy, these planets were associated with various metals and elements. Therefore, an emanation might correspond to the sun and hence gold, and so on.



Therefore, it is only natural that it would make an appearance in an anime about alchemists.

For reference, you can find a giant essay here, although I haven't gone through all of it: "Secret Fire: The Relationship Between Kundalini, Kabbalah, and Alchemy"