Asherah pole

An Asherah pole is a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the goddess Asherah. The relation of the literary references to an asherah and archaeological finds of Judaean pillar-figurines has engendered a literature of debate.
The asherim were also cult objects related to the worship of Asherah, the consort of either Ba'al or, as inscriptions from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom attest, Yahweh, and thus objects of contention among competing cults. Most English translations of the Hebrew Bible translate asherim to "Asherah poles".

Asherah poles in biblical archaeology

Biblical archaeologists have suggested that until the 6th century BC the Israelite peoples had household shrines, or at least figurines, of Asherah, which are strikingly common in the archaeological remains. Thus, the pro-Yahwist prophets and priests were the "innovators" whilst Asherah worshippers were the "traditionalists".
Joan E. Taylor suggests the temple menorah’s iconography can be traced to representations of a sacred tree, possibly “based on the form of an asherah, perhaps one associated in particular with Bethel.” However, Rachel Hachlili finds this hypothesis unlikely.
Raphael Patai identified the pillar figurines with Asherah in The Hebrew Goddess.

Purpose

So far, the purpose of Asherah poles is unknown.
Due to their role in Iron Age Yahwism, some suggest they were embodiments of Yahweh himself. Evidence for this includes pro-Yahwist kings like Jehu not destroying Asherah poles, despite violently suppressing non-Yahwist cults. In addition, the Yahwist inscription of Kuntillet ʿAjrud in the Sinai Peninsula pairs Yahweh with Asherah. Scholars believe Asherah is merely a cultic object or temple, but others argue that it is a generic name for any consort of Yahweh.
Ronald Hendel argues a middle ground is possible, where the Asherah pole is a symbol of the eponymous goddess, but is believed to be the mediator between the worshipper and Yahweh, where she becomes the "effective bestower of blessing".
Stéphanie Anthonioz says that early references to Asherah poles in the Hebrew Bible were built on the awareness that Yahweh had a consort, from the perspective of many Israelites. With the exception of Deuteronomists, many Near Easterners believed symbols and cult images, like the Asherah pole, were reflections of the divine and the divine themselves in their anthropomorphized forms.

Origin

Agrarian and hunter-gatherer societies had a need to keep track of the seasons for survival purposes, to predict when to move, or plant and harvest. The earliest systems for tracking seasonal change was a simple pole or tall, narrow rock installed at the highest open hill or open plain, with a semi-circle of similar poles or stones to track the shadow of the sun throughout the year to determine solar solstices. These structures eventually took on additional meanings and became places of social gatherings and events, to include religious worship and sacrifice throughout the millennia. In some locales this led to what became later known as Asherah.