The following table shows the XPath axes supported in MarkLogic Server.

Axis	Description	Shorthand (N/A if no shorthand)
ancestor::	Selects all ancestor nodes, which includes the parent node, the parent's parent node, and so on.	N/A
ancestor-or-self::	Selects the current node as well as all ancestor nodes, which includes the parent node, the parent's parent node, and so on.	N/A
attribute::	Selects the attributes of the current node.	@
child::	Selects the immediate child nodes of the current node.	/
descendant::	Selects all descendant nodes (child nodes, their child nodes, and so on).	N/A
descendant-or-self::	Selects the current node as well as all descendant nodes (child nodes, their child nodes, and so on).	//
following::	Selects everything following the current node.	>>
following-sibling::	Selects all sibling nodes (nodes at the same level in the XML hierarchy) that come after the current node.	N/A
namespace::	Selects the namespace node of the current node.	N/A
parent::	Selects the immediate parent of the current node.	..
preceding::	Selects everything before the current node.	<<
preceding-sibling::	Selects all sibling nodes (nodes at the same level in the XML hierarchy) that come before the current node.	N/A
property::	MarkLogic Server enhancement. Selects the properties fragment corresponding to the current node.	N/A
self::	Selects the current node (the context node).	.

Keep in mind the following notes when using the XPath axes:

XPath expressions are always returned in document order.
Axes that look forward return in document order (closest to farthest away from the context node).
Axes that look backward return in reverse document order (closest to farthest away from the context node).
The context node is the node from which XPath steps are evaluated. The context node is sometimes called the current node.