diff --git a/docs/source/usage.rst b/docs/source/usage.rst
index 8e7f370fc..a4e2e096f 100644
--- a/docs/source/usage.rst
+++ b/docs/source/usage.rst
@@ -489,14 +489,13 @@ You can take advantage of nested interpolations to perform custom operations ove
 
 .. doctest::
 
-    >>> OmegaConf.register_new_resolver("plus", lambda x, y: x + y)
+    >>> OmegaConf.register_new_resolver("sum", lambda x, y: x + y)
     >>> c = OmegaConf.create({"a": 1,
     ...                       "b": 2,
-    ...                       "a_plus_b": "${plus:${a},${b}}"})
+    ...                       "a_plus_b": "${sum:${a},${b}}"})
     >>> c.a_plus_b
     3
 
-
 More advanced resolver naming features include the ability to prefix a resolver name with a
 namespace, and to use interpolations in the name itself. The following example demonstrates both:
 
@@ -531,6 +530,39 @@ inputs we always return the same value. This behavior may be disabled by setting
     >>> assert c.uncached != c.uncached
 
 
+
+Custom interpolations can also receive the following special parameters:
+
+- ``_parent_`` : the parent node of an interpolation.
+- ``_root_``: The config root.
+
+This can be achieved by adding the special parameters to the resolver signature.
+Note that special parameters must be defined as named keywords (after the `*`):
+
+In this example, we use ``_parent_`` to implement a sum function that defaults to 0 if the node does not exist.
+(In contrast to the sum we defined earlier where accessing an invalid key, e.g. ``"a_plus_z": ${sum:${a}, ${z}}`` will result in an error).
+
+.. doctest::
+
+    >>> def sum2(a, b, *, _parent_):
+    ...     return _parent_.get(a, 0) + _parent_.get(b, 0)
+    >>> OmegaConf.register_new_resolver("sum2", sum2, use_cache=False)
+    >>> cfg = OmegaConf.create(
+    ...     {
+    ...         "node": {
+    ...             "a": 1,
+    ...             "b": 2,
+    ...             "a_plus_b": "${sum2:a,b}",
+    ...             "a_plus_z": "${sum2:a,z}",
+    ...         },
+    ...     }
+    ... )
+    >>> cfg.node.a_plus_b
+    3
+    >>> cfg.node.a_plus_z
+    1
+
+
 Merging configurations
 ----------------------
 Merging configurations enables the creation of reusable configuration files for each logical component
diff --git a/news/266.feature b/news/266.feature
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f4a6a91f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/news/266.feature
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Custom resolvers can now access the parent and the root config nodes
diff --git a/omegaconf/base.py b/omegaconf/base.py
index e4b26c45b..69cd49bb4 100644
--- a/omegaconf/base.py
+++ b/omegaconf/base.py
@@ -597,7 +597,7 @@ def _evaluate_custom_resolver(
         resolver = OmegaConf.get_resolver(inter_type)
         if resolver is not None:
             root_node = self._get_root()
-            return resolver(root_node, inter_args, inter_args_str)
+            return resolver(root_node, self, inter_args, inter_args_str)
         else:
             raise UnsupportedInterpolationType(
                 f"Unsupported interpolation type {inter_type}"
diff --git a/omegaconf/omegaconf.py b/omegaconf/omegaconf.py
index a46b1b619..62dc658bc 100644
--- a/omegaconf/omegaconf.py
+++ b/omegaconf/omegaconf.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 """OmegaConf module"""
 import copy
+import inspect
 import io
 import os
 import pathlib
@@ -431,6 +432,7 @@ def legacy_register_resolver(name: str, resolver: Resolver) -> None:
 
         def resolver_wrapper(
             config: BaseContainer,
+            node: BaseContainer,
             args: Tuple[Any, ...],
             args_str: Tuple[str, ...],
         ) -> Any:
@@ -484,8 +486,22 @@ def register_new_resolver(
             name not in BaseContainer._resolvers
         ), "resolver {} is already registered".format(name)
 
+        sig = inspect.signature(resolver)
+
+        def _should_pass(special: str) -> bool:
+            ret = special in sig.parameters
+            if ret and use_cache:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    f"use_cache=True is incompatible with functions that receive the {special}"
+                )
+            return ret
+
+        pass_parent = _should_pass("_parent_")
+        pass_root = _should_pass("_root_")
+
         def resolver_wrapper(
             config: BaseContainer,
+            parent: Container,
             args: Tuple[Any, ...],
             args_str: Tuple[str, ...],
         ) -> Any:
@@ -498,7 +514,14 @@ def resolver_wrapper(
                     pass
 
             # Call resolver.
-            ret = resolver(*args)
+            kwargs = {}
+            if pass_parent:
+                kwargs["_parent_"] = parent
+            if pass_root:
+                kwargs["_root_"] = config
+
+            ret = resolver(*args, **kwargs)
+
             if use_cache:
                 cache[hashable_key] = ret
             return ret
@@ -509,7 +532,9 @@ def resolver_wrapper(
     @staticmethod
     def get_resolver(
         name: str,
-    ) -> Optional[Callable[[Container, Tuple[Any, ...], Tuple[str, ...]], Any]]:
+    ) -> Optional[
+        Callable[[Container, Container, Tuple[Any, ...], Tuple[str, ...]], Any]
+    ]:
         # noinspection PyProtectedMember
         return (
             BaseContainer._resolvers[name] if name in BaseContainer._resolvers else None
diff --git a/tests/test_interpolation.py b/tests/test_interpolation.py
index 3947fc3b1..da5b56f12 100644
--- a/tests/test_interpolation.py
+++ b/tests/test_interpolation.py
@@ -987,3 +987,86 @@ def test_resolver_output_list_to_listconfig(
     assert isinstance(c.x, ListConfig)
     assert c.x == expected
     assert dereference(c, "x")._get_flag("readonly")
+
+
+def test_register_cached_resolver_with_keyword_unsupported() -> None:
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        OmegaConf.register_new_resolver("root", lambda _root_: None, use_cache=True)
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        OmegaConf.register_new_resolver("parent", lambda _parent_: None, use_cache=True)
+
+
+def test_resolver_with_parent(restore_resolvers: Any) -> None:
+    OmegaConf.register_new_resolver(
+        "parent", lambda _parent_: _parent_, use_cache=False
+    )
+
+    cfg = OmegaConf.create(
+        {
+            "a": 10,
+            "b": {
+                "c": 20,
+                "parent": "${parent:}",
+            },
+            "parent": "${parent:}",
+        }
+    )
+
+    assert cfg.parent is cfg
+    assert cfg.b.parent is cfg.b
+
+
+def test_resolver_with_root(restore_resolvers: Any) -> None:
+    OmegaConf.register_new_resolver("root", lambda _root_: _root_, use_cache=False)
+    cfg = OmegaConf.create(
+        {
+            "a": 10,
+            "b": {
+                "c": 20,
+                "root": "${root:}",
+            },
+            "root": "${root:}",
+        }
+    )
+
+    assert cfg.root is cfg
+    assert cfg.b.root is cfg
+
+
+def test_resolver_with_root_and_parent(restore_resolvers: Any) -> None:
+    OmegaConf.register_new_resolver(
+        "both", lambda _root_, _parent_: _root_.add + _parent_.add, use_cache=False
+    )
+
+    cfg = OmegaConf.create(
+        {
+            "add": 10,
+            "b": {
+                "add": 20,
+                "both": "${both:}",
+            },
+            "both": "${both:}",
+        }
+    )
+    assert cfg.both == 20
+    assert cfg.b.both == 30
+
+
+def test_resolver_with_parent_and_default_value(restore_resolvers: Any) -> None:
+    def parent_and_default(default: int = 10, *, _parent_: Any) -> Any:
+        return _parent_.add + default
+
+    OmegaConf.register_new_resolver(
+        "parent_and_default", parent_and_default, use_cache=False
+    )
+
+    cfg = OmegaConf.create(
+        {
+            "add": 10,
+            "no_param": "${parent_and_default:}",
+            "param": "${parent_and_default:20}",
+        }
+    )
+
+    assert cfg.no_param == 20
+    assert cfg.param == 30