Optical element and light guide element

An optical element comprising:

• a plurality of optically-anisotropic layers that are formed using a composition including a liquid crystal compound and have a liquid crystal alignment pattern in which a direction of an optical axis derived from the liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating in at least one in-plane direction;
• and
• a wavelength selective phase difference layer that is disposed between at least one pair of two optically-anisotropic layers adjacent to each other among the plurality of optically-anisotropic layers and converts circularly polarized light in a specific wavelength range into circularly polarized light having an opposite turning direction,
• wherein, in a case where, in the liquid crystal alignment pattern of the optically-anisotropic layer, a length over which the direction of the optical axis derived from the liquid crystal compound rotates by 180° in the in-plane direction in which the direction of the optical axis derived from the liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating is set as a single period, a length of the single period in at least one optically-anisotropic layer is different from that of another optically-anisotropic layer.