Yggdrasil

Agaric

New Member
Yggdrasil

I think the Norse myth of Yggdrasil, the giant tree that holds together the three levels of the earth is very cool. It's such a focal point for conflicts between the forces of good and evil, because if you destroy it, you also destroy the world.
 

jason

empty
If I remember correctly, and I could be wrong, didn't it hold something like 9 levels of the Norse cosmology? I also remember Oden hanging from a limb or something to collect the runes.
 

Slashmire

New Member
It's also a very common myth too. There are many games or story today that use the Yggdrasil as a "Tree of Life".
 

Dr. Archetype

New Member
There are 9 levels to the Yggdrasil.

And yes Wotan did hang from it to learn the mystery of the runes.

Each rune is an archetype of reality, much like in the Tarot or I Ching.

Additionally, there are many concepts of a World Tree among the shamanistic religions of primordial mankind. Often these have 3 levels (which is what Agaric may be thinking of) but sometimes more.
 

Tealight

New Member
I always remembered reading about the fact that there is an eagle at the top of Yggdrasil, and a squirrel called Ratatosk who climbs up and down carrying insults between him and the Midgard serpent, biting the roots.
 

AcadianSidhe

New Member
From Encyclopedia Mythica:
Yggdrasil
In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil ("The Terrible One's Horse"), also called the World Tree, is the giant ash tree that links and shelters all the worlds. Beneath the three roots the realms of Asgard, Jotunheim, and Niflheim are located. Three wells lie at its base: the Well of Wisdom (Mímisbrunnr), guarded by Mimir; the Well of Fate (Urdarbrunnr), guarded by the Norns; and the Hvergelmir (Roaring Kettle), the source of many rivers.

Encyclopedia Mythica: mythology, folklore, and religion.


From Wikipedia:
Norse cosmology
Scandinavians believed that there were nine existing worlds, among them: Asgard, world of the Æsir;Vanaheimr, home of the Vanir. Valhalla was Odin's hall located within Asgard; it was also home of the Einherjar, who were the souls of the greatest warriors, selected by the valkyries, Odin's horseback riding female messengers whose armor would sparkle on such tasks, supposedly creating the famed Aurora Borealis, or the northern lights. The Einherjar would help defend the gods during Ragnarok, the final battle, when everyone would die in a great battle between the gods and their enemies (cf. good vs. evil or order vs. chaos). Other worlds included: Midgard, the mortal plane; Muspell, world of fire and home of Surt, a giant whose skin was lava and had hair of fire; Niflheim, the icy underworld ruled by Hel, Loki's half-giantess daughter, and home of the frost giants. Alfheim, world of the elves; Svartálfheim, home of the dark elves; Nidavellir, world of the dwarves, tiny men who were great miners and goldsmiths - they would often build magical items for the gods such as Thor's hammer and Freyr's mechanical boar; and Jotunheim, world of the Jotun, or giants. Connecting these worlds was Yggdrasil, or the world ash root, a giant tree with Asgard at its top. Chewing at its roots in Niffleheim was Nidhogg, a ferocious serpent. Asgard can also be reached by Bifrost, the magical rainbow bridge guarded by Heimdall, the mute god of vigilance who could see and hear a thousand miles.
 

Sylvia

New Member
Cool.

Kind of like the Wakah Chan (say it like "walka con") meaning Tree of Life in Mayan Mythology. It's the tree of life representing the three layers in the Mayan universe.
 

Daniel Binet

New Member
I always remembered reading about the fact that there is an eagle at the top of Yggdrasil, and a squirrel called Ratatosk who climbs up and down carrying insults between him and the Midgard serpent, biting the roots.
It is Nidhogg not Jörmungandr that lives at the roots of the tree.
 
You're right. The world tree is an astounding simple and still rich idea that is just too ripe for symbolism or even world play. My best example, if I can dare to bring up Wagner, follows.

In Wagner's work, Götterdämmerung (loosely "Twilight of The Gods"), Wotan (Odin) orders his heroes to cut down the world tree. Though the event itself is not dramatized, the very thought of such a cataclysmic event has inspired many poets and artists to depict it themselves. Ul del Rico did this illustration of Wotan's agents felling the world tree.

Valhalla is in the background as a nod to those who know what comes next in the tale. The logs from Yggdrasil are piled around Valhalla as if the base of a mammoth funeral pyre. Wotan ends the reign of the gods by assembling them in his great hall and then plunging his spear into the chest of Loge (Loki) who bursts into flames and ignites the rotting remains of the world tree. Again, this is undramatized, but the audience does see Valhalla burning in juxtaposition with Brunhilde's act of selfless love, leaping into her husband Siegfried's own funeral pyre, likewise igniting and bringing down the corrupt house of the Gibichungs- the deceitful slayers of her noble husband.
In any case, Wagner's Ring Cycle is heavily steeped in Norse tradition and myth and is worth a look from anyone interested in the Norse pantheon.

Since the real scale of the topic doesn't really come through in a thumbnail, the hi-res file of the image is available here : http://www.vault-teccitizens.com/drupal/sites/default/files/images/The World Tree is Cut Down.jpg
The normal sized pines at the base of the tree really help to frame it effectively.
 

Rhonda Tharp

Active Member
I have a habit of comparing one theme/concept to another culture's concept... Yggdrasill fascinates me because it puts the Norse cosmos in a formal order. I catch myself looking for tree references in other cultures, like the importance of the oak in Celtic myth/Arthurian myth, the olive and linden in Greek myth, the palm in Egyptian myth and Buddha under the Bodhi tree, wands made from Willow bark invoked the Muses, and some have said that "wicca" or "witchcraft" evolved from a word meaning willow, cognate with "wicker" (willow-withe-weaving).
 

Isis

Member
I don't know much about Norse mythology but Yggdrasill is fascinating. Thanks so much for posting about the world tree.

Rhonda, I also like drawing comparisons between myths. It's interesting to see how things tie together.
 

LegendofJoe

Active Member
The problem I have with Wagner is that I do not like certain interpretations he has of the myths. The thought of Yggdrasil being cut down and used for firewood is out of step with the tree's eternal aspect, being an "axis mundi."
Yggdrasil not only survives Ragnarok, but shelters two humans that will seed the new world.
And this new world btw is not the maudlin and diabetes producing world where "only love alone" rules, like the opera says. It is ruled by the next generation of gods with Balder as the head.
I like Wagner's music, but if you want to learn about Norse mythology, read the Eddas as well as The Saga of the Volsungs and the Nibelungenlied.
 
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