Image of Yggdrasil in the 17th-century Icelandic manuscript AM 738. The serpent Níðhöggr is below Yggdrasil’s trunk and the rooster Gullinkambi toward its top.
“Yggdrasill, the Mundane tree”, Baxter’s Patent Oil Printing, from a plate included in the English translation of the Prose Edda by Oluf Olufsen Bagge (1847)...
An ash I know there stands,
Yggdrasill is its name,
a tall tree, showered
with shining loam.
From there come the dews
that drop in the valleys.
It stands forever green over
Urðr's well.
- From the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá
Those who have read my book, A Map of Secret Rivers, How to Navigate Timelines, know I often mention ancient Norse stories. In the book, I also recommend contemplating images of the Yggdrassill.
The Yggdrassil may be a map of the astral world created by the ancient Norse Shamans. It may give us some clues about interconnected realms. It could also be a metaphor for our spine and aspects of our being. I go into these ideas more deeply in the book.
Here is an overview of the Yggdrassil, as well as some images. I have also given an overview of The Nine Worlds, and some contemporary images for our reflection.
Yggdrasill
In Norse legend, Yggdrasill is a mighty, sacred tree. It is described in both the Poetic Edda and Snorri Sturluson’s 13th-century Prose Edda. It is usually described as an ash tree, but it is also said that no one knows the species.
Yggdrasil stands at the centre of the Norse spiritual cosmos. Its roots and branches connect the Nine Worlds. These are the underworld (Niflheim), the earth (Midgard), and the realm of the gods (Asgard). The branches reach into the heavens. Its three roots extend to the well Urðarbrunnr in the heavens, to the spring Hvergelmir, and to the well Mímisbrunnr.
The Eddas describe dangerous serpents lying below Yggdrasil. A squirrel brings news up and down its trunk. Meanwhile, Gullinkambi is one of three roosters whose crowing signals Ragnarök. He nests in the upper canopy and acts as a sentry. Yggdrasil is where the gods meet to hold their governing assemblies. There is also the dragon Níðhöggr, an eagle, and the stags Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór.
Yggdrasil is also tended by The Three Norns,Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld. They water the tree from the magical Well of Urðr. They are described as coming from a lake under the tree. The maidens "incised the slip of wood", "laid down laws", and "chose lives" for humanity.
In the poem Völuspá, Yggdrasil is “the friend of the clear sky.” It reaches above the clouds and is snow-capped like a mountain. Hávamál describes the tree as being surrounded by frequent, fierce winds.
YggdrasillI is closely related to The Tree of Life, an idea found across many cultures. It is both life and death. The well-being of the cosmos depends on its well-being. If it dies, the gods die with it. It is the source of new life after Ragnarök, the final war of the gods. But the god Odin also hangs himself from to gain the wisdom of the runes and the favour of the Norns. “nine long nights, / wounded with a spear […] / on that tree of which no man knows where its roots run”.
To the Norse, there is no more important entity than Yggdrasil. The tree is not only sacred but also in need of protection. In the Poetic Edda, Yggdrasil “suffers agony / more than men know, a stag nibbles it above, but at its side, it’s decaying, and Níðhöggr [a malicious serpent or dragon] rends it beneath”.
Odin approaching Mirmir’s Well.
Yggdrasil - Franz Stassen, 1920.
“Norns”, from Die Helden und Götter des Nordens, oder das Buch der Sagen (1832)
Alois Delug’s The Norns, Oil on canvas (1895)
Franz Stassen’s illustration of Odin Hanging on Yggdrasil, in Hans von Wolzogen’s The Edda(1920)
Odin sacrifices himself by hanging from the world tree Yggdrasil. Illustration from Karl Gjellerup’s Den ældre Eddas Gudesange (1895
The Nine Worlds
Asgard / Ásgarðr / Aesir – Land of the Aesir Gods and Goddesses
· Home to the Aesir, the sky gods.
· Home of Odin’s Valhalla and Freya’s Fólkvangr
· Where brave Viking warriors would go after death.
· Home of Urdarbrunnr, the Well of Fate.
· Guarded by the Norns.
Vanaheim / Vanaheimr / Vanir – Land of the Vanir Gods and Goddesses
· Home of the Vanir earth gods.
· Home of Njord, Freya and Freyr.
Alfheim / Álfheimr / Álfar – Land of the Light Elves
· Home to beautiful elves, the gods of nature and fertility.
· Ruled by Freyr.
Midgard / Miðgarðr / Menn – Land of Humanity
· Home of mankind.
· Also known as ‘middle earth’.
· Midgard was connected to Asgard by Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge.
Jotunheim / Jötunheimr / Jötnar – Land of the Giants
· Home of the jotuns (giants), enemies of the Aesir.
· Mostly rocks, wilderness and dense forests.
· Loki came from Jotunheim, and later lived in Asgard.
· Home of Mímisbrunnr, the Well of Wisdom which was guarded by Mimir.
Svartalfheim / Svartálfaheimr / Dvergar – Land of the Dark Elves
· Deep in the underground
· Home to the dark elves, known to cause trouble to humans.
· Where nightmares come from.
· The dark elves could not be touched by sunlight or would turn to stone.
Nidavellir –Land of the Dwarves
· Where dwarves lived in caves underground.
· Ruled by Hreidmar.
· The dwarves were masters of craftsmanship.
Muspelheim / Muspellsheimr – Primordial Land of Fire
· A burning hot place created in the far south.
· Home to the fire giants, fire demons, and the giant Surt, enemy to the Aesir.
Niflheim / Niflheimr – Primordial place of Ice and Fog
· Land of the Dead.
· The lowest of the Nine Worlds.
· Land of ice and mist located in the northern region of Ginnungagap.
· The oldest of three wells, Hvergelmir, was located here. It was the source of cold rivers and the origin of all living things.
Hel / Helheimr / Náir – Land of the Dead
· Home of the Goddess Hel, daughter of Loki.
· Humans who were not accepted to Valhalla or Fólkvangr came to Hel’s hall Elivdnir.
