Yggdrasil

(Norse Mythology)
The Mundane Tree or World Tree
- Yggdrasil is an eternal green ash tree in Norse Mythology.
- It has an overall nine realms.
- Therefore, the name Yggdrasil means Odin’s horse.
- Yggr, which is one of the Odin’s names and means “the terrifier, the one who strikes all”.
- Drassill basically means “horse”, but in a majestic and ceremonial way.
 Asgard The uppermost level of Yggdrasil. home of the Aesir Gods
 Vanaheilm home of Vanir Gods
 Alfheim home of Light elves.
 Svaltarfein is the home of the dwarves, they live under the rocks, in caves, and
underground.
On the lower level lay Midgard (Earth), human home;
 Jotunheim home of giants
The Yggdrasil’s roots reached the dark underworld which was
 Muspellheim (land of fire),
 Niflheim (land of mist) and
Helheim (land of the dead).

Odin’s connection with the word tree.

I know that I hung on a windy tree
Nine long nights,
Wounded with a spear, dedicated to Odin,
Myself to myself,
On that tree of which no man knows from where it roots run.
- Havamal stanza 138
 No one gave me a bread nor a horn,
I looked down,
I took up the runes, screaming I took,
I fell then from there.
- Havamal stanza 139.

YGGDRASIL HAS THREE ENOURMOUS ROOTS:

First Root: Niflheim
The first root is Niflheim. Wherein the first well called Hvergemir is located. Hvergemir is
sometimes referred to as the well of poison.
This root in the depths of Helheim is struggling every day to maintain its strength because the
great dragon Nídhogg, who is constantly chewing on it.
At this moment Níðhöggr will spread its wings, and fly to the entrance of Hel, where new dead
souls have arrived.

More snakes
lie under the ash Yggdrasil
than any old fool imagines.
Going and Moin,
they are Grafvitnir’s sons,
Grabak and Grafvollud, and Ofnir and Svafnir
will always, I believe
eat away the tree’s shoots.

– Grímnismál 34

Niohoggr is often interrupted by Ratatoskr.

Every time the eagle makes an insult about Níðhöggr, the squirrel will run down the tree and tell
the dragon what has been said about him. Níðhöggr is just as rude in his own comments about
the eagle, and upon hearing the new insults, he replies back at the squirrel with his own insults
about the eagle.
Eagle has been described in the Prose Edda to possess knowledge of many things. Just like
Odin’s two ravens Huginn and Muninn, fly out to gather knowledge.
On the roof of Valhalla stands two animals, the goat Heidrun and the stag Eikthyrnir.
The udders coming from the goat flows endless streams of mead into a big tub in Valhalla
Every evening after the warriors in Valhalla have been practicing for Ragnarök, they will sit
down in this hall to relax, eat the meat from the giant pig called Sæhrímnir and drink the mead
from the goat

Second Root: Jotunheim

The second root is in Jotunheim, at this root is the well called Mimir’s well. This is the well of
wisdom, and it belongs to Mimir.
Mimir drinks from this well by using his drinking horn called Gjallarhorn. same name as the
horn used by Heimdallr
Mimir’s well is probably the only great thing in Jotunheim, the rest of it is just a grim place, not
much grows here besides trees and grass. But the many rivers are filled with freshwater that
seeps down to nourish the roots of the many trees.

Third Root: Asgard

The third root is in Asgard right next to the well named Urðr. In a hall there where three female
beings called Norns live, they are perceived as the personification of time. Their names are Urðr,
Skuld, and Verðandi.

The water from Urðarbrunnr is magical, and it is so sacred that everything it touches, besides
Yggdrasil, will become as white as the membrane inside of an eggshell. It is from this well the
swans original from in Norse mythology. The white color is a symbol of cleanliness, pride,
beauty, greatness, light, and death.
Norse Sources
Yggdrasil is mentioned in both the Poetic Edda, a 13 th century compilation of older Norse
sources, and in the Prose Edda, written in the 13 th century by the Icelandic Christian Snorri
Sturluson.
Most of the references in the two books are to descriptions of the tree and how it holds the
worlds of Norse Mythology together.
However, Yggdrasil also features in two stories: The story of Odin’s quest for knowledge of the
runes and The Prophecy of Ragnarok.
Ragnarok
A Roster will warn Odin that the end of the world is coming. Odin will then travel to
Mimibrunnr, and consults Mimir. Here he will be told that there is nothing he can to avoid his
fate, but he and his allies will choose to fight anyway.
Meanwhile, the coming of Ragnarok is heralded in the world of men by a series of disasters
including famine and war. Eventually there will be violent earthquakes in Midgard, caused by
shockwaves that travel the length of Yggdrasil.
The earthquakes will also shake free the ship Naglfar, which is made from the fingernails and
toenails of the dead, which Loki will use to sail to Asgarrrd with his allies to battle the Aesir
gods. Among Loki’s allies are his daughter Hel. This suggests that the ship may be moored in
Helheim, and that Naglfar may have special properties that allows it to transport the dead out of
Helheim.
While the destruction of the nine worlds of Norse Mythololgy is described, the specific fate of
Yggdrasil itself is not detailed in the Ragnarok prophecy.
It seems likely that the Tree of Life survives to give birth to new life as two humans, Lid and
Lodrasir, are described as surviving the destruction by hiding in Hoddmimis Holt, which was
probably another name for Yggdrasil.