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"The
conception of the tree rising through a
number of worlds is found in northern
Eurasia and forms part of the shamanic lore
shared by many peoples of this region. This
seems to be a very ancient conception,
perhaps based on the Pole Star, the centre
of the heavens, and the image of the central
tree in Scandinavia may have been influenced
by it. Among Siberian shamans, a central
tree may be used as a ladder to ascend the
heavens."
-
Hilda Ellis Davidson
(Fostering by Giants in
Old Norse Sagas) |
The three great roots of
Nature's splendour attained such heights into
heavenly brilliance that the
topmost bough was given the honourable name
Læraðr
(peace-giver). An
eagle made its home on the bough and
between his eyes sits Veðrfölnir, the
falcon, who with
his piercing eyes glances to
Heaven,
Earth and
Niflheim.
Yggdrasil is
ever-green and serves as
fertile pasture
for
Heiðrún, Odin’s goat, who supplies the
heavenly
mead, the magical drink for the Gods and also for the
sacred stags;
Dáinn,
Dvalinn,
Duneyrr and
Duraþrór whose
horns drip honeydew into the Earth and make the
rivers
of the world sweet and
fresh.
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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.
-
Stanza 19 (Völva) |
Deep in the
Earth, within the
malign cauldron,
Hvergelmir, the great dragon
Níðhöggr
continually gnaws at Yggdrasil’s roots in order to
kill the
tree, as he knows that to do so would bring about the
destruction of the Gods.
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Through all
our life a tempter prowls malignant, the cruel Nidhug from the world below.
He hates that asa-light whose rays benignant
on th’ hero’s brow and glitt’ring sword
bright glow.
- R.
B. Anderson
(Viking Tales of the North) |
The squirrel named
Ratatoskr
(branch-borer) who is a busy-body, continually scampers
between the heavenly eagle and
dragon, trading tales between
them in order to stir up strife.
Mímisbrunnr (Mimir's Well) is
located next to Yggdrasil in
Midgard.
Odin came to visit the
sacrosanct pool of Knowledge to obtain
great wisdom, and
swapped the fruits from the
magical spring in exchange for
one of his eyes. As further memorial of the experience, he
broke a branch from sacred
Yggdrasil and fashioned
Gungnir,
his beloved spear from the holy wood.
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A dauntless
god drew for drink to its gleam, where he left in endless
payment the light of an eye.
From the world-ash ere Wotan went he broke a bough;
for a spear the staff he split with strength from the stem.
-
Wagner’s Dusk of the Gods
(Forman’s translation) |
Odin also hung
for nine days and
nine nights from
Yggdrasil in order to learn
wisdom, and
gazing down into the depths of
Niflheim, in deep thought and
self-wounded by
Gungnir, he received the
Knowledge he
sought. In the
Tarot,
card XII ,
The Hanged Man is a
testament to Odin’s bravery and
self-sacrifice.
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I know that I
hung on a wind-rocked tree nine whole nights,
with a spear wounded, and to Odin offered myself to myself;
on that tree of which no one knows from what root it springs.
-
Odin’s Rune Song
(Thorpe’s translation) |
Odin cut
magical runes upon
the objects that were sacred to him, gaining the eloquence
of poetry and
divination.
Ygg is one of Odin’s names and
drasill means
horse, therefore
Yggdrasil translates as
‘Odin’s horse’, the bearer of his
Soul and his
eternal
Spirit.
From: Mythology of the Norse Gods (Arthur Cotterell)
Trees of Life (Michael Tsarion)
Yew Shamanism (Michael Dunning)
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