Yggdrasil:
In the middle of Asgard, where the Gods and Goddesses live, is Yggdrasil by name, the tree of life is its fame. The eternal green Ash tree, the branches stretching out over all the nine worlds. Yggdrasil is carried by three enormous roots. Next to the first root is a well named Urd's well, where the Gods have their daily meetings. Next to the second root is Mimir's well, and the third root close to the well Hvergelmir. It is here the dragon Nidhug is chewing on one of Yggdrasil's roots. Nidhug is also known to suck the blood out of the dead bodies, that arrive at Hel. At the very top of Yggdrasil lives a giant unnamed eagle, the eagle and the dragon are bitter enemies, they truly despise each other. There is a squirrel named Ratatosk, who spends his time running up and down the Ash tree, doing what he can to keep the hatred alive between the two. "Urd" means "destiny". The generally accepted meaning of Old Norse Yggdrasill is "Odin's horse", drasill means "horse" and Ygg is one of Odin's many names. There are four stags that feast of the foliage of the Ash tree also.
In the Poetic Edda, the tree is mentioned in three poems. In the Voluspa, stanza 19, the Volva says: (Volva, a shamanic seeress)
An ash I know there stands,
Yggdrasill is its name,
a tall tree, showered
with shining loam.
From there comes the dews
that drop in the valleys.
It stands forever green over
Urd's well.
When Odin hanged, speared, for nine days on the World Tree, he uttered the words that he had 'sacrificed himself onto himself'.
In Norse mythology, the Norns are three female divine beings who have more influence over the course of destiny than any other beings in the cosmos. They dwell within the Well of Urd.
Copyright © White Wolf | Year Posted 2016
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