At the centre of the Norse picture of the world stands a tree. At its roots fate is decided, in its crown an eagle keeps watch – and everything is connected to everything else.
No other idea shapes Norse mythology as much as Yggdrasil, the mighty world ash. It is the axis around which everything turns: its roots and branches link the nine worlds together, from the heights of the gods to the depths of the dead.
Among them are Asgard, the world of the Æsir gods; Midgard, the world of humans; Jötunheim, the land of the giants; Vanaheim, home of the Vanir; Álfheim of the light elves and Svartálfheim of the dwarves; as well as the fire world Muspelheim, the mist world Niflheim and the realm of the dead, Hel. The exact number and arrangement vary by source – but nine is a sacred number of the North.
Yggdrasil is no dead scaffold but a living creature full of inhabitants. In its crown sits an eagle, at its root gnaws the dragon Níðhöggr. Between the two darts the squirrel Ratatoskr, carrying – so the Grímnismál tells – their insults back and forth. Four stags feed on the buds, and other animals gnaw at the trunk: the tree suffers, and yet it bears the world.
Beneath the roots lie wells of great significance. At the Well of Urd the Norns hold court and determine fate. At Mímir’s well wisdom lies hidden – Odin sacrificed an eye there to drink from it. So the tree becomes an image of a world in which everything is connected: knowledge, fate, becoming and passing away.
If you would like to explore the web of myths further, our Rune Lexicon and our Library offer the right sources.