What is Yggdrasil?
Yggdrasil is a giant ash tree in Norse mythology, also called the “World Tree.” Its branches spread up to the heavens, and its three great roots reach to the lands of the gods, the giants and the dead, binding the nine worlds into one. One theory says its name means “the horse of Ygg (another name for Odin),” from the myth of Odin hanging from the tree. Its story is recorded in Snorri Sturluson‘s Prose Edda and elsewhere.
Yggdrasil and the nine worlds
The nine worlds joined by Yggdrasil include Asgard, home of the gods; Midgard, home of humans; Jotunheim, land of the giants; Hel, land of the dead; Niflheim, land of ice; and Muspelheim, land of fire. In the sea around Midgard lies the great serpent Jormungandr.
At the tree’s roots are the Well of Urd, where the Norns, goddesses of fate, live, and the Well of Mimir, guarded by the wise giant Mimir; the Norns tend the tree every day by pouring water and mud from the well on it so it will not wither. Many creatures live in the tree: the dragon Nidhogg, which keeps gnawing at the roots; a great eagle perched at the top; and the squirrel Ratatoskr, which runs between them carrying insults.
Odin and the runes
To gain wisdom, the chief god Odin hanged himself from a branch of Yggdrasil for nine days and nine nights, pierced by his own spear, without food or drink. At the end of this ordeal, he discovered the secret of the runes, it is said.
In Ragnarok, the final battle between the gods and the giants, Yggdrasil too shakes violently, but a man and a woman hiding within it survive and become the ancestors of a new world. The World Tree often appears in modern games and anime. Another giant tree legend is that of Miki no Kuni in Japan.
