Yggdrasil: The tree of life Necklace Amethyst

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Norse mythology, Yggdrasill is an enormous ash tree that connects the nine worlds, including the underworld (Niflheim), the world of humans - the earth (Midgard), and the realm of the gods (Asgard), nestle among the branches and roots. While the spelling of ''Yggdrasil'' can seem a little daunting for English speakers, the pronunciation is not actually very challenging: the word is pronounced ''IG-drah-sill.'' While the etymology of Yggdrasil is somewhat contested, one theory is that it means ''Tree of the Horse of Odin'' from Yggr, meaning Odin, and drasill meaning horse. Odin was one of the most important gods in the Norse pantheon and he was said to travel across Yggdrasil on his horse, Sleipnir. Yggdrasill is associated with both life and death: it acts as a gallows that the god Odin hangs himself from in order to gain mystical knowledge, and it is said to be the source of new life after Ragnarök (Doomsday), the catastrophic final war of the gods.

 

The Viking tree of life also has several other names. It is sometimes called Hoddmímis holt, Mímameiðr, and Læraðr. Each of these names is attested in one or more ancient Norse poems. It is not always clear that these names are intended to refer to Yggdrasil, but most scholars agree that it is at least a strong possibility. All of the names are referring to large trees that have spiritual and religious significance and that contain one or several worlds.