Yggdrasil - The World Tree

The Cosmic Ash Tree

The Nature of Yggdrasil

Yggdrasil (Old Norse: Yggdrasill) is the enormous ash tree that stands at the center of the Norse cosmos, connecting all Nine Realms. The tree is not merely large—it is described as stretching across all of existence, with branches that reach into the heavens and roots that delve into the deepest underworld. It is both the physical and spiritual axis mundi (center of the world) around which all cosmic activity revolves.

The name Yggdrasil is often interpreted as "Odin's horse" or "Steed of the Terrible One" (Ygg being one of Odin's names, and drasill meaning "horse" or "steed"). This may reference Odin's self-sacrifice when he hung himself on the tree for nine days and nights to gain the knowledge of the runes, using the tree as a shamanic "steed" to travel between worlds.

The Structure of Yggdrasil

The Three Roots

Yggdrasil has three great roots that extend into three different realms:

The Branches and Nine Realms

The branches of Yggdrasil spread across the sky and support the Nine Realms of Norse mythology:

The Inhabitants of Yggdrasil

Creatures Living On and In the Tree

Yggdrasil hosts numerous beings:

The Suffering of Yggdrasil

Despite being the cosmic pillar supporting all existence, Yggdrasil endures constant suffering. The Prose Edda lists the tree's torments:

The Norns work daily to preserve the tree by covering its wounds with water and mud from the Well of Urd, but the damage continues. This image of a suffering tree reflects the Norse worldview that even the foundation of reality is under constant assault—existence itself is precarious, maintained only through eternal effort against inevitable decay.

Yggdrasil as Sacred Center

The gods hold their daily council at the Well of Urd beneath Yggdrasil's root in Asgard. They ride across Bifrost to reach this sacred place. The tree serves as the cosmic courthouse where divine justice is administered and where the fates of gods, humans, and all beings are determined by the Norns.

Odin's Sacrifice on Yggdrasil

The most famous event associated with Yggdrasil is Odin's self-sacrifice to gain the knowledge of runes. For nine days and nine nights, Odin hung himself from the tree, pierced by his own spear, "a sacrifice of myself to myself." Through this shamanic ordeal—experiencing death without dying—he gained the wisdom of the runes, the magical alphabet that could shape reality.

This act transformed Yggdrasil into a gallows tree, associating it with both wisdom and death, making it a vehicle for transformation through suffering.

Yggdrasil and Ragnarok

At Ragnarok, Yggdrasil will shake violently as the cosmos is torn apart. The tree will tremble, but remarkably, it will survive the cataclysm. Two humans, Líf and Lífþrasir, will hide in the World Tree and survive by drinking the morning dew. When the world is reborn, they will emerge to repopulate the earth.

Thus Yggdrasil serves not only as the foundation of the current cosmos but also as the seed and shelter for the renewed world to come—a symbol of continuity through catastrophe.

Symbolic Meaning

Yggdrasil embodies several key themes in Norse thought:

Related Concepts

📚 Primary Sources: Yggdrasil Described

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Poetic Edda:Völuspá:Stanzas 19-20
"An ash I know there stands, Yggdrasil 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. From there come the maidens mighty in wisdom, three from the dwelling down beneath the tree; Urd is one named, Verdandi the next—on the wood they scored—and Skuld the third. They laid down laws, they laid down lives, to the sons of men, and set their fates."
Source: Poetic Edda, Völuspá (c. 10th-13th century CE)
Prose Edda:Gylfaginning:Chapter 15-16
"The ash is greatest and best of all trees. Its branches spread over the world and reach up over heaven. The tree has three roots, which are spread very far. One is among the Ases; another among the frost-giants, where Ginnungagap formerly was; the third reaches into Niflheim, under which is Hvergelmir, but Nithog gnaws at this root from below... It is told that more serpents lie beneath Yggdrasil's ash than fools can imagine. Four stags run in the branches of the ash and bite the buds."
Source: Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson (c. 1220 CE)
Poetic Edda:Hávamál:Stanzas 138-139
"I know that I hung on a windy tree nine long nights, wounded with a spear, dedicated to Odin, myself to myself, on that tree of which no man knows from where its roots run. No bread did they give me nor a drink from a horn, downwards I peered; I took up the runes, screaming I took them, then I fell back from there."
Source: Poetic Edda, Hávamál - Odin's sacrifice on Yggdrasil
Poetic Edda:Grímnismál:Stanzas 31-35
"The ash Yggdrasil endures hardship, more than men know: the stag bites from above, on the sides it rots, and Nidhogg gnaws from below. More serpents lie under Yggdrasil's ash than any fool can imagine... Ratatoskr is the name of the squirrel which shall run on the ash of Yggdrasil; the eagle's words he shall bring from above and say them to Nidhogg beneath."
Source: Poetic Edda, Grímnismál

🔗 Related Across the Mythos

Archetype
🌳 WORLD TREE / AXIS MUNDI

Yggdrasil is the cosmic axis connecting all realms - a universal symbol of cosmic structure and interconnection.

See parallels across traditions →
Within Norse Mythology
👁️ Odin - Hung on the tree for wisdom 🔥 Ragnarok - When Yggdrasil trembles 🌌 Nine Realms - Connected by the tree

🌍 Cross-Cultural Parallels

🕉️ Mount Meru Hindu ✡️ Tree of Life Jewish/Kabbalistic 🌎 Ceiba Tree Mayan

📚 See Also

🧵 The Norns 🌌 Norse Creation 🏰 Asgard