Ezekiel Watchers     |   home                      World Tree Yggdrasil                               Variant Yggdrasill                               The Norse world tree, omnipresent, its branches extending over all the known worlds, its roots                           extending into three of them. The name means Odin's Horse referring to the time he "rode"                               upon the tree and learned the runes. It is also at times referred to as Hoddmimir, Tree of                               Mimir, and Lærád or Lerad. It is usually called an Ash tree.                              One of Yggdrasil's roots extends into Asgard, a second root extends into the world of the frost                                                  giants while the third is in Niflheim. This is Snorri's description which, of course, differs from                               that in the Poetic Edda. Grimnismál has the roots extending into the giants realm, Hel's                               realm, and one into Midgard.                               An eagle sits in the branches of the tree and between its eyes perches a hawk. There is a                               squirrel called Ratatosk which scurries between the eagle and Nidhogg carrying messages.                               Nidhogg is the serpent which gnaws at Yggdrasil's Niflheim root.                               Along with this menagerie are four stags running in the branches eating the leaves, Heidrun                               the goat and Eikthyrmir the hart also eating leaves. With all the munching going on the tree                               needs tending - that is the task of the Norns at Urd's well under one of the roots.                               The Norns pour water over the tree every day keeping its bark white. The tree produces                               honeydew and also berries which help women with pregancy. It appears to be the giver /                               nourisher of life so it is not surprising when we read that the first humans Ask and Embla                               were created from trees (one being an Ash) or that two humans Lif and Leifthrasir will hide in                               the tree during Ragnarok with the tree's honeydew sustaining them until they can go on to                               restart humanity.                               The world tree was a symbol common to many societies. The tree specifically connecting the                               three regions of man, heaven, and the underworld appears in eastern mythology. Also Odin's                               nine night suspension in the tree's branches is similar to Finnish shamanistic practices with a                               nine night stay in a birch tree (Puhvel, 194).