The World Tree

Everything that exists grows from its roots

BEFORE THE WORLDS THERE WAS THE TREE

Before Odin. Before the gods. Before anything had a name.

There was a void — Ginnungagap, the yawning emptiness that existed before existence. Ice

to the north. Fire to the south. And where they met, something stirred.

From that first stirring came Yggdrasil — the World Tree. An ash tree so vast that its three

roots reach into three different realms. Its branches stretch so high they brush against the roof

of the sky. Its trunk is the axis around which all of existence rotates.

Everything that exists — every god, every giant, every human, every creature in all Nine

Worlds — lives within or upon or beneath Yggdrasil.

Remove the tree and everything falls into nothing.

“Remove the tree and everything falls into nothing.”

WHAT THE NAME MEANS

Yggdrasil — the name itself is a riddle.

Ygg is one of Odin’s many names — meaning the Terrible One, the Awesome One. Drasil

means horse in Old Norse.

Yggdrasil — Odin’s Horse.

But this is not a horse you ride. In the Norse tradition, to ride a tree meant to hang from it.

Yggdrasil is the gallows tree — the tree from which Odin hung himself for nine days and nine

nights to discover the runes.

The most powerful tree in existence is named after the act of self-sacrifice that gave the Norse

world its alphabet.

“Yggdrasil — Odin’s Horse. The gallows tree.
Named for the sacrifice that gave the world its alphabet.”

THREE ROOTS. THREE REALMS

Yggdrasil stands on three roots — each reaching into a different world, each drawing from a

different well.

ROOT ONE — ASGARD

The first root reaches into Asgard — the realm of the gods. Beneath it lies the Well of Urd — the well

of fate, tended by the three Norns: Urd, Verdandi and Skuld. Past, present and future. Every day the

Norns draw water from this well and pour it over Yggdrasil’s roots to keep the tree alive.

ROOT TWO — JÖTUNHEIMR

The second root reaches into Jötunheimr — the realm of the giants. Beneath it lies Mimir’s Well —

the well of wisdom and knowledge. Odin sacrificed his eye to drink from it. One eye for the wisdom of

all things — a trade Odin never regretted.

ROOT THREE — NIFLHEIMR

The third root reaches into Niflheimr — the primordial realm of ice and mist. Beneath it lies

Hvergelmir — the roaring cauldron, the source of all rivers in the Norse cosmos. Here Nídhöggr

The corpse gnawer — endlessly chews at the root, trying to destroy the tree from below.

THE NINE WORLDS

Within and around Yggdrasil exist the Nine Worlds — the complete Norse cosmology. Each

world is distinct, each inhabited by different beings, each connected to the others through the

branches and roots of the tree.

ASGARD — Realm of the Aesir gods

MIDGARD — Realm of humans

JÖtunheimr — Realm of the Giants

Vanaheimr — Realm of the Vanir Gods

Home of the older gods — Freyr, Njör›r, the nature deities. Allied with the Aesir after war.

ÁLFHEIMR — Realm of the Light Elves

A luminous world of beings more beautiful than the sun. Given to Freyr as a gift.

Svartalfheimr — Realm of the Dark Elves and Dwarves

Underground realm of master craftsmen – forges of Mjölnir,Gleipnir and Gungnir.

NIFLHEIMR — Realm of ice and mist

The primordial cold. Oldest of all realms. Sou

rce of all rivers. Root of Nídhöggr.

MÚSPELLSHEIMR — Realm of fire

The primordial fire. Guarded by Surtr — the fire giant who will set the world ablaze at Ragnarök.

HEL — Realm of the dead

Where those who die of illness, old age or accident go. Ruled by Hel — daughter of Loki.

“Nine worlds. One tree. Everything connected
— whether the worlds know it or not.”