It is from this side that the legend of the World Tree Yggdrasil in Scandinavian mythology should be considered.

Yggdrasil:

Ygg - a variety of ash;

Dra - tree;

Strength is universal.

It is believed that Yggdrasil is an ash tree, but on it all the fruits grow and all the flowers that exist in the world bloom. Its berries have a property that helps women resolve their burdens, and the fate of people is written on the leaves. Therefore, this is the symbol of all life on earth, the symbol of the foundation of the worlds.

In the Northern tradition, there is a direction called "Sate", which is engaged in traveling to different directions of reality. Goddess Seita - Freya.

According to legend, there are "nine worlds", it is their symbols that are nine irreversible Runes. "Nine" is the number of eternal life and eternal renewal.

The vertical support is the axis, which represents the confrontation between the conscious and the unconscious, light and darkness. The horizontal plane is the electrical destructive energy of fire and the magnetic creative energy of ice.

Hel (Hagalaz) is the lowest of the worlds. The realm of the dead, cold, darkness and immobility. The mistress in the world of Death is the Giantess Hel, the daughter of the god Loki and Angrboda. Her dwelling is called Wet Drizzle, the walls of which are made of poisonous snakes, and the doors face north.

Through this world, we establish a connection with our Family, past incarnations, intuition. This is where you realize your purpose in life.

A little higher is Svartalfaheim (Eyvaz) - the world of dark elves, dwarfs, dwarves (zwerg). This is the world of dwarves who inhabit the world underground.

“Then the gods sat on their thrones and held council and remembered the dwarfs that were wound up in the soil and deep in the earth, like worms in a dead body. Dwarfs were born first in the body of Ymir, they were indeed worms. But by the will of the gods, they acquired a human mind and took on the appearance of people. They live, however, in the earth and in stones. There was the elder Modsognir, and the second was Durin. [Younger Edda, Vision of Gylvi].

Dwarfs know magic that they never share. They are skillful craftsmen who create things beyond the power of people and Ases. They are the most skillful masters of jewelry and blacksmithing. In the field of creating magical values, they are the first. They have more reserves of gold and valuables than in other worlds, with the exception of the worlds of Asgard and Hel. There are many wise men among them. The smartest creature in the world is the dwarf Quasir, and the second after him is the sage - Alvis.

However, there are inhabitants of Lessalfaheim who inhabit the earth and the air above the earth - the elves. They are incorporeal, very rarely shown, but their task is to make the world joyful and cheerful. We can meet elves in flowers, trees and sunlight.

Our study of this world is the manufacture of amulets and artifacts. This is work with cash flows, small business and the ability to earn and receive money.

Niflheim (Isa) - the Land of Mists, the Kingdom of Snow. There is never clear weather here. The energy of this world is passive.

Niflheim (yin) is considered one of the two primeval worlds. When he collided with Muspelheim (yang), ice began to melt in the southern regions and the first living creature appeared from under them - the giant Ymir.

It is very dangerous to get stuck in this world for a long time, because the Abode of Cold is able to "suck out" the heat from the most seemingly hardened traveler.

Here in Niflheim, Karma and Dharma are being worked on.

Midgard (Yera) - the twin of our world, the world of people, the middle city, is located on the central axis of the Tree.

The walls of Midgard are made of the eyelashes of the primordial being - the giant Ymir. The world is fenced by the ocean, in which the Midgard serpent - Ermungand swims. According to popular beliefs, the serpent has become a living carrier of magic that protects the world of people.

The gods favored Midgard and therefore connected it with the sky with a rainbow bridge, which was given the name - Bivrest (from other Icelandic "rainbow").

The main protector of this world from the jotuns and the world serpent is Thor.

The study of Midgard is the acceptance of spiritual and material values, serving the gods, understanding the beautiful.

Jotunheim (Nautiz) - the outlying zone of the earth, where demons and giants live.

Here, high mountains obscure the horizon so that this world may seem one of the darkest.

In this world are Yarnvid (Iron Forest), Gastropnir (the fortress of the famous Jotun healer), Mimir's Spring.

The city of Utgard is the largest Jotun settlement in all the Nine Worlds.

Lord of Utgard - Utgard-Loki. He is both a sorcerer and a war leader, although he enjoys much more power and respect from his subjects than the king of Jotunheim himself.

This world lives according to its own laws and does not obey the world order established by Odin, Vili and Ve.

Working through this world is the development of levels of thinking.

Vanaheim (Inguz) - the world of the Vanir, a race of gods and spirits that are focused on agriculture. They are the patrons of fertility and are associated with the cult of nature and the earth.

Vanaheim has the most pleasant climate and always has fine weather. This is the real granary of the Nine Worlds.

The Vanir appeared suddenly, perhaps from outside the Nine Worlds. The Vanir themselves say that they settled Vanaheim when the pelvic part of Ymir (as the most fertile) turned into a stable continent.

One of the abode of Freya, which is called "the house of Freya", is located in Vanaheim. Freya is one of the most popular goddesses in the Northern tradition. Goddess of love and fertility, mistress of the Vanir.

Vanaheim's study is the ability to manage people and manage a big business.

Muspelheim (Dagaz) - Kingdom of Fire, Country of Fire Giants.

According to legend, the gods created stars from the sparks of Muspelheim. Some of them they set motionless, and some - placed in a circle so that moving they could indicate the time.

Muspelheim - literally scorched earth. Only the twentieth part of the fiery Kingdom is accessible to people, the rest of the territory is filled with liquid lava or engulfed in fire.

Fire ethins live here. The people are cheerful and exuberant. Their laughter is very contagious, and their favorite pastime is to set off fireworks. The lord of the ethins is Surt, and the mistress is Sinmara.

Muspelheim is a channel that connects man with the cosmos.

Muspelheim's study is the management of emotions and the ability to communicate with people.

Alfaheim (Soulou) is the birthplace of light elves. A world of light, spirits and beautiful elves. A kingdom located above the human world.

Estara T'Shirai:

Illusions here are a natural part of reality: it is a game, it is the art of working with forms and an integral part of the nature of this world and its inhabitants.

Time here flows very unevenly, and the cycle of the seasons varies depending on the area.

Rod Landreth, Seidmad:

"I usually get into their world through the gates that open next to one of the large branches of Yggdrasil. In general, all the seasons there are idealized and reflected in the landscape itself. Their society is organized in a medieval way: the local nobility runs everything - in fact, the elves "But, besides them, there are many commoners (vettir - spirits), performing a wide variety of functions. Dwellings there change in accordance with the seasons; some noble elves live in magnificent mansions, others in castles, others in luxurious palaces. I often I visit the domain of the Duke of Autumn and the Duchy of Spring, and sometimes I look into the mountain castle of the Old Duke of Winter. Summerland is usually too hot for me. All these names I gave these lands myself - based on what season they best correspond to In addition to them, there are also smaller possessions: air, sea, river, lake, forest, steppe, hilly and others, corresponding to different landscapes.

The elves are on excellent terms with the Ases and the Vanirs, but they do not find a common language with the Jotuns.

The study of this world is the materialization of fantasies.

Asgard (Gebo) - a heavenly city, the abode of the aesir gods. Golden kingdom. White kingdom. It contains twelve castles. No one can enter this world without an invitation.

This is the smallest world of the Nine and is inhabited by the smallest race - aces.

Asgard is a masterpiece of beauty, with a view of the other eight worlds from the top of the Tree.

Asgard was created from the cervical vertebrae of Ymir by three brothers - Odin, Vili and Ve.

This is the most pleasant place to stay in all the Nine Worlds.

The study of Asgard is the acceptance of God in oneself.

The ancients had extensive knowledge in the fields of geography, astronomy, medicine, zoology, ecology, and botany, and it was this knowledge, and not "savagery" or "lack of civilization" that led to such a peculiar attitude. It is hard to believe that, say, the Vikings, who traveled almost the whole world on their ships and, therefore, were well versed in physical geography, could claim that he was really located on the branch of a monstrous tree. It should be remembered that any pagan myth affects, first of all, not the physical, but the spiritual side of life, the meaning of which will be considered here. In fairness, it should be mentioned that, along with the main spiritual meaning, a myth often describes a certain natural process by way of allegory, but this aspect of it is not the main one.
Slavic and German tribes, living near dense forests where oak, ash, birch, pine, spruce and other broad-leaved and coniferous trees grew, could not fail to notice that the tree is not a simple plant. A tree, together with other organisms that depend on it (insects, herbs, fungi, etc.), constitutes a complex biosystem in which the life of each organism, the second and subsequent levels, depends on the state of the tree. All this was noticed and described in the language of myth, and the universality of natural models made it possible to describe their ideas about the spiritual structure of the Universe in the simplest way. Thus, a natural model of the world order emerged, originating from the laws of Nature itself. The worlds and inhabitants of the crown (various sacred animals) of the Tree, in this interpretation, were considered as organisms of the second level, directly dependent on It, the inhabitants of the Worlds - as organisms of subsequent biological levels.

This does not exhaust the symbolism of the World Tree. In the texts of myths, It appears to us not only as the Foundation of the Worlds, but also as the Altar of the Universe, on which one of the Gods sacrifices Himself, capable of saving the Worlds and endowing him with wisdom. In the spiritual background of mythology, one can see the symbolic structure of man. In the Slavic tradition, each of the three Worlds corresponds to one component of the essence of man: Reality - the Body; Nav - Soul; Rule - Spirit. The Scandinavian system, which mentions the Nine Worlds, is somewhat more difficult to perceive: Midgard - Body, Ego; Muspelheim - Fire Energy; Niflheim - Ice Energy; Asgard - Consciousness, Creation; Hel - Unconscious, Destruction; Vanaheim - Peace, Balance; Etunheim - Movement, Activity; Svartavlheim - Emotions; Lessavlheim - Feelings. Note that Midgard - the world of manifested forms - is in the center in the schematic structure of Yggdrasil, representing the result of the interaction of other factors. Based on the numerology characteristic of the Nordic mysteries, we can say that both systems of the World Tree are associated with the number three, and this, in turn, allows us to draw some analogies between them: Reality - Midgard, Svartavlheim, Lessavlheim; Nav - Hel, Etunheim, Niflheim; Rule - Asgard, Vanaheim, Muspelheim. [Three and multiples of it occupy a special place in the mythology of many Indo-European cultures: Three Worlds in the Slavic Tradition (Yav, Nav and Rule); three roots of Yggdrasil; three Norns (Urd, Vernandi and Skuld); three roosters - a harbinger of Ragnarok, and others ... Many images associated with the troika have survived in a Christianized society, however, having lost a significant part of their semantic load, which can be seen in the names and content of Russian folk tales and epics: " three kingdoms - copper, silver and gold"; "three trips of Ilya Muromets"; Far Far Away kingdom; three fabulous brothers; three roads at a crossroads, etc., etc.

If we talk about the reasons for the choice of one or another type of Tree by the Slavs and Scandinavians, then here we should recall the traditional symbolism of oak and ash. In the northern Indo-European cultures, both trees were perceived as the most sacred and possessing the most powerful magic. They symbolized power, strength, wisdom, masculinity and spiritual strength, being associated in mythological representations with the supreme deity or the god of thunder. It is known that the Slavs often arranged temples in oak forests, and sometimes made sacrifices directly to the tree, while ash wood served the Scandinavians for making the strongest amulets and the best sets of runes, as well as for performing magical rituals. In addition, those familiar with the bioenergetics of trees may note that ash and oak (as opposed to willow and aspen, associated with the feminine principle in Nature) belong to the group of trees that "radiate" positive bioenergy. The ancients, for sure, knew about such properties of trees and as the Foundation of the Worlds they represented the Tree "sharing" its energy, and not "taking" it. Recall that houses (and houses in ancient times were perceived as a miniature model of the Universe) were never built, for example, from aspen. Wells (leading deep into the earth - to the World of the Dead), on the contrary, were made exclusively from it, which, undoubtedly, had a purely practical aspect: aspen, "radiating" negative bioenergy, killed bacteria and microorganisms in the water, which significantly reduced the likelihood epidemics raging in medieval Europe, where wells were built mainly of stone.

the text presented here certainly does not exhaust the symbolism of the Tree in the Nordic tradition. And is it really possible to exhaust with one article or even one book what was created by the ancestors for thousands of years? It is truly possible to write a huge study, equipped with countless theories and scientific facts, but still not comprehend the sacred essence inherent in the myth, because the sacred is comprehended not so much by the mind as by the "superconsciousness of the archetype", and any attempt to state It in words is only a reflection private vision of the subject and can only help a person in his Comprehension.

anthropomorphic tree

or a man in the form of a plant

Yggdrasil appears to be similar to a human being. However, the northern mentality is characterized by a direct identification of a tree and a person, since it is known that the very first human couple was created - not by creation, but by “animation” - from two tree trunks found on the coast (see, for example, “Divination of the Völva”) .

After all, even the name of the first man, Ask, means “ash”, since he was created from a branch of this tree (as for the first woman, Embla, her name means “elm”). Indeed, a certain correlation is seen between the cosmic Tree and man. The notion that humans are descended from a tree was widespread in ancient Europe. Even in Greece, it was believed that some childbirth comes from the spirit of the ash tree.

Mankind is a creation of the cosmos, a creation to which the gods wish to give reason and proper “human” life. However, even before the gods breathed a soul into him, man was a living being, in this case a tree. By granting him breath, life, authenticity, as it is said in the Eddas, the gods may have violated the natural world order of things, which, one way or another, but inevitably, should have led to Ragnarok.

However, let us continue our analysis of the similarities between Yggdrasil and humans. If Yggdrasil is a reflection of a person, he, as it is clear, rests on three pillars, which, according to the principle of similarity, are the foundations of the human personality: wisdom (Mimir), destructive energy-life, sexual power (Niddhög) and Destiny (Norns), whose purpose is to balance the entire system and make the plane lean to one side or the other.

Tree of Life...

Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life, has nine worlds. However, “nine” is also the number of eternal life, eternal renewal. The image of Yggdrasil testifies to the constant cycle, its incessant destruction and rebirth. Its foliage serves as food for the Eikturnir deer, from whose horns all the waters flow, feeding the Hvergelmir spring, which, in turn, waters the tree ... Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life, symbolizes the irresistible power of Life. He gives shelter to the dead, and revives to existence with the help of his berries.

Here you can think about the “double” of the Yggdrasil tree in the vast Valley of Wonders that surrounds Mount Bego - the mountain that rises near the Tand Gorge, associated with Thor (due to the fact that it is filled with iron, which regularly attracts lightning to it). This place is one of the most ancient sanctuaries in the world, which is at least 4000 years old. There, in the valley of Fountain Alb, in a direction perpendicular to a small brook, the Tree of Life rises, causing, writes Emilia Masson, the thought of “its sudden appearance, as soon as the seething waters subsided. This picture, simple and at the same time full of exciting beauty, concentrates all the variety of Indo-European beliefs associated with the tree of life”.

The towering tree, the tree-phallus, the symbol of the father, and at the same time hollow, inhabited by many creatures, the symbol of the mother, Yggdrasil is truly a reflection of the original hermaphrodite, the giant Ymir, from whose body, having killed him, Odin and his brothers Vili and Ve created the multiverse in all its beauty.

... and world axis

Mircea Eliade considered Yggdrasil to be "a highly cosmic tree". When the end of the world comes, and the world trembles and collapses, the Tree trembles, but does not fall. He also proved with many examples that no religion could do without the concept of the Center of the World.. “Studying the myths and legends related to the Tree of Life, we constantly come across the idea, according to which it was understood that the Tree, being in the center of the Universe, connects the Earth and the Underworld.”

“In one medieval Germanic riddle,” writes M. Eliade, “it is about a certain tree, whose roots go deep into the Underworld, and the top reaches the Throne of the Lord, whose branches embrace the World, and this tree is exactly the Cross. Indeed, for Christians, the Cross personifies the support of the World”. It is possible, having every reason to believe that the German “Christians” managed to integrate the image of the center, characteristic of their tradition, into the new faith.

As Nigel Pennick has shown, “There are two related but distinctly different ideas associated with the cosmic axis. The first is the Cosmic Axis as a spiritual model, a way of viewing or explaining the phenomenon encountered during the journey of the soul both in the physical body and out of the body. The second is a group associated with the physical geolocation of a certain object, which is a universal image or reflection of the eternal cosmic reality”.

Nigel Pennick emphasized that most of the famous geo-mythological points considered as the center of the World or expressing the concept of the cosmic axis were associated with the myths of dragon slayers. The dragon or serpent symbolizes the energies of the Earth, rumbling, unbridled wild and dangerously free. Initiates of past times unmistakably searched for places where they could symbolically or physically (with the help of stone, wood) fix these wild forces in order to subdue them.

Ash...

As follows from the Eddic texts, it is supposedly about ash. According to Nigel Pennick, this tree is traditional "for divination and sorcery, for its buds are crescent-shaped, indicating its connection with [...] the moon goddess Mani." In northern Europe, ash wood was widely used for the manufacture of weapons and tools, especially those that had a magical purpose. It was believed that ash serves as a good conductor of magical power. Gungnir, the spear of Odin, was an ash stake, symbolizing the "mobile version" of the cosmic axis Yggdrasil. According to the same Pennick, the ash tree serves as a powerful defense against any harmful influences. Pennick gives many examples, borrowed from traditional European superstitions or folklore, where ash is used for magical purposes.

... or yew?

Although we know from the texts that Yggdrasil is an ash tree, some may wonder if it is rather a yew tree or even an oak tree? So, Professor Jan de Vries had a question, why, along with the widespread in some areas (Iceland and Norway) idea of ​​Yggdrasil as an ash tree, in others (Denmark and Sweden). not to exist to the idea of ​​him as a yew. Previously, he recalled that the sacred tree of the sanctuary of Uppsala (Sweden), evergreen and bearing fruits with healing properties, was probably a yew.

In one of the Eddic texts it is said that the berries of Yggdrasil brought relief from pain during the period of female ailments. But the ash tree does not bear berries, unlike the yew, the fruits of which supposedly have important healing properties that cure women's ailments and facilitate pregnancy. We should not forget that in the Old Norse language yew was sometimes called barraskr, i.e. “ash with needles

Below we will talk about the chemical, especially hallucinogenic, properties of yew. In the meantime, we note that these properties can also serve as one of the arguments in favor of the identity of Yggdrasil to yew.

As for the identification of the World Tree with the oak, there are also arguments in favor of this version, especially within the continental German territories. There are images of a sacred tree in the form of an oak, dedicated to Thor and symbolizing military prowess, fortitude, courage and loyalty. In the Volsunga Saga, the oak towering in the middle of the hall supports the royal palace with its branches. There are also many sacred oaks that literally dotted the ancient German lands. The first place among them was occupied by the Fulda oak dedicated to Donar-Tor, cut down by Boniface in 725, which was supposed to symbolize the eradication of the spirit of paganism.

Be that as it may, it is relatively useless and ridiculous to look for an absolute analogue of such a symbolic cosmic structure among the terrestrial vegetation.

three roots

Yggdrasil is based on three roots. According to the Younger Edda of Snorri Sturlusson, one of the roots goes to the Ases, the second to the frost giants, the third to Niflheim ( Niflheim- "World of Fog"). However, in the “Speech of Grimnir” of the Elder Edda, it is not about Niflheim, but about Hel, and not about the gods, but about the human race. In addition, near each of the roots flows through the source; each source is in one way or another a source of wisdom and knowledge. The root, going to the giants, hides the source of Mimir ("Memory"). Near the root leading to the gods (or people) is the source of Urd (“That which has happened”). Under the third root - the root of Niflheim (or Hel) hides the source of Hvergelmir ("Boiling Cauldron" or "Source that Rings"), where the drink of the gods is brewed. Since at the beginning there were not three norns (the sisters of Roca - Urd, Verdandi and Skuld), but only one, then at the beginning there should have been only one source.

... flora ...

Yggdrasil tree has a remarkable structure. The fates of people are written on its leaves. They ooze dew, sensibly described by Dillmann as “honeydew.”, a substance resembling the sacred drink of the gods. The "Divination of the Völva" tells us that this dew comes from the "dirt" with which the tree is spattered. Unlike other commentators, who considered it inappropriate in this case to translate Old Norse aurr as “dirt” (inclining towards nobler liquids), F.X. Dillman points out that such hypotheses “do not take into account either the healing properties inherent in the earth, or, in particular, the existence of numerous myths about the origin of honey -“ this beautiful substance , which actually contains particles of heavenly dirt.”

The berries of Yggdrasil have a certain property that helps women get rid of the burden, which speaks in favor of identifying Yggdrasil with yew. In this case, it is worth resurrecting the properties of yew in memory. Edred Thorsson notes that yew “contains an alkaloid that has a toxic effect on the central nervous system. Properly prepared, it acts as a powerful hallucinogen. Professor of Medicine Kukovka from the University of Greiz (Germany) discovered that in the heat of the yew emits a gaseous toxin, which, accumulating in the shade of a tree, can cause hallucinations in a person located under the canopy of its branches.. This aspect will turn out to be important when we turn to the consideration of the problem of shamanism.

... fauna ...

Strange representatives of the fauna are found around the tree. Today, the understanding of their symbolism has been largely lost, especially since some concepts, traditions or myths have overlapped each other, and we have no choice but to count the options for their interpretation.

At its foot Yggdrasil dwells the dragon Niddhogg; in the translation of R. Boyer, this name means “He who inflicts cruel blows” (with a short “ i”) or “The one who strikes darkly [stealthily, imperceptibly? - trans.]” (with “ i” long); F.Ks.Dillman offers the option “The one who plunges down” or, accordingly, “The one who gives birth ferociously”.

However, the serpent dragon does not always have a negative meaning, and its symbolism is ambivalent. It also serves as the personification of that unbridled force, that vital energy, which - with the ability to control it - can serve development. As the guardian of gold (Fafnir), he is an obstacle, permissible and necessary in order to surpass himself, to reach the light.. In many traditions, including Northern European ones, the dragon personifies the greatness, legitimacy and sacredness of royalty (for example, the scarlet and white dragons of the Angles, the dragons from the Merlin epic, and PenDragon, Arthur's father ...). Odin himself, about to take possession of the sacred honey, turns into a snake in order to penetrate the heart of the mountain (and, having barely taken possession of the drink and drunk it, as if by chance turns into an eagle to escape).

It is believed that the ash tree puts snakes to flight, exerting a kind of magical effect on them. Isn't this a symbol of the release of the hidden possibilities of the spirit and mind - a release that contributes to the harmonious rebirth of the dark soul of a reptile into a radiant soul, striving upward, the embodiment of which will be considered an eagle or a falcon?

Finally, the snake is universally associated with the image of woman and fertility, and thus is inextricably linked with the sources of life. So Niddhogg reclines near Hvegelmir - the source of the life-giving waters of all worlds.

In the image of the Tree, classical symbolism is found, including an eagle-sky at the top and a snake-earth at the foot. The eagle perched on top of the tree serves as a symbol of the soul or shamanic bird, ready to fly away towards Awakening. It is logical that, being the embodiment of the highest spiritual principle, the eagle, the king of birds, occupies the highest position in this structure. In many traditions, it replaces the sun.

Falcon (or hawk) Vedrfelnir (“Shed from bad weather”), staying between the eyes of an eagle, can resurrect in memory Zhgishjamr, “Helm of Horror” - the symbolic Nordic equivalent of the third eye. Vedrfelnir is also a kind of memory of the creature's incarnations, which has become an integral part of the "awakened" eagle.

The squirrel Ratatoskr (“Rodent Tooth” or “Rodent Tooth”) scurries up and down, carrying the news between the eagle and the dragon, head and body. There is a hint here that the mind and body can be placed on the same plane and neutralize (suppress) each other.

As Edred Thorsson states, “it would be a mistake to separate the discussion of the “soul” from the discussion of the “body” [...] They are closely related, but the paradox is that in runic practice they can be consciously separated from one another”. The squirrel symbolizes the neutralization of two opposing forces - the “corpse eaters” Hresvelg (eagle) and Nidhogg (dragon), which is similar to the image of a caduceus: two snakes wrapped around one axis.

It is interesting to note that deer are also depicted on the top, which, like an eagle, eat snakes.

The World Tree, Ash Yggdrasil, the key symbol of the Magic of the North. Ash is an active embodiment of the World Order, opposing the constantly advancing Chaos, “gnawing” the very roots - the basis of the Ash. Ash is an active world structure that balances the various forces of the Universe, primarily the energies of Ice and Fire - the world-creating, eternally opposing and cooperating Forces. Ash is a universal component of the Universe, present in any of its parts, objects, individuals. It is through Ash that the Universe is united into a single whole.

Ash has a well-defined structure. First of all, these are “three roots” - three sources - the basis of order, each of which has its own specific characteristic. These are the "nine worlds" - the main structures of Ash. Each world is a certain part that has its Purpose, Power and Role. And these are also “accompanying characters” - mythological symbols - images that either ensure the life of Ash, or shorten it, or use Ash.

The idea of ​​the World Tree is not unique to Northern Magic. Any ancient mythological culture has its own World Tree. At the same time, they all have similar features - universal components: the Trunk - the Middle World (the world of people), the Crown - the Upper World (the world of spirits), the Roots - the Lower World (the world of ancestors). The worlds of ancestors and spirits can change places, the number of worlds can be three, nine, twelve ...

Ash Yggdrasil is closest to the Trees of shamans of the North of Europe and Siberia, which also has a ninefold structure. And this is not surprising - the ancient meta-culture of Eurasia created the basis of many cultural traditions.

One of the aspects of Ash is extremely important for a person - Ash and Man are basically identical. Ash's worlds are identical to the structure of the human psyche. The human psyche grows from the Ash tree and is not just connected with the worlds of the Tree, but every second it affects the Universe and is affected from the outside - through the Tree of the Worlds.

It is on the mastery of Ash, as an instrument of self-creation and active action, that the deep Magic of the North, the magic of Runes, is based first of all.

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The world tree (Arbor Mundi) in the traditional mythopoetic worldview embodies the universal concept of the world. It can be the "tree of life", "tree of knowledge", "tree of fertility", "tree of ascension" (from earth to heaven, or to the underworld). Images close to the World Tree - "axis of the world" (axis mundi), "world mountain", "world pillar", "navel of the earth", as well as "world man" (the first man, usually the first anthropomorphic creature, and not actually a man). Symbolically associated with it are the symbols of a column, an obelisk, a throne, a ladder, a chain, which are used in the description of certain parameters of the world.
The World Tree plays an organizing role in any mythological system; it is a kind of coordinate axis into which other components (or their symbols) fit. "It is the dominant that determines the formal and meaningful organization of the universal space... The vertical trinity of D.M. is emphasized by the assignment to each part of a special class of creatures, most often animals (occasionally classes of deities and other mythologized characters). The upper part of D.M. is associated birds (often two - symmetrically or one - on top, often - an eagle), with a middle part (trunk) - ungulates (deer, elk, cows, horses, antelopes, etc.), occasionally bees, in later traditions and man; with the lower part (roots) - snakes, frogs, mice, beavers, otters, fish, sometimes a bear or fantastic monsters of the chthonic type "(Toporov V.N., 1980, p. 401).

This image is so powerful that it literally permeates all times and cultures, changing its form, but retaining its "life-bearing" meaning. Here is a description of a dream that a lady kindly shared with me:

"A year like this in 1995, when I was 19 years old, one image appeared in my mind. I was not fond of shamanism then, I didn’t really believe in God, and I was just beginning to streamline my views on the world. The image was and remains very bright. This is a vision, one once you visit me, it hasn't gone away.So on it, as on a foundation, everything is built.

Steppe, night, very bright and starry. But the main source of light, apparently, is not the sky, but a colossal metal pillar-rod, luminous, light golden. He is in front of me at a distance of 10-15 meters, and a little to the left. It comes straight out of the earth and goes into the sky, and it is clear that either there is no end to it, or it is not in human power to imagine its length. I go up to him and the closer I get, the more a soft, even hum is heard - sort of like in a transformer box. It seems that energy flows through this rod, like a cable. The voltage is high. I would say, the highest :) I touch him - no shocks, no burns, he is as warm as me. The fact that it is made of metal is the first impression, in fact, you can even pass through it without harm to yourself. And then, very quickly, comes the understanding that this column of energy is the same love, thanks to which EVERYTHING exists. All worlds and lives are held on it, they are strung on it, they turn around it and only in it draw strength.

The horizontal structure of the World Tree is usually associated with the ritual (sacrifice) and its participants. In addition, "a significant number of facts allows us to reconstruct two horizontal axes in the scheme of D.M., i.e. a horizontal plane (square or circle, cf. mandala), defined by two coordinates - from left to right and front to back" (Toporov V.N. ., 1980, p. 401).

Therefore, it is not surprising that the conventional image of the World Tree in shamanic cultures (where the idea of ​​the World Tree is best preserved) is traditionally built according to a similar scheme:

Its center is the Middle World, where people live and from where the shaman begins his journey to other worlds. Above (sometimes in some side of the world) is the Upper World, below (and at the same time in some side of the world) is the Lower World. The world tree (or shamanic tree) of the Upper World is usually depicted or made with branches down and roots up. World (or shamanic) Tree of the Lower World - respectively, vice versa.

Ash Yggdrasil - World Tree in Scandinavian (Old Norse) mythology. As part of her mythodramatic study, we turned to the construction of Ash as the basis, the matrix of the universe, necessary to determine the universe of the ancient Scandinavians. We have identified three main plots associated with Ash: "Yggdrasil and its inhabitants", "Nine worlds of Yggdrasil" and "Odin's sacrifice". We present the first drama: its structure, the course of a specific mythodrama and the interpretation of the images used.
Mythodram "Yggdrasil and its inhabitants"
Warm up "Trees"

Each of the participants becomes a kind of Tree, chooses a place for himself, determines what kind of tree he or she is and takes a pose. Trees are different, fruitful and non-fruitful, flowering or only with leaves, withered and surviving the winter, only - just blooming, large and small, real and fantastic.

The Director goes to each Tree and asks him what kind of tree he is. At the same time, the conditional sociometry of location looks.
Structure building

We take the prepared attribute - a rope with knots. Let's lay it out like this.

This is a symbolic image of the Yggdrasil Ash Tree, the World Tree of Scandinavian mythology: the roots, trunk and crown of the tree. In this case, we are more interested in the vertical division of the Tree, because our figure branches only in two (and not four) directions.

At the same time, it is a double image of the rune of the Elder Futhark (the magical alphabet of the ancient Scandinavians), Algiz, which has long been associated with Ash. It is no coincidence that on the Hippie "Pacific" Ash was depicted as the World Tree, in the "circle of the World". It turns out a symbol of the preservation of the world (both in the value of peace and in the value of world). I have heard this (and quite logical) interpretation of this symbol, although other sources still claim that the sign was consciously created as a superimposition (overlay) of semaphore signs (i.e., how flags are signaled) for the letters N and D (Nuclear Disarmament). If this is true, then the unexpected appearance of the World Tree in a pacifist drawing seems surprising, not even a sign, but a sign.
Main source text:

"That ash tree is bigger and more beautiful than all trees. Its branches are stretched over the world and rise above the sky. Three roots support the tree, and these roots diverge far. and under this root is the Boiling Cauldron stream, and from below this root is gnawed by the dragon Nidhogg.And under the root that stretches out to the frost giants is the source of Mimir, in which knowledge and wisdom are hidden.Mimir is the name of the owner of this source. He is filled with wisdom because he drinks the water of this spring from the horn of the Gjallahorn. Once the Allfather came there and asked for a drink from the source, but he did not receive a drop until he pledged his eye. Thus it is said in the "Divination of the Völva":

I know one
Where is your eye hidden?
Hidden in the source
Glorious Mimir!
Every morning
Mimir drinks honey
From the pledge of the Lord,
Is this enough for you?

Under that root of the ash tree that is in the sky, a spring flows, revered as the most sacred, its name is Urd. There is the place of the fate of the gods... Under that ash tree, near the spring, there is a beautiful hall, and three virgins come out of it. Their names are Urd, Verdandi, Skuld. These maidens judge people's fates, we call them norns... An eagle with great wisdom lives in the branches of an ash tree. And between his eyes sits the hawk Vedrfölnir ("faded from the weather"). The rodent squirrel darts up and down the ash tree and bears the swear words that the eagle and the dragon Nidhogg hurl at each other. Four deer run among the branches of an ash tree and eat its leaves. Their names are Dain, Dwalin, Dunair and Duratror. And there are no number of snakes that live in the Boiling Cauldron with Nidhogg ... And they say that the norns who live at the Urd spring draw water from it every day along with the mud that covers its banks, and water the ash tree so that it does not dry out and its branches did not wither. And this water is so sacred that everything that enters the source becomes white, like a film lying under the shell of an egg ... People call the dew that falls on the ground, honey, and bees feed on it. Two birds live in the source of Urd, they are called swans, and from here came the whole breed of birds, which is called so. "(Sturluson S., 1994, p. 32 - 36.)
Stage 1. "Roots of the tree"

Characters: Yggdrasil, Frost Giants, Aces, Serpents.

All members of the group choose one of the roles. The roles are rather "general": a snake, one of the aces, a goddess, a giant, etc. Each group takes their end of the rope (the root of the tree). Interaction with each other is not specifically specified. There is some spontaneous play action. After the end of the scene (the director uses, for example, the ringing of a bell), everyone remains in their places. The director conducts a short survey.

Questions: Who are you? What do you own? What are you doing? What do you want?

Stage 2. "Three sources"

Characters: Yggdrasil, Mimir, three norns, Nidhogg the serpent, Odin, (two swans optional).

Roles are selected. Three norns can be collectively. Two swans can participate if all other key roles are already there.

Plot: The serpent lives in the spring and gnaws at the root. Norns water the tree by drawing water from a spring. Mimir at his source of wisdom. Odin comes to Mimir and asks to drink from the source. Traded. Two swans (if any) swim.

The scene ends naturally, after Odin receives permission from Mimir.

Questions: Who are you? What is this source? (What does this source give?) What are you doing here? What do you want? What do you feel?

Yggdrasil: What do you feel?
Stage 3. "Inhabitants of the Tree"

Characters: Yggdrasil, Eagle and hawk, Squirrel Ratatoskr, Serpent Nidhogg.

Group members choose new roles. The characters take their places on the Tree along the "trunk". Character introduction: "Who are you?", "What are you doing here?", "What do you want?" can be done at the beginning, before the game scene. Some time is allotted for the game action. The scene is interrupted by the ringing of a bell.

Questions: "What do you feel", "One key phrase from the role."

Yggdrasil: What do you feel?
Stage 4. "Eaters of the Tree"

Characters: three (four) deer and Heidrun the goat.

Introduction of participants into their chosen roles. The characters take their places in the crown of the tree. Bell ringing at the beginning of the scene. Arbitrary game action. Ends with the ringing of a bell.

Questions: Who are you? What are you doing here? What do you want? What do you feel?

Yggdrasil: What do you feel?
Stage 5. "Collecting all the creatures of the Tree"

Characters: Eagle, hawk, snake, squirrel; three norns, two swans; four deer, one goat; Odin and Mimir; Heimdall.

Group members choose their roles or remain in their roles. All characters take their places on the tree. The ringing of the bell marks the beginning of the game action. Arbitrary game action. The ringing of the bell ends the scene.

Question to Heimdall: Who are you? What are you doing here? What do you want?

Question to Yggdrasil: How do you feel?

Sharing. For this scene and throughout the story as a whole.

Remove all roles.
Drama Progress (17.06.2004)

Warm up: Trees - mostly coniferous and Mediterranean (cedars and pines, one "apple tree without apples").
Scene 1

Three people are snakes, three are frost giants, four are aces.

Snakes express desire and action: to gnaw at the roots, to lie still and keep the root still.

Frost giants talk about maintaining balance, it is important for them, they are pleased with themselves.

Aces talk about creativity, the need to create; truth...

Yggdrasil feels sorrow.
Scene 2

The dragon violently "boils" in his Cauldron, pulls the root (the end of the rope), which makes the whole "tree" shake. Norns (four, norn Urd - in two persons) sit in Asgard. The tree was watered once or twice, no more. They talk about something of their own, talk with swans. Swans feel detached and perfect, perfect.

One is very passive, unsure of himself. At first, he feels like Mimir's "younger brother", who should favor Odin and therefore will definitely give him a sip of the source of wisdom. Mimir does not allow to approach the source. One is very indecisive, all the time asking what to do. Norns are connected, they advise to give an eye. One is still undecided. Bargaining unsuccessfully with Mimir. Finally, he understands something (says: "Ah, Mimir is just the keeper of the source? Is that all?"), tries to take away the sources by force, betraying his eye. He is aided by the norns and by force take away the source from Mimir, shouting "Such is fate!"

Odin's indecisiveness causes impatience of other characters (except swans). The dragon is also waiting and shouting to Odin, giving advice (later he admitted that he wanted to lure him to him, cook and eat). Yggdrasil feels nauseous, lays down on the rug in the middle of the "trunk".
Scene 3

The most dynamic scene. Two squirrels rush and pass words from the dragon to the eagle, adding from themselves. “The tree will shake, shake, shake and you will fall as an eagle”, “You will shed, the whole skin will come off, and you will be a completely naked dragon”, etc. The delight of the squirrels themselves and all those around them. Yggdrasil at the end of the scene speaks of subsided sadness and expectation.
Scene 4

Four deer and a goat. They feel hunger and satiety, satiety in the process of "eating". Yggdrasil feels sadness, sadness.
Scene 5

The main part of the group concentrated in the roots. There was no eagle. At the top there was a hawk, a goat, a squirrel remained. All the rest were in the roots. There was Odin, but he also did not know what to do, he wanted to leave altogether, to remove the role. (Another sign that the plot itself was out of place? .. Probably.) The dragon is very active, he was going to crawl up the tree, chewing on the trunk already. At first, he bullied the remaining Hawk, shouted "Go to the goat's ass" (to the delight of others). The hawk was only annoyed by squirrels, at some point he reminded Belka (the one remaining) that he actually hunts them. The Norns are calm.
Sharing

The Norns spoke of indifference, of fate and permanence, the immutability of predestination. Squirrels are delighted with the trickster role. Goats and deer are about hunger and satisfaction, a sense of life. Yggdrasil - about sadness, joy only in four cases: twice, when they watered, once, when they unexpectedly fed something, once - when Squirrel came into contact with him, as if he were alive, and not just ran along a tree.
Participant's impression (Marina "Isis" Zaitseva):

"Yesterday, almost "accidentally" I came across something completely new for me - a MYTHODRAMA based on Scandinavian myths! "Yggdrasil and its inhabitants." This is something like a psychological training, but based on myths. It was necessary to imagine some mythical characters and through this experience any emotional experience

It was very interesting to watch their reactions. I chose roles on the first impulse, and already being in it, I felt that this is just what suits me! I was also very interested in the emotional transitions to the opposite state when you play different characters, completely different!

Selected roles:
ace (there were also giants and snakes),
norna Urd - Fate watering Yggdrasil (there were 2 more norns, passive swans, Mimir, Odin and a dragon)
Deer eating the crown of Yggdrasil (there were 3 more deer and a goat)

I also really wanted to be the squirrel Ratatoskr, which carried out communication between the Eagle at the top of Yggdrasil and the dragon at the roots, but there were already too many of these squirrels ...

As - I felt like a Creator, I really wanted to be active, and change everything, streamline, etc.

Norn of Fate - a feeling of complete indifference, calmness and passivity. However, it gave me not so much comfort and harmony as absolute boredom! When you know the fate of everything around you and your own, it becomes immensely boring. And completely calm, and you can’t understand why everyone is fussing around, wanting something - and so everything is predetermined a long time ago! ..

Deer - absolutely kayfovo state! Unexpectedly, I felt great bliss from eating leaves from the Tree of Life! Perfect animal state of Pleasure! Commenting, I gave out a phrase that struck me myself - eating leaves from the Tree of Life, I feel ecstatic pleasure, because I feel the FULLNESS OF LIFE!

I became a deer purely out of curiosity, because I read about them the day before in Anton Platov's book "The Road to Avallon" - everywhere in the illustrations on ancient bracelets and clothes there is a pattern in the form of the World Tree and deer on both sides eating leaves from it! I could not understand the deep meaning of this symbol - what is it about these deer that they are depicted everywhere !!! Well, they eat, they spoil the tree, so what?! I understood, or rather I felt it on my own deer skin ... Apparently, this is what I do every day - I eat leaves from the Tree of Life with great pleasure! And so I feel that I LIVE!

Moreover, other deer ate their branches quickly and superficially, but I could not part with mine, and ate it slowly, savoring and enjoying the sensations ...

The squirrels were good and reminded me of our media, they also seem to be telling the whole truth, but serving AS they themselves want, and inciting both sides! Maybe if it weren’t for this squirrel, then the Eagle and the Dragon wouldn’t have had any swearing - they simply wouldn’t have known about each other’s existence "
Interpretations
Trees

The warm-up was introduced by us for a symbolic entry into the theme "Tree". Traditionally in culture - the Tree is symbolically associated with the idea of ​​fertility and fruitfulness, marriage relations and the continuity of generations, the genealogy of the family and clan. Hence the associations with children as fruits and flowers, with the results of activity - "fruits of creativity", respectively with matrimony and family lines (family tree). These are all fairly conscious symbolic connections, so they are great for a smooth dive into the topic.

All members of the group playing trees together become a garden or forest. Significantly in modern imagotherapy (or symbol drama). The forest is a wilderness, personifying rather the unconscious. A garden is a cultivated vegetation associated with conscious actions. It is interesting to consider a peculiar picture of the collective unconscious of the group from this point of view. However, we will not go deep into this topic either, but let's move on to our main proto-Tree.
Ash Yggdrasil

The tree is usually interpreted as a tripartite symbol of the origins of the unconscious (roots), the realization of the conscious (trunk) and the transconscious goal or results of direct action (branches). Here we leave this interpretation. Despite the fact that the entire set of characters is set, depending on the large or small number of the group, certain accents may appear.

At the same time, the text itself already gives us a premonition of catastrophe, anxiety, expectation, and at the same time hope. The world tree of the Scandinavians of the Viking Age is not an unshakable pillar of the world - the ash tree trembles, its roots are gnawed. This is a picture of a very unsettling unstable world. Although there is hope: there are those who care and look after the tree. This is a bright and quite understandable image for modern people. The world (our Earth and all living things) from different points of view (and for various reasons) has been on the verge of death more than once over the past half century. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the sign "Pacific" appeared with Yggdrasil in a protective circle, as a symbol of it, peace, protection.

The image of Ash in this drama is key. It brings us back to the realization of what is happening, to a view of the existing world as a whole, one organism, something great and, at the same time, in need of our support. At the same time, it is always an important personal experience, especially for the band member who plays Ash himself. (We remember that a person does not leave this role throughout the drama.) Participation in such a drama can be an important personal experience and be used, for example, in environmental communities, or as part of an Ecology training course.

Ash Yggdrasil is also the basis, the matrix of the world, bringing it into an orderly system, the source of predestination and the power of laws. This meaning of the image can be used in work related to building the structure of a community or organization, a certain social model, for example, within the framework of organizational psychology. At the same time, the set of characters may not be so rigidly defined, and the members of the group may be given a wide choice.
Sources

Traditionally, the source is interpreted in imagogy (imagotherapy, symbol drama) as the beginning of everything and as the source of life - the mother figure. In this plot, the "masters of the sources" can remind the players of a kind of "giving and providing" (gods ases), ambivalent or unpredictable (frost giants) or cold and inaccessible, even dangerous (snakes) mothers. With the special significance of this topic, of course. Then they win back and are realized on the sharing or later. Or they're just playing.

In imagotherapy, the river symbolizes the development of the personality, the current state. The river has a beginning (past) and an end (future), and the observer sees its middle (present). In the case of sources, we see their beginning - at the roots, and this is the true beginning, the causes hidden deep in the collective (in this case) unconscious, in fact unknowable. We can find a continuation of them, at least in two sources: Urd and that which belongs to Mimir.

The source of the Boiling Cauldron remains beyond human knowledge. There, as before the Beginning of the World, the rivers of the Niflhel world rage, and now only snakes live there, destroying the World Tree itself. The Boiling Cauldron source has no present and future, it is always in the depths of timelessness. Therefore, snakes or Nidhogg himself can communicate something important from there, for example, in an individual monodrama, with the arrangement of toys or chairs. Not surprising here will be a connection with a rejecting or truly dangerous mother.

From the source of Mimir, the owner himself and Odin can drink, who had to pay a considerable fee (since then Odin has become one-eyed). For us, it is a symbol of spiritual knowledge and wisdom coming from the depths of centuries (the source comes from the world of frost giants, the first creatures of the Scandinavian world). It is also knowledge that must be paid for with something meaningful. It's like an experience, a life experience. Therefore, the words of the characters who own this source may also be significant for the protagonist within the monodrama. He or she may have to walk the path of Odin, (symbolically, of course) to be able to drink from the fountain of wisdom. As part of the clarification of object relations, if the owner of the source turns out to be (or will be perceived as) a mother figure, then Odin (or the protagonist) will have the choice of whether to make concessions, whether to pay with what is expensive. It can (or even should) be a separate drama.

The source of Urd in myth is an inconceivably beautiful embodiment of truth and justice. On the one hand, this is a passive spiritual principle of a person, something that can be understood and accepted with all respect. Therefore, characters associated with this source, norns or swans, are able to become "teacher" or other resource figures for the protagonist. You can, moreover, pay attention to the purity and whiteness of the waters of the Urd spring - maybe this is an analogue of mother's milk?
Eagle and hawk

At the top of Yggdrasil sits "an eagle with great wisdom." The eagle, as a high-flying strong bird that can contemplate the sun, was deified in many religious traditions. In this case, he is the embodiment of a bright divine principle, one of the personifications of the Order, and also, undoubtedly, a paternal figure. The top of the ash tree Yggdrasil is easily comparable to the symbol of the sacred Mountain, and the peak. Then the eagle sitting on the top of the ash crown turns out to be the "voice" of the Mountain, which in imagotherapy also often symbolizes "paternalistic referential figures". That is why the Eagle can also be presented as an unconditionally authoritative figure, the embodiment of the law, moral prescriptions and prohibitions, the power of tradition.

Between the eyes of the eagle sits the hawk Vödrfeldnir (that eagle must be so great!). Unlike him, who does not have a name in the Prose Edda, the hawk has a name. And it means "faded by the rain." A strange name (especially for armchair scientists), but the answer was unexpectedly found in the same books. A.V. Gura talks about the signs and beliefs associated with the hawk among the Slavs. (We know nothing about the mythological ideas of the ancient Icelanders about the hawk.) It turns out that the cry of a hawk can often be heard before the rain. Therefore, there are beliefs that the hawk can only drink rainwater, which is why it screams before the rain, asking for it from heaven (from God, in Christian ideas). So the well-known and used word "begging", meaning "to ask, beg" comes precisely from the word "buzzard", which means "hawk or kite" and refers specifically to the mythological request for rain. Therefore, apparently, the hawk on the World Tree of the Scandinavians is associated with rain.

In addition, the hawk - as a "rain bird" here may seem like a kind of shadow counterpart of the eagle - traditionally a solar bird. And yet, inextricably linked to it. Actually, two birds are often depicted on the World Tree, on either side of the trunk. But in the Old Norse model of the Tree, a hawk (a bird of prey close in lower mythology to a crow, an old rival of an eagle) sits between the eyes of the heavenly lord of birds. Doesn't it mean a kind of Shadow of the father's figure? Does the Hawk know some secret about the Eagle? What does he see better than the Eagle, and therefore sits between his eyes? The answers to these questions can be heard when acting out both a group drama and a monodrama.

The frank rivalry of the Eagle takes place in this model of the world with the Serpent. This is a classic enmity of "antagonists": "paternal" consciousness and "maternal" unconscious, mind and feelings, morality and instincts. A mythological motif found in many cultures.
Swans

The swan is one of the most ancient totems of the Germanic peoples. Swans are commonly associated with dazzling beauty, sensitivity, emotion, and the spiritual world. They are white and black; accordingly, black swans are associated with mystery and all sorts of mystical miracles. The real physical strength of the swan is correlated in the world of metaphors with spiritual strength and stamina. At the same time, these cold-loving (in nature) birds are associated with a certain emotional detachment, the world is more likely "mountainous" than earthly.

The swans swimming in the spring of Urd do no harm or good, and do not participate in any relationship with other characters. They can be chosen by the group members as desired. And it will be their personal "swan song".
Squirrel

The squabble between the dragon and the eagle is carried by a squirrel, scurrying up and down. She is the mediator between the antagonists. The squirrel as a symbol is little known both in the mythological interpretations of ancient religions and in modern psychological interpretations. In this case, the squirrel is associated with the Middle World and the trunk of the Ash Tree, that is, consciousness that is "between two fires", instincts (snakes in the roots) and morality, or goals, or high principles (the eagle at the top). The squirrel in this story is only an eternal mediator in the dispute, a reflection of the enmity of the two principles. Other characters make decisions, also at the level of consciousness (trunk of the Tree, in the Middle World).
deer and goat

The branches of Yggdrasil rise above Valhalla - the heavenly chamber of Odin. On the roof of Valhalla there are a goat and a deer chewing its leaves. (When describing these animals and the source of Mimir in the Eddas, two more names of Yggdrasil are found - Mimamaid and Lerad, the etymology of which is unclear.) In the Elder Edda there are such lines:

25
Heidrun goat,
standing on Valhalla,
eats Lerad foliage;
sparkling honey
she sips in a vat,
that honey will not run dry.
26
Eikturnir deer
standing on Valhalla,
eats Lerad foliage;
in Hvelgelmir falls
moisture from the horns -
all rivers are the origins ...
(Elder Edda, "Speech of Grimnir")

As we can see, in the "Elder Edda" the fruitfulness of the existence of "tree-eaters" is more clearly shown. In the drama, it seemed interesting to us to bring out the deer from the Younger Edda as "innocent pests" and the goat from the Elder Edda, the pest of the Tree and the nurse of the great warriors - einherii, who are gaining strength in Valhalla before the Last Battle.

The deer has long been associated directly with the World Tree in many cultures. This is a sacred animal of the nomads of Eurasia, especially popular in the "Scythian world". Often he was depicted with a bright accent on the horns of the animal, turning into bizarre branches - often the antlers of a deer rendered most of his torso. Thus the deer becomes the likeness of the Tree itself. His antlers are the branches of a tree, and in the story of Yggdrasil, deer eat these branches. Perhaps other leaves will grow on these branches, just as a deer grows new antlers after shedding old ones.

In our dramatic action, it was the deer that turned out to be the embodiment of the principle of life, time "here - and - now." This role made the participants feel the very feeling of life, even the enjoyment of it. The image of a goat in our story is remarkable in that it not only feeds on the leaves of the World Tree, that is, it contributes to the natural (cyclic?) destruction of Yggdrasil, but also itself feeds on the milk of Einherja, the fallen warriors of Valhalla. However, this is not dramatically confirmed (the introduction of secondary warriors in this plot would be redundant), therefore, for the time being, only "in the mind" remains.
Dragon (serpent) Nidhogg

Under that root of Yggdrasil, which goes to Niflheim, is the source of the Boiling Cauldron (Hvergelmir). This spring is inhabited by the dragon Nidhogg, who gnaws at this root and quarrels with an eagle sitting on top of the World Ash.

The image of the snake is closely connected with the image of the World Tree, sometimes directly, sometimes schematically. "In the burial vessels, the zigzag ornament in the upper part symbolizes a snake wrapped around the World Tree, growing with its roots up. This is the tree of the Upper World, respectively, the world where glorious ancestors go" (Kiyashko, 2001). In the biblical legend about the Tree of comprehending good and evil (the Tree of Knowledge is a variant of the World Tree in a number of cultures, including the Scandinavian), the snake is again present - and plays an important role. Each time his actions are destructive, but in their own way they are for the good. It is the poison that leads to healing or development. The spiral along which the serpent wraps around a certain vertical axis reminds us of the idea of ​​some kind of development, evolution. Amplifying the image, let's also remember the snake wrapping around the leg ("trunk"!) of the bowl - a well-known medical symbol. Actually, archaeologists are just talking about the ornamentation of vessels (for example, of the Bronze Age), precisely associating it with the symbolism of the World Tree.

In this dramatic action, the duality of the image of the snake is also manifested. He is a destroyer, he is also a part of the world (the ancient part, snakes in the Boiling Cauldron source existed before the "building of the world" by the gods), and he is also capable of being the "voice of wisdom", insidious ancient wisdom. The root that the serpent Nidhogg gnaws at, the “lowest” root of Yggdrasil, is the most archaic layer of the psyche that our consciousness can describe. This is not a repressed Shadow (like the figures of exiled deities and monsters), but something that has always been in its place (snakes have always been there), but is soon able to manifest itself (snakes gnaw at the roots and Nidhogg shakes the tree).
Heimdall

Heimdall is believed to be the personification of the World Tree. Nine sisters - mothers (at the same time) of Heimdall are the worlds located on the Tree. Heimdall is sensitive and vigilant. He notices the slightest disturbances in the fabric of the universe. Like the ash tree Yggdrasil, which cannot but react to what is happening in the world: at its roots, on its branches.

During the June drama, for some reason I forgot about Heimdall. (Although I had a detailed text of the course of action with me and I read it ...) As a result, I, apparently, unconsciously identified with him. Therefore, I was very upset that Yggdrasil was sad. I was very worried all evening, after the end of the drama, and, not realizing the true reason for my feelings, I only understood that something was wrong. But what it was was not clear. Waking up the next morning and finding that my condition had not changed, I realized that something happened during the drama, remembered that I had forgotten about Heimdall and guessed that it was with him that I accidentally identified myself. It became clear that I should "remove" the role of Heimdall, but for some time I still hesitated. I was worried about the fate of the world (in the literal sense!), I thought: "How is he there, without me, then ?!" At the same time, the solution delighted me, I removed the role from myself and calmed down, like a normal mortal person.

Group member's dream

“Moreover, I woke up two or three times a night, then fell asleep and watched from the same place. There was no plot. Like in a documentary film about nature, there is a huge tree, and all kinds of living creatures swarm around it - like, squirrels run back and forth, deer walking, springs below, birds above. In their natural form, it’s quite, and not people depicting them. Like, “everywhere is life” - something like that.

The mythodrama "The World Tree and Its Inhabitants" in its general version or in its particular, Old Norse version seems to us extremely promising. The representation of this eternally unchanging picture of the world, the ordered Cosmos, leads us to a certain "place of It", to the consecrated space, the beginning and center of the world. It can also become a spontaneous sociodrama with a kind of symbolic sociometry (or a dramatic version of the "Tree" projective test). For the participants, this will be a resource action to "repair the world", from the grandiose and therefore symbolic Macrocosm to the individual Microcosm.

References:
1. Bednenko G., Osipov A. Yasen Yggdrasil http//pryahi.indeep.ru/mythology/research h/iggdrasil.html
2. Gura A.V. The symbolism of animals in the Slavic folk tradition. - M.: Indrik. - 1997. - 912 p. (Traditional spiritual culture of the Slavs / Modern research)
3. Golden Deer of Eurasia: Exhibition Catalogue. - St. Petersburg: JSC "Slavia": 2003. - 63 p.
4. Kerlot H.E. Dictionary of symbols. - M.: REFL-book. - 1994. - 608 p.
5. Kiyashko A.V. Morphology and ornamentation of ceramics of the Middle Bronze Age of the Volga-Don steppes // Nizhnevolzhsky archaeological bulletin. - Volgograd, 2001. - Issue. 4. - S. 25 - 43.
6. Lebedev V.B., Binkovskaya N.V. Worlds of Imagination: A Guide to Interactive Imagogy. - M.: Publishing House of the Institute of Psychotherapy. - 2002. - 229 p.
7. Osipov A.G. The Image of the World Tree in the Views of Man in Western Europe: Early and Classical Middle Ages//Thesis of a 5th year student of the Department of General History of the Faculty of Archival Affairs of the Historical and Archival Institute (RSUH). - 1997.
8. Elder Edda: Epos / Per. from ancient sl. A. Korsuna. - St. Petersburg: ABC-classics. - 2001. - 464 p.
9. Toporov V.N. World Tree//Myths of the peoples of the world: Encyclopedia in 2 vols. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. - 1980. - v. 1 - p. 398 - 406.
10. Snorri Sturluson. Younger Edda / Translated by O.A. Smirnitskaya. - M.: "Ladomir". - 1994. - 253 p.
11. Stuart V. Working with images and symbols in psychological counseling / Per. from English. ON THE. Khmelik. - M.: Independent firm "Class". - 2000. - 384 p. - (Library of Psychology and Psychotherapy, issue 56).

This article is devoted to the method of conducting the mythodrama "The world tree ash Yggdrasil". The text of the historical source, the plan of the mythodrama are given, the specific experience of its implementation is described and the psychological interpretations of the images are given. The written impressions of the participants in this drama are used. The mythodrama "World Tree Ash Yggdrasil" is an important stage of the mythodramatic cycle "Scandinavian Mythology: from the Creation of the World to the Death of the Gods".

This article is devoted to the mythodrama "Iggdrasil - Scandinavian Arbor Mundi". We used the text of historical "Eddas", showed the plan of mythodrama, described the concrete experiment and attached the interpretations of used symbols.

To understand the action of the runes, you need to understand the structure of the World Tree.
This should be done gradually, because. immediately the flow of information is not assimilated.
True, many have already become acquainted with the runes of the Elder Futhark, and even began to use runic formulas for certain purposes.
I found a nice drawing of the World Tree and decided it was time to sort out the worlds of Yggdrasil.

Here it is what kind of tree Yggdrasil - Great Ash. This is how the Vikings imagined the universe.

The tree trunk is the central axis of the universe.
Yggdrasil has nine worlds.

The crown of the World Tree is the world of Asgard.
Viking universe "Asgard"

This country, which Odin, Willy and Ve made for themselves, after which Odin populated it with his sons (Asami), rare inhabitants of other worlds (Njord, Freyr and Freya from the Vans, Loki from the Giants), as well as the souls of warriors who died with a sword in hand. The latter reside in Valhalla and await the final battle. Aces are gods who send protection to Earth for people from giants, they also monitor the life of mankind. One of the main differences between the Viking religion and others is the existence of negative qualities in the gods. They are no longer considered infallible, like, for example, the god of the Christians, are not absolutely good, like the Chinese, and bear (albeit in the future) responsible for their atrocities, unlike the Greek Olympians. Aces fight and kill and break oaths, but in general they are, of course, necessary for humanity, without Aces people would not be able to resist the Giants. In general, Ases are surprisingly similar to people - they are also mortal (if it were not for the magic apples, the inhabitants of Asgard would have long ago descended into oblivion), they can also be maimed, they are far from omnipotent, and so on. Therefore, the Scandinavian Sagas here also compare favorably with other mythologies - the gods are close to people, they can also love and suffer, which is why they behave like human beings, unlike the same Olympians.

Middle Earth - the world of Mitgard
Viking universe "Mitgard"

This is another creation of Ases. Mitgard - Middle Earth - the dwelling of people, the very world where we all live. People inhabit the world. People were made by Odin, Willy and Ve from trees, giving them life, mind and rosy cheeks. Mitgard is attacked by Jotunheim and Niflheim, people coexist with elves and gnomes (but often do not know about it), protect Mitgard Asa (explicitly) and Vanir (indirectly).

In general, Mitgard is something more than just land. This is the center of symmetry of the Universe, but not just a point, stars are circling around, namely an object that separates opposites and experiences the influence of these opposites. Thus, people and Mitgard in most cases find themselves between a rock and a hard place. When the next entities want to fight or test their strength, it goes mainly to the Middle Earth. Even the last battle - Ragnarok - took place in Mitgard.

It should not be thought that the Vikings represented the inhabitants of Mitgard as inactive. There are many beautiful legends about people, which are unlikely to help to know the essence of the world, but they will fully describe the life and life of the Vikings, help to understand their philosophy of life. These legends are worth reading.
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The worlds of Svartalfaheim and Lössalfaheim (Alfheim) - they are located on the central axis of the tree.
Alfheim (world of elves) - between Asgard and Mitgard, i.e. above the ground.
Svartalfaheim (the world of the gnomes) - between Mitgard and Hel, i.e. underground.

Viking Universe "Svartalfaheim and Lössalfaheim"

These are the worlds of dwarfs - black (Svart-) and light (Loess-). Both were created from worms, which Odin, Willy and Ve considered useless and made gnomes and elves out of them.

Dwarves inhabit the world underground. They are skilled craftsmen, they can create things, the creation of which is beyond the power of either people or Ases. Dwarves know magic, although they never share this knowledge. In the field of creating any material magical values, they have no equal. Without the products of the Dwarves, Ases would not have survived, one has only to remember Mjollnir, the weapon of Thor, with which he fights the giants, the leash of Fenrir, which kept the most terrible monster that ever existed, and the spear of Odin. Dwarves are mining gold and jewelry, their reserves are greater than in all other worlds (excluding, perhaps, Asgard and Hel). There are many wise men among the gnomes, for example, the most intelligent creature in the world - Quazir - was a dwarf, just like the second sage Alvis after him. The only drawback of gnomes is that when sunlight hits them, they turn to stone.

The inhabitants of Lössalfaheim are much less active than their black counterparts. They inhabit the earth and the air above the earth. Elves live in trees, flowers, just in sunlight. Elves are for the most part incorporeal, rarely appear, and perform only one task - to make the world cheerful and joyful.
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Tree Roots - Worlds Muspelheim and Niflheim
Viking Universe "Muspelheim and Niflheim"

These names roughly translate as House of Fire and House of Cold. Muspelheim and Niflheim are the original worlds. When there were no other seven countries, there were already kingdoms of fire and cold in the world, and giants already lived in them - fire and snow.

Niflheim actually makes more sense than "realm of snow". This world embodies everything that perceives. His energy is passive, Niflheim is not able to produce fruits on his own, for this he lacks active energy. Muspelheim, on the contrary, is full of active energy, but it also cannot bear fruit without a base. Muspelheim is yang, Niflheim is yin. Initially different, these worlds have always been in harmony. It would seem that the ice should cool the flame, and the flame should extinguish the ice. But nothing like this happened - the inhabitants of these worlds never fought with each other, on the contrary, like all giants, they were allies.

It is interesting to note that Muspelheim is, in a sense, the most unexplored world. All other worlds were visited either by people, or Odin, the Father of the Gods, or Thor the Thunderer. But no one ever entered Muspelheim, guarded by Surt with a fiery sword. Niflheim, on the contrary, is more visited, Thor has been there more than once, and the nature of this world is more or less clear. The Snow Giants, like the Jotuns, attack Mitgard and Asgard, but with less enthusiasm. Some of them generally prefer to sit in Niflheim and not go far beyond their world.

It is also interesting to note the geographical analogies in the location of these worlds. Niflheim is located in the north, and if you remember where Scandinavia is located, it will become clear that Niflheim is nothing more than polar ice, perhaps part of Greenland (it was the Vikings, by the way, who discovered this island, but they were cruelly mistaken in giving it the name Green Earth). In any case, it becomes clear why Niflheim is a sparsely populated and evil world. More interesting story with Muspelheim. It would seem that fire giants must be made of fire, must burn and glow. But Surt, the only Fire Giant ever described, is called "burnt black". This suggests that Muspelheim is Africa, where "giants burned to black" live. In this case, it is appropriate to assume that Muspelheim is little described because the Vikings were unable to penetrate into African countries.

The result of the interaction of these worlds is the Creation of the Earth. Niflheim provided the "material" - blocks of ice, which the fire of Muspelheim breathed life into. This once again confirms the guess that Niflheim performs with female energy, and Muspelheim with male energy. The elements of these worlds are quite obvious - Muspelheim - Fire, Niflheim - Water. It should be noted that the Vikings do not have Water as such, there is only Ice, but in the classical division into elements, this Ice fully corresponds to Water.
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Tree roots - the world of Jotunheim
Viking Universe "Jotunheim"

The inhabitants of this world are second in chronology after the Fire and Snow Giants. After the ice blocks of Niflheim collided with the sparks of Muspelheim's life, Giant Ymir arose. Then there was still no solid land, and where Ymir was - a somewhat unclear question, apparently, he, like his children and unliving blocks of ice, was in the void. Another thing is important - Ymir gave rise to a kind of giants and built the world according to his desire. Ymir and his descendants ate the milk of the cow Audumbla, which licked the ice blocks. After Odin, Willy and Ve - the first of the Ases - killed Ymir, his whole world drowned in blood. Only a couple of giants survived, whose descendants then populated their country.

After killing Ymir, Earth and Sky were made from his body, as well as trees, stars, seas and oceans. Mitgard and Jotunheim were formed, the last Ases were specially presented to the giants.

Trolls, Jotuns or Frost Giants are the embodiment of strength, malice, deceit and the founders of everything bad that exists in this world. Their modus operandi is brute force and cunning. The element of this world is Earth. Almost all Trolls are aggressive against people and Aces, the main battles are with them. Jotuns send all kinds of bad weather, hail, snow, storms and snow avalanches to the world. At the same time, the Jotuns are the embodiment of natural forces: they do not know the mind, but, nevertheless, they are strong.

Looking ahead, let's say that the Vikings recognized wisdom in nature. What was it? First of all, in the fact that the source of true wisdom was precisely in Jotunheim. Accident? It is unlikely that in this kind of texts every detail has its own meaning. At the same time, the northerners clearly found virtue in the struggle with nature, since Thor's wars with the giants, the embodiment of the evil forces of this nature, were the main feats. So how do you resolve this contradiction? In the east, they did the following - they took the evil component of nature for granted (although it should be noted that on such a scale there were no such natural disasters as snowstorms, hail and avalanches in the east), and they did not fight it, did not begin to crush nature for herself, leaving her the right to do what she pleases - after all, she is wise. Thus, the beginning of the "eastern path of development" was laid. The northerners did it differently - they understood the wisdom of nature, but they did not want to put up with hail and snow. They imagined nature as a pillar of wisdom, stuck up with the mud of evil manifestations, and believed that wisdom could be reached only by removing this mud, which they did with pleasure. But this is the "Western way of development." Who is right - eastern or northern residents? It is impossible to give an unequivocal answer to such a question - everyone is right. The main thing is not to go to extremes - excessive submission to nature will lead to death from hunger and cold, and excessive struggle with it - to death from smog and ozone holes.
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Tree roots - Vanaheim world
Viking Universe "Vanaheim"

This is a world about which almost nothing can be said. When it appeared and where its inhabitants came from is not known, the Vans themselves practically do not participate anywhere. This country is to the west of Mitgard and Asgard, inhabited by kind, intelligent and very rich spirits.

The next geographical analogies lead us to Central America, where the tribes of Indians lived, quite well fitting this description. The gold of Central America alone, which has been raved about by prospectors for centuries, proves the wealth of the Incas, Maya, and others. The achievements of these peoples in science and art are very great. It is quite possible that the Vikings had some contacts with the Indians of Central America, since the northerners sailed almost the whole world. In any case, at the beginning of the colonization of these places, the natives were waiting for the return of tall people with white hair. However, the "Ynglinga Saga" describes Vanaheim as a real country, the location of which is described as "From the north from the mountains, which is outside the inhabited places, a river called Tanaquisl flows through Sweden. It flows into the Black Sea. The area at its mouth was then called the Country The Vans, or the Home of the Vans. This river divides the thirds of the world. The one to the east is called Asia, and the one to the west is called Europe." What is this river? If the Black Sea is the Black Sea to which everyone is accustomed, then the Dwelling of the Vans turns out to be somewhere in the vicinity of Kievan Rus. Interestingly, the Ynglinga Saga is trying to bring Asgard down to earth and is looking for a place for it to the east of Tanaquisl (so that Vanaheim remains west of Asgard). These attempts lead to the following thoughts - when the campaigns and travels of the Vikings opened the world to them, they hastily began to remake their religion, trying to find prototypes for Ases in the form of real people, and for Vanaheim and Asgard - real territories. Why they needed it is unclear. In the Saga of the Ynglings, Niflheim and Muspelheim are completely thrown out, they are not even mentioned, but they talk about the desert territories of the north of Sweden and the Great Country of the Black People, which is deserted due to the heat. Perhaps travel to Africa (and this, of course, it) dispelled the myths about the fire giants, as well as close acquaintance with the polar regions - the myths about the inhabitants of Niflheim. Be that as it may, these reworked myths are far from being so logical and less interesting to study. Further, all the worlds are described without taking into account the "modernized sagas", based only on the older ones.

Now about the Vans. Vanirs are kind spirits of nature who help to make the soil fertile. These spirits do not go beyond Vanaheim and do not meet with Aesir and people. They fought once - then the Ases attacked their country, but the Vans put them to flight and laid siege to Asgard, after which the Ases immediately surrendered and exchanged hostages with the Vans. In the future, Ases and Vans always remained good friends. Vanaheim's element is Air.
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Viking Universe "Hel"

Another strange place. When and who created it is unclear. Either it is a side effect of the creation of the world, or a remnant of the primordial abyss, or it has always existed at all - in any case, when they first started talking about Hel, he already was. Hel is ruled by Loki's daughter, a giantess who is half a beautiful woman, half a decomposed corpse. Some sources, however, soften the picture, saying that it is just a different color - half blood-red, half blue-black. Khel is inhabited by the spirits of the dead, the so-called "straw dead" - those who did not die on the battlefield. They either sit in places of honor - these are some giants, as well as the defeated Asa Balder, Hod and Nana; either work, extracting Hel treasures; or undergo a transformation - this means that first the demonic dog Garm eats their meat, then the dragon Nidhög gnaws their bones, after that they fall into the cauldron, and only then are reborn on the ground. Here is another global difference between the Scandinavian Sagas and other mythologies - Hel performs three functions at once - suffering, transformation and rebirth, while in other religions the dead either only suffer (Greece) or are only reborn (Egypt), and about transformation and cleansing the soul from the bonds of the earth is out of the question.

Hal, despite his ugliness, the world needs. If there were no transformation of souls, the world would become boring, because the newly born people would be exactly like the dead. Hel corrects this mistake of other religions by bringing people back to earth new, free and purified. Hel is one of the natural forces, which also includes the worlds of Vanaheim and Jotunheim (Jotunheim is an evil nature, Vanaheim is good, Hel is inevitable).
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See how interesting! And in other posts I will write about the relationship of each of the worlds with each other.

Those who are not familiar with Norse mythology and anime culture are unlikely to have heard of the Yggdrasil tree and how important it is to all things. Many people underestimate the importance of mythological plots, in which knowledge very necessary for humanity is often hidden under the guise of metaphors and allegories. What kind of tree is this, how it looks and what is its peculiarity, is described in detail in this article.

What it is?

Ash Yggdrasil, World Tree, Cosmic World, Yggdrasil - it's all about the same symbol, which contains the whole concept of the structure and existence of our universe. Usually it is depicted as a gigantic tree with a wide crown and root system, similar in size (like a reflection in the water).

German-Scandinavian mythology claims that the roots of this tree connect the three lower worlds, the branches - the three upper ones, and, intertwining with each other, they additionally keep the three middle worlds in balance, which include our physical world. The legends state that the World Tree grew even before the appearance of gods, planets, that is, in fact, it is the basis of the entire universe.

What does the World Tree look like from the point of view of myths?

The description of the Yggdrasil tree is better to start with the idea that our Universe is the coexistence of several parallel worlds, nine, according to information from esoteric rare works, which are on three levels:

• The lower, or underground level, consisting of three worlds.
• Medium - the level of people.
• Supreme, heavenly.

The Yggdrasil tree has three roots, each of which permeates all three levels, feeding from a special source: the middle worlds are fed by Urd, the lower worlds by the Boiling Cauldron (in Scandinavian it sounds like Hvergelmir), and the heavenly worlds are fed from the source of Mimir. It is thanks to the Cosmic Tree that all these nine worlds interact, forming a single Universe. In historical sources, Yggdrasil is often depicted with animals or birds in its branches, sometimes with a dragon-like lizard (or serpent) that coils between the roots.

Each leaf of Yggdrasil (sometimes fruit) is often depicted as a star and symbolizes the past and future, that is, fate, while the tree itself rests on top of a mountain, sometimes a certain pillar or column.

Heavenly worlds: where do the gods live?

The upper level consists of three worlds (however, like all other levels), each of which has its own inhabitants, energy and symbolic images:

• Asgard rises above all worlds. It is there that the coveted Valhalla and the abode of the supreme gods-aces, such as Thor, Odin, Frigg, are located. Here live the Keepers of the universal lock, who monitor the harmony in all worlds.
• Vanaheim. Here reigns peace, tranquility, and at the same time abundance. In this world, deities live who have ceded the right of primacy to the aces, although sometimes disagreements still arise between them on this basis. The twins Freyr and Freya, their father Njord, are the brightest representatives of this territory, responsible for the fertility of any kind, procreation and sexuality in general. Agriculture is also their parish. According to legend, the entrance to this place is located in the Black Sea region, some researchers even point to the Kerch Strait and claim that Vanaheim and Sarmatia are the same point on the map, only the parallels are different.
• Ljesalfheim is considered a world of light energies and eternal fun: elves (alves, as the Germans call them), good spirits and other positive creatures live in it. There are no people here at all. This world has a second name - Alfheim, which additionally indicates who lives in it.

The middle world is the world of people

The branches of Yggdrasil extend very widely, also covering all three middle worlds, in which the following mortal beings live:

• Midragd(literally translated: the middle place) - the main space for people to live, which contains physical objects: continents, oceans and seas. The energies of this space are tuned to the lowest level available for understanding, and everything material that exists in the Universe, but at the same time, feelings, a strong will and a strong spirit are also properties of Midgard.
• Jotunheim- the world inhabited by the main opponents of the higher world and their inhabitants. These are Jotuns - giants who are older than some gods and incredibly strong. This world is separated from Asgard only by the Ewing River. It is believed that Utgard (the second name of this place) is the concentration of intellect, mental strength and boundless imagination. All these aspects are the strongest in all the worlds.
• Muspelheim - this world in translation means "land of fire", and here's why: it is inhabited by creatures from fire, which are called thurses. They have a powerful power of transformation, and in both directions: both for creation and for destruction. This world existed before the appearance of all the others and has always been considered the abode of passion. According to ancient legends, the ruler of Muspelheim, the fiery god Surt, during Ragnarok (the apocalypse in Scandinavian mythology) will burn all living things.

The lower or underworlds

At the very bottom of the Yggdrasil tree, there are three dark kingdoms that are inhabited by not the most friendly creatures:

• The daughter of Loki reigns in Helheim, and the faithful dog Garm guards the road to her. This place is the end of the path of everything that died a natural death: whether it be an old person, an autumn leaf or a withered flower. Also here are those who died of hunger or thirst, completing their life cycle in the world of the dead.
• Niflheim is an ancient world of cold, darkness and complete stagnation, when there is no way to make the slightest movement. According to legend, it was from the combination of the energies of this world with the energies of Muspelheim that the first creature was born that gave life to all the rest. His name was Ymir.
• Svartalfaheim is located between the world of people, Midgard, and the world of the dead, Helheim, and is the refuge of the dvergs (tsvegri, dwarves, or simply gnomes). These dark spirits of the underworld are the masters of all the treasures stored underground, and unsurpassed craftsmen who made the weapons of the supreme gods themselves.

Symbolism of animals that are associated with the World Tree

In different parts of this magical tree live animals and birds that have a special, hidden meaning. For example, four deer live among the branches of the Yggdrasil tree, which actively eat its leaves, symbolizing that nothing is eternal.

In the crown, at the very top, sits a huge bird that looks like an eagle (one of the incarnations of Odin), and on its crown, closer to the eyebrows, there is a hawk that vigilantly watches everything that happens. Vedrfelnir (that's his name) symbolizes that nothing can be hidden from the eyes of the great god.

On the opposite side, at the roots of the Tree of Life, the dragon-like serpent Nidhogg fusses about, eager to kill the magical ash tree by gnawing at its roots. This is another mythical symbol of the constant battle between life and death throughout the universe, in all worlds. A squirrel tirelessly jumps along the trunk of the whole tree, which carries words-messages from a raven to a snake and back.

Her name is Ratatoskr, which means Treetooth, or Sharptooth (according to various sources). The outwardly cute creature is actually insidious: it distorts the meaning of the transmitted messages, adding profuse words to incite hatred between two interlocutors who have never seen each other, as they cannot leave their post.

What gives the tree the strength to function?

Norns are of great importance for the Yggdrasil tree - these are analogues of which are found in many cultures (moiras, parks). The youngest, Skuld, is the goddess of the future, the middle-aged woman of Verdani is the goddess of the present, Urd is a decrepit old woman who knows the past.

These goddesses live in Mirgard near a magical spring called Urd (after one of the norns). It is considered sacred, with living water. Every day, the goddesses water the tree of life, which animals torture from all sides, and thus restore it, so it stands evergreen and sprawling, linking not only nine worlds, but also three temporary spaces: past, present and future.

Connection with ancient runes

The interweaving of roads between the nine worlds forms runes, the mysterious letters of the ancient Scandinavians. There are twenty-four in total. Nine of them, which do not change their image when rotated 180 degrees, denoted the worlds themselves, which indicates a well-developed system of analogues of the worlds, connecting their paths and what is happening in the Universe. For this reason, Yggidrasil was often depicted framed with these letters, emphasizing their importance.

Symbol of the Tree of Life in different cultures

Nowadays, quite often you can see a photo of the Yggdrasil tree in the form of tattoos, an amulet-pendant, a drawing carved on a small piece of wood, or simply as a print on clothes. Very often these images are complemented by runic inscriptions.

What is it - a tribute to fashion or possession of hidden knowledge that opens the door to an unknown world? It is worth noting that the image of the sacred Tree of Life is present in many nationalities: among the Saxons it is Irminsul, among the Mayans it is Yachkhe, in the Islamic tradition it is called the Tree of Happiness, and in Hinduism - the Aswaf Tree. This suggests that the essence of this image as the unity of the Universe will be touched upon by world seekers of secret knowledge more than once.