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| INTRODUCTION |
The Nordic creation myths (Young, 1966) have been documented by Snorri Sturluson, an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician who lived around 1179-1241 AD. He was the author of the Younger Edda, which is comprised of a narrative of Norse Mythology (Gylfaginning), a book of poetic language (Sk<ldskaparm<l), and a list of verb forms (H<ttal). He was also the author of a history of early medieval Scandinavian history (Helmskringla). In these writings one finds the creation myth of the World Ash Tree (Yggdrasil). The world tree is a visual metaphor of the tallest tree known to the Nordic world (Fraxinus). Ash trees are among the largest trees in the world. It is the Yew tree that stands high above others and shelters all of the other worlds. The story of those worlds and how they relate to Nordic mythological figures is the story of the Well of the Wyrd (Bates, 1988; Thorsson, 1988).
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| Ask veit eg
standa, heitir Yggdrasill, hár baðmur, ausinn hvíta auri; þaðan koma döggvar þær er í dala falla, stendur æ yfir grænn Urðarbrunni. |
An ash I know
stands, Its name is Yggdrasil, An immense tree, covered over By the white sand. Thence come the dew That falls in the valleys, It stands ever-green Above the well of Urdal. |
| THE NINE WORLDS |
When the ice of the
last ice age began to melt, it revealed a barren and rugged land
with flowing rivers, forests, and plains. New animal life, reindeer,
aurochs, wolves, bears, and foxes, migrated to the north. Those
who hunted them on the tundra were able to retreat to their tribal
homes in the lush valleys below. However, they could not retreat
from the Frost Giants, the bitter storms that came down from the
high mountains. Nor were they able to avoid the wild beasts that
lurked in the forests or the strange sea monsters that wrecked
their ships. For help, they turned to their own gods. They sought
help from their All Father, Odin, the first of the Aesir gods
whose realm was made up of nine worlds. The Aesir gods and goddesses
lived in a realm known as Asgardr, the realm of the mind, of myne
(memory) and hugh (intellect). This home of the Nordic spirits
contained many halls and houses and Valhalla was the main hall.
It was where Odin rules with his consort and equal, Freyja, the
All Mother. Odin had a special place (Hildskjalf) in this realm
from which he could see all of the worlds (Idavollr) beneath him.
There were others gods or Aesir living in this realm. There were
the spirits of the dead warriors who resided in Valhall. There
were twp temples, one for the gods (Gladshimr) and one for the
goddesses (Vingólf).
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| Odin | The All Father |
| Freyja | The All Mother |
| Gladshimr | The Temple of the Gods |
| Vingólf | The Temple of the Goddesses |
| Hildskjalf | A special place where Odin could see the whole world (Idavollr) beneath him |
| Idavollr | The mythical plain of Ida, the field of continuity, renewing, and rejuvenation. It is located in the middle of the Realm of Asgardr. |
| Beifrost | The icy fiery rainbow bridge guarded by Heimdallr. It connects the world of humans (Midgard) to the world of the gods (Asgardr) |
| Lojossalheimr | This is the world of the light elves and it contains substrata of halls of white light. This is where the brightness of the human intellect (hugh) is derived. |
In the center of the Ash tree, one finds the Midgardr or Midgard. It is where the humans live. It is the center of the Quaternity with worlds to the north, south, east, and west.
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| Asgard | World of the Aesir |
| Alfham | World of the Light Alfs. This is the home of intellect. It contains many abodes (halls) with various strata of light. |
| Midgard | The Middle World, the World of the Humans. Symbolically, it represents the ego, consciousness, and the lower self. The Midgard provides stability between the Asgard and the Lojossalhimr. It is surrounded by impassable waters. The M idle Earth is a fictitious land created by J. R. R. Tolkien and is based on the Midgard. |
| Muspell | Tthe World of the Giants. This is where one finds the fiery sparks of life and all forms of positive energy. It is the balance between the heat of Muspell and the cold of Niflheim that allows humans to live in the Midgard. |
| Jutenheim | World of the Jutens. This is the realm of constant change and evolution. The winds of the east bring with it destruction and sudden that that may either result in good or evil. There are two kinds of Giants: rocks and frost. They menace the humans in Midgard and the gods in Asgard. The chief city in Jutenheim is Utgard. It is ruled by King Thrym (Uproar). |
| Vanaheim | The world of the Vanir. Here one finds the gods and goddesses of fertility. Here reside the seasons, the harvests, fruition, growth, and the cycles of life. |
| Niflheimn | The World of Mist and Ice. It is the origin of all waters and is enveloped in ice. It is the land of Mists. |
| Svartheimr | The world of the Dark Alfs. This is the world that represents the formative aspects of being. Human beings take form and shape in this realm. Everything that is formed in this realm is manifested in the Midgard. |
| Hel | The world of the Dead. This is the underworld. Souls come here to undergo rebirth to another level of reincarnation. The goddess Hel is the daughter of Loki. One cannot escape her powers without outside help and this is why ancestral worship is so important. The grandmothers and the grandfathers in one's lineage assist a reborn soul in his or her escape from Hel. |
These worlds are connected by rainbows of fire and ice. They are the ribbons of light that allow the gods to visit their worlds.
| THE WELL OF THE WYRD |
One has to view the world tree
as the Axis Mundi of the Nordic cosmology. The top of the tree
is where the gods and goddesses lived. When one looks up into
the night sky, one sees the North Star (Polaris). All of the other
stars circle around it. It remains motionless within the traveling
stars and planets that make up the night sky. At the time when
the Nordic myths were created, Polaris was the Pole Star. Every
26,000 years, a new Pole Star appears. It was Thurban around 50,000
BC and it will be Vega in 14,000 AD. Nevertheless, Polaris was
the star that comprises the Nordic myths. Symbolically, this is
the star on the top of the Christmas tree. It is the home of the
gods. When one places an angel on top of a Christmas tree, one
has captured the significance of this real of the Aesir.
At the other end of the axis mundi is the bottom of the cosmic
world tree. It consists of tree huge roots that represent the
past (Wyrd), the present (Verdandi) and the future (Skuld). They
are represented as three sisters who guard the wells. In the Zauberflote
(the Magic Flute) by Mozart, these are the dritte Dame die Nächte
(the three ladies of the night). In Nordic literature, they are
called the Norns, the sisters of the Wyrd.
| Wyrd | That which has become |
| Vernandi | That which is being |
| Skuld | That which will become. |
What is important about the Well of Wyrd is that it figures prominently in the casting of the Runes (Thorsson, 1988). The Well of the Wyrd represents the past. One lives by the past. The present is determined by thoughts, beliefs, and actions done in the past. The future is planned in accordance with one's record of accomplishments created in the past (Gundarson, 1993) . Hence, these sisters are called the Sisters of the Wyrd, the sisters of the past. When one casts the runes, they are cast into the Well of the Wyrd. For in the past one finds all of the cosmic knowledge from the beginning of time. It is by delving into the past that these roots of the Yggdrasil are able to keep the World Tree replenished.
The Well of the Wyrd is controlled by the world of the Vanir,
the gods and goddesses of fertility. The second of the three roots
goes into the Well of Mimir in the land of the giants, Jotunheimr
or the Frost Giants. The third root goes into the Well of Helvegamar,
the underground spring of Nilfheim where the terrible serpent
(Nidhoggr) is coiled around the state of the treat constantly
eating at the roots of the Yggdrasil. This is part of the Underworld
presided over by the goddess Hel. Loki was one of the three springs
who resided over life and death. Hel is her daughter and controls
the Wellof Helvegamar. The roots of the Yggdrasil produced a magic
fluid (aurr), a kind of lunar blood that lies at the base of all
elixir myths. Hence, the Yggdrasil is seen as a universal mother,
the source of unborn souls. The first man (Askr) was born from
the Ash tree (Asc) and the first woman (Embla) was created from
the Elm tree. It was Odin who game them both the breath of life.
| Roots of the Yggdrasil | Sources | Home or Destination |
| Wyrd | River of Past | Well of Wyrd Vanaheim |
| Vernandi | River of Present | Well of Mimir Jutenheim |
| Skuld | River of Future | Well of Helvelgamar Niflheim |
| CASTING THE RUNES |
Rune Symbol Place in Cosmic Tree Nordic Meaning Comments
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A representation of Heaven, Hell and Earth with the Quaternity
surrounding Earth The vertical axis represents the axis mundi.
At the top is the world of the spirits, Aesir. At the bottom is
Hel. In the center is the Midgard.
| Rune Symbol | Place in Cosmic Tree | Nordic Meaning | Comments |
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The Iwaz rune is a complex symbol representing the World Tree. | Iwaz
(Yew Tree) A representation of Heaven, Hell and Earth with the Quaternity surrounding Earth |
The vertical axis represents the axis mundi. At the top is the world of the spirits, Aesir. At the bottom is Hel. In the center is the Midgard. |
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Midgard, Earth | Gebo,
G Gebo stands for gift. |
This is a balance amidst the Quaternity of Fire, Ice, Growth, and Evolution. |
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The Realm of Asgardr. | Ansuz,
A Ansuz is associated with the Aesir, Odin, and the wind |
The home of Odin and Freyja. The Hall of the Dead, Valhalla. |
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The Ream of the Ljossalheim | Wunjo, W Wunjo is the rune of joy and peace. |
This is the home of the White Alfs. Here is where there are strata of light representing Intellect (Hugh). |
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The Realm of the Svartalheim | Kenaz, K Kenaz represents the torch. |
This is the home of the Dark Alfs. |
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The Realm of Hel | Hagalaz,
H This rune stands for hail. |
This is the home of the Dead, Hel. |
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The Realm
of the Jotunheim EAST |
Thurisaz,
TH The third rune is associated with giants (thurs). |
The world of giants and Etins. |
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The Realm
of the Vanaheim WEST |
Fehu, F The rune of Freya and her brother Frey. It stands for fee and gold. |
The world of the Vanir |
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The Realm
of Niflheim NORTH |
Uruz, U This rune stands for strength and health. It is associated with a horned animal called the auroch |
The world of ice and mist |
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The Realm
of Muspellheim SOUTH |
Raido, R This is the rune of jouneying, or rides. |
The home of the sun. Where the sun rides. |
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Nauthiz,
N Nauthiz stands for the strength of need |
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Berkano,
B Berkano stands for the birch goddess and is used for fertility and birthing |
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Isa,
I Isa is the rune associated with ice. |
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Dagaz,
D Dagaz means day. |
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Jera, Y. The rune jera stands for year. |  |
Othila,
O Othila is the rune associated with inheritance |
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Eihwaz,
EI This rune is associated with the yew |
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Ingwaz,
NG Ingwaz is the rune of the god Ing |
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Perth,
P Perth means fruit to some, but scholars feel its meaning is unclear. |
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Laguz,
L Laguz is the rune associated with water. |
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Algiz,
Z Algiz is a rune of protection or defense |
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Mannaz,
M Mannaz stands for man |
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Sowilo,
S Sowilo is the rune associated with the sun |
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Ehwaz,
E This rune means horse. |
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Tiwaz,
T Tiwaz stands for the war god Tyr. This rune was carved on weapons to bring victory. Tuesday is names after this God, Tiwes daeg. |
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The Celts also had a system
of Runes (Murray, 1988) in which the FUTHARKS are highly symbolic
of the various kinds of trees in the forest. They also had a system
of divination with the runes, but their value structures differed
significantly. Could the runes have been borrowed from the Celts?
It appears that the opposite is true. The Celts once dominated
the whole of Europe. They were called the Galatians in the Near
East and the Gaul in France. If this were a part of their tradition,
it would not be limited to the Northwestern areas of Europe, the
home of the Vikings.
| THE NORDIC QUATERNITY |
Within the Nordic Quaternity, the Midgard formed the very center of the four cardinal directions which are located horizontally from earth (Midgard). There are nine levels or nights that separate the real of the Aesir (the home of the spirits) from Niflheim, the realm which is just above the Underworld, the land of the dead. A soul must travel through these nine levels in order to attain immortality in Valhalla. On the horizontal level of the Quaternity, however, one finds a balance among the four directions.
Kingdom of the North (Helheimr - home of ice and mist)
Kindom of the South (Muspellheimr - home of the fire giants).
Kingdom of the West (Vanaheimr - fertility)
Kingdom of the East (Jotunheimr - land of change and evolution)
The Middle Earth is so named because it is in the middle of opposite qualities. It also happens to be in the middle of the Yggdrazil, but that is not the whole rationale for its existence. It is in the Midgard that one finds a balance between fire and ice and it is in the Midgard that one finds a balance between growth and change.
| THE ANIMALS OF THE YGGDRASIL |
Four deer run across the branches of the world tree and eat its buds. They represent the four winds. At the very top of the tree one finds a hawk (Veldroinir) perched on the head of a wise eagle. It is the Eagle that flaps its wings and causes the winds to blow. At the root of the tree is a serpent (Nidhoggr) that gnaws at its roots. Ratatosk, a squirrel, runs up and down the tree and exchanges insults between the wise eagle and the serpent. The eagle and serpent motif is very common in creation myths. Their significance as opposites needs to be further explicated. Finally, there are four stags (Dain, Dvalin, Duneyr, and Durathror) that are constantly eating the leaves of the ash tree. These are the symbolic animals that constitute the cosmology of the Yggdrasil.
| TANNENBAUM |
The Christmas tree comes right out of the Nordic tradition. It was borrowed from Nordic mythology as were other aspects of European culture. For example, the days of the week show both Roman and Nordic pagan roots.
| English | Old English | Germanic | Latin |
| Sunday | sunnandaeg | Sonntag | Dies Solis |
| Monday | monandaeg | Montag | Dies Lunae |
| Tuesday | Tiwesdaeg (Day of Tiwes) | Dienstag | Dies Martis |
| Wednesday | Wodnesdaeg (Day of Odin) | Mittwoch | Dies Mercurii |
| Thursday | Thunresdaeg (Day of Thor) | Donnerstag | Dies Joves |
| Friday | Frigedaeg (Day of Freyja) | Freitag | Dies Veneris |
| Saturday | Saeternesdaeg (Day of Saturn) | Samstag | Dies Saturni |
There are several interesting
things to note about this nomenclature. Many of the days fo the
week reflect the Nordic cosmology of the Ash Tree.
Tuesday (Tiwes day) Nordic Goddess Tiwes
Wednesday (from Wotans Day, Germanic for Odin)
Thursday (Thor's day from Nordic god Thor)
Friday (German Freitag from Nordic goddess Freyja)
Saturday (day of Saturn, the original sun)
Sunday (Sun day, the modern sun after 9,500 BC)
The Christmas tree is a Nordic visual metaphor of their creation myth. It represents their cosmology. Many have assumed it to be of Western Germanic origin, the Rhineland (Hertha, 1944; Foley, 1960). Needless to say, the British have a different account of this. They argue that Saint Boniface, a monk from Crediton, Devonshire, England not only established the Christian churches in France and Germany, but in the 7th century came across a group of pagans who were about to sacrifice a child to the god Thor. To stop the sacrifice and to save the child's life, he felled the tree with one might blow of his fist. In its place grew a tiny fir, a Tree of Life. This, according to medieval legend was the story of the first Christmas tree. The Germans admitted the feats of St. Boniface, but claimed that it was Martin Luther (1483-1546) who decorated the first Christmas tree. Followers of the Druids claim that they were the first to decorate the oak trees with golden apples for their winter solstice festivities. Regardless of which group claims credit for this visual metaphor, it appears that only the Vikings embedded themselves in a creation myth that closely resembles that of the Christmas tree. However, they called their tree, the Ash World Tree.
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The star on the top of the Christmas tree represents the world of Asgardr where the gods and goddesses lived. It is at the top of the axis mundi of the world. When one is in the northern hemisphere and looks straight upward, one sees the North Pole star. The star that was there at the time of this creation myth was Polaris. Every 26,000 years a new Pole Star appears. Hence, Polaris is no longer the Pole Star. However, its symbol still lives as the Christmas star.
At the bottom of the Christmas three are the three roots that feed it with nourishment and water. These roots symbolically delve into the Well of the Wyrd, the Well of Mimir, and the Well of Helvelgamar. In modern times, the Christmas tree stand represents these roots.
On the Christmas tree one finds Christmas bulbs which represent the nine worlds of the World Ash Tree. These bulbs are placed vertically with the ones on top representing the Realm of the Gods and the one at the bottom symbolizing the Realm of Hell. In the center is the Midgard, Earth. It is surrounded by worlds in four directions, the Nordic Quaternity.
The ribbons that surround the Christmas tree symbolize the rainbow roads of fire and ice that connect these nine worlds. The icicles that are placed on a tree also symbolize the fact that earth is located between fire and ice, resulting in icicles.
These traditions of the World tree differed from the Tree of Life that one finds in Jewish and Hebraic traditions. They posit a different story, the involution and the evolution of the soul through the 33 levels of ascension and descension. They do not have the 9 levels of reincarnation associated with the World Tree. They do not have a balanced Midgard surrounded by a Quaternity. They do not have their roots delving into the earth in the metaphorical tradition of the Nordic cosmology. What they do have is the arrival of the soul, its passage through life, and its return to the spirit world. What they have is a different kind of visual metaphor, The Tree of Life.
| CONCLUDING REMARKS |
Visual metaphors are far more
common than one realizes. The metaphor of the Ash World Tree was
selected as a visual metaphor because it comes from a strong Nordic
tradition that still lingers in modern times. The Christmas tree
is a relic of that tradition. It is a visual metaphor that has
been borrowed by Christianity and remodeled into a new symbol
of eternal renewal. This is what happens when one borrows cultural
symbols. However, it is wrong to claim that it was a visual metaphor
invented by Saint Boniface during 7th century. It was a visual
metaphor that already existed among the countries of the north.
It could be found in the writings of the runes that go back several
millennia. Its origins speak of a different time and place.
Anyone who works with visual metaphors must become deeply involved
in social and cultural history. One cannot explain such visual
symbols without such traditions because the symbols emerged from
those traditions. They constitute the heritage of those symbols.
The study of mythology reminds one that modern scholars are still
engaged in revealing the profundity of these traditions.
| REFERENCES |
Bates, Brian. The Way of Wyrd:
Tales of an Anglo-Saxon Sorcer. NY: Berkeley Books. 1988.
Foley, Daniel J. The Christmas Tree. Philadelphia. Chilton Company.
1960.
Gundarson, Keldulf. Teutonic Religion, Fold Belief and Practices
of the Northern Tradition. St. Paul, MN: Llewelyn Publications.
1993.
Hertha, Pauli. The Story of the Christmas Tree. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin. 1944.
Murray, Liz and Colin. The Celtic Tree Oracle: A System of Divination.
New York: St. Martin's Press. 1988.
Thorsson, Edred. At the Well of Wyrd: A Handbook of Runic Divination.
York Beach, Maine: Samuel Weiser, Inc. 1988.
Thorsson, Edred. A Book of Troth. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications.
1989.
Young, Jean I. The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturloson Tales from Norse
Mythology. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1966.
| Links |
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Mystery of the Futhark Alphabet |