ABSTRACT
According to Norse legend, the world tree, an evergreen ash called Yggdrasill, overshadows the whole universe. Its roots, trunk, and branches bind together Heaven, Earth, and the Netherworld. Rooted in the primordial abyss Hel, the subterranean source of matter, it bears three stems. The center stem runs up through Midgard, the earth, which it supports. It issues out of the mountain Asgard where the gods assemble at the base of Valhalla. This heaven can only be reached by Bifrost, the bridge of the rainbow. The stem spreads its branches over the entire sky, the leaves are the clouds, and the fruits the stars. Four stags, Dain, Dvali, Duneyr, and Durathor, symbolizing the cardinal winds, live in these branches, feeding on the flower buds and dripping dew from their antlers to earth. The second stem springs up in Muspellsheim, the warm South, where Urth, the Past, Verdandi, Present, and Skuld, the Future, dwell, and the gods sit in judgment. The third stem rises in Nifleheim, the cold North, where all knowledge of mankind flows from the fountain of the Frost-giant, Mimir, the personification of Wisdom. The tree is the Nordic Tree of Life, symbol of strength and vigor, because the first Norseman, Ask, sprang from the ash tree (Lehner and Lehner 1960, de Cleene and Lejeune 2002).
