Much there is to tell about the world tree Yggdrasil. A colossal cosmic tree which serves as a bridge between the Nine Worlds. Bound together, they draw from the three ancient wells – Hvergelmir, Mimir’s Well, and the Well of Urd – whence all things flow and to which they ultimately return. Many amazing animals dwell on Yggdrasil with its deeply furrowed bark and far-reaching branches. On the highest branches, where sunlight barely filters through the dense foliage, lives an eagle, and between its eyes sits a hawk called Veðrfölnir. Four deer – Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr, and Duraþrór – roam around nibbling on the nourishing leaves filled with life force. Ratatosk the squirrel has boundless energy and is forever searching for the secrets hidden within the worlds. This small creature delivers messages from one to another, from the eagle in the crown to Níðhöggr in the dark depths of Yggdrasil’s roots. Níðhöggr, the great wyrm of chaos, feasts daily on the roots of the sacred tree gnawing at the very foundation of existence.
Honeydew, or hunangfall in the ancient tongue of the North, is moisture that drips from the leaves of the World Tree. As a gift this dew falls into the valleys below, and all life depends on it. The three Norns – Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld – daily draw water from the well and mix it with the soil around the tree to make sacred mud, to cover the trunk to prevent it from rotting.
Those who look with open eyes at Yggdrasil will witness the dynamic flow of life, unfolding as a living network that stretches from the earth’s depths to the heights above. While its branches spiral into the boundless sky and its roots spiral into the shadowed depths, the world tree, like all who dwell within it, endures eternally – a living representation of the endless cycle of life, death and rebirth.
Trees are living souls, each aware and conscious,
their roots reaching out to one another in a silent, unseen bond.
Just as Yggdrasil nourishes and connects cosmic life, earthly trees in Midgard nourish and connect. Indeed, they play a similarly vital role in the well-being of the earth and all its life in our ecosystem. As Yggdrasil binds the worlds in its endless reach, earthly trees bridge the depths below and the heavens above, through their roots in shadow and crowns in light. They weave a hidden network, exchanging life’s essence – nutrients, water, and wisdom – through the fungal threads of the wood wide web, much as the dew of Yggdrasil moves between the worlds, sustaining all.
The true significance of trees is found in their remarkable ability to absorb carbon dioxide and convert it into oxygen, the breath of life. They play a role in the water cycle, much like how Yggdrasil’s sacred wells nourish life. Through their roots trees retain both water and soil, binding the earth and sustaining the flow of life. Contributing to the biodiversity of ecosystems, trees provide habitat for countless species, including insects, birds, and mammals, much like Yggdrasil offers shelter to a myriad of creatures. Trees welcome living beings with their beneficial shade and cooling.
To preserve and protect the trees
is the heartbeat of a flourishing and sustainable future.
Perhaps most striking is how both systems – Yggdrasil and earthly trees – reflect the interconnectedness of life. Just as Yggdrasil shows that everything in the cosmos is connected, modern scientific insights demonstrate how trees are central nodes in the web of life – connecting soil, atmosphere and living beings in one large, interdependent system.
A recommended read on this subject is The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World by German forester Peter Wohlleben.