The Yggdrasil's Secret: The Real Name of the World Tree of the Vikings and Norse Mythology
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- Опубліковано 31 тра 2024
- The Yggdrassil is a sacred tree where the Old Norse gods held court, and found in many Viking poems. It links the nine realms of the world together and is under attack everyday from rot, from stags, from serpents. But what if I told you it's name isn't what we think it is?
This is a talk discussing the possibility that the Yggdrasil/Yggdrassils, often thought to mean gallows of Odin's Horse, isn't the name of the tree. And discusses what the tree probably was called earlier on in the days of our ancestors.
References
Crawford, Jackson, 2019. The Wanderer’s Hávamál. Hackett Publishing
Liberman, Anatoly. 2016. Prayer and Laughter, Essays on Medieval Scandanavian and Germanic Mythology, Literature, and Culture. Paleograph Press.
Magnússon, Eiríkr. 1895. Óðinn’s Horse Yggdrasill. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge
Schjødt, Jens P. 2008. Initiation between Two Worlds: Structure and Symbolism in Pre-Scandinavian Christian Religion. Translated by Victor Hansen. The Viking Collection. Studies in Northern Civilization 17. The University Press of Southern Denmark
Sundqvist, Olaf. 2009. The Hanging, the Nine Nights and the “Precious Knowledge” in Hávamál 138-145: The Cultic Context. Analecta Septentrionalia. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 649-668
Faulkes, Anthony. 2008. The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturlusson. Everyman
Grønvik, Ottar. (1999) Hávamál: Studier over verkets formelle oppbygning og dets religiøse innhold
Hunke, Waltraud. 1952. Odins Geburt. Festschrift Genzmer.
Chapters
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0:00 Introduction
1:59 The World Tree's name
3:37 The problem with the name Yggdrasil
4:13 Drassil - It's complicated
6:16 The gallows
7:48 Sleipnir and the Ash Tree
8:30 Ash Tree is a representation of man
9:13 A kenning for Odin
11:08 Loki's old name
11:54 Why did the name change?
12:36 And so its original name and meaning can be found
On the topic of poetic simplification: this happens in modern times too. A good example is Frankenstein's monster which is often only (incorrectly) referred to as Frankenstein
Exactly, a perfect example, thank you.
Being named Odin's horse makes sense. He hung himself from the tree to gain knowledge. He rode the tree in a shamanic journey. The tree was his steed while he was on his vision quest.
This gives a deep insight to how idea of riding a horse at all was born. And it was very very abstract idea to come with. They used animals to transport goods but imagining riding animal was like from other world. Some ppl have theory it was a winter sledge with dogs first. And then idea of moving on snow was translated into invention of wheel and horse riding
I like a lot of the ideas people have submitted, they're very evocative. But I think that Yggdrasil is an oak, with ygg = eik = oak. Oaks live longer than ashes - perhaps 1,000 years - thus implying immortality when compared to the lives of men, and the trunks can be immense. The animals of Yggdrasil could be associated with a mighty oak, with an eagle at the top, a squirrel collecting acorns, and deer feeding on oak leaves and acorns (which they prefer as foods). One description of Yggdrasil says "in its side it rots," and there is a fungus that grows into oak tree trunks, slowly hollowing them out. The deer probably represent the four quadrants or four winds.
The ansuz (A) rune of Elder Futhark can mean a god, an oak, or an ash. The rune looks like a tree. It could point to an early tree-centric mythology, with the concepts of god, oak, and Ask intertwined.
Askr means "belonging to Ask / Ash," who was the first man. "Askr Yggdrasil" would be "Ask's oak." Ask might have been not only the first man, but also a lawgiver, and possibly an executioner. An assembly known as a Thing was where the people of a community would gather around a specific tree for important councils or to decide legal matters. This tree could be symbolic of Ask's Yggdrasil.
Drasil means "that which draws or pulls." Which can be a horse, as many have pointed out, but it can also be a rope, a noose, a lasso, with which you guide a horse. Considering the myth of Odin hanging himself, it could be that the oak is a hanging tree. In these societies, a hanging tree could be representative of the law, of moral authority, as this is where executions would take place.
Mim - meaning "mind" - was the Norse personification of wisdom. The "well or pond belonging to Mim" (Mimisbrunnr) lay at the foot of Yggdrasil, which mirrors the idea of judgment being given by the Thing at the base of a specific village tree. Odin sacrificed his eye to Mim in exchange for wisdom. Perhaps if you called for the Thing to resolve your legal dispute, you had to make a payment, and that's why Odin gave his eye in exchange for wisdom.
I'm reminded of the bog people, who were often strangled with a noose, and then perhaps had their throats cut before being tossed into a pond. This could be linked to the tales of hanging on the tree, being sacrificed, and thrown into the pond for their crimes.
As for yggr meaning "terror," if such is true, that meaning could come from "belonging to the oak," which could be a reference to a hanging body on the judgment tree. Strange fruit.
Very interesting, thank you for taking the time to comment. And thank you for watching.
Bogi is word for gods in Slavic. And I guess it's related deeply with forest itself Bór - forest and what it meant for ppl z boru is from Bór zbiór - collection, zbierać - to gather, zabrać, zabór - to take from but also wybór to choose from, voting. Eldest organic democracy in the world of forest hunters gatherers 🙂
There is a myth about first men on Iceland where a Slav and a Scandinavian met and Slav was attacked by the Norse guy for breaking some of their rules, because of being oblivious to their weird customs as territorial marks & harsh laws for breaking such stuff... 😂 For Slavs forest is open to everyone along their needs like mother nature itself in free spirit of cooperation not hoarding & ordnung. Except king's forest of course 😂 There are myths about kings forests with kings beehives keepers, perfect shooters who kneeled to nobody except king himself & offended a trespassing foreign King without any punishment haha.
@@szymonbaranowski8184 Bogi I would think relates in some way to bugbear, bogart, and boogeyman, as supernatural creatues, FWIW.
As for bor, as a word for tree, I think it might relate to arbor, bar, barrel, barrier, barbarian, bore, and bole.
But the Yew tree lives in Eternity.
drasill means "horse" and Ygg(r) is one of Odin's many names
I recently came across a euphemism for the gallows from the 14th Century in England. They called it “The Horse Foaled by an Acorn.” At that time the horse, gallows, and tree connection was still extant in the public consciousness.
I used to live in a place called 'fellons oak', it had an oak tree planted there for as long as ppl can remember.
As a whole Germanic mythology is as fascinating as it is intricate. Studying it today and trying to work out the various translations and meanings using etymology is just like trying to piece together a giant puzzle or jigsaw.
I found this particular episode both revealing and rewarding and I'm going to watch it again in case I missed anything.
Thank you for watching, and re-watching :) I appreciate you taking the time to comment and leaving such kind words.
@@Crecganford
Ditto I appreciate you taking the time to acknowledging my comments. Reading through many of the threads ive noticed that you pretty much always make time to interact with your viewers which is very commendable. I've had UA-cam for four years now and out of all the channels I've subscribed to there is a handful that I consider to be almost tailor made for my interests. One of them is called Voices of the past, possibly my favourite however I've added your channel to this list of favourites. There are many channels that focus on etymology, history and mythology and others that are about ancient cultures and migrations and others still that lean more towards philosophy. Looking through all your uploads I didn't see one single video that I would skip. I'm delighted that I can look forward to catching up.
Finally just to touch on what others have already said and that is that it's surprising that your channel hasn't yet reached a much bigger audience.
I know that there are many like-minded viewers out there just waiting for your channel to drop in their recommendations.
The eagle in the tree, snake nibbling on the roots of the tree, and squirrel on the trunk of the tree is somewhat reminiscent of the serpent who couldn't be charmed, the Anzu-bird and the lilitu in the goddess Inanna's sacred tree some two thousand years earlier.
Indeed so many motifs that seem similar to other myths... they are indeed all linked.
The Vikings, Greeks, Etruscans, Phoenicians are all having Anatolian DNA. Look at European haplogroups map. Or the advent of blue eyes and light hair. Noah landed in Anatolia (the caucausus) his descendant is Asher.
@@krift1716 Nope.
Yes, Yggdrasil and the biblical tree of life (a very ancient trope from the middl east) both reference the same thing, the milky way in its vertical phase. I believe his sructure is crowned by the constellation cygnus which thereby revolves endlessly through the heavens, vehicle of the god Vishnu.
yeah we're missing out on what could be obvious connections for myths around world trees and the afterlife simply because we don't get to see the true night sky anymore, thanks to all the light pollution
Is Cygnus the bird in the tree?
What about the connection to the human nervous system that looks like an upside-down tree? I'm asking, because have discovered more than a few connections between astronomical and psychological things in religious texts...
Another good vid Jon. Very thought provoking! Just a couple of observations;
1) I am a Cabinet Maker by trade, and I keep Bonsai trees. So I know most of the common temperate species of trees inside and out. I know what an ash tree looks like and I know what the wood is like. But it's highly interesting to know that there is another "ash" species, which is not actually an ash (fraxinus), but a MOUNTAIN ash (sorbus) or ROWAN tree. The term "mountain ash" being given to the rowan or rountree, because of the similarity of the arrangement of the leaves in both species. The leaves of both species are arranged on stalks and grow in pairs on that stalk, typically with one leaf at the end.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraxinus_excelsior
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan
I've always thought that as a "World Tree" or "Axis Mundi", fraxinus (ash) is a strange choice. Yes, the wood is quite straight grained and strong, and was used as spear shafts and tool handles (and wheel spindles) by many civilisations, but other than that, I can't see any reason why this tree should be chosen for such a role in mythology. If however, Yggdrasil was not a TRUE ash, but a MOUNTAIN ash (rowan), then the potential for mythological symbolism grows exponentially, as the rowan tree has always been a highly mythologically charged tree, replete with symbolism and folk uses in practical terms (the berries are used in jams and fermented into alcohol) and in symbolic terms. Indeed the name "rowan" (as you can see from the wikipedia page) comes from a word meaning "red" (for the berries). For which one of the cognate terms is RUNE! So a rowan tree could also be said to be a RUNE-tree. And how much symbolism regarding Woden (Odin) does that conjure up??? So I personally believe that the world tree Yggdrasil wasn't a true ash (fraxinus excelsior), but a mountain ash, or rountree.
2) I think it's worth remembering that originally, before the introduction of paper from China, writing was done on vellum, slate covered in wax, or on WOOD. Indeed the derivation of the name "beech" of the beech tree, and "birch" of the birch tree, are cognate with the word "book", as both of these timbers (as in the Vindolanda tablets) were used as writing mediums, before paper, and as a much cheaper and more readily available medium than vellum. I believe this could have some degree of relevance to Yggdrasil being the tree of knowledge, as it was potentially another tree whose timbers could be cleaved, scraped flat, to provide a surface to WRITE on, and preserve KNOWLEDGE. Both ash and rowan have lovely clean blonde timber, with clear grain lines, which could act as lines to write script on.
Well, those are my thoughts anyway. In case it's of any help (???)
That is very interesting, as rownan is a Celtic word which I believe may mean home or hearth (although I should really look these things up before just saying it out loud). And much of the writing "paper" was pig skin or calf skin, ridiculously expensive, and meant that what was written down was only the most important of things. I really appreciate the time you spent in writing your response and your support. I will look into this further, thank you again.
Wow!!!
The tree of the high places is the emblem of the arch-druid (deru = tree + weidd =wise; Rowan Williams was both Archbishop & Arch-druid). The Celts and Germanic peoples both have Scythian (Hebrew 'Ashkenaz') ancestry, so the Green Man, speaking leaves into being, could well be as much Odinic as Druidic.
I think the suggestion that the tree could be a rowan tree is quite a good one. The only snag may be that rowan trees don't grow as tall as the Ash, although the leaf is superficially similar.
However, my parents had a long retirement on the Isle of Mull in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, which about 1200 was probably Old Norse- speaking . In that area rowan trees seem to have been semi-sacred. Apparently, if a funeral in a churchyard was not possible for lack of money, or another reason, people could be buried underneath a rowan tree.
thanks for your answer (and all the comments stemming from it). i think i know that tree as "vogelbeere" or "Eberesche" (Sorbus aucuparia).
I’m convinced after many years that Yggdrasil is the mind, and a map of the mind
Hugin and Munnin are thought and memory after all. Your sight sees true and makes you known, friend. Carry forward.
Very interesting, Yggdrasil cast as a tree of knowledge or prophecy actually gives some of the stories better context. Hanging from the world tree is an interesting concept for trying to gain wisdom but hanging from the tree of knowledge for wisdom seems to make more sense. Even the placement of the Mimir's well being at the base of the tree makes more sense in this context.
Thank you for watching, and taking the time to comment. I’m please you found it interesting.
Great video Jon! The link with the tree of knowledge is interesting. Because Odin hanging for knowledge (runes), and the eagle on the top and the snake at the bottem, are references to shamanism. Siberian shamans climb sometimes a tree (which represents the world tree) in search for knowledge in their visions.
The connection with Sleipnir is another nice thing. Maybe horse is a metaphor for the tree, as they both carry Odin. Like the shaman his drum is often called his horse. Some see the tree as the static aspect and the horse as the dynamic aspect of the supreme God. Scythians buried their horses with antlers. Some scolars think the antlers represent the worldtree. Riding a horse is like climbing a tree, to the other worlds.
The word tree or beam, is another thing. Tree is a Danish loanword. In Dutch a tree is, boom, in German Baum. So the word beam ment original a tree. When it comes as the metaphor for the center of the world, tree, beam, ax, pole and pillar are all interchanged.
Thank you for watching and taking the time to leave such a great comment! I will take a closer look at the tree's of Germanic mythology when I can, and will consider this comment :)
Maybe the Norse Yggdrasil and Saxon Irminsul are the same ?
@@bennyvangelder7624 Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if the theology behind them is similar.
@@bennyvangelder7624 It's tempting, but ultimately we cannot know.
@@bennyvangelder7624
Another name for Odin was Jörmunr (mighty or powerful), which is the same root as in the name Irminsul, the cosmic tree of the Saxons.
I enjoyed your lecture regarding the sacred tree of the Norse Gods. I am impressed by your line of reasoning. It was solid, thorough, and was scholorlerry in its research. Kudos Sir!
Thank you for your kind words, and for watching. It is appreciated.
8 legs on sleipnir, 8 realms for Odin to visit. The tree has a leg/root planted in each world for speedy magical transit. A horse-style carrying of one who wields the runes. Hanging from the tree maybe wasn't only about stealing magic to abscond with--it may have been an exercise in "accept me as a new branch, a part of your whole," like a rider gets a horse to accept their weight, to gain access to other worlds in this case. Sexy.
@Eirikr math! Always tricky. But the assumption was he could get a normal horse to travel within the world he's already in. (The 9th) , and the magical horse was requisitioned for transit to the other 8 where his own legs couldn't reach. It was but a way of further synching up sleipnir with Ygg. I totally get the discrepancy between 9 and 8 you alluded to, though, which does cause some problems for my model. Would you be willing to accept that the horse is laying down in the ream it's currently resting in, leaving it's legs free to be planted in other worlds? (It's fine if you refuse)
I just found this channel, and I'm happy I did.
And so am I! Thank you
We have modern examples of names getting altered too. Lots of people who know the story of Frankenstein but haven't read it think that the monster is Frankenstein rather than Frankenstein's monster. This is in a highly literate world with easy access to the source material. Imagine how much more likely such a mistake would be in a less literate society where stories are passed on verbally and where accuracy was less valued in comparison with getting the point across and using memory tricks to keep the story following during a recital.
There's something called कल्पवृक्ष Kalpavriksha tree in hinduism. It's similar to this tree.
Another fantastic trip through etymology!!! Vey interesting and enjoyable.
Thanks for watching!
Etymology has been one of my favorite subjects from childhood! It can be a key to the remote past.
I'll see what I can learn from your videos. But it's quite clear from art online many can't distinguish Yggdrssil from the Celtic style of trees with the knotwork roots.
I’d like to offer a few ideas, that I hope are interesting. For Yggsdrasil, Ygg is from a common root with Greek Hygra (water) and also a variation of Aegir (later folklore Igor) the Sea. Drasil meaning support or “mount” (not unlike “thronos”) or horse (possibly a kenning with stacked meanings). So horse of the Sea or water horse being a boat or ship. Related to this is Hler the other name of Aegir (and Celtic Ler). Another mythical, tree at times identified with Yggsdrasil is Laeradr. Rad or Reidr or raido meaning journey (ride), I recall reading “cart” as another translation. So Hler’s cart, would again be a boat or ship. One further connection possibly being “Hloridi” (a variation of Laerad) as a name of Thor or connected to Thor. An interesting association is in Christianity, the original Greek text doesn’t put Christ on a Cross, but instead a “Thronos” a pillar or ship’s mast. I don’t think the placement of the Norns, and Mary, Mary, and Salome, at the foot of the post or trunk is accidental. This common set may refer to a constellation. As with Thor pushing his foot through a boat while fishing for the world serpent with a bulls head. The constellation lepus is at times identified with a boat, Orion’s foot passes through it, the Hyades is a bull’s head (Taurus) and from Taurus is connected Eridanus (at times identified as a serpent).
Check out the divine twins, in the Nordic Bronze age, they were seen as two animals/ warriors who formed a boat which cyclically carried the sun. Also, the water horse/ hippocampus was an Etruscan/ Phoenician solar symbol.
this reminds me of the boat that Ra used to traverse the sky, and he would be defended from Apophis, the chaos serpent
@@equilibrum999 yes, “the Serpent shaped as a dart” that pierces the foot of RA (related to Adam and the Serpent), and Moses and the Serpent Staff, all referring to Orion, The Hyades, Lepus, and Eridanus (or the Jordan).
Thank you for this interesting content! I speak various languages and I just realized that the last part of the word has a meaning in the Albanian language. Dras/Dru means oak/wood and IL/ILL means star ⭐️ so translated it is wood or oak of the stars or from the stars. Highly interesting since nobody really knows where the Albanian language comes from. It is one of the oldest Indo-European languages which also is its own independent branch of language!
Ash was the wood spears were made from and was used as synonymous with spear in poetry. Ash Yggdrasil - Odin's spear, the ash tree used by Odin to make his spear, Odin's horse moving as fast and purposefully as a spear - many possible contextual meanings.
Intressting. I tried it in Root/Swedish.
Yggdrasil.
Ygg=Odin
Dra,drag=Pull
Sil,Sila=Rinse. Purify
Odin pull and purify.
Haha, maybe Odin needed a purifying bath after being pulled back from the underworld🤣🤣 but I am sure the word Yiggdreasil originates from the Finnish word yhdensil meaning union. Trust me, I am Finnish ☺️
It's something to be in "awe" of and terrified in particular situations.. and if taken literally it is massive enough to carry worlds. It is sturdy and extremely durable built for tough times like war... A defender and restorer of life as symbolized by ash trees. The name given akin to a horse is to describe its capability of transportation.. what could it be?
an ancient ridvan, i would decipt this tree in a hanzi as a hanzi of tree enthroned on ridvan
The Tree of Knowledge! That just connected so many dots for me.
I'm happy to see you're back!
Thank you!
Yes, indeed, there are many interesting things one could potentially find, going down this road. I certainly haven't read up on it nearly enough, but World Tree motifs show up in Korean, Native American, and Indian myths, so the idea seems to have been an incredibly ancient and resonant one. I, certainly, would be very curious to see what fruit your inquiry into the matter bears.
Anyone here should probably read Neil gaimen, norsy mythology. Fantastic read. Cheers for covering this still enjoying your channel after a wee winter break
Whilst that is an enjoyable book, in fact I generally find most of Gaimen's work enjoyable, it isn't particularly academic and I do have a video on books to read on the subject which would be a better read.
It brings to mind the tree of knowledge in the Kabbalah. Paths drawn which you must follow if you want to gain wisdom but dangerous if you are not prepared. These ancient stories can be dangerous if you are not guided by people who have studied.
The concept of a tree as the world axis, world navel, or the tree of life is unimaginably old and widespread. It represents humanity looking back into the void of time to the days when we lived in trees as early, apish hominids. It shows up in Genesis as the Tree of Knowledge. The very deepest Jungian images are locked into the poetic and real concept of the tree as sustainer, home and refuge. It is also the "rood" of Christianity, but so much later it barely counts.
never thought about it as a throwback to ape days but that's a really interesting idea
Alot of comments all good. I heard a little poem bock saga poem..odin is a ring odin is everything odin has always been and odin will always be odin is the sun. Simple little logi I like for me bock saga is a key of deciferment.anyway great vids and channel fair play to you for bringing some of these tales to the table greetings from eire
I recommend "Bock saga" , and some new point of view on Tree of knowledge and life. Search anatomy of human brain - it has tree of life and oposite of it is "third eye-the eye of knowledge" - pineal gland - pine , PIne tree (oposite - hanged Odin), Mimir's spring water is amarit, the fluid substance that comes with enlightening... Odin's hidden eye - pineal gland, and the other - our two eyes that make one picture. So, the whole legend is about enlightening. Heaven kingdom is not only outside, but inside of each of us. Runes are shaped vibrations, and as you start your spiritual enlightening path, you'll see the shaped construction of universe patern. Ragnarok is total destruction of whole paterns, all "gods" enlightement, where survives only love, will and ve. Sorry, for my bad English.
Another interesting video full of knowledge. Thank you
And thank you for watching it.
Man your content is so good and super interesting. Thank you
Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment with such kind words.
Really interesting content full of great possibilitys of thinking, but also : how nice it is to listen to your voice and diction ! hahaha amazing !
Thank you for watching, and taking the time to comment. It is appreciated.
Great work, love these videos.
Thank you for watching them
Another example of names changing is Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein is the creator of the monster, the creature is "Frankenstein's Monster" but everyone just calls it Frankenstein.
Yes, exactly!
Warm hugs from Germany very good video.. Thanks Dear Regards Ursula
And thank you Ursula for watching, and for taking the time to comment. It is appreciated.
@@Crecganford U are very wellcome WE sisters and Brothers anyway
This is incredibly interesting!!
Thank you for watching, and taking the time to comment :)
I had to rewatch this. Wow. I think you might be on to something. Great stuff.
Thank you for watching, and I have just finished translating an amazing Norwegian Thesis, and that takes this for another twist. I hope to present that soon.
Yooo!! Ur website is down rn, just noticed it :D
Love ur vids! keep making em. I love thinking about these stuffs
Thank you for letting me know, I will fix it now :) And thank you for watching and taking the time to comment too!
Subscribed due to an intelligent discourse on the World Tree
Thank you
The movie Avatar reveals a lot about the Tree Of Knowledge and so do the ancient pre flood Silicon Trees which were cut down like for example Devil's Tower in Wyoming.
Yes the ancient giant trees were cut down by the watcher (God) according to Daniel 4:20-23 The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens and which could be seen by all the earth, whose leaves were lovely and its fruit abundant, in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the heaven had their home- it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens, and your dominion to the end of the earth. And inasmuch as the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field; let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him’…”
I think that we can argue any meaning that we want, depending on the sources used. But, we'll never really know. I do like the tree of knowledge speculation - but that's likely because that theme weaves through so many other cultures, and I like the idea of an origin creation myth. But, of course, that's completely bias. One can't start with a desired outcome and work their way back attempting to validate their theory.. Though some certainly do. I like how open you are, and the fact that you stay away from agenda or surety. Truly academic videos with wonderful content. Thank you for your hard work. You're teaching me a lot that I didn't know.
Another great video :} it's fascinating that Yggdrasil is the tree of knowledge. Because similarly in Genesis, Adam and Eve took the fruit from the tree of knowledge which is why they got exiled. It's strange yet amazing that these similar ideas exist in completely different cultures and times! Universal belief ideas or what?!
Yes, a video about the tree is forthcoming, although still maybe some months away, but I will cover this. Thank you for watching and commenting, it really is appreciated.
@@Crecganford No worries, I just found your channel and it's exactly what I need as an archaeology & classics/ anthropology major :} love your vids, so interesting!
@@oo2free Definitely! I think that there are certain basic ideas/ beliefs just baked into the human psyche that have come out and expressed themselves all over the world, regardless of language, like there are flood myths all over the world from unrelated cultures, there's obviously an underlying standard way in which humans understand and explain the world :)
From Finnish ' within one eye' - ' yhden silman sisalla' somehow shortened to yhdensil then Yiggdreasil.
Very interesting, Thank You!
And thank you for watching and taking the time to comment.
Revealing to track how the kenning becomes the name as time moves forward! Noticed you're using your own translations, which seem to strike a good balance between poetics and clarity. Are you going to publish any full translations? And where can I get that sweet replica of the Franks Casket?
Yggdrasil is the ash tree of Odins horse, meaning yggdrasil is how the horse is made and works.
The eagle from above and snake from below show the direction of energy flow.
The symbol of yggdrasil is an Einstein rosen bridge.
The 9 worlds of yggdrasil are the 9 planets in the local solar system.
It is hard to explain space travel to pre industrial hunter gatherers.
Passing on that information over generations is even harder.
An interesting interpretation
The existence of cloth is one of the oldest technologies, but it still takes alot of work for clothing to exist.
Spinning and weaving are important parta of the mythology.
I'd come to the conclusion not too long ago that Genesis is in the main an astronomical treatise and that the two trees in the Garden of Eden were actually astronomical metaphors for the tilt of the Earth's axis. The 'Tree of Life' being zero degrees and the 'Tree of Knowledge' being the 23.5 degree tilt. The former creates a paradisiacal climate (similar to an Edenic state), while the latter creates the seasons (the fallen state with its concomitant struggles). This is also reflected in the symbolism of the two columns from Atlantean and other lores. Yggdrasil, with its seeming 'bivalent' meaning, may be a conflation of the earlier Middle Eastern legends. Just my own personal crackpot theory. Great video, Jon!
Awesome video. Please take a look the heavenly horse tomb in South Korea. It has eight legs. Also the Samjogo.. three legged crow that lives in the Sun . The Great King Sejong who created the Korean Alphabet, kinda looks like old rune writing. I hear Vikings have asian DNA. I am half korean and my great grandmother was Swedish. Also 40% of dolmens are found on the Korean Peninsula
That sounds very interesting, I will. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment.
@@Crecganford I would really love to show you some petroglyphs that are located in California by Donner lake .. I see a snake eating an egg, a rainbow and what looks like a person with a halo.
It makes sense, the simplification. If the people of the time knew what the shorter forms stood for, they wouldn't have needed the full names/phrases.
It could be that, in the same way the saying 'riding shanks pony' is a metaphor for walking, Odin riding the ash tree horse was a metaphor for arduous learning.
Just found your channel today. Wonderful. Sort of random connection my brain made: At around 9 mins in, you talk about men coming from trees. Startled me because the Natives of Papua New Guinea also believed man was created from trees. The Asmat in particular, if I'm remembering correctly. I find that intriguing.
Yes, this is part of an ancient motif of creation, and I mention this a little in my next video about the origin of the Flood myth. I hope you watch that when it comes out on Saturday. And thank you for taking the time to comment, I do appreciate it.
@@Crecganford Most certainly will watch. Will be bingeing your others this week. Ty
This tree has beem mentioned in Gita and Katha Upanishad as well.
In sanskrit Yuga means Age dhara means bearing or aadhara means basis of and sila means Rock, in PIE it may mean the Meru, the mountain similar to Mount Olympus which represents the evolution through Ages.
The ash tree have a lot of uses, so it is not strange if it is called "the tree of knowlege" The leaves can be used as fodder and the wood is traditionally used to make skis and tools. It is also difficult to kill, if the top of the tree dies, a new one shoots from the roots.
Yes, it definitely was a sacred tree due to its use.
Transcending the obvious to the esoteric. You need the eyes to see the distinction. (When one peers into one's own eyes via a mirror, the unconscious presence is potent. If one only witnesses the obvious, then you are but partially sighted.)
This ties very strongly to mysticism. The tree of life, the tree of knowledge, how Nidhog became evil (but is simply low vibrations of the soul, and the crown of Yggdrasil the divine). Ratatoskr as our inability to combine the two and rise as divine beings by the way of the stem (kundalini), etc. Hanging from the branches to obtain wisdom (meditation). Looking at Yggdrasil through the many lenses that mystics from all over the world and Christian gnostics gathered in allegoric language, then Yggdrasil is just one more talking about the same. I still wonder where it all started and what influenced what on the way.
I would like you to expand upon the world tree being the tree of knowledge in a future video. This can very well be connected to the Ficus religiosa, which is nowadays connected to the Bodhi tree 'the tree of awakening', under which Buddah gained enlightenment, but the original tree of knowledge could have been another one. In sanskrit the Ficus religiosa is know as As(h)vattha, 'resting place of horses', 'resting place of the swift', ‘that which does not last till the next day’, which can tie in to the connection of yggdrasill and the theme of the horse. I would also like to include a thought here, as thought are another thing that is swift like horses and doesn't last til the next day, but if you tie them to a tree they might possibly stay, ergo Mimameidr, 'the tree of remembering' or 'the tree of wisdom'.
According to Yama and Krishna the tree has its roots upwards and branches downwards, and the world contained inbetween, which might indicate memory and wisdom flowing down from the past, through the world, and branching out into the future, or from the deeps wells of eternity into the world. Also the tree is the eternal Brahman, 'that which stands strong, firm, but also expands'.
The wood of the tree is also used for the sacrificial fire, which maybe connects in some way to askr and embla. The earliest know depictions of the heart formed leaves of the tree can first be seen on pottery from the Helmand culture, in Kandahar, dating to the third millenium BC.
The tripartiate tree is also found in balto-slavic, finno-ugric, sibric and turco-mongolic mythology, where it can function as the bridge to travel to words for the shaman, which ties in to the gaining of knowledge by odin and buddah. As with yggdrasil, there is a bird, mostly an eagle at the top, and a serpent at the bottom, the tree itself is often a larch or birch. There is also a sepent killed by hero theme connected to the world tree in those mythologies.
I did touch on this in my video on the oldest creation myth. And I do have another video planned to talk about this more.
The use of words to speak around rather than be direct makes sense in poetry. "My bounty is as boundless as the sea". A line from Shakespeare that means, simply, I have more wealth than the sea has water. It's prettier seeing how the Act is all about love. Yggdrasil may have several micro meanings used when necessary.
Edit to add: the Sumerian people had a tree of knowledge and a deity gained worldly knowledge from interacting with it. Seems we, as a species, have a similarity there.
1. Curious to know if Yggdrasil has any connections to concept of Arbor Vitae/Axis Mundi and/or any references to general indo-european mythologemes?
2. Is there any genetic connection of stags eating Yggdrasil's leaves with two animals/rams/goats/horses being present on depictions of tree of life in various ancient religions?
3. Does Veðrfölnir at the top of the tree genetically relates to ever so popular 'love' for eagle/predatory birds in european symbols of power (Roman imperial eagle, Byzantine two-headed eagle etc.)
Some great questions, and whilst I have a feeling about the answers I feel I may need to do a bit more research to be sure.
Read "Bock saga" and many things you'll reveal. HAPPY JURNEY!
I think of Yggdrasil as being a metaphor for how the Cosmos is structured. It's LIKE A TREE. With different branches, and roots, connecting the world of the Gods, and the worlds of Giants, and other worlds for other creatures, and Midgård, the world for Men. Not disregarding all that is said in this video, I think the connection between the first Man being made out of Ash and Yggdrasil "being an Ash" is interesting.
Yes, the video is for discussion, it is not saying things are absolute and so I enjoy reading other’s thoughts.
I always interpreted it as a horse being like a work horse or saw horse all relating to where Odin was hung
I read (sadly on Wikipedia, my apologies) that the world tree was thought to be an ash tree, but that since 1911 it has been accepted that this was a translating error of 'barraskr', which would be a yew tree. I'm now doubting this, since you mentioned askr yggdrasil, but I'm not sure which sources to go to.
From a more esoteric perspective, it would make sense that the world tree is an ash tree, as ash trees are considered in folklore and esotery to be both male and female (hermaphroditic), which reflects the duality of the universe and creation (heaven and earth, sun and moon, night and day, summer and winter, life and death, left and right, ...).
There is much written about the Yggdrassil, and it is very possible the type of tree changed as cultures migrated to different regions, and trees themselves suceumbed to disease and alike meaning some died out and other species took over. But, for me, if we go back 1,000 years then I feel Ash is the more likely tree to be considered the world tree at that time.
@@Crecganford thank you for sharing. The type of tree isn't the most important part of the World Tree ofcourse ;)
It becomes clearer to me how powerful metonymy can be
This is very much so in Old Norse and Skaldic poetry
Poetic simplification also exists today, as Frankensteins monster ist often called Frankenstein.
Yggdrasil is the spiritual body.
The exoteric meanings of men are subordinate to the esoteric meaning of the shaman. The leaves may change, the roots remain. To oversimplify, Nidhoggr is Kundalini, that eagle with the 3rd eye hawk is... the 3rd eye (often conflated with crown chakra, hence eagle), death of the self to awaken the Self is hanging on the tree/ rebirth of shaman as God, it is the astral vehicle that takes the shaman into different realms, ergo Odin's horse, the auric field of the spiritual body forms a toroidal field, like an electromagnetic field, which visually looks like a tree with roots and branches...
So many more examples. Of course, there is a creative overlap of symbolism and literalism in all esoteric teachings and, like I said, the leaves change, but the wisdom of Odin is the same perennial wisdom that all with eyes to see eventually see, and will always be recognised in its literal and figurative universality.
Peace ✌️
Wow Thank you!
And thank you for watching!
When I started my training as a tree surgeon I was told that the Ash has the deepest tap root of any tree. Perhaps, if true, the old ones knew that.
That is interesting, thank you for sharing.
Could you please do a video showing more about Loki?
Yes, I have a couple of videos about Loki, although I’m not overly happy with them. So I will do more in the future, he was a very complicated god with many issues! Thanks for watching and a great suggestion.
I have always been curious how the world tree and crann bethadh are connected. There was cultural exchange between Irish, Scots and Norse and it always seemed odd to me they both had a strong tree tree mythology, traded ideas and words, but etemologicaly the terms aren't linked and they use different trees. In the Goidelic tradition trees were planted at the heart of every town so the roots could penetrate the underworld and bring up magic.
I can't find evidence as to which came first but it is curious they aren't more linked.
That is very interesting, I too will look into that. Thank you for watching, and taking the time to comment.
Tree of Ash... World Tree... It's a Volcano in Eruption. The cloud its canopy. It's the sort of thing you might see from a distance.
Very interesting video and i think you say quite some important things. Also the origin of odin deriving from a word with the meaning of terror. This corresponds with the idea of the allfather not being such a pleasant god. And the idea of when he comes to you, he basically throws you in a very deep and dark pit and you will have to get yourself out without any help. Basically one huge depression. Its is a way to strengthen and test you. But odin is far from a nice pleasant and kind god.
I do have a diffrent idea about the world three being an ash however. For the word ash can also mean something like spear, shaft or staff.
And i believe that they referred to the world three as a needle ash somewhere when translated. And this would suggest that ash might be just a word used to describe any three. And in this case a needle three. And i think there is quite a strong case to be made for a yew three. This is a very special kind of three for is has both characteristics of deciduous threes and needle baring threes.
This three can also bare fruits and if you look at pictures of old yew threes in for example England, you see thst they have roots similar to crawling snakes. Also this three eventually ends up hollow and then twigs will start to grow on the inside and reach for the ground so then a clone of the same three sprouts in the middle of the old three. And there are many many more extremely interesting characteristics of this three. I have also seen how the runes might be conected to the needles of this same three.
There is a book called:
Yew A History
By Fred Hagender
Which might be worth checking out.
Maybe this is a very interesting thing to dive deeper into and who knows what we might find.
Thank you for watching, and taking the time to write such an interesting comment, I do appreciate it. And I do have a number of books on trees in culture, but will check that one out. Thanks again.
Is it possible to draw a functional map/topology of all the different aspects of norse mythology? How can one fit Yggdrasil in the same map as the world created from Ymir's body?
It would be possible, but it wouldn’t show all the mythology because of contradictions, and different versions of stories. I’ll put that on my To Do list as a project.
What are the things in the Norse mythology that you would like to know more about? Baldr, Thor, Valkyries?
Thor, but also comparing him to the other thunder gods of Europe, Africa, Ancient Near East and Asia, such as Ukko, Perun, Perkunas, Taranis, Jupiter, Zeus, Teshub, Baal, Marduk, Ninurta, Adad, Set, Chango, Indra and Susanoo.
The mythical origins of the Langobards. Thank you for a great channel!
And also: Slaget vid Bråvalla. The Battle of Brávellir.
always been interested in the tree of life I find that persons only ever mention the tree of knowledge and never bring up the tree of life and its ability to grant immortality if theirs a counterpart to that in Norse mythology that would be really interesting other than that it would be good to know more about Ragnarok
Ymir! Always been interested in knowing more about Ymir's death and what caused Odin and his brother to kill him. I cannot find any information on what caused Ymir to turn evil, maybe I have been looking at the wrong place.
@@josephl9931 Then look no further than my latest video for some more information about Ymir; ua-cam.com/video/-JLEVR2JId0/v-deo.html
Is the simplification you’re speaking of also in action with Frankenstein and his monster and how the world views both? Could auditory tradition with this modern example explain the loss of definition?
Yes, exactly like that, and it was almost certainly through oral tradition.
Another interesting video! I'm curious did the Norse myths have beings that could called "throne guardians" aka beings that protect the throne of an important deity? In Bible, Yahweh's throne is guarded by the Cherubim and Seraphim, in Mesopotamia there is the Anzu-bird protecting Enlil's throne and the Lamassu protecting temples and Egypt has the Sphinx and Uraeus. Many of the throne guardians are hybrids, possessing aspects of humans, lions, eagle, bulls or serpents.
Some deities other spiritual beings could also be seen as the throne guardians, such as the Mesopotamian god Ninurta serving his father Enlil or the Archangels Michael and Gabriel in the Bible and other old Jewish & Christians texts.
Is there something similar in Norse mythology? Does for example Odin have throne guardians?
Nothing exactly the same as that, sure the gods had helpers, Valkyries, elves, animals from ravens to wolves, goats to cats, but nothing specific. But I'll have a think :) Thanks for watching and your continued support :) it is appreciated
@Ragnar Odinsson Throne-guardians aren't always monsters, think of the Cherubim who have flaming swords.
I'd recommend Robert Sepehrs youtube video 'In search for Odin', where he traces Odin's and the aryan's origin back to the eastern-asia or the middle east area, which is interesting, because Sitchin identified Enki as Odin himself. Furthermore we've all probably seen the Igigi/anunnaki holding the pine cone in front of the tree. There are some peculiar stone cones inscribed with text on them, and I propose that the pine cone actually represent those strange documents. The tree of knowledge would then represent the whole archive of historical knowledge. I wonder if the tree Yggdrasil perhaps has a similar purpose of structuring the knowledge as well. As far as I know the people of the north did not use any kind of encryption in their writing, but it is of course possible. There are long lists of names inserted in the texts for instance, which hasn't any seemingly rational significance for the meaning of the texts for instance. There are found some examples of encryption methods among Egyptian texts, but experts claim they didn't serve as means to conceal any important information.
@Ragnar Odinsson There's no doubt that the tree is used to structure knowledge about the worlds and certain dynamics. What is the Mimirs well of knowledge but an "knowledge archive"/the akashic records? I doubt it's a well in literal sense.
@Ragnar Odinsson So it's kind of what some would refer to as the ancestral memory too.
The holiest of holy, the Odin of Odin. The hitching post for Odin's untamed or untamable horse, made of a tree...
Do you have any analogies surrounding the Ash tree dying at an alarming rate? We are hard pressed in the states to find an Ash tree alive or one not affected by the EAB. I was curious if you seen any correlations or know any Norse myth surrounding this sacred tree perishing? Also, I recently heard someone talking about Mimir being female, any thoughts? I am very drawn to Freyja, I will visit your page to see if you have any videos about her.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
I don’t but I have a friend who is an author who writes about these things, I’ll see if she has written stories about it. That may be an interesting read.
Same happening here in the U.k
The simplification of Yggdrassil, from the ash tree of Odin's horse, or whatever the two objects were, sounds like the Frankenstein Phenomenon. Frankenstein was originally (and still is) the maker of the monster, who was originally Frankenstein's Monster. Yet due to simplification, much (if not most now) of the time people are referring directly to the monster with just the name Frankenstein.
There is a lot more to this story, but I’m having to translate a lot of manuscripts before I can make a video about it. But it gives a whole different context.
well, after all "yggdrasil" is the tree of life, symbol far more popular in other cults, like... kabbalah... I believe it must have been "structured" originally, although I don't know of any descriptions in this regard (I guess generally A LOT of details got lost with loss of oral tradition and drift to relying on written tradition only). the "squirrel" is quite interesting... 🙂and of course it has a snake at its root and a vulture on its top!
Better stories than the Bible!
For me the Edda and the Elder Edda hold more value than the Bible ever could.
I agree, stories I can relate too.
I not here to argue , but why do you feel that way? Just curious, I am a Christian and I have no animosity toward you.
I honestly think they're both just different interpretations of the same story that got lost in its original form over time.
There's a life tree in the Arabian Islamic culture as well called the Sidra, which sounds like it might've been derived from Yggdrasil. What do you think is the oldest tree of life/knowledge myth, if there is any other than the one from Norse? Thanks.
That is a great question and one I am still researching. There is so much written about the Yggdrasil, and so much written about trees of life in mythology, it maybe a while before I feel comfortable presenting something. But I do aim to do so. Thank you for watching, and taking the time to comment. It is appreciated.
it may have been a Yew....there is description in a saga where it reads "the deer are nibbling on the needles of the wold tree"...the name of then tree was wrongly translated, and it keeps going on as an "ash" tree.
It was real ash of Aesirs who burned themselves, and put it under the tree,as their colective mind, and soul, resurected and rised again, smiling to the Sun, they adored. Deer is in fact Goat, read Bock saga, and you'll understand whole mistery about legends of white man origin after the flud.
There is a lime in acts of the apostles around chapter 40 that says our master was hung from a tree. Was that in the original scrolls or added on after the goths were converted
The Greek translation of that is very interesting as it is almost identical in menacing to the old Norse literal translation. There may be some influence from sources outside of the Norse, but we can't be sure of how much.
More information about the tree's origin and significance would have been helpful to those not already familiar with the stories (like me).
That's good feedback, it's sometimes hard to get the balance right, but will ensure information is available to those who may not know the subject well. Thank you for letting me know.
If "Yggdrasils askr" is to be interpreted as "the man of the horse of Yggr", and that is a kenning for Odin, it may alternately reveal a mystical knowledge of Odins true nature.
"I know that I hung, on a windy tree, for all of nine nights, wounded with a spear, and given to Óðinn, myself to myself, on that tree, which no man knows, from what roots it runs"
Odin is here said to sacrifize himself to himself by hanging himself on the the world tree, which also may be another name for Odin. The world tree contains or binds together all the nine worlds and can also be seen as a symbol of the Universe itself. Do you all see what this could imply?
I’m not sure what you are implying, but I do not think he was sacrificing which was one of the key points of the video. Please share what you were considering, as I would like to discuss this more and understand other opinions. Many thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.
@@Crecganford Well. If Odin is "giving himself to himself" by means of stabbing himself with a spear, it looks like a traditional Odin sacfrifize.
So my thinking is this. If we accept that Askr Yggdrasils is a kenning for Odin, it doesn´t have to imply that it wasn´t also originally a name for the world tree. It could be both. Meaning that the world tree is a symbol of Odin and/or vice versa.
Now if the world tree is also a symbol of the universe itself or that which binds it together it gets really interesting. It would mean that Odin is somehow identical to that. Remember that Odins name can mean both, "mind", "spirit", "frenzy" and "poetry". Could Odin or one of his aspects be some kind of a pantheistic och panentheistic World Spirit?
Odin appears in three aspects. "High", "As High" and "Third". Thus when he gives himself to Odin: "Sjálfr, sjálfum mér"" - "self, to myself to me" as it literaly means, it may reveal those three aspects, one of which could be the world spirit himself, another maybe the individual god and the third maybe Odins priestly function?.
Hello to you. As you seem to be very familiar with the nordic Saga, maybe you can help me with one thing. I heard in one of the Edda Saga, there is a monkey king. Is this true? what is his story and where can I learn more from it?
I'm not familiar with a story like that in the Old Norse manuscripts.
@@Crecganford the monkey king talked to someone on a boat, while he was standing at the river. I only know this scene.
If this where true it would be incredible. It would link it to Chinese and Indian stories of the monkey king
What about the theory that the world tree mentioned in the Eddas was in fact believed to be a yew tree. This is stated,among others, in German academic sources available on the internet and Freya Aswynn's book "The Leaves of Yggdrasil".
Odin is completely inseparable from the tree, in a fully cosmic shamanistic way. Another name for Odin was Jörmunr (mighty or powerful), which is the same root as in the name Irminsul, the cosmic tree of the Saxons.
Это было очень интересно.
Thanks!
'Odin's gallow' would make the most sense as he hung himself upside down from the world tree in order to see the runes.
I was researching the Hindu tree of life that is similar to yggdrassil but it invarted and is said to be body of Vishnu, that might be the case for yggdrassil as well and the early name might abev described it to be the body of Odin.
That's interesting, thank you for sharing :)
@@Crecganford no worries bro, If you don't mind I'll be subscribing you XD
Yes in Hindu mythology/ theology ( because it's a religion duh!) the world tree or rather the universe tree is named as Kalpa Vriksha or Parijata ie the tree of heaven. And Vishnu is said to be the 'Jagad- vriksha mulam' or the root of that tree. And we all know that the lotus arisen from that plant is the where Brahma sits therefore Brahma is the fruit of that tree. And Shiva/ Rudra and Yogmaya/ Shakti/ Durga are explained as the nourishment source ie soil/ environment and the stem of that tree respectively.
Can you do a video on Berber Coastal North African mythology? The Berbers are actually related to the Saami people of Finland and the Slavs, they even share symbology and similar PIE mythology. Little known, but you can tell it's very Pleistoscene.
I know a little about that, so yes, it'll be some months off as have so many videos to make, but will do it! :) Thanks for the idea
@@Crecganford thank you, I will be looking forward to it.
Great video 👍🏻 Interesting that the Saxons Irminsul, (great pillar) has a similar pattern, with the "Irmin" part meaning "great" being cognate with the old Norse "jormunr" - another name for Odin. Keep the videos coming, they get my brain ticking!
A horse is poetically used word as a vessel of transport, read about the Horse of the waves or the Sea Horse being used for Ships. Then the tree would become his horse, his vessel on his journey to knowledge.
That is a very good way at looking at, thank you for sharing, and watching.
I wonder if Yggdrisal was the ancients understanding of berklin currents in the cosmos?
The tree of knowledge..... sounds like all is mind
and the other bit of this is that the poetic edda was scribed in christian times - so we don't know what reference and meaning would have been before then. - hense similarities to a 'father god' and tree of knowledge etc.