The mythical world and man
The central axis of the mythical world described in Edda was marked by the ash Yggdrasill.
"I know where the ash stands, Yggdrasill is called,
His trunk is dewy with shining moisture,
Dew comes out of it, what falls in the valleys,
It's still green near the Urd well”.
(Voluspa 19)
The space tree is a frequent element of the cosmogony of various peoples. Being the focal point, is the culmination of it, what's holy. The cosmos is based on it, and it is the division of the universe, determining its main axis. Being the foundation of the structure of "divine order”, gives it stability, becoming at the same time the Tree of Life. When it dies, the world must also die. In Edda, this relationship is strongly emphasized.
“More snakes lie under the Yggdrasill ash
than fools know:
Goin and Moin's sons are Graftwitnira,
Grabak and Swafnir will still - I think -
Gnaw twigs of the tree”.
(Grimtiismal 34)
“Ash Yggdrasill suffers more than the people suspect:
The deer pinches upwards, the trunk rots,
Nidhóg the root destroys”.
(Grimtiismal 35)
Snakes and deer destroying the sacred tree symbolize the constant threat and uncertainty of existence. If not for the water of life drawn from the Urd spring, nourishing sacred ash, the world would be destroyed. Yggdrasill, however, continues to grow thanks to the service of the guardians of fate - Nom, that water it every day. On it, in the words of the Prophetess, there were nine worlds that made up the Scandinavian macrocosm.
„(……………………….)
And I will remember the nine worlds and the nine holy root trees into the depths of the earth”.
(Vdluspa 2)
These included Asgard - the place, where the headquarters of the Aesir were located, Wanaheim – the seat of Wanów, Alfheim - home of the Alfs, Muspell - the land of fire, Jótunheim - the land of the giants, Niflhel - the land of the dead and the reign of dwarfs not mentioned by name, the land of ice in the farthest north, and finally Midgard - the world of people.