The Nordic people, who sailed to Iceland and made it their home, to avoid living in submission to King Harold Haarfagr, have preserved this tradition for us in a reasonably pure way due to their isolation. Their oral treasure of myths and legends was collected and written down around 1200 and is known as the “Younger or Prose Edda”. In Iceland all the best poetry was called “Edda”, a word that literally means “Great-grandmother”. And it is from the mouth of these ancient Great-grand-mother stories that we learn about the mighty Ash, called Yggdrasil, the World-tree.
Held in the crown of her lower branches, we find Midgard (The middle garden), the world of human beings. Midgard is surrounded by the waters of the ocean, which in turn is held together by the serpent of eternity, eating its own tail, and a ring of mountains. In the centre of Midgard arises a mountain called Asgard (the garden of the Gods). This is the home of the Gods, where we find Gladheim (House of Joy), Odin and Frigga’s home, which includes the famous feasting hall, known as Valhalla, where the fallen heroes are looked after by the Valkyries. The uppermost branch of Yggdrasil, underneath which the Gods and Goddesses meet in council, is called Peace-giver. It is interesting to note that the Gods are nurtured by the tree just like all the other beings living in her mighty branches.
There are 4 stags browsing on Yggdrasil’s leaves. They represent the guardians of sleep, as well as the 4 winds, because the Stag is a universal symbol of renewal, a quality which both sleep and the wind have in common. Stags can also be the messengers of the Gods or the heavenly powers. They draw the chariot of Father Time and the sleigh of Father Christmas. One could say that these vehicles are powered by the winds of (Divine) awareness We are also put in touch by the winds of Divine awareness during our sleep in our dreamtime.
An all knowing eagle, with a hawk perched on its forehead, lives in the top of the tree. Nidhoggr, the Dreadbiter, a huge serpent, gnaws unceasingly at the roots of the tree.
Ratatosk, a mischievous squirrel (and also the bringer of rain and snow) is forever chattering and running up and down the the tree, creating bad feeling between the eagle and the serpent. The eagle is aware of the destruction Nidhoggr is causing and grumbles. Ratatosk then runs and tells Nidhoggr what he has overheard, thus making the serpents venom ever more bitter. Like everywhere else in the description of this great Ash tree, we are given lessons we can benefit from. Our life-force (the serpent) is gnawing away at itself. Our consciousness (the eagle) knows it. Our chattering, hoarding mind (the squirrel) is making things worse by causing enmity between the two.
Yggdrasil grows from 3 great roots, which each have a wondrous well associated with it. The first root grows from Nilfheim, the home of mist. This is the realm of mysteries, death and the unknowable. Below it, are 9 underworlds (number 9 is symbolic for the ultimate, as beyond 9 we restart counting again with 1 and 0 = 10). Here we find Hekla, the great mountain of fire, which is the furnace of all trans-formation; Nidhoggr, the Dreadbiter and the World of the Dead, which is connected to Midgard by a bridge of Ice.
The fountain springing from Nilfheim is Hvergelmar, whence flowed the rivers of Anguish and Death, the Tempest, the Whirlwind and the Abyss.
The second root grows from Jotunheim, the frozen land of the Ice giants. These are the great primordial forces from which the later generations of Scandinavian Gods descended. Jotunheim can be thought of as the vast depth of Space, containing the huge bodies of many planets and stars. Our present world was created by the battle between the Ice giants and the Gods of Asgard. From this area springs the well of Mimir, the Wise. Mimir was a wise giant killed in the battle and his oracular head continues to gush forth as the source of all art and wisdom.
The third root connects to the Highest Heavens, which is the realm of Time. Here we find the Norns, also known as the 3 sisters of Fate: Urd, the past, who spins the threads; Verdanti, the present, who weaves the cloth of life; Skulda, the future, who cuts the threads. The sisters weave the fates of Gods and humans and write it on the Shield of Destiny.
From this place originates the the Well of Urd. The Norns keep the roots of Yggdrasil moist with its blessed water, so the tree will always be green and strong.
http://www.the-tree.org.uk/BritishTrees/ash.htm#Contents