Hello everyone! This is Casimir with The Skald’s Circle again. Today we’ll be talking about the World Tree.
I am certain that all of our readers here have at least heard of, or are very familiar with, Yggdrasil. The Norse concept of the World Tree is one of the most well known versions of the World Tree — at least in American culture. However, to say that it is the only World Tree in folklore and myth is… a vast understatement. In European mythology alone you see examples of the world tree, tree of life, or the Axis Mundi in nearly all of the Celtic, Slavic, and Norse faiths. The Slavs have their three-tiered tree separated into the Sky, the Earth, and the Netherworld. There is also the Celtic Tree of Life, as well as the Hungarian Világfa. This isn’t even getting into the various cultures all around the world that have the world tree as their mythological cosmological center; my personal favorite is the Samoyed world tree that connects our world with the underworld and the upperworld. My point is made though, there are countless mythologies that have the world tree as their center. However, I can spend all of this article listing the various examples, and while I’d find it interesting, I’m not certain everyone here reading would enjoy getting a list. So, I’m going to talk a bit on why the world tree concept is so common, as well as some musings about the world tree.
Trees are symbols of life, strength, endurance, and fertility. They give us food, materials to build our homes, and so much more. It is of no surprise that so many religions have centered around the tree. If they can support us and give us life, is it really that far of a leap to assume that they could support the world? Like the nests of birds or other tree dwelling creatures, the world(s) roost in the branches of the World Tree. Some scholars have actually theorized that the inclination to World Tree centric cosmologies is actually biologically inclined. Of course I cannot sum up two whole books but in Creation of the Sacred, Walter Burkert discusses the possibility that the idea of the World Tree comes from our evolutionary ancestors literally living in trees, and that idea of trees being what kept us safe passed on to literally supporting our world. Of course that is just speculation, but it is indeed thought provoking.
My thought is a little more practical, trees are literally life givers. As I mentioned above, it’s a not a large step to believing that a great tree supports our universe from trees feeding us, sheltering us, and simply giving us everything we need to live. Just like a great tree sprouting from an acorn or seed, our universe sprouted from something small into something magnitudes larger. Perhaps the idea of the world tree is not that far off from our own idea of the universe. Rather than a physical tree, it is metaphorical, our great life giving universe supporting us on her celestial branches. However, that could just be my bad habit of waxing poetically.
I hope you have enjoyed our discussion of mythology and folklore on History with The Skald’s Circle. If you’d like to know more, or perhaps discuss it with me, I’m always more than willing. Also, if you have something you would like us to research, please let us know! Also, if you learned something new, give us a like and let us know, we really appreciate being noticed. Until then, I’ll be back next week with another fascinating topic. This is Casimir, signing off, and remember, always check your sources!
Sources:
- The Eddas & Sagas
- The Kalevala
- Creation of the Sacred – Walter Burkert