In the beginning the world consisted of only mist, ice, and frost.
Audhumla, the great cow, and Ymir, the Frost Giant, were born from the warmth of the Sun touching ice. Ymir fed on Audhumla's milk, the only food available. The great cow licked salty ice while the Frost Giant slept and licked into existence a man, Buri. Both Ymir and Buri were hermaphroditic beings, capable of spawning offspring without a mate. Ymir perspired during his sleep; from his sweat were born his children, the Giants. Buri produced a male being called Borr. Borr married Bestla, one of Ymir's Giantess daughters; their children were Odhinn, Vili, and Ve.
Odhinn and his brothers eventually killed the Giant Ymir and built the world and the heavens out of the Giant's body. They also created the first human man (Askr or ash) and woman (Embla, or elm) from two living trees by giving them a new form, intelligence, and a soul.
Maggot-like creatures crawling from Ymir's flesh were changed by Odhinn into Dwarves, small human-shaped creatures. However, he left them the color of the Earth; in which they live. Their king was called Modsognir. There are said to be three tribes of Dwarves: one lives in mounds of earth, another in rocks, and the third in the high mountains. Four of the Dwarves were given the permanent task of holding up the sky.
They were named for the four directions: Nordhri (North), Austri (East), Sudhri (South), and Vestri (West).
Odhinn and his brothers then went on to create Midgard where mankind would live, and Asgard where the Gods would live. In all they created nine worlds, all held together by the World Tree, Yggdrasil.
Yggdrasil as a cosmic tree is sometimes called an ash and sometimes a yew. A clue to the correct name may be in another Norse word for yew, which is needle ash. Yggdrasil grows out of the past, lives in the present, and reaches toward the future. It nourishes all spiritual and physical life. Its roots reach into all the worlds; its boughs hang above
Asgard.
Yggdrasil has three main roots that hold everything together. One root reaches the Well of Urd in Asgard, another into the Fountain of Mimir in Midgard, and third into the Spring of Hvergelmir in Hel. At Hvergelmir, the watchman Ivaldi and his sons defend Hel against the Storm Giants.
The World Tree is constantly under attack by evil creatures. In Niflheim, the dragon Nidhogg continually chews on its roots; in Midgard, four giant harts eat the buds and leaves. But the Norns sprinkle the tree each morning with water from Urd's fountain of life.
Of the nine worlds in Norse mythology, Asgard (home of the Aesir) is on the highest level, with Alfheim (home of the Elves) to the east and Vanaheim (home of Vanir) to the west. The Prose Edda states that Midgard is in the center of Ginnungap, an area of 11 rivers and frozen wasteland. It is Midgard that ties together all the other worlds. On the same level as Midgard is Svartalfheim to the south, Nidavellir to the east, and Jotunheim to the west. Below Midgard lie Hel and Niflheim.
Sometime after the creation of the nine worlds, the two races of gods, the Aesir and the Vanir, fell to fighting. This war lasted for some time before they decided to call a truce and exchange hostages. Mimir and Hoenir of the Aesir went to the Vanir, while Freyja and Freyr went to the Aesir. Hoenir was so indecisive that the Vanir took it as an insult
and killed the wise Mimir in retaliation; they sent Mimir's head back to Odhinn. Odhinn preserved the head in herbs and oils and placed it by the Well of Mimir at the foot of the World Tree. There he could consult it as an oracle.
In the meantime the Aesir tried to torture to death the Vanir Goddess Gullveig, who had the ability to revive herself. When this did not work after three tries, the Aesir gave up. The Aesir and the Vanir decided that continued war was futile. Besides, they needed each other's strengths to fend off the Giants. They joined forces in Asgard and settled down to more or less peaceful living.
Odhinn had a very special horse, Sleipnir (offspring of Loki and the horse of a Giant), who had eight legs. Sleipnir could run the fastest, leap the highest, endure the longest of anything-human or animal. He even ran on water or in the air. However, Odhinn was jealous of Freyja's rune magick. She refused to share her knowledge with him. So he
hanged himself from the World Tree Yggdrasil for nine days and nights. At the very last of his endurance, he saw the runes written clearly and understood their significance.
Dwarves, a group of supernatural beings, also played an important part in the legends. Skilled craftsmen, they made many of the Gods' weapons and possessions, including Freyja's necklace Brisingamen. In order to obtain Brisingamen Freyja had to sleep one night with each of four Dwarves; this meant she had to master and understand completely the four Elements. Dwarves were greedy, cunning, and sometimes evil, but were usually enemies of the Giants. Dwarves horded gold and precious gems in underground hiding places.
Elves were another group of supernatural beings and were divided into two categories: Light Elves and Dark Elves. The Light Elves were good and helpful; they lived in Alfheim. The Dark Elves were troublemakers who lived in caves and holes in Svartalfheim.
There was a huge wolf monster in Asgard called Fenrir, a child of the God Loki. He was savage and unpredictable, even by the Gods' standards. So they decided that he must be chained. Every chain they bound on Fenrir, he broke to pieces. Then a magick chain was forged but Fenrir, fearing the seemingly innocent-looking chain, refused cooperate. Tyr, God of justice and war, volunteered to put his hand into the wolf’s mouth while the others chained the animal. When the bindings were tight, Fenrir struggled but found himself caught fast. Before Tyr could remove his hand, the wolf bit it off.
Thorr was the champion of the Gods, particularly against the Frost Giants, had a magick hammer, Mjollnir, that was a short-handled, double-headed axe. Loki, the troublemaker, helped the Frost Giants to steal it, then repented his deed when saw Thorr's anger. The Giants vowed they would return the hammer, but only in exchange for Freyja as a bride to their leader. Freyja was furious, so angry in fact the Gods who had tried to talk her into accepting the bargain all fled before her wrath.
Thorr, dressed in a bridal dress and veil, took her place. He made the trickster Loki go with him. All through the wedding feast, Loki had to keep assuring Giants that the bride who ate such huge amounts was only excited about the wedding,When Mjollnir was placed in the bride's lap to bless the marriage, Thorr grabbed and slaughtered all the Giants there.
Loki, the troublemaker, made an occupation of lying. He liked nothing than to stir up mischief among the Gods and Goddesses by going from one to another spreading gossip, rumors, and jealousy. Unfortunately, the damage he did could always be repaired. Odhinn's son Balder was a beautiful God, fully protected because his mother had petitioned every living thing to cause him no harm. But in requests, she had missed the lowly mistletoe (misteltein). Loki knew this and lied to the blind God Hodur.
All the Gods were throwing objects at Balder, delighted to everything swerve to avoid harming him. Loki took a stick of mistletoe and helped Hodur throw it. The shaft pierced Balder and killed him. Hermod the swift, brother of Hodur, rode Sleipnir into the underworld where Balder's soul lay and bargained with Queen Hel. She finally promised that Balder could return to Asgard if everyone would weep for him. Full of hope, Hermod rode back with the message. The Gods went throughout the realms telling everyone to weep for Balder. However, they encountered a Giantess who absolutely refused. Balder could not leave the underworld.
It was not long before the Gods discovered the true identity of the Giantess - Loki in disguise. Loki was hauled before their assembly, and judgment was passed. He was bound with the guts of his son to a huge rock that went to the very depths of the earth. Over his head the Gods hung a poison-dripping snake. Loki's wife Sigyn felt sorry for him and sits day after day with a dish to catch the burning poison. But the Teutons say that whenever she must leave to empty the dish, the poison causes Loki terrible agony. He writhes in pain, and the Earth quakes from his thrashing about.
However, Loki will have his revenge at Ragnarok (the end of the world) when he breaks free and leads the Giants against the Gods. Before Ragnarok, there will be a great winter (fimbulvetr) lasting three years with no summers in between. There will be constant war on Midgard; earthquakes and a great freeze will kill all humankind, except one man and one woman who will hide in Yggdrasil. The skies will darken; Jormungand will invade Midgard. The wolves Skoll and Hati will swallow the Sun and Moon. Hel, with her dead souls and the dog Garm, will burst out of Niflheim, crossing the Ocean in the boat Naglfari, which is made of dead men's nails. Hel will join with Loki, Fenrir, and the Giants in war against the Gods. Heimdall's horn Gjall will sound throughout the
nine worlds as the combatants meet on the vast plain of Vigard.
Fenrir will kill Odhinn and then be killed by Odhinn's son Vidar. Garm and Tyr, Loki and Heimdall will destroy each other. Thorr will slay Jormungand but will die of its poison. The Earth will sink into the sea; however, Yggdrasil will survive. As new land rises, the two humans hidden in the World Tree will climb down to renew the race.
Some of the Gods will survive: Odhinn's sons Vidar and Vali; Thorr's sons Modi and Magni; Hodur and Hoenir. Balder and Nanna will return from the dead. And Thorr's hammer Mjollnir, wielded by his sons, will once again protect humans.
