YGGDRASIL AND THE NORNS – OR AXIS MUNDI AND TIME
YGGDRASIL AND THE NORNS – OR AXIS MUNDI AND TIME

Summary/Abstract: Yggdrasil and the Norns – or Axis Mundi and Time This article presents the relationship between the ash Yggdrasil and the Norns, who guard the wells under its roots. Yggdrasil contains within its roots and branches the worlds of the gods, the giants, the dwarfs, and the people. Because the Norns are the ones that take care of Urðarbrunnr, all these worlds fall under their influence. The Norns are apparently responsible of three activities: log leggja (to make laws), líf kjósa (to choose life), and ørlog segja (to set or mark fate). The names of the Norns are also usually interpreted as being time – related: allegedly, they mark the three most important moments in a man’s life – beginning, middle, and end – corresponding to the three temporal divisions – past, present, and future.

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