einhverfr
Yew v. Ash and Yggdrassil-- the tree and the man
I will post my main analysis on this rune tomorrow, but in the mean time....
One of the kennings of the yew tree is the "needle ash." People have assumed the world tree is a yew because Voluspa specifically states that Yddgreassil is an ash but that it is also evergreen. Yew trees (along with a few other types) were very important to many Indo-European peoples, and the same tree shows up often in Celtic myth as well.
Other similarities include:
You make spear shafts out of ash and bows out of yew.
They can both (eventually) grow to be very tall
In Norse myth, humans were created out of trees ("Ask" and "Embla"). Thereafter, trees of various types are used in kennings for man. For example, Sigurd is addressed by Sigdrifa as "Oak of Battle." I have posted before (in the discussion of Ansuz) about the idea that the World Tree is in fact the consciousness embodied in the human condition. That the tree itself is a fairly detailed metaphore for the human condition and provides answers to otherwise puzzling passages in Voluspa and elsewhere.
Many people who come to the Runic tradition find that the Runic tradition is fairly bipolar (to use Thorsson's term) in that it seeks both the darkness and the light. Darkness in this case is not to be seen as evil in any normal sense, however. I would actually put it a little differently-- that the underworld aspects are as important as the heavenly aspects.
In the mean time, one book I would recommend is "Psychosynthesis: A Collection of Basic Writings" by Roberto Assaglioli (sp?). Although my viewpoint is not identical with this writer's, I think he is on to something important. Assaglioli is one of the few psychologists who seems both interested in a psychological model of religious experience but without a tendency to try to explain it away.
Anyway, I think that, like trees, we must cast our roots down before we can send our branches up. The underworld is full of various things, from beings known for their sexual desires (Hrimgerdh, Alvis, the four dwarves who sell the necklace of the Brisings to Freya, etc) to the ghosts of those who came before. This underworld is not only the primordial world but it is also the source of learning, where both Odhinn and Vafthrudhnir* learn the Runes (see Havamal and Vafthrudhnismal. After we have sent our roots down, we can send our branches up towards the gods.
*This giant's name means "The Entangler" which is noteworthy because Odhinn is known too for his entangling abilities. In the cited story, Odhinn and this giant challenge eachother to riddles and eventually Odhinn wins, and The Entangler is beheaded.
As I said before, the darkness may be scary in many situations but it is not evil. However, one must continue to try to grow in both directions because there are forces which will seek to destroy one. The harts grazing on the new chutes, Nidhhoggr gnawing on the roots, and the bole rotting from within.
There is at the top of the tree an eagle with a falcon perched between his eyes. The Eagle/falcon, the squirrel, and Nidhhogr represent the three divisions of the world (heavens, terrestrial, and underworld) that are connected with the 3 Dumezilian functions (Priest/King, Warrior, Producer).
The serpent and the eagle again show their role in the story of the Mead of Inspiration, and this probably has some bearing on the tree as human metaphore we see. In some interpretations of this story, the auger used to drill a home in the mountain is a squirrel. Anyway, Odhinn assumes the shape of a serpent, and slides through the hole. He spends three nights with Gunloth before putting all the mead in his mouth, assuming the shape of an eagle, and flying to Asgard with Suttung in persuit. Here the serpent, man, and eagle represent the three divisions of the world and point directly to those animals found in the World Tree in Grimnismal.
I will post my main analysis on this rune tomorrow, but in the mean time....
One of the kennings of the yew tree is the "needle ash." People have assumed the world tree is a yew because Voluspa specifically states that Yddgreassil is an ash but that it is also evergreen. Yew trees (along with a few other types) were very important to many Indo-European peoples, and the same tree shows up often in Celtic myth as well.
Other similarities include:
You make spear shafts out of ash and bows out of yew.
They can both (eventually) grow to be very tall
In Norse myth, humans were created out of trees ("Ask" and "Embla"). Thereafter, trees of various types are used in kennings for man. For example, Sigurd is addressed by Sigdrifa as "Oak of Battle." I have posted before (in the discussion of Ansuz) about the idea that the World Tree is in fact the consciousness embodied in the human condition. That the tree itself is a fairly detailed metaphore for the human condition and provides answers to otherwise puzzling passages in Voluspa and elsewhere.
Many people who come to the Runic tradition find that the Runic tradition is fairly bipolar (to use Thorsson's term) in that it seeks both the darkness and the light. Darkness in this case is not to be seen as evil in any normal sense, however. I would actually put it a little differently-- that the underworld aspects are as important as the heavenly aspects.
In the mean time, one book I would recommend is "Psychosynthesis: A Collection of Basic Writings" by Roberto Assaglioli (sp?). Although my viewpoint is not identical with this writer's, I think he is on to something important. Assaglioli is one of the few psychologists who seems both interested in a psychological model of religious experience but without a tendency to try to explain it away.
Anyway, I think that, like trees, we must cast our roots down before we can send our branches up. The underworld is full of various things, from beings known for their sexual desires (Hrimgerdh, Alvis, the four dwarves who sell the necklace of the Brisings to Freya, etc) to the ghosts of those who came before. This underworld is not only the primordial world but it is also the source of learning, where both Odhinn and Vafthrudhnir* learn the Runes (see Havamal and Vafthrudhnismal. After we have sent our roots down, we can send our branches up towards the gods.
*This giant's name means "The Entangler" which is noteworthy because Odhinn is known too for his entangling abilities. In the cited story, Odhinn and this giant challenge eachother to riddles and eventually Odhinn wins, and The Entangler is beheaded.
As I said before, the darkness may be scary in many situations but it is not evil. However, one must continue to try to grow in both directions because there are forces which will seek to destroy one. The harts grazing on the new chutes, Nidhhoggr gnawing on the roots, and the bole rotting from within.
There is at the top of the tree an eagle with a falcon perched between his eyes. The Eagle/falcon, the squirrel, and Nidhhogr represent the three divisions of the world (heavens, terrestrial, and underworld) that are connected with the 3 Dumezilian functions (Priest/King, Warrior, Producer).
The serpent and the eagle again show their role in the story of the Mead of Inspiration, and this probably has some bearing on the tree as human metaphore we see. In some interpretations of this story, the auger used to drill a home in the mountain is a squirrel. Anyway, Odhinn assumes the shape of a serpent, and slides through the hole. He spends three nights with Gunloth before putting all the mead in his mouth, assuming the shape of an eagle, and flying to Asgard with Suttung in persuit. Here the serpent, man, and eagle represent the three divisions of the world and point directly to those animals found in the World Tree in Grimnismal.