Norse Mythology Coloring Pages for Kids
Yggdrasil Coloring Pages
Yggdrasil is the World Tree of Norse mythology, a giant ash whose roots and branches hold the nine realms together. Gods, giants, a dragon and even a gossiping squirrel all have a part in its story.
Jump to: World Tree | Nine Realms | Roots and Wells | Creatures | Ragnarök
Yggdrasil, the World Tree
The old Norse poems describe Yggdrasil as an evergreen ash so huge that its branches stretch over the sky and its roots reach down into the deepest realms. Dew drips from its leaves into the valleys below, and the gods meet beneath it every day to hold their council.
The name is usually read as "Odin's horse." Ygg, meaning "the terrible one," is one of Odin's many names, and in one famous poem Odin hangs from the tree for nine nights, with no food or water, until he looks down and discovers the secret of the runes.
The Nine Realms
Yggdrasil holds the nine worlds of Norse mythology. The old sources don't always agree on the list or exactly where each world sits on the tree, but these are the nine most often named:
- Asgard: home of the Aesir gods, like Odin and Thor.
- Vanaheim: home of the Vanir, the gods of nature and plenty, like Njord and Freyr.
- Alfheim: land of the light elves.
- Midgard: the world of humans, linked to Asgard by the rainbow bridge Bifrost, which Heimdall guards.
- Jotunheim: the wild, rocky land of the giants.
- Svartalfheim: the underground home of the dwarves, the master smiths who made Thor's hammer.
- Niflheim: a cold, misty world of ice.
- Muspelheim: a world of fire, ruled by the fire giant Surtr.
- Helheim: the realm of the dead, ruled by Hel.
The Roots and Wells
Yggdrasil has three great roots, and each one reaches down to a well or spring.
The Well of Urd
The Norns live beside the Well of Urd, under the root that reaches toward Asgard. These three women, Urd, Verdandi and Skuld, weave the fate of every god and person. Each day they pour water and white clay from the well over the roots so the great tree doesn't rot.
Mimir's Well
A second root reaches toward Jotunheim, the land of the giants, where Mimir guards a well of wisdom. Anyone who drinks from it gains great knowledge, but the price is high. Odin gave up one of his eyes for a single drink.
Hvergelmir
The third root reaches down to Niflheim and the bubbling spring of Hvergelmir, the source of many rivers. This is where the dragon Nidhogg lives, gnawing away at the root.
Creatures of the World Tree
Nidhogg
Nidhogg is a fearsome dragon who chews at Yggdrasil's roots from below, along with a whole tangle of serpents. The tree is always being damaged and always being healed, which fits the Norse idea that destruction and renewal go hand in hand.
Ratatoskr, the Eagle and the Stags
At the very top of the tree sits a wise eagle, with a hawk named Vedrfolnir perched between its eyes. The eagle and Nidhogg can't stand each other, and a cheeky squirrel called Ratatoskr runs up and down the trunk carrying insults back and forth between them, keeping the quarrel going.
Four stags, Dain, Dvalin, Duneyr and Durathror, wander through the branches nibbling the leaves. Between the stags, the dragon and the serpents, Yggdrasil suffers more than anyone knows, yet it keeps on growing.
Yggdrasil and Ragnarök
When Ragnarök comes, Heimdall will blow his horn, Fenrir will break free, and Yggdrasil will shake and groan from root to tip. Even so, the tree doesn't fall.
The poems say two people, Lif and Lifthrasir, will hide in the wood of Hoddmimir (which many think means Yggdrasil itself) and live through the great battle on morning dew. When the world rises again, fresh and green, they'll be the ones to start the human race anew.
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