  the cosmology of norse mythology has "nine homeworlds", unified by the world tree yggdrasill. mapping the nine worlds escapes precision because the poetic edda often alludes vaguely. the norse creation myth tells how everything came into existence in the gap between fire and ice, and how the gods shaped the homeworld of humans. ==yggdrasill== a cosmic ash tree, yggdrasill, lies at the center of the norse cosmos. three roots drink the waters of the homeworlds, one in the homeworld of the gods, the Ãsir, one in the homeworld of the giants, the jÇ«tnar, and one in the homeworld of the dead. beneath the root in the world of the frost giants is the spring of mimir, whose waters contain wisdom and understanding. the root in the Ãsir homeworld taps the sacred wellspring of fate, the well of urÃ°r. the tree is tended by the norns, who live near it. each day, they water it with pure water and whiten it with clay from the spring to preserve it. the water falls down to the earth as dew. animals continually feed on the tree, threatening it, but its vitality persists evergreen as it heals and nourishes the vibrant aggression of life. on the topmost branch of the tree sits an eagle. the beating of its wings cause the winds in the world of men. at the root of the tree lies a great dragon, niÃ°hÇ«ggr, gnawing at it continuously, together with other unnamed serpents. the squirrel ratatoskr carries insults from one to the other. harts and goats devour the branches and tender shoots. ==creation== in the beginning, there were two regions: muspellsheimr in the south, full of fire, light and heat; and niflheimr in the north, full of arctic waters, mists, and cold. between them stretched the yawning emptiness of ginnungagap, and into it poured sparks and smoke from the south and layers of rime-ice and glacial rivers from the north. as heat and cold met in ginnungagap, a living jÃ¶tunn, ymir, appeared in the melting ice. from his left armpit, the first man and woman were born. from his legs, the frost jÃ¶tnar were born, making ymir the progenitor of the jÃ¶tnar. most sources identify ymir's oldest son as thrudgelmir, who bore ymir's grandson, bergelmir. the other jÃ¶tnar are usually unnamed. ymir fed on the milk of the cow auÃ°humla. she licked the blocks of salty ice, releasing bÃºri. bÃºri's son borr had three sons, the gods odin, vili and vÃ©. the three slew ymir, and all of the jÃ¶tnar (giants) except for bergelmir and his wife, who were drowned in the blood of the others. from ymir's body, they made the world of humans: his blood the seas and lakes, his flesh the earth
Mythological_cosmologies Norse_mythology