MYTHOLOGY (noun.)
1. a collection of myths, especially one belonging to a particular religious or cultural tradition.
2. the study of myths
─ IN WHICH THE ADMINS GIVE YOU INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THE MANY BELIEFS OF MULTIPLE MMYTHOLOGIES
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YGGDRASIL
The Norse people believed that at the center of the universe grew a cosmic ash tree named Yggdrasil. Three roots drink the waters of the homeworlds, one in the homeworld of the gods, the Æsir, Asgard, one in the homeworld of the humans, Midgard, and one in the homeworld of the dead, Helheim. Beneath the root in the world of the frost giants is the spring of Mímir, whose waters contain wisdom and understanding.
The root in the Æsir homeworld taps the sacred wellspring of fate, the Well of Urðr. 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, Niðhǫggr, 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.
THE NINE REALMS
Nine worlds grew from Yggdrasil, each for a different creature. These realms are not listed in surviving texts but this is the believed interpretation:
1) Asgard, the home of the Æsir ruled by the god Odin.
2) Álfheimr/Ljósálfheimr, the home of the Light Elves ("Ljósálfar").
3) Niðavellir/Svartálfaheimr, the home of the Dwarves.
4) Midgard, the home of humans.
5) Jötunheimr/Útgarðr, the home of the Jötnar (Giants).
6) Vanaheim, the home of the Vanir.
7) Niflheim, a world of ice and snow.
8) Muspelheim, a world of fire and lava and home of the Jötunn Surtr.
9) Hel (heimr), the home of the dishonorable dead, sometimes synonymous with or located in Niflheim and ruled by the goddess Hela.
