These two interact continuously, causing stress to the tree.
ically, the squirrel who runs to and fro between the serpent and the eagle
is likened to the human, moving between heaven and earth via lifetimes.
Four deer live in the tree's branches, continually gnawing it on high,
providing moisture from their antlers which falls as dew on the earth below.
The leaves of Yggdrasil never wither and the divine goat of Odin
feeds upon them, providing in turn the 'drink of the gods'.
This drink is given to the warriors of Valhalla, where in the Great Hall of Odin,
dead warriors are refreshed and brought back to life for their next ritualistic combat.
Yggdrasil was the epitome of a guardian tree,
and its legends strengthened the traditions of planting
such trees near settlements, homes and sacred sites.
Conceptually it marked the centre of the universe around which
everything flowered and it united the cosmic regions.
When the end of the world threatened, Yggdrasil
reputedly trembled and shook, and it was believed by many tribes
that souls were born in its branches. As the tree's
life was constantly renewed, it was symbolic of the constant regeneration
of the universe by which mankind can attain immortality.
Like all sacred trees, Yggdrasil had a spring at its roots,
the Spring of Fate, which was also called the Well of Urd, a name referring to destiny.
The guardian of this spring, from which Odin drank,
was Mimir, whose oracular head Odin consulted
as the source of wisdom and inspiration.
Near the Spring of Fate dwelt three legendary maidens called the Norns,
who ruled over the destinies of men. They were called
Urdr (Fate), Verdandi (Being) and Skuld (Necessity).
They watered the the tree daily from the spring and
whitened its bark with clay, thus preserving its life.
