Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

YGGDRASIL

The World Ash Tree of Germanic and Norse tradition that marks the centre of the nine worlds of gods, giants, dwarfs and men. The term originates in the fusion of Ygg, one of the epithets of Othin (Odin), and the Old Norse word drasill, a horse, meaning literally the horse of Ygg, a euphemism for a gallows tree.

The expression derives from the legend that hung himself from the tree, pierced by his own spear, for nine nights in the pursuit of occult knowledge. To the same end he also gave his right eye in exchange for the right to drink from the Well of Urd (the Spring of Fate) beneath the Tree.

By hanging from the Tree, Othin rendered himself a Sacrifice according to his own self-ordained rites of death and in clear parallel with the Christian crucifixion account. He acquired occult knowledge through his symbolic death.

Tradition has it that Yggdrasil will survive the day of doom, Ragnarok, and give shelter to those who will populate the new earth.

Some authors have suggested that the tree is not an ash but a yew, though there is scant support for this notion. There is little in literature to identify Yggdrasil with the Tree of Life known from the mythology of the ancient near east and Classical empires of Greece and Rome.

see also: ASATRU

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc