Speaking of myth - old wisdom/everyday observations (post 4)

Walking in my local woods this morning, I came across this stunning collection of autumn leaves – wych-elm, beech and ash. The latter is deeply embedded in Norse myth as  Yggdrasil, the great Ash, the World Tree. Yggdrasil holds all of creation and links the three realms of Asgard (home of the gods), Midgard (where humans dwell) and icy Niflheim. That is how it will be until the end of the world (Ragnarok) is brought about by dark and malevolent forces.

Today, all around us, the ash trees are dying.

Ecologist and storyteller, Lisa Schneidau writes:

…Let’s return to the old stories. When two humans hid inside the trunk of Yggdrasil to suvive Ragnarok, they did not emerge afterwards, as from the ark, into a bright, shiny new world. They stepped out into a challenging place, wrecked by the egos and wars of the gods and the giants. They had no choice but to take it on. It won’t be only the loss of ash trees that is remembered from the mythlogy of our own times, but also our response.