Ymir

I nine worlds remember, nine trees, The great central tree beneath the earth.

There was in times of old where Ymir dwelt, Nor sand, nor sea, nor gelid waves.

Earth existed not, nor heaven above.

'Twas a chaotic chasm, and grass nowhere.

Tell me first if thy wit suffices and thou, Vafthrudnir, knowest whence first came the earth and the high heaven, thou sagacious Jotun.

Vafthrudnir.

From Ymir's flesh the earth was formed and from his bones the hills, the heaven from the skull of that ice-cold giant, and from his blood the sea.

GIngrad.

And as they awaken, as this ancient witch consciousness awakens, they start to birth new life into being.

First emerges Ymir and also the cosmic cow, Ad Humla.

And Ymir It's actually an intersex giant.

I will call him a hymn.

He represents raw matter.

Vili represents will and intent.

And Via represents expressing of energy.

They divide Ymir up into our cosmos.

And these sparks fell upon the ice blocks and partly melted them so that they sent up clouds of steam, and these again were frozen into hoarfrost, which filled all the space that was left in the midst of the mountains of ice.

Then one day, when the gulf was full to the very top, this great mass of frosty rime, warmed by the flames from the home of fire and frozen by the cold airs from the home of mist, came to life and became the giant Ymir, with a living, moving body and cruel heart of ice.

Now there was as yet no tree, nor grass, nor anything that would serve for food in this gloomy abyss.

But when the giant Ymir began to grope around for something to satisfy his hunger, he heard a sound as of some animal chewing the cud.

And there, among the ice hills, he saw a gigantic cow from whose udder flowed four great streams of milk, and with this his craving was easily stilled.

But the cow was hungry also, and began to lick the salt off the blocks of ice by which she was surrounded.

And presently, as she went on licking with her strong, rough tongue, a head of hair pushed itself through the melting ice.

Still the cow went on licking, until she had at last melted all the icy covering, and there stood fully revealed the frame of a mighty man.

And then there's the world of ice, Niflheim, and where the heat from the world of fire meets the icy rivers from the world of ice, there life starts to form.

And initially it forms as sort of the primordial ice giants called Ymir.

And eventually Ymir, his whole body will shape Ymir.

the world that we live in.

So his skull becomes the sky and his blood becomes the rivers, his bones become the rocks.

But Ginnungagap was as mild as windless air; and when the breath of heat met the rime, so that it melted and dripped, life was quickened from the yeast drops, by the power of that which sent the heat, and became a man's form.

And that man is called Ymir, but the Rime Giants call him Aurgelmir.

And thence are come the races of the Rime Giants.

As it says in Voluspa the Less: All the witches spring from Vitoth; All the warlocks are of Vilhelm; And the spell-singers spring from Svarthed; All the ogres of Ymir come.

But concerning this says Baftudnir the Giant: Out of the ice-waves issued venom-drops, Waxing until a giant was; Thence are our kindred come all together; So it is they are savage forever." Then said Gangleri: "How did the races grow thence, or after what fashion was it brought to pass that more men came into being? Or do ye hold him God, of whom ye but now spake?" And Jafnharr answered: "By no means do we acknowledge him God; he was evil, and all his kindred.

We call them Rime Giants.

And thus the races are come.

These are the Rime Giants.

The sunshine from the south melted the ice mountains of the north so that they toppled over and fell into Ganungagap.

There they were changed into a frost giant, whose name was Ymir.

He had three sons.

They and their father were so strong that the gods were afraid of them.

So Woden and his brothers killed Ymir.

They broke his body in pieces and made the world of them.

His bones and teeth became mountains and rocks.

His hair became leaves for trees and plants.

I nine worlds remember, nine trees, The great central tree beneath the earth.

There was in times of old where Ymir dwelt, Nor sand nor sea nor gelid waves.

Earth existed not, nor heaven above.

'Twas a chaotic chasm, and grass nowhere.

We will our heads in the hall pledge, guest, for wise utterance.

Gangrad: Tell me first if thy wit suffices and thou, Vafthrudnir, knowest whence first came the earth and the high heaven, thou sagacious Jotun.

Vafthrudnir: From Ymir's flesh the earth was formed and from his bones the hills, the heaven from the skull of that ice-cold giant and from his blood the sea.

Gangrad: Tell me secondly if thy wit suffices and thou, Vafthrudnir, knowest whence came the moon which over mankind passes and the sun likewise.