In Norse religion, the disc/swastika became increasingly associated with Thor & was worn as an amulet & carved on tombstones as both a symbol of continuity & luck. The name of the symbol is usually translated as "knots of those fallen in battle" signifying warriors gathered by Odin's Valkyries from the battlefield and brought to Valhalla. Among Odin's many supernatural attributes is his role as psychopomp, a figure who guides the souls of the dead to the afterlife. ![]() The Valknut (Odin's Knot) is a symbol of the transition between life and death and, according to Davidson, "is thought to symbolize the power of the god to bind and unbind" ( Gods and Myths, 147). In the final battle of Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and end of the world, Yggdrasil will be destroyed along with everything else but will be reborn afterwards in a new world. The dragon, eagle, and squirrel are all symbols of change as not even Yggdrasil will last forever. The death-dragon Nidhoggr gnaws at the tree's roots while the eagle of discord nests in its upper branches and a squirrel named Ratatoskr runs up the trunk and back down delivering messages between the two. ![]() Although there remains much debate on the issue, it is generally agreed that Yggdrasil was an ash tree and that its name means "Odin's Horse" as in the tree to which the highest god's horse is bound but could also mean "tree of terror" as it is the tree on which Odin hung when he sacrificed himself to himself in his quest for wisdom (Simek, 375).
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