Originally posted by scratchmane
There is a story from the nordic regions that tell the tale of Ragnarok(Destiny of the Gods)
Preceeding this will be the fall of the Ash tree.
In several baltic countries and Denmark and Sweden, the Ash tree is dying. Scientists are not sure yet what it is: Either a fungus and/or climate
changes.
2012 is coming up, and this story seem to fit the description.
Love & Laughter
That's an incredibly literal take; Yggdrasil is not
every ash tree. Yggdrasil is unique in its function and creation. In the Grímnismál,
Yggdrasil is actually described as being "the best of trees", which undermines any idea that its somehow representative of any kind of tree in
general.
Whilst the presence of Níðhöggr
et al who are ravaging Yggdrasil can be interpreted many ways, I'm not sure about the merit of them being
viewed as fungi.
The precursor to Ragnarok isn't the fall of the Ash Tree as you put it. Yggdrasil obviously survives Fimbulvetr, which
is the period that
precedes Ragnarok.
Besides, if Yggdrasil is destroyed during Ragnarok - something I'm not too sure about as whilst I'm familiar with its shaking, I'm not familiar
with anything about its demise - then surely it's actually burned in Surtr's fire along with most other things?
Also, just to play Devil's advocate, whilst there's a lot of source material that supports the idea that Yggdrasil is the World Ash, there are some
that believe Yggdrasil to be a yew or even a conifer.
[edit on 19-10-2009 by Merriman Weir]
EDIT: I find it odd that whilst you focus on this particular aspect of Ragnarok when, in an eschatological sense, Fimbulvetr and Surtr are more fecund
that the point you've tried to make. Great winters with no end where mankind turns on itself followed by a great fire that consumes much of the
world(s).
[edit on 19-10-2009 by Merriman Weir]
EDITED due to Witches
[edit on 19-10-2009 by Merriman Weir]