A Viking was completely exposed to the elements and could reach down and touch the waves. In such a vessel you would feel the waters of the deep slipping by just underneath of your feet as sea spray pelted your face.

The Vikings sailed these vessels all the way to the Mediterranean, to Iceland and Greenland, and even all the way to North America.

This level of commitment, acceptance of risk, rejection of limitations, and consuming hunger to bend the world to one's will is difficult for many of us to accurately imagine.

That is why the dragon ship will always symbolize the Vikings and everything about them. The Vikings believed all things — even the gods themselves — were bound to fate.

The concept was so important that there were six different words for fate in the Old Scandinavian tongues. Because the outcome was determined, it was not for a man or a woman to try to escape their fate — no matter how grim it might be.

The essential thing was in how one met the trials and tragedies that befell them. In Norse mythology, fate itself is shaped by the Norns. There they weave together a great tapestry or web, with each thread being a human life.

Some sources, including the Volsung saga, say that in addition to the three great Norns who are called Past, Present, and Future there are many lesser Norns of both Aesir and elf kind.

These lesser Norn may act similarly to the idea of the guardian angels of Christianity or the daemon of Greco-Roman mythology.

The Web of Wyrd symbol represents the tapestry the Norns weave. It is uncertain whether this symbol was used during the Viking Age, but it uses imagery the Vikings would instantly understand.

Nine lines intersect to form the symbol. Nine was a magic number to the Norse, and within the pattern of these lines all the runes can be found.

The runes also sprang from the Well of Urd, and carried inherent meaning and power. Thus, when one looks at the nine lines of the Web of Wyrd, one is seeing all the runes at once, and seeing in symbolic form the secrets of life and destiny.

Gungnir is a magic spear, with dark runes inscribed on its point. Gungnir never misses its target. When Odin sacrificed himself to discover the runes and the cosmic secrets they held, he stabbed Gungnir through his chest and hung from the world tree, Yggdrasil for nine days and nights.

As a symbol, Gungnir represents the courage, ecstasy, inspiration, skill, and wisdom of the Allfather, and it can be taken to represent focus, faithfulness, precision, and strength.

Ravens may be the animal most associated with the Vikings. This is because Ravens are the familiars of Odin, the Allfather.

Odin was a god of war, and ravens feasting on the slain were a common sight on the battlefields of the Viking Age.

The connection is deeper than that, however. Ravens are very intelligent birds. You cannot look at the eyes and head movement of a raven and not feel that it is trying to perceive everything about you — even weigh your spirit.

Huginn and Muninn fly throughout the nine worlds, and whatever their far-seeing eyes find they whisper back to Odin.

Ravens are also associated with the 9th century Viking hero, Ragnar Lothbrok. Ragnar claimed descent from Odin through a human consort.

This was something that did not sit well with the kings of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden as it implied parity with them , and for that and many other reasons they made war on him.

Various sagas and chronicles tell us Ragnar's success led him to Finland, France, England, and maybe even as far as the Hellespont in Turkey, and wherever he went, he carried the raven banner with him.

His sons Ivar and Ubbe carried the raven banner at the head of the Great Heathen Army that conquered the eastern kingdoms of England in the 9th century.

The banner continued to bring victories until their descendant, Sigurd the Stout, finally died under it at the Irish Battle of Clontarf about years later.

In Norse art, ravens symbolize Odin, insight, wisdom, intellect, bravery, battle glory, and continuity between life and the afterlife.

For people today, they also represent the Vikings themselves, and the years of exploits and exploration that these ancestors achieved. The wolf is a more enigmatic motif, as it can have several meanings.

The most famous to the Vikings was Fenrir or Fenris-wolf. Fenrir is one of the most frightening monsters in Norse mythology.

When the gods saw how quickly Fenrir was growing and how ravenous he was, they tried to bind him — but Fenrir broke every chain. Finally, the dwarves made an unbreakable lashing with which the gods were able to subdue the creature — but only after he had ripped the god Tyr's hand off.

Fenrir is fated to escape someday, at the dawning of Ragnarok, and will devour the sun and moon and even kill Odin in the last days.

Not all the wolves in Norse culture were evil. Odin himself was accompanied by wolves, named Geri and Freki both names meaning, Greedy who accompanied him in battle, hunting, and wandering.

This partnership between god and wolves gave rise to the alliance between humans and dogs. Yggdrasil is one of many variations of the Cosmic Axis or Universal World Tree known to all human cultures.

These animals can be viewed as metaphors for the human body. According to Norse legend, Yggdrasil is where the god Odin hung upside-down for nine nights in order to obtain the Rune Alphabet.

It represents a central tenet for much of Norse mythology: each and everything is in a constant state of transformation. A powerful symbol, the Yggdrasil is at the center of both worlds: immortal and mortal.

Its roots represent the nine realms of existence, both the seen and unseen worlds. Norse North Europe. Replace [type] with the type of spinner you want to spin!

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Yggdrasil (from Old Norse Yggdrasill) is an immense mythical tree that plays a central role in Norse cosmology, where it connects the Nine Worlds. Yggdrasil is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. Yggdrasil (Norse Tree of Life) A stylized image of Yggdrasil, the Norse World Ash, the giant mythological Tree that holds together the Nine Worlds or realms of existence. This image appears on the famous Överhogdal Tapestry, which dates to the year and depicts the events of Ragnarok, the apocalyptic prophecy of Pre-Christian Norse legend. The World-ash encompasses the Nine Worlds, and is guarded by the serpent Jormungandr. Yggdrasil. Fun! Soundboard! Games! Phones! Pranks! Type --help to see the commands!. Add to Discord. The thing that connects all nine worlds together is Yggdrasil, the world tree. This cosmic ash tree is the frame the Universe, the spine of existence, and the conduit between the nine worlds (which. The Horns of Odin (also referred to as the horn triskelion or the triple-horned triskele) is a symbol comprised three interlocking drinking horns. The exact meaning of the symbol is not known, but it may allude to Odin's stealing of the Mead of Poetry. The horns’ names were Óðrœrir, Boðn, and Són.