In Norse mythology’s Ragnarok, Yggdrasil is the cosmic tree said to tremble before the final battle.
Yggdrasil is an immense ash tree that connects the major realms of Norse cosmology. Its branches and roots extend through the worlds, and important locations—including the gods’ assembly place and wells associated with wisdom and fate—are linked to it. The tree’s condition reflects the instability of the cosmos.
Accounts of Ragnarok describe earthquakes and upheaval as the established order collapses. Yggdrasil shakes as the final conflict approaches, but it is not simply destroyed in every version of the story. The tree is also associated with renewal, because the surviving humans shelter in its vicinity before emerging into the restored world.