Ymir

Culture: Norse   Domain: Primordial creation

Ymir is the first being, a giant formed from the meeting of fire and ice in the primordial void Ginnungagap; the gods Odin, Vili and Ve later killed Ymir and made the world from the pieces of his body, the earth from his flesh, the sea from his blood, and the sky from his skull.

Associations

Primordial origins, creation from raw elements, the physical world's mythic origin.

Ways people honor him (modern)

• Reflect on what any new creation is truly built from
• Practice a meditation on the meeting of opposite forces (fire and ice, order and chaos)
• Read the creation account in the Prose Edda's Gylfaginning
• Note that "giant" (jötunn) in Norse myth means something closer to "primal being" than the English word suggests

Approach any deity with respect and do your own research. Practices vary widely between traditions, and modern devotional practice often goes beyond what survives in ancient sources.