Voluspá Discussion IXX:XX

Don't mind the naming and formatting changes. I'll get something I like worked out eventually. 

IXX

An ash I know,          hight Yggdrasil,

the mighty tree          moist with white dews;

thence come the floods          that fall adown;

evergreen o'ertops          Urth's well this tree.

Yggdrasil - Ygg's (Odin's) horse. We will get to the meaning of this later in the Havamal, but I would like to pause here for just a minute. Here we have a statement that identifies the name of the tree literally as Odin's horse. We know from other stories that the more common name for his horse is Sleipnir, an eight legged grey horse. We can now draw certain comparisons between the tree and the horse. The tree is the link between the nine worlds, which could possibly equate to the eight legs and head (I have a reason for considering the head the ninth link...ask if you care to know), the white dew of the tree, the white foam from the running horse, and the grey hide of the horse, and the fact that both entities are known to have carried Odin in to death. The tree when Odin discovered the runes, and the horse when Odin rode to Hel when trying to understand the reason for Baldur's nightmares. We also have more reinforcement of the possible connection between Heimdal and Yggdrasil in the white dew of the tree, and the white armor of Heimdal. In this we also can't ignore Sleipnir's grey hide. We can also make another loose link between Odin and the possible Heimdal/Yggdrasil/Sleipnir connection. Odin is known as a god of death. Both Sleipnir and Yggdrasil confirm Odin's mastery over death. Heimdal, hoever, is the god who will, with his sounding of Gjallerhorn, announce that Odin is about to succumb to death. 

    Finally, it is interesting to note that Yggdrasil stands above Urth's (the sister of the Norns having dominion over the past) well, and seems to indicate that the dew from the tree that links the nine worlds, fills the well that shows the past. This seems to show the importance of the past to things as they are now. The cyclic nature of the universe. That which is happening is reflected in our past, and therefore our future can be known by understanding the past.

XX

Thence wise maidens          three betake them-

under spreading boughs          their bower stands-

[Urth one is hight,          the other, Verthandi,

Skuld the third:          they scores did cut,]

they laws did make,          they lives did choose:

for the children of men          they marked their fates.

The third and fourth lines are bracketed as they are in the Hollander translation. They expand and give detail regarding the subjects of the stanza, and were very likely a later addition after the original was written down. This is clear from not only the fact do they reiterate the information conveyed by the rest of the stanza, but their very existence changes the form of the stanza itself. 

    This stanza again confirms that the Norns live below the nine worlds. The dew of the tree fills the well of the past, the sisters mark the fates of mankind. Again highlighting the link to the past and its influence on the present and future.

    For me these two stanzas convey a very clear message. Although our time is linear, we live in a cyclic reality. We establish patterns, and live within those patterns. Our family lines do the same thing as we pass down traditions and behaviors, as do our societies. If we can set aside our ego we can easily recognize these patterns. Once the patterns are recognized one can make fairly accurate predictions of the future, understand what is likely to happen, and if necessary, change behavior to alter the future.