Norse mythology professes belief in nine different worlds, each home to a different set of beings.
The way I portray these nine realms is indicated in this cartoon.
In this blog post, I shall explain my reasoning for depicting the nine realms of Norse cosmology the way I do here:
Asgard, the home of the Aesir gods, is represented as a Viking Age Nordic settlement in the Heavens.
Bifrost, the rainbow bridge that connects it with Midgard, is also represented.
Vanaheim, the home of the Vanir gods, is portrayed as a land of overgrown ruins.
This is not only because the Vanir were the gods of the earth; but also because I imagine that Vanaheim has been a ghost town ever since the Vanir joined Asgard after the War of the Norse Gods.
Alfheim, the home of the light elves, is shown as a pristine forest.
It takes inspiration from the Feywild in Dungeons and Dragons.
Midgard, the home of humankind, is centered on the Nordic regions, as well as the areas where the Vikings raided and settled.
Whenever I represent the earth from the vantage point of the Heavens, I always center the world on the region where the culture who first told the story hails from.
Jotunheim, the home of the giants, is portrayed as a rugged mountain range.
It only makes sense, because...giants!
Svartalfheim, the home of the dark elves, is depicted as an underground cavern dotted with mushrooms.
It is inspired by the Underdark in Dungeons and Dragons.
Nidavellir, the home of the dwarves, is also an underground cavern...except that it's a mine with diamonds.
It is inspired by the Mines of Erebor in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth saga.
(Ironically, J.R.R. Tolkien was inspired by Norse mythology, as well as Celtic and Finnish)
Niflheim, the realm of ice and mist, is shown as a land of icy mountains obscured by dense fog.
Muspel, the realm of fire, is portrayed as a land of volcanoes, oceans of lava, and fiery-red skies.
The pictures themselves have their names emblazoned on them in Viking Age Scandinavian runes.
In some versions of Norse cosmological myth, Hel (the realm of the non-warrior dead) is a separate realm, while Svartalfheim and Nidavellir are the same place.
However, above is the version I used because that's how I first learned about the Nine Realms of Norse mythology.
As a bonus, here is my iteration of Yggdrasil--the Norse World Tree:
I originally designed it like a Christmas tree as a nod to the holiday's Norse/Germanic origins...but as my mythology-loving aspect matured, my portrayals of mythology became increasingly more intricate.
In this case, I have begun to envision the nine realms as different areas within the Nordic region of Europe.
Besides imagining Midgard as the Nordic countries of Europe; I have begun to visualize Jotunheim as the mountains of Norway, Alfheim as the beautiful forestlands Nordic culture holds so dearly even today, Svartalfheim and Nidavellir as deep caves beneath the earth, Niflheim as the Arctic Ocean, and Muspel as the volcanic geography of Iceland.
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