Tradition / Region: Norwegian mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Cow
The Myth
In the beginning there was only Ginnungagap, the great empty void stretched between two extremes. To the north lay Niflheim, a realm of ice, mist, and bitter cold. To the south burned Muspelheim, a world of fire and sparks. Where cold met heat, the ice began to melt, and from the dripping rime the first life emerged.
From this mingling was born Ymir, the primordial frost giant, vast and ancient. But Ymir did not survive alone. From the same melting ice came a great cow named Auðumbla.
Auðumbla fed Ymir with the milk that flowed from her four teats, sustaining him in the age before land, sky, or gods existed. While Ymir drank, Auðumbla wandered the void, licking the salt-covered ice stones formed by ancient frost.
As she licked, the ice began to change.
On the first day, a man’s hair appeared within the frozen stone. On the second day, a head emerged. On the third day, the ice released a complete being, alive and whole. His name was Búri.
Búri became the ancestor of the gods. From him came Borr, and from Borr were born Odin, Vili, and Vé. These sons would one day slay Ymir and shape the world from his body, forming earth, sea, sky, and stars.
Thus Auðumbla stands at the dawn of creation. She nourished the first giant and uncovered the first god, bridging chaos and order. Through her milk and her patient licking of ice, the foundations of the cosmos were laid.
Gallery
Sources
Sturluson, S., Nordal, S., & Young, J. (1954). The prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson : tales from the Norse mythology. In University of California Press eBooks. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA79942020
Wikipedia contributors. (2025b, October 6). Auðumbla. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Au%C3%B0umbla#Name
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive
Other
- How to Invite The Auðumbla