MOERAE The 3 Fates

MOERAE
The 3 Fates

The MOERAE are the three sisters who decide on human fate: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropus. They sing in unison with the music of the SIRENS, weavers of fate, although the Moerae are 3, fate is 1.

The Goddess of Necessity, Themis, brought forth three lovely daughters, known as the Moirai (Fates). All living things must eventually submit to these divine daughters of Zeus and Themis. Their names are: Koltho (Clotho), Lakhesis (Lachesis) and Atropos. Klotho spins the thread of life, Lakhesis determines the length of the thread and Atropos cuts the thread when the proper time has come for death

The Fates also called the Moerae or the Parcae, determined when life begins, when it ends, and what happens in between. They were made up of three women:

· Clotho, who appeared as a maiden and spun the thread of life. Her name meant The Spinner

· Lachesis, who appeared as a matron and measured the thread of life. She was the Caster of lots

· Atropos, who cut the thread of life, and appeared as a crone. Her name meant, Unbending Though the smallest of the three, she is the most terrible. In Greek mythology, the white-robed Moirae or Moerae (in Greek Μοῖραι — the "apportioners", often called the Fates) were the personifications of destiny (Roman equivalent: Parcae, "sparing ones", or Fata; also equivalent to the Germanic Norns). They controlled the metaphorical thread of life of every mortal and immortal from birth to death (and beyond). Even the gods feared the Moirae. Zeus also was subject to their power, as the Pythian priestess at Delphi once admitted. The Greek word moira (μοῖρα) literally means a part or portion, and by extension one's portion in life or destiny. The three Moirae were:

· Clotho (pronounced in English ['kləʊθəʊ], Greek Κλωθώ — "spinner") spun the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle. Her Roman equivalent was Nona, (the 'Ninth'), who was originally a goddess called upon in the ninth month of pregnancy.

· Lachesis (['lækəsɪs], Greek Λάχεσις — "allotter" or drawer of lots) measured the thread of life with her rod. Her Roman equivalent was Decima (the 'Tenth').

· Atropos (['ætrəpɒs], Greek Ἄτροπος — "inexorable" or "inevitable", literally "unturning", sometimes called Aisa) was the cutter of the thread of life. She chose the manner of a person's death. When she cut the thread with "her abhorrèd shears", someone on Earth died. Her Roman equivalent was Morta (a name apparently borrowed from the Greek Μόрτη Mortē "destiner"; not to be confused with the minor Roman god Mors "Death").

The Moirae were supposed to appear three nights after a child's birth to determine the course of its life.

It is difficult to separate them from the Norns, the similar age-old fates, older than the gods, of a separate Indo-European tradition.

1. The Fates

2. The Norns

3. Moirai

4. Three Sisters - ( Also name to the three mountains "The Three Sisters" in Oregon )

5. Weird Sisters - ( Another name for both the "Fates" and "Norns" ) - Anglo-Saxson Mythology

6. Wyrd Sisters - ( see "Weird Sisters" ) - Anglo-Saxson

7. Sisters of weird - ( see "Weird Sisters" )

7. Maiden from Giantland

6. Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos ( Greek Mythology )

7. Wyrd, Urlverli and Skuld

8. Nona, Morta, & Decuma ( Roman Mythology )

9. Urd or Urth ( Past or Fate ), Verandi or Verthandi ( Present or Necessity ),
Skuld ( Future or Being ) - Norse Mythology

10. The Maiden, The Mother and The Crone

- also linked to the three visible phases of the moon - Waxing, Full and Waning.

- also Past, Present and Future.

11. "Three in One" of Christian imagery The trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

12. Wyrd Myths

13. Parcae

14. Fatae

15. Moriae - ( See "Moirai" )

16. Three Witches - ( See "Macbeth" )

17. Harsh Spinners - ( See "Fates" or "Fatae" )

18. Faith, Hope and Charity - ( Also what the Three Mountains in Oregon are named after - Christian Concept - The "Three Sisters" are also the three basic agricultural crops of Native Americans in North America, squash, maize (or corn), and climbing beans )

19. Luna, Phoebe and Selene - ( In the cartoon series "Gargoyles" )

20. The Triple Goddesses - Pagan/Wiccan/Celtic

21. Laimas - Latvian Mythology

22. Morrigan - Celtic Mythology

23. Holle, Hulda, or Holda - Europe

24. Laima, Karta and Dekla ( See "Laimas" )

25. Laime ( See "Laimas" )

26. Morrigu ( See "Morrigan" )

- Also linked to "Macbeth" from William Shakespare

- Also mentioned in "Sandman - The Kindly Ones" ( Morpheus - Dream ) and had a three part comic book mini series of their own.

- See: Yggdrasil - Dragon destroyer at the roots of the world.

The Fates

Daughters of Zeus and Themis, their names are: Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, known as The Fates. Life is woven by Clotho, measured by Lachesis and the thread of life is cut by Atropos. The Fates are old and predate the gods. It is not entirely clear how far their power extends. It is possible that they determine the fate of the gods as well. Not even the most powerful is willing to triffle with them.

The Fates in Greek Mythology

The Fates were goddesses who supervised fate in Greek mythology. The ancient Greeks referred to these goddesses collectively as Moirai but also said that the Fates were the three goddesses who were in charge of watching over fate.

The poet Hesiod describes the Fates in his Theogony. According to Hesiod, these goddesses were the daughters of Zeus and Themis, and were therefore the sisters of the Horae (Hesiod also claims, in the same poem, that the Fates were the offspring of Nyx, the goddess of Night). The poet names the Fates as well:

"These are Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos,

and they give mortals their share of good and evil."

(Hesiod, Theogony, 905-6)

Clotho was the spinner, Lachesis was the drawer of lots, and Atropos represented the inevitable end to life. This notion that human fate was spun around a person at birth by divine Spinners - in other words, the Fates - was popular in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature. Indeed, there is a compelling scene in the Odyssey of Homer that alludes to this concept of spinning fate.

The three goddesses who supervised the spinning of human fate evolved into a more concrete concept. The Fates came to be identified as three older females who handled the threads of human life. One of these threads was placed to every person, and each goddess took her turn in manipulating this thread. Clotho selected the thread, Lachesis measured it, and Atropos cut this thread to signify the end of a person's existence.

The Fates were known as Parcae (or sometimes, Fatae) in Roman mythology.

Greek Relations:

Moirai

Moirai - the 3 goddesses of fate or destiny; identified with the Roman Parcae and similar to the Norse Norns - Moirae - Greek deity - a deity worshipped by the ancient Greeks

Clotho - the Fate who spins the thread of life; identified with Roman Nona

Lachesis - the Fate who determines the length of the thread of life; identified with Roman Decuma

Atropos - the Fate who cuts the thread of life; identified with Roman Morta

Roman Relations:

Parcae

Parcae - the 3 goddesses of fate or destiny; identified with the Greek Moirai and similar to the Norse Norns - Roman deity - a deity worshipped by the ancient Romans

Decuma - the Fate who determines the length of the thread of life; counterpart of Greek Lachesis

Morta - the Fate who cuts the thread of life; counterpart of Greek Atropos

Nona - the Fate who spins the thread of life; counterpart of Greek Clotho

Relations in Norse Mythology:

Norn

Norn - (Norse mythology) any of the three Fates or goddesses of destiny; identified with Anglo-Saxon Wyrd; similar to Greek Moirae and Roman Parcae

Norse mythology - the mythology of Scandinavia (shared in part by Britain and Germany) until the establishment of Christianity - Norse deity - a deity worshipped by the ancient Norsemen

Urd, Urth - goddess of fate: PastVerdandi, Verthandi - goddess of fate: Present

Skuld - goddess of fate: Future

Anglo-Saxson Relation:

Wyrd or Weird

Anglo-Saxon deity - (Anglo-Saxon mythology) a deity worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons

the Three Weird Sisters, the Weird Sisters - the three Anglo-Saxon Fates or goddesses of destiny - Weird, Wyrd - Fate personified; one of the three Weird Sisters

Fates:

Fates, The Fates - a group of three goddesses of destiny

The Triple Goddess

Description: The Triple Goddess is known and worshiped in Pagan cultures all over the world. She is eternal, yet always in a state of change. Her colors are white for the maiden, red for the mother and black for the crone. The Symbol of the Triple Goddess is the Waxing, Full and Waning Moons.

Latvian Mythology:

Laimas

Laimas - Three Laimas - Destiny Deities Laima, or Laime, Karta and Dekla

Holle

Holle is known throughout northern Europe. She is also known as Holda or Hulda. A triple goddess, Holle is the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone--the embodiment of the three stages of womanhood.

See: Moon Myths - A Norse Myth

· We spin our life thread so that it becomes the Foundation of our life.

· We measure our thread to Glorify our life.

· We exercise our Power of choice to cut the thread when we should do so.

· Our true Greatness is the understanding of necessity.

· Our Knowledge averts the terrible process of a rigid fate.

· By choosing to accept personal responsibility and set into motion the grace of forgiveness

Nuremberg, once known as Nornenberg, Norn's Mountain, is where the three Norns were said to live. They answered to no one. The two great deity-families of the Nordic-Germanic world, the Vanir and the Aesir, were themselves subject to this ancient female triad, for the Norns were older than the oldest god. Among themselves, the oldest and original Norn was Urd -- other variants of her name include Wurd (Old High German), Wryd (Anglo-Saxon, commonly translated as "Fate"), Weird (English), Urth, Urtha, Urdr, Urda, Ertha -- our word "earth" is derived from her. She was the Norn of destiny. The second sister was Verthandi, "Being," or the one who governed the present moment. The third was Skuld, often translated as "Necessity," as in the "necessity" of repaying "a debt that all must pay" -- i.e., death. Thus, Skuld was the death-Norn who determined the length of each life. It was said that when Doomsday arrived, it would be Skuld who would lay the death-curse on the whole universe. Interestingly, shamanic-bard-poets known as skalds were Skuld's servants -- in their hands was the creation of visionary literature. The three Norns were known collectively as Die Schreiberinnen, "the Writing Women," who wrote the on-going book of Destiny in which they revealed the deep secrets of the universe. They were the "three mysterious beings" of the Prose Edda -- High-One, Just-as-High, and Third. Sometimes they were depicted spinning the webs of fate but this is a Graeco-Roman influence from myths of the Three Fates, or Moirai. The Norns originally carved records of each destiny into staves of wood. They were writers, not spinners. They lived in a womblike cave under Yggdrasill, the great ash that was the World Tree. Near their cave was the cosmic wellspring of life, destiny, and justice -- Urdarbrunnr, the "Well of Urd." To preserve the life of the World Tree, the Norns annointed it daily with white clay from the spring and gave it pure, shining water from the well. This water later fell back to earth as dew -- when harts (deer) grazed on the dew-moist branches, their milk turned to honeyed mead, the elixir of life, which feeds the gods and warriors of Valhalla. The gods themselves gathered daily around Urd's sacred Well, for this assembly-place was the gods' court of law where they solved problems and settled legal disputes. Led by Odin, most arrived on horseback except for thunder-god Thor, who liked to wade through the rivers en route to Urd's Well. The Norns were said to live under a mountain where the German city of Nuremberg (or Nurnberg) was founded. As Katherine Neville writes:

...The original name of Nurnberg was Nornenberg -- Norns' Mountain -- where, in the ancient Teutonic myths, the three female fates called the Norns sat in a cave within the mountain, like judges, spinning, weaving and cutting the fate of every man. Nurnberg was also chosen by the Allies after World War II for the Judgment at Nurnberg, where Nazi war criminals were tried and sentenced.... That this would be the site where former Nazis were brought to justice strikes a profound resonance with those skaldic visions in which the gods' own court of law was held around the Well of Urd.

Meanwhile, the World Tree, which binds together the fabric of the Nine Worlds and on whose survival their very existence depends, is under constant attack from all sides.A twining of serpents (or dragons, the ancient Norse made little distinction between them) lurks in Hvergelmir and gnaws at theroot that lies in Niflheim; four deer and a goat live on the limbs of Yggdrasil and eat its leaves; and the trunk of the Tree is infected with some sort of rot. Fortunately, however, each day healing water from Urd's Well is applied to the trunk of Yggdrasil by the three Norns, wise women (possibly of giant stock) who live near the Well. Thus is maintained theeternal balance between growth and decay.
    Who are these Norns -- these caretakers of the created order - and what is the symbolic significance of the Well and the Tree? Much of the following discussion is based on the thought-provoking ideas presented by Paul Bauschatz in The Well and the Tree, a bookdeserving careful exploration by the interested reader.
    The three Norns are called Urd, Verdandi and Skuld, names that usually have been translated as Past, Present and Future.Currently, however, most mythologists believe that Urd means Fate, referring to those actions that have already taken place; Verdandi means Becoming, referring to those actions in the process of taking place; and Skuld means Necessity, referring to those necessary actions that drive the whole process.
    Each day as the Norns apply the healing water to Yggdrasil's trunk, they speak (or chant) the Orlog -- the essential and unchanging laws of the universe that both drive andlimit the events presently taking place in our world. Nowhere are we told precisely what the Orlog contains,but after much reading andmeditation, I would like tooffer the following poem as an educated guess as to what lies at the heart of the Orlog:

Orlog (The Norns' Chant)

    In the midst of darkness, light; In the midst of death, life;
    In the midst of chaos, order. In the midst of order, chaos;
    In the midst of life, death; In the midst of light, darkness.

Thus has it ever been, Thus is it now, and Thus shall it always be.

The Norns' action is not merely a symbolic acknowledgment of significant past events; it is meant to create and empower the present...in a manner comparable, perhaps, to the restoration and revitalization of theDreamtime by Australian Aborigine elders when they chant the Songlines. The past is not seen as something remote, inaccessible, and fading away -- rather it is growing ever larger and more powerful as more events occur and more knowledge is accumulated.
If the Well is seen as a repository of the past, the Tree represents the present, depending upon the water of the Well both for growth and healing. Thus the present is constantly influenced by all that has gone before. This active "power of the past upon the present" is sometimes referred to as wyrd. And, of course, the relationship between the Well and the Tree is reciprocal: once present events have taken place, their effects and implications drip like dew from the tree back into the Well to enlarge the past and further complicate and/or clarify it.

Orlog: Orlog is the Old Norse for cycle of fate, or for the unalterable destiny of the world. Orlog encompasses all, including the gods. One aspect of Orlog is the "Ragnarok." Orlog is the collective wyrd of the world as a whole, whereas "wyrd" is more individual.

Orlog is described in Nordic mythology as being the external law of the Universe. It seems at times to be a kind of 'Primal Goddess', an entity without beginning or ending, older and superior even than the gods and giants. The decrees of Orlog could not be set aside, and it was the pattern set by Orlog that the Norns wove, themselves bound by powers beyond their control.

'LOG', derived from Old Norwegian LAGU, means 'law', only it is a much broader, more binding, concept than our modern word. It also encompassed the concept of 'lore', knowledge and wisdom of the past, for use in the present. The term 'OR-LOG' means something along the lines of First Law, Primal Law, Ultimate Law (The Law, as in the Law or Word of God). Also, it could be seen as First Principle or Primal Layer. To sum up, and to greatly understate it, Orlog is the ultimate purpose, or great plan, of Creation.
Wyrd

In Nordic mythology, Wyrd was a primal goddess and was the mother of the Norns. Her only appearance in surviving mythology seems to be her declaration that Vidar, son of Odin, will survive Ragnarok.

The word Wyrd is Old English and means 'destiny'. From the same root comes Urd, one of the Norns, and the Germanic words Werth, Warth and Wurth, which mean 'become'. The root word means 'to turn' or 'to become' and relates to that which has become (past and present), and that which will become (future). The term Wyrd has been translated as 'Fate', but has a different meaning to the Greco-Roman concept of fate, as will be shown.

An interesting aspect of Wyrd is that it can be pronounced as 'Weird' or 'Word' and both of these reveal meaning within the concept of Wyrd. 'Weird' can mean fate or destiny, and the Fates (similar entities to the Norns) are sometimes called the Weird Sisters. Weird also means supernatural, unearthly, uncanny. This last is derived from un kenny - 'beyond our ken' or 'beyond our ability to know'. So the very word defies our ability to comprehend it.

'Word' can have very significant meaning within the concept of Wyrd. In the Gospel according to St. John (1:1), it is written that 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.' Not a Nordic source, granted, but a mystery tradition that links the Word (Wyrd) with the Creative Powers of the Cosmos, as the concept of Wyrd is. The entire world was created with words in the Judeao/Christian tradition, and even in Nordic traditions a great deal of score was set by words, both as sources of wisdom (and thus power), and as mysteries with spells and blessings being spoken.

Orlog and Wyrd

The definitions given above for Orlog and Wyrd indicate that they are aspects of the same thing, that thing being 'Destiny', the predetermined pathway that Creation follows. That can be somewhat misleading, however. It does not mean 'predetermined' in the sense of 'unavoidable'. Many people regard Destiny as being either an excuse for doing nothing and assuming Destiny will 'find' them; or an excuse for doing anything they want and 'blaming' it on Destiny. The twin concepts of Orlog and Wyrd have no place for either of these attitudes.

Instead, they are the natural course of one's life. Everybody is born with certain abilities: strengths in some areas, weaknesses in others. One's own Wyrd is the way these abilities will lead you through life. Problems, confusion, stress and depression arise when we try (whether through our own actions or external pressure) to work against it. This can be regarded as the Reality of our Life. Therefore Wyrd is related to the Web of Reality. The difference between Wyrd and the Web is that we can leave the path of our Wyrd, but the Web (the Reality) of our new situation will always remain with us, and will constantly be attempting to pull us back on course.

One of the principles of Stav is to seek one's own Orlog and endeavour to work with it. This means learning to live with the Reality of yourself, using your strengths and accepting your weaknesses, while at the same time attempting to use them as strengths by working with them and not against them. This shows that, while living against your Orlog creates problems, living in accordance with your Orlog will not necessarily be easy, although it will be regarded as challenging rather than problematical.
The concepts of Orlog and Wyrd do not end here, however. All things have their own Orlog, their own Path of Reality. This includes concepts and situations. It also includes Creation itself. All individual Orlogs are facets of the Universal Orlog, and all are part of the great Web of Fate being woven by the Norns.

We are Healing the World tree

By weaving our highest destiny

Our Fate is one the sisters are 3

The three Norns or Sisters of Wyrd at the Well of Urd constantly "rist" the runes. They have done so for the eons of time and they will continue through eternity. Urd rists the Runes "that which has become." Verdandi rists the Runes "that which is becoming." Skuld rists the Runes "that which should become." "Near the spring of fate dwelt three maidens called the Norns, who rules the destinies of men, and were called Fate (Urd), Being (Verdandi), and Necessity (Skuld). They watered the tree [re: Yggdrasil] each day with pure water and whitened it with clay from the spring, and in this way preserved its life, while the water fell down to earth as dew. The tree was continually threatened, even as it grew and flourished, by the living creatures that preyed upon it." These women are often referred to as the weavers of fate and destiny because they constantly "rist" the Runes. In the Nord mysteries we refer to that fate or karma as Örlog. Örlog represents that which you are born with that the Norns already know. You are responsible for making a difference and held accountable for what you do be it good or bad in this lifetime. You are also responsible in this lifetime for paying back your debts and your wrongs if you have committed them. In Voluspa 30, Skuld is the only one of the Norns referred to as a Valkyrie. Urd and Verdandi are not listed or implied anywhere as Valkyries

The word comes from Anglo-Saxon verb weorþan (for þ see Thorn (letter)), to become, and itself derives from an Indo-European root verb meaning "to turn". In its literal sense, it refers to the past, or that which has become. In its wider sense, it refers to how past actions continually affect and condition the future. It also stresses the interconnected nature of all actions, and how they influence each other. The concept has some relation to the ideal of predestination. Unlike predestination, however, the concept of Wyrdness implies that while we are affected and constrained by our past actions, we are constantly creating our own Wyrd through how we respond to present situations, an idea that is also prominent in the concept of Karma.

Wyrd was paralleled in early Nordic cultures where the word was rendered as urðr — also the name of the middle of the three Norns, who shape our lives out of the layers of the past, known as ørlög. The younger sister is called Verðandi, which means that which is still becoming. The older is called Skuld, which means That which shall be.

The best way to fully visualize the concept of Wyrd is to use two common analogies: the Well of Wyrd, and the Web of Wyrd.

Well of Wyrd

The Well of Wyrd illustrates the concept of past actions determining the course of the future. The universe is conceived of as Yggdrasil, the World Tree, which is nourished by the Well of Wyrd. Dew drips from the branches of Yggdrasil and falls into the Well. This symbolizes the actions performed in the present as they become part of the past. Eventually, they are drawn back up into the World Tree and nourish its fruit. This, too, symbolically describes how these past actions determine and nourish the course of the future.

Web of Wyrd

The Web of Wyrd is a popular analogy, which shows how all actions are interconnected, as well as the fact that everything we do has far-reaching consequences. Essentially, this Web of Wyrd is described as a cloth being woven upon a loom by the Norns. The wool is woven along the warp. The former represents past actions, while the latter represents a particular instance in time. The entire cloth is the overall design. While the previous design is the foundation upon which the future course is based, it is possible to change the cloth within the context of the past. In the same manner, it is possible to change the future by carefully determining our present actions, which are conditioned by the past from which it springs.