The shuttle moves between the thread, bound together with little knots, patterns, a multitude of colors forming the pattern of lifes. And over this weaving stand three women. One is young, one is in the fullness of life, and one is mature. They are beautiful and terrifying, inspiring awe and fear.

They are the Norns and they weave the fates of Gods and Men.

Where does it all start, but not with the hands of fate? In Norse mythology there three Norns, sisters by the names of Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld. And as you can guess from above, they do influence the Pagan concept of Maiden, Mother, and Crone. It isn’t clear if the Norns are from the Jotuns, or if they are their own race. Views and sources differ on this fact. But at this point it doesn’t matter. The Norn are Norn.

Urd is the sister of Fate. She is the oldest looking at times, since fate is what lies ahead of you and is formed at your birth. Her name itself means Fate and she weaves what will come to be in your life based on what has come, as well as how long it will be.

Verdandi is the middle sister and she is the Norn of the Present. All that happens in your present is by her hand weaving, drawing the threads of others peoples choices, and yours, together into what happens.

Skuld is the sister of the future, she weaves what is to come, either in your future or the future beyond. The outlines of the weaving of Wyrd (destiny) stretch all the way to the end of all things.

Wyrd is our fate, our destiny, our doom. Not in the modern sense, but in the old sense. These are things that are meant to happen, that we are meant to do, that are meant to happen to us. Because they shape us into the people that we are.

Now, this isn’t to say that we do not have free will. The Norns do not take away our ability to make choices. But think of them almost as…the Game Masters of reality. They make sure all the things flow as they should and that the dice get rolled from people choices, as well as managing all the threads. Imagine a world where we had nothing but choices, but the consequences of those choices could go anywhere? The universe would disolve into chaos. The Norns narrow the effects of those choices, and use those effects to bring about results that are needed for the greater pattern of their weaving. Sometimes these are good…sometimes not. But the Norns are as bound by Wyrd as they are in making it.

If you have felt the heavy hand of fate in your life, or if you’re someone who likes to plan strategies, you may wish to get to know the Norns deeper. It doesn’t mean that you’ll succeed any more or less than you would have before. But building a shared interest in the managing of random events can be the basis for a strong friendship. 🙂