Three Norns Ritual
by Gudrun of Mimirsbrunnr
We created this rite for a Pagan festival. The main ritual had
several stations, each created and manned by a different Pagan group, and
people passed through them one at a time over a period of about two hours. Our
group created and donated this part, which is designed to serve a number of
people coming through at a fairly slow pace.
This ritual requires three priestesses – well, of course. Unlike the Greek Moerae, with the Norse Fates the Spinner (Urd) is the oldest Norn, and then the Weaver (Verdandi) is her daughter, and the Cutter (Skuld) is her granddaughter. Ideally the ages of the priestesses should also be in this order, but if a woman feels drawn to a particular part she should take it. However, whoever takes the role of Urd needs to be a skilled handspinner, regardless of age. (It is possible that a man might play one of the Nornir, but he must then dress and act like a woman of the right age for the duration of the ritual, and preferably for a little bit before and after. Ritual cross-dressing has its precedence, but it must be done with real effort and respect for the shape one is taking on.)
A great deal of wool or other natural fiber should be carded, dyed in different colors, and then several yards of it spun up beforehand. Whoever takes on the work of that pre-ritual spinning should do it with great concentration, perhaps with a prayer to the Nornir that is repeated over and over as the fiber is worked. A makeshift loom should be put together – when we did this rite with our kindred, we hung strings on weights from the branch of a tree and loosely wove some extra pieces of thread and yarn through it so that it resembled a Viking loom. The three priestesses stood with their backs to the tree and each other, facing out. If this is to be done indoors, the loom can be hung from the ceiling or from a simple wooden frame. An actual loom can also be used if one is available, so long as the weave is loose enough for the moving thread to be actually moved easily through it.
The pre-spun yarn is threaded through the loom, through spaces large enough that it can move easily. The end is brought out a good long way and then handed to the priestess who is standing in for Skuld. She should carry a large and obvious pair of shears. The other end of the yarn is held by the priestess who is standing in for Urd, and she continually adds more fiber to it and spins the fiber. The three stand in a triangle facing out, and the people approach them one at a time.
To begin, each onlooker approaches Urd and asks her a question, something they want to know. Instead of answering, she spins several inches of thread and tells them to hold it with two fingers in the middle of the section she has spun for them. “The past has information you will need to know in order to understand the answer,” she says. “Follow the thread and you will know it.” (This is why the fiber should be pre-dyed in different colors first, besides the colorful effect; it is easier for each person to keep track of their part of the thread if it has particular colors. Urd can even reach for fiber of some color she feels is symbolic of their question.)
Then the person, holding their thread, is gently moved over to Verdandi as she pulls the thread through her loom. The priestess who stands in for Verdandi has a difficult job, for she must pull the thread through her loom gently enough that it does not break, even with bewildered people holding onto their section, but firmly enough that it does actually move. When the person has been drawn up to her loom, she has them let go of their thread, pulls it through the loom, and has them take it up again on the other side. As she pulls it through the loom, she says, “The present has your question bound up with the will and desire and circumstance of many others. Follow the thread and you will come to understand them.” Then she keeps pulling the thread, and the person takes up the slack and moves on to Skuld.
At Skuld’s station, the priestess who stands in for Skuld takes the thread away from the person and says, “The future is not yet set, and there is always room for change, but you must act quickly with full understanding of the situation.” She snips off the thread and gives it to the person, saying, “Take this home and place it under your pillow, and you will dream of your answer tonight – but only if you are willing to see the full answer, past, present, and future, and not just the part that is comfortable for you.” Then she sends them away and turns to the next person.
This rite can go on for some time; it is probably best as part of some other larger ritual, because there is a lot of waiting in line. You may want to have a before-and-after section to distract those who have not yet approached the Norns, and those who have already finished.
Artwork by Matilda Rose.