Join me for a workshop on working creatively through divination with the Wyrd Sisters hosted by She’s Lost Control on Thursday, April 4th, both ONLINE + in-person! Sharing more about my own experiences with the Wyrd Sisters here to introduce you to this work:
“Swept away by wyrd”
I first encountered the webs of wyrd through the work of Max Dashu (whom I have a complicated relationship with, as a deeply important scholar in the world of mythology, and as a figure with a history of associating with trans-radical feminists.) None-the-less, it was Dashu’s academic work that introduced me to the web of wyrd, to the spinning sisters, to the prophetic ancient ones who dwell at the root of the cosmic Ash tree. As it happens with witchcraft, meeting these ancient triple goddesses was an epiphanic moment for me – a doorway opened, a key found.
The keys that the wyrd sister endowed me with have encouraged me to shape my witchcraft practice in ways that are participatory and dynamic. It was through meditation and dreams that the Wyrd Sisters encouraged me to create my oracle deck in homage to them. I will continue to meet the Wyrd Sisters in their many forms as I paint, sketch, write, and journey through other worlds…
“What wyrd wove for me”
After learning about these ancient goddesses I began attending to the ancient practice of setting out offerings for the Wyrd Sisters, particularly during those crossroads moments in my own life when I can feel the weft and warp of fate, purpose, and choice weaving its humble tapestry. These offerings are different depending on the circumstances, but always include some honey and three knives. These offerings are for the three keepers of the revolution of time, asking that they be present during pivotal moments of my life; endings, beginnings, disruptions, awakenings and the like.
What happened as I incorporated these offerings into my life was a slow and subtle shift that awakened a deeper understanding of wyrd in my own life. When practicing witchcraft or magic, the practitioner is leveraging their own personal power through the all important awareness of the interconnectedness of all things. Even as solitary practitioners, we do no work alone. When working with the Wyrd Sisters there is a deeper awareness of this magical reality, because they are in effect the deities setting things into motion. The Wyrd Sisters became a council for me during difficult moments of change, as well as a sacred vessel for communing with my purpose, as well as witnesses for what was being and is woven through my personal experience.
“Wurth took him away”
The Wyrd Sisters, also known as the Norns in the Norse pantheon, the Parcae in Roman records, and the Moirai in Greek, are goddesses of fate. They are present at moments of birth, signaling them as liminal entities that watch over moments of becoming. The Wyrd Sisters ordained what was, blessed the being, and decided all endings. Some believed that each individual is assigned a personal Wyrd Sister, or Norn, that accompanied them throughout their life, assisting their charge in important threshold moments. As a devotee of the wyrd, we acknowledge that we do not walk our paths alone, but rather accompanied by a spiritual guide that we might commune with should we choose.
Fate has taken on a bad reputation in our modern consciousness. Many of us prefer to believe in our ability to control our circumstances, to make decisions of our own free will. While I also agree that free will is an important aspect of our human experience, it is not the only ruling factor in the way in which we traverse the world. What if fate was understood as a multifaceted experience? What if fate could be reflected in multidimensional ways? What if fate inherently allows us choice, but we are born into a particular set of choices? As an astrologer, and a believer in wyrd ways, this seems the most probable case.
More on the Wyrd Sisters to come, and if you’d like to get more experiential I’m leading a workshop on divination with the Wyrd Sisters. We will be invoking the Wyrd Sisters through a mediation, practicing divination with your oracle or tarot deck, and then crafting spells from the messages we receive. Join us?
Hi Casey, I’ll be joining this event and I am looking forward to future posts on the wyrd! In the meantime, I’ve pre-ordered the oracle deck, which looks beautiful. I can’t wait to learn more about deepening my relationship with these three through your guidance.