Time Weaving Illusion

Past, Present, Post

Nornsweaving

Norn, Nornir (plural) deities in Norse mythology responsible for shaping the course of human destinies.

The three primary Norns, Urðr (Wyrd), Verðandi, and Skuld draw water from their sacred well to nourish the tree at the centre of the cosmos and prevent it from rot.

The origin of the name Norn is uncertain, it may derive from a word meaning "to twine" and which would refer to their twining the thread of fate. Bek-Pedersen suggests that the word Norn has relation to the Swedish dialect word norna (nyrna), a verb that means "secretly communicate". This relates to the perception of norns as shadowy, background figures who only really ever reveal their fateful secrets to men as their fates come to pass.

The name Urðr (Old English Wyrd, Weird) means "fate". Wyrd and urðr are etymological cognates, which does not guarantee that wyrd and urðr share the same semantic quality of "fate" over time. Both Urðr and Verðandi are derived from the Old Norse verb verða, "to become". It is commonly asserted that while Urðr derives from the past tense ("that which became or happened"), Verðandi derives from the present tense of verða ("that which is happening"). Skuld is derived from the Old Norse verb skulu, "need/ought to be/shall be"; its meaning is "that which should become, or that needs to occur". Due to this, it has often been inferred that the three norns are in some way connected with the past, present and future respectively, but it has been disputed that their names really imply a temporal distinction and it has been emphasised that the words do not in themselves denote chronological periods in Old Norse.