Wyrd

From Traditional Witchcraft Wiki Project

Wyrd is an Old English word meaning fate or destiny, specifically "that which comes". It derives from the Proto Germanic *wurthis, which is from the Proto Indo-European *wert, meaning "to turn", "to wind" and "to become". This notion of turning and winding has obvious allusion to the art of weaving and spinning (see also distaff). This same root also gives us the Old Saxon wurd, the Old High Germanic wurt (meaning "fate") and the Old Norse urðr, which is not just a word meaning "fate", but is specifically the name of one of the three Norns.

As a Norn, or weird sister, Wyrd is a Goddess who brings things into being, which is not necessarily the same thing as predestination.

The Well Of Urd

The Well of Urd (Old Norse Urðarbrunnr) is the well in Asgard which fed one of the roots of the Yggdrasil. Also near the well in a hall are three Norns that tend the well. They engrave the fate of all humans onto the trunk of the Yggdrasil and attend to the needs of the tree. Odin dropped his eye into the well to gain the "Gift of Knowledge". Odin completed two other tasks to gain the "Gift of Poetry" and the "Mysteries of Nature."