Gaia Angel 
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Posts: 2059
(9/10/04 11:15 pm)
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Wyrd Tradition: Just for you Sheila! lol
OK, so, when the wyrd tradition came up in cinvo between sheila and phur, I got curious. (oh say it aint so!!!!) yeah you guessed it....I googled it lol this is what I found:
crawanest.ealdriht.org/asatru.html
The gods are worshipped daily by Heathens as they go about their lives, but eight times a year Asatruar gather together in festivals to worship the gods and enjoin in fellowship. The names and dates of these festivals vary from tribe to tribe, but everywhere are the rites of blót and symbel performed. A blót is a form of communion with the gods, a time when food and drink are shared with them, and their blessings for our gifts are received. Symbel is a rite where toasts are made to the gods, the dead, ancestors, and our selves. While in symbel Heathens boast of their past deeds and vow to do even better deeds. All of this is done to put one's self in contact with the concept known as Wyrd.
Wyrd is one of the most complex of Asatru beliefs for it is the Law of the Universe. To demonstrate Wyrd, the ancient Heathens described it either as a well and a tree or as a great web (cloth) being woven upon a loom. The loom and web model best demonstrates how all things are connected, while the well and tree model best demonstrates how past deeds affect the present. The Web of Wyrd connects all things just as the fibers of a cloth touch many others, so every deed done affects a myriad other things. The Web of Wyrd can be seen in the life cycles and the food chains of the environment, and in our own lives. The Well of Wyrd and the World Tree ensure that past deeds determine what happens in the present. The World Tree is the present and from it drips dew which falls into the Well of Wyrd. There it sinks to the bottom to be drawn back to the present by the roots of the World Tree, or when Wyrd and her sisters water the tree every morning. The dew on the Tree represents actions or deeds being done in the present, while the water in the Well represents deeds of the past. Deeds from the past have their results in the present. In many ways it is like karma. Every deed one does has a consequence based upon some previous deed. If the deed is a good one, a Heathen will gain męgen (spiritual strength), if it is a bad one he or she will incur a scyld or "debt," and lose męgen until he or she can pay that debt with another deed. Męgen or spiritual strength is needed to get into the gods' abodes upon death. If one does not have enough męgen they will go to the abodes of punishment, or be reincarnated to try again. Therefore the folk of Asatru try to do good deeds and by keeping the Heathen thews or "virtues."
The Heathen thews are: Bravery or the ability to overcome fear, Industriousness or the ability to work hard, Friendship or the ability to be likable to others and treat them as kin, Generosity or the ability to share what is yours with others, Honesty or the ability to be truthful in all undertakings, Hospitality or the ability to open your home to others, Self reliance or the ability to depend on one's self and be an individual, Self worth or the ability to have good self esteem, Steadfastness or the ability to persevere in the face of hardship, Strength or the physical and spiritual might that allows you to accomplish great things, Troth or loyalty to friends and family and spouse, and Wisdom or the ability to gain and use knowledge. These thews encourage Heathens to depend on one's self and to help others, not just for the good of one's self, but for the good of all. Together they form what is known as honor or worth and it is the aim of most Heathens to be honorable by practicing these thews with friend and stranger alike.
This left more questions so...again...i googled onward:
www.stavinternational.org/dsessay-01.htm
Wyrd
In Nordic mythology, Wyrd was a primal goddess and was the mother of the Norns. Her only appearance in surviving mythology seems to be her declaration that Vidar, son of Odin, will survive Ragnarok.
The word Wyrd is Old English and means 'destiny'. From the same root comes Urd, one of the Norns, and the Germanic words Werth, Warth and Wurth, which mean 'become'. The root word means 'to turn' or 'to become' and relates to that which has become (past and present), and that which will become (future). The term Wyrd has been translated as 'Fate', but has a different meaning to the Greco-Roman concept of fate, as will be shown.
An interesting aspect of Wyrd is that it can be pronounced as 'Weird' or 'Word' and both of these reveal meaning within the concept of Wyrd. 'Weird' can mean fate or destiny, and the Fates (similar entities to the Norns) are sometimes called the Weird Sisters. Weird also means supernatural, unearthly, uncanny. This last is derived from un kenny - 'beyond our ken' or 'beyond our ability to know'. So the very word defies our ability to comprehend it.
'Word' can have very significant meaning within the concept of Wyrd. In the Gospel according to St. John (1:1), it is written that 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.' Not a Nordic source, granted, but a mystery tradition that links the Word (Wyrd) with the Creative Powers of the Cosmos, as the concept of Wyrd is. The entire world was created with words in the Judeao/Christian tradition, and even in Nordic traditions a great deal of score was set by words, both as sources of wisdom (and thus power), and as mysteries with spells and blessings being spoken.
The first root is in Vanaheimr and goes into the Well of Urd or Well of Wryd, where the three Norns live in their cave perpetually deciding the fate of human beings. The three sisters are "Urd "that which has become," Verdandi "that which is becoming," and Skuld "that which will become."
http://www.earth-dancing.com/yggdrasil.htm
Wyrd is a name that originated with the three Norse sisters known as the Norns. They were known as Urd - "that which has become," Verdandi - "that which is becoming," and Skuld - "that which should become." One of the three great roots of the Yggdrasil reaches into the Well of Wyrd keeping the World Tree replenished. At the well of Wyrd, the three Norns, also known as the Sisters of Wyrd, continuously "rist" (rist, means to engrave) Rune staves which are continuously thrown into the Well of Wyrd. The Well of Wyrd contains all the cosmic knowledge from the beginning of all time.
There was more but ya know....I figured this would get any interested started on the path of understanding.
~GB~
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