The Three Weird Sisters or Wyrd Myths
"We worship not the Graces, nor the Parcae, but Fashion."
Names by which they are called:
4. Three Sisters - ( Also name to the three mountains "The Three Sisters" in Oregon )
5. Weird Sisters - ( Another name for both the "Fates" and "Norns" ) - Anglo-Saxson Mythology
6. Wyrd Sisters - ( see "Weird Sisters" ) - Anglo-Saxson
7. Sisters of weird - ( see "Weird Sisters" )
7. Maiden from Giantland
7. Wyrd, Urlverli and Skuld
- also linked to the three visible phases of the moon - Waxing, Full and Waning.
- also Past, Present and Future.
15. Moriae - ( See "Moirai" )
16. Three Witches - ( See "Macbeth" )
17. Harsh Spinners - ( See "Fates" or "Fatae" )
18. Faith, Hope and Charity - ( Also what the Three Mountains in Oregon are named after - Christian Concept - The "Three Sisters" are also the three basic agricultural crops of Native Americans in North America, squash, maize (or corn), and climbing beans )
21. Laimas - Latvian Mythology
24. Laima, Karta and Dekla ( See "Laimas" )
25. Laime ( See "Laimas" )
26. Morrigu ( See "Morrigan" )
- Also linked to "Macbeth" from William Shakespare
- Also mentioned in "Sandman - The Kindly Ones" ( Morpheus - Dream ) and had a three part comic book mini series of their own.
- See: Yggdrasil - Dragon destroyer at the roots of the world.
The Fates
Daughters of Zeus and Themis, their names are: Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, known as The Fates.
Life is woven by Clotho, measured by Lachesis and the thread of life is cut by Atropos.
The Fates are old and predate the gods. It is not entirely clear how far their power extends. It is possible that they determine the fate of the gods as well. Not even the most powerful is willing to triffle with them.
The Fates in Greek Mythology
The Fates were goddesses who supervised fate in Greek mythology. The ancient Greeks referred to these goddesses collectively as Moirai but also said that the Fates were the three goddesses who were in charge of watching over fate.
The poet Hesiod describes the Fates in his Theogony. According to Hesiod, these goddesses were the daughters of Zeus and Themis, and were therefore the sisters of the Horae (Hesiod also claims, in the same poem, that the Fates were the offspring of Nyx, the goddess of Night). The poet names the Fates as well:
"These are Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos,
and they give mortals their share of good and evil."
(Hesiod, Theogony, 905-6)
Clotho was the spinner, Lachesis was the drawer of lots, and Atropos represented the inevitable end to life. This notion that human fate was spun around a person at birth by divine Spinners - in other words, the Fates - was popular in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature. Indeed, there is a compelling scene in the Odyssey of Homer that alludes to this concept of spinning fate.
The three goddesses who supervised the spinning of human fate evolved into a more concrete concept. The Fates came to be identified as three older females who handled the threads of human life. One of these threads was placed to every person, and each goddess took her turn in manipulating this thread. Clotho selected the thread, Lachesis measured it, and Atropos cut this thread to signify the end of a person's existence.
The Fates were known as Parcae (or sometimes, Fatae) in Roman mythology.
Greek Relations:
Moirai
Moirai - the 3 goddesses of fate or destiny; identified with the Roman Parcae and similar to the Norse Norns
Clotho - the Fate who spins the thread of life; identified with Roman Nona
Lachesis - the Fate who determines the length of the thread of life; identified with Roman Decuma
Atropos - the Fate who cuts the thread of life; identified with Roman Morta
Roman Relations:
Parcae
Parcae - the 3 goddesses of fate or destiny; identified with the Greek Moirai and similar to the Norse Norns
Decuma - the Fate who determines the length of the thread of life; counterpart of Greek Lachesis
Morta - the Fate who cuts the thread of life; counterpart of Greek Atropos
Nona - the Fate who spins the thread of life; counterpart of Greek Clotho
Relations in Norse Mythology:
Norn
Norn - (Norse mythology) any of the three Fates or goddesses of destiny; identified with Anglo-Saxon Wyrd; similar to Greek Moirae and Roman Parcae
Norse mythology - the mythology of Scandinavia (shared in part by Britain and Germany) until the establishment of Christianity
Norse deity - a deity worshipped by the ancient Norsemen
Skuld - goddess of fate: Future
Anglo-Saxson Relation:
Wyrd or Weird
Weird, Wyrd - Fate personified; one of the three Weird Sisters
Fates:
Fates, The Fates - a group of three goddesses of destiny
The Triple Goddess
Description: The Triple Goddess is known and worshiped in Pagan cultures all over the world. She is eternal, yet always in a state of change. Her colors are white for the maiden, red for the mother and black for the crone. The Symbol of the Triple Goddess is the Waxing, Full and Waning Moons.
Latvian Mythology:
Laimas
Laimas - Three Laimas - Destiny Deities
Holle
Holle is known throughout northern Europe. She is also known as Holda or Hulda. A triple goddess, Holle is the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone--the embodiment of the three stages of womanhood.
Other interesting Links:
Sources:
Updates for May 15, 2004:
*Appalachia Magic - Wicca, mountain, Appalachia, magic, witches, charms
The number three is very prominent in the magic. The emphasis on the number three is said to originate from Ireland and be a reference to the three goddesses of the Irish people. After a while in the Appalachian mountains, Christianity reached the people and the number three was then used to reference to the trinity, so today there is a mixture of people who invoke the Irish goddesses or the trinity. Some also make reference to the gods of the Cherokee people (McCoy 4). In many charms one will hear references to the personified deity of the moon, stars, and sun.
*Also see: The Pagan Trinity - The "Hecate" or "Hekate" is characterized as a Trinity, that existed within pagan mythology as a three faced goddess, ( Maiden, Mother & Crone ), Brigit is a Christopagan Era Irish goddess - Brigit's triple aspects are of Inspiration, Smithcraft, and Healing, and the Hinduism trinity: Brahma - the creator, Vishnu - the protector and Shiva - the destroyer.
See Here for full articles on each one mentioned above.
Celtic (Irish) Goddess of war. Mother aspect of the triple Goddess. Symbolizes life, enlightenment, wisdom and inspiration. Sister of Macha, the Morrigan, and Anu, the name of this Goddess means "boiling," "battle raven," and "scald-crow". Known as Cath Bodva in Gaul. A Mother Goddess and Triple Goddess and part of the trio for which Ireland was named including Eriu and Fotia or Fodla, Badb's cauldron boiled with the ever-producing mixture that produced all life. Variants: Badhbh, Badb, Banba.
Celtic (Irish). One of the triple Goddesses of the Celtic pantheon. She is the daughter of The Dagda, the All Father of the Tuatha de Danann, one of the most ancient people of Northern Europe. Some say there are actually three Brighids; one is in charge of poetry and inspiration; one is in charge of midwifery and healing, and the last is in charge of crafts and smiths.
She probably began as a sun Goddess. According to legend, she was born at sunrise and a tower of flame beamed from her head.
As Goddess of fire and water, she is immortalized by many wells and springs. Most important of her monuments, though, was a shrine at Kildare where there was a perpetual flame burning for Brighid. It was tended by nineteen virgins called the Daughters of the Flame, wearing deep crimson habits and bearing swords. They would not talk to men, nor could men come near the shrine. Her feast is St.Brighids Days in Ireland and is the Pagan Festival of Imbolc.
When Christianity began its onset, so loved was Brighid that she was made a saint. However, the upkeep on her flame was considered pagan by the church and it was extinguished out of more than a thousand years of burning. St. Brigit remains one of the most popular Irish saints today, along with Saint Patrick.
Identical to Juno, Queen of Heaven. Symbolizes human potential. Also known as Brigit, Brigid, Brigindo, Bride.
Celtic (Welsh) Maiden form of the Triple Goddess. She was changed into an owl for committing adultry and plotting to kill Lleu. Symbolizes wisdom, lunar mysteries, initiations. Known to help a garden or a child grow. Known as the Ninefold Goddess of the Western Isles of Paradise and Flower-Face, Goddess was created by Math and Gwydion as a wife for the God Lleu.
Celtic (Irish & Scottish) Goddess of disease and plague. A Destroyer, or Crone, Goddess, she was also called "Veiled One". As the Crone, she ruled with the Maiden and the Mother. Monsterous Dogs guarded the gates of her afterworld realm where she received the dead. Celtic myth has her gatekeeper dog named Dormarth "Death's Door". Irish bards who could curse with satire were often called cainte "dog".
For More on The Celtic Deities, And Beautiful Picture Illustrations, See Source.
Updates for September 20, 2005:
Hecate:
Hecate, the Titan earth-mother of the wizards and witches, illustrates, perhaps better than Demeter, the connection between sky, earth, underworld, and the realm of evil supernaturalism.
As the daughter of Perses and Asteria, Hecate (Hekate) was the only Titan to remain free under Zeus. She was the mother of the wizard, Circe, and the witch, Medea. She characterized the unknown and night-terrors that roamed the abandoned and desolate highways.
Hecate was often depicted as a young maiden with three faces, each pointing in a different direction, a role in which she was the earth-spirit that haunted wherever three paths joined. As the "goddess of three forms" she was Luna (the moon) in heaven, Diana (Artemis) on earth, and Hecate of the underworld.
At midnight, Hecate's devotees would leave food offerings at intersections for the goddess ('Hecate's Supper'), and, once deposited, quickly exit without turning around or looking back. Sometimes the offerings consisted of honey cakes and chicken hearts, while at other times, puppies, honey, and female black lambs were slaughtered for the goddess and her strigae (strigae were deformed owl-like affiliates of Hecate who flew through the night feeding on the bodies of unattended babies. During the day, they appeared as simple old women, folklore that may account for the history of flying witches. The same hid amidst the leaves of the trees during the annual festival of Hecate, held on August 13, when Hecate's followers offered up the highest praise of the goddess).
Hecate's devotees celebrated festivals near Lake Averna in Campania where the sacred willow groves of the goddess stood, and they communed with the tree spirits (earth spirits, including Hecate, were thought to inhabit trees) and summoned the souls of the dead from the mouths of nearby caves. It was here that Hecate was known as Hecate-Chthonia ("Hecate of the earth"), a depiction in which she most clearly embodied the popular earth-mother-spirit that conversed through the cave-stones and sacred willow trees.
Yet Hecate had other, more revealing names, and these are the subject of our interest for the time being. These included: 1) Hecate-Phosphoros ( "The Light Bearer" [recalling another powerful underworld spirit whose original name was Lucifer, "the light bearer"]); and 2) Hecate-Propylaia ( "The One Who Guards The Gate").
© Copyright 2005 Raiders News Update
'Trinities' in Egyptian Religion:
The Egyptian Goddess Bast:
Bast, Egyptian goddess of the rising sun, was much admired for her warm and playful nature, not to mention her fierce protective nature. One of the ancient Egyptian goddesses, Bast (also known as Bastet) was worshipped for several centuries. The Greeks, noting their similarities, referred to her as the "Egyptian Artemis".
Many statues of the Egyptian goddess Bast have been excavated. She is depicted as a shapely woman with the head of a cat. In her myths Bast takes on three forms...as a woman, as half-cat, and in a fully feline form.
*Note*: Most Egyptian Gods & Goddesses acquired 3 names, depending on the region they represented or were worshipped.
More on Bast: She married Ptah, the god of Memphis, and, with Nefertum, formed the dominant triune (as in other human religions, the number three played an important role) of that dynasty.
Isis:
Isis was the supreme Mother Goddess of ancient Egypt. She was married to her brother Osiris, and their child was the God Horus. The three Deities made up the holy trinity of the Egyptian pantheon.
Egyptian Religion:
The Gods > Groupings of deities
The number of deities was large and was not fixed. New ones appeared and some ceased to be worshipped. Deities were grouped in various ways. The most ancient known grouping is the ennead, which is probably attested from the 3rd dynasty (c. 26502575 BC). Enneads were groups of nine deities, nine being the "plural" of three (in Egypt the number three symbolized plurality in general).
Ennead - yahoo search - much information here.
Three Hares:
The Mystery of the Three Hares - Ancient imagery appeared in China and then medieval Europe - Interesting article on the 'Three Hares Motif', not sure if it could be related to the Three Sisters, but thought it interesting never the less as we have the '3' symbol appear once again. - 11/28/06
Find out more about the three hares in China at this Web Site.
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