Confronting Fate in the Pagan Worldview
As mentioned, the Western pagan myth does not portray fate as “doom” or “fatum,” an irresistible force, but rather as a challenge posed by the cosmic order, which one may accept and fight or refuse and go with the flow. The idea of such an ambiguous influence of the world plan on the course of a person’s life is expressed in several important concepts: first, the Three Norns, who weave the threads of life from the fires of consciousness, and second, the notions of Wyrd and Orlög in Norse myth.
The term “Wyrd” first appears in the epic Beowulf, where it means “fate” and is analogous to the Old Norse “Urd,” though not as the personal name of a Norn but as a concept. What we referred to as the influence of that Norn is precisely Wyrd — that is, Wyrd is the set of key tasks to which the current incarnation is dedicated. Where those tasks come from is another question: partly they are the result of actions by previous incarnations of the Monad, partly they are conditions for the development of awareness dictated by the Monad’s own free choice. In any case, Wyrd are the principal points the Monad must accomplish in the present incarnation. Yet “must” here does not imply an imperative necessity; it is closer to a moral duty, conditions whose fulfilment will ensure the optimal effectiveness of the incarnation.
In Slavic myth a similar notion of fate prevailed; not for nothing does Procopius of Caesarea (6th century) write about the Slavs’ belief:
“They know nothing of Fates and in general do not acknowledge that Fate has any power over people; when death is imminent — whether seized by disease or fallen into danger in war — they vow, if they are saved, immediately to offer a sacrifice to a god for their soul; having avoided death, they sacrifice what they promised and think that their salvation was purchased at the cost of that sacrifice.“
The term “Orlög” comes from two words: “Or” — “Outside, Above” and “Log” — “Law,” and it means “Over-Law,” that is, those primary Laws that give rise to smaller regularities. It is compared to the Old Norse word “Orligi,” “War,” in the sense of the confrontation between Cosmos and Chaos, the active establishment of world order. Orlög is an impersonal law of the universe, elevated even above the gods. According to the “Prophecy of the Völva,” Orlög “are proclaimed by the Norns,” and Frigg “knows Orlög.” Individuals have their own Orlög, as do groups, humanity as a whole, gods, animals and even “inanimate” objects. In fact, the concept of “Orlög” is closest to the gnostic notion of the “logos,” the meaning of existence, and also to the Slavic idea of Pravi.
In other words, if Wyrd represents something like a “map” of a being’s incarnation path, then Orlög represents the overarching whole of that map, its “Higher meaning,” that is, the “Purpose” of the incarnation. All individual Orlögs are components of the single Orlög, the world’s meaning, preserved by the Norns kept in Urd. The Magus’s task, therefore, amounted to interpreting the meaning of worldly life and uncovering the fragments of truth scattered throughout it, most of all concentrated in the person’s own mind. In our context the word “Orlög” is effectively identical to the word I use, “Way,” in the sense of the natural, proper way of life for a particular person.
The notion of inevitability is completely foreign to the pagan myth, which holds that any disaster can be prevented, or at least significantly mitigated, if sufficient force is applied. At the same time, the most important circumstances of human life are often regarded as fateful: «You can’t outrun your destined spouse». The concept of fate included the free possibility of changing it. Even seemingly fateful moments of a person’s life contain a choice. Moreover, an action already performed, a choice already made, is evaluated by its role in the overall system of the Cosmos, whose influence is inevitably reflected in fate.
In this understanding, fate can simultaneously appear as an active force and as nonexistent in a fatalistic sense, because it can be changed by one’s own choice and action. The very existence of fateful moments suggests that, on the whole, fate — Wyrd — might have seemed to the Slavs like the warp of life, though alterable by human will. A person could, with fairly high confidence, predict the consequences of his actions. In any case, they can estimate possible outcomes of developments and prevent undesirable outcomes by making the appropriate choice. Thus Wyrd can be changed — either by hard work to improve the course of their life, or by magical means and self-improvement.
In this light it is clear that if Wyrd can be changed, can be followed or resisted, Orlög cannot be altered within a single incarnation; it can be found or not found, followed or not followed, and depending on this, a particular Wyrd is formed. Thus, by building their Wyrd in accordance with their Orlög, considering the tasks of their incarnation and his Way, the Magus comes to understand the world law (Orlög) and the world flow (Wyrd) and gains power and wisdom.
The goal is to accelerate the passage of Orlega and, accordingly, incarnation. To do this, it is necessary to combine the Weird.
I saw manifestations of Fate and saw how people cannot avoid it. One Indian read on the hand of a young rich woman that she would die a violent death. He even said approximately how many years this would happen. I was 12 years old at the time, and I was a random witness to this divination. When I was 22, that woman met a violent death. By that time, I had long forgotten about that situation, but a relative came to visit, who was her friend and told about that terrible case. Interestingly, the family of that woman knew about the Indian’s warning and did everything possible to prevent the prophecy. She had a bodyguard, and she never went out alone. But that Sunday, she ran out of the house alone, literally for 15 minutes, and that’s it…….
Is everything possible simply not to let anyone out on the street, to walk with a bodyguard and to be afraid of everything? If so, then Fate is precisely attracted in that way.
How to know/understand/remember what goals and tasks lie ahead of my current incarnation? How to find my purpose? I’ve also heard that purpose can change at each level of development. But how to know my own, what needs to be done for that, this question has been bothering me for a long time – Why am I here?
In each current incarnation, we are completing what we did not finish previously. Therefore, it is very easy to determine your tasks – you need to study your strongest inner inclinations, those that are not imposed by society and not cultivated, but rooted in our very nature. To determine what this nature strives for – this is the impulse that brought us into this birth. We can either realize them, transform and redirect them, but if we ignore them – they will appear again in the following births.
Yes, I have certain aspirations and inclinations, but under the conditions I am in now, they fit poorly. That is, for everything I really strive for, there are quite strong obstacles in life right from the beginning, or they constantly slip away when I attempt to achieve them. Either I am doing something wrong. Or perhaps the time is not yet right.
Or – the inclinations have been recognized incorrectly) We often take what seems correct or “worthy” for some reasons or criteria as our own inclinations. To truly recognize our impulses, one needs to cultivate maximum honesty and objectivity within oneself.
Such a variant is also possible; I have thought about it as well. But in any case, this world or this dimension does not seem particularly convenient for the full satisfaction of my aspirations and manifestations.
On the other hand, everything serves a purpose. Maybe for training – to learn to overcome the pressure of the ordinary. In general, I think it’s best to just work on myself, on my development, and we will see where the Path leads and what needs to be done.
First you seek within yourself, then you learn to be impassive seeing it in others and feeling the influence on yourself. In addition to this, you start to see the management mechanism, while bitterly realizing how demonized the system is and that the whole system cannot be changed, but one can choose their direction and act in it.
The Golgothan ate almost all the people in my world. Left one child. As I later learned, he was one year old and eats meat. And yet, you all care about developing your consciousness? Well, yes… the world has much more interaction than with those described in this blog. And life continues not only in the worlds of death.
No adequate being in the Outer Cosmos eats others. Something is wrong with the world of the Golgothans. Although I am not personally familiar with them. I was attuned to others, to wolf-dog-like beings, those are autonomous and modest.
The forces call you En Merkar – the gray. You do not distinguish the simplest difference between darkness and light.
Who said that your powers speak the truth? – Maybe they lie.
Light and Darkness are relative concepts.
There is cold light, the reflected light of the moon, in which blades lose their sharpness.
There is the light of fire, incinerating any careless moth.
There is a darkness that protects the victim fleeing from a pursuer.
There is darkness that lovers eagerly await in order to hide from prying eyes.
Light and Darkness are just words. Different people see something of their own in them.
…..and… it is in vain that you blame the books.
Almost everything written in them can be read for free on this blog.
Here is the translation to English:
“En Merkar, I think you, as a magician, understood that it was over when you started selling your knowledge? For selling involves the fixation of facts, and the universe does not tolerate stagnation, change, and development. I feel sorry.”
Numen, were you really unsettled by the “sale”? In reality, there is a simple law that to gain something, you must give something in return. Moreover, people often do not appreciate what they receive for free. The desire that “you must give me knowledge for free” is parasitic. They want everything for free with no effort on their part, and then still write complaints to you. Because I am the king here)) And the price at least shows who truly needs it, and which “king”… “oh, I can do without it, basically.”
It’s different if magical laws are being violated. But here, in my understanding, it’s not about stating “you violated the magical law, you scoundrel!))),” but rather asking “was it wise to violate it?” Sometimes it is reasonable to break the laws.
I don’t know how a sale can record facts. It is our consciousness that records facts, not the sale itself) Since it seems to me that you will not understand me anyway, I write this response for those who will. Because I do not understand why many are disturbed by the fact that one must pay for knowledge.
Another matter is the emphasis… some sell knowledge while placing emphasis on money. I only know that I definitely do not have the right to judge someone who is above me and whose thoughts and desires are hidden from me (and from whose hand I eat, if I can put it that way).
“… You are so eager to judge the sins of others, start with your own, and you won’t reach the others’…”
It’s interesting, what kind of demon is it that loves to judge others but constantly protects itself?
After your book “The Magic of Life” it is still possible and necessary to reread the same topics.–each time you understand them even deeper and more comprehensively! Thank you for your work. Really! Huge THANK YOU!!