The '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.