Offerings to the Fates
The first thing that everyone who would work with the Nornir needs to understand is that no amount of propitiation will make them change your wyrd. They are utterly implacable when it comes to their work, so if you have a specific destiny and you aren't doing it, you cannot buy or wheedle your way out of it. Instead, propitiating the Nornir is done in order to better understand your wyrd, so that you will be able to fulfill it in a less clumsy and painful manner. The Nornir can also be invoked and/or propitiated before or during a divination of any kind, so as to grant the diviner better signal clarity and ease of interpretation.
The Nornir areoften invoked by seidhr-workers, and anyone else who wishes to read the Threadsof Wyrd, or work to change them in any way. This is called Threadwork. One’sThread of Wyrd contains everything one has done in one’s life, and is knottedand tangled up with the Threads of others. When you make an oath or commitmentto someone, when you give and receive deep emotions, when you give gifts andcreate obligations, when you wrong them and do not make amends (and when theywrong you and leave); all these things create knots and tangles that involveother Threads. In addition, your Thread can become knotted or tangled due tothe leftover luck (good or bad) that you gain form past deeds, including, forsome people, deeds done in past lives.
Whata skilled spirit-worker can do, under some circ*mstances, is to trace aperson’s Thread through the tapestry, diagnose the origins of the knots andtangles that are creating obstacles, and figure out (usually by asking theNornir or other deities) what would have to happen in order to smooth them out.It is especially useful for people who have lost or damanged their luck.Threadwork is advanced shamanic work - something only done after many years ofbeing a shaman - and it is only done with the leave of the Nornir. If you don’thave a good working relationship with them, you won’t be able to get very farwith Threadwork. They’ll simply start quashing your applications, as it were.
Spirit-workerswho work with the Nornir are few; as far as we can tell, although they willteach and work with humans, they (perhaps alone among all the Gods) choose veryfew human spirit-workers as their own, have few human servants, and need noworshippers. It’s likely that this is partly because they see every one of usas threads to eventually be cut - as their frost-thurse background suggests,they are quite cold-hearted - and partly because they have no need for them.They are every bit as implacable as any Death deity, and even more impersonal.Despite this, they have valuable skills to teach, and all the knowledge thatFate can offer - if they choose to do so.
Offerings to them are traditionallypieces of fiber-art handwork, made by you, or commissioned at great price ifyou cannot make your own. Learning to handspin with a Viking-style soapstonedrop spindle is very helpful in dealing with them, especially if you aspire toeventually learning Threadwork. As you sit and spin, or weave, or embroider, or knit, or crochet, you dedicate the energy of your effort to them, to give them energy for their own weaving. If you can't do fiber arts, try cleaning your house, or someone else's house. As you clean, dedicate the energy of your effort to them. We've found that they appreciate this practical aid very much.
The colors associated with the Nornir are usually considered to be black, white, and grey. An altar to them should be very simple, and might hold a spindle, a shuttle, and scissors or a knife. Alternately, it might hold a bowl of pure spring water and a small tree or shrub surrounded by stones.
