The Moirai
Intention: Reflect on fate, the thread of life and its limits
Offerings & Symbols
- Thread or yarn
- Scissors (kept closed, symbolically)
- A candle burned partway, then saved
Culture: Ancient Greek Domain: Fate, the span and shape of a life
The Moirai, or Fates, are three sisters who together govern the thread of every life: Clotho spins it, Lachesis measures its length, and Atropos cuts it at death. Even the gods are said to be bound by their decisions in the oldest layers of Greek belief, making them among the most powerful and least personal figures in the pantheon.
Associations
Fate, the length and shape of a life, thread and weaving, inevitability.
Ways people honor them (modern)
- Reflect on what is within your control and what is not
- Take up spinning, weaving or fiber crafts as a meditative practice
- Mark major life passages with intention
- Read their few appearances in Hesiod and later tragedy for how sparingly, and seriously, they're invoked
Approach any deity with respect and do your own research. Practices vary widely between traditions, and modern devotional practice often goes beyond what survives in ancient sources.
