Orlog and Wyrd - another nonscholarly view
Orlog and Wyrd, such small words, with such big, big meaning.
Not being a bookish man, I'll keep my thoughts writ small ,-)
Orlog (Orlay) and Wyrd (Weird) are two distinctly different things in one's spirituality.
One's Orlay is formed by one's Words and Deeds falling into The Well. Depending upon the significance of these; the Layers (the root of both Orlay and Law) are gathered deeply, becoming strong influences or are blown away like a morning mist on the surface of a pond.
The strength of one's Orlay shapes one's Wyrd, for what we have done is what we shall become. The Past increases, the Present is where we are (always) and the future is being shaped, is never sure.
This is reflected in the lack of a "true" future tense in English and other Germanic languages, unlike Latin and other non-Germanic languages.
Amo, amat, amas (if I recall correctly) - I loved, I love, I will love. The English is a compound verb, composed of a varient of "to be" and the object action.
Which shows me that the Germanic - English - Nordic worldview does not concentrate on That Which May Become, but on That Which Became (the bulk our Orlay) and That Which Is Becoming (the further building and strengthening of our Orlay).
Our Wyrd is shown in That Which Is Becoming, moved to one outcome or another by our Orlay, and by our free will.
Our Wyrd is never fixed in stone, it is constantly being affected by our Orlay, plus the Orlay of our Kin, our Kith and our Community...
Then we could start dragging in Might, Maegn and Luck; but that another kettle of fish entirely.
Not being a bookish man, I'll keep my thoughts writ small ,-)
Orlog (Orlay) and Wyrd (Weird) are two distinctly different things in one's spirituality.
One's Orlay is formed by one's Words and Deeds falling into The Well. Depending upon the significance of these; the Layers (the root of both Orlay and Law) are gathered deeply, becoming strong influences or are blown away like a morning mist on the surface of a pond.
The strength of one's Orlay shapes one's Wyrd, for what we have done is what we shall become. The Past increases, the Present is where we are (always) and the future is being shaped, is never sure.
This is reflected in the lack of a "true" future tense in English and other Germanic languages, unlike Latin and other non-Germanic languages.
Amo, amat, amas (if I recall correctly) - I loved, I love, I will love. The English is a compound verb, composed of a varient of "to be" and the object action.
Which shows me that the Germanic - English - Nordic worldview does not concentrate on That Which May Become, but on That Which Became (the bulk our Orlay) and That Which Is Becoming (the further building and strengthening of our Orlay).
Our Wyrd is shown in That Which Is Becoming, moved to one outcome or another by our Orlay, and by our free will.
Our Wyrd is never fixed in stone, it is constantly being affected by our Orlay, plus the Orlay of our Kin, our Kith and our Community...
Then we could start dragging in Might, Maegn and Luck; but that another kettle of fish entirely.
posted by Piparskeggr at
1/29/2009 02:54:00 PM
1 Comments:
Nice blog! I have an amateur interest in Germanic languages and your comment on the lack of a true future tense in said languages brought to mind an interesting point.
In English, when talking in the future tense, we say "I will", almost as if we are "willing" that particular future into being. In German we would say "Ich werde", which is cognate and in reading your blog I was reminded of the phonological similarities between German "werde" and Old Norse "wyrd".
Again, I am no expert, but it seems to suggest that even in modern English and German, there are still echoes of the ancient attitudes of our people. Thanks for bringing up the topic, I had not thought of the comparison before and am wiser for the musings.
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