The Fates

Deities

Tradition · Greek
Alternate Names
The MoiraiThe ThreeThe Parcae
Gender Expression
Feminine
Titles
The ApportionersThe ThreeLadies of NecessitySpinner, Allotter and Unturnable
Domain
NecessityThe allotted portionThe thread of lifeBirthDeathThe lotWhat cannot be changed
Planetary Correspondence
Saturn
Secondary Planets
MoonMercury
Elemental Correspondence
EarthAether
Zodiac Affinity
CapricornScorpioVirgo
Correspondences
Colors
BlackGreyWhiteSilver
Scents
MyrrhCypressFrankincense boswellia sacra
Metals
LeadIronSilver
Animals
SpiderSwanSerpent
Sacred Timing
Hours
MidnightDusk
Offerings
Spun woolA thread tied deliberatelyWineMilkHoneyThe portion accepted
Invocation Approach
Tone
Unbargaining plain
Address
The FatesMoiraiThe Three
Relationship
The portion that is given and not negotiated
Warning
They are addressed and not persuaded and they do not trade
Resonance
Those at a beginning an ending or a thing that cannot be changed
Symbols
SpindleDistaffThreadThe scrollThe scales
Mythology Summary

The Moirai are the Apportioners, the three who give each person their portion: Clotho who spins, Lachesis who allots the lot, and Atropos who cannot be turned. Hesiod gives them two parentages in one poem - born of Night alone (Theogony 217-222) and later daughters of Zeus and Themis, to whom Zeus gave the greatest honour (Theogony 901-906). Plato sets them at the spindle of Necessity in the myth of Er, Clotho singing of the present while her sisters sing of past and future, and the souls drawing their lots before them (Republic X.617c).

Modern Practice

The Fates are approached as a group and never as three separate appointments. The practice is the acceptance of the portion: name what has been given, name what cannot be changed, and spend the effort on the part that is still open. They are not asked for a different thread; they are asked to be met.

Related Deities
NyxThemisZeusHadesHecate

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