Within the Germanic Lore, Urdabrunnr is Urda's Well, the Well of Wyrd. Urda and the other two Norns Verdandi and Skuld, daily gather to water the roots of the World Tree with the water from the Well, that is located directly beneath the Tree. After the watering is complete, the three Norns pack mud around the base of the World Tree to complete their daily task of nourishment and preservation. It is important to know what that water and mud consist of.
Cattle die, and kinsmen die......and so one dies one's self.
But a noble name will never die if good renown one gets.
(Havamal, verse 77, Bellows translation)
It is a truth spoken when said that our words and deeds are our orlog. Threads, or planks of our actions, orlog, are woven together creating our wyrd, our destiny. This all takes place in Urda's Well: our individual wyrd becomes a part of the Waters of Urda's Well. In so doing, our wyrd becomes interlocked with the wyrd of others. Yes, our words and actions are effects that affect the lives of others, in the present and future, as does the Wyrd of the past affect us in the present. Like it or not, this is truth. It is Wyrd. The ready example is the Norns taking the Water from the Well and nourishing the World Tree. And the Tree supports Nine Worlds.
It is in no way a stretch to think or say that Wyrd, personal and collective, effects generations unborn, especially those connected in a collective DNA chain. It does. And in no way is it a stretch to think that, since the World Tree "is watered daily from Urda's Well," that Wyrd, personal and collective also effects the infinite of the Nine Worlds. It does. The reverse, that coming from the other Worlds also effects us. So then, a question waits.
Should we, at least as individuals, strive to create better orlog/wyrd? When we shine, so do our Ancestors, descendants, and Gods. Thus the reason for the Havamal verse above......But a noble name will never die if good renown it gets.
Copyright @2017 Terry Unger
