we are shaped
by WYRD
“from the proto-indo-european root wert (*uerth) arose verbs of turning, being, and becoming. from them came the name of the Norns, as well as words for Fate in Germanic languages, including Anglo-Saxon Wyrd and the Three Weird Sisters. Other descendants are weorðung (later weirding) ‘honing, reverence, and weorð, “worth”, from which came weorðscipe (later worship). Weird figured in names for women of power and divination. Scottish weirdfu parallels the formation of English worthful. But in modern English weird (‘destiny’) shifted in meaning to ‘eerie’.”
“rather than progressing in a straight line, the Norns spiral through revolutions of Time. What ‘was’ must lead to what ‘shall be’, which inexorably turns into ‘what was’. In this philosophy, time as well as space curves, turns, spirals…a cyclical arrangement of time.”
Witches and Pagans; Women in European Folk Religion, 700-1100 M. Dashú
True observation and experience only happen with complete presence of the here and now. Intuition only inhabits the present. When you are present with your life you are engaged, interacting with all the bodies before you in ways that can transform the collective and support our co-arising as an interconnected community. And in this day and age, that makes us wyrd.
Indigenous healers, artists, doctors, and advocates have been the most influential teachers in my life. Life changing people whose lives and work(s) have and continue to guide me, influence me, and support me in decolonizing my perspectives: Dr. Lewis Mehl-Medrona, Dr. Clarissa Pinkola-Estes, Robin Wall-Kimmerer, Joy Harjo, Dr. Lyla June Johnston, Serene Thin Elk, Edgar Villanueva, Tiokasin Ghosthorse.
Selected Worked from inspiring leaders:
Lewis-Mehl-Medrona; Spirit of Healing
Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés; Women Who Run with the Wolves; Joyous Body; In the House of the Riddle Mother; Mother Night; The Gift of Story; Dangerous Old Woman, The Creative Fire
Robin Wall-Kimmerer; Braiding Sweet-Grass and Gathering Moss
Joy Harjo; Crazy Brave
Dr. Lyla June; featured guest on A World Apart podcast by Eric Garza
Serene Thin Elk; Decolonizing Your Mind from Collective Healing Conference by Thomas Hübl
Edgar Villanueva; Decolonizing Wealth
Toikasin Ghosthorse; featured guest on podcast Point of Relation: The Intuition of Earth with Thomas Hübl
The Hopi Survival Kit by non-native Thomas E. Mails (written with permission from Hopi elders)
Malidoma Patrice Somé; Of Water and the Spirit; Ritual
John O’Donahue; Anam Ċara
And for more on the etomology of wyrd:
Max Dashú; Witches and Pagans; Women in European Folk Religion, 700-1100