Emergence: Part I – Verdandi: The Fate of Becoming

Threshold Moments

We are becoming. We are always emerging into the now. The powerful concept of emergence has been part of Western thought since Aristotle and perhaps before that. It is still a topic of discussion in specific areas such as science and philosophy, yet in those domains, its definition is far afield from what I am referring to here. For the purposes of this article and other posts that follow in June, in very simple terms, emergence is about becoming.

In Norse mythology from the 13th Century the three Norns; Urd, Verdandi and Skuld who live in Asgard, are the female beings that control fate. This makes them the most powerful beings in the Universe, ruling the destiny of gods and men. They are also the caretakers of Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life that holds the nine worlds. It is said that Urd represents the domain of the past, Verdandi, the domain of the present and Skuld, the domain of the future. The three Norns spin the threads of fate for each and every individual, and in turn from those threads, weave the tapestry of destiny.

This Norse myth entails the three Norns who dwell “in the shadowy realm between this world and the underworld, at the roots of the Tree…in a cave that embraces a pool fed by the twelve fountains…they continually tend the roots…and there they spin and weave…the great fabric of existence.” This according to the article “The Norns: Three Sisters in the Wasteland” found online at adf.org.

From this place of mystery Verdandi reigns over her domain, spinning out the threads of emerging reality. And what else should we expect. Her very name has as its root “to be,” indicating “in the making” or “what is presently coming into being.”

We forever find ourselves at one threshold after another, facing potential futures and choosing from the possibilities before us. It could seem that we are in a state of perpetual liminal space. And yet step after step we are able to look back and find a foundational stronghold of the past, our own past and a larger ancient past. We also find hope in a future not yet written in stone.

Our relationship with the three Norns, with fate or destiny in all three of its manifestations is critical to our sense of well-being and critical to our capacity to contribute to the overall tapestry. Verdandi’s “becoming” in particular is a concept we would do well to befriend. Being cognizant of threshold moments gives us the powerful advantage of creating a relationship with the unknown, what is just over the horizon, as David Whyte has said in his audio book What to Remember When Waking. He goes on to say that one of the core dynamics of finding the “everything that is waiting for you” is openness and vulnerability at those threshold moments.

How can you cultivate openness?

Writing Prompt for the Week: Threshold Moments