Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

FATAE or FATES

Greek and Roman mythologies include three spiritual beings called in Greek the Moirai, in Latin Parcae or Fatae, who were supposed to control the destiny of a person.

They were named (probably after Hesiod) Clotho, who held a distaff on which was the material of life; Lachesis, who spun the thread from this material; and Atropos, who made that final cut of the thread which ended life.

Sometimes the three are called the Harsh Spinners, even though they do not all spin. Their 'spinning' was said to take place at birth, and in some periods also at marriage, when a new life or fate was made. The general word moirai means 'share' or 'apportioned lot'.

Achesis means approximately 'obtaining by lot' and atropos 'irresistible'.

The three witches in Macbeth have been linked with these three spinners, from the old English term Wyrd (pronounced weird), which means approximately 'destiny'; the three 'weird sisters' were the Fates who control destiny.

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc