Motif family
Fate Figures and Cosmic Weaving
The evidence moves beyond death-by-fate into personified or woven destiny that governs time, revolutions, atmosphere, or cosmic order.
14 traditions
61 occurrences
60 mapped motifs
9 sub-families
- estonian
- finnish karelian
- germanic
- gnostic
- greek
- greek roman
- hermetic
- hindu
- islamic
- jewish pseudepigrapha
- native american northwest coast
- norse
- slavic
- sufi
Conserved neighbors: death by fate · duality · sacred time
Sub-families · the next landing down
Norns and Their Fate Pronouncements
4 motifs
- birth-fate allotment by norns 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- fate fixed by the Norns 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- fate-marked ill foreshowing by the Norns 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- Fate-set longing by Norns 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
Fate Sisters, Birth Allotters, and Threshold Spinners
6 motifs
- Encounter with spinning women at a water boundary 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- fate powers connected with childbirth 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- Fate-shaping maidens at birth 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- Heroic destiny apportioned by fate-beings 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- Three fate sisters who govern destiny 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- Underworld female spinners at inner thresholds 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- estonian
Astral and Birth-Time Determination
4 motifs
- Astral timing governs moral disposition and access to mysteries 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- gnostic
- astrological determination of human destiny 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- gnostic
- birth-time condition determines lifelong fortune 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- slavic
- birth timing linked to destiny or character 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
Celestial Maidens, Spinning, and Light-Weaving
4 motifs
- Celestial exemplars of weaving and spinning 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- finnish karelian
- celestial maiden weaving on the rainbow 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- finnish karelian
- celestial maidens as spinners and weavers 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- finnish karelian
- celestial maidens weaving light 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- finnish karelian
Heavenly Records, Decrees, and Fate Signs
4 motifs
- divine predestination recorded in a heavenly register 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- islamic
- Heavenly books and written destinies 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- jewish pseudepigrapha
- irrevocable divine sign that fixes fate 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
- Pre-creation book of decrees 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- islamic
Fate Governing Cosmic Time, History, and Natural Forces
3 motifs
- Personification of natural forces in epic figures 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- hindu
- Predetermined cosmic and historical course 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- jewish pseudepigrapha
- three fate figures governing time and revolutions 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
Personified Fate, Ill Fortune, and Unseen Compulsion
3 motifs
- fate and ill fortune personified 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- Fate as power over gods and mortals 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
- Rulers of Destiny as unseen compellers of sin 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- gnostic
Fate Threads and Life-Span Measures
5 motifs
- Life as a fragile thread 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- sufi
- Life measured by candles 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- germanic
- life-thread and allotted destiny 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
- present life wasted like a spun thread 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- sufi
- warning that a broken thread will destroy fortune 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- estonian
Fate Webs, Weaving, and Binding
3 motifs
- weaving the web of fate 2 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- Weaving and binding of fate 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- web of fate as cosmic or atmospheric image 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
Not yet placed in a sub-family
24 motifs
- Astrological allotment of souls to bodies 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- gnostic
- battle fate woven by supernatural women 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- birth-appointed personal fate-spirit 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek roman
- Cosmic spindle and weaving of fated lots 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
- destiny fixed by divine or cosmic spinners 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
- Divine triad of sister personifications 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek roman
- Fate decreed at birth by female beings 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- Fate represented as a web or mist-fabric 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- fate spirits attend birth and confer destiny 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- Fates regulating temporal and cosmic order 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
- Fortune's revolving wheel 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- sufi
- inevitable necessity embodied as a divinity 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek roman
- irreversible allotment by named powers 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
- Kind and unkind female lesser deities grouped as Norns 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- life as a spun and severed thread 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek roman
- life severed by personified Fate 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- sufi
- present life as a thread spun away 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- sufi
- seven cosmic rulers as Fate 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- hermetic
- thread of life 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- native american northwest coast
- three fate sisters personifying time 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- triad of sister deities governing fate 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek roman
- unstable fortune represented by rotating or unstable objects 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek roman
- women weaving war with human body parts and weapons 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- world or fate as a game controlled by a player 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- sufi
Each motif link opens its evidence page: every tagged passage with its quote, and a path into the book where the passage lives.