Winifred Hodge Rose
The root of the word ‘ordeal’ is Proto-Germanic *uzdailiją meaning “that which is dealt out.”
What I want to talk about here is the connection between ‘orlog’, ‘ordeal’, and ‘dealing’ with ordeals and challenges in our life. ‘To deal’ means to distribute or apportion out, which is what the Norns are perceived as doing. But it also means ‘to deal with something, to handle it, take care of it, resolve a situation.’ An ‘Or-deal’ is something that Or-log deals out to us, a life-challenge that we ourselves must deal with.
An ‘or-deal’ in a Heathen philosophical sense means ‘the primal roots of a given ordeal-circumstance: the ørlög, the weaving of wyrd, which has been dealt out for us to face here and now, in this place, in this time.’ An ‘ordeal’ has the connotation of a struggle, a challenge, a personal testing, and it is that, but it is more. It is fateful, it is a weaving of wyrd, a drawing-together of the strands of our life into a nexus-point of deep significance. Much of our past has gone into reaching this nexus-point of the ordeal, and much will lead forth from its outcome that will shape our time to come.
The ordeal of life is a challenge and a struggle, indeed, but more than that, it shapes the whole pattern of our Being, and shapes the meaning that our life holds. Our purpose in life is not to avoid or escape orlog and the ordeals that arise from it, but to rise to the challenge they offer: the challenge not only to meet the ordeal successfully, but to use it as a vehicle to emerge from the ordeal with greater wisdom, soul-qualities, and strength than we had when we went into it.
Orlog is Personal
“What we see so often in Norse literature is something that is perhaps unique in European paganism: an attempt to escape fate by living up to it—the near-opposite of hubris. In other words, the acknowledgement of fate provides the necessary presupposition for facing the challenges of life, which…are precisely made meaningful by it. It is a hugely impressive humanistic vision.” (Winterbourne, p. 17).
Winterbourne is here implying something that appears often in ancient literature: our orlog is personal. When it unfolds into difficulties and challenges in our life it is our ‘worthy opponent’ against which we measure ourselves: our courage and determination, our vision, our ethical strength, our might and main. And perhaps most of all our wisdom, rooted in a Heathen understanding of the nature of orlog.
An ordeal, in my view, is defined as a serious challenge or difficulty that has developed in our life through the workings of orlog. In some cases it may be caused by our own mistakes, neglect of our responsibilities, or wrongdoing that we have committed and that we must work our way through, not seek to escape or excuse. Other times our ordeal may result from mistakes, neglect, or wrongdoing committed by others, which affect us and which we must deal with in our own life. Sometimes our own ordeal consists of the need to help others through their ordeals, such as caring for a family member with serious health problems.
For example, I supported my mother on a daily basis through eleven years of Alzheimer’s; this was an ordeal for her, me, and our other family members. Not just an ordeal in the sense of the suffering it caused, but also in the sense that each of us, my mother included, did our personal best to deal with the situation wisely, courageously, compassionately, patiently, supportively, and lovingly: by honing our own best qualities and strengths to meet this ordeal and face it to the end. The orlog of family ties of love and loyalty, layers that my mother fostered as she interacted with family throughout her life, led directly to the strengths we all were able to bring to support her and each other as she faced her ‘orlog-while,’ the difficult end of her life.
Working with the Knots
One metaphor I use to illustrate the concept of the ordeal is macrame, with complex patterns of strands that are knotted together at certain points. Those knots, those nexus-points, are where strands of orlog come together to create a significant event or situation for us, which may be something really challenging and difficult, a ‘knotty problem’ that we must deal with somehow.
Knots can cause problems and challenges, being difficult to untangle. But knots also hold the strands of our life together and create patterns—patterns that we can choose how to shape. Patterns, and their beauty and symmetry, are made by twists, loops, bindings, knots, interweavings: in fabric arts, and in the way we deal with our lives.
We’re all called to deal with orlog and wyrd in our lives, and as Heathens it makes sense to work with these patterns rather than pulling against them or running away from them. How do we deal with ordeals, struggles, challenges, in this quintessentially Heathen way? My view is that we do not regard these ordeals as afflictions and persecutions; we avoid, at all costs, taking a victim stance here. Embracing victimhood is not ‘dealing’ with orlog and ordeals. It overcomes nothing; instead, it is overcome by events and left helpless.
I don’t at all mean that we should fail in compassionate responses when faced with others who have become victims of terrible events. I’m talking about our own choice of attitude toward the events of our own life. We can regard ordeals, challenges and difficulties as an honorable warrior regards a worthy opponent or a skilled sparring partner: as a situation where we are called upon to bring everything we have, everything we are capable of, in order to face our challenge.
We may ‘win’ in the sense of overcoming the challenge, dealing with it, resolving the problem. Or we may not win; sometimes the challenge is too great for us to overcome at that time. In that case, we can still face the situation with courage, learn from it, and grow our inner qualities and resources so we can continue to face these challenges with courage and wisdom. And we keep a sharp eye out for future possibilities to resolve the situation! Just because we can’t prevail today, doesn’t mean we can’t do it in the future, after we’ve developed more wisdom, inner strength and resources from facing the situation today.
We don’t fall back in despair, or run away from our ordeals. Instead we seek to understand the patterns, the lessons, the guidance, that our Gods and Goddesses, Norns and ancestors, are presenting to us through the ordeals and challenges of our lives. This follows the understanding that wyrd and orlog contain the significance and meaning of events. What we do here, how wisely and well we deal with things, matters: it matters to us and to those around us, in mundane ways and in spiritual ways, which are both important.We may be handed knots to deal with in our lives, but we can use them to recreate the patterns that shape us, enhancing their strength, significance, and even their beauty.
The Formal Ordeal
My concept of the Heathen ordeal does not involve the deliberate infliction of pain, as ‘ordeal’ is sometimes understood in other contexts. An artificially-created episode of deliberately inflicted pain or struggle is not likely to be rooted in wyrd and orlog, nor dealt out to us by the Norns as part of our path toward wisdom. Thus, I do not consider this kind of artificial ordeal as a true Heathen ordeal in the philosophical sense: an ordeal which is rooted in and arises out of orlog, and leads us toward the wisdom of the Norns.
Sometimes we may choose to go through a deliberate, ceremonial ordeal, a spiritual challenge to grow our Heathen might and main. This usually involves the imitation of some challenge that our Holy Ones have endured. Not using one hand for a period of time to temporarily imitate Tyr’s challenge is one example, or standing / sitting under (or ideally up in) a tree and fasting for a significant period of time while meditating on the runes is a way to imitate Odin’s challenge. A spiritual seeking for some dimly-seen spiritual goal would imitate Freya’s challenge of her search for Oðr, while working to mitigate danger and harm to others would imitate Frigg’s effort to save her son Baldr. For any of our Deities we can come up with a ceremonial ordeal, dedicated to them, to bring us closer to them and their wisdom. Our choice to engage in such a ceremonial ordeal would likely be the result of our own wyrd or orlog nudging us in that direction. It is certainly not a requirement for Heathen practice, however; it’s just a choice that some people may make.
All of these efforts, whether forced upon us or chosen by us, are things that we need to or choose to ‘deal with,’ and thereby develop our qualities of character such as courage, determination, patience, compassion, insight, devotion, spiritual discernment, or whatever qualities are called for in that situation. Calling on the Norns, Tyr / Tiw, and our other Holy Ones can help us perceive the deeper meaning of the ordeal and its connection to our orlog, whether the ordeal is forced upon us or whether we choose it, and help us face it with courage, strength, and wisdom.
We may also, at some point in our life, choose to enter a situation or take up a task that is truly daunting, challenging, perhaps dangerous or life-changing, involving real personal sacrifice—a true ordeal—for some overwhelmingly good reason or to support a cause we believe in with all our heart. This is another type of ordeal that we may choose for ourselves—one that grows out of the values and meaningfulness of the layers of orlog that we and the Norns have laid during our life.
Another type of voluntary ordeal is the initiatory ceremony or ordeal, which should be done with respect for the worth of human life and dignity, and respect for dedicated effort, rather than being an exercise in abuse and degradation. An ordeal of initiation is, in fact, a way of weaving a person into the orlog of the group, organization, or practice (such as an esoteric path) that the person wants to join or follow. The initiation ceremony or ordeal should reflect the values of the group or practice, giving the neophyte a sense of what that group stands for, or what the practice involves. It involves more than just joining a group: what the neophyte is doing, during initiation, is joining their orlog with the orlog of the group.
For this reason, it’s important to think carefully about the group or the practice beforehand: do you want to be part of their orlog? Is it a good match with your own orlog and your values—will it support you in laying good orlog in your life, and help you express and live your values? Or will your membership end up being a source of constant inner conflict between your values, your orlog, and those of the group or practice?
Considering an initiatory ordeal, before agreeing to undertake it, is the time to ask oneself these important questions. If the ordeal involves abuse and degrading behavior, it’s reasonable to ask: are these actions and experiences layers that I want to lay in my own orlog, and do I want to join with people and a group that is shaped and represented by these actions? An initiatory ordeal is a significant, orlog-influencing event, likely to be laid in the Well, and should be approached with serious thought and intent.
Heroes of our own Time
The Heathen attitude toward orlog and wyrd in the form of necessity or challenging circumstances is neither to collapse under it, nor to try to flee it. Instead, we can use it as a foil or a ‘worthy opponent,’ to demonstrate our own essential qualities, our uniqueness and our power, our own moral choices, as we face the pressures of necessity. Thus, orlog shapes our path, and our path in turn shapes orlog.
In this way, we orient ourselves to a Heathen path of strength, wisdom and resilience, willing and able to face the ordeals that orlog deals out to us and use them to grow our might and main. In this way, we each become heroes: in our own unique ways, on our own unique path of life.
Note: This article is included in my book Orlog Yesterday and Today: The Shapings of the Norns.
Book-Hoard
Winterbourne, Anthony. When the Norns have Spoken: Time and Fate in Germanic Paganism. Associated University Presses, 2004.