Winifred Hodge Rose
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.
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.
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 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: a Heathen ordeal which must be rooted in and arise out of orlog, and lead us toward the wisdom of the Norns.
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 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. 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.
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.
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.
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.