The Fates in Folklore | The Faeries and Folklore Podcast

Episode 27: Power Players of Faerie: The Fates

The folklore of the Fates in a nutshell, how I reimagined it for my writing, and the translation into Afrikaans.

Written and narrated by Ronel Janse van Vuuren.

Copyright 2022 Ronel Janse van Vuuren — All rights reserved.

Learn more about the Fates here.

Get the transcript here.

Music: Secrets by David Fesliyan (FesliyanStudios.com) and Dramatic Heartbeat by FesliyanStudios.com

Transcript

You’re listening to the Faeries and Folklore podcast by Ronel.

I’m dark fantasy author Ronel Janse van Vuuren. With nearly a decade of digging around in dusty folklore books, researching creatures of imagination that ignited my curiosity, I’m here to share the folklore in a nutshell and how I reimagined it for my writing in an origin of the fae.

This is the Faeries and Folklore podcast.

Hi, I’m your host Ronel Janse van Vuuren. You can just call me Ronel. In today’s episode, we’re continuing our exploration of the fae realm.

This episode is brought to you by my book Once… Tales, Myths and Legends of Faerie available in eBook, audiobook and paperback. Learn more at ronelthemythmaker.com/my-books.

We’re continuing our exploration of the power players of faerie.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this episode of the faeries and folklore podcast and that you’ve learned something new about faeries.

Today’s faery: The Fates

Folklore in a Nutshell by Ronel

The Norns, Moirae, Parcae, Hadas, Feés, or whatever you want to call them, the Fates are fate personified. They control the fate of gods and mankind. Usually the Fates are three women who are often portrayed as spinning and cutting the skein of life. The triune figures can be found in Greek, Norse, Lappish, Indian and Irish myth under various names.

The Fates sometimes appear as an old woman (the past), a young woman (the present) and a veiled woman (the future) – though they can all look similar. Depending on the region, the Loom of Fate is woven with either thread or entrails.

And now for my interpretation of the fae in an origin of the fae: The Fates

The Fates rule the destinies of all Fae and Mankind. They also decide the fate of those not so easily classified. Even the Cù Sìth are wary of them.

They can take on any form. Sometimes they like to be seen as old crones sharing a single eye. Other times they are seen in the passing seasons of life: a young woman, a middle-aged woman and an old woman. They can also appear as formless, hooded entities. Whatever their appearance, they are to be feared and revered.

They have spools of thread made up of Time, Life, Disease, etc. that they use to weave tapestries.

For fun, they watch the reactions of those who believe that they have more power than others (like the Valkyries and the Furies).

As a little bonus, let’s look at the translation of Fates into Afrikaans: Skikgodinne.

Remember that you can get a transcript of this episode in the description. If you’re new to the podcast, why not go and grab your free copy of Unseen, the second book in the Faery Tales series, on my website ronelthemythmaker.com? Loads of folklore, magic and danger await! Take care!

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