The anger of woman
Means pride and sorrow;
I shall have to burn thee[[281]]
Against sickness,
Heal thee and help thee,
Though I hate thee.
(Gudrúnarkvida, 11.)
“Gangleri said: ‘If the Nornir rule the fates of men, they deal them out very unevenly, for some have a happy and rich life, while others have little property or praise—some a long life, some a short one.’ Hár replied: ‘Good Nornir, and of good kindred, forecast a happy life; but when men have evil fates, the evil Nornir cause it’” (Gylfaginning, c. 15).
The water with which the Nornir watered the ash Yggdrasil was considered holy.
“Further it is told that the Nornir who live at Urd’s well take water out of it every day, and also the clay which lies round it, and pour it over the ash-tree that the branches may not dry up or grow rotten. This water is so holy that everything which comes into the well grows white like the film called skjall which lies next to the eggshell. The dew which falls thence on the earth is called honey-dew, and the bees feed on it. Two birds live in Urd’s well, called swans, and from them has sprung the kin of birds with this name” (Gylfaginning, c. 16).