The most striking feature of the Heathen warrior in our lore is their valiant acceptance of fate and destiny. They do not waste time lamenting their preordained lot by the Nornir; instead, they move forward with steadfast resolve, knowing that their ǫrlǫg guides them as it must. They do not merely endure it, they embrace it, embodying courage in the face of whatever may come. It is this acceptance that frees them from the fear of death or adversity, for their honor lies not in avoiding hardship, but in how they confront it. This is what it means to be a Herdrengr. It is this mindset that forged some of the greatest heroes the world has ever known, figures who stood unshaken in the face of fate and left legacies of unmatched valor and strength. In the Vǫlsungasaga ch. 32, the greatest of our heroes, Sígurðr Fáfnisbana, states:
And what was long since prophesied has now come to pass. I could never bring myself to believe it, but no one can fight against fate.
When Skírnir goes to woo Gerðr for Freyr, he makes a similar statement regarding fate:
Kostir ro betri
heldr en at klǫkkva sé,
hveim er fúss er fara;
einu dægri mér var aldr of skapaðr
ok allt líf of lagit.
The choices are better
than that one should be to whimper,
for the man who is eager to go;
to one day
my time alive was created
and my whole life laid down.
Fatalism refers to the idea that a set destination is written into the very fabric of reality, and that all things unfold according to a preordained design. To grasp the importance of fate in our faith, we must first acknowledge the various philosophical interpretations of Determinism and how it manifests in the cosmos. The view that best fits our Deterministic world-view is called Fatalism, but can also be called Predeterminism. Other forms of Determinism exist, such as Causal Determinism, Nomological Determinism, and Necessitarianism. However, there can be no doubt that we Heathens are absolutely Fatalists, and all records of our faith support this fact. Because of this, questions arise regarding the fate of men.
How can the Gods judge us if we are created by fate? What purpose does life have if we are merely automatons driven by an unseen force? These questions, while common, stem from a misunderstanding of Deterministic systems. For instance, the question of divine judgment assumes that the Gods rule over fate itself, which they do not. Only monotheist religions predispose themselves of such erroneous concepts, and damn their religion to the utmost of cruelties. This is why many churches rejected it in favor of the “free-will” argument, for a God that creates you to be evil, then judges you for being evil, and punishes you for his very creation, is beyond the realm of rationality and sanity. Nonetheless, the idea does exist amongst some churches and has Biblical support. Such an idea is called Predestination or Theological Determinism. Let us look at the proper definitions of both terms, so one can easily differentiate the two:
Fatalism: The view that human beings are powerless to do anything other than what they actually do. Included in this is the belief that humans have no power to influence the future or indeed the outcome of their own actions. The belief that events are decided by fate and are outside human control.
Predestination: The doctrine that proclaims there is a God who determines all that humans will do. This may be accomplished through either foreknowledge of their actions, achieved through omniscience or by predetermining their actions. A perfect example of Fatalism in our lore appears when the Gods attempt to save Baldr from his fate, yet fail. Even as Gods, they remain subject to destiny and cannot overcome it. They can learn of it, and at times a hint of Theological Determinism emerges: for instance, when Óðinn surrenders his eye into Mímir’s well, he gains foreknowledge that effectively becomes fate itself. Yet he does not cause events to happen; he merely knows they will. Monotheists call this “Weak Theological Determinism,” which asserts that if God (or in our case, a God) has perfect knowledge of the future, then that future is fixed: it happens because it is known. Even so, our Gods are themselves bound by fate and cannot escape it. When they judge human beings, they do so as subjects of fate, not as those who shape it.
They do all they can to save Baldr, yet cannot, and he meets his fate regardless. They knew this would happen, for it was foretold, and so it came to pass. The heroes of old accepted their destiny in the same spirit. They understood that fate was set, and thus it was their duty to ride into any conflict with the knowledge that whatever will come, shall come. This is the highest law, called ǫrlǫg, “The Original Law” or “The Primal Law.” It arises from the well of the Nornir, the Goddesses of Fate, who draw the threads of destiny, the ǫrlǫgþœttir, from Urðarbrunnr. This well is part of nature, as any natural well would be; thus fate itself is inseparable from nature. The Nornir measure out these threads (their name means “Measurer”), weaving them into the Web of Wyrd that spans the heavens. Yet they do not create the threads; they simply place them. These threads simply are. The best description of this weaving comes from Helgakviða Hundingsbana I, when Helgi (“The Holy One”) was born:
In Beowulf (line 455), we encounter the phrase Gæð a wyrd swa hio scel, rendered as “Fate (Wyrd, Uðr) always goes as she shall,” essentially “It is what it is.” The sentiment here is that one must accept fate as it unfolds. These words come from some of the greatest warriors who ever lived, yet they did not see themselves as mere pawns in an unfeeling machine, nor did they lament their lack of control over the cosmos. Instead, they acknowledged that fatmachinereal and tangible force and understood that they must take up their destined place within its web.
Excerpt from: Æfinlǫgr: The Book of Sedian Law: Puryear, Mark, Hrafnakonr, Aðakán Jamesarson: 9798307965320: Amazon.com: Books