Salvete
The Moirai
Everyone should have thought about their lives once during their life, never to think that death may be around the corner of every room, street, etc… For the followers of the Olympian Gods, the Moirai are the ones who control our fates, our destinies so a closer look on these Goddesses is in order to be able to (try to) understand them better.
The Moirai are the Greek triple fate goddesses. They were directly associated with cloth making. This suggests that in earliest religion the life of an individual was like a cloth: the material (linen or wool) was spun (man was born), it was measured (a mortal's destiny was determined), and it was cut (death).
Their names were related to their function: Klotho ('spinner'), drew out the thread, Lachesis ('the alloter') measured their length, and Atropos ('inescapable' or 'irresistible') cut them off. The Moirai were variously depicted as three ugly old hags spinning thread or three women each in a different stage of life: maidenly Klotho, matronly Lachesis “ the Apportioner”, and Atropos the inevitable. They were closely associated with the phases of the moon: waxing, full, and waning equated to birth, life, and death.
Variations of this theme elsewhere in Greek mythology include the fate goddess Rhapso ('Stitcher') who was, like Athena, a weaver. She was worshipped at Athens. This singular, perhaps triune, form of the Moirai was also found in the form of the goddess Moira. His account is given to us by Homeros who mentions only one Moirai. Hesiodos on the other hand mentions 3.
Homeros speaks of one Moirai, a single spinning goddess who is “strong”., “hard to endure” and “destroying”. The Moirai spin the days of our lives, one day of which inevitability becomes the day of death. Solely they decide the length of the yarn that they assign to each mortal; not even Zeus can influence their decisions. The only thing Zeus can do is to take his golden scales, mostly at noon and measure for example of two confronted opponents and find out who is doomed to die that day.
They do not always form a trinity. On a vase painting on the wedding of Thetis and Peleus, they were with four instead of with three.
At Delphi only two of them were worshipped: the Moirai of birth and the Moirai of death.
The Greeks also had the concept of 'guardian angels' for individuals. It was popularly believed that each individual had their own guardian spirit (more called Agathos- daimon or just daimone)- either one or two. In Scandinavia these were called dises ('spirits'), while in Rome men had their genii and women their juno.
The decisive moment in an individual's life was at birth. It was then that the Moirai would take control, shape and define the destinies of the newborn. The great moments of life, death, troubles, riches, homecoming, etc., were all spun at this time. Thus they were frequently seen as birth goddesses and invoked as such. Indeed, in Rome they were primarily seen as birth goddesses, called the Parcae, whose name is related to birthing. The Moirai appeared once more at weddings, where they spin once more. Hence baby showers and wedding gifts are customs that reflect the well-wishing people bring hopefully on behalf of the Fates. At the birth of a man, the Moirai spinned out the thread of his future life, followed his steps, and directed the consequences of his actions according to the counsel of the gods. It was not an inflexible fate; Zeus, if he chose, had the power of saving even those who were already on the point of being seized by their fate. The Fates did not abruptly interfere in human affairs but availed themselves of intermediate causes, and determined the lot of mortals not absolutely, but only conditionally, even man himself, in his freedom was allowed to exercise a certain influence upon them. As man's fate terminated at his death, the goddesses of fate become the goddesses of death, Moirai Thanatoio.
The Moirai were independent, at the helm of necessity, directed fate, and watched that the fate assigned to every being by eternal laws might take its course without obstruction; and Zeus, as well as the other gods and man, had to submit to them. They assigned to the Erinyes, who inflicted the punishment for evil deeds, their proper functions; and with them they directed fate according to the laws of necessity.