On the third night after birth, in the mother's room, the table is set with bread, salt, wine, a candle and a few strands of hemp — while the mother sleeps with one eye closed and the other open. These are the Ursitoare who come «on the wind» to spin the thread of the baby's life: whatever they decree, so it will be.
Who the three Ursitoare are
The first spins the thread of life (how long it will be), the second measures (what trials it will bring), and the third cuts (when and how it ends). Some versions call them the «White Ursitoare» or place them under God's authority; others leave them «wild», in forests and on bridges. What all versions share is this: destiny is spun only once — and it can be undone only through a «payment» properly made.
The table ritual (urdia)
- the table is set facing east, with bread, salt, wine, water and apples;
- it is left «closed» for a while — the room stays quiet, without music or quarrelling;
- the elderly woman speaks the welcoming formula: «Welcome, Ursitoare»;
- in the morning, what has been «touched» is given as alms or thrown into running water;
- no one «boasts» about the gift received — a destiny kept secret works better.
What gifts they give (and what they ask for)
The good gifts: health, luck, a «merciful hand», beauty and a «husband from God». The gift «requested»: the Ursitoare may ask for quiet, respect for the dead and «not to seize the child by the head». According to tradition, families who have not prepared the table risk «bad» destinies — hence the grandparents' meticulous care.
Ursitoare, Moirai, Parcae — the same nature
The Greeks had the Moirai, the Romans the Parcae, the Slavs have the Rodanite, and the Romanians the Ursitoare — from the verb a ura, «to wish (a blessing)». The structure is identical: three women, one thread, one fate. Christianity did not drive them away: it «baptised» them in the sanctified days after birth and placed them alongside the prayer for the mother.
Frequently asked questions
Is the ritual still performed today? Yes — discreetly, in many families. The mother prepares the table, even if she says it is «just for form's sake». Forms remember: and the memory of a tradition is itself a form of continuity.
Can I «change» what was decreed for me? Tradition says that a destiny can be «softened» (through almsgiving and observing feast days), but not overturned. Christian faith adds that prayer changes even fate — «all things are possible to the one who believes».
