had it all wrong lo these many centuries.
We’ve been depicting the Fates also known as the Moirai, as crones, when in fact they were crows! In Greek mythology, crows were either tricksters or harbingers of death. Thus, I thought it appropriate I use this bird in my design. There were three crows who measured out a human’s life: Clotho, the spinner of the thread of life; Lachesis who measured the thread; and Atropos who cut the thread. In addition, my crow Atropos was born without eyes -- she never knows whose thread or where in that human’s life she is cutting. The cutting is done without malice – it is just a task that has to be done. The scene in my design is the last act – the cutting of the thread of life. I imagine the thread of life to be a rainbow of bright colors rather than a single colorless thread. And the name of the design? Emily Dickinson wrote, "Hope is the thing with feathers." I always thought it was a beautiful sentiment.