The Norns spinning the thread of Destiny (by Arthur Rackham)
The Fates~
The Norns in Norse mythology are Goddesses who rule the destiny of Gods and men. The Norns spin the threads of fate at the foot of Yggdrasil, the tree of the world. Whereas the origin of the name norn is uncertain, it may derive from a word meaning “to twine” and which would refer to their twining the thread of fate. The Pagan Poppet