A Year of Goddesses: Skadi
An introduction to a Norse goddess whose demand for redress ended with Loki being dragged by his balls
So, at one point when I was over on my Medium blog, I started a series I was calling "A Year of Goddesses." I only managed to get two posts done, and then the pandemic started and somehow I seemed to have some different priorities for my blog. But the two entries that I did over there remain two of my most popular writings. So, I always wanted to come back to the series. At some point, I will publish here the other two entries.
But today we begin again. I want to take some time, every month for this year, to look at various aspects of the Divine Feminine, different goddesses. In this time where gender norms are being challenged, and where so many of my genderfluid, genderqueer, trans and other LGBTQ+ kin are under attack, I want to make one thing clear -- this exploration of the Divine Feminine isn't meant to be at the expense of other aspects of deity. It is but one facet of a much larger. many faceted gem, and one may gaze into many parts of this gem to gain wisdom. And we all deserve to see ourselves reflected in its divine light.
Okay, this time I mean it. Let's get this party started.....
Skadi, the Norse goddess of hunting and winter, was the first goddess that came to be part of my personal practice with deity, and part of my reverences for her include remembering that always.
There are some who dispute Skadi's place among Norse goddesses, based on the fact that she is a Jotun, not an Aesir or Vanir. That said, most accept it, particularly since the most detailed story about Skadi indicates that she married the god Njord, a Vanir who is the father of Freya and Freyr. For that reason she is accepted as an Asgardian deity.
But Skadi was not always so. She was born a Jotun, and the Jotuns are enemies of the Aesir. Her father, the Jotun, Thjazi, kidnapped the goddess Idunn, and was killed during Idunn's rescue by Loki. Skadi immediately put on her battle gear and stormed up to Asgard to demand recompense for the killing of her father.
The Asgardians, realizing that reparations to Skadi were in fact her due, negotiated with her. Skadi had two demands -- she wanted to marry Baldr, the most beautiful of all the gods of Asgard. Not willing to just force Baldr to marry someone against his will, the Asgardians suggested that she should choose from among all the gods of Asgard, but only by what she could tell from looking at their feet. Skadi agreed, but the whole deal would be off if the the Asgardians could not meet the second of her demands -- make her laugh.
So the gods of Asgard lined up behind a curtain, so that the only part of their bodies that was visible was their feet. Skadi paced and paced before the curtain, examining each pair of feet carefully. She reasoned that Baldr, being the most beautiful of the gods, would have the most beautiful feet. So she selected the most perfect, smooth, well-formed pair of feet. Those feet belonged not to Baldr, but to the god Njord, a god of the Vanir, who was a god of the sea, the wind and seafaring, and also the father of Freyr and Freya.
"All that is well," Skadi declared. "But I doubt that you will be able to gladden my sad heart enough that I will laugh."
The gods were at a loss. What could they possibly put before the icy goddess, so heartsick with grief for the loss of her father, that would possibly make her laugh? They wracked their brains, discarding one idea after another until finally, Loki's eyes lit up. "I know what to do!"
Loki turned to his fellows and said, "bring me a goat and a strong bit of string."
When the items were brought to Loki, he dropped his trousers, and tied one end of the string around his testicles. He then tied the other end of the string around the neck of the goat. The goat, confused, and somewhat angry, began to do what goats do -- run about, protest violently, jump and cavort around, all the while dragging Loki about (very painfully) by his balls.
And the more agitated the goat became, the more Loki was yanked about, and it was not long before Skadi burst out in laughter.
And thus the Jotun goddess was satisfied. She wed that day to Njord and the life debt of the Asgardians for Skadi's father was repaid.
I wish I could say Skadi and Njord lived happily ever after, but that was not to be. Skadi loved her snowy cold mountains too much to move into Njord's house by the sea, and Njord was too enamored of his home by the sea with the air filled with salt spray to join Skadi in the mountains. Though each found the other supremely agreeable, they ultimately opted to live apart from each other, and go their separate ways.
There is one source that says that Skadi later gave many sons to Odin, and may have been married to him. It's pretty common for norse goddesses to be paired with Odin at one point or another, so it's unclear how significant this might actually be in the grand scheme of Norse cosmology.
Call upon Skadi when you need strong hunting skills, or when you are facing a snowy and cold season, or when you need the cold clarity of assurance, or when you have been wronged and need satisfaction. Skadi is not, in my experience, a particularly warm or kind goddess. She is not a ready ally with soft words and bright blessings. Nor is Skadi particularly interested in being sucked up to, or inclined to make bargains with humans.
That said, making an offering of a dram of whiskey when a snowstorm is brewing is a pretty good idea. And seeking her company and counsel when you are grieving or feeling wronged can be helpful if you are are looking for a way to respond that is not soft or yielding. Skadi is not about vengefulness, however. She will not encourage you to take the low road, or operate outside the law. She will encourage you to seek redress with confidence and to ask for what you want clearly, but without being so unyielding that you cannot find satisfaction.
In my experience, Skadi doesn't work much in groups with other deities. I keep her shrine on a different shelf from every other deity from any other pantheon. And when I am engaging with her, it is a solo undertaking, meaning I group her with no other gods, Norse or otherwise. She seems to like it best that way.
Like most gods in the Norse pantheon, she likes offerings of drink, usually the hard liquor variety. (Most of the Norse deities in my temple room usually get bourbon or whiskey.) Symbols associated with Skadi include the bow and arrow and snowshoes or skis (of the cross country variety). Her colors tend to be those associated with winter -- white and silver. Some also add the color red.
As always, seek the goddess with respect and in earnest. Do your homework, and be intentional about the experience you are seeking. Be a person of your word, and be prepared to see your life changed.
Hail, Skadi!
Blessed Be.