Skadi

Heather, here is Skadi. The goddess for whom Scandinavia is named dwells high in the snow-covered mountains; where she is the Goddess of snow, of skiing and of the avalanche.

When the gods caused the death of her father Thjassi, Skadi armed herself and traveled to their home at Asgard, intent on vengeance. It is significant that even alone, Skadi was more than a match for the gods, and they were forced to make peace with her. Skadi demanded two things: that the gods make her laugh and that she be allowed to choose a mate from among them. The first condition was accomplished by the trickster Loki, who tied his own testicles to the beard of a billy goat. There was a fast and furious contest of screeching, until the rope snapped and Loki landed, screaming with pain, on Skadi's knee. She laughed.

Next, all the gods lined up so that Skadi could choose a husband. At the last minute, however, the gods threw a little snag in the plan and Skadi’s eyes were covered. But! She could see out of her blindfold and could still see the gods feet. Accordingly, she chose the one with the best looking feet, assuming that it would be the beautiful Balder. When she removed her mask she found than instead of Balder, she had chosen Njord, the sea god. So Skadi went off to live in the god's ocean home.

She was miserable there. "I couldn't sleep a wink on the bed of the sea," Skadi says in a famous eddic poem, "for the calling of gulls and mews." So Skadi and Njord went back to Thrymheim, Skadi's mountain palace, but the water god was as unhappy there as Skadi had been in the water. Thereupon they agreed on an equitable dissolution, and Skadi took a new mate, who suited her better: Ullr, the god of skis.

Skadi is often in the aspect of one of the Norse norns. This is similar to the tradition in the occident of the Three Sisters--formally known in Hellenistic lore as the Three Fates, spinning, measuring and cutting. In
other non-Hellenist, and certainly in many local instances, the
Three Sisters were referred to by different names. Sometimes the
Grey Ones, sometimes the Sweet Ones. In some instances it becomes clear that these were local goddesses who never made it to Olympic status, but were still taken quite seriously in their particular region. In others, it seems that these were human priestesses who bore the titles of the Sisters, and carried out those functions.

The most well known Norse norns are Urd (that which was), Verdandi (that which is becoming) and Skuld (that which may be). Skadi, a goddess of shadow, is often accepted as an incarnation of the norn of the future, Skuld or Skulda. From Skadi, most obviously came “Scandinavia” which is, “the land of Skadi.” From ‘Skadi’ the Gothic ‘skadus’, could also have been derived, the Modern German ‘schatten’, the Old English ‘sceadu,’ the Old Norse ‘skuggi,’ and hence the modern English ‘shadow.’ Skadi is also similar in sound to Shakti, the Hindu soul goddess. Skadi is the Inspiration Soul without whom the cosmos becomes staid.

As a goddess of shadow, Skadi is said to be "Inscrutable", which is
directly connected with the shadow motif. She is often reported to wear a dark hood that hides her face, so one never can quite tell what her expression is, which goes to show that one never can really get a handle on her mission or motives.

In keeping with a tradition of new mythos, I have stepped away from some of the traditional interpretations of Skadi and let her become. I have painted her both hooded and completely unhooded, showing her face to the world. I have painted her as all three fates. Here are two paintings, both show Skadi as a “weaver’ one with a loom, the other with a distaff. In one she is hooded, in the other she is not.

Heather, you may remember Skadi from my short story “Walk With the Betrayer.” In this story Skadi deals with her traditional concerns: mountains, wilderness, winter, revenge, knowledge, damage, justice, independence. She also, however, comes away wearing an almost human face.