{"id":10126,"date":"2014-09-01T01:10:37","date_gmt":"2014-09-01T06:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=10485"},"modified":"2014-08-22T14:27:04","modified_gmt":"2014-08-22T19:27:04","slug":"tink-about-it-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2014\/09\/01\/tink-about-it-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Tink about It"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ska\u00f0i<\/strong><\/p>\n

For years I heard people talk about patron gods and goddesses. Some just chose one they liked, others were \u2018called\u2019 by the deity itself. The first didn\u2019t feel right to me, although I had several gods and goddesses I was attracted too. But \u2018being called\u2019 sounded a bit strange. What did they mean with that? When, why, how? I didn\u2019t really get it and very few had a clear story about how it works. It seemed to be hard to explain\u2026<\/p>\n

When I met my second power animal, a polar bear, in a meditation it was handed to me by a woman. At the time I didn\u2019t really pay attention to her as I was very excited to get to know my new power animal. Somehow though, the woman settled herself somewhere in the back of my mind. In the weeks and months after this happened she slipped into my dreams, meditations, shamanic journeys and even in my daily life. Sometimes I saw her, most of the time I felt her. I just knew she was there. I had heard about a Norse goddess called Skadi, but I didn\u2019t make the connection yet between her and this mysterious woman that decided to occupy my mind.
\nI decided to do a journey in which I asked my polar bear friend to bring me to her. We walked through a magnificent landscape with snowy mountains and finally arrived in a cave or hall of ice. The woman was sitting in front of a fire and a roasting spit. I assumed she killed the animal on the spit herself; her bow and arrows are lying next to her. She first welcomes my polar bear and only then she invites me with a gesture to sit down. I spent quite some time there, mostly listening, sometimes answering questions. She was friendly enough, but I still felt a bit intimidated. She radiated strength and a strong sense of authority. When she indicated it was time to leave, she gave me her symbol: a silvery white snow crystal. I thanked her and left.
\nAfter this journey it was clear to me that she had chosen me, \u2018called\u2019 me if you will. My first task was to find out all I can about her. Still a work in progress but I\u2019ll share some of what I found here.<\/p>\n

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\"Skadi\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Ska\u00f0i is one of the lesser known goddesses of the Norse Pantheon. She is the goddess of winter, snow, ice, cold, skiing and hunting. She is often depicted on ski\u2019s with a hunting bow, accompanied by a snow animal (polar bear, white wolf, arctic fox). Her colours are white and icy blue.
\nContrary to a goddess like for example Freya there is not a lot to be found about Ska\u00f0i in the Edda\u2019s and\/or other texts from that era. The name Scandinavia is said to be derived from her name, meaning \u2018Ska\u00f0i\u2019s island\u2019. Etymologically her name is related to \u2018skathi\u2019, an Old Norse noun meaning \u2018harm, damage\u2019, the Dutch word is \u2018schade\u2019 which could point to the destructive power of snow and ice. Sometimes Ska\u00f0i is referred to as \u00d6ndurgu\u00f0 (Old Norse \u2018ski god\u2019) and \u00d6ndurd\u00eds (Old Norse \u2018ski d\u00eds\u2019, often translated as \u2018lady\u2019).<\/p>\n

Not everyone agrees on calling her a goddess. She is the daughter of the Jotun (ice giant) Thiazi. When the Aesir (clan of gods) kill her father, she leaves Jotunheim (world of the ice giants) and travels to Asgard (realm of the Aesir) to avenge this heinous act. The Aesir fear the destructive powers of winter and convince her to refrain from revenge. She agrees, but demands two things in return. First the gods have to make her laugh, because she hasn\u2019t been able to laugh since her father died. Then Loki ties the end of a rope to his testicles and the other end to a goat. When the goat starts to walk, Loki\u2019s face grimaced from the pain and Ska\u00f0i laughs out loud. Her second demand is to marry one of the gods. Odin agrees, but determines she can only see the gods\u2019 feet to choose from. She chooses the most beautiful feet, thinking it must be Balder. However, they belong to Njord, the sea god. The marriage isn\u2019t very successful. They eventually split up because Njord can\u2019t get used to living in the mountains and Ska\u00f0i hates the sea.
\nAccording to the Heimskringla (a collection of Norse kings\u2019sagas) Ska\u00f0i later married Odin, and they had many children together. She also has connections to Loki. In the poem Lokasenna (Poetic Edda) she places a venomous serpent right above Loki\u2019s face, he can\u2019t get away from it, because he is bound. His wife tries to catch the venom in a bowl, but when she has to empty it, the venom drips on Loki\u2019s face, causing a lot of pain and his fury.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s more, but that\u2019s too much for a column. More sources and info are always welcome though, tips of books\/websites\/etc. are much appreciated.
\nI made a Pinterest album to collect images and artistic impressions of Ska\u00f0i: http:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/tinknl\/deity-skadi\/ <\/a><\/p>\n

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