Skadi ♐️ The Sagittarian Winter Huntress

Her name is so often spoken in circles of those who follow the Norse pantheon.  But she is one goddess whose nature is really not as well known as Freya, Idunn, Frigg, and the Norns.  Skadi (“SKAHD-ee”) carries a story which is still important to the very lands with which she appears to share part of her name - Scandinavia - the names may well be related, but whether Skadi lent her name to the land-mass or vice versa is uncertain.  Her most often-mentioned attributes are her skis, her snowshoes, and her bow - for she is an avid huntress; hence why I have felt that, along with her name being so close to "Banshee", her aspect as huntress was a prime reason to see her in the position of Sagitarrius, in my zodiacal goddess calendar.

As well as being a Giantess, one of the Jotunn race, Skadi also embodies the Mountain Woman archetype, living in the highest reaches of the mountains, where the snow never melts.  So of course, this means that she embodies ages-old traditions, which have been integral to surviving in such climates.  Most of the Jotunn represented forces of darkness and death, as well as the cold.  But Skadi seems to have been viewed as a more benevolent member of their race.  It seems she was especially considered a patroness of winter subsistence activities.

In particular, I believe that Skadi asks all of us, ahead of the longest night and the height of winter, to consider those things that we wish to hold on to, and those we need to let go of.

Njord, a Vanir who ruled Nóatún (“The Place of Ships”), was once married to Skadi.  But he found the cold and dreary surroundings intolerable, when he moved there to live with Skadi.  He missed Nóatún, but Skadi could not move there.  So much light and noise was anathema to her.  The two agreed to part ways.  This is an example in Norse mythology, that shows not all marriages and bonds of romance are perfect, but not all must end in abject tragedy.  Skadi knew what she must let go of.  She understood that her and Njord were stronger apart, than they were together.  Sometimes this must also be the impetus of those things with which we choose to part - and making that choice is a strength, not a weakness.

The idea of choosing what to hold on to, also bears its own importance with Skadi.  Her father Thiazi was killed by the Aesir, in their war with the Jotunn. It was expected that after this, Skadi would never laugh again.  The Aesir knew at least, how important it was that Skadi should be able to hold on to her laughter - they pledged to bring that laughter back to her.  Loki undertook this task.  And of all the things to do, in the name of comedy, he decided to tie his scrotum to the beard of a goat, and upon startling it into a dash caused both himself and the goat immense pain.  Somehow, this did succeed in making Skadi laugh.  So at least this was a recompense of war which fulfilled her, even if a choice of husband was not.

Skadi has a strong connection with wolves.  Aside from Odin's companions of Geri and Freki, Skadi is perhaps the only Norse deity to have much connection of her own with wolf companions, as they often accompany her on her hunts.  The alpha of her wolf companions is named Kaldr.  But there is little else known about her connection with wolves.  The idea that they would make good hunting companions in the cold mountains is perfectly reasonable, of course!

As has so often been an unfortunate pattern with a lot of my posts, this honouring of Skadi has arrived a bit late, for her zodiacal month of Sagittarius.  But the sun is just resting, in its journey to head into Capricorn.  That is, after all, what "solstice" means - it is a stopping point, on the sun's journey.  The axial tilt of the Earth turns back so slowly, that this point of the year, at either side of the planet, the sunrise and sunset remain apart for the same amount of time, for the next few days.  And winter solstice especially feels like a time of considerable pause. 

So take this time, as and when you can, in the run up to Christmas Eve, when that pause and that solstice truly ends, and the sun's journey in the northern hemisphere truly begins to lengthen, to consider what you need to hold on to, and what it is time to let go of.  

The time truly is now.  

The new solar year truly is beginning.