Who was skadi?

Rhonda Tharp

Active Member
The Celto-Teutonic goddess in her destroyer aspect. Like the Greek Persephone, "Destroyer," she was Queen of the Shades, Mother Death. Her name was the root of Gothic skadus, Old English sceadu, "shadow,shade." She was the Shadow into which all the gods went at doomsday. As Scotia, she was the Dark Goddess like Black Kali, the Caillech - after whom Scotland was named.

Like Kali, Skadi had to be propritiated each year with an outpouring of male blood in primitive sacrificial rites. her annual victim was assimilated to the god Loki, who became a "savior" by giving his blood to Skadi.

Freya was a dark twin of Freya therefore virtually indentical with the underground Goddess Hel. She was once all the Earth, birthgiver and devourer of her children. The entire land mass of Scandinavia was named after her. Originally it was Scadin-auja, the land of Skadi.

A variation of her name, Skuld, was given to the third of the three fates, or Norns, in the role of destroying Crone. She became the patroness of witches whose activities came to be called "skulduggery."

To the Celts, she was Scatha or Scath. Her underground realm of the dead was "the Land of Scath." Like Persephone's underworld within seven loops of the Styx, the Land of Scath was a city of seven walls. It was variously located under the earth, or in heaven or far away over the sea on a western island, the land of "Sky." CuChulainn and other Celtic heroes learned magic skill in martial arts from a visit to Queen Scatha's island of Skye. She kept the hero for a year and a day. When she had taught a man all she knew, she sent him back to earth a fey man, set apart and sacer fated to do great deeds and die a sacrificial death. The legend suggests that the real island of Skye was a cult center of the Goddess, and warriors went there to be initiated into their heroic profession.
 

Libros

Member
Scandinavia taking its name from Skadi is attributed to the jotun Skaði, the giant goddess of skiing, winter, and mountains.

From what source did you get the information about Skadi being equated with destruction? I've never heard of her being connected to the Scottish shadow figure Scáthach from the Ulster Cycle.

The Norse Skaði's name may be connected with the underworld according to one scholar, but she wasn't considered a bloodthirsty goddess who demanded sacrifices. The closest to death she comes is hunting animals.
 

Rhonda Tharp

Active Member
My source was Women's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, and I was wondering the same thing. I didn't know she had a destroyer aspect/shadow identity.
 

Libros

Member
Ahh, I see.

Well, from a purely historical perspective, Skadi the winter goddess and Scathach the warrior goddess are completely separate figures with no relation to each other. Despite her name possibly linking to the word shadow, Skadi is quite a benign figure with no destroyer aspect or shadow identity. As one of the jötunn, the giant race of nature spirits, she was a friendly rival of the Aesir, even serving to help punish Loki when his tricks got out of hand. She is not Freyja's "dark twin," even the Eddas and sagas attest to the gods offering her atonement in selecting one of them to marry after they killed her father.

I believe the author gave Skadi these deathly attributes when equating her with Scáthach in her interpretation of them. It may be because both are fighting goddesses, but that's the limit of their connection.

In fact, I don't think Scáthach was a bloodthirsty figure either. She's well remembered as Cu Chulainn's mentor, but someone admired, not feared. The author may further be conflating her with other war goddesses such as Nemain, the frenzied havoc of war that turns brothers against each other, in her role as one of the triple aspects of the Morrigan.
 

LegendofJoe

Active Member
I remember the story of Skadi from her myth. She was a giantess who demanded tribute for the death of her father that was caused by the gods.
They decided to let her marry one of the gods, but she could only choose which one by looking at their feet. She chose who she thought was Balder, but those beautiful feet belonged to Niord; a sea god.
The marriage did not last: she hated the seashore and moved back to the cold mountains. She is last depicted in the story with her skies.
I always thought of her as being a goddess associated with winter, and with, er..um...skiing??
 

Rhonda Tharp

Active Member
Yeah, I read that one too. I remember the version I had said that her and Njord "compromised," she'd live with him for 3 months but he had to live with her for 9 months, thus explaining the retreat of winter for at least a little while.
 

chimera

New Member
Hi from new member,
The attributes of Skadi may relate to another PIE root,*skua "to cover, skin" then "to skin, to flay a hide, skewer it, scyth, secateurs, scissors" and so skua "roaming, diving sea bird," skye "clouds", maybe sceaxe "knife, sword of Saxons". Possibly Scythian. Skadi had a spear and covered the mountain snows on ski. Perhaps the Skadi-Njord story was about the 2 cultures mixing, the new Scythian steppe-tribes with the old Norse sea farers, and maybe even the Scot-Scythians moving on to Ireland with horse traditions from south Russia. Proto-rune writing has been excavated in Kazakhstan Scythian graves.
 
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