Ásatrú Utah

Old Norse Skaði, variant Skade

Frequently referred to as the goddess of skis or snow shoes, she travelled on skis, carried a bow, and hunted. She was the daughter of the giant Thiazi [Old Norse Þjázi, variant Thiassi].

Thiazi was the son of a very rich giant named Alvaldi [Olvaldi]. When Alvaldi died Thiazi and his brothers Idi and Gang divided their inheritance by each taking a large mouthful of gold.

After Thiazi was killed by the Aesir as related in the section on Idun, Skadi took up arms and went to Asgard for vengence. The Aesir offered her compensation for the death of her father - she was allowed to choose a husband from among the gods.

There was only one small catch, she had to pick her new husband based only on the appearance of his feet. She picked Njord by mistake, assuming the best looking feet must have belonged to the god Balder.

As further compensation Skadi demanded that one of the Aesir make her laugh. Hence, Loki tied one end of a rope around the beard of a goat and the other end of the rope around his testicles, he then pulled on the rope making both the goat and himself bellow.

As a final form of appeasement Snorri tells us that Odin threw Thiazi's eyes into the sky turning them into stars. This contradicts a passage in the Poetic Edda in Hárbarzljóð which has Thor claiming to have been the one to kill Thiazi and fling his eyes into the sky.

After their marriage, Njord and Skadi could not agree on where to live so they took turns going to Thrymheim (Skadi's abode after Thiazi's death) in the mountains for nine nights and then Noatun on the shore for nine nights. Skadi didn't like Njord's home, and he didn't like her's, so they split up.

From the Ynglinga Saga we learn that after Skadi left Njord she became involved with Odin and had numerous sons by him, one being Saeming who is also listed in the Prose Edda as a son of Odin. However, in the preface to Heimskringla Snorri writes "Eyvind Skaldaspiller also reckoned up the ancestors of Earl Hakon the Great in a poem called 'Haleygjatal', composed about Hakon; and therein he mentions Saeming, a son of Yngvefrey."

The last thing we know about Skadi is that she was the one who positioned the venomous snake over Loki's head after the Aesir bound him.