The Darkest Days – Skaði

There is always a nervous energy coursing through me whenever I start a new project. Even more so on this occasion because it has been. so. god. damn. long. since I have done an actual project with actual deadlines and actual goals. And because today I was challenging myself to capture the ‘essence’ of a goddess to whom I feel a compelling connection.

I’ve been doing much research on Skaði the Norse giant goddess of Winter, and the more I read about her, the more excited, revitalized and curious I become.

Also known as the ‘Snowshoe Goddess,’ ‘The Sister of Wolves,’ and ‘Ancient Mother of The North,’ Skaði is a bringer of cold, winter and death. Her other titles include ‘She Who Causes Harm,’ ‘Scathing One’ and ‘Dark One.’ She turns her face away from the sun and dwells in the mountains where the snow never melts. Skaði is a lover of the cold wind, the wolf’s howl and the forest hunt. One fascinating perspective that I found was on Meadhall.com where it said that Skaði ’embodies the sense of dangerous otherness that pervades the winter landscape.’ Another invaluable resource in my research was the work of Arctic Witch Freyia Norling who made a staggeringly insightful YouTube video about how to connect with Skaði which I’ll link below. Norling said Skaði is ‘a goddess of otherness’ and when we work with her we ‘walk into the twilight spaces.’

I spent much of the day with my camera, trying to capture what Norling calls her ‘beyondness.’ I knew it was going to be a challenge, but I didn’t imagine quite how challenging it would be. However, I harnessed some of the courage she’s renowned for and kept on until something was crafted that I felt embodied her uniqueness.