Gods of Weather: Freyr, Skadi, and Thor Odinson

The Vikings held a deep faith in their gods. They believed that the gods were the controllers of the weather. This also meant Viking gods could either help them to produce a productive crop or to destroy them all.

In this blog post, we are to discuss who are the weather gods in Norse mythology and who the Vikings worshipped to help them with agriculture. 

Freyr God of Summer and Sunshine

Many historians believed that the Vikings did worship god Freyr many times in a year. Freyr was even held equal to Thor or Odin the Allfather for the power he embodied. 

Freyr came from tribe of Vanir gods which was more associated with nature.

He was the son of Njord the Vanir chief god (Odin was the Aesir chief god). Freyr was the god of summer, rain, and fertility. The Vikings believed that he would endow them with the productive crops and nice weather as long as they made appropriate sacrifice to him. 

Freyr and the Golden Boar

Skadi God of Winter and Snow

There was quite unclear whether Skadi was a goddess or a giantess. She was the daughter of the giant Thrym who desired Idunn Goddess of Youth in Asgard. But she is now considered a goddess of winter and snow. 

Whenever Skadi appeared, something would be frozen for she brought coldness to the atmosphere. Many scholars believed that the Vikings didn't prefer winter. Because in the winter, they could produce no crop which meant famine would happen. No one wanted to be starving.

Also, in the Viking belief, winter was something terrible because three consecutive winters would happen when Ragnarok was looming large on the horizon. One more cool thing is that "Scandinavia" word is believed to derive from "Skadi" name. 

Skadi Goddess of Winter

Thor God of Thunderstorm and Lightning

Thor was among the most important gods in Norse Pantheon. His parents were Odin the Allfather and Jord the giantess of Earth. His weapon was the Mjolnir hammer that was made by the dwarves the most talented craftsmen in Norse mythology. Every time Thor wielded his Mjolnir hammer, lightning would appear in the sky. 

Thor had a pair of goats to pull his chariot. Every time he crossed the sky, he would cause the sound of thunder to the world below. That's how the Vikings explained for the thunder sound from the sky above. Whenever it came the sound of thunder, Thor was crossing their sky.