Goodfather Njord
Njord is perhaps best known in
the lore as the father of Frey and Freya and as the husband of Skadhi. It is
known that He was Lord of the Vanir and that in order to end the terrible war
between the Aesir and Vanir, he agreed to come to Asgard as a hostage. It is
through this action, more than any other, that some devotees have come to honor
Him as a God of diplomacy and right action. Surely He is a canny diplomat,
ruling as He does with relative freedom from the enclave of the Vanir’s
one-time enemy. He again played the peacemaker when He married Skadhi, after
She came seeking vengeance of the Aesir for the death of Her father.
Of course, He is far, far more than that. Njord is God of the shipyard and His hall is called Noatun, which means ‘ship-yard.’ From His hands blessings flow: blessing of wealth drawn from the sea. He most especially governs those places where civilization meets the sea and prospers from it. His sacred places are beaches and boats, tidal pools and piers. Because He governs what is given by the sea, I have known many Heathens who have hailed Him as a God of fair commerce and trade. Certainly in my own interactions with Him, I have experienced Njord as a well-tempered God of remarkable equanimity. However, more than any other aspect of His nature, it’s Njord the Father that I most often experience, being as I am a devotee of Sigyn.
In fact, that was how I first came to have any kind of relationship at all with Him. Loki told me a story once, which I have passed onto Raven Kaldera for his “Jotunbok,” about His own first meeting with Sigyn. Through that tale, I was given to know that Sigyn was a foundling, who’d been taken in and raised by Njord. Shortly thereafter, while visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium, I received an image from Sigyn: Sigyn as a little girl kneeling by a tidal pool, Njord bending over her, hand out-stretched holding a starfish, as he explained the ways of the sea to Her. I saw a little finger reach out to pat the starfish and saw Njord’s fatherly smile, and from that moment on I loved Him. Whatever else He may be to others, to me He is Sigyn’s Foster-Father, the one who loved and cherished and took care of a Goddess I love beyond breath. Nothing more for me was needed than that.
Of course, I also love Frey and have a respectful relationship with Freya, but even there it was easiest for me to connect to Njord as Their Father. It’s often seemed to me that whereas Frey takes after His mother Nerthus with His love of and connection to the land, Freya takes after Her father in Her love of the sea. I often see Her as a young Freya—not a child, but a young woman—walking with Him on the beach. I honor Them both often on the seashore for that reason. I connect best to Freya when I reach out to Her through Njord, just as I first reached Him through Sigyn.
In thinking of Njord, it seems to me that He is a God in whom might and gentleness are equally coupled. I maintain a small shrine to Him (as I also do to Freya, Frey and Gerda) and make offerings to Him regularly whenever I visit the ocean, which is usually every six weeks or so. I make a conscious effort to reach out to Him regularly, to maintain the connection of love and affection that Sigyn so deftly seems to have wrought. Perhaps even more than a God of diplomacy and negotiation, He may be a God of filial and family love, for it seems that in loving and honoring one of His children, I have been led into devotions to all. I bring Him regular gifts of ale, shells and things that I find on the beach, of ocean water and salt, of a compass, music (especially “Fully Rigged” by Aly Bain and Ale Möller), old coins, images of ships and of the sea. At least once a year I take His image—carved out of wood that was once the mast of a ship—to the shore to anoint it with ocean water. Through it all, Njord has become an essential and integral part of my devotional life and above all else, I am grateful.