My favourite constellation is a pair of stars identified in the ancient world by the Nords, who named them the Eyes of Thjazi. This constellation is perhaps better known in modern times as Gemini, the Twins of the Zodiac, combining the stars Castor and Pollux. These two stars are matched in brightness and sit side by side, which is why they resemble a pair of eyes, and reach their peak in the sky in January. For this reason, they are associated with the winter goddess Skadi in the Nordic tradition. I’ve chosen this ancient and unique constellation for its simplicity, beauty, and the exciting tale which provides its namesake. Thjazi (sometimes anglicized as “Thiassi”) was a giant of Jotenheim in Norse mythology, and the father of the goddess Skadi. According to legend, he conspired with the …show more content…
His daughter Skadi was the goddess of winter and delighted in the thrill of the hunt. One fateful night, she decided to brave the untamed wild of Jotunheim to track the mighty stag Dvalinn, who nipped with his brothers at the branches of Yggdrasil, the World-Tree. Skadi ventured forth into the snow, unaware that the trickster god Loki of neighbouring Asgard was following her, intent on causing mischief. Skadi tracked Dvalinn into the tallest and most treacherous mountain passes, until she was within range with her bow. As she tensed for her shot, Loki – watching from afar – used his magic to conjure an illusion, making it seem as though Dvalinn had multiplied. Skadi was confused, thinking that the stag had been joined by his brothers, and in her confusion she loosed her arrow too early. The stags, real and imagined, scattered – and Skadi spent the next five hundred years lost in the frigid peaks of the mountain range, in pursuit of a quarry that always seemed to elude