By investigating women's special skills related to goddess cults together with legends and popular traditions, the author explores the importance of the goddess as a subject for study today.While much work has been done on godesses of the ancient world and the male gods of pre-Christian Scandinavia, the northern goddesses have been largely neglected. Roles of the Northern Goddess presents a highly readable study of the worship of these goddesses by men and women. With its use of evidence from early literature, popular tradition, legend and archaeology, this book investigates the role of the early hunting goddess and the local goddesses who were involved in all apects of the household and the farm. What emerges is that the goddess was both benevolent and destructive, a poweful figure closely connected with birth and death and with the destiny of individuals.