Njord is a god from the Vanir tribe who is lord of the sea, in some ways the equivalent of the Greek deity Poseidon. He is famed as the father of Freya and Frey, the Lady and the Lord, the latter two perhaps being the two most prominent of the Vana-Gods who merged with the Aesir, or Asa-Gods, to collectively form the Asgardian tribe of deities. He is said (in some sources) to have sired the Lady and the Lord with the earth goddess Nerthus. He rules the waves and the wind and all other meteorological phenomena over the seas. He resides in a fantastic undersea palace called Noatun (i.e., 'Boat-Town'), and from there he controls every aspect of the sea, from its animal inhabitants--both biological and etheric--to its weather patterns. He also has ownership of all the vast treasures lost beneath the sea, which is why he can be called upon to metaphorically confer these treasures to his followers in the form of financial prosperity and continued job success, provided he is called upon regularly to reinforce this. He is also renowned for his great wisdom, and often called upon to enhance crop fertility due to his degree of control over the rain.
Njord was later married off to the giantess Skadi after the powerful winter deity demanded a wereguild (reparation) for the deities killing of her father. They offered her the choice of any of the non-married gods she wanted, but with the stipulation that she had to judge them solely by looking at their bare feet (I must admit that sometimes I do not understand the logic of deities!). Hoping to pick the handsome god Balder (this was prior to his marriage to Nanna) she instead accidentally picked Njord upon admiring his feet. However, the two were accustomed to living in very different environments (Njord under the sea, Skadi in the cold mountainous regions of Jotunheim), and though they initially compromised by agreeing to spend one half of the year in the others' domain, they eventually realized that they weren't happy during the portion of the year where they dwelt in the others' environs, so they ultimately became estranged.
I have worked on gaining a good rapport with Njord, as I have immense respect for him, and not only because he is the father of the Lady and the Lord. His wisdom is more than worthy of respect by mortals who greatly need an infusion of it themselves, and as such he is good to call upon for advice (which his reverents will acquire via their dreams). I have also asked him for help in improving my financial situation, and he has indeed responded to this, though not in a way that prevented me from having to work hard to achieve it myself; he grants opportunities, not free rides. Though I do not regularly sail upon the waves, I would never fail to call upon him for safe travel should I ever have reason to take a cruise upon the water.
