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Sif
The wife of Thor the Thunderer! Sif is present in only a small portion of lore, and we do not know much about her. It is unknown whence she came, or what happens to her. Today we shall find out what we can about her, but be warned it may not be too much. "In Norse mythology Thor, the god of thunder is the most end uring and famous of the old gods. The son of the All Father Odin and the Earth giantess Jord, much is written in the Viking myth about the storm lord and protector of humanity. His wife, Sif, isn't mentioned much in the heathen mythology but what little we have seen about her is very suggestive of her standing in the order of the Aesir.
There isn't an origin given for where Sif comes from in Norse mythology, but she is described as very beautiful, with long golden hair that is often compared to the harvest of wheat. Perhaps the biggest mention of Sif is when her hair is cut by Loki (the trickster god).
Devastated by the loss of her locks, Sif was inconsolable, which sent Thor into a mighty rage. To save his own skin Loki convinced the dwarves to make new, golden hair for Sif that would grow, in addition to other great treasures of
the Norse gods like Odin's spear Gungnir and Thor's hammer Mjollnir.
Though she isn't associated with fertility the way that Freya is in Norse myth, Sif is a fertility goddess. It's traditional in all pagan faiths, from the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, up through the Celts and even into modern day Wicca that a sky god (in this case Thor) is mated with an earth goddess to produce fertility. The lightning from the sky to the earth is a clear sign that Thor is reaching to his wife, and some myths suggest this might have been seen as a fertilization that would make the crops grow in the next season.
Though it isn't referenced, context allows us to assume that Sif is a shield maiden and a warrior. because let's face it, married to Thor you'd better be. She has a son Uller which was not fathered by Thor, and she is not the mother of Thor's sons Modi and Magni. Incidentally those two boys were born of the union between Thor and the giantess Jarnsaxa, or Iarnsaxa. The two did have a daughter, Thrud, who was one of the Valkyries.
Though Sif isn't mentioned much in the Asatru faith, the fact that she has such prominent placing of the few myths that do involve her, and her connection to important personas among the Aesir, says that her responsibilities are quite serious even if there aren't odes and sagas about them. She is also a shining example of the equality of responsibility and strength that the Norse culture allowed to women, which would be repressive by today's standards, but by the standards of the time it was shocking the amount of leeway and equality that existed." (1)
Sif, besides being Thor's wife, is best known for her long flowing golden hair. It was said that it shown like gold itself, and in some cases even brighter. One day, while he was drunk, Loki snuck into Sif's room, and cut off all of her hair. This was possibly the worst thing that you could do to Sif. She was possibly more furious than her husband Thor. Thor was going to kill Loki, but Loki being Loki, got himself out of the mess by promising to replace Sif's hair with spun gold. But that is another story for a different "The Gods", in the end, Sif's lost hair was replaced with gold until it could grow back, and Loki was safe once again, for a time.
"In Norse mythology, Sif is a goddess associated with earth. Sif is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in the poetry of skalds. In both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, Sif is the wife of the god Thor and is known for her golden hair.
In the Prose Edda, Sif is named as the mother of the goddess Þrúðr by Thor and of Ullr with a father whose name is not recorded. The Prose Edda also recounts that Sif on ce had her hair shorn by Loki, and that Thor forced Loki to have a golden headpiece made for Sif, resulting in not only Sif's golden tresses but also five other objects for other gods.
Scholars have proposed that Sif's hair may represent fields of golden wheat, that she may be associated with fertility, family, wedlock and/or that she is connected to rowan, and that there may be an allusion to her role or possibly her name in the Old English poem Beowulf." (2)
Well, while some of the information is repeated, it is all good information and I hope that we have learned something today!
Hail Sif wife of Thor! Hail Sif!!!
Sources:
1: http://voices.yahoo.com/sif-more-than-just-thors-wife-7959948.html