Devotional and Research Site
Dedicated to the Goddess Sif for Prayers Answered
Why is the year 994 A.D. important?
This is the year that King Olaf Trygvesson, after having
brutalized King Ethelred's forces in England off the coast of Kent,
and while waiting for the gold and silver payments that was Ethelred's
payoff to stop the fighting, decided to go to a local fortune teller
he had heard about.
Said fortune teller was said to possess the gift of prophecy.
According to the book The Last Apocalpse - Europe at the
Year 1000 A.D. by James Reston, Jr. "Rowing off in a sea buck
to the hermit's rocky retreat, Olaf asked if the prophet could foresee Olaf's
futre. Would the [then] prince be successful in battle? Would he regain power
in the north?"
"The prophet replied that Olaf would be a great king and to prove that his
vision was correct the prophet told Olaf that he would suffer a mutiny among
his men and in the ensuing fight he would be wounded and carried to his ship
on his oblong shield. After seven days, he would recover and thereafter would
allow himself to be baptized a Christian."
What do you know? It happened just as the 'seer' said it would.
Why is this of any import? Because prior to 994 A.D. Europe was pagan
and after Olaf converted to the religion of the 'white christ'
he ruthlessly went about converting everyone else too on his way to
becoming King. In time the
old gods and goddesses that had been worshiped were forgotten
but because of the psychic energy given
to them via prayers and the invocation of their names before warriors
went into battle they are not gone but merely waiting to be called forth
again to help humanity.
Who is Sif?
The Rites of Odin by Ed Fitch, published in 1990 by Llewellyn
has this to say: "The Goddess who was consort to Thor, and who was
famed for her long, beautiful golden hair with which she preferred
to work her magic and her enchantments. She is patroness of harvests
and the comfortable wealth that comes from them."
The Cassell Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend by Andy
Orchard has this more lengthy description: "Mother of the archer-god
Ull and (apparently later) wife fo the god Thor and mother of Thrud.
Despite her evident closeness to the gods, she is a notable omission
from the lists of of goddesses or Asynjur given by the 13th Century
Icelander Snorri Sturluson. Sif appears in numerous poetic periphrases
or Kennings, usually with reference to either Thor or Ull, or in the
form of 'Sif's hair', evidently a kenning for gold. Snorri alone
explains the kenning, at first glance little more than a compliment to
a famous beauty, in literal terms, relating a tale of mischief of Loki,
and the ingenuity of the Black Elves:
Loki Laufeyarson, out of sheer malice, once cut off all of
Sif's hair, and when Thor heard of it, he grabbed Loki and was
about to break every bone in his body until he promised to have the
black elves make a head of hair for Sif from gold, one that would grow
like real hair.
The emotionally charged triangle of Sif, Loki and Thor is all the more
evident in the eddic poem Lokasenna, when Sif tries to placate
Loki in the midst of his malicious wrangling: "Then Sif approached, offered Loki mead from a crystal cup and
said: 'Hail now, Loki, accept this crystal cup, full of antique mead.
Better find one woman, among the AEsir's sons, who is without fault.'
He accepted the horn and drank it down: 'You'd be the one, if only
you were wary and cautious with men; but I know someone, it seems
to me, who made you unfaithful to Thor, and that one was
crafty-wise Loki."
And finally Northern Mysteries and Magick by Freya Aswynn and
published in 1998 by Llewellyn has this to say about Sif:
Sif, the second wife of Thor, is the lady with the corn-gold hair.
Some sources state that she has the gift of prophecy, although this
is not mentioned in the Eddas. From older Germanic sources it has
been stated that Sif is a swan maiden and can assume this form. Having
been married once to Orvandil, she can also be seen as one of the
Elder race of gods. Sif signifies summer Fertility and corn, hence
Loki's cutting of her hair is interpreted as a fire destroying a
corn field. Sifs name is cognate with the German sippe,
meaning "kith and kin." From this we may assume that, like
Frigga, Sif is a goddess associated with peace and friendship in a
happy family, and with conjugal fidelity. Runes compatible with
sif are Berkana and Inguz.
What She May Look Like
Here are two images: One is a picture drawing that accompanied
the description of Sif in The Rites of Odin. The other
is what I think she would look like in technicolor. The
full color picture was found in a past issue of
the magazine Southwest Art. I didn't save the title of this
painting or the artists name.
What Was My Purpose In Making This Website to Honor the Goddess Sif?
To re-introduce her to to the world. To help lift the veil between
the worlds of past and present. To let those people seeking knowledge of
the ancient ones that helped mankind in the beginning of the world, have
a source of reference. The Goddess Sif wants it to be known that she and the other
gods and goddesses are still entwined with the energy of this planet,
and would like to play
a bigger part in the course of future human events by helping those that
seek her out in prayer and meditation but most of all to not be forgotten again
in the next millenium.
The Goddess Sif has intervened on my behalf on no less than 3 occassions.
For this I make a pilgrimage to Norway to step on the
land that was once her and the other Norwegian gods' domain and pay tribute
to the past, the present, and the future.
I respectfully dedicate this site in honor of the Goddess Sif.
