Sif | Goddess of Hearthfire and Wife of Thor
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- čas přidán 27. 06. 2024
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Intro Assets by: / synje_grafx
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Further Reading
- Prose Edda - Snorri - Skaldskaparmal
- Njal's Saga
- Poetic Edda
- Valkyrie - The Women of the Viking World - Johanna Katrin Fridirksdottir
- Handbook on Norse Mythology - John Lindow
- Wind in the World Tree on Sif (Sibb): windintheworldtree.wordpress....
- Wind in the World Tree House Blessing Ritual: windintheworldtree.wordpress....
Further Videos
- Sif and Frigg as Fire Goddesses: • The Search for the Nor...
- Freyr as a Fertility God: • Yngvi Freyr | Guardian...
- Njordr as a Fertility God: • The Mysteries of Njord...
- On Thor: • Lets Discuss that God ...
- On the Mjolnir: • Why Do We Wear the Mjo...
- Reconstructing Ritual: • How to Write a Ritual ...
- Euhemerism: • Bias in the Sources fo...
music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio
00:00 - Intro
01:19 - The Prophetess - Snorri's Prologue
02:38 - The Hair of Sif - Kennings
03:42 - Hallgerdr The Hot & Difficult
05:11 - The Creation of the Golden Hair
06:34 - Accusations of Infidelity
07:38 - Praxis with Sif
It always amazes me how good you are at getting a solid video full of reasonable takes from limited sources. In this area you are absolutely unparalleled. 10/10 video mate.
I’m convinced Ocean managed to get a taste of the Mead of Poetry at some point.
"Fighting, farming, f@cking, and f@cking off" omg.... I died.
THAT'S the meaning of life, right there!😅
@@Facade953 Good old days!
Sif having less information about her always surprised me, since she is well loved today. Thank you for sifting through more info for deities that need light shone on them. :D
I live for the opening puns. This is a beautiful take on Sif, one I might have to explore more!
I may have one for you-Back when I was playing D&D, I once encountered an unusual group of antagonists. They were a quartet of Vikings mounted on lamas.
An artist from Denmark decided to see the Thor movie when it came out. She’d never read the comics, but she’d grown up with the original tales of the god Thor so she was excited to see a big budget American movie about him.
When she got home she posted how confused she was since about the only thing they’d gotten right was Thor’s name, if that.
I refuse to watch any Marvel BS about our old gods, I grew up with the tales too, and the comics and cartoon(s)…
Even a simple thing such as the hair color of Thor is wrong - and wrong in the worst stereotyping way!
well to be fair, the marvel Asgardian race are aliens and not deities.
I appreciate this video, I don’t see people talk about Sif very often. As one of the deities I work with the most, I always want more information about her, because I don’t want to rely too heavily on UPG. When I started practicing as a teenager, she was a great comfort to me as I lived in an abusive home.
There seems to be a common modern experience of seeing her as a protector within a home. Seeing Sif and Thor as both protection deities but in subtly different ways is a really cool take in my opinion. I hope you're doing well these days.
My first thought when you mentioned that gold is Sif's hair was of "Pele's Hair" -- a form of volcanic glass that is hair-like, and shimmers like gold in the sunlight. CZcams doesn't like links, but here's a couple of quotes from Wikipedia:
"The strands are created when molten lava is ejected into the air and form tiny droplets, which elongate perfectly straight. It usually forms in lava fountains, lava cascades, and vigorous lava flows" and " It can be found near other volcanoes around the world, for example in Nicaragua (Masaya), Italy (Etna), Ethiopia (Erta’ Ale), and Iceland, where it is known as nornahár"
*If* that is a link to Sif, that could explain a) how her new hair is forged in mountains by the dwarfs, and b) maybe be evidence of what Snorri was talking about when he referred to her as a Sybil (or, in Modern Icelandic, a 'witch'). Just a thought.
That's a really fascinating thought
Awesome video, Ocean. Agree entirely with your hearth interpretation. My UPG very much alligns with that, and as Sif as the quiet, strong, counterweight to Thor's storm. His centre. I also associate her with the disir, and almost an understated mirror to Thor as a protector.
Since Sif's hair is associated with wheat growing, and her hair could be considered her beauty, couldn't it be said that her beauty itself is connected to the growth of wheat?
This video is a puzzle piece i needed. I cleansed and moved my altar, gold kept popping into my hugr, a connection to Thor, and couldn't quite place what it was.
It is Sif!
Thank you for this video, Ocean!!
A hairy situation.
To Sif through!
Your puns are...golden.
People I follow are dropping lots of content about honoring deities with not a lot of lore lately and as somebody who honors a goddess mostly known for one event I am LIVING for it!
Sif almost definitely had another lover besides Thor because her son Ullr is noted as Thor’s stepson.
could be from a relationship previous to Thor as well. I'll look further into that though. That's a good observation.
@@OceanKeltoi i may be wrong but i think that Ullr is Sif and Loki's son. shaving her hair as proof that he bedded her and also that represents harvesting the fields. Ullr was sent away to be raised in the frozen mountains, he was a great skier and hunter and may actually represent the the melting snow during spring rushing down the mountains. Ullr was highly regarded and if i remember correctly sat on the throne of Asgard for a while, which is definitely a sign of respect for his godly status but also his lineage. i am not sure but i think i read somewhere that Sif may also be connected to the production of Mead (involving bees and honey ceremonies). i like the idea that she may be a hearth goddess which would fit in well with Thor also being a deity of marriage and fertility
I found your channel a few days ago in search for some deeper insight into Norse Mythology and I must say I am stunned. In the last few days, I listened to several myths previously unknown to me, got new perspectives on myths I already did know and stumbled across a living faith, that I find quite intriguing.
Tldr: Keep it up, I love your work.
Another inspiring video! I'm coming to Heathenry after a lengthy period of dedication to the Irish goddess Brigid who has strong hearth associations - I'm very here for the "Sif and Thor as agricultural caretakers" but the hearth and fire symbolism is very interesting too. Thank you Ocean!
This is so COOL!!! I felt an instant connection with Sif which is so fascinating to me because I’m very into Ancient Egyptian deities. Thank you so much for your invaluable contributions!!!!!!!
Síf itself is like Freyja ('the Lady') an OldNorse title and not a personal name. It originally referred to respected freeborn females (old and young alike) within an 'Aett' or clan. I wonder what Goddess she actually was, or that she represented any woman or girl in early medieval Norse society. Like Þór himself ('Sífiar Vér', 'The man of his Síf='protector') every able man in his clan was supposed to protect and honor his female kin, not because they had no means to protect themselves under the law, but because freeborn women represented the dignity, honor and - more important still - future of the Aett they were born into. A sacred task. An insult or transgression to a Síf, was an insult or attack on the entire clan and had to be avenged. In court or in battle. If no proper action was taken the entire Aett lost face and honor which had great consequences for all it's male members in society, as can be read in Sagas (like Brennu Njáls saga) where women goaded men into action or considered their male clanmembers as cowards. Maybe the Goddess Síf can teach us in our time to respect and honor the women in our lives for who they are and what they should truly mean to us men, as once was proper.
Wow, do you have a textual source for the above information?! I’d love to explore this further! I had no idea of that perspective where women represented the dignity of the clan, that is fascinating!!
Citation would be nice, yes.
Well said! Indeed,agreed!
hey, even I would like a citation on this. It's very interesting if true. I'd love to track down the info.
@@OceanKeltoi I'll dive in to the books, but Ocean, go to to real source: do an interview with Maria Kvilhaug. She is an authority on this subject. Look her up on facebook, CZcams. You won't be disappointed. Go for it. ;-)
I had a dream once where thor was helping sif by reading out the names of ppl to be married.
That's neat.
It’s amazing how in someway all of history’s cultures are connected in some form. The story of sif inspired the German story of rapunzel(chick with the long hair.) it makes me wonder if sif had something to do with the biblical story of Samson. Both figures had their hair cut through the mischief of someone they trusted.
I always find your jokes amusing even if they are along the lines of dad jokes, but I enjoy the realism and honest truths. You don't make up BS just to suit your personal motives unlike some other channels. You keep it as accurate as possible. Thank you.
Thank you! She has been calling to me and today I was contemplating my long golden hair a day after my Mom's DNA results showed we definitely have Norse roots. It feels so significant that my breath is taken away. I'm a practicing Strega, because we also have an Italian heritage, and Dream Shamanism and Channeling, through my Dad's side who descended from the Mohawk. What a wild and wonderful world of a Pantheon I praise, from Angels, to Greco Roman Gods and goddesses, and now Norse. I am so grateful that I live in this day and age, but that we can trace the mysteries of our epigenetics through these lingering myths and stories.
Never forget the saga of the escaping zipper.
Hey I love your channel you could really tell how passionate you are of Viking culture,hopefully archaeologists will uncover more evidence of Vikings so that your religion can grow! I'm Catholic but it's really cool that you follow your own way just as long as you're a good person and you treat people good!✌
I couldn’t have said any of this better myself. Just when I think I need a CZcams Channel you and other’s nail it. Great take on Sif. Thanks for the well thought through and studied content brother.
This was a fun video! I remember holding a small private ritual to Sif back in October right after my wife and I moved into a new house. I also remember finding it difficult to put that ritual together properly. I suppose I struggled to find the right words and sources to help me at the time. I have reached out to Sif a few times since, however, and I agree with a lot of your points in this video. Definitely agree that she could play an important role in hearth and home, which means I could consider her more deserving of a central place in my hearth cult going forward.
Anyway, great video as always Ocean!
I must say, I never really associated Sif with anything besides the harvest, as her gold hair standed in for fields of grain, and as Thor is the god of the sky they made a good pair (no harvest without rain after all). Things like the hearth, love or marriage I associated with Frigg, as goddess of the family or Freyja, fierce goddess of love - but theyre gods after all. They must be good at multitasking. And not to throw shade at more... mediterranean ... gods but its so nice to know Thor actually, like, loves his wife? What a novel concept
Excellent video there. I quite enjoyed your measured take on what we know of Sif. I also find the place she holds in your praxis fascinating.
I would argue that, if we consider her bond with Thor as part of the whole picture (which may or may not be a good idea), ther emight be more to defend the idea of Sif as somehow related to agriculture. Among many many things, the thunderer is bringer of rain and at least in Sweden was associated with the fruits of the land (prayed to when famine threathened), if Snorri is to be believed in this case. I however fully agree with you when you say we do not know much, that associations to fertility seems to be the province of many deities, and that to define her just by that is probably not enough.
I'd like to have that converdation on the Hold someday if a bunch of heathens who give offering to Sif have enough spare time.
Anyways, thank you for the video.
It's great you put context about Sif's hair cutting. I only have read about the stories from Neil Gaiman's take.
But do love them a lot.
Love your channel!
Deities of the hearth always get my love because who doesn't love the heart? My fave was the Greek goddess Hestia but it's so interesting hearing about Sif because she seemed mostly unspoken about as far as I know. Great content as always
Sif is the Viking Goddess of Earth, wheat, family and harvest.
It's so hard to wait to hit the like button until after the opening puns!
I named one of my kitties Sif :)
daw
You killed me at farming, fighting, f**king and f**king off 😂
I guess not much on Sif explains why Stan Lee made Sif a warrior in marvel comics even had her outfit red( most of the time) her warrior spirit is why she is demanding like in mythology and her black was result of retelling how her hair got removed from Loki but told differently.
Excellent video. I love the thorough, concise presentation of what we know of Sif while being honest about what is documented and what is extrapolated. It sucks we don’t know more about her. Hail Sif!
This was really interesting! I appreciate how you put together the bits we do have, whilst being mindful of what's speculation.
This was a fantastic video Ocean! Thank you for this wonderful take ❤️
DUUUUUDE I had no idea about this channel until I talked to Jae, this is GREAT stuff! I'm going through your vids!
Wait really? Goddamn. Welcome to the channel man.
Early Kristers were terrified of women and the power and authority they had in the pre-weakling world. According to my langama: Sýf, she pronounced it Sy - f, was a very powerful sexual fertility goddess, the Æsir equal to the Vana Freyja. She talked about stories being forgotten, skálds were killed off for knowing stories about sexual fertility gods and goddesses. I can't argue the matter with a dead woman, especially since she died at the age of 115, just a few minutes short of her 116 birthday 55 years ago. The day the doctors told her she was in stage 4 cancer, don't remember which cancer, and she had better prepare herself, she stopped working around her farm, she lived six months and died before her birthday which was moments after New Years. She had the stories and teachings from her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother on Svalbard. Her first husband was from Trondheim and added his variations to hers. That litte is what I know of Sýf, at 6 I was too young to know more the Loke cutter off her hair, and Loke's Flyting. She was a goddess of the home and hearth and of sexuallity. She was very old, one of the Æsir before the Æsir-Vanir War. She had little to do with marriage itself, just with human sexuallity.
Awesome video, Ocean! I wish there was more about Sif. She seems like a very neat goddess.
According to Astronomy in Edda Sif’s hair is the Coma Berenices constellation.
A subject for deep consideration! There is much to this sharing on this vid, that rings true in my own life..As you described her, a particular family member came to mind. She to has very long golden blonde hair n from the description of Sif, that you shared..this family member runs very close to her!? Mannerisms n worries about her hair n protector of the hearth ...all very close,indeed!? The more that you shared,the stronger, the image grew of this family member..
Off to study n think on this one! Thank you for sharing!
I love the videos you do on this overlooked deities, they're sometimes very revealing and good for reflection. I always interpreted Sif's kenning as a metaphor for golden weat.
Sif is lo-ki one of my favorite goddesses....
I love it.
Gratitude Always 💚💚💚💚
Thank you for your work!
Christmas Hat lookin' kind of sus.
This was great! And the opening pun was legendary as always
Thank you for your lesson. I learned a lot!
I greatly enjoy your content - I am a Catholic but find the Heathen faith beautiful
This is your best kind of videos
I stumbled upon you this month and I must say your videos are truly delightful. You are so informative and I just love the way you deliver the information. You also make me laugh, so thank you sir! 🤗
Love this channel thank you
Excellent video. Thank you for sharing.
More deity videos please. They’re such a good place to start and your reading lists are so quality.
Thank you for this video
Hallgerdr sounds like the kind of woman who takes no BS... I like her. It's a pity she never met a man who appreciated her for her strength and her mind rather than her hair.
The scene with Gunnar talking with her is actually one where he seems to find her intimidating and impressive on top of her beauty. It's safe to say that he appreciated her. But she also creates several problems over the course of Njal's Saga. Definitely read that saga if you're interested in Hallgerdr. She's a wonderful character in the story.
@@OceanKeltoi thank you! I've been meaning to do a bit more reading involving books rather than CZcams comments and chats, lol... By the way is the word sif related to the word sheaf (as in wheat)?
@@onandonitgoes5957 I'm not sure. That would be an interesting connection. But in my research looking through scholars who made the wheat connection, I never saw any of them make that argument.
@@OceanKeltoi ty! I just figured it might be the same because I have a (very superficial) familiarity with gaelic pronunciation, and I know that sometimes s is sh and i is ee and the Norse very commonly invaded, inhabited or traded with the British isles, resulting in some exchange of genetics and culture, so I figured it could be similar.
Sif seems very much understandable as the goddess of gold, gifts, and the hearth. Also that was a pleasant reminder of the archetypal priorities of Heathen myth. Oh how it doesn't take much to leave me torn between the Heathen and Greek mytho-traditional contexts.
I must admit that you are full of scholarly advice and insights not just for modern heathens but also as to what life was like during the viking age. Thank you.
9:02 I'm rolling..😂😂
The double pun got me
Damn it man make some more vidieos please please please
THANK YOU
One theory of the whole haircut story is that Loki's cutting represents clearing and plowing land, which is fertilized by Thor via rain producing amber waves of grain. We see Sif's golden locks as wheat in the intro. So the infidelity hinted at could be referring to the haircut and how it is plowing before Thor's rain. Basically two nature deities doing their thing with Loki as the land clearer and plowman.
Yeah, I see what was meant about the Santa hat looking sus.
Lol that cow was distracting 🤣
There is a theory I have been working on as I am dissecting the Eddas, piecing together hidden meanings of the poems and the gods.
In the theory I have of Sif, I must explain the theory I have of the gifts the gods received by the dwarves. Some suggested the gifts were actual meanings of life, such as Draupnir, Odin’s ring that sheds 8 new rings every nine nights. Theory has it the rings represents 8 parts of one’s soul, where Mjolnir represents the heartbeat or living source of one’s being. Gullinbursti representing courage of one’s self….and so on.
The gods wouldn’t have received the gifts if it wasn’t for Loki in the first place. Loki represents fire, but not flame, perhaps change and tangled knots. Mixing this theory of change with goddess Sif which would represent beauty, warmth, home, perhaps putting it all together could mean something like:
Loki cutting Sif’s hair, so changing the home, bringing the gifts, which is bringing of new life, such as children/humans, so basically representing the action of change in the home, brings new life.
And the change could mean much more, but for now possibly giving birth/life.
Great information
I’m new to the faith I love your works it’s informative and deep enough not to get lost you keep it fun as-well as interesting iv found my self more relaxed and at ease I’m respectful of other religions but iv found what makes me comfortable and what feels like a constant journey of learning in a good way thank you for what you do and how you do it
Seriously Ocean, your ability to tell about the stories, almost makes me wish I could believe in our old gods!
I was wondering if Sif might be connected to the origins and story behind the oorijzer of Friesland. The fairy tale The Golden Helmet has a character named Frosite that has some strong similarities to Sif.
"Farming, Fighting, F*cking and well, F*cking off"
Thanks!
By the Gods, Ocean, these opening puns make my day. I don't think Sif being passive is necessarily a bad thing. The home is a place of safety, of warmth, of rest, and sleep. Violating the peace and sacredness of the home even today is something that massively affects us as humans. It is our passive place of rest and peace that empowers us to do all else. In such a way, despite being passive it plays a central role in defining our lives.
Great video!
Are you planning any videos on Freya? Freya is an extremely important deity to me, because when I was searching for a faith and calling out to the gods - any gods - she was the one who answered my prayers. And I’d be interested in your take on the theory that Frigg and Freya are actually one and the same goddess.
I named my doggo after Sif
I don't know if you already spoke to her 1st son, Ullr. Because he's literally more unknown than Sif herself.
I’ve been doing some reading on him lately. Very interesting deity.
Oh to be an 11th century Viking, fighting, farming, fucking and fucking off 😔
Mighty Thor will always deserve to be with the finest Sky Goddess
The modern Norwegian/Scandinavian name "Siv" might very well be a reference to her, I think.
And knowing how Old Norse might sound, with F sounding like V sometimes, it is quite likely that it was pronounced that way too.
Loki being the best friend of Thor: Loki shaves hair of Sif, beloved wife of Thor, so badly that the hair won't grow back and need some artifical replacement, and probably even sleep with Sif making her cheating on her husband. Having such a friend, who needs enemies?
GOAT 🐐
Sif Is Just INANNA Of The SUMERIAN PANTHEON! THEY JUST CHANGE THEIR NAMES FROM CULTURE TO CULTURE!
Niiiice
The opening dad joke. 🤣
Good honest við do more like this
I had a vision of seeing a golden headed goddess sitting on a golden step pyramid
She was very beautiful!
My take is the capstone of the pyramid ,was golden, and hence the corresponding stories about the replacement cap
Hair is also considered as energy
I come for the Dad jokes, I stay for the lore!
9:02.
Gigglebox status: kicked over. Giggles running amok.
A double pun opening!
Great 👍
I both love and hate the kennings. Love how it brings a women into a story, when they are often ereased through patriarcy. Like thor beung thrudrs father, especially how there isnt alot of info on her and her mother. Specially as thor is such a family man.
Life comes from death and death from life.I think Agricultural associations are totally reasonable.Thor the protector of midgard protects the enclosed lands of agriculture.Agriculture is only possible through ground fertilisation, and protection from other pests and animals. I think the assosiations between Thor and Jord and Sif make the agricultural assosiations valid.
Lol😅 that cow 🐄 with the hair.
Ocean, seriously. Do you have any tips on achieving such a magnificent beard as the one you wear sir?
I would nott mind a video on Nott 🌑✨🌚💫🖤
Hail Sif! May you guide us in reviving your cult for future generations!
So, I’m very intrigued by this theory, but I am curious of something, how do you feel about the interpretation of Loki as a God of the Hearth as well? It’s building in popularity and I’ve encountered a number of Scandinavian Heathens who subscribe to this idea.
I've seen a few arguments to that. I think the evidence to it is a little late, but I don't have much of a problem with it. Like fertility, there can be multiple deities associated with specific things such as war and fertility without problem.
🙌🏼♥️
I wonder if Sif were originally asosciated with some aspect of feminity or female sexuality that simply rubbed Snorri´s christian beliefs the wrong way so he choosed to just depict her as little more than Thor´s golden-haired wife? Also the idea of her hair as a symbol of a rich and ripe field of weat seem to make a lot of sense since long luscious hair is a classic sign of health and fertility.
Nice.