Sif
Sif is the wife of Thor. She is the daughter of a Swan-Maiden named Sigtrygg. She is a sister of Groa and the second of wife of Egil-Orvandil (Puryear, The Nature of Asatru). Sif is the mother of the God Ullr from her first marriage, and her daughter Thrudr from her second husband Thor.
Sif’s natural hair was golden blonde. It was very long and beautiful. At one time Loki had snuck into where Sif was sleeping and cut it all off. Loki was soon caught and was made to replace it. Loki had then went to see the dwarf Dvalin. Down in Svartelfhiem to see if he could make a wig to replace Sif’s hair. From a bar of gold Dvalin made a wig of such fine threads, that it looked like Sif’s real hair. And when the wig was placed on her head it grew just like her natural hair did.
It is said that Sif’s hair is a symbol of the earth, her hair was also said to represent the long grass, or the golden grain (Guerber, Myths of the Norsemen pg. 64). The cutting and restoration of the golden hair suggests a representation of the corn harvest, a golden crop which is cut and grows anew (Thorskegga Thorn, Sif).
In Rudolf Simek’s Dictionary of Northern Mythology. He seems to doubt the connection of Sif’s Hair to the cornfields. Stating the fact that a particular kind of moss (Polytrichum aureum) is called haddr Sifjar ‘Sif’s Hair’ in Old Norse. It would seem to contradict the idea of Sif’s Hair representing the golden corn waving in the fields.
In James Coulter’s Germanic Heathenry, It says that Sif’s hair is more properly a symbol of the wealth of one’s kindred or clan. Some kennings for gold are ‘Sif’s Hair” or “Sif’s Scalp Trimmings”. So this would seem that she is not only a Goddess of vegetation. But also a Goddess of the kindred or clan within a society, helping to ensure their prosperity and well being.
Sif’s name means sibling or relation by marriage, originally meaning the wife of Thor. In Old High German her name would be Sibbe and in Modern High German it would be Sippe. In Langenscheidt’s Standard Dictionary, it says that. Sippe means 1. family, tribe. 2. Sippschaft(en) a) clan, b) gang, lot. James Coulter in his Germanic Heathenry says that. Sippa - A kindred or clan, including the household of the Harugari and those bound to that core unit through oath or blood.