Sif

Sif appears in the mythic corpus without a singular cosmogonic origin narrative in the surviving sources; she is presented by Snorri in the Prose Edda (Prologue; Gylfaginning ch.31) and in skaldic kennings as an established member of the Æsir. A notable mythic episode preserved in Skáldskaparmál relates that Loki sheared off Sif's hair, and to atone he commissioned the dwarfs (the sons of Ivaldi and others) to make replacement treasures. That commission produced a golden headpiece for Sif and led to the forging of several major divine artifacts (Gungnir, Skíðblaðnir, Gullinbursti, Draupnir, and Mjöllnir), making the hair-episode a narrative cause for the origin of important cultic objects rather than an account of Sif's own origin.

Primary attestations describe Sif as exceptionally beautiful and especially notable for her golden hair. Snorri's Prose Edda calls her "the loveliest of women" and explicitly describes her as having "hair of gold." Beyond beauty and this central attribute the surviving textual corpus offers no extended physical catalogue; the episode of Loki cutting her hair and its replacement with a dwarven-made golden headpiece emphasizes the centrality of her hair as an identifying feature.

The extant sources do not ascribe explicit supernatural powers or technical magic to Sif in the way they do to some other figures; her significance is expressed through social and symbolic roles. She functions as wife of Thor and is named as mother of Þrúðr and as mother of Ullr in different attestations (Ullr is called Sif's son while Þrúðr is named as Thor's daughter in kennings). Sif is used as a poetic heiti for the earth in Skáldskaparmál, and her harmed status in the Loki-hair episode operates narratively to trigger the crafting of major divine gifts, linking her to mythic causation without specifying personal magic-abilities.