Research Site edit

Sif

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.'"

[...] 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. --KYPark 16:00, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

From Hárbarðsljóð edit

``Some early commentators, including Viktor Rydberg, argued that there is doubt to be cast on assigning the persona of Odin to Hárbarðr; many of the characteristics of Hárbarðr are more akin to those of Loki than Odin. [1] For example, throughout the entirety of Hárbarðsljóð, Hárbarðr boasts of his prowess among women, as does Loki in Lokasenna and both Lokasenna and Hárbarðsljóð accuse Thor's wife Sif of adultery. This theory has fallen out of favor.`` --KYPark 12:01, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Satyr edit

 
Satyr with a tail and erect penis

``In Greek mythology, satyrs [...] roamed the woods and mountains, and were the companions of Pan and Dionysus. In mythology they are often associated with male sex drive and Greco-Roman art often portrays them with erections.``

 
Pan, The Greek Satyr God

``Satyrs often carry the thyrsus: the rod of Dionysus tipped with a pine cone. [...] As Dionysiac creatures they are lovers of wine, women and boys, and are ready for every physical pleasure. They roam to the music of pipes (auloi), cymbals, castanets, and bagpipes, and love to dance with the nymphs (with whom they are obsessed, and whom they often pursue), and have a special form of dance called sikinnis. Because of their love of wine, they are often represented holding winecups, and appear often in the decorations on winecups.``

 
Satyr and maenad (bacchante)

``[...] in a fragment of Hesiod's works they are called brothers of the mountain nymphs and Kuretes, strongly connected with the cult of Dionysus, and are an idle and worthless race. In the Dionysus cult, male followers are known as satyrs and female followers as maenads.``

-- From Satyr --KYPark 13:46, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

Thyrsus and Wine cup edit

``The thyrsus . . . specifically a fertility phallus . . . was associated with Dionysus (or Bacchus) and his followers, the Satyrs and Maenads. Sometimes the thyrsus was displayed in conjunction with a wine cup, another symbol of Dionysus, forming a male-and-female combination like that of the royal scepter and orb.`` -- From Thyrus --KYPark 14:00, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

Sif's symbolism edit

 
Sif with long blond hair

``Her hair's color may have represented ripe wheat. Loki cut off Sif's hair as a prank, but when Thor found this out he forced Loki to promise to have golden hair made by the Dwarves. Loki uses this event to taunt Sif and, indirectly, Thor in Lokasenna. [...] After Freyja, Sif is the most beautiful of the goddesses. Snorri calls her the Sybill. It is possible that Sif was a goddess of the home, of field and of the crop and she had some power on destiny. Gold was called 'hair of Sif'.`` -- From Sif

Note the utensils in Sif's hands suggesting the male-female combination or copulation as compared with a thyrsus and a wine cup in Maenad's hands, as mentioned in the previous section. --KYPark 14:39, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

Siv edit

  • Siv means "bride" in Old Norse. In Norse mythology Siv was the wife of Thor. Sif is a variant. -- From Behind the Name
  • In contrast, Sif allegedly means "relative" elsewhere, supported by such cognates as English sib, sibling, German Sippe, etc. Other cognates may include German Zibbe or Zippe "female, woman," Polish cipa "cunt," etc.

Sif as Sibyl edit

[...] Thor was, according to the Edda, married to Sibil, [or] Sibylla, and the Edda adds that this Sibil is called Sif in the North. [...] it was believed in the middle age that the Cumæan or Erythreian Sibylla originally came from Troy, and it is not, therefore, strange that the author of the Younger Edda, who speaks of the Trojan descent of Odin and his people, should marry Thor to the most famous of Trojan women. [...] To the northern form Sif corresponds the Gothic form Sibba, the Old English Sib, the Old Saxon Sibbia, and the Old High German Sibba, and Sibil, Sibilla, was thought to be still another form of the same name. The belief, based on the assumed fact that Thor's wife Sif was identical with the Sibylla, explains a phenomenon not hitherto understood in the saga-world [...].

[...] Sif could . . . present herself now in human form, and again in the guise of the most beautiful swimming bird, the swan.

A legend, the origin of which may be traced to Italy, tells that when the queen of Saba visited king Solomon, she was in one place to cross a brook. A tree or beam was thrown across as a bridge. The wise queen stopped, and would not let her foot touch the beam. She preferred to wade across the brook, and when she was asked the reason for this, she answered that in a prophetic vision she had seen that the time would come when this tree would be made into a cross on which the Saviour of the world was to suffer.

The legend came also to Germany, but here it appears with the addition that the queen of Saba was rewarded for this piety, and was freed while wading across the brook from a bad blemish. One of her feet, so says the German addition, was of human form, but the other like the foot of a water-bird up to the moment when she took it out of the brook. Church sculpture sometimes in the middle age represented the queen of Saba as a woman well formed, except that she had one foot like that of a water-bird. [...]

During the middle ages the queen of Saba was called queen Seba, [...], and Seba was thought to be her name. The name suggested her identity, on the one hand, with Sibba, Sif, whose swan-guise lived in the traditions; on the other hand, with Sibilla, and the latter particularly, since queen Seba had proved herself to be in possession of prophetic inspiration, the chief characteristic of the Sibylla. Seba, Sibba, and Sibilla were in the popular fancy blended into one. This explains how queen Seba among the Germans, but not among the Italians, got the blemish which reminds us of the swan-guise of Thor's wife Sibba. And having come to the conclusion that Thor was a Trojan, his wife Sif also ought to be a Trojan woman. And as it was known that the Sibylla was Trojan, and that queen Seba was a Sibylla, this blending was almost inevitable. The Latin scholars found further evidence of the correctness of this identity in a statement drawn originally from Greek sources to the effect that Jupiter had had a Sibylla, by name Lamia, as mistress, and had begotten a daughter with her by name Herophile, who was endowed with her mother's gift of prophecy. As we know, Mercury corresponds to Odin, and Jupiter to Thor, in the names of the days of the week. It thus follows that it was Thor who stood in this relation to the Sibylla.

--Troy Saga by Rydberg --KYPark 07:20, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Slavic Siva edit

In Slavic mythology, Šiwa or Šiva, (alternatively Živa, Sieba or Razivia, was the fertility and love goddess. She was worshipped throughout what is now Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Germany (and especially the Elbe (Labe) river valley) before Christianity expanded into the area. Her name means "living, being, existing." Sieba is married to Siebog, her male equivalent. Not to be confused with the Hindu god Siva. --From Siwa --KYPark 07:39, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Hindu Siva edit

``[T]he Tantras and Puranas deem the Shiva lingam a phallic symbol representing the regenerative aspect of the material universe [...] It's gravest misinterpretation is to relate it to only phallic symbol by its shape more so by western philosophers.`` --From Shiva lingam (Siva's Symbol) --KYPark 08:59, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Ethiopian Shewa edit

(Ade)shewa initially means the queen of richness and beauty. This is usually a female name that derives from the Nigerian culture in Africa.

Shewa [...] is a historical region of Ethiopia. Formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire, the Ethiopian modern capital Addis Ababa is located at its center.

The nucleus of Shewa is a mountainous terrain in what is currently the central area of Ethiopia, but historically it was part of Ethiopia's southernmost highlands. Moreover, the highland of Shewa is separated from highlands to the north by a narrow lowland strip. Shewa was as defensible as any highland, and usually continued its traditional government even in cases when several surrounding lands were lost. In history, all this meant that Shewa could live a life somewhat unconcerned of events in Ethiopian politics. At times, it was a safe haven; at other times it was physically separated from the remainder of Ethiopia by enemies controlling the lowland.

--From Shewa --KYPark 02:04, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

Queen of Sheba edit

Later Jewish legend fleshed out many of the narrative details. Solomon's gift of "whatever she desired" was made concrete in a sexual relationship, and great efforts were expended in compiling lists of the riddles by which the Queen of Sheba had tested Solomon's wisdom. [...]

The Queen of Sheba is sometimes identified with Lilith.

--From Queen of Sheba --KYPark 02:38, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

Judaic Shabbat edit

 
The shabbos table is set: two candles, two covered challahs, a kiddush cup of wine, and flowers.
  • Shabbat (... Shabbos or Shabbes in Ashkenazic pronunciation), is the weekly day of rest in Judaism. It is observed, from before sundown on Friday until after nightfall on Saturday, by many Jewish people.
  • The Hebrew word shabbat comes from the Hebrew verb shavat, which literally means "to cease," or shev which means "sit."
  • A common linguistic confusion leads many to believe that the word means "seventh day." Though the root for seven, or sheva, is similar in sound, it is derived from a different root word.
  • According to Rabbinic literature, Jews are commanded by God to observe (refrain from forbidden activity) and remember (with words, thoughts, and actions) the Shabbat, and these two actions are symbolised by lighting two candles late Friday afternoon [...] by Jewish women, usually the mother/wife.
  • Enjoying Shabbat (Oneg Shabbat). This can include activities such as eating tasty food, resting, or engaging in intimate relations with one's spouse. [... Sexual intercourse with one's spouse, particularly on Friday night.]

--From Shabbat --KYPark 07:42, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

Witch's Sabbath edit

In Christian folklore, the Sabbath (also known as "Witch's Sabbath") was a gathering supposed to have been celebrated by Satanists, witches and warlocks to honor the Devil, offend God, Jesus, the sacraments, the cross, and perform unholy rites.

European records tell of innumerable cases of persons being accused or tried for taking part in Sabbath gatherings, from the Middle Ages to the 17th century or later. However, there are no reliable reports on what actually happened during a Sabbath; and much of what was written about them may be the product of popular imagination or deliberate misinformation.

[...]

The most common belief on which authors [attribution needed] agreed is that Satan was present at the Sabbath, often as a goat or satyr, and many agreed that more demons were present. Another belief said that sometimes a person could offer his/her own body to be possessed by some demon serving as a medium (see demon possession). It was believed [attribution needed] that the Sabbath commenced at midnight and ended at dawn, beginning with a procession, continuing with a banquet, then a Black Mass, and culminating with an orgy in which non-marital or sexual intercourse with demons in male or female form was practised. Consumption of hallucinogens and sometimes alcohol was often reported.

--From Sabbath (witchcraft) --KYPark 10:07, 18 January 2007 (UTC)