Sif is asteroid #4484 and also known as 1987 DD. Sif was discovered by the Danish astronomer Poul B. Jensen at the Brorfelde Observatory. Sif belongs to the Hirayama-family Brucato. Sif is named after a Norse goddess. The shield volcano Sif Mons in the Eistla Regio on the planet Venus is also named after the same Norse goddess.

Sif is the wife of Thor/ Donar. Together they are the parents of Thrud, but Uller is only the son of Sif. This led many people to speculations about the possible father of Uller and who would hence be Sif’s first husband. I don’t see any need for a previous husband of Sif or a father of Uller. It must be considered that Sif is a goddess and hence has some divine powers. It is commonly believed that Sif has no other task than to be the wife of Donar. This would already be a contradiction with her having a previous husband. She is described as having long and golden hair. Loki once cut off her hair. Then Donar forced Loki to get new hair for Sif. This hair had to be made from gold and it had to be able to grow like her original hair. Loki was able to obtain such golden hair from skilled goldsmiths among the dwarfs. Earlier scholars interpreted Sif’s hair as representing cereals, that grow, can appear golden in the sunshine, then are harvested and disappear from the fields this way until new crops are planted. Sif would, following this idea, be a goddess of frugality. This isn’t too far-fetched for the wife of the god of thunderstorms.

The name Sif is a singular form to the Old Norse word sifjar, which is the same as Old English sibb and German Sippe. The German word is still used and it translates as clan. Different scholars suggest that Sif hence means either relative or in-law-relative or relative-by-marriage. This last meaning supports the idea that Sif has no other task than to be the wife of Donar.

I would have treated Sif already together with Donar if I wouldn’t have overlooked her before. She is easy to overlook. Her name is short and her appearance in mythology too. The astrological force Sif can actually be only relevant for synastries.