Pagan gods of ancient Rus'. Ancient Slavic gods and their meaning
In Ancient Rus', at a time when Christianity had not yet been adopted, the Slavs idolized otherworldly incorporeal creatures. The pagan gods of ancient Rus', according to the ideas of the ancients, are endowed with supernatural abilities to influence all things. They are responsible for all the fundamental principles of human existence, control both the fate of the people themselves and everything that surrounds them.
Each deity performs a specific, utilitarian function. The history of ancient times stores many dozens of names, of which we now know only a part. This part has survived to this day thanks to pagan rituals and rituals passed down from generation to generation, which over time became the basis of the customs of the Slavic family.
At the hierarchical top stands the supreme god, under him are the gods of the environment of existence of all living things, then are the gods of human destinies and the everyday life of people, at the bottom of the pyramid are the elements and forces of darkness.
Table of pagan gods of ancient Rus':
| No. | Deity name | Purpose |
| 1 | GENUS | Supreme god of heaven and earth |
| 2 | HORSE | Sun God |
| 3 | YARILO | God of the spring sun. Son of Veles |
| 4 | DAZHDBOG | God of fertility and sunshine |
| 5 | SVAROG | Master of the Universe. God of the sky |
| 6 | PERUN | God of lightning and thunder |
| 7 | STRIBOG | God of the wind |
| 8 | VELES | God of fertility (cattle) |
| 9 | LADA | The female embodiment of Rod |
| 10 | CHERNOBOG | Lord of the forces of darkness |
| 11 | MOKOSH | Goddess of the earth, harvest and female destiny |
| 12 | PARASKEVA-FRIDAY | Mistress of revelry |
| 13 | MORAINE | Goddess of evil, disease and death |
Ancient Slavic god Rod
This is the supreme god who rules over all things in the Universe, including all other gods. He heads the pinnacle of the pagan pantheon of gods. He is the creator and ancestor. He is omnipotent and influences the entire cycle of life. It exists everywhere and has no beginning or end. This description fully corresponds to the concept of God of all modern religions.
The genus governs life and death, abundance and poverty. No one has ever seen him, yet he sees everyone. The root of his name is sewn into human speech - into the words with which people interpret (voice) their dominant spiritual and material values in the material world. Birth, relatives, homeland, spring, harvest - Rod is present in all this.
Hierarchy of pagan gods of Rus'
Under the leadership of the Family, all Slavic deities and other spiritual entities are distributed according to levels corresponding to their impact on the everyday affairs of people.
The top level is occupied by deities who manage global and national affairs: wars and ethnic conflicts, weather disasters, fertility and famine, fertility and mortality.
At the middle level there are deities responsible for local affairs. These are the patrons of agriculture, crafts, fishing and hunting, and family concerns. People liken their face to their own.
The stylobate of the base of the pantheon is assigned to spiritual entities whose physical appearance is unlike that of a human. These are kikimoras, ghouls, goblins, brownies, ghouls, mermaids and many others like them.
The Slavic hierarchical pyramid ends here, unlike the ancient Egyptian one, where there was also an afterlife with its own governing deities and laws, or, for example, where the basis was a numerous pantheon of gods.
Slavic gods by importance and power
God of the Slavs Horse and his incarnations
Khors is the son of Rod and the brother of Veles. This is the sun god in Ancient Rus'. Horse's face is like a sunny day - yellow, radiant, dazzlingly bright. He has 4 incarnations:
- Kolyada
- Yarilo
- Dazhdbog
- Svarog.
Each hypostasis operates in a specific season of the year, and people expect help from each divine incarnation, which is associated with the corresponding rituals and ceremonies.
We still follow the traditions of the ancient Slavs: we tell fortunes on Christmastide, fry pancakes on Maslenitsa, burn bonfires on Ivan Kupala and weave wreaths.
1. God of the Slavs Kolyada
Kolyada begins the annual cycle and reigns from the winter solstice to the spring equinox (December 22 – March 21). In December, people greet the young Sun and praise Kolyada with ritual songs; festivities last until January 7. It's Christmastide.
By this time, the owners are slaughtering livestock, opening pickles, and taking supplies to fairs. Throughout Christmas time, people organize gatherings, rich feasts, tell fortunes, have fun, get married and have weddings. In general, doing nothing becomes completely legal. Kolyada treats with its mercy all benefactors who show mercy and generosity to the poor.
2. God of the Slavs Yarilo
He is Yarovit, Ruevit, Yar - the solar god of young age with the face of a barefoot young man on a white horse. Wherever he looks, shoots will sprout; wherever he passes, the grass will sprout. On his head is a crown of ears of grain, in his left hand he holds a bow and arrows, in his right hand are the reins. Its time is from the spring equinox to the summer solstice (March 22 – June 21). People's supplies at home are depleted and there is a lot of work to do. When the sun turned back, the tension in the labors subsided, the time of Dazhdbog had come.
3. God of the Slavs Dazhdbog
He is also Kupala or Kupaila - the solar god with the face of a mature man. Its time is from the summer solstice to the autumn equinox (June 22 - September 23). The reunion celebration is postponed on July 6-7 due to work commitments. On this mysterious night, people burn Yarila (or rather, a scarecrow) on a large bonfire and jump over it, girls throw wreaths of woven flowers down the river. Everyone is looking for the blooming fern of desires. There is also a lot of work during this season: mowing, harvesting fruit, repairing the house, preparing the sleigh.
4. God of the Slavs Svarog
The tired Sun sinks lower and lower towards the horizon. In its slanting rays, the tall, strong old man Svarog (aka Svetovid), whitened with gray hair, takes up the baton of power. He looks north, clutching a heavy sword in his hand, with which he slays the forces of darkness. He is the husband of the Earth, the father of Dazhdbog and all other gods of natural phenomena. His time from September 23 to December 21 is a period of satiety, peace and prosperity. People are not sad about anything, they organize fairs and have weddings.
Perun god of thunder and lightning
This is the god of war. In his right hand, Perun holds a rainbow sword, in his left - lightning arrows. The clouds are his hair and beard, the thunder is his speech, the wind is his breath, the raindrops are the fertilizing seed. He is the son of Svarog (Svarozhich), and is also endowed with a formidable disposition. He patronizes brave warriors and gives them luck and strength to everyone who puts in the effort to do hard work.
Stribog god of the wind
He is the god above the gods of the elemental forces of nature (Whistling, Weather and others). Stribog is the lord of the wind, hurricanes and blizzards. He can be touchingly kind and furiously evil. When he angrily blows the horn, the elements arise; when he is kind, the leaves simply rustle, streams gurgle, the wind howls in the crevices of the trees. From these sounds of nature came music and songs, and with them musical instruments. They pray to Stribog for the storm to subside, and hunters ask him for help in pursuing the sensitive and timid animal.
Veles pagan god of wealth
This is the god of agriculture and cattle breeding. Veles is also called the god of wealth (aka Hair, Month). He commands the clouds. When he was young, he tended the heavenly sheep himself. In anger, Veles sends torrential rains to the earth. After reaping, people still leave him one collected sheaf. In his name they swear word of honor and fidelity.
Lada goddess of love and beauty
Goddess Lada is the patroness of the hearth. Her clothes are snow-white clouds, and the morning dew is tears. In the predawn haze, she escorts the shadows of the departed to the other world. Lada is the earthly incarnation of Rod, the high priestess, the mother goddess, surrounded by a retinue of young servants. She is beautiful and smart, brave and dexterous, flexible with a vine, ringing flattering speech flows from her lips. Lada gives people advice on how to live, what they can do and what they can’t do. She condemns the guilty and exonerates the falsely accused. A long time ago, her temple stood on Ladoga, now her abode is the blue of heaven.
God of the Slavs Chernobog
Many ancient legends have been told about the evil spirits of the swamp, but not all of them have reached us. After all, they are protected by the powerful Chernobog - the ruler of the dark forces of evil and whim, serious illnesses and bitter misfortunes. This is the god of darkness. His abode is terrible forest thickets, ponds covered with duckweed, deep pools and marshy swamps.
He holds a spear in his hand with malice and rules the night. The evil spirits subordinate to him are numerous: goblins who entangle forest paths, mermaids who drag people into pools, cunning banniki, malicious and insidious ghouls, capricious brownies.
God of the Slavs Mokosh
Mokosh (Makesha) is the goddess of trade, like the ancient Roman Mercury. In Old Slavonic, mokosh means “full wallet.” She uses the harvest prudently. Another of its purposes is to control fate. She is interested in spinning and weaving; With spun threads she weaves the destinies of people. Young housewives were afraid to leave an unfinished tow overnight, believing that Mokosha would ruin the yarn, and with it, fate. Northern Slavs consider Mokosha an unkind goddess.
God of the Slavs Paraskeva-Pyatnitsa
Paraskeva-Friday is Mokoshi’s concubine, who made Paraskeva a deity ruling over riotous youth, gambling, drinking bouts with vulgar songs and obscene dances, as well as dishonest trade. Therefore, Friday was a market day in Ancient Rus' for a long time. On this day, women were not allowed to work, because for disobedience Paraskeva could wrap the naughty girl in a cold toad. It poisoned the water in wells and underground springs. Today this goddess has no power and is practically forgotten.
God of the Slavs Morena
The goddess, ruler of evil, incurable diseases and death, is Maruja or Morena. She sends severe winters, stormy nights, epidemics and wars to the Earth. Her image is a scary woman with a dark, wrinkled face with deep-sunk small eyes, a sunken nose, a bony body and the same hands with long curved nails. Ailments serve her. She herself never leaves. They drive her away, but she appears again and again.
Introduction
The pantheon of Slavic pagan gods is truly vast. Paganism is a tradition that includes a whole system of worldviews that promote self-knowledge and self-improvement, as well as the study of new abilities based on the experience accumulated over thousands of years of life of the ancient Slavs.
The main difference between “paganism” and Christianity is the acceptance of man as a descendant of the gods, and not as a servant of God. In the great historical work “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” there are words that the Slavs are “the grandchildren of Dazhdbozhi” - one of the pagan gods.
The variety of Slavic gods
No matter how many times we ask the question about the number of Slavic gods and their meaning, it is almost impossible to answer it. Largely due to the fact that many gods of the Slavs had several additional names, which were used no less than the main ones. Thus, one god began to have more names, the more universal his power was initially, and over time, the main and additional names got mixed up, which today does not allow us to tell with absolute certainty about all the pagan gods. However, using the most reliable sources, we will still try to identify the main pantheon of deities that our ancestors worshiped.
Pagan gods
Gods primordial, ancient
Childbirth and women in labor
This god is the progenitor of all gods and the creator of the surrounding world, the so-called starting point for the beginning of all life on Earth. Already from the name one can understand that the sphere of the Family is the emergence of new life, creation, construction and continuation of the human race. It is worth noting that the pagan custom of bringing an egg to the grave of the deceased has survived to this day, which in turn is a requirement for the Family.
Rod's assistants are women in labor - maidens of life and destiny.
Rhoda's bird is a duck. The fish is pike.
Sometimes in place of Rod you can see the name Stribog. This name may be the middle name of Rod and represents the Sabbath day, which today is called the parent day.
Svetovit or Belobog
Possible names of the “good” god could also be Svyatovit, Sventovit, Svetich or Svetovik. He maintains the fertility of the lands and the fertility of our souls, he is a white horseman rushing towards the darkness, blocking its path to the light. Svetovit is also a predictor and, to some extent, a lawmaker. The laws of light and goodness come from under his commanding pen.
The symbolism of Belobog suggests four faces - 4 faces, two of which are presumably female, also carved from wood. As sacrifices and requirements for Belobog, tall sweet pies are baked and sweet wine is served.
The main holiday of Svetovit is the autumn solstice after the harvest, and the symbols of the deity are a bow, a horn and a sword.
Veles or Chernobog
An evil god, an opponent of Svetobog. Other names are Veles, Vlas, Vlas, Volos, Vlasiy. Veles is considered a wild god, the patron of wild animals and livestock, as well as an element of gambling luck. Veles controls the temptations of fate, but at the same time helps to look deep into oneself, developing new possibilities.
Veles has the greatest strength on Wednesday. To communicate with it, it is best to use stones - opal and obsidian, metals - lead and mercury, trees - spruce, pine, ash and walnut. An obvious connection with Veles occurs at crossroads. The mediators of God's gaze are the eagle owl, the raven, the grass snake, the snake and the cat.
In addition, Veles is the god of stubborn people belonging to the zodiac Capricorn.
In some sources, Veles and Chernobog are different deities, but it is most likely that Veles is one of the faces of Chernobog.
Svetlusha
The female embodiment of Belobog. Patroness of women, illuminator of the home.
Pulp- goddess of fate and patroness of fertility, mother of forests and winds, goddess of witchcraft and guide from the world of the living to the world of the dead. The main holiday of Myakoshi is held on Friday Paraskev, when the goddess stands up for the protection of wives and housewives. Those who want to establish a connection with Myakoshi should use silver, rock crystal and “moonstone” for rituals. If at the same time you have a cat in the house, then Myakosha will be even more supportive of you. The main symbols of Myakoshi are symbols made of aspen with the image of horns. It is worth noting that in the Middle Ages, there was even such a headdress with horns, which was customary to wear for festivities.
Myakosha is also considered the wife of Veles.
Krodo or Krat
God is the patron of sacrificial and sacred places, being the ancestor of Svarog. He commands sacrificial fire. Based on the ancient Novgorod chronicles, Crodo is a representative of Frost and brings death with him. From his name comes the word okochuritsya, which, in essence, means to cool down like a corpse.
Svarog
God is a materialist, a descendant of Crodo and the founder of the Svarozhich family. Svarog is a creator and blacksmith, he creates the material world and corrects it. God is the embodiment of light, fire and ether. Svarog is one of the most hardworking gods and, unlike Veles, uses his hands, and not magic, due to this he is also the patron of artisans.
Lad or Lada
The meaning of this deity is quite ambiguous. In a sense, Lada is the goddess of love and marital well-being; she guards the family hearth and watches over the fidelity of the spouses. But on the other hand, the existence of such a deity as Lad (Lado, Ladon) is also known, who is the god of war, the patron of a strong marriage, and a lover of fun. Today, it is still generally accepted that Lad and Lada are one deity. In addition, she may have a relationship with the Western Slavic goddess Priya - the goddess of love.
Diy and Divya
God of celestial stream movements, rain and sky, and an earth goddess who may be his wife.
Gods of the new period
Yarilo (Ruevit, Yarovit)
Sun God. Patron of shoots, youth and fertile lands. Yarilo is an ardent god with the power of youth. Typically, this god is considered one of the faces of ancient Veles, his spring rebirth. Yarilo patronizes March and prefers the second day of the week, respects iron and transmits his energy through hematite, amber, garnet and ruby.
Dazhdbog aka Radegast
God is the Slavic ancestor, the source of the life-giving power of light, the keeper of the fertile earthly properties. With the crow of a rooster, the god ascending to the sky brings people warmth and strength for fruitful work. In its purpose and powers it is very similar to the ancient Rod. The best metal for Dazhdbog is gold, the stone is yakhont. The ancestor god draws his strength from Sunday. In addition, Dazhdbog is a military patron and protector with a brave lion’s heart.
Perun is the eldest son of Svarog.
A deity revered as the lord of thunder and lightning, the patron of warriors in soul and body, the punisher of those who do not fulfill the laws, the manager, the benefactor of men, giving them masculine strength. The blessed day of Perun is Thursday. The metal of this deity is tin. Its power passes through belemnite, lapis lazuli and sapphire. The idols of this god are made of beech and oak.
In many cases, special sacrificial places were not erected for Perun - growing oak trees were used as them, especially those that were struck by lightning. Later, the most reliable amulets were obtained from this oak, protecting against Navi (unreal, otherworldly).
Khors or Khoros- a god close to Dazhdbog, who rules the solar disk. God maintains the world order, and his name supposedly gives rise to such Russian words as “good,” “choir,” and “khoruv.” Has opposition in the person of Black Horse.
Just like Dazhdbog, Horse dominates on Sunday and prefers red gold.
Mara, Morena
Morena is considered the common Slavic goddess of fertility and harvest and has a number of additional names - Marzhana, Marzana and Morana. At the same time, Mara, presumably the name of the same goddess, is the patroness of death. From Morena's name come words such as "pestilence", "sea" and "hassle". In ancient times, plowing the settlement and a poker were used to drive out Morena.
In contrast to Morena, they put the goddess Zhiva, from whose name one can guess that she is the goddess of life, as well as the goddess of fertility along with Morena.
Niy or Viy- the god of the other world, the underworld, the ruler of all underground evil spirits, the servants of Navi. I think this god is familiar to many from the works of Gogol, and he looks quite complete, however, historians are still inclined to believe that Viy is one of the incarnations of Veles.
Call and weather- gods of cold and warm wind. The latter is also mentioned as the god of positive change and variability.
Kolyadya- a festive supplicant god, patron of shamanism and servant of Veles. To celebrate the days of Kolyada, which began on December 20, it was customary to dress up in scary costumes. The tradition of caroling was carefully preserved by many descendants of the Slavs until the end of the 19th century, however, even today you can still meet people who sing songs under the window at Christmas, asking for a visit.
Conclusion
Of course, this is not a complete list of Slavic pagan gods. The Slavs also had a god of intoxicating drink - Kvasur, and Likho, whose one-legged image is very similar in meaning to the meaning of the senior arcana of the Tarot “The Hanged Man”. There were also the goddess of marriage - Tsetsya, and the goddess Skatia, whose meaning has not been reliably studied, and the gods, daughter and wife of Perun - Dzhevana and Perunitsa. Of course, Kupala - the summer god and Svoba - the goddess of forests, as well as Karna and Zhelya - the funeral goddess and goddess of sorrows, and many more deities, the power of which and the origin of which are still debated to this day.
Mainly, one can envy the imagination and ingenuity of the Slavs, because each god represented in their culture is responsible not just for his own space or element, but for almost every aspect of the creation and development of life separately. In particular, there are several goddesses of fertility, who still differ in their strength, and such gods as Dazhdbog and Khors belong to the sun, but at the same time, each is responsible for its own element. Dazhdbog is the god of sunlight, and Khors is the god of the solar disk.
Paganism of the ancient Slavs. On the eve of the adoption of Christianity (Slavic peoples were baptized in the 9th-10th centuries), paganism reached its highest development among the Slavs. The ancient Slavs worshiped the natural elements on which their life and the work of farmers depended. The veneration of ancestors also played an important role. There were many gods. There were even more spirits with which the Slavs inhabited the entire nature around them. Different tribes especially revered different gods. But all the Slavs have long worshiped two main deities - Perun and Veles.
God Perun. An ancient Byzantine author wrote that the Slavs consider their ruler to be God, the creator of lightning. The thunder god Perun was represented as a middle-aged, strong man with a gray, silver-plated head, and a golden mustache and beard. He rode across the sky on a horse or chariot, armed with lightning, axes or arrows. Perun was the ruler of the upper part of the world - the top of the World Tree, he was the master of the sky and the mountains, he commanded the clouds and heavenly waters. It was in his power to water the earth with life-giving rain or punish it with drought or storm. Perun's arrows could hit anyone on earth.
Over time, Perun becomes the patron of the prince and his squad, their assistant in military affairs. Perun was especially revered by the East Slavic princes. Prince Vladimir the Red Sun installed a wooden image of this god with a silver head and a golden mustache in Kyiv, on a mountain next to the princely palace, and proclaimed Perun chief among the gods.
Bulls and roosters were sacrificed to Perun; they were placed near the idol of god or near the sacred oak tree. In especially important cases, when they wanted to ask God for help in defeating their enemies, human sacrifices were made to Perun. They killed captives or even fellow tribesmen by lot: “We cast lots on a boy or a maiden; Whoever it falls on, we will kill him for God’s sake.”
God Veles. No less than Perun, the ancient Slavs revered Veles (or Volos, that is, hairy, shaggy) - the “cattle god”, the patron of domestic animals, trade and wealth. The word “rich” originally meant “having God”, “enjoying the protection of God”; poor, “wretched” - on the contrary, meant “deprived of God.” In ancient times, the ancestors of the Slavs imagined Veles in the form of a huge fire-breathing Serpent. He could also take on the image of a shaggy bear; in general, he was capable of all sorts of transformations. He was considered the ruler of the underworld, the master of earthly waters.
The Slavs did not have a very clear distinction between the “occupations” of the gods. Therefore, Veles, although he was considered primarily a “cattle god,” also influenced other economic affairs. According to Slavic legends, the fertility of the land depended on it. He was close to his mother, the raw earth; abundance, fertility and wealth were in his power.
Farmers made sacrifices to the god of fertility, leaving a bush of ears of ears in the field after the harvest - “for Veles’s beard.” In honor of Veles, ritual feasts were organized - brotherhoods.
Apparently, Veles “was in charge” of the afterlife - the “thirtieth kingdom.” It was believed that in this distant kingdom, lying “far away, beyond the rivers and beyond the sea,” everything was made of gold - both mountains and trees. And the owner of all gold is Veles the Serpent.
If Perun over time became the patron of the prince and the squad among the Eastern Slavs, then Veles remained the people's protector, the patron of “all Rus'.” In ancient times, Veles was undoubtedly a good deity. But after accepting Christianity, giving his good traits to Christian saints (Nicholas, Blasius), Veles (aka the serpent, the bear, the goblin) turned into the leader of the dark forces.
Mokosh is the only female deity among the Slavs. Perhaps she was considered the wife of Perun. Mokosh patronized women's household crafts, but also influenced fertility. Her main occupation was spinning. Of the days of the week, Friday was dedicated to Mokosha. Out of respect for the goddess, women did not spin or wash on this day. The violator of the ban faced severe punishment: the goddess could prick her with a spindle or force her to spin at night. Even after the baptism of Rus', women gathered for secret meetings, where they prayed to Mokoshi and sacrificed livestock and honey to her. Under the influence of Orthodoxy, the positive traits of the pagan goddess eventually transferred to Saint Paraskeva (Praskovya) Friday, and “mokoshka” began to be considered an evil spirit, a demon that inclines women to bad deeds.
Gods of fire, sun and wind. The ancient Slavs populated the upper part of the world with a whole family of solar gods. Among them, the main one was the god of fire Svarog. He gave birth to fire, which was called “svarozhich”. He, Svarog, was a heavenly blacksmith who taught people to use fire and process metals.
The son of Svarog was the sun god Dazhdbog - the giver of good, warmth, wealth. He moved across the sky on a fiery chariot. This god was considered the patron and ancestor of all inhabitants of Ancient Rus', who called themselves “Dazhdboz’s grandchildren.” Khors was also a solar deity, a double of Dazhdbog. Apparently, under this name he was revered by representatives of the Iranian peoples who met among the population of southern Rus' and Kyiv. (In Iranian, the name Khors means “sun”). Next to them, another celestial being is mentioned - Stribog, the god of the wind, who spread divine goodness across the earth.
All the highest gods among the Slavs had a human form, except for the winged dog Simargl. The name and appearance of this god, in all likelihood, were also borrowed from the Iranian peoples, who revered the prophetic bird Simurgh. In Russian folk legends, the bird Div had a similar appearance, which, sitting on the top of a tree, screams like an animal, foreshadowing defeats and troubles.
Among the Western Slavs, the fiery Svarog was known under the name Radogost or Sventovita. He was considered their main god. Local priests turned him into a deity of war. In the Baltic city of Arkona there was a temple of Sventovit, crowned with a red roof (everything in this temple was red). The temple contained a wooden idol with four heads and a weapon dedicated to it. In its right hand the idol held a horn, which was filled with wine every year. By the amount of the remaining drink they guessed about the future harvest. If there was little wine left, a crop failure was expected. At the temple there was a sacred white horse, which was used for fortune telling.
Zbruch idol
Pagan sanctuary. Unlike the Western Slavs, the inhabitants of Eastern Europe did not erect temple buildings. Sanctuaries were built in the open air. Each tribe had its own sanctuary. Usually it was a rounded area (the sanctuary of Perun near Novgorod had the shape of a flower), around which low ramparts and ditches were built, which had no defensive significance. A wooden idol was installed in the center of the site, ritual fires were lit in front of it and sacrifices were made: grain, domestic animals.
The sanctuary of the highest gods was built in Kyiv in 980 by Prince Vladimir, trying to give it national significance: “And he placed idols on a hill outside the courtyard of the chamber: Perun was wooden, and his head was silver, and his mustache was golden, and Khors, Dazhdbog, and Stribog, and Simargla and Mokosh.” The idols looked like pillars with a carved image of a human head. Unfortunately, wooden idols have not reached us. Several stone Slavic idols are known. The most famous of them is the Zbruch idol, found in the Carpathian region. The faces of the gods were depicted schematically, roughly, and were not endowed with individual features. Ritual actions in the sanctuaries were performed by priests-magicians, or magi. Elders and princes acted as priests.
When we say Lada, we think of the unfortunate Zhiguli.
Although Lada is the Goddess of love, beauty, family happiness, and the patroness of marriage. And also the keeper of the hearth, the wife of Svarog, the mother of Lelya and Dajbog... She belongs to the pantheon of light gods of Slavic paganism. Our ancestors worshiped them: the Drevlyans, Rus, Dregovichi, Polyans...
Beregini-Rozhanitsy- words that do not require explanation. This goddess is the keeper of the hearth, warmth, nurse, mother, patroness of newlyweds and children, the joy of the elderly.
In October, after all agricultural work was completed, the Slavs held weddings. There are three important milestones in a person's life: birth, wedding and death. If the first and last do not depend on us, then a wedding is a special ritual that links together two destinies, two lives - two families.
Wedding, light, holiness, Svarga - the concept of life, truth, connection. At the wedding they played harp, pipes, horns, tambourines, drums and other musical instruments. Songs were sung that immersed listeners in the old days. Relatives, hugging their shoulders, sang their ancestral songs and praised the young. Some jokingly measured their strength with new relatives, while others took the lead in merry undertakings. Then the buffoons got down to business - and then hang on! - everyone will get the worst of their antics.
Goodness and peace reigned in the ancient Slavic families. The Russians revered their ancestors, gods, and kept the traditions of deep antiquity.
Bereginya the woman in labor had assistants: brownies, courtyard servants, barn workers, banniks. Her symbol is a duck.
Veles, hair, volokh, sorcerer, sorcerer, volokhaty, elk, ox, forest, fox, goblin, oleshka, deer - all these words are associated with the forest. Veles's children - this is what the Russians call themselves in "The Tale of Igor's Campaign."
Christians called Veles the “cattle god,” but can Veles’s totemic animals—a bear, a wolf, a sacred cow—be called cattle? No, peoples living in a natural tribal system considered animals equal to people. For example, in Rus' they love bears very much and consider them brothers. And the bear is Veles. Veles has many images, including in the form of animals.
The Russians learned a lot from animals, imitated them with their voice, movements, methods of attack and defense.
Veles is an inexhaustible source of knowledge; every animal in his forest is unique. But people have moved away from nature - hence all the troubles of modern civilization. It’s time to realize that only a return to naturalness, to healthy natural principles can save the soul and body from final destruction.
We live in a disfigured world, divided into religions, parties, classes, people are valued not by intelligence and strength, but by money, so humanity is withering away and not developing spiritually. For spirituality is in our roots, and nowhere else. Spirituality - knowledge (Vedas). Know Ra (faith), know Rod.
Veles is the keeper of hoary antiquity and the silent bones of ancestors. The last night of October is the day of remembrance of grandfathers (in the West - Halloween). On this day, the Rus saw off the spirits of nature and their relatives who had died during the year under the snow with bonfires and the music of bagpipes and pipes.
Dazhdbog, give, rain - words with the same root meaning “to share, to distribute.” Dazhdbog sent people not only rain, but also the sun, saturating the earth with light and warmth. Dazhdbog is the autumn sky with clouds, rain, thunderstorms, and sometimes hail.
September 22 is the autumn equinox, the holiday of Rodion and Rozhanitsa, the day of Dazhdbog and Mokosh. The entire harvest has been harvested and the final harvests are underway in the orchards and orchards. All residents of a village or city go out into nature, light a fire, roll a burning sun wheel up a mountain, dance in circles with songs, play pre-wedding and ritual games. Then they bring tables to the main street, put the best food on them and begin a general family feast. Neighbors and relatives try food prepared by others, praise them, and all together glorify the Sun, the earth and Mother Rus'.
Dazhdbozhy (solar) grandchildren - that’s what the Rusichi called themselves. Symbolic signs of the sun (solar rosettes, solstice) were present everywhere among our ancestors - on clothes, dishes, and in home decoration.
Every Russian man is obliged to create a large family - a family, feed, raise, educate children and become Dazhdbog. This is his duty, glory, really. Behind each of us there are countless ancestors - our roots, and each must give life to descendant branches.
A man who does not have children is doomed to hunger, shame, and poverty in old age. The family must be large and healthy - our ancestors a thousand years ago did not know vodka and smoking, and therefore gave birth to strong and healthy knights and women in labor.
Lada, harmony, love, affection - all this speaks of a tender relationship between husband and wife in a family union aimed at having children and prolonging the Slavic family. Lada is a little girl born in the spring with the first streams and snowdrops. Rooks, the first birds to fly home from warm countries, are the heralds of the birth of Lada. Along with Lada, flowers and young foliage appear. Birds begin to sing where Lada passes. The animals are also happy about the young goddess, who brings them food after a long hungry winter.
Lada's favorite birds - pigeons and swans - are compared in our minds with affection and fidelity. That's why girls sing calls to spring in the voices of birds. Every girl in Rus' is Lada.
Lada gains strength on Kupala, at this time she is caressed by the rays of Yarila, and a small month is born in her womb - a symbol of life. On June 22, the Slavs celebrate the summer solstice, huge bonfires are lit, a burning solar wheel is rolled into the water (meaning “bathing” the sun), round dances are held shouting: “Burn, burn clearly, so that it does not go out!” Everyone bathes, plays trickle and other love games, and runs after each other through the forest. Fornication, as Christians claim, did not actually occur on the holiday. Magi, old people, parents closely monitored the youth and, in case of violation of moral laws, expelled the offenders from the family - this was the most terrible punishment at that time, because in ancient times a person could not live alone, without relatives.
Love in Rus' was not a joy, but served for procreation and the conception of new children. It is the appearance of children that is the meaning of pairing not only people, but also animals and birds. Only married couples went into the forests at the end of the holiday, under the shade of warm fogs, where they basked and made love until dawn, lighting numerous bonfires of love throughout Russia, turning the world into a huge burning fiery fern flower, a flower of truth, happiness, naturalness and eternity.
The arrival of Lada also awakened the spirits of nature - goblin, field, water, mermaids.
Makosh, mother, kush, purse, purse (bag, scrip), piggy bank, merchant - these words are related to each other and mean an increase in goodness and wealth.
If Lada is more related to spring water, then Makosh is the goddess of the earth, the Mother of Cheese Earth. Women of ancient times learned to be Makosh in their family. Makosh is the woman who knows how to work in the field, in the garden, in the garden, in the forest, knows medicinal herbs, knows how to raise and raise children correctly. Makosh is a goddess who reveals healer secrets to women in the summer (Morena - in the winter).
Makosh is the goddess of life (some Slavic tribes called her Zhiva), she carries a month (a man) in her growing womb after Kupala.
Man in Rus' was symbolically represented by a Tree. His parents, grandfathers and great-grandfathers are roots that go into the depths of time, into hoary antiquity, feeding him with the vital juices of the family. The branches and crown of the tree are the future children and grandchildren that every Rusich looks forward to. He stretches out his hands to the souls of his ancestors - the stars and to the main ancestor - the sun. The Slav does not ask them for favors, like Christians, but simply speaks and assures them of his firm intention to have a family and children.
If before marriage a girl learned the work of Mokosh, then, after getting married, she fulfills sacred maternal duties, giving birth and feeding children, teaching them kindness and the correct attitude towards nature and relatives. Being Makosh is the sacred duty of all girls and women.
Moraine, pestilence, frost, drizzle (rain), sea, mara, haze, stained, dead, gloom, darkness. All these words mean darkness, bitter cold, death, dampness or unbearable heat. Similar sensations occur to the sick and dying. Morena is a goddess who fights with spring and, leaving, takes with her the remnants of the past year (cold, snow, darkness), giving way to new life, spring.
On March 22, the spring equinox begins, after which, as was believed in Russia, spring begins. Before the equinox, our ancestors cheerfully celebrated Maslenitsa. Again bonfires were lit, again in cities and villages, as on Kolyada, young people gathered in groups, the most cheerful entertainers were chosen for jokes and practical jokes; ice slides, forts for playing snowballs, swings and carousels were made; there was troika riding, hand-to-hand combat and wall-to-wall battles, and in the end - the capture of a snowy town and the burning of an effigy of Morena.
A competition immediately took place - who would be the most agile and be able to climb up the pole and get from there a rooster (it was revered as a symbol of the sun, dawn, spring and the goddess Lada - Morena's successor), round rolls or boots. A burning wheel was rolled down the mountain and bonfires were lit - a symbol of warmth and rebirth.
But Morena is not as terrible as she might seem. She is the image of our harsh snowy homeland, which tests everyone's strength and survival and takes only the weak. She loves the strict purity of the snow and the transparency of the ice; she is delighted by the dance of snowflakes in the deep winter sky. Morena's favorites are owls and lynxes. Russian people love winter, its invigorating cold, sparkling snowdrifts and ringing ice.
Morena's symbol is the moon. Her face looks sternly at the earth, awakening in wolves the desire to howl, thickening the fogs in the air and giving rise to the movement of waters in lakes and seas.
Perun, rune (in Rus' these ancient letters were known as “traits and cuts”, mentioned in many written sources). Speech, stream, prophet, roar, roar, roar. Perun is the great god of the Russians, the god of war and thunder. His weapons are sparkling swords, axes, a huge thundering hammer, a mace and a spear that strikes without missing a beat. Animals and birds of Perun - aurochs, wolves, ravens, falcons. We love and honor Perun among the people. His roaring thunderous voice is mesmerizing. The unearthly brilliance of his weapon - lightning - is shocking and awe-inspiring. The rapid flight of blue-leaden clouds - his warriors - delights.
Perun was especially revered in times of war and danger. In a bloody battle or during martial games, everyone tried to ignite in themselves the fiery spirit of this formidable ancestor-god.
Although Perun was related to the cold (he was born in the first month of winter), the Days of Perun - his time - began on June 20 and ended in early August. At this time, the Russians celebrated funeral feasts for the soldiers who had fallen in battle - they gathered on mounds and red mountains, held feasts, military fun, measured their strength in running, throwing weapons, swimming, and horse racing. They killed a bull bought by chipping in, roasted and ate it, and drank mead and kvass. They initiated initiations of young guys who had to undergo serious tests to become warriors and girdle themselves with the weapons of the Family.
Our ancestors always had many external enemies, and constant wars were fought. The shield and sword were revered as a symbol of Perun, his gift to a man. Weapons were worshiped and idolized.
But not only men went into mortal combat. Often, among the killed Russians on the battlefield, enemies were surprised to find women fighting shoulder to shoulder with their husbands. They were also patronized by the golden-moustached Perun...
Svarog, bungle, cook, light, holiness, reduce, color. These words are united by the idea of the creation of life (horn, fate, birth, speech, name). Svarog is the greatest of the Russian gods. This is the ancestor, the ancestor, who set the course of life, who gave people knowledge and speech. He created the entire cosmos - the universe of Svarga. Svarog - in everything. Everything in the world is Svarog, a part of it. Among the Balts he bears the name Sotvaras, among the Iranians - Tvashtar, among the Romans - Saturn, among the Germans - Vodan, among the Etruscans - Satr, and so on - they all have consonant names and similar features. In the myths of the white peoples, God forges with a hammer - creates the world, striking lightning and sparks; for all of them, he has one relationship or another with the sun.
Svarog is wise, he sits surrounded by our deceased ancestors, smart birds and animals. Like an acorn that gave birth to a huge oak tree, this god gave birth to the Tree of Life. Gods and people, animals and birds - all living things - originate from Svarog the grandfather. Svarog resides in every object, in every person, he is obvious, he can be seen, touched, heard.
Svarog is in Navi, in the past, but they remember him (the old days). Svarog is in charge, in the future, which we know and for which we live. He is in us, we are part of him, just like our descendants.
Svarog is the old sun riding in a chariot, cold and dark.
Chernobog reigns in the last days of the year, when the night is the longest and the coldest. Russians bathe in an ice hole, getting used to winter. Nature is silent like an old man, dressing in white snow clothes. People in their houses insulate the windows, burn splinters and eat what they grew in the summer, sing songs, tell fairy tales, sew clothes, repair shoes, make toys, heat stoves. And they wait for the birth of Khors, preparing outfits for caroling.
Semargl, stench, flickering, Cerberus, the dog Smargla, death - these concepts in their essence mean an otherworldly deity - a fiery wolf or a dog. Among the ancient Slavs, this is a fiery wolf with falcon wings, a very common image. The Rus saw Semargl as a winged wolf or a wolf with the wings and head of a falcon, and sometimes his paws were like those of a falcon. If we recall mythology, we will see that not only the horse was dedicated to the sun, but also the wolf and the falcon. It is worth looking at the chronicle letters, frames, ancient embroideries and decorations of houses, household utensils, armor and we will see that the wolf-falcon Semargl is found on them very often. For the Rus, Semargl was as important as the dragon for the Chinese, and the unicorn for the Celts.
The wolf and the falcon are swift, fearless (they attack an enemy with superior strength), loyal (a wolf, even when hungry, will not devour a relative like a dog). Warriors often identified themselves with wolves (a warrior is a howling wolf).
Do not forget that the wolf and falcon clear the forest of weak animals, healing nature and making natural selection. Images of a gray wolf and a falcon are often found in fairy tales, epics, songs, and ancient written monuments, such as “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.”
In every Slav lives Semargl, who fights disease and evil in the human body. A drinking, smoking, lazy, degenerating person kills his Semargl, gets sick and dies
Stribog- swift, impetuous, fast, nimble, aspiration, stream, and even, if you want, a line. All these concepts mean flow, speed, spread, spreading. If we combine all this into one, we have before us the image of the wind and everything connected with it. This is either a warm breath of summer, or a violent gust of rain and thunderstorm, or a hurricane, a tornado, or a cold breath of the north, snowfalls and freezing temperatures.
Rus' is a northern land, and the icy midnight wind lives in it. Cold and hungry February is just the time; it is during this month that the howl of hungry wolves, which Stribog drives to hunt with his icy breath, is especially long and frightening. Only crows bathe in the currents of the north wind. And at night, the fast shadows of predatory lynxes glide through the snowstorm, flashing their yellow eyes and emitting a chilling meow.
In April, Stribog will arrive from the east with a young, warm daytime breeze. At night he will breathe cold dampness.
In summer, Stribog blows from midday (south), burning with heat during the day and caressing with warmth at night. And in the fall, flying in from sunset (west), just like in the spring, it will warm during the day and cool at night.
In autumn and spring, Stribog disperses the clouds, revealing the warm, bright sun. In the summer, he brings rain during the drought so that the harvest does not perish; in the winter, he rotates the wings of the mills, grinding the grain into flour, from which bread is then kneaded.
The Russes considered themselves the grandchildren of Strigozh. Stribog is our breath, it is the air in which words sound, smells spread and light scatters, allowing us to see our surroundings. Stribog is vital to all living things. He is the lord of birds and is often depicted as a blowing head or horseman.
Horse, khorost, brushwood, chrest, cross, armchair, spark, round dance, horo, kolo, wheel, bracelet, stake, carols, circle, blood, red - all these words are related to each other and denote concepts associated with fire, circle, red color. If we merge them into one, an image of the sun will appear before us, described allegorically.
The Slavs celebrated the beginning of the new year on December 22 - the day of the winter solstice. It was believed that on this day a small, fierce sun was born in the form of a boy, Khors. The new sun completed the course of the old sun (old year) and opened the course of the next year. While the sun is still weak, night and cold prevail on the earth, inherited from the old year, but every day the Great Horse (as mentioned in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”) grows, and the sun grows stronger.
Our ancestors celebrated the solstice with carols, wore a Kolovrat (eight-pointed star) - the sun - on a pole, put on the masks of totemic animals, which were associated in the minds of people with the images of ancient gods: the bear - Veles, the cow - Makosh, the goat - the cheerful and at the same time evil hypostasis of Veles , the horse is the sun, the swan is Lada, the duck is Rozhanitsa (progenitor of the world), the rooster is a symbol of time, sunrise and sunset, and so on.
On the mountain they burned a wheel tied with straw, as if helping the sun to shine, then sledding, skating, skiing, snowball fights, fist fights and wall-to-wall fights, songs, dances, competitions, and games began. People went to visit each other, everyone tried to better treat those who came, so that in the new year there would be abundance in the house.
The harsh northern Rus' loved valiant fun. Forced to live and work in difficult conditions, our ancestors, until the 20th century, were known as cheerful and hospitable people who knew how to relax.
Horse is a male deity who embodies the desire of boys and adult husbands for knowledge, spiritual growth, self-improvement, to overcome difficulties encountered in life and find the right solutions.
Yarilo, rage, spring, Yar (among the northerners in ancient times it meant “village”, since they used to live in huts with a fireplace), brightness. These words are united by the concept of increasing brightness, light. Indeed, after the arrival of spring there is a rapid increase in days and increased heat. Everything comes to life, grows, reaches for the sun. Nature is resurrected in the form of the beautiful Lada. Yarilo, melting the snow, lives mother earth with melt water.
Yarilo - the sun in the form of a young, full of strength groom rides on a horse to his Lada. He is in a hurry to start a family and give birth to children (harvest, young animals, birds, fish, etc.).
By the summer solstice, Yarilo is gaining full strength. He lives in truth and love with the earth, giving birth to new lives in the summer. By June 22, Yarilo turns into Belbog, the day is the longest, nature is kind to him and loves him. Yarila's condition is the condition of all young guys.
In the fourth month of the year (now April), the Russians began the most important agricultural work for the entire Slavic family: plowing, grazing, then hunting, fishing, beekeeping, gardening, and vegetable gardening. Such was the life of the peasants (by the way, the word “peasant” comes from “cross, cross, horse”, and “ognishchanin” - from “fire” that is made in the oven).
Readers may have the erroneous opinion that some gods served as the embodiment of evil among the Slavs, while others - good. No, the Russians, children of nature, accepted her in all its manifestations, knew how to be useful to her and gratefully take from her what they needed. The gods, like people, combined both principles - both positive and negative. For example, Yarilo gives warmth and light, but if you use them unwisely, there will be sunstroke. And Morena, although cold, helped Rus' more than once, freezing the troops of Hitler and Napoleon.
All Slavic gods that were part of the ancient pagan pantheon were divided into solar gods and functional gods. The supreme deity of the Slavs was Svarog (aka Rod). There were four solar gods: Khors, Yarilo, Dazhbog and Svarog. Functional gods of the Slavs: Perun - the patron of lightning and warriors, Semargl - the god of death, the image of the sacred heavenly fire, Veles - the black god, lord of the dead, wisdom and magic, Stribog - the god of the wind.
Since ancient times, the Lavians celebrated the change of seasons and the changing phases of the sun. Thus, each season (spring, summer, autumn and winter) had its own god (Hors, Yarilo, Dazhbog and Svarog), who was especially revered throughout the season. So the god Khors was revered during the period between the winter and spring solstice (from December 22 to March 21). Yarilo was revered between the spring and summer solstice (from March 21 to June 22). Dazhbog was revered during the period between the summer and autumn solstice (from June 22 to September 23). God Svarog was revered between the autumn and winter solstice (from September 23 to December 22).
Svarog
Svarog is the god of fire. One of the main gods in the Slavic pantheon. “Svarga” in Sanskrit means sky, firmament, “var” means fire, heat. This is where all the Slavic derivatives come from - boil, svarganit, top, etc. Svarog was considered the god of Heaven, the mother of life (“Sva” is the ancestral mother of the Indo-Europeans). At a later time, Svarog changed his gender. By analogy with the Greek Zeus, he became the parent of many gods-sons, Svarozhich, having a fiery nature: Perun (?), Dazhdbog-Radegast, Fire-Rarog-Semargl.
Among the Slavs, almost all heavenly gods are based on fire. Thanks to the works of Svarog, people learned to master fire, process metal, created in the “image and likeness” of the heavenly ones - a plow, tongs and a chariot, and it was Svarog who gave them laws and knowledge. Then he retired and handed over the reins to his sons. The young gods Khors, Dazhdbog, Yarilo are also fiery or solar.
According to Dietmar (died 1018), the pagan Slavs revered Svarog more than other gods; some recognized him as one being with Redigast and represented him as the director of wars. In the myths of the white peoples, God forges with a hammer - he creates the world, striking lightning and sparks, for all of them he has one relationship or another with fire.
The cult of Svarog was most actively used in the pagan practice of corpse burning. Among the Baltic Slavs, Svarozhich (otherwise called Radgost) was revered in the cult center of the Redarians Retre-Radgoste as one of the main gods, whose attributes were a horse and spears, as well as a huge boar, according to legend, emerging from the sea. Among the Czechs, Slovaks and Ukrainians, the fiery spirit Rarog can be associated with Svarog.
Svarog is the old sun riding in a chariot, cold and dark. Nature is silent like an old man, dressing in white snow clothes. People in their houses insulate the windows, burn splinters and eat what they grew in the summer, sing songs, tell fairy tales, sew clothes, repair shoes, make toys, heat stoves. And they wait for the birth of Khors, preparing outfits for caroling.
Horse
Khors is the sun god. Horse, horost, brushwood, khrest, cross, armchair, spark, round dance, horo, kolo, wheel, bracelet, stake, carols, circle, blood, red - all these words are related to each other and denote concepts associated with fire, circle, in red. If we merge them into one, an image of the sun will appear before us, described allegorically.
The Slavs celebrated the beginning of the new year on December 22 - the day of the winter solstice. It was believed that on this day a small, fierce sun was born in the form of a boy, Khors. The new sun completed the course of the old sun (old year) and opened the course of the next year. While the sun is still weak, night and cold prevail on the earth, inherited from the old year, but every day the Great Horse (as mentioned in “The Tale of Igor’s Host”) grows, and the sun grows stronger.
Our ancestors celebrated the solstice with carols, wore a Kolovrat (eight-pointed star) - the sun - on a pole, put on the masks of totem animals, which were associated in the minds of people with the images of ancient gods: the bear - Veles, the cow - Makosh, the goat - the cheerful and at the same time evil hypostasis of Veles , the horse is the sun, the swan is Lada, the duck is Rozhanitsa (progenitor of the world), the rooster is a symbol of time, sunrise and sunset, and so on.
On the mountain they burned a wheel tied with straw, as if helping the sun to shine, then sledding, skating, skiing, snowball fights, fist fights and wall-to-wall fights, songs, dances, competitions, and games began. People went to visit each other, everyone tried to better treat those who came, so that in the new year there would be abundance in the house.
The harsh northern Rus' loved valiant fun. Forced to live and work in difficult conditions, our ancestors, until the twentieth century, were known as cheerful and hospitable people who knew how to relax. Horse is a male deity who embodies the desire of boys and adult husbands for knowledge, spiritual growth, self-improvement, to overcome difficulties encountered in life and find the right solutions.
Yarilo
Yarilo is the god of conception, the ardent god of awakening nature and external light. Yarila marked the triumph of fruitful love; some researchers refer to it as the descendants of Svarog, and by others - to the descendants of Veles. It is likely that there is no inconsistency in this. If we consider that Svarog was once a goddess (Veles never changed gender), then Yarilo is the child of both parents. In the minds of villagers, even in the 19th century, Yarila was seen as a young, handsome groom taking part in all kinds of spring festivals and looking for a beautiful bride. Yarila gave a good harvest, healthy offspring, he drove out winter and cold. The name Yarila itself comes from the word “ardent” - strong, powerful. It was not for nothing that in the western lands he had a different name - Yarovit.
Meanwhile, the root “yar” is present in such purely feminine combinations: spring cow - yarka, yoke, spring wheat, spring bread. But in the purely feminine gender: rage, milkmaid, yar, yarina (sheep's wool), yara (spring). Yarilo is the son or reality of Veles, who appears as Frost in winter, and in spring as Yarila.
Yarilo, rage, spring, Yar (among the northerners in ancient times it meant “village”), because they used to live in huts with a fireplace; brightness - these words are united by the concept of increasing brightness, light. Indeed, after the arrival of spring there is a rapid increase in days and increased heat. Everything comes to life, grows, reaches for the sun. Nature is resurrected in the form of the beautiful Lada. Yarilo, melting the snow, lives mother earth with melt water. Yarilo - the sun in the form of a young, full of strength groom rides on a horse to his Lada. He is in a hurry to start a family and give birth to children (harvest, young animals, birds, fish, etc.).
By the summer solstice, Yarilo is gaining full strength. He lives in truth and love with the earth, giving birth to new lives in the summer. By June 22, Yarilo turns into Belbog, the day is the longest, nature is kind to him and loves him. Yarila's condition is the condition of all young guys. In the fourth month of the year (now April), the Russians began the most important agricultural work for the entire Slavic family.
Dazhdbog
Dazhdbog - the god of fertility, personified the strength and brightness of the luminary, its thermal characteristics, life-giving warmth and even the rules of the universe. Dazhdbog (the giving god) was expected to fulfill desires, health and other benefits. The symbols of Dazhdbog were silver and gold - light, flaming metals.
Dazhdbog, give, rain are words with the same root meaning “to share, to distribute.” Dazhdbog sent people not only rain, but also the sun, saturating the earth with light and warmth. Dazhdbog is the autumn sky with clouds, rain, thunderstorms, and sometimes hail. September 22 is the autumn equinox, the holiday of Rodion and Rozhanitsa, the day of Dazhdbog and Mokosh.
The entire harvest has been harvested and the final harvests are underway in the orchards and orchards. All residents of a village or city go out into nature, light a fire, roll a burning wheel - the sun - up the mountain, dance in circles with songs, play pre-wedding and ritual games. Then they bring tables to the main street, put the best food on them and begin a general family feast. Neighbors and relatives try food prepared by others, praise them, and all together glorify the Sun, the earth and Mother Rus'.
Dazhdbozhy (solar) grandchildren - that’s what the Rusichi called themselves. Symbolic signs of the sun (solar rosettes, solstice) were present everywhere among our ancestors - on clothes, dishes, and in home decoration. Every Russian man is obliged to create a large family - a family, feed, raise, educate children and become Dazhdbog. This is his duty, glory, really. Behind each of us there are countless ancestors - our roots, and each must give life to branches - descendants.
Veles
Veles is the master of Wild Nature. Vodchiy on all roads. Mr. Ways, patron of all travelers. Master of Navi, ruler of the unknown, black god. Posthumous judge and lifetime tester, powerful wizard and lord of magic, werewolf. Patron of trade, mediator of contracts and interpreter of laws. Giver of wealth. Patron of those who know and seek, teacher of the arts. God of luck.
Patron of livestock and wealth, the embodiment of gold, guardian of traders, cattle breeders, hunters and cultivators, master of magic and the hidden, ruler of crossroads, navy god. All lower spirits obeyed him. Buyan Island became the magical abode of Veles. Veles was mainly concerned with earthly affairs, because he was revered as the lord of forests, animals, the god of poetry and prosperity.
Veles was the lunar god, brother of the Sun and the Great Guardian of the Rule. According to Vedic teachings, after death, human souls rose along the moonbeam to the Navi gates. Here Veles meets souls. The pure souls of the righteous are reflected from the Moon and follow the sun's ray to the Sun - the abode of the Almighty. Other souls either remain with Veles on the Moon and are purified, or are reincarnated on Earth as people or lower spirits.
Veles is the keeper of hoary antiquity and the silent bones of ancestors. The last night of October is the day of remembrance of grandfathers (in the West - Halloween). On this day, the Rus saw off the spirits of nature and their relatives who had died during the year under the snow with bonfires and the music of bagpipes and pipes.
Semargl
Semargl is the god of death. Semargl, stench, flickering, Cerberus, Smargl’s dog, death - these concepts in their essence mean an otherworldly deity - a fiery wolf or a dog. Among the ancient Slavs this is a fiery wolf with falcon wings, a very common image. The Rus saw Semargl as a winged wolf, or a wolf with the wings and head of a falcon, and sometimes his paws were like those of a falcon.
If we recall mythology, we will see that not only the horse was dedicated to the sun, but also the wolf and the falcon. It is worth looking at the chronicle letters, frames, ancient embroideries and decorations of houses, household utensils, armor, and we will see that the wolf-falcon Semargl is found on them very often. For the Rus, Semargl was as important as the dragon for the Chinese, and the unicorn for the Celts. The wolf and the falcon are swift, fearless (they attack an enemy with superior strength), loyal (a wolf, even when hungry, will not devour a relative like a dog). Warriors often identified themselves with wolves (a warrior is a howling wolf).
Do not forget that the wolf and falcon clear the forest of weak animals, healing nature and making natural selection. The image of a gray wolf and a falcon is often found in fairy tales, epics, songs, and ancient written monuments, such as “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” In every Slav lives Semargl, who fights disease and evil in the human body. A drinking, smoking, lazy, degenerating person kills his Semargl, gets sick and dies.
Perun
Perun is the god of thunder and lightning, the patron saint of warriors. According to the Slavs, Perun appeared with his lightning on the warm days of spring, fertilized the earth with rain and brought out the clear sun from behind the scattered clouds. With his creative power nature awakened to life, and he seemed to be creating the World again. Hence Perun is a producer, a creator. At the same time, Perun is a formidable and punishing deity; his appearance excites fear and trembling. Perun was the supreme deity of Prince Vladimir's pantheon as the patron of the ruling military elite, prince and squad, punishing for non-compliance with the laws.
Animals, children, and prisoners were sacrificed to Perun; An oak tree was dedicated to him, from which, according to legend, living fire was produced; solemn oaths were pronounced in his name, for example when concluding treaties. The ancient worship of Perun was transferred to the Christian era to the prophet Elijah.
Perun was represented as a middle-aged husband: according to the ancient Russian chronicle description, the head of his wooden idol was silver and his mustache was gold. According to other Indo-European traditions, the beard of the Thunderer had a special mythological significance, which was indirectly reflected in Russian folklore formulas relating to the “beard of Ilya,” whose image replaced Perun in the era of dual faith. Perun's main weapons were stones, arrows, and axes, which were objects of pagan cult.
Although Perun was related to the cold (he was born in the first month of winter), the Days of Perun - his time - began on June 20 and ended in early August. At this time, the Russians celebrated funeral feasts for the soldiers who had fallen in battle - they gathered on mounds and red mountains, held feasts, military fun, and measured their strength among themselves in running, throwing weapons, swimming, and horse racing. They killed a bull bought by chipping in, roasted and ate it, and drank mead and kvass. They initiated initiations of young guys who had to undergo serious tests into warriors and girdle themselves with the weapons of the Family.
Our ancestors always had many external enemies, and constant wars were fought. The shield and sword were revered as a symbol of Perun, his gift to a man. Weapons were worshiped and idolized. But not only men went into mortal combat. Often, among the killed Russians on the battlefield, enemies were surprised to find women fighting shoulder to shoulder with their husbands. They were also patronized by the golden-moustached Perun.
Stribog
Stribog is the god of the wind, the leader of air currents. It was Stribog, without mentioning his name, who was turned to in later times to perform conspiracies and spells against clouds or drought. Stribog had various kinds of Winds (names lost) under his command. It is believed that one of these Stribozhich winds was Weather, carrying warm and soft western air masses. To others - Pozvizd or Whistling, the evil north wind.
There are several interpretations of the name Stribog itself: Stroy - that is, the old, elder god or strga - a verb denoting duration in space, the extent of something. Swift, impetuous, fast, nimble, aspiration, jet - all these concepts mean flow, speed, spread, spreading. If we combine all this into one, we have before us the image of the wind and everything connected with it. According to one version, Stribog sends his wind-arrows into the world of Reveal and helps the sun's rays-arrows to fertilize the earth. This god always in fairy tales under the name of Wind acts as a destroyer of intrigues and Death itself. The essence of Stribog is ambiguous: he, as the master of the elements, sends life-giving moisture and life-bearing clouds, but at the same time, he sends hurricanes and drought to the earth, and with them death.
In April, Stribog will arrive from the east with a young, warm daytime breeze. At night he will breathe cold dampness. In summer, Stribog blows from midday (south), burning with heat during the day and caressing with warmth at night. And in the fall, flying in from sunset (west), just like in the spring, it will warm during the day and cool at night. In autumn and spring, Stribog disperses the clouds, revealing the warm, bright sun. In the summer, he brings rain during the drought so that the harvest does not perish; in the winter, he rotates the wings of the mills, grinding the grain into flour, from which they will then knead bread. The Russes considered themselves the grandchildren of Strigozh. Stribog is our breath, it is the air in which words sound, smells spread and light scatters, allowing us to see our surroundings.
