Ancient gods of the Slavs names. Forgotten gods of the ancient Slavs

Wooden idols, sacred fires, forest temples, earth mounds…. and on the night of Ivan Kupala, girls and boys look for a fern flower and dance round dances - this is, perhaps, all that modern man knows about the paganism of the ancient Slavs, and our forefathers prayed to pagan creators and spirits for centuries and millennia.

Paganism can be defined as a pre-Christian faith. Along with Christianity, writing came to ancient Russia, and with it the book culture, borrowed from Byzantium. No one wrote down pagan myths and legends, therefore very little is known about the faith of the ancient Slavs today. It is known that at the end of the 10th century, before accepting Christianity, Prince Vladimir tried to legitimize the pagan faith, for which he created a sanctuary in Kyiv - a pantheon with wooden statues of various pagan gods. The purpose of its creation was to unite the beliefs of the inhabitants of different parts of ancient Russia.

All the Slavs were united by the fact that faith was based on the harmony of man and nature, and there was a main, single god, they called him "supreme", the god of the gods. And that pantheon of gods, which is known in modern times (Perun, Svarog and others), is considered by many scientists as many-sided, a manifestation of a single, supreme god. There are many gods and spirits in paganism, the main ones are part of the pantheon.

God Rod

God Rod is the creator of the world, the cause of all causes. It was he who, having sacrificed himself, began to build the visible world, Everything that was created by Rod still has echoes of his name at the root: nature, parents, relatives, homeland ... Rod divided the world into three parts:

• The highest is “rule”, creators live there, who always act according to the rules, hence the name;
• Middle - the level that we clearly see, "reality";
• The lower world - the abode of our forefathers - is "nav", visions and bad dreams fly from there.

Svarog

The clan gave birth to Svarog - the god who completed the creation of the world.

Svarog is a blacksmith who created the earth. He found a huge combustible stone, foamed the ocean with it, which turned into the first dry land. This stone was also useful for further miracles: other gods and famous warriors appeared from its sparks, and Svarog also taught people to make cottage cheese and cheese from milk with the help of this stone. "To bungle" - still means to create something miraculously. The god of fire gave people basic skills: he taught them to cook food on fire, heat their homes, cultivate and protect their land. Svarog became the father of the "Svarozhichi" - that was the name of his children. Perun is one of the most powerful and famous sons of Svarog.

Perun

The birth of Perun, according to legend, was accompanied by a powerful earthquake. Its purpose was to control thunder and lightning. For his formidable disposition and strong character, he was chosen as the leader and patron of the warriors. In infancy, Perun was abducted by a half-man, half-scorpion - a skipper beast, who dragged him into his dungeon. After being released from captivity, Perun slept soundly until he, already an adult man, was washed with living water.

Veles

Svarog's brother - Veles - gave movement to the world created by Perun and Svarog himself. He gave life to such patterns that after spring came summer, after sleep - wakefulness, after inhalation - exhalation. The sign of the solstice (in the modern sense - the swastika) is the main symbol of the movement of life and death, like yin and yang. Veles is an ambiguous god, he is both the master and patron of reality (the world of people), and the master of Navi (the world of the dead). During his life he was a tester, after death - a judge. The patron of wanderers, trade, art teacher, god of luck - he knew both sides of the world, both black and white. He, according to legend, was a great magician and teacher.

Makosh

Among our ancestors, women goddesses were also revered. Makosh is the wife of Veles, the goddess of fate and fertility, the patroness of women's needlework. Fertility, economic prosperity and good economic activity in the house depend on it.

Stribog

The wind in Slavic mythology was associated with the god Stribog. His birth came from the breath of the Family, has power over the storm, the wind. It appears as a white-haired old man living in a dense forest. Sailors prayed to him, the main temples were located in the port area.

A Russian person is broad-minded, and we still celebrate, along with Orthodox Easter, a pagan Maslenitsa. God Perun is identified with Ilya the prophet, Veles - became Saint Blaise, there is an analogy in paganism to the holy trinity - triglav, the trinity of Svarog, Perun and Svyatovid. Our ancestors have never been slaves of their gods, and accordingly, all communication took place at the level - "fathers-children", hence the complete absence of sacrifices. What our ancestors did not have was fear and admiration for God, the pagan Slavs considered themselves children, the offspring of the creator, on a par with the gods - Perun, Veles ... They were the keepers of the values ​​laid down by the gods, like grandchildren and children are the keepers of family traditions. The remnants of this faith are preserved in legends and fairy tales, this is a kind of memory of the people.

In ancient Russia, in those days when Christianity had not yet been adopted, the Slavs idolized otherworldly incorporeal beings. The pagan gods of ancient Russia, according to the ideas of the ancients, are endowed with supernatural powers to influence everything that exists. They are responsible for all the fundamental principles of human existence, they control both the fate of the people themselves and everything that surrounds them.

Each deity performs a specific, utilitarian function. The history of the depths of centuries keeps many dozens of names, of which only a part is known to us now. This part has survived to this day thanks to the 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 his command are the gods of the environment for the existence of all living things, then the gods of human destinies and everyday life of people, at the bottom of the pyramid are the elements and forces of darkness.

Table pagan gods of ancient Russia:

No. p / p	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. sky god
6	PERUN	god of lightning and thunder
7	STRIBOG	wind god
8	VELES	God of fertility (cattle)
9	LADA	The female incarnation of the Family
10	CHERNOBOG	Lord of the powers of darkness
11	MOKOSH	Goddess of the earth, harvest and female destiny
12	PARASKEVA-FRIDAY	Ruler of revelry
13	MORAINE	Goddess of Evil, Disease and Death

Ancient Slavic God Rod

This is the supreme god, commanding all things in the universe, including all other gods. He heads the top of the pagan pantheon of gods. He is the creator and ancestor. He is omnipotent and affects the entire cycle of life. It exists everywhere and has no beginning or end. This description is fully consistent with the idea of ​​God in all modern religions.

The clan governs life and death, abundance and poverty. No one has ever seen him, but he sees everyone. The root of his name is sewn into human speech - into the words by which people interpret (voiced) their dominant spiritual and material values ​​​​in the material world. Birth, relatives, homeland, spring, harvest - in all this there is a Genus.

Hierarchy of the pagan gods of Russia

Under the authority of the Family, all Slavic deities and other spiritual entities are distributed according to the steps corresponding to their impact on the everyday affairs of people.

The upper step is occupied by deities that manage global and national affairs: wars and ethnic conflicts, weather disasters, fertility and hunger, fertility and mortality.

At the middle stage are the deities responsible for local affairs. These are the patrons of agriculture, crafts, fishing and hunting, family concerns. People liken their face to their own.

The stylobate of the foundation of the pantheon is reserved for spiritual entities, whose bodily appearance is unlike that of a human being. These are kikimoras, ghouls, goblin, brownies, ghouls, mermaids and many others like them.

The Slavic hierarchical pyramid ends here, in contrast to the ancient Egyptian one, where there was also an afterlife with its own governing deities and laws, or let's say, where the basis is a numerous pantheon of gods.

Slavic gods in importance and power

God of the Slavs Khors and his incarnations

Khors is the son of Rod and the brother of Veles. This is the god of the Sun in Ancient Russia. Horse's face is like a sunny day - yellow, radiant, dazzlingly bright. It has 4 incarnations:

• Kolyada
• Yarilo
• Dazhdbog
• Svarog.

Each hypostasis operates in a certain season of the year, and people expect help from each divine incarnation, with which the corresponding rituals and ceremonies are associated.

We still observe the traditions of the ancient Slavs: we tell fortunes at Christmas time, we fry pancakes at Maslenitsa, we burn bonfires and weave wreaths at Ivan Kupala.

1. God of the Slavs Kolyada

Kolyada begins the annual cycle and rules 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; The festivities last until January 7th. This is the Saints.

By this time, the owners are slaughtering their pets, opening pickles, and stocks are being taken to fairs. Throughout Christmastime, people arrange gatherings, plentiful feasts, guessing, having fun, getting married and playing weddings. In general, doing nothing becomes quite legal. Kolyada treats with his 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 a young age with the face of a barefoot young man on a white horse. Wherever he looks, shoots will sprout, where he passes, the grass will sprout. On his head is a crown of ears of corn, in his left hand he holds a bow and arrows, in his right - the reins. Its time is from the spring equinox to the summer solstice (March 22 - June 21). The people in the house have depleted supplies, and there is a lot of work. When the sun turned back, then the tension in the labors subsided, the time of Dazhdbog had come.

3. God of the Slavs Dazhdbog

He is also Kupala or Kupail - a solar god with the face of a man of mature age. Its time is from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox (June 22 - September 23). The celebration on the occasion of the meeting due to employment is postponed on July 6-7. On this mysterious night, people burn Yarila (or rather, a scarecrow) on a large fire and jump over it, the girls let wreaths of flowers woven from flowers down the river. Everyone is looking for the wishing fern in bloom. There is also a lot of work during this season: mowing, harvesting fruits, repairing the house, preparing the sled.

4. God of the Slavs Svarog

The weary sun is sinking lower and lower towards the horizon. In its slanting rays, the tall, strong old man Svarog (aka Svetovid), whitened with gray hair, takes over the baton of domination. He looks to the north, clutching a heavy sword in his hand, with which he smashes 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 do not grieve about anything, arrange fairs, play 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. Clouds are his hair and beard, thunder is his speech, wind is his breath, 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 everyone who makes efforts for hard work, gives them good luck and strength.

Stribog god of the wind

He is a god above the gods of the elemental forces of nature (Whistle, Weather and others). Stribog is the lord of the wind, hurricanes and snowstorms. He can be touchingly kind and fiercely evil. When he angrily blows the horn, an element arises; when he is kind, the foliage simply rustles, streams murmur, the wind howls in the crevices of trees. From these sounds of nature came music and songs, and with them musical instruments. They pray to Stribog that the storm subsides, and the hunters ask him for help in pursuing a sensitive and shy beast.

Veles pagan god of wealth

This is the god of agriculture and cattle breeding. Veles is also called the god of wealth (aka Volos, Month). He rules over the clouds. As a young man, he himself was tending the heavenly sheep. In anger, Veles sends heavy rains to the ground. After reaping, people still leave him one harvested sheaf. In his name, they swear an oath 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 dews are tears. In the predawn haze, she escorts the shadows of the dead to the other world. Lada is the earthly incarnation of the Family, the high priestess, the mother goddess, surrounded by a retinue of young servants. She is beautiful and smart, bold and dexterous, flexible like a vine, a resounding flattering speech flows from her lips. Lada gives people advice on how to live, what can and cannot be done. It condemns the guilty and justifies 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 are said about swamp evil spirits, but not all of them have come down to us. After all, they are patronized by the powerful Chernobog - the lord 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 over the night. The evil forces subordinated to him are numerous: goblin, confusing forest paths, mermaids, dragging people into the whirlpools, 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 purse." She prudently uses the harvest. Another purpose 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 for the night, believing that Mokosha would ruin the yarn, and with it fate. Northern Slavs consider Mokosha an unkind goddess.

God of the Slavs Paraskeva-Friday

Paraskeva-Pyatnitsa is the concubine of Mokosha, who made Paraskeva a deity who rules over riotous youth, gambling, drinking parties with vulgar songs and obscene dances, as well as dishonest trade. Therefore, Friday was a market day in Ancient Russia for a long time. On this day, women were not allowed to work, because for disobedience, Paraskeva could turn a disobedient woman into a cold toad. She poisoned the water in wells and underground springs. Today, this goddess has no power and is almost forgotten.

God of the Slavs Morena

The goddess, the ruler of evil, incurable diseases and death, is Maruha or Morena. She sends fierce winters, rainy nights, epidemics and wars to Earth. Her image is a terrible woman with a dark wrinkled face with deeply sunken small eyes, a sunken nose, a bony body and the same hands with long curved nails. She is served by ailments. She herself never leaves. She is driven away, but she appears again and again.

In the understanding of the Slavs, the gods (often) are their distant, wise ancestors who glorified themselves with good deeds.

AVSEN(Ovsen, Govsen, Usen, Bausen, Tausen) - a deity that kindles the sun wheel and gives light to the world (i.e., bringing with it the morning of the day or the morning of the year (spring). Avsen opens the way to a new summer (new year), carries from heavenly countries generous gifts of fertility, and as determined by the divine court - and distributes them among mortals: one gives a lot, in abundance, and deprives others of the most necessary.In East Slavic mythology, Avsen is a character associated with the New Year or Christmas (Old Russian "Ousin", that is, "bluish" and "blue" - the name of December and / or January.) The name Usen is already found in documents of the 17th century.

BELBOG- the keeper and giver of goodness, good luck, justice, happiness. Belbog and Chernobog are deities of daylight and darkness, good and evil. Both deities participate in the creative activity of nature: the dark one, as a representative of cloudy demons that darken the sky and close the rains, and the light one, like a thunderer of clouds, bringing down rain streams to the earth and enlightening the sun. Initially, Belbog is identical to Svyatovit, later on with the name Belbog, for the most part, the concept of light-sun is combined. An ancient sculptor made a statue of Belbog depicting a stern man with a piece of iron in his right hand. Since ancient times, the Slavs have known a similar (trial by iron) method of restoring justice. A red-hot piece of iron was given to a person suspected of some misconduct and told to walk ten steps with it. And the one whose hand remained unharmed was recognized as right.

BELUN- a deity that combines the features of the sun god and the thunder god. As the first drives away the night, so the last - dark clouds. It appears as an old man with a long white beard, in white clothes and with a staff in his hands; it appears only during the day and leads travelers who have lost their way in a dense forest to a real road; there is a saying: "It's dark in the forest without Belun." He is revered as the giver of wealth and fertility. During the harvest, Belun is present on the fields and helps the reapers in their work. Most often he appears in spiked rye, with a bag of money on his nose, beckons some poor man with his hand and asks to wipe his nose; when he fulfills his request, money will pour out of the bag, and Belun will disappear. “Behind the grave mountain stands the white hut of Belun. Belun is a kind old man. With dawn, Belun set off early for the field. Tall, all white, he walked all morning along the dewy boundary, guarding each ear. At noon, Belun went to the bee-keeper, and when the heat subsided, he returned to the field again. Only late in the evening did Belun come to his hut.

VESTA - goddess, guardian of the hearth. In her temples, girls from 10 to 16 years old were taught by the servants of the temple - Vestal Virgins. After completing their studies, the girls were called "not vests", which meant their readiness for adulthood.

HAIR(Veles, the Month) - one of the oldest East Slavic gods, a clother god who covers the sky with rain clouds, or, metaphorically speaking, clouds it with a cloudy rune, drives out cloudy herds to heavenly pastures. Originally one of the epithets of the cloud breaker Perun (thundering Tur); later, when its fundamental meaning was forgotten, it became isolated and taken as the proper name of a separate deity. As "cattle god"(Laurentian Chronicle) Volos was in charge of the heavenly, mythical herds, was their lord and shepherd, but then, with the loss of the people's conscious attitude to their ancient ideas, patronage and protection of ordinary, earthly herds was attributed to him. For the sake of the dependence in which earthly crops are on heavenly milk shed by flocks of rain-bearing clouds. Volos, along with the character of the shepherd, is given the meaning of a god helping the work of the farmer. There was a custom to leave on a compressed field "zhmenu ears of hair Hair on a beard. Herbs, flowers, bushes, trees called "hair of the earth". Since ancient times, cattle was considered the main wealth of the tribe, family. Therefore, the cattle god Veles was also the god of wealth. The root "volo" and "vlo" became an integral part of the word "volody" (to own). The concept of “magi” is also associated with the cult of Veles, since the root of this word also comes from “hairy”, “hairy”. Magi during the performance of ritual dances, spells, rituals in ancient times dressed in the skin (dlaka) of a bear or other animal. “The treaty between Oleg and the Greeks also mentions Volos, whom the Russians swore allegiance to in the name and Perunov, having special respect for him, because he was considered the patron of cattle, their main wealth.”(N.M. Karamzin. "History of the Russian State").

GROMOVNIK- Perun's grandfather. From under cloudy eyebrows and eyelashes, he casts lightning-fast glances and sends death and fires. Sometimes, instead of long eyelashes and eyebrows covering the Thunderman's eyes, a bandage serves him, i.e. cloud cover. Just as the dark sky shines with innumerable star-eyes, so from the darkness of night-like clouds, many-eyed lightning flashes; both of them equally extinguish, as soon as the triumphant sun appears in the enlightened sky. Gromovnik is a prophetic blacksmith who forges human destinies; his workshop is set up in the mountains, i.e. thunderclouds. He binds together two thin hairs; this hair is nothing but two strands spun in parkas for the bride and groom.

DABOG - a mythologized image of an earthly king, opposed to a god in heaven. His name is derived from the combination of the verb "give" with the name "god" as a designation of a share-wealth. Dabog - giving, giving. The dwelling place of this god was considered a high mountain, which confirms the cult of mountains among the ancient Slavs.

DAZHBOG(Dazhbog, Dashuba) - the sun after the summer solstice (giving wealth in the form of a harvest), the son of Svarog: "and after (after Svarog) the reign of his son by the name of the Sun, he is also called Dazhbog ... The Sun is the king, the son of Svarogov, if there is Dazhbog, if the husband is strong "(Ipatiev Chronicle). The adoration of the sun by the Slavs is evidenced by many traditions and monuments. "The Lay of Igor's Campaign" speaks of the Slavs as the grandchildren of the sun-Dazhbog. As an eternally pure luminary, dazzling in its radiance, awakening earthly life, the sun was revered as a good, merciful deity; His name has become synonymous with happiness. The sun is the creator of crops, the giver of food, and therefore the patron of all the poor and orphans. At the same time, the sun is also the punisher of all evil, i.e. according to the initial view - the punisher of the unclean forces of darkness and cold, and then moral evil - untruth and wickedness. The poetic spell, turned by Yaroslavna to the sun, breathes this ancient faith in the punishing power of the daylight: “Bright and crackling Sun! be warm and red to everyone; why, sir, a simple, hot beam on a fret, in a waterless field with a thirst for them rays (bows) weave, tight for them tuli? The Slovaks have such a legend: when the Sun is ready to leave its halls to take a daytime walk around the white world, then the evil spirit gathers and waits for its appearance, hoping to capture the deity of the day and kill him. But at one approach of the Sun, she scatters, feeling her impotence. Every day the struggle is repeated and each time the Sun wins. According to the general German and Slavic belief, it is best to collect medicinal herbs, draw healing water and cast spells against spells and diseases at sunrise, at early morning dawn, because with the first rays of the sun the influence of evil spirits is destroyed and all witchcraft is destroyed; it is known that the cry of a rooster, foreshadowing the morning, is so terrible to evil spirits that it immediately disappears as soon as it hears it.

DANA- the goddess of water. She was revered as a bright and kind goddess, giving life to all living things. According to the ancient poetic idea, the thunder god boils rainwater in a thunderstorm flame, bathes heaven and earth in its downpours, and thereby bestows the power of fertility on the earth. Special honors were paid to this goddess during the Kupala holidays.

DED-VSEVED(Dedo-God) - the sun, the deity of spring thunderstorms. It was customary for Western Slavs to wear Dedok at the beginning of spring and sing ritual songs in honor of him; it was said about him that the grandfather spent the whole winter imprisoned in grain barns and ate the stocks he had made, i.e. during the winter period of time, he loses his productive power, calms down from his usual labors and feeds the human race with old bread. The Bulgarians have a belief that the Grandfather-God once walked the earth in the form of an old man and taught people to plow and cultivate the fields.

DAYNITSA(morning, lightning) - the image of the midday dawn (or stars), the mother, daughter or sister of the sun, the beloved of the month, for which the sun is jealous of her. Dennitsa portends the sunrise, leads the sun to the sky and melts in its bright rays.

At night Dennitsa shines brightest of all, helps the moon. “... And from the mowers along the Stanovishch, the souls of the departed - from the stars brighter than the bright ones, guarding the paths of the sun, they led Dennitsa to the sunrise”(A.M. Remizov. “To the Sea-Ocean”).

DIV- the sky, the father of gods and people, the ruler of the universe and the creator of lightning (identical to Svyatovit and Svarog). Ancient Russian monuments speak of the worship of the god Diva, and if in this evidence it is more likely to see an indication of a bright heavenly deity, then there can still be no doubt that already in remote antiquity the concept of dragons and giants of the clouds was associated with the word "divas". "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" mentions a diva sitting on a tree, like the Nightingale the Robber and mythical snakes. With the word "wonder" it is unambiguously a miracle found in ancient manuscripts in the meaning of a giant, a giant; Sea miracle (Sea King), the lord of rain clouds, just like the Forest miracle - goblin, inhabitant of cloud forests.

DIVYA(Diva) - the goddess of nature, the mother of all living things. The name of the goddess Divia is found in the translated "Discourse of Gregory the Theologian on the test of the city (hail)" in that part of it, which is recognized as an insertion by a Russian scribe of the 11th century. Various remnants of paganism are listed here, such as praying at wells to call rain or honoring the river with a goddess and making sacrifices. Followed by: “Ov Dyu eats, and the other - Divy ...” Whom to mean by the goddess Divia is not known, but, in any case, it must be some kind of paramount goddess, equal in size to Dyu. In the "Word of the Idols" the goddess Diva is mentioned after Makoshi and before Perun, which also speaks of the important place occupied by this goddess in the pagan ideas of the Slavs.

BIT(Dit, Dito, Child, Det, Children) - the third son of the goddess of love Lada. Always young, because the marital relationship should not grow old. He is dressed in full Slavic clothing; a wreath on it of cornflowers; he caresses, holding two doves in his hands. Married people prayed to him for a prosperous marriage and childbearing.

DIDILIA- the goddess of matrimony, childbirth, growth, vegetation, the personification of the moon. She is present at the resolution of wives from the burden, and therefore barren wives made sacrifices to her and prayed for her to give them children. She appeared as a young beautiful woman, having on her head, like a crown, a bandage adorned with pearls and stones; one hand was unclenched, and the other was clenched into a fist. The image of Didilia was often used by artists. She was depicted in different ways: a young woman, with her head wrapped in a cloak, with a lit torch or a candle in her bare hands (a torch, a candle is a symbol of the beginning of a new life: “And the candle of the family so that it does not go out”); a woman preparing to give new life, with flowers, in a wreath.

DNIEPER- the god of the Dnieper River (Don the Powerful).

DOGODA(Weather) - the god of fine weather and a gentle, pleasant breeze. Young, ruddy, fair-haired, in a cornflower blue wreath with blue, gilded butterfly wings around the edges, in silvery bluish clothes, holding a thorn in his hand and smiling at the flowers.

DODOLA- represents the goddess of Spring or what is the same - the goddess of thunder. She marches over the fields and fields with a retinue of full-breasted nymphs, whom Perun and his companions are rapidly chasing in the noise of a spring thunderstorm, overtake them with smashing lightning and enter into a love union with them. The Slavs drove Dodola, a girl crowned with herbs and flowers, around the village, at each hut they stood in a row and sang ritual songs, and Dodola danced in front of them. The mistress of the house or someone else from the family, taking a cauldron or bucket full of water, asking for rain, poured water over Dodola, which continued to sing and spin. The dance of Dodola is the same as the dance of thunder spirits and nymphs; pouring water on her indicates those rain sources in which the goddess of spring bathes, and the buckets from which she is pumped indicate those heavenly vessels from which blessed rain is shed on the earth (a bucket is rainy weather).

SHARE- a kind goddess, Mokosh's assistant, weaves a happy fate. It appears in the guise of a sweet young man or red-haired girl with golden curls and a cheerful smile. He cannot stand still, he walks around the world - there are no barriers: a swamp, a river, a forest, mountains - The share will overcome in an instant. He does not like lazy and negligent, drunkards and all sorts of bad people. Although, at first, he makes friends with everyone - then he will figure it out and leave the bad evil person. “... And you pave the way for them with golden stones, make it so that a century with them and not with a shaggy, torn Resentment, but with a beautiful Share, change our miserable destiny into a happy one, call the fate of untalented Russia anew”(A.M. Remizov. “To the Sea-Ocean”).

DYUDUL(Fright) - in Bulgaria, during a drought, all the inhabitants of the village gather, choose a girl no younger and no older than fifteen years old, cover her from head to toe with walnut branches, various flowers and herbs (onions, garlic, green potatoes and beans, etc. .) and give her a bunch of flowers. The Bulgarians call this girl Dyudula or Fright - a word that also means a butterfly, which indicates the identity of Dyudola-fright with cloud nymphs. Accompanied by girls and young men, Fright goes home; the householder meets her with a cauldron of water, on top of which sketched flowers float, and the welcome guest is poured over while singing a ritual song. After the completion of this rite, according to the general belief, it will certainly rain.

SMOKE- in East Slavic mythology, the name of a god. Mentioned in the Old Russian insertion into the South Slavic text “The Virgin’s Passage Through Torments” and in the lists “Words about what a filthy tongue bowed to an idol” (“Dyevo service”). The context suggests that this name is the result of an association of an old Russian name (such as Div) with the Greek "deus" - god.

JELLY(Zhlya) - the goddess of mortal sorrow. “Zhelya”, “zhelya” - grief for the dead. It was believed that even the mere mention of her name relieves the soul. The Czech chronicler of the mid-14th century, Neplach, describes the Slavic goddess Zhelya. In Slavic folklore, many lamentations and lamentations have been preserved. However, with the adoption of Christianity in Russia, special teachings appeared that limited the manifestation of immoderate sadness for the dead. For example, in the Word of St. Dionysius about those who are sorry" says: “If the souls that have departed from here are there, what is the use of desire?” A similar designation of the rites of "jelly and punishment" is found in the enumeration of various pagan rites in the 17th century list of the Old Russian "Words of a certain Christ-lover ...". "... And let the dark Zhelya carry the funeral ashes in her flaming horn"(A.M. Remizov. “To the Sea-Ocean”).

ALIVE(Zhivana, Siva) - the goddess of world life (spring), fertility and love; embodies the life force and opposes the mythological incarnations of death. It is alive with its coming that gives life, resurrects nature that is dying for the winter, gives fertility to the earth, grows fields and pastures. She holds an apple in her right hand, and grapes in her left hand (another confirmation that the Slavs from time immemorial lived in a fertile climate and cultivated gardens). In early May, sacrifices are made to her. The cuckoo was taken for its embodiment. Arriving from the virium, from that transcendental country from where the souls of newborns descend, where the dead depart and where the maidens of fate reside, the cuckoo knows the hours of birth, marriage and death. So until now, having heard the cuckoo in the spring, they turn to it with the question: how many years remain to live in this world. Her answers are recognized as a prophecy sent from above. The girls honor the cuckoo: they baptize it in the forest, make friends with each other and curl wreaths on a birch. “... This rite (the cuckoo's baptism) ... is associated with the renewal of the vital forces of nature: after the death of winter, the revival and triumph of solar heat. The other side of the action is to influence the creative forces of nature, to bring about a bountiful harvest. According to the ideas of the ancient Slavs, the goddess of life Zhiva turned into a cuckoo.(A. Strizhen. "People's calendar").

STOMACH- the deity of the Polyan (Polish, field) Slavs, his name means life-giver or life-saver.

ZHURBA- a female deity who embodied boundless compassion.

ZEVANA(Jewana) - a young and beautiful goddess of forests and hunting, who loves to hunt on bright moonlit nights; with a weapon in her hands, she rushes on a greyhound horse through the forests, accompanied by hunting dogs, and drives the fleeing beast. According to folk stories, a wonderful maiden hunts in the wilds of Polabia and on the heights of the Carpathian Mountains. Depicted in a marten coat, the top of which is covered with squirrel skins. On top, instead of an epancha, the skin of a bear is put on. In her hands she holds a bow with an arrow or a trap, next to her are skis and beaten animals, a spear and a knife. There is a dog at the feet. Catchers prayed to this goddess, asking her for happiness in hunting. Part of the booty was brought in her honor. The skins of dead animals were sacrificed to her. In ancient times, the skins of martens and other fur-bearing animals were used as money. There is evidence of the destruction of her statue (idol) in Poland in 965. In other tribes associated with the forest and hunting, she was called Diva, Virgo, Divia, Golden Baba, Baba, etc. In Greek mythology, she corresponds to the daughter of Zeus Artemis, and in Roman mythology - Diana.

ZIBOG- the god of the earth, the creator and keeper of it. It was he who created mountains and seas, hills and rivers, crevices and lakes. He watches over and tills the land. When he gets angry, volcanoes erupt, a storm rises on the sea, the earth shakes.

ZIMERZLA(Simaergla, Zimaerzla, Simargla, Zimarzla) - the harsh goddess of winter, breathing cold and frost. Her clothes are like a fur coat from hoarfrost woven together, and purple from snow, woven for her by frost, her children. On the head is an ice crown, humiliated by hail.

ZIMSTERLA(Zimtserla) - the goddess of dawn, dawn, spring and flowers. She is depicted as a beautiful maiden, dressed in a light white dress, girded with a pink belt intertwined with gold; on her head is a wreath of roses; holds a lily in his hands; a chicory necklace around the neck; floral bandage over the shoulder. Flowers were sacrificed to her, as well as her temple was cleaned on her holidays with flowers. Dogoda has always been in love with this goddess. “On the third day of my journey, when Zimtserla woke up, I went down from a high mountain and saw a not very narrow possession not far away ... Zimtserla - Slovenian goddess: she was the same as Aurora"

ZIRKA- the goddess of happiness. Every person has his own Zirka (prophetress, harbinger, staring ahead), which, like a guardian spirit, is relentlessly with her chosen one. There is a saying: "What from him will be, if he is not in favor with Zirka!

GOLDEN MOTHER(Baba) - the goddess of peace and quiet. It is presented in the form of a woman with a baby in her arms, who was revered as her grandson (this grandson is Svyatovit), which is why she received the name of Baba (ba - a woman giving birth, hence, a woman - giving birth to a mother giving birth). This is a prophetess goddess.

ZNIC - By this deity, the Slavs meant the initial fire, or life-giving warmth, which contributes to the existence and protection of everything in the world. “Then the brave Znich, shining, all from the outside; / Broadcast: these intentions are distasteful to me. / I light the huts and illuminate the thrones; / In the essence of fire, I give life to the Russians, / I feed, warm them, I see their insides.

ZORYA, ZARYA, ZARA- Goddess, sister of the Sun. She goes ahead and brings out the sun in the morning and with its bright, arrow-shaped rays strikes the darkness and fogs of the night; she also brings him out in the spring because of the dark cloudy covers of winter. She sits on a golden chair, spreads her imperishable pink veil or chasuble across the sky, and prayers addressed to her are still preserved in conspiracies so that she covers her veil from magical spells and hostile attempts. As the morning sun's rays drive away the unclean power of darkness, the nights - they so believed that the goddess Zorya could drive away all evil, and endowed her with the same victorious weapon (fiery arrows) with which the luminary of the day appears in the sky; along with this, that creative, fertile force is attributed to it, which is poured onto nature by the rising sun. The myth knows two divine sisters - Morning Dawn (Dennitsa, Morning Lightning, Zarnitsa) and Evening Dawn; one precedes the sunrise (Ra light), the other accompanies him in the evening to rest, and both thus are constantly with the bright deity of the day and serve him. The Morning Dawn leads his white horses to the vault of heaven, and the Evening Dawn receives them when the Sun, having completed its daytime train, hides in the west (setting).

IPABOG- Protector of hunting. But he helps only ungreedy hunters who kill animals for food, and not for self-interest. He punishes other hunters - he breaks traps and traps, leads him through the forest, hides his prey. Ipabog loves animals, takes care of the wounded, heals them. Ipabog was represented in a cloak, on which hunting scenes were depicted.

CARNA(Karina) - the goddess of human fate, destined in Heaven (k ar and na), sometimes a weeping goddess, if a person grossly violated the original destiny and brought grief to himself and his loved ones. Karna and Zhelya - personifications of weeping and grief, are known from the Tale of Igor's Campaign: "... I'll call Karna and Zhlya after him, ride across the Russian land." The old Russian word "kariti" is to mourn. “... She will not be resurrected, awakened by a falcon's gaze. / Karna and Zhlya roam around Russia with a funeral rite "(" The Tale of Igor's Campaign ").

kolyada- the baby sun, in Slavic mythology - the embodiment of the New Year cycle, as well as a holiday character similar to Avsen. Kolyada was celebrated during winter Christmas time from December 25 (turn of the sun to spring) to January 5-6. “Once upon a time, Kolyada was perceived not as a mummer. Kolyada was a deity, and one of the most influential. They called the carol, called. New Year's Eve was dedicated to Kolyada, games were arranged in her honor, which were subsequently performed at Christmas time. The last patriarchal ban on worshiping Kolyada was issued on December 24, 1684. It is believed that Kolyada was recognized by the Slavs as the deity of fun, which is why he was called upon, cheerful gangs of youth called on New Year's festivities "(A. Strizhev. "People's calendar").

KOPSHA (KOPUSHA)- in Belarus, this is a small god guarding treasures and values ​​\u200b\u200bburied in the ground. He is asked to indicate the location of the treasures and help to dig (Dig out) them, and with luck, they thank him, leaving a certain part of the booty in his favor.

KRODO- a deity who guarded the sacrificial altar. His idol stood in Harzburg on a high, wooded mountain. He depicted an old man with a bare head, who stood with his bare feet on a fish and was girded with a white woolen bandage, in one hand he held a wheel, and in the other a vessel filled with flowers and fruits. The fish under his feet means the underworld, the bowl with fruits - abundant earthly life, the wheel - a solar sign - symbolizes the eternal renewal of life on earth (and in the Universe), based on a solid foundation (axis).

KRUCHINA- female deity of mortal sorrow. It was believed that the mere mention of this name relieves the soul and can save from many disasters in the future. It is no coincidence that there are so many cries and lamentations in Slavic folklore.

KUPALO- the fruitful deity of summer, the summer Sun. “Kupalo, as I think, was the god of abundance, as with the Hellenes Ceres, who is insane for the abundance of thanksgiving at that time, when the harvest is imminent.” They sacrificed to him before the collection of bread, on June 23, on the day of St. Agrippina, which was popularly nicknamed the Swimsuit. Young people decorated themselves with wreaths, laid out a fire, danced around it and sang Kupala. The games went on all night. In some places, on June 23, bathhouses were heated, grass bathing suit (buttercup) was laid in them, and then they swam in the river. In the Christian period, on the very Nativity of John the Baptist (hence, Ivan Kupala), weaving wreaths, they hung them on the roofs of houses and on stables to remove evil spirits from the dwelling. This beautiful pagan holiday is being revived in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

LADA(Freya, Preya, Siv or Zif) - the goddess of youth and spring, beauty and fertility, the all-generous mother, the patroness of love and marriages. In folk songs, “lado” still means a dearly beloved friend, lover, groom, husband; “Russian wives crying, arching: we already have our dear lads (husbands) neither to understand the thought, nor to think with the thought, nor to look with the eyes” (Lament of Yaroslavna). Freya's outfit shines with the dazzling brilliance of the sun's rays, her beauty is charming, and the drops of morning dew are called her tears; on the other hand, she acts as a militant heroine, rushing through the heavenly spaces in storms and thunderstorms and driving rain clouds. In addition, she is a goddess, in whose retinue the shadows of the dead march into the afterlife. The cloudy fabric is precisely that veil on which the soul, after the death of a person, ascends to the kingdom of the blessed. According to the testimony of folk verses, angels, appearing for a righteous soul, take it in a shroud and carry it to heaven. The cult of Freya-Siva explains the superstitious respect that Russian commoners have for Friday, as a day dedicated to this goddess. Whoever starts a business on Friday, he, according to the proverb, will back away. Among the ancient Slavs, the birch, personifying the goddess Lada, was considered a sacred tree.

LADO- the deity of fun and all good. The Kiev "Synopsis" of Innocent Gizel (1674) says: “... The fourth idol is Lado. This name is the god of joy and all prosperity. Sacrifice to him is offered to those who are preparing for marriage, with the help of Lada, imagine goodness, joy and kindness to acquire life. According to other sources, "Lado" is a vocative case on behalf of "Lada".

ICE- the Slavs prayed to this deity for success in battles, he was revered as the ruler of military actions and bloodshed. This ferocious deity was portrayed as a terrible warrior, armed in Slavic armor, or all-weapon. At the hip, a sword, a spear and a shield in his hand. He had his own temples. Going on a campaign against the enemies, the Slavs prayed to him, asking for help and promising plentiful sacrifices in case of success in military operations. Probably, this deity more than other primary gods received bloody sacrifices during the war.

LELYA(Lelia, Lelio, Lel, Lyalya) - the deity of spring and youth from the retinue of Lada, inducing nature to fertilization, and man to marriage unions. He is the eldest son of Lada, his strength was in the ignition of love. Sometimes he was depicted as a golden-haired fiery winged baby. He threw sparks from his hands, igniting love. Due to his youthful years, Lel sometimes simply amuses himself with love, although he does it out of good intentions - for him this is a fun game. Lel appears in the spring, lives with his younger brother Pole (after Lel) in the forest. Together they go out in the morning to meet Yarilo. Lelya's pipe can be heard on the Kupala night. “Girls go to him / Beauties, and stroke his head / Look into his eyes, caress and kiss.(A.N. Ostrovsky. "The Snow Maiden"). A number of records speak of Lele in the feminine gender. For example, in the Belarusian spell song: “Give us livelihood and wheat, / Lyalya. Lyalya, our Lyalya!

MERTSANA(Martsana) - the goddess of the harvest. Initially, under this name, the Slavs meant the dawn, then thunderstorms. Dawn sometimes comes out at night to frolic over the fields, fluttering over the ripening ears. They believed that lightning contributes to a great abundance and early ripening of harvests, and therefore they prayed to the goddess for the harvest of bread. Depicted with a wreath of ears; like Zarya, blushed and in a golden-purple robe, consisting of an extensive veil or veil covering the head and pinned at the chest or extending to the ground.

MOKOSH(Makosha, Makesha) - one of the main goddesses of the Eastern Slavs, the wife of the Thunderer Perun. Her name is composed of two parts: "ma" - mother and "kosh" - kosh (stan), purse, basket, koshara. Mokosh is the mother of filled cats, the mother of a good harvest. This is not the goddess of fertility, but the goddess of the results of the economic year, the goddess of the harvest, the giver of blessings. The harvest every year determines the lot, fate, so she was also revered as the goddess of fate. An obligatory attribute in her image is a cornucopia. This goddess connected the abstract concept of fate with the concrete concept of abundance, patronized the household, sheared sheep, spun, punished the negligent. The specific concept of “spinning” was associated with a metaphorical one: “spinning fate”. Mokosh patronized marriage and family happiness. It was presented as a woman with a big head and long arms, spinning at night in a hut: beliefs forbid leaving a tow, "otherwise Makosha will spin." Paraskeva Pyatnitsa became a direct continuation of the image of Mokosh in Christianity. Since all the fruits of the earth were at her disposal, she also knew the fate of the harvest, i.e. distribution of products, raw materials, handicrafts. It was she who managed the trade, patronized the trade. In Novgorod, in 1207, the Church of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa at the Market was built, the same temples were erected in the XII-XIII centuries. in Chernigov, Moscow in the trading and hunting row. Mokosh is the only female deity whose idol stood on a hilltop in the pantheon of Prince Vladimir. “And the beginning of the prince Volodimer in Kiev is one. And put idols on a hill outside the courtyard of the tower: Perun is wooden, and his head is silver, and his mustache is golden, and Kharsa, and Dazhbog, and Stribog, and Smargl, and Makosh "(sources of the XII-XIV centuries). For some northern tribes, Mokosh is a cold, unkind goddess. “On the surfy damp shore, the prophetic Mokusha, guarding the lightning fire, clicked the spindle all night, spun a burning thread from the sacred fires”(A.M. Remizov. “To the Sea-Ocean”). “God is not Makesh - let him amuse with something”(V.I. Dal).

RUMOR Etruscan goddess of bad news.

MOLONYA QUEEN(Melanya) - the formidable goddess of lightning. Perun had a large retinue of all kinds of relatives and assistants: Thunder and Lightning, Hail and Rain, water winds, four in number (according to the number of cardinal points). No wonder there was an old Russian saying - "Perun has a lot." The son of Molonya the Queen is the Fire King. During lightning storms, when Molonya fires his lightning arrows, the Fire King rides on the ends of these arrows, setting fire to everything that is in his path.

MORAINE(Marana, Morana, Mara, Maruha, Marmara) - the goddess of death, winter and night. She was personified in a frightening image: implacable and ferocious, her teeth are more dangerous than the fangs of a wild beast, on her hands are terrible, crooked claws; Death is black, gnashes its teeth, quickly rushes to war, grabs fallen warriors and, sticking its claws into the body, sucks the blood out of them. Russian monuments depict Death either as a monster that combines the likeness of a human and an animal, or as a dry, bony human skeleton with bared teeth and a sunken nose, which is why the people call it a “snub-nosed”. Meeting spring with a solemn holiday, the Slavs performed the rite of expelling Death or Winter and plunged an effigy of Morana into the water. As a representative of winter, Morana is defeated by the spring Perun, who smashes her with his blacksmith's hammer and casts her into an underground dungeon for the whole summer time. According to the identification of Death with thunder spirits, ancient belief forced these latter to fulfill its sad duty. But since Gromovnik and his companions were also the organizers of the heavenly kingdom, the concept of Death was bifurcated, and fantasy portrayed it either as an evil creature, dragging souls into the underworld, or as a messenger of the supreme deity, accompanying the souls of the deceased heroes to his heavenly chamber. Diseases were considered by our ancestors as companions and helpers of Death.

MOROZKO(Morozka, Frost) - the god of winter, cold weather. According to peasant beliefs, this is a short old man with a long gray beard. In winter, he runs through the fields and streets and knocks - from his knock, bitter frosts begin and the rivers are encased in ice. If he hits the corner of the hut, then the log will certainly crack. In Slavic legends, frosts were identified with stormy winter winds: the breath of Frost produces a strong cold, snow clouds - his hair. On the eve of Christmas Frost was called: "Frost, Frost! Come eat kissel! Frost, Frost! Do not beat our oats, drive flax and hemp into the ground! Frost is a character in many fairy tales and other literary works: “It is not the wind that rages over the forest, / It is not the streams that ran from the mountains, / Frost-voivode on patrol / Bypasses his possessions”(N.A. Nekrasov. "Frost, Red Nose").

SEA KING(Water, Pallet, Miracle-Yudo) - the lord of all waters on earth; here the idea of ​​a universal airy ocean merges with the great waters washing the earth's surface; The raining Perun turns into the ruler of the seas, rivers, springs: falling down, forcing the waters of the springs to rise and producing new streams, the rain began to be considered as the original element from which all earthly reservoirs were created. According to Russian legend, when God created the earth and decided to fill it with seas, rivers and springs, then he ordered heavy rain to fall; at the same time, he gathered all the birds and ordered them to help him in his labors, carrying water to the receptacles assigned to it. In the form of fleeting birds, the myth personifies spring thunderstorms, and just as lightning and winds are brought by various birds, so they also bring water in the rainy season of the first spring, when the deity creates a new world in place of the old, dilapidated under the cold breath of winter. The sea king, according to popular belief, rules over all the fish and animals that are only found in the seas. In folk tales, the Sea King is also called the Water King or the Bottom; in one version of the tale, it is called the Ocean Sea. “There is a throne with pearls studded with amber, / On it sits a king similar to gray waves. / Into the bays, into the ocean, stretches out his right hand, / Commands the waters with a sapphire scepter. / Royal clothes, purple and linen, / That the strong seas bring him before the throne "(M. Lomonosov. "Petriad").

NON-SHARE(Nuzha, Need) - the goddess, Mokosh's assistant, weaves an unhappy fate. Share and Nedolya are not just personifications of abstract concepts that do not have an objective existence, but, on the contrary, are living faces identical to the maidens of fate. They act according to their own calculations, regardless of the will and intentions of a person: the happy one does not work at all and lives in contentment, because the Share works for him. On the contrary, Nedolya's activities are constantly directed to the detriment of man. While she is awake, misfortune follows misfortune, and only then does it become easier for the unfortunate when Nedolya falls asleep: "If Likho sleeps, don't wake him up." “And Resentment-Nedolya herself, without closing her eyes, tired, day after day went from house to house, crashed to the ground and sleeps under a thorn bush”(A.M. Remizov. “To the Sea-Ocean”).

NEMIZA- god of air, lord of the winds. Since ancient times, winds have been personified as original beings. Nemiza was depicted with a head crowned with rays and wings. Nemiza is called upon to restore order and pacify violent winds.

NON-WASH -in In winter, the bright deity Belun loses its brilliance, grows decrepit, dresses up in dirty beggarly clothes and is an untidy Neumoyka - an old white-haired and snotty grandfather. For seven winter months, he does not itch, does not cut his hair, does not wash and does not blow his nose, i.e. covered with clouds and fog. Snot is a metaphor for thickened fogs, and it is necessary to wipe them off so that the golden rays of the sun can shine through the cloud covers (the transformation of Neumoyka's mess into a clear Belun).

NIY(Niya, Viy) - the deity of the underworld, one of the main servants of Chernobog. He was also a judge over the dead. Viy is also associated with the seasonal death of nature during winter. This god was also considered the sender of nightmares, visions and ghosts. A huge humpbacked old man with long hairy arms and paws. Eternally angry, because you have to work without rest day and night - to accept the souls of the dead. Who fell into the clutches of the ugly Niy - there is no going back. Apparently, in later times, this is the leader of the evil spirit Viy. From oral traditions it is clear that the idol of Chernobog was forged from iron. His throne was a cornerstone of black granite. As a sign of his dominion, he had a crown of teeth on his head, in his hand a lead scepter and a fiery scourge. “... I see the fiery Niy; / In it, hell, Russia hoped to be a judge. / He held a fiery whip in his hands on sinful scourge ”(M. Kheraskov. “Vladimiriada”). “...Instantly, the door of the hut dissolves, and, with a continuous flash of lightning, I see a young knight, in silver armor, girded with a formidable sword. Neither the ferocious Niy himself would have shaken so much of my timid heart with his appearance ”(V.T. Narezhny.“ Slavic Evenings ”).

FIRE MARY- The Queen of Heaven, the ancient goddess of spring and fertility.

PARASKEVA-FRIDAY(flax, Virgin-Five) - a female deity, a spinning goddess, a giver of blessings, a patroness of fertility of the Christian period. Paraskeva-Friday patronizes holy healing springs and wells; "Pyatnitsky springs" are known. She demands strict obedience and forbids the women to work on the day dedicated to her - on Friday. For violating the ban, she can pierce the guilty with a tow needle or even turn her into a frog. It also favors youth games with songs and dances. Appears in white clothes and guards the wells. Where Paraskeva-Pyatnitsa is depicted on the wooden roofs - there the water is healing. In order not to dry out the grace of the Virgin-Five, the women secretly make a sacrifice to her: sheep's wool on an apron. In Belarus, the custom has been preserved to make statues of her from wood and pray to her on a dark night for rain for seedlings. Friday was also considered the patroness of trade. In Novgorod the Great, the Church of Friday at the Market was built in 1207. At the turn of the XII and XIII centuries. Church of Friday at the Market was created in Chernihiv. In Moscow, in the trading Okhotny Ryad, there was a Church of Pyatnitsa. Friday has been the trading market day in Russia since time immemorial.

BANDING- Eastern Slavic deity. There is not enough data about it to describe in detail its functions. Some sources consider him the deity of seeds and shoots. According to other sources - this is the Slavic Bacchus. If his name comes from the Russian "swim", then his connection with navigation is not excluded. “... The twist is mentioned together with the coastlines in the“ words ”against paganism. According to the hypothesis of V. Pisani, Pereplut is the East Slavic correspondence of Bacchus-Dionysus. A connection with the names of the gods of the Baltic Slavs such as Porenut, Porevit and with taboo names derived from "Perun" is not excluded.(V.V. Ivanov).

PERUN(Peren, Perkun As, Perkunas) - the god of thunder, a victorious, punishing deity, whose appearance excites fear and awe. He is represented as stately, tall, with black hair and a long golden beard. Sitting on a flaming chariot, he rides through the sky, armed with a bow and arrows, and strikes the wicked. According to Nestor, the wooden idol of Perun, placed in Kyiv, had a golden mustache on a silver head. With the roar of his chariot, the Aryan tribes explained to themselves the thunderous peals of a thunderstorm. Sending hail, storms and untimely downpours, he punished mortals with crop failure, famine and epidemic diseases. Russian tradition endows Perun with a club: “He, swimming through the great bridge, lay down his club and say: for seven, the Novgorod children commemorate me, and now they are killing themselves with madness, to create joy with a demon. The arrow fired by him strikes those at whom it is directed, and sets fires. Thunderbolts, falling from the clouds, enter far into the depths of the earth, and after three or seven years they return to its surface in the form of a black or dark gray oblong pebble: these are either icicles formed in the sands from a lightning strike, or belemnites, known in people under the name of "thunder shooters" and revered as a sure preventive measure against thunderstorms and fires. Myths represent the thunder god as a blacksmith and plowman; red-hot iron, opener and stone - symbolic signs of his lightning, a loaded gun - a later replacement for Perun's arrow or club, boiling water is equivalent to water from heavenly sources, prepared in a thunderstorm flame. On the warm days of spring, Perun appeared with his lightning, fertilized the earth with rain and brought out a clear sun from behind the scattered clouds; His creative power awakened nature to life and, as it were, re-created a beautiful world.

PERUN-SVAROZHICH - another son of Svarog-heaven, fire-lightning. “And the fires pray, they call him Svarozhich /”(“The word of a certain Christ-lover”). Lightning was his weapon - a sword and arrows; the rainbow is his bow; clouds - clothes or beard and curls; thunder - a far-sounding word, the word of God, resounding from above; winds and storms - breathing; the rains are the fertilizing seed. As the creator of the heavenly flame, born in thunders, Perun is also recognized as the god of earthly fire, brought by him from heaven as a gift to mortals; as the lord of rain clouds, which since ancient times have been likened to water sources, he receives the name of the god of the seas and rivers, and as the supreme manager of the whirlwinds and storms that accompany a thunderstorm, he is called the god of the winds. These various names were originally given to him as his characteristic epithets, but in the course of time they turned into proper names; with the dimming of the most ancient views, they disintegrated in the minds of the people into separate divine faces, and the single lord of the thunderstorm was divided into gods - thunder and lightning (Perun), earthly fire (Svarozhich), water (Sea King) and winds (Stribog). According to the myths, Perun Svarozhich gave the Slavs the written language Perunitsa or Runitsa, having inscribed fiery signs-letters in the heavens.

WEATHER- the god of beautiful weather (suitable), gentle and pleasant breeze. He was worshiped by Poles and Wends. His idol was found in Prilwitz, depicting a man in a pointed hat, from which two bull horns protrude. In his right hand he has a cornucopia and in his left a staff. J. Dlugosh (XV century) considers the weather as one of the names of the deities of the seasonal type. Some sources suggest his connection with the cult of fire.

SUPPLY- God of hunting. Depicted with an animal in his hands. There were special signs and conspiracies with the help of which the hunters tried to appease him - then he would lure the beast into a trap and let the bird down. For novice hunters, he usually helps to instill in them a passion for hunting. It was believed, however, that if he got angry with some hunter, then he would never give him good luck in hunting - then he would return from the forest empty-handed.

SUPPLY- female deity of nature and earth ("giver", "giver of blessings"). "...Some cover the unimaginable statues of their idols with temples, such as the idol in Plun, whose name is Podaga..."(Helmold).

POLEL(Polelya) - the second son of the goddess of love Lada after Lelya, the god of matrimony, marriage bonds. It is no coincidence that he was depicted in a simple white everyday shirt and a wreath of thorns, he gave the same wreath to his wife. He blessed people for everyday life, a family path full of thorns. “Polel of gaiety accompanied the goddess; / In it, Kyiv adored marriage unions.(M. Kheraskov. "Vladimirada")

POLKAN(Volkan) - the patron god of the army in the Etruscan pantheon. He forged armor for soldiers and guarded squads (regiments). His image or the image of a wolf's head was lucky. The ability to enter the state of a wolf or take on its appearance is reflected in the myths about werewolves who take the form of a wolf.

POREVIT - one of the tribal supreme gods. “It’s time” (spore) is nothing more than a seed, and “vita” is life. That is, it is the god of crops and male seed, the giver of life and its joy, love. The idol of Porevit stood in the city of Karenza. Depicted with five heads. He was considered the protector and patron of the tribe. The many faces symbolized the heavenly regions of the power of God. Different tribes had different magical symbolism of numbers. Frenzel claimed that Porevit was the god of prey - he derived his name from the Slavic word "porivats", that is, "thief". The same opinion is shared by Grosser ("Lausitz's Landmarks").

PORENUCH- the god of crops and male seed, the successor of life. The idol of Porenuch stood on the island of Rügen in the city of Karensee. This idol had four faces on its head, and a fifth on its chest - “what Porenuch held his forehead with his left, and his chin of this right hand."(A. Kaisarov. Slavic and Russian mythology.) Frenzel assumes in it the patron god of pregnant women, Schwartz - the patron saint of sailors.

PORTUN - god of ports, patron of sailors among the Etruscans and Slavic peoples of the Mediterranean.

WHISTLE(Pohvist, Pozvizd) - the ferocious god of bad weather and storms: “ There whistle; storms, like a robe, twined around ... ". He has a ferocious appearance, his hair and beard are disheveled, his epancha is long and with wings wide open. The people of Kiev spread his power; they revered him not only as the god of storms, but also of all air changes, both good and bad, useful and harmful. Why did they ask for the gift of red days and the aversion of bad weather, which were revered by those under his power and control. Masovians call the big wind Pokhvistsiy. In fairy tales, Whistle is sometimes replaced by the Nightingale the Robber, who embodies the evil and destructive power of the wind. “When Whistle to the shore / Grey-haired waves rush, / A yellow leaf is spinning in the forest / Furious, Perun thunders ...”(A.K. Tolstoy. "Prince Rostislav").

BREAKING- the god of lust. His appearance is changeable. Protects men.

PRIYA(Siva) - the goddess of spring, love, marriage and fertility. In the spring, she enters into a marriage alliance with the Thunderer and sends the fertile seed of rain to the earth, and brings up the harvest. As a goddess who creates earthly crops, as the wife of the heavenly god, the bearer of lightning and the pourer of rain, she gradually merged in the popular consciousness with the fertile mother Earth. The name "Siva" is consonant with "sow", "sowing". Siwa taught people how to cultivate the land, sow, reap and process flax. Just as the attributes of Perun were transferred to Ilya the prophet, under the influence of Christianity, the ancient goddess of spring fertility was replaced by St. Paraskeva (in the common people, the martyr Paraskeva is called the name of St. Friday) and the Mother of God. In some places, beliefs associated with Friday refer to the Blessed Virgin.

PROVE(Prono, Prov, Provo) - the god of enlightenment, prophesying. Under this deity, the Slavs understood predestination, governing the world and disposing of the future. "Prove" or "eat" - prophetic, prophesying. "Prono" - from the word "about us" or "get to know us" that is, to foresee or penetrate. Prove was known among the Pomeranian Slavs. They revered him as the second most important deity after Svetovid. His idol stood on a tall oak, in front of which was an altar. Around the oak, the ground was littered with two-faced, three-faced blockheads. In Stargard, he was revered as the highest deity. According to the hypothesis of V. Pisani, the name Prove is one of the epithets of Perun - right, just. The name Prove is also compared with the name of the god Porevit among the Baltic Slavs and is defined as a deity of fertility. Usually Prove did not have his own idol, he was revered during festivities in forests or groves near sacred oaks. Idol Prono stood in Altenburg. The book “On the German Gods” describes how, following the example of the Bishop of Altenburg Herold, a forest dedicated to Pron was burned.

PPAC(peperuga, preperuga) - In Dalmatia, the place of Dodola the maiden is replaced by an unmarried fellow, whose name is Prpats. Prpats represents the thunder god. His comrades are called prporuse; the rite itself is essentially no different from the Dodol one: they also dress it with greenery and flowers, pour it over before each hut. Bulgarians call it peperuga or preperuga.

RADIO GOST(Redigost, Radigast) - a lightning god, a killer and a devourer of clouds, and at the same time a luminous guest who appears with the return of spring. The earthly fire was recognized as the son of Heaven, brought down to the bottom, as a gift to mortals, a fleeting lightning, and therefore the idea of ​​​​an honorary divine guest, an alien from heaven to earth, was also connected with it. The Russian settlers honored him with the name of a guest. At the same time, he received the character of a saving god of any foreigner (guest), who appeared in a strange house and surrendered himself under the protection of local penates (i.e. hearth), the patron god of merchants who came from distant countries and trade in general. The Slavic Radigost was depicted with the head of a buffalo on his chest.

RAMHAT (Ra)- God of justice and law and order. Heavenly Judge who sees to it that there are no bloody human sacrifices. Patron God of the Hall of the Boar in the Svarog Circle.

GENUS- the most ancient non-personalized god of the Slavs. The God of the Universe, who lives in heaven and gave life to all living things, Rod was sometimes identified with the phallus, sometimes with grain (including solar and rain grains that fertilize the earth). Later this is the nickname of Perun as a representative of the creative, fertile forces of nature; during spring thunderstorms, striking with his stone hammer, crushing and scattering rocks-clouds, he called to life cloud giants, petrified by the cold breath of winter; speaking in mythical language, he revived the stones and created a gigantic tribe from them. Thus, the giants were his offspring, the first fruit of his creative activity. In some Church Slavonic manuscripts, the name Rod means spirit, which is in full agreement with the regional use of this word: in the Saratov province, Rod meant a look, image, and in Tula - a ghost, a ghost. Clay, wooden and stone images, protective talismans of this god are found during excavations.

RODOMYSL- the deity of the Varangian Slavs, the patron of laws, the giver of good advice, wisdom, red and smart speeches. His idol depicted a man in meditation, resting the index finger of his right hand on his forehead, in his left hand - a shield with a spear.

CHILDREN- the most ancient non-personalized goddesses of the Slavs. Women in labor - the female giving birth, giving life to all living things: man, flora and fauna. Later Rozhanitsy were personified - they received proper names: Makosh, Golden Baba, Didiliya, Zizya, etc.

RUGEVIT(Ruevit) - the supreme god of one of the Slavic tribes. “Rugi” (meadows) is the name of the tribe (possibly the self-name of the Rugians or Lusatians), and “vita” is Life. The Rugewit idol stood in the city of Karenze on the island of Rugen, it was made of a huge oak, and the temple was represented by walls made of red carpets or red fabrics. The gods, who were considered their ancestors, patrons and warlike defenders of the tribe, were depicted with pronounced male attributes. According to Saxo's description, Rugewit's idol was made of oak and represented a monster with seven faces, all of which were on the neck and connected at the top in one skull. On his belt hung seven swords with scabbards, and the eighth, naked, he held in his right hand. Warriors took wooden puppets of this god with them when they went on a hike on lodia. And a large wooden idol stood on a hill, threatening enemies and protecting from any misfortune. Ruevita was sacrificed before and after the campaign, especially if the campaign was successful. The many-sidedness of God among the ancient Slavs meant his invulnerability and all-sightedness. “Rising above the ancient oaks, / He guarded our island from enemies; / In war and peace, equally honored by us, / He vigilantly looked around with seven heads, / Our Rugevit, the invincible god. / And we thought: “The priests say for good reason, / That if the enemy trespasses his threshold, / He will come to life, and his eyes will burst into flames, / And he will raise seven swords in fury in anger / Our Rugevit, our offended god"(A.K. Tolstoy. "Rugevit").

SVAROG- the supreme ruler of the Universe, the ancestor of other bright gods, or, as the Slavs called him, the great, old god, prabog, in relation to which all other elemental deities were represented by his children, gods (i.e., younger, descended from him). From him were born the patron gods of the sun, lightning, clouds, winds, fire and water. “Between the various deities, in whose power are fields and forests, sorrows and pleasures, the Slavs do not deny even a single god in heaven, commanding others. He is the most powerful, cares only about the heavenly; and the other gods who perform the duties assigned to them come from his blood, and the more noble one is, the closer to this god of gods ”(Helmold). Svarog, as the personification of the sky, sometimes illuminated by the sun's rays, sometimes covered with clouds and shining with lightning, was recognized as the father of the sun and fire. In the darkness of the clouds, he kindled the flame of lightning and thus was the creator of heavenly fire; earthly fire, according to ancient legend, was a divine gift brought down to earth in the form of lightning. Further: breaking the clouds with thunderous arrows, Svarog brought out the clear sun from behind them or, speaking in the metaphorical language of antiquity, lit the lamp of the sun, extinguished by the demons of darkness; this pictorial, poetic representation was also applied to the morning sun emerging from behind the black veils of night, since the darkness of the night was constantly identified with clouds darkening the sky. With the rising of the sun, with the lighting of his lamp, the thought of his revival was connected, and therefore Svarog is a deity that gives life to the Sun.

SVAROZHICH- fire, the son of heaven-Svarog (sometimes the Slavs call him Ognebozhich). "AT there is nothing in the city but a temple skillfully built of wood ... Its walls are decorated from the outside with wonderful carvings representing the images of gods and goddesses. Inside, there are man-made gods, terribly dressed in helmets and armor; Each one is engraved with his name. The main one is Svarozhich; all pagans revere him and worship him more than other gods."(Evidence of Dietmar). This temple, according to Ditmar, stood in the Slavic city of Retra, one of the three gates of the temple led to the sea and was considered inaccessible to ordinary people. The origin of earthly fire was attributed by our ancestors to the god of thunderstorms, who sent a heavenly flame to earth in the form of a downcast lightning.

SVENTOVIT(Svyatovid) - the god of heaven and light among the Baltic Slavs. The idol of Sventovit stood in a sanctuary in the city of Arkona.

SVYATIBOR- a forest deity among the Serbs. His name is made up of two words: "St" and "bor". Near Merseburg, the Serbs dedicated a forest to him, in which, under the death penalty, it was forbidden to cut not only a whole tree, but even a twig.

SVYATOVIT(Svetovid) - a deity identical to Diva and Svarog. These are just different nicknames for the same supreme being. According to Saxo the Grammar, in the rich temple of Arkon stood a huge idol of Svyatovit, taller than a man, with four bearded heads on separate necks, turned in four different directions; in his right hand he held a turium horn filled with wine. The four sides of Svyatovit probably denoted the four cardinal directions and the four seasons associated with them (east and south - the kingdom of day, spring, summer; west and north - the kingdom of night and winter); a beard is an emblem of clouds covering the sky, a sword is lightning; as the lord of heavenly thunders, he goes out at night to fight the demons of darkness, strikes them with lightning and pours rain on the earth. At the same time, he is also recognized as the god of fertility; prayers were sent to him for the abundance of the fruits of the earth, according to his horn filled with wine, they wondered about the future harvest. "Christmas" - games in honor of the god Svetovid after December 25 (the birth of Kolyada and the beginning of adding the length of the day) - were widespread among the Eastern Slavs: Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians.

SEMARGL(Sim-Rgl, Pereplut, Semargl Ognebozhich) - the god of fire, the god of fiery sacrifices, an intermediary between people and heavenly gods; a deity that was one of the seven deities of the ancient Russian pantheon. The most ancient deity ascending to the shores, a sacred winged dog guarding seeds and crops. As if the personification of armed good. Later, Semargl began to be called Pereplut, perhaps because he was more associated with the protection of plant roots. It also has a demonic nature. He has the ability to heal, for he brought the shoot of the tree of life from heaven to earth. God of the pantheon of Prince Vladimir; "and he put idols on the hill, behind the tower: Perun ... and Khors, and Dazhbog, and Stribog, and Simargl, and Makosh "("The Tale of Bygone Years"). In the word "Simargl" two different names merge together, as can be seen from other monuments. In the "Word of a certain Christ-lover" it says: "they believe ... in Sim, and in Yergla (variant according to the list of the 15th century: in R'gla)". These names remain unexplained.

SIVA(Sva, Siba, Dziva) - the goddess of autumn and garden fruits. Depicted as a naked woman with long hair, holding an apple in her right hand and a bunch of grapes in her left. Siva is the deity of not only garden fruits, but also the very time of their ripening, autumn.

STRONG GOD- one of the names of the supreme god. Under this deity, the Slavs honored the gift of nature of a bodily fortress. He was portrayed as a man holding a dart in his right hand, and a silver ball in his left, as if through that letting know that the fortress possesses the whole world. Under his feet lay a lion's head and a human head, since both of them serve as the emblem of a bodily fortress.

SITIVRAT(Sitomir, Propastnik, Prednik) - a god who turns the sun wheel for the summer and at the same time returns the power of fertility to the earth; people associate raindrops with seeds and claim that rain falls from the sky through a sieve or sieve. They depicted God in the form of an old man, with a stick in his hands, with which he raked the bones of the dead; ants were visible under his right foot, and ravens and other birds of prey sat under his left.

SUN MOTHER- this is a cloudy rain-bearing wife, from the dark depths of which the Sun is born in spring, and, secondly, the goddess Zorya, who every morning gives birth to a radiant son and spreads a golden-pink veil for him across the firmament of heaven. She also seemed to be a spinning thing. In Russia, an old saying has survived: "Wait for the Sun's mother of God's judgment!" In Russian fairy tales, the Sun owns 12 kingdoms (12 months, 12 signs of the zodiac); Slovaks say that the Sun, as the ruler of heaven and earth, is served 12 sun maidens; mentioned in Serbian songs sun sisters identical with these virgins.

SPORYSH(Sparysh) - the deity of abundance, seeds and shoots, the spirit of the harvest; in East Slavic mythology, the embodiment of fertility. He was represented as a white curly man who walks across the field. "Knotweed" - double grain or double ear, which was considered as a twin symbol of fertility, called "king-ear". When performing ceremonies, wreaths were woven from double ears, common (“fraternal”) beer was brewed, and these ears were bitten off with teeth. In the Pskov region, a special doll was made from double ears - ergot. Of them intertwined and sepulchral "beard", dedicated to saints, whose cult continued in Christianity the pan-Slavic cult of the twins - the patrons of agriculture: Flora and Lavra, Kozma and Demyan, Zosima and Savva. "So and there is, it's Sporysh. There - in ears-double! How he grew: like an ear! And in the May fields it is imperceptible - you can’t see it from the ground when it gallops over a whole verst. - Don't be afraid: he is making a wreath. Wreath of ears, gold - reaping. And they put a wreath in the notch so that everything is arguable, there is enough grain for a long time ”(A.M. Remizov. “To the Sea-Ocean”).

AVERAGE(Meeting) - the goddess of fate. She was represented as a beautiful spinning girl spinning the thread of fate. This is a goddess of the night - no one saw her spinning - hence the custom of fortune telling at night. Usually, on the nights of winter Christmas time, fortune-telling took place for the future harvest, for offspring, and most of all - for marriage unions.

STRIBOG(Striba, Weather, Pokhvist, Posvist, Posvystach) - the god of thunderstorms, who appears in storms and whirlwinds, the supreme king of the winds. They portrayed him blowing his horns. The people believe that warm, spring winds come from good spirits, and blizzards and blizzards from evil ones. In Russian conspiracies, a spell is pronounced against the "devil terrible, violent whirlwind, ... a flying, fiery snake. The fantasy of an ancient man, bringing together the howling of a storm and the whistling of the winds with singing and music, at the same time likened the fast and whimsical flight of clouds and whirling whirlwinds to a frantic dance rushing along to the sounds of heavenly choirs. From here arose various mythical tales about songs, playing musical instruments and the dance of thunder spirits, the legend of the air harp and belief in the magical power of singing and music. The inventors of musical instruments revered the gods, the lords of thunderstorms, blizzards and winds. The Muses, in their original meaning, were nothing more than cloud singers and dancers. Slovaks believe that heavenly whirlwinds and noisy oak forests taught people songs.

COURT(Usud) - the deity of fate. In ancient monuments, the word "judgment" is directly used in the meaning of fate. For example, the Tale of Igor's Campaign says: "Neither cunning, nor much, nor much bird of God's judgment do not pass." The court holds in its hands everything good and disastrous, its sentences cannot be avoided either by intelligence or cunning.

FATE- the female hypostasis of the Court, the goddess of the outcome of life. A person could create his own destiny, unlike karna - the path previously drawn in heaven.

SUNE(Surya) - The sun, the deity of the sun. Apparently, one of the names of the god Khors is the sun after the summer solstice, when you can collect medicinal herbs and prepare medicinal drinks (suryu). “We prayed to Beles, our Father, to let Surya's horses into the sky, so that Surya would rise above us to turn the eternal golden wheels. For she is our Sun, illuminating our houses, and before it the face of the hearths in our houses is pale.(Veles book).

CHEESE-EARTH MOTHER- the goddess of the earth or the Earth itself, the fertile mother, the wife of Heaven. The Summer Sky embraces the Earth, scatters on it the treasures of its rays and waters, and the Earth becomes pregnant and bears fruit. Not warmed by the warmth of spring, not drunk by the rains, she is unable to produce anything. In winter, it turns to stone from the cold and becomes barren. The image was often used in folk art. “The sweet speeches of the god of love, the eternally young god Yarila, rush in the sun. “Oh, you are a goy. Mother Earth Cheese! Love me, the god of light, for your love I will adorn you with blue seas, yellow sands, green ants, scarlet, azure flowers; you will give birth to my dear children, a myriad of ... "(P.I. Melnikov-Pechersky. "In the forests").

TARA (Tarusa, Tarina, Taya, Tabiti, Bereginya) - Goddess-guardian of Sacred Groves, Forests, Oak forests and Sacred Trees - Oak, Cedar, Elm, Birch and Ash. Tara is the younger sister of Dazhdbog. She watches the Slavic Land and if some kind of misfortune happens, then together with her brother she comes to the rescue.

Goddess Tara told people which trees to use for construction. In addition, she taught people to plant new forest plantations in place of cut down trees, so that new trees needed for construction would grow for their descendants.

The polar star among the Slavs and Aryans was called Tara

We meet the image of Tara in "The Tale of Finist the Bright Falcon": ... the girl is red, her eyes glow blue, and her blond braid touches the ground, she looked at Nastenka with a kind look ...

Gifts and Requirements are presented to her. Seeds and grains are placed on the fiery altar for a plentiful harvest, necessary for the nutrition of people. On this day, a service is held in honor of her and the Great Bratchina - a joint meal, tea drinking, a feast, participating in the holiday. The dishes are brought by the participants, which they created with their own hands for the common table. Before the start of the Great Meal, a little is taken from each dish in order to bring the Sacrifice to the Goddess Tara and the rest of the Gods and Ancestors.

Among the Old Believers, the Goddess Tara is very revered and loved, bloodless sacrifices were and are made to her.

Tara symbol: Vaiga is a solar natural sign, personifying the Goddess Tara. This wise Goddess protects the four Highest Spiritual Paths along which a person goes. But these Paths are also open to the four Great Winds, which seek to prevent man from reaching his goal.

A small digression into history:

The cult of the goddess Ishtar or Astarte or As Tara was widespread throughout the entire territory from the Pacific to the Atlantic oceans several thousand years ago.
As Tara - Goddess of the earth and fertility (a united concept in Nature).
Tara in the meaning of "arable land" has survived almost to this day.
The military estate of the Cossacks, who had land allotments, was called "taranchi".

In Russia, to this day, places associated with the Goddess Tara have been preserved, this is the city and the Tara River, located in the Omsk region. In the tract of Tara, in the 70-80s, excavations of the temple complex of the goddess Tara were carried out.
Also in the Kaluga region there is a city and the Tarusa River.

Slavic legends about Tara:

God Mitra, saved the Rassen and Svyatorus families from drought, gave them water and food, and indicated which Clans should move to which flowering lands. For the fact that Mitra saved the Childbirth, the dark forces chained him to the Caucasus mountains and sent the wild ones to peck his flesh. Mitra was between Life and Death for three days. From the Clans of Svyatorusov, a squad of the best distant warriors was chosen, which was headed by the Priestess - Warrior As "Tara. She led the soldiers to the place of Mitra's torment, where the dark forces were defeated, freed Mitra from the shackles, revived him with the Power of her Love, after which on the Fiery Divine The chariot ascended with Mitra to Heaven. Since then, many Clans of Southern Scythia have revered As "Tara as the Goddess of the Highest Saving Love and Rebirth. From here came the legends that the crucified Gods are resurrected on the third day, because. Tarkh Dazhdbog, who was saved by Swan Jiva, was also crucified on the Caucasus Mountains.

Tarkh Dazhdbog fought with the dark forces and they asked for mercy, a truce and made a feast. At the feast, they poured Sleeping Potion into Tarkh's drink, and when he fell asleep, they chained him to the Caucasus mountains so that predatory princes and animals would torment his flesh. The Goddess Jiva freed him from the shackles, transferred him on her Swan Wings to the tract of Tara to the confluence of Rata and Iria, where, together with her sister Tarkha, the Goddess Tara, they healed his bodily wounds, and the Goddess Jiva, by the power of Highest Saving Love and Revival, breathed new strength into him and Life, after which the wedding of Tarkh Dazhdbog and the Goddess Jiva took place. Dazhdbog, just like Mitra, was chained to the Caucasus Mountains for three days and was between Life and Death.

TRIGLAV- the main pagan deity of many tribes of the ancient Slavs, the lord of three kingdoms, three worlds: Rule, Reveal, Navi (i.e. the air kingdom, cloudy dungeons and thunderous hell). The Czechs at Triglav have three goat heads, which testifies to its thunderous significance (the goat is an animal dedicated to Thor). In Szczecin, the three-headed idol of Triglav stood on the main of the three hills and had a gold band over his eyes, which is associated with the involvement of this deity in fortune-telling and predicting the future. According to various mythological traditions, different gods were included in Triglav. In Novgorod of the 9th century, the Great Triglav consisted of Svarog, Perun and Sventovit, and earlier (before the Western Slavs moved to the Novgorod lands) - from Svarog, Perun and Veles. In Kyiv, apparently - from Perun, Dazhbog and Stribog. Small Triglavs were made up of gods, standing lower on the hierarchical ladder. In Christianity, monotheism is reflected in Triglav (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit).

TROYAN- a pagan deity, in ancient monuments he is mentioned along with Perun, Khors and Volos. The name Troyan was formed from the word "three", "three", and very likely its identity with Triglav. According to one of the variants of the Serbian legend, Troyan had three heads and wax wings and goat ears, which probably symbolized seeing and hearing in the three worlds. " During divination, the black horse Triglav was led three times through nine spears laid on the ground. In the South Slavic and, possibly, East Slavic traditions, the three-headed character is Troyan"(V.Ya. Petrukhin). In Serbian fairy tales, one head of Troyan devours people, the other - animals, the third - fish, which symbolizes his connection with the three kingdoms, the cult of leaving the world of Reveal.

TOUR- the embodiment of Perun; "on the in their statutory assemblies of a certain Tura-Satan and read the ungodly skaredos inventively remember "(Synopsis). With the word "tour" are inseparable concepts of rapid movement and impetuous pressure. In the future, the derivative meaning of this word, "ardent tour" is a brave, mighty warrior.

USLAD(Oslad) - the god of feast (from the verb "delight"); companion of Lada, the goddess of amenities and love; patron of the arts. "Delight, seductive with one glance ... "(M. Kheraskov. "Vladimirada"). He was revered as the patron of all pleasures and amusements, the god of luxury, feasts, fun, and especially dining, delicious pleasures. His idol, by the will of Vladimir I, was erected, and then destroyed in Kyiv. “... No matter how many universities there were at that time, Lada did not take any of these students to the kingdom of Chernobogovo, but escorted Delight there incessantly ... it is better, leaving Delight, to donate wisely and carefully to Lada, which often makes up the happiness of young scientists , and Delight - never, moreover, plunging them into contempt and into eternal poverty ”(M.D. Chulkov. "Mockingbird, or Slavic Tales").

FLINZ- God of death. They portrayed him differently. Sometimes he was represented as a skeleton (skeleton), a mantle hung from his left shoulder, and in his right he held a long pole, at the end of which was a torch. On his left shoulder sat a lion, which with two front paws rested on the head, with one hind paw on the shoulder, and the other on the hand of the skeleton. The Slavs thought that this lion was forcing them to die. Another way to depict him was the same, only with the difference that they represented him not as a skeleton, but as a living body.

FORTUNE- the goddess, the wife of Portun, his female hypostasis, the patroness of the fate of sailors.

HOP- plant and god; a plant from which a divine drink is prepared. “I say to you, man: for I am hops ... for I am strong, more than all the fruits of the earth, from the root I am strong, and prolific, and a great tribe, and my mother was created by God, and I have lumps in my legs, and a womb I’m not angry, but I’m high-headed, and my tongue is verbose, and my mind is different, and both my eyes are gloomy, evocative, and I’m arrogant Velmi, and rich, and my hands hold the whole earth ”(Old Russian parable).

HORSE(Korsha, Kore, Korsh) - the ancient Russian deity of the sun and the solar disk, the sun after the autumn solstice, taking over from Dazhdbog. It is best known among the southeastern Slavs, where the sun simply reigns over the rest of the world. It is no coincidence that in the Tale of Igor's Campaign Khors is mentioned precisely in connection with the south, with Tmutarakan, where Khors is still strong in autumn. Prince Vseslav, making his way to Tmutarakan at night, "to the great Horse and the wolf the way is re-roaming", that is, before sunrise. It is believed that the southern city of Korsun also got its name from this word (originally Horos or Khorsun). Hors is dedicated to two very large Slavic pagan holidays a year (also associated with Svetovid, Yarila-Yarovit, etc.) - the days of the autumn and winter solstice in September (when a cart wheel was necessarily rolled down from the mountain to the river - a solar sign of the sun, symbolizing the rollback sun for the winter) and in December (when they honored the newborn Kolyada, who took over from Khors, etc.). Some sources claim that this god was a Slavic Aesculapius, others are similar to Bacchus in terms of the time the wine of the new harvest ripens). However, there is a point of view according to which Hora is associated not with the sun, but with the time period indicated above.

CHERNOBOG- a terrible deity, the beginning of all misadventures and fatal cases. Chernobog was depicted wearing armor. With a face filled with rage, he held a spear in his hand, ready to defeat or more - to inflict all sorts of evils. Not only horses and prisoners were sacrificed to this terrible spirit, but also people specially provided for this purpose. And as all national disasters were attributed to him, in such cases they prayed to him to avert evil. Chernobog lives in hell. Chernobog and Belobog are always fighting, they cannot defeat each other, they replace each other day and night - the personification of these deities. The wrath of Chernobog can only be tamed by the magi. “Noisy with weapons comes Chernobog; / This fierce spirit left the bloody fields, / Where he glorified himself with barbarism and fury; / Where the bodies were scattered in food for animals; / Between the trophies where death weaved crowns, / They sacrificed their horses to him, / When the Russians asked for victories for themselves ”(M. Kheraskov. "Vladimirada").

NUMBERGOD- God of the moon and numbers. The Slavs determined the period of Krugolet Chislobog at 144 years, each year had its own solar sign. The villagers went out to meet the new month and turned to him with prayers for happiness, health and harvest. Just as good omens were associated with sunrise, and bad omens were associated with sunset, so the month is given a happy meaning during its growth and an unhappy one during a period of damage. The diminution of the moon was explained by the destructive influence of old age or the action of a hostile force.

CHUR(Tzur) - the ancient god of the hearth, protecting the boundaries of land holdings-boundaries. He was asked to preserve the boundaries in the fields. The word "chur" is still used today in the sense of prohibition. He is called upon during divination, games, etc. (“Church me!”). Chur sanctifies the right of ownership ("Damn my!"). It also determines the quantity and quality of the necessary work ("Through chur!"). Churka - wooden image of Chur. Chur is an ancient mythical creature. Chur is one of the oldest names that was given to the brownie (penat), i.e. a fire blazing on the hearth, the guardian of the family heritage. Belarusians say that each owner has his own Chur - a god who protects the borders of his land holdings; on the boundaries of their plots they pour earthen mounds, enclosing them with a palisade, and no one will dare to tear such a mound for fear of angering the deity.

YUTRABOG- according to some sources, one of the nicknames of Belbog, according to Frenzel, Yutrabog corresponds to Aurora or is her male hypostasis - he produces the name of this god from the word "morning".

YAZHE- in Polish records of the 15th century. there is a mention of three deities: Lada, Leli and Yazha. The combination of these three deities is not without a logical connection, all of them, by virtue of the functions attributed to them, are associated with an increase in solar heat, with the sowing and ripening season: Lada and Lelya personified the spring-summer prosperity of nature, and Yazhe - that chthonic force, without which the sun does not could rise above the horizon.

YARILO(Yar, Yarovit, Ruevit) - the god of spring thunderstorms, or the sun itself from the spring to the summer solstice; personifies the spring fertilizing power. It combines the concepts of: spring light and warmth; young, impetuous, to the fury of the excited force; love passion, lust and fertility - concepts inseparable from the ideas of spring and its thunderstorms and the beginning of the upcoming harvest. The root of the word "yar" was associated with male power, male seed. In "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" epithets yar, buoy, tour attached to the names of the bravest princes. He is represented as young, handsome, riding across the sky on a white horse and wearing a white robe; he has a wreath of spring wildflowers on his head, he holds a handful of rye ears in his left hand, his feet are bare. In the spring, "yarils" were celebrated, which ended with the funeral of Yarila. In an exhortation to the Voronezh people, Tikhon wrote: “From all the circumstances of this holiday, this is evident. that there was some ancient idol called the name Yarilo, which in these countries was revered as a god ... And others this holiday ... call it a game "; it is further reported that people expect this holiday as an annual celebration, dress in the best dress and indulge in outrage. Yarila has a special role in agricultural rituals, especially in spring. Where Yarilo passes - there will be a good harvest, whoever he looks at - love flares up in his heart. “Yarilo dragged around the world, gave birth to a field, gave birth to children for people. And where he is with his foot, there is a live shock, and where he looks, there the ear is blooming.(folk song). "Light and power. God Yarilo. The Red Sun is ours! There is no more beautiful you in the world"(A.N. Ostrovsky. "The Snow Maiden").

YAROVIT(Herovit) - a thunderbolt that strikes demons. As a heavenly warrior, Yarovit was presented with a battle shield, but at the same time he was also the creator of all fertility. The shield of Yarovit with golden plaques on the wall of the sanctuary in Wolgast could not be moved from its place in peacetime; during the days of the war, the shield was carried in front of the army. The cult center of Yarovit was surrounded by banners during the holiday in his honor. Yarovit was also dedicated to the spring festival of fertility; on behalf of Yarovit the priest, according to the biography of St. Otto, uttered the following words during the sacred rite: “I am your god, I am the one who dresses the fields with ants and forests with leaves: in my power are the fruits of cornfields and trees, the offspring of flocks and everything that serves the benefit of man. All this I give to those who honor me and take away from those who turn away from me.”

ISMAN(Yason, Khason, Esse) - the god of light. The Czechs knew this god. Their name meant "bright", "red". The Polish historian Długosz calls it Jesse, linking it to Jupiter.

JASSA- the deity of the Polyana Slavs and Gerts. Yassa, Porevit and Grov, three deities that are part of the Slavic polytheism, but whose distinctive properties and attributes, as well as the way of serving them, are difficult to describe due to the lack of written sources or oral traditions.

The ancient Slavic pantheon of gods was actually quite extensive and included about 70 different characters. Mostly these gods were associated with some forces of nature, and the most important of them was Rod. The Slavs believed that this deity created the entire visible reality, separated Yav from Navi (the visible world from the spiritual), as well as Truth from Krivda. Rod is considered the most ancient deity, the patron of nature, fertility, harvesting. Our ancestors believed that he is the lord of the clouds and sends a soul to earth at the birth of a child. His bird is considered a duck, and his fish is a pike, since in many legends women give birth to children after tasting fish soup from this particular fish.

Ancient Slavic gods have similar names with Indian ones

Nowadays, fans of the ancient religion erect monuments to Rod in the form of red phallic symbols made of ash, elm or beech, which echoes the Indian tradition of erecting such monuments in honor of the Indian forest Rudra. The latter is also the god of thunder, agriculture, and fertility, and is a creature with red skin, black hair, and a blue neck. Indian Rudra is also a warrior dressed in animal skins. God Rod in Russia is still unconsciously worshiped, when April 21 is celebrated as the day of the Orthodox Rodion the icebreaker (in paganism - Radogoshche).

The customs of those times are still observed today.

Next to Rod in the Slavic epic there are two goddesses (Lada with her daughter Lelya), who patronize pregnant and giving birth women. Lada is the wife of Rod, correlated in other cultures with Venus, the Hyperborean Lato or Demeter. She was associated with the period of summer ripening of fruits, a house, an established life. In Russian, this was expressed in the words LADit, adjust, that is, establish order, equip. The goddess Lelya patronized among the Slavs girlish love, lovers, beauty, happiness, the first shoots on arable land. Therefore, Lelya - Spring - was customary to call out at the end of April (then the climate was more severe, and the winter was long). The ancient Slavic gods did not leave any tablets to the peoples living on the territory of Russia (or, perhaps, they were lost due to the prescription of times). However, for many years, up to our time, some customs have been observed, bequeathed since then. For example, it was customary to cut a child’s hair for the first time “on Rozhanits”, that is, on the day of the holiday in their honor, September 8-9.

Four sun gods in Russia

The ancient Slavic god of the Sun, according to a number of versions, was not alone in Russia in prehistoric times. The researchers found that people then worshiped different solar deities at different times of the year. So, to the god Khors, who was identified with the growth of solar energy flows (Kolyada), offerings were made during the period from the winter solstice to the spring equinox (December 22 - March 21). This deity "managed" directly the solar disk and brought the luminary to the sky on a chariot (among the Greeks, such functions were performed by Helios). The name of the god comes from the word "khor", which meant "circle", the word "round dance" and "horoshil" - a ritual cake - a round-shaped kurnik - have the same root.

The ancient Slavic sun god Yarilo received his share of offerings and prayers between March 21 and June 22. His arrival brought an increase in the productive force in plants, the awakening of feelings and temperament in people, as well as courage. Therefore, Yarilo was also a warrior, the son of Veles and Diva-Dodola, who conceived a child in an immaculate way, smelling the lily of the valley, into which Veles turned. He was associated either with a young temperamental youth, or with a woman dressed in a man's outfit. Therefore, in the Slavic languages ​​there are many "female" words associated with this god - rage, milkmaid, spring - "yara", spring sheep - "bright", spring wheat, etc.

God taught people to forge iron

The ancient Slavic gods of the Sun - Dazhdbog (Kupala) and Svetovit - Svarog - were respectively responsible for solar energy in the second half of the year. Dazhdbog, identified by the Slavs with sunlight, "ruled" from the end of June to the end of September, and Svarog - from September 23 to the winter solstice. The circle closed. Especially in Russia, Svarog was revered, who was a great blacksmith, warrior and patron of the family hearth. He taught people to smelt copper and iron and, according to some researchers, commanded a ban on polygamy or polyandry. Svarog was worshiped in the territory of the modern Czech Republic, Slovakia, and his largest sanctuary was in Poland. The ancestors of the Eastern Slavs called the god Rarog, which is somewhat consonant with the name of Rurik, who became the first official ruler of the tribes of ancient Russia.

Slavs worshiped the earth

The ancient Slavic gods had a certain hierarchy, to the highest level of which belonged those who personified the most significant forces of nature. Including Svarog, Dazhdbog, Fire and Mother Earth Cheese. The latter was an integral part of the universe, along with air, water, fire. In the most ancient rituals of burial, elements of the deification of the earth are represented by a special arrangement of the dead - in the form of embryos, which reflects the return to the mother's womb. The earth from such graves was considered sacred, they tried to touch it in order to cleanse themselves of misfortunes (the modern tradition is to throw a handful on the coffin lid). In Russia, it was customary to carry the earth in amulets when leaving. Until the beginning of the last century, the peasants celebrated her name day on Spirits Day (it was impossible to carry out any manipulations, plow, sow, dig, etc.).

The ancient Slavic gods and goddesses have a difference in names and functions in different regions of the Slavic tribes. For example, Grandfather-Vseved, who is the deity of spring thunderstorms, is called “Dedo-Lord” among the Bulgarians and is associated with an old man who came to people to teach them to plow and sow. The goddess Makosh, who was worshiped to get a good harvest, and even Prince Vladimir in Kyiv put her in the pantheon of the gods, for the northern peoples was Mokosh - the unkind goddess of cold.

Do not wake up - it will be worse!

The ancient Slavic goddesses Dolya and Nedolya were companions of Makosh and determined the fate of a person. The share weaved a happy fate and could instantly move around the world, knowing no barriers. She made friends with everyone, but did not like lazy people, drunkards, evil people, leaving them. Not a share made a person's life miserable, regardless of his own will. Troubles haunted the unfortunate until Nedolya fell asleep, which was reflected in the proverb-warning: "While Likho is sleeping, do not wake him."

Did Greek and Slavic gods wear similar "magic" shoes?

The ancient Slavic gods and their purpose are the subject of research by modern scientists. It is believed that the deities in question fulfilled the needs of the society of that time to find explanations for the impact of natural forces and ways to appease these forces. Note that analogies with the cults of the gods in other regions of the earth come across very often. For example, the Western Slavs had the god Dobrogost, carrying good news from the "heavenly office", who, like Hermes, was depicted in winged shoes, like walking boots. Therefore, it can be assumed that the ancient gods of those times, perhaps, were not only an expression of the forces of nature and manifested themselves visually in different parts of the planet, which is recorded in myths, legends and customs of service among different peoples.

From this article you will learn:

How paganism arose and developed in Ancient Russia

What gods existed in the paganism of Ancient Russia

What holidays and rituals were held in Ancient Russia

What charms, amulets and talismans were worn by the pagans of Ancient Russia

The paganism of Ancient Russia is a system of ideas about man and the world that existed in the ancient Russian state. It was this faith that was the official and predominant religion among the Eastern Slavs until the Baptism of Russia in 988. Despite the efforts made by the ruling elite, until the middle of the XIII century, it was paganism that continued to be practiced by most of the tribes that inhabited ancient Russia. Even after Christianity completely supplanted it, the traditions and beliefs of the pagans had and still have a significant impact on the culture, traditions and way of life of the Russian people.

The history of the emergence and development of paganism in Ancient Russia

The name “paganism” itself cannot be considered accurate, since this concept includes too much cultural layer. Nowadays, terms such as "polytheism", "totemism" or "ethnic religion" are more commonly used.

The term "paganism of the ancient Slavs" is used when it becomes necessary to designate the religious and cultural beliefs of all the tribes that lived on the territory of ancient Russia until the adoption of Christianity by these tribes. According to one of the opinions, the term "paganism", applied to the culture of the ancient Slavs, is based not on religion itself (polytheism), but on one language used by numerous, unrelated Slavic tribes.

The chronicler Nestor called the whole set of these tribes pagans, that is, tribes united by one language. To denote the features of the religious and cultural traditions of the ancient Slavic tribes, the term "paganism" began to be used somewhat later.

The beginning of the formation of Slavic paganism in Ancient Russia dates back to the 1st-2nd millennia BC, that is, to the times when the tribes of the Slavs began to separate from the tribes of the Indo-European group, settle in new territories and interact with the cultural traditions of their neighbors. It was the Indo-European culture that brought into the culture of the ancient Slavs such images as the god of thunder, the fighting squad, the god of cattle and one of the most important prototypes of mother earth.

Of great importance for the Slavs were the Celts, who not only introduced a number of certain images into the pagan religion, but also gave the very name "god", by which these images were designated. Slavic paganism has much in common with German-Scandinavian mythology, this includes the presence of motifs of the world tree, dragons and other deities that changed in accordance with the living conditions of the Slavs.

After the active separation of the Slavic tribes and their settlement in various territories, the paganism of Ancient Russia itself began to change, each tribe began to have elements inherent only to it. In the 6th-7th centuries, the differences between the religions of the Eastern and Western Slavs were quite tangible.

In addition, the beliefs inherent in the upper ruling strata of society and its lower strata often differed from each other. This is evidenced by the ancient Slavic chronicles. The beliefs of the inhabitants of large cities and small villages could be different.

As the centralized Old Russian state was formed, Russia's ties with Byzantium and other states were developing more and more, at the same time paganism began to be questioned, persecutions began, the so-called teachings against the pagans. After the Baptism of Russia took place in 988 and Christianity became the official religion, paganism was practically ousted. And yet, even today you can find territories and communities that are inhabited by people professing ancient Slavic paganism.

Pantheon of gods in the paganism of Ancient Russia

Ancient Slavic God Rod

In the paganism of Ancient Russia, Rod was considered the supreme god, commanding everything that exists in the Universe, including all other gods. He headed the top of the pagan pantheon of gods, was the creator and ancestor. It was the almighty god Rod who influenced the entire cycle of life. It had no end, no beginning, it existed everywhere. This is how all existing religions describe God.

The family was subject to life and death, abundance and poverty. Despite the fact that he is invisible to everyone, no one can hide from his gaze. The root of the name of the main god permeates the speech of people, it can be heard in many words, it is present in birth, relatives, homeland, spring, harvest.

After the Family, the rest of the deities and spiritual essences of the paganism of Ancient Russia were distributed according to different levels, which corresponded to the degree of their impact on people's lives.

On the upper step were the gods who controlled global and national affairs - wars, ethnic conflicts, weather disasters, fertility and hunger, fertility and mortality.

The middle step was assigned to the deities responsible for local affairs. They patronized agriculture, crafts, fishing and hunting, and family care. Their image was similar to that of a person.

In the paganism of Ancient Russia, there were spiritual entities with a bodily appearance different from human, they were located on the stylobate of the pantheon base. It belonged to kikimors, ghouls, goblin, brownies, ghouls, mermaids and many others like them.

Actually, the Slavic hierarchical pyramid ends with spiritual entities, this distinguishes it from the ancient Egyptian one, in which there was also an afterlife inhabited by its own deities and subject to special laws.

God of the Slavs Khors and his incarnations

Khors in the paganism of Ancient Russia was the son of the god Rod and the brother of Veles. In Russia, he was called the sun god. His face was like a sunny day - yellow, radiant, dazzlingly bright.

Horse had four incarnations:

• Dazhdbog;

Each of them operated in its season of the year, people turned to them for help using certain rites and rituals.

God of the Slavs Kolyada

In the paganism of Ancient Russia, the annual cycle began with Kolyada, its dominion began on the day of the winter solstice and continued until the day of the spring equinox (from December 22 to March 21). In December, the Slavs, with the help of ritual songs, greeted the young Sun and praised Kolyada, the celebrations continued until January 7 and were called Svyatki.

At this time, it was customary to slaughter livestock, open pickles, and carry supplies to the fair. The entire period of Christmas time was famous for its gatherings, plentiful feasts, fortune-telling, fun, matchmaking and weddings. "Doing nothing" at this time was a legitimate pastime. At this time, it was also supposed to show mercy and generosity to the poor, for which Kolyada was especially supportive of benefactors.

God of the Slavs Yarilo

Otherwise, in the paganism of Ancient Russia, he was called Yarovit, Ruevit, Yar. The ancient Slavs described him as a young solar god, a barefoot young man sitting on a white horse. Where he turned his gaze, crops sprouted; where he passed, grasses began to sprout. His head was crowned with a wreath woven from ears, with his left hand he held a bow with arrows, with his right he held the reins. He began to rule on the day of the vernal equinox and ended on the day of the summer solstice (from March 22 to June 21). By this time, people's household supplies were coming to an end, and there was still a lot of work to be done. When the sun turned back, the tension in the work subsided, then the time of Dazhdbog came.

God of the Slavs Dazhdbog

In the paganism of Ancient Russia, he was called Kupala or Kupail in another way, he was the god of the Sun with the face of a mature man. Dazhdbog ruled from the summer solstice to the autumn equinox (from June 22 to September 23). Due to the hot labor season, celebrations in honor of this god were postponed to July 6-7. That night, the Slavs burned a effigy of Yarila on a huge fire, the girls jumped over the fire and let wreaths woven from flowers float on the water. Both boys and girls were busy looking for a flowering fern that fulfills wishes. There were also many worries at that time: it was necessary to mow the grass, prepare supplies for the winter, repair houses, prepare the sleigh for the winter season.

God of the Slavs Svarog

Svarog, otherwise he was called Svetovid, took over the baton of power from Dazhdbog. The sun was sinking lower and lower towards the horizon, the Slavs represented Svarog in the form of a tall, gray-haired, strong old man. His eyes were turned to the north, in his hands he clutched a heavy sword, designed to disperse the forces of darkness. Svetovid was the husband of the Earth, the father of Dazhdbog and other gods of nature. He ruled from September 23 to December 21, this time was considered a time of satiety, peace and prosperity. People during this period did not have any special worries and sorrows, they organized fairs, played weddings.

Perun - god of thunder and lightning

In the paganism of Ancient Russia, the god of war Perun occupied a special place, with his right hand he squeezed a rainbow sword, with his left he held lightning arrows. The Slavs said that clouds were his hair and beard, thunder - his speech, wind - his breath, raindrops - fertilizing seed. He was the son of Svarog (Svarozhich) with a difficult temper. He was considered the patron saint of brave warriors and all those who made efforts for hard work, endowed them with strength and good luck.

Stribog - the god of the wind

Stribog in the paganism of Ancient Russia was revered as a god commanding other deities of the elemental forces of nature (Whistle, Weather and others). He was considered the master of the winds, hurricanes and snowstorms. He could be very kind and very evil. If he was angry and blew his horn, then the elements were in earnest, but when Stribog was in a good-natured mood, the foliage simply rustled, streams murmured, the breeze swayed the branches of trees. The sounds of nature formed the basis of songs and music, musical instruments. Prayers were offered to him for the end of the storm, he helped hunters to pursue sensitive and shy animals.

Veles - pagan god of wealth

Veles was revered as the god of agriculture and cattle breeding. He was also considered the god of wealth (he was called Volos, the Month). The clouds obeyed him. In his youth, Veles himself tended the heavenly sheep. In anger, he could send heavy rains to the ground. And today, after finishing the harvest, people leave one collected sheaf for Veles. His name is used when you need to swear honesty and devotion.

Lada - goddess of love and beauty

In the paganism of Ancient Russia, she was revered as the patroness of the hearth. The snow-white clouds were her clothes, the morning dew were her tears. In the wee hours, she helped the shadows of the dead to pass into the other world. Lada was considered the earthly incarnation of Rod, the high priestess, the mother goddess, surrounded by a retinue of young servants.

The Slavs described Lada as smart, beautiful, bold and dexterous, flexible in body, speaking flattering voices. People turned to Lada for advice, she talked about how to live, what to do and what not to do. She condemned the guilty, justifying those who were accused in vain. In ancient times, the goddess had a temple erected on Ladoga, but now she lives in the blue of the sky.

God of the Slavs Chernobog

In the paganism of Ancient Russia, many legends were composed about swamp evil spirits, only a part of them have survived to this day. The patron of evil spirits was the powerful god Chernobog, he commanded the dark forces of evil and whims, serious illnesses and bitter misfortunes. He was considered the god of darkness, who lived in terrible forest thickets, ponds covered with duckweed, deep pools and marshy swamps.

With anger, Chernobog, the ruler of the night, clutched a spear in his hand. He commanded numerous evil spirits - goblin who tangled forest paths, mermaids who dragged people into deep pools, cunning banniki, vipers and insidious ghouls, capricious brownies.

God of the Slavs Mokosh

Mokosh (Makesh) in the paganism of Ancient Russia was called the goddess of trade, she was a likeness of the ancient Roman Mercury. In the language of the Old Slavs, mokosh meant "full purse." The goddess profitably disposed of the harvest.

Another purpose of Mokosh was considered to be the management of fate. She was interested in spinning and weaving; with the help of spun threads, she wove human destinies. Young housewives were afraid to leave unfinished yarn for the night, it was believed that Mokosha could ruin the tow, and with it the fate of the girl. Northern Slavs attributed Mokosha to unkind goddesses.

God of the Slavs Paraskeva-Friday

In the paganism of Ancient Russia, Paraskeva-Pyatnitsa was the concubine of Mokosh, who made her a goddess, who was subject to riotous youth, gambling, drinking parties with vulgar songs and obscene dances, as well as dishonest trade. For this reason, it was Friday in Ancient Russia that for a long time was a market day. Women at that time were not supposed to work, because Paraskeva, who disobeyed, could be turned by the goddess into a cold toad. The ancient Slavs believed that Paraskeva could poison the water in wells and underground springs. In our time, it is almost forgotten.

God of the Slavs Morena

In the paganism of the ancient Slavs, the goddess Marukha, or otherwise Morena, was considered the ruler of evil, incurable diseases and death. It was she who was the cause of fierce winters in Russia, rainy nights, epidemics and wars. She was represented in the form of a terrible woman who had a dark wrinkled face, deeply sunken small eyes, a sunken nose, a bony body and the same hands with long curved nails. She had ailments in her servants. Maruha herself did not leave, she could be driven away, but she returned anyway.

The lower deities of the ancient Slavs

• Animal deities.

In those days, when the ancient Slavs were mostly engaged in hunting, and not agriculture, they believed that wild animals were their progenitors. The pagans believed that these were powerful deities that needed to be worshipped.

Each tribe had its own totem, in other words, a sacred animal for worship. Some tribes believed that the Wolf was their ancestor. This animal was revered as a deity. His name was considered sacred, it was impossible to pronounce it aloud.

The owner of the pagan forest was considered the Bear - the most powerful animal. The Slavs believed that it was he who was able to protect against any evil, in addition, he patronized fertility - for the Slavs, spring came when the bears woke up from hibernation. Almost until the 20th century, bear paws were kept in peasant houses, they were considered talismans that protect their owners from illness, witchcraft and various misfortunes. In the paganism of Ancient Russia, they believed that bears were endowed with great wisdom, they knew almost everything: the name of the beast was used when pronouncing oaths, and a hunter who dared to break an oath was doomed to die in the forest.

In the paganism of Ancient Russia, herbivorous animals were also revered. The most respected was Olenikha (Moose Elk), the Slavs considered her the goddess of fertility, sky and sunlight. The goddess was represented with horns (unlike ordinary female deer), which symbolized the sun's rays. For this reason, the Slavs believed that deer antlers were amulets that could protect against various evil spirits; they were hung over the entrance to a dwelling or inside a hut.

It was believed that the heavenly goddesses - the Deer - could send newborn deer to the earth, which fell from the clouds like rain.

Of the domestic animals, the Horse was the most revered in the paganism of Ancient Russia. This was explained by the fact that for a long time the tribes that inhabited modern Europe and Asia led not a sedentary, but a nomadic lifestyle. Therefore, the golden horse, rushing through the sky, was for them the personification of the sun. And later there was also a myth about the god of the sun, who crossed the sky on his chariot.

• domestic deities.

In the paganism of Ancient Russia, there were not only spirits that inhabited forests and reservoirs. The beliefs of the Slavs extended to domestic deities, they were well-wishers and well-wishers, who were headed by brownies, who lived under the stove or in a bast shoes, which were hung over the stove especially for them.

Brownies were considered the patrons of the economy. They helped diligent owners to multiply the good, and as a punishment for laziness they could send trouble. The Slavs believed that livestock enjoyed special attention from brownies. So, they combed the tails and manes of the horses (but if the brownie was angry, then, on the contrary, he could confuse the animal’s hair into tangles), they could increase the milk yield of cows (or, conversely, take away their milk), life and health depended on them newborn livestock. Therefore, the Slavs sought to appease the brownies in every possible way, offering them various treats and performing special ceremonies.

In addition to the belief in brownies, in the paganism of Ancient Russia they believed that relatives who had gone to another world helped the living. These beliefs were closely intertwined, so the image of the brownie was inextricably linked with the stove, the hearth. The Slavs believed that the souls of newborns come into our world through the chimney, and the souls of the dead leave through it.

People imagined a brownie in the form of a bearded man with a hat on his head. His figurines were carved from wood, they were called "chura", and, in addition to domestic deities, personified the deceased ancestors.

The Slavs, who lived in the north of Ancient Russia, believed that not only brownies, but also courtyards, cattlemen and kutny gods provided them with household help (the habitat of these well-wishers was a barn, they took care of livestock, and as an offering people left them bread and cottage cheese), as well as barns that guarded stocks of grain and hay.

In the paganism of Ancient Russia, the bath was considered an unclean place, and the deities living in it - banniks - were attributed to evil spirits. They cajoled them, leaving them brooms, soap and water, besides, they brought sacrifices to the banniks - a black chicken.

Even after Christianity became the official religion in Russia, belief in "small" gods persisted. First of all, they were revered less explicitly than the gods of heaven, earth and nature. The minor deities did not have sanctuaries, and people performed rituals designed to appease them in the family circle. In addition, the Slavs believed that the "small" gods constantly live next to them, they communicated with them constantly, and therefore, despite all the efforts of the church, they revered household deities in order to ensure their family and their home well-being and safety.

• Deities are monsters.

In the paganism of Ancient Russia, the Slavs considered the lord of the underworld and underwater worlds, the Serpent, to be one of the most formidable monster deities. He was represented as a powerful and hostile monster, which can be found in the myths and traditions of almost all peoples. The ideas of the ancient Slavs about him have come down to our days in fairy tales.

The pagans of the north revered the Serpent - the lord of underground waters, his name was Lizard. Shrines of the Lizard were located among swamps, on the banks of lakes and rivers. Its coastal shrines were characterized by a perfectly round shape, it symbolized perfection, opposing order to the formidable all-destroying power of this deity.

For sacrifices to the Lizard, they used not only black chickens, which were thrown into the swamps, but also young girls. These beliefs are reflected in fairy tales and legends.

For all the Slavic tribes who worshiped the Lizard, he was the absorber of the sun.

Over time, the nomadic lifestyle of the ancient Slavs was replaced by a sedentary one, people moved from hunting to agriculture. This transition also affected many myths and religious customs of the Slavs. Ancient rites softened, losing their cruelty, human sacrifices were replaced by rites of sacrificing animals, and then completely stuffed animals. In the paganism of Ancient Russia, the gods of the time of agriculture were much kinder to people.

Sanctuaries and priests in the paganism of Ancient Russia

The Slavs had a complex system of pagan beliefs and an equally complex system of cults. The "small" deities did not have priests and sanctuaries, people prayed to them one by one or gathered in families, communities, tribes. In order to honor the "high" gods, more than one tribe gathered, people created special temple complexes, chose priests who were able to communicate with the deities.

For a long time, the Slavs chose mountains for their prayers, and “bald” mountains, on the tops of which trees did not grow, enjoyed special reverence in the paganism of Ancient Russia. At the top of the hills, "temples" were arranged, that is, places where a drop - an idol was installed.

Around the temple, a shaft was poured, shaped like a horseshoe, on top of which they burned sacred bonfires - thieves. In addition to the inner rampart, there was another one that marked the outer border of the sanctuary. The space formed between them was called a treasury, it was here that the pagans of ancient Russia used sacrificial food.

Ritual feasts assumed that people and gods ate together. Feasts were held both in the open air and in structures specially erected on the haunt, they were called mansions (temples). Initially, only ritual feasts were held in the temples.

Very few pagan idols of Ancient Russia have survived to this day. Their small number is primarily due to the fact that most of them were made of wood. The Slavs used wood for their idols, not stone, because they believed that it had special magical powers. In the paganism of Ancient Russia, wooden sculptures combined both the sacred power of wood and the power of the deity himself.

Pagan priests were called Magi. They were called upon to perform rituals in sanctuaries, create idols and sacred objects, and with the help of magic spells, they asked the gods to send abundant harvests.

For a long time, the ancient Slavs believed that there were cloud wolves that soared into the sky and dispersed the clouds or called for rain in dry times. The priests influenced the weather with the help of a special bowl (charm) that was filled with water. Spells were read over it, and the water was then used to sprinkle crops. The Slavs believed that such actions help increase the harvest.

The Magi knew how to make amulets, that is, special jewelry for men and women, on which spell symbols were written.

Holidays and rituals in the paganism of the ancient Slavs in Russia

Since ancient times, people have been interested in the ability to influence various natural phenomena. Cold snowy winters or dry summers threatened many with difficult survival. By all means, the Slavs had to hold out until the onset of heat, to achieve a harvest. That is why the basis of the paganism of Ancient Russia was the seasons. Their influence on the life and life of people was enormous.

Pagan holidays, ceremonies and rituals were aimed at arousing the favor of the mighty forces of nature, so that they would allow a weak person to get what he wanted. Cheerful songs and dances were obligatory attributes of the meeting of spring and nature awakening from hibernation.

Winter, summer, autumn - every season deserved to be celebrated. The beginning of each season was the point of the calendar year that influenced the conduct of agricultural work, construction, and the performance of rituals aimed at strengthening friendship, love, and family well-being. These days were used to plan work for the coming season.

The months of the years were named in such a way that their main feature was reflected in the name (January - prosinets, February - lute, April - pollen). Each month has its own holidays.

The beginning of the January holidays in the paganism of Ancient Russia was given by Turitsa - on behalf of the Tour (son of Veles). This day (January 6) testified to the end of the winter holidays, at the same time they performed the ceremony of initiation into men. Then came the time of the feast of Babi Kash (January 8) - at this time all women and midwives were praised.

On the day of the abductions, which fell on January 12, rituals were performed to help protect and protect girls and women. To glorify the revived Sun and healing water, there was a holiday - Prosinets. There was also a day in January when it was supposed to appease brownies - people entertained them, sang songs.

There were five February holidays in the paganism of ancient Russia. In Gromnitsa one could hear thunder peals. Veles Day was celebrated on February 11 - from that moment the cold weather began to disappear, and spring and warmth were approaching. The Candlemas was celebrated on February 15 - the Slavs believed that on this day the snowy winter gives way to spring. On this day, the Yerzovka doll was burned and the spirits of the Sun and Fire were released. February 16 was Repair Day, when it was necessary to repair all inventory that had become unusable in a year. And on February 18 - the day of Remembrance - the soldiers who died in battles were commemorated.

The first month of spring in the paganism of Ancient Russia was marked by six holidays, among which were the feast of the Invocation of Spring and Maslenitsa (March 20-21). During Maslenitsa, it was necessary to burn the Marena doll, which personified winter. The Slavs believed that this rite entails the departure of winter.

There were many holidays in the summer. In June, Rusal celebrated the week, Kupalo, Snake Day, Bathing suit. In July, only one day was festive - July 12, when the day of the Sheaf of Veles was celebrated. On Perun's Day, which fell in the paganism of Ancient Russia in August, the warriors had to perform a special ritual with their weapons, after which they brought victory in battles. August 15 was the day of Spozhinok, at which time the last sheaves were cut. On August 21, the day of Stribog came - the Slavs asked the lord of the winds to save the harvest and not demolish the roofs of houses.

The paganism of Ancient Russia also had its own holidays in the autumn months. On September 8, on the day of the Family or the Mother of God, the family was honored. On the day of the Volkh Fiery, they began to harvest the autumn harvest. September 21 - the day of Svarog - was a holiday of artisans. November 25, the day of Marena, the ground was covered with snow.

The December holidays were Karachun, Kolyada, Shchedrets. During Kolyada and Shchedrets, various performances were staged on the streets and preparations for the new year began.

Among the pagan rites of ancient Russia are known:

A wedding ceremony that included a ritual of dressing, and on the day of the wedding itself, the kidnapping of the bride and her ransom. The bride's mother had to bake a kurnik and take it to the groom's hut. And the groom was supposed to bring a rooster to the bride's parents. At the time when the newlyweds were being married around the old oak tree, the wedding bed was being prepared in the groom's hut. As required by the paganism of Ancient Russia, a large and generous feast usually ended with merrymaking.

The rite of naming was performed if a person needed to be given a Slavic name.

Children under the age of seven were subjected to the rite of tonsure. It was believed that at the end of the ritual, the babies passed from the care of their mother to the care of their father.

With the help of rituals dedicated to the beginning of the construction of a house, they fought against evil spirits that prevented the owners or interfered with the construction through natural phenomena.

The rite of Trizna consisted in the glorification of the soldiers who fell on the battlefield, during the rite they resorted to songs, competitions, games.

As the understanding of the world by the ancient Slavs changed, so did their funeral rites.

The turning point occurred in the Proto-Slavic times, when the burial of the twisted corpses was replaced by the burning of the dead and the burial of their ashes.

Giving the bodies of the dead a crooked pose was supposed to imitate the pose of babies in the mother's womb; ropes were used to give the corpses this position. The relatives of the deceased believed that they were preparing him for the next birth on earth, in which he would reincarnate into some living being.

In the paganism of Ancient Russia, the idea of ​​reincarnation was based on the idea of ​​a life force existing separately from a person, which gave a single physical appearance to the living and the dead.

The dead were buried in a twisted form until the Bronze Age was replaced by the Iron Age. Now the dead were given an elongated position. However, the most significant change in the funeral rite is cremation - the complete burning of corpses.

During excavations, archaeologists have come across both forms of ancient commemoration of the dead.

Cremation in the paganism of Ancient Russia brings to the fore a new idea, according to which the souls of ancestors are in heaven and contribute to heavenly phenomena (such as rain, snow) for the benefit of those who remain on earth. After the burning of the body of the deceased, when his soul went to the souls of his ancestors, the Slavs buried his ashes in the ground, believing that in this way they provide the advantages characteristic of ordinary burial.

Among the elements included in the funeral rites are burial mounds, burial structures, representing a human dwelling, burial of ashes in a simple pot, from those that were used for food.

During excavations in the pagan burial mounds of the ancient Slavs, pots and bowls of food were often found. Pots for cooking from the first fruits were revered as sacred objects. This type of dishes in the paganism of Ancient Russia symbolized the benefits, satiety. Most likely, the beginning of this symbolism dates back to the times when agriculture and the use of clay utensils were born.

Speaking about the connection between the sacred pots for the first fruits and the urns for the ashes, one cannot but recall the anthropomorphic stove-vessels. These are small vessels of a simple shape, to which cylindrical or truncated-conical oven-trays were attached with round smoke holes and an arched recess at the bottom, which made it possible to fire with a torch or coal.

The pots that the ancient Slavs used to boil the first fruits during a special celebration in honor of the gods of heaven were the very link that connected the god of heaven, the god of fruitful clouds and cremated ancestors, whose souls were not reborn on earth in the guise of living beings, but remained in heaven.

The rite of cremation arose almost at the same time as the separation of the Proto-Slavs from the Indo-European tribes took place in the 15th century. BC, and existed in ancient Russia for 270 years before the reign of Vladimir Monomakh.

The burial in the paganism of Ancient Russia took place as follows. A funeral pyre was formed, on which the deceased was laid, then a regular circle was outlined, a narrow deep ditch was dug around its perimeter and a fence was built from twigs and straw. The fire and smoke from the burning fence did not allow the participants in the ceremony to see how the deceased burned inside the circle. It is believed that the burial mass of firewood and the regular circumference of the ritual fence that separated the world of the dead and the living were called "steal".

The pagan traditions of the Eastern Slavs suggested that at the same time as the deceased, animals, not only domestic, but also wild, should be burned.

The custom, according to which dominoins were supposed to be erected over the graves of Christians, survived until the beginning of the last century.

Amulets, amulets and talismans in the paganism of Ancient Russia

According to the ancient Slavs, charms or amulets, on which there was an image of a revered deity, made it possible to cope with problems and achieve what was desired. And today these items have their value, it is only important to use them correctly.

In Ancient Russia, everyone had amulets and amulets: both old people and babies. Natural phenomena frightened, illnesses and family troubles upset. People wanted to have influence on what was going on around them. So the gods and beliefs in them appeared.

The gods had their own spheres of influence, and their images and symbols were sacred. The deities were depicted on small objects that could not be parted with. Carrying his amulet with him, the man believed that strong and wise celestials helped him in this world.

The meanings of talismans in the paganism of Ancient Russia became known thanks to archaeological excavations. The sources of information about the life and customs of the ancient Slavs were bronze or metal household items.

And, although almost everyone has heard of pagan amulets and charms or pagan talismans, not everyone knows that these concepts are not identical.

amulets- items intended to be worn by a specific person, which contained positive or negative energy. They were painted, depicting symbols of deities or natural phenomena on them. In order for them to be useful, they had to be charged with the help of higher powers. In the culture of the ancient Slavs, amulets that were made by a mother, sister or beloved woman were especially important.

amulets were items or spells used to ward off evil forces. They could not only be carried with you, but also placed in houses, then they were able to protect the family from evil encroachments. Amulets were not charged, this was their main difference from amulets. They were originally able to protect their carrier. Spells or appeals to the gods could also protect a person.

Talismans considered objects that bring good luck. They were charged, but still they owed their action to faith. These things were made on purpose, they could be children's toys or something that was donated by a loved one.

The main purpose of amulets, amulets and talismans in the paganism of Ancient Russia was the protection of the gods. The symbols applied to them were of great importance in the culture of the Slavs.

Depending on the goals for which they were created, the pagan amulets of Ancient Russia helped in solving the following tasks:

protected from an unkind look;

provided protection for deceased ancestors;

guarded the dwelling from hostile forces and uninvited guests;

helped in protection against illnesses;

attracted luck and wealth.

On pagan amulets and amulets depicted a swastika, celestial bodies, images of the gods. Some amulets that protected from the evil eye or patronized the family could be worn by both men and women. However, in the paganism of Ancient Russia there were also such symbols that were applied only to male or only to female amulets.

Symbols for women's amulets and talismans

Women in labor - were an interlacing of rectangular patterns. These symbols were applied to the amulet of a woman dreaming of a child. After she became pregnant, it had to be worn until childbirth. Then this item was hung near the baby's cradle, so the strength of the whole family protected the baby.

Lunnitsa - the image of an inverted month symbolized female prudence, humility and patience in the paganism of Ancient Russia.

Yarila - with the help of signs and symbols they depicted the pagan god Yarila. The ancient Slavs believed that amulets, symbolizing the god of the sun, were able to preserve love and prevent feelings from cooling down. Although this item was intended for couples in love, it was usually worn by girls.

Mokosh - the symbols denoted the goddess Makosh, designed to strengthen the power of the clan. With the help of these amulets and amulets, peace and harmony were maintained in the houses.

Odolen-grass - a sacred grass that protected from dark forces and enemies. Signs symbolizing her were applied to protective amulets.

Molvinets - guarded the family from troubles, was depicted in the form of a rhombus. A charm with such an image was presented to pregnant women for a safe resolution of the burden and the birth of a healthy baby.

Wedding - in the paganism of Ancient Russia, it was four intertwined rings. A charm with this symbol was given to brides and young wives - the keepers of the hearth. He protected families from adversity and helped save love.

Lada-Bogoroditsa - pagan talismans with her were worn by young girls who dreamed of love and a happy marriage.

Symbols for male amulets and talismans

Veles seal - was a pattern with rounded weaves, which was applied to the amulets of gambling men. This item protected its owner from troubles and failures.

Hammer of Perun - in the paganism of Ancient Russia, it was a generic sign of men, guarding the clan along the male line, not allowing it to be interrupted, conveying the wisdom of the ancestors.

Sign of Vseslavets - protected the house from fire. Nowadays, the amulet helps protect against disagreements.

The sign of the Dukhobor - such items gave men spiritual power, strength and helped to improve themselves.

Symbols of Kolyadnik - in Ancient Russia they helped in battles, in our time they help to defeat rivals or competitors.

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