Are There Are Slavic Runes Or Symbols I Can/should Familiarize Myself With? If So, Do You Have Any Sources

Vinok wreath

The Ukrainian wreath (Ukrainian: вінок, vinók) is a type of wreath which, in traditional Ukrainian culture, is worn by girls and young unmarried women. The wreath may be part of a tradition dating back to the old East Slavic customs that predate the Christianization of Rus. The flower wreath remains a part of the Ukrainian national attire, and is worn on festive occasions and on holy days and since the 2014 Ukrainian revolution increasingly in daily life.

On the day of Ivan Kupala, young women placed their wreaths in the water with a lighted candle, foretelling their romantic future by how the wreath flowed down the river or lake. From the wreath’s direction, the girl could tell whom she would marry: if the wreath stayed in one spot and did not float down the water, she would not marry; if it went under, she would die; if the candle went out, misfortune would follow. The young men would dive into the water, trying to retrieve the vinok of the girl each loved. One of the ritual Kupala songs says, “Who will catch the wreath will catch the girl, who will get the wreath will become mine.“ It dates back to pre-Christian times when it was thought that the headdress would protect girls from evil spirits. The ceremonial, religious value diminished, and was later replaced as a national character of girlhood: to lose a wreath in folk songs and traditions means for a maiden to transition into womanhood.

Like most Ukrainian folk dress, the vinok had significant symbolic value and only specific flowers were used. It was traditionally worn by girls who were eligible for marriage. The wreath’s name, vinok, is related to the Ukrainian word for a wedding ceremony vinchannya.

The flowers used to make the wreath were generally fresh, paper or waxen and were attached onto a band of stiff paper backing covered with a ribbon.

The wreath varied in many of the regions of Ukraine; young women throughout the country wore various headdresses of yarn, ribbon, coins, feathers and grasses, but these all had the same symbolic meaning. In parts of central and eastern Ukraine the flowers were raised in the center front. Usually multicolored, embroidered ribbons were attached to the back.

During the Ukrainian wedding ceremony, the vinok was replaced by the ochipok, a cap that she would wear for the rest of her life.

Ukrainian pin magic

Attach a safety pin to clothing to protect the wearer from bad energy.

Mostly done by parents for their children, but adults have been known to attach pins for themselves.

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Is there a creation story in Slavic mythology ? Or multiple versions of a creation story ? I’m quite curious about it

Oh yes, multiple creation stories can be found in Slavic folklore. Although they were significantly transformed by centuries of co-existing with Christian belief and theological teachings, they contain elements that betray them as blatantly un-Christian in origin. They have quite a lot of regional variety but also many common themes.

The concept of primordial waters is almost universal and it frequently appears in conjunction with the story of an animal or a person diving and bringing a grain of sand from the bottom of the waters to it’s surface to create the earth. This is sometimes referred to as “the motif of fished out world” (”świat wyłowiony”, it sounds much cooler in Polish and other Slavic languages). 

In one of the stories the God (unnamed, or more likely rendered nameless by Christianity) dives into the primordial waters and a grain of sand gets stuck under his fingernail. Where it falls out the earth is formed. The God is frequently accompanied by another character, in later folk tales rendered as the Devil. Here we have our un-Christian element. The two supernatural characters are of equal or nearly equal standing and have to co-operate to create the world. According to the tale found on the territories of Poland and Bulgaria, God orders the Devil to dive to the bottom of the primordial waters and bring back a small lump of soil. In Bulgarian version the Devil fails to achieve this feat by calling solely on his own power but succeeds when calling upon the joint powers of himself and God. In other tellings the Devil has to turn into a bird to complete his mission. In certain regions, especially in Russia the devil has clearly ornitomorphic qualities, an idea borrowed from neighboring Finno-Ugric and Mongolian peoples. In a Carpathian folk songs we can find the world created by a pair of pigeons diving for the dirt, a trace of two divine powers, both with ornitomorphic form.

From this scrap of soil brought to the suface by the Devil God shapes the world, like an island on the endless waters. The Devil becomes jealous of his cration and wishes to rule the newly formed land alone so when the God falls asleep the Devil attempts to push him off the island into the water. To his suprise no matter how much he pushes, drags and rolls the God around, the earth seems to stretch below them, like dough under a rolling pin. In the end they do so much pushing, dragging and rolling that the great wide world we know is created. In a different telling (known in Russia and Ukraine) the Devil hides some of the fished out soil under his tongue hoping to create a land of his own, but the lump of dirt starts miraculously growing, bursting out of his mouth and forming mountains. In other versions of the story God accidentally creates too much dry land and there is no longer space for water - so God either eavesdrops on the Devil or asks his advice in order to solve the issue (Balkans).

And they said: “We know how man was created”. And he asked: “How?” The two of them said: “God was washing in a bathhouse, and he began to sweat, and he wiped himself with a cloth of herbs, and he threw it from heaven down to earth. And Satan began to argue with God about who would create man from it (the cloth). And the devil created man, but God put the soul in him. That is why, when a man dies, his body goes to earth and his soul to God”.

- Tale of Bygone Years

This leads as to another common motif, the stories in which the earth is a rocky, barren place and God either sacrifices his own body to make it habitable or sends a magical prophetic rooster to provide people with water (Slovenia).

The heathen also recounted that the world was totally barren, nothing but rocks. It bore no fruit, but there was no need for food anyway. Among the people lived God himself, with spirit and body, and he fed people with manna from heavens. Yet people were unhappy, for they feared God’s greatness and splendour. Constantly trembling, they could neither enjoy their food and drink nor make merry. God felt pity for them. He separated from his body and moved to heaven. His body decomposed and turned into fertile soil. In God’s soil, people cultivated their own food and no longer needed the manna from heaven. It was only then that they started to enjoy their life and were happy.

- Supernatural beings from Slovenian myth and folklore by Monika Kropej

Then we have some tales in which the world drifts on top of the primordial waters, possibly supported on the back of a giant fish or a sea snake. On the territories of Slovenia and Serbia we find mentions of the world being supported by a bull or a fiery dragon. Some slavists also speculate on the existence of “Cosmic Egg” creation story based on the common bird motifs and certain themes that can be found in traditional fairy tales.

Sources: Álvarez-Pedrosa, J. A., Sources on Pre-Christian Slavic religion (p. 287) Gieysztor, A., Mitologia Słowian (p. 156-159); Kropej, M., Supernatural beings from Slovenian myth and folklore (p. 17-29); Szyjewski, A., Religia Słowian (p. 27-38).

The Yaga journal: Witches and demons of Eastern Europe

The next article I’ll translate from the issue (I won’t translate all of them since some are not very relevant for this blog) is “Baba Yaga, witches, and the ambiguous demons of oriental Europe” by Stamatis Zochios.

The article opens by praising the 1863′s “Reasoned dictionary of the living russian language”. by scholar, lexicograph and folklorist Vladimir Dahl, which is one of the first “systematic essays” that collects the linguistic treasures of Russia. By collecting more than thirty thousand proverbs and sayings, insisting on the popular and oral language, the Dictionary notably talked about various terms of Russian folklore; domovoi, rusalka, leshii… And when it reaches Baba Yaga, the Dictionary calls her : сказочное страшилищ (skazochnoe strashilishh) , that is to say “monster of fairytales”.But the article wonders about this denomination… Indeed, for many people (such as Bogatyrev) Baba Yaga, like other characters of Russian fairytales (Kochtcheï or Zmey Gorynych) do not exist in popular demonology, and is thus exclusively a character of fairy tales, in which she fulfills very specific functions (aggressor, donator if we take back Propp’s system). But the author of this article wonder if Baba Yaga can’t actually be found in “other folkloric genres” - maybe she is present in legends, in popular beliefs, in superstitions and incantations. 

Baba Yaga, as depicted in the roleplaying game “Vampire: The Masquerade”

Keep reading

Perun - Żmija’s guide to Slavic Gods

art by Maxim Aleksandrowicz Kuleshov

part one of my guide to slavic faith - basic problems

part two of my guide to slavic faith - main gods

Perun - God of Thunder and Lighting, Ruler of Sky, Giver of Rain and Punisher of Evil - is possibly the most popular and important Old God from the Slavic pantheon; he unifies the beliefs of many Slavic - and Baltic - tribes.

As I am aware than reliable sources in English are not this easy to find, I decided to translate some notes on him I have from the “Mythology of Slavic People” by Aleksander Gieysztor - a book which is crucial for anyone who wants to really delve into the Slavic faith. It is quite academic and focuses greatly on linguistics, archeology, and folklore. Split in parts to avoid being too long and exhausting (as if it is not already? oh my.) Includes info from Strzelczyk’s Mity, podania i wierzenia dawnych Słowian as well.

- the mentions of Perun and his worship are widely present in texts from both ancient times and Middle Ages; however, they are truly visible in folk oral history, language, and archeological finds.

- Perun as a higher deity is present in nearly all of Slavic tribes’ beliefs as well as in the Baltic ones.

- his name is created from the core “per” and the suffix “un” – such a way of creating a name denotes a role and activity described by the core (nomen agentis); through this, in Polish we have a word “piorun” (lighting) coming from the action of Perun and his role. Both Lithuanian and Latvian have one word for the deity and the lighting.

- his role fluctuated throughout the years between the deity of sky and thunder to the deity of authority and action: both aspects are equally important and present in sources and tradition. a similar process took place in the Roman polytheism.

- the main role of Perun is connected with hitting – he is the one who hits, punishes, sends lightning bolts – this is present in language in certain ways: in Polish “prać” coming from the “per” core meant to wash clothes with the beating stick (kijanka) and is nowadays still present in colloquial Polish meaning “to hit, to beat someone up” (prać kogoś, sprać na kwaśne jabłko itd.)

- Balts have yet another similar core denoting the deity Perku-nas (widely accepted to be the same as Perun) and through the cores “perk” or “perg” apparent in Indoeuropean languages, we can observe connotations with “lighting”, “rock”, “forest”, and “oak tree.”

- there are many documented practices of tribes worshipping oak trees as Perun’s trees – although it is important to note that Slavs did not worship the tree itself but “what [the tree] encompassed, what it meant” (quote from Mircea Eliade, Romanian historian of religion)

- Serbian (but also Macedonian and Bulgarian)  practices of “zapis” also highlighted the importance of worship connected to oak trees.

- also places hit by lighting were considered sacred – whether it was a hill, a tree, or earth/sand which created the Perun’s arrows/arrowheads (Fulgurite)

- fulgurites or belemnites were considered the sacred weapon of Perun – Perun’s arrows, God’s arrows (Polish strzałka piorunowa, Ukrainian hromowa strilka/strila boża, Serbian strijela, Slovene strela); if found, they were considered a great luck: put in the child’s cradle for protection and health, rubbed on cows’ udders if they were not giving milk, or put under the thatch to protect the household from being hit by lighting.

- the other weapon of Perun was the Axe – through this axes were considered a sacred symbol and put beside the bed of a woman giving birth, near the threshold of a barn, on the field during sowing, or outside to protect animals and crops from hail.

- from the belief in the magical powers of Perun’s weapons came the practice of hitting oneself on the head with a rock or iron after hearing the first thunder of spring.

- the name of Perun was considered sacred and not to be taken lightly: Marija Gimbutas, a Lithuanian-American archeologist documented that, in Latvia and Lithuania, up until the XX century, only the elders were allowed to utter his name – and even they would use a diminutive form Perkunelis or Perkonitis as a way of omitting his “true name” and not angering him or bringing thunder upon themselves. (this is a widely present in linguistic analysis phenomenon of “magical taboo” and it often causes crucial cores and forms of words to be changed)

- the name of Perun and its various forms are very noticeable in toponymy (the naming of places) such as Lithuanian Perkūnai, the river Perkūnija or the mountain Perkūnkalnis; Bulgarian and Yugoslav Perunac, Perunićka Glava, Peruna Dubrava and dozens more; Polish Piorunowy Dział by the river Poprad; however, the Perun Hill in Istria (peninsula now shared by Croatia, Slovenia and Italy) with the part of it slope called Trebišča is most interesting – the term “treba” in Slavic languages and customs meant “sacrifice, offering”

- his name is also present in other parts of language other than toponymy or words meaning “thunder/lighting bolt/to hit” – most noticeably in curses/swear words such as “may the lighting hit you, may Perun punish you” in various Slavic languages such “niech cię piorun strzeli/trzaśnie” in Polish (there are many other languages using this, but Gieysztor doesn’t quote them – I do not know Serbian or Ukrainian well enough to post outside information here, please check Lug Velesa’s video on Perun where they quote more)

part 2 will include, among others: Perun’s role in Slavic dichotomy (his fight with Veles), the role of Perperuna, more customs, and specific archeologically-confirmed practices in his name.

observe the tag “gods guide” for upcoming updates.

slava,

Żmija

Ukrainian folk healers, known “as a babka, or babka-sheptukha (granny or granny-whisperer) are elderly women who perform magico-religious rituals such as the ‘pouring forth of wax’ (vylyvaty visk sometimes called strakh vylyvaty, ‘to pour fear’) to treat a variety of maladies. They are usually respected figures in their communities, and are seen by many to possess a valuable form of wisdom that cannot be learned in books. Though some babky are rumoured to be witches who practise both white and black magic, and their practices are derided by some as superstitions their fellow villagers usually respect them, seeing them as God’s chosen healers. The babky see themselves (and are seen by most villagers) in terms of what Faith Wigzell has described as the role of the Russian znakharki (knowing ones). Historically, she writes, znakharki were folk healers who (in contrast to witches and sorcerers), did not embody supernatural powers, but acted as mediators with the unclean force [1998:49].

…In the villages I visited, people frequently utilised the services of babky. Most babky indicated that they had patients every day, and people came from distant villages and cities to seek the services of several of the better-known babky. In addition to performing the wax ritual, many babky were also skilled in administering herbal remedies, conducting rituals to remove the evil eye, throwing (reading) cards, and performing healing massage. While babky treated people of any age, they indicated that frequently their patients were young children suffering from fear sickness, stuttering, irritability, difficulty sleeping, and similar ailments. For their services the babky usually received a small amount of money (2-5 hryvni) or barter in the form of eggs, sugar, flour, butter, hrechka (buckwheat groats) or moonshine.

…The moon held special significance in the beliefs and practices of several babky, and some prayers involved invocations to the new moon. Eva told me, for example, that one must follow this procedure to cure a toothache: when the molodyk appears, that is the new (literally, young) moon, when you can see just a tiny sliver of the moon, then you must stand on a rock and say, ‘Molodyk, molodyk, have you been to the other world?’ ‘I have.’ ‘Do people die there?’ ‘They do.’ ‘Do teeth hurt there?’’They don’t.’ ‘Then don’t let ours hurt either.’ Similarly, Paraskovia Moroz told me the following prayer: Clear moon, young prince, don’t let anyone have them [dry patches from eczema or psoriasis] not Oksana. Take it away, you are young, you see everything at night on the earth.’ Babky often told patients to time their rituals and prayers to the appearance of the new moon. In some cases, the new moon was seen to have powers to renew a spell, if a particular incantation was repeated with each new moon.

…In general, the babky said they felt freer to practice their craft since the fall of Soviet rule in Ukraine. Paraskovia Moroz, who was born in 1930, had wanted to study to become a doctor or veterinarian. Her parents, who warned her that all students were forced into the Komsomol (Communist Youth League), dissuaded her. Komsomol members during the turbulent war years in Western Ukraine were oftentimes tossed into the river, she reported. Paraskovia said that when she began to heal people in 1964 (she was then thirty four years old) she had to practice in secret. Folk healing was actively repressed by the Soviet regime, and anyone practising it could have been arrested, she said.

…Earlier Paraskovia had always pleaded with patients to keep her healing a secret, but now she felt free to heal and everyone knew of her abilities. The fact that women like Paraskovia Moroz had protected knowledge of these prayers, rituals, and folk remedies is evidence both of their strong character, and the tenacity of these beliefs and practices.

…Anthropologists who have studied ritual and shamanism note that, across cultures, ritual practice becomes more prevalent in times of social upheaval [Turner 1967, 1969, 1974]. 

In the context of a significant decline in living standards, widespread impoverishment, and uncertainty about the future in Ukraine, it is not surprising that villagers (and frequently, urban dwellers) would seek the services of a diviner-healer.

As Wigzell [1998: 191] notes for contemporary Russia, fortune-telling (in our case, represented by divinatory practices associated with the wax ritual) has an important role to play in helping individuals cope with their lives. This insight, I think, can be extended to the entire range of healing practices espoused by babky in Ukrainian villages. Coping mechanisms, and, especially, attempts to restore and maintain harmony, are encoded in all the roles fulfilled by the babky. In today’s trying times, I would argue, Ukrainian babky carry out gendered performances that accord them a measure of prestige and power; complement and replace the system of state medicine; act as psychotherapists; and specialise in psychosocial ailments to simultaneously heal persons and communities.

…As previously stated, babky are generally held in high esteem as wise women. They are believed to have special knowledge of prayers and ritual practices, and to possess a unique connection to God, Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and the saints. The concomitant suspicion that babky may also dabble in black magic may diminish the esteem with which some villagers regard these women, but also garners them additional respect (out of fear). In general, however, most villagers associate babky very positively with pious religious belief and practice. For many, they embody the nurturing mother figure.”

Excerpts from the article: Waxing Like the Moon: Women Folk Healers in Rural Western Ukraine by Sarah D. Phillips ; University of Indiana

For full article (it includes details of the pouring of wax and other details, as well as a bibliography):

https://journals.ku.edu/…/article/download/3744/3583/4458

Photo source: Ірина Шараневич

“Babusya z poliovymy kvitamy, Ukraine, from Iryna with love”

The Zoryas✨

What follows is a few insights from years of research and practice within my own culture, as I am entering a Filianic space. Due to the nature of this format and the largely educational goal, it would be impossible to reflect the full image of these folkloric figures as seen by the original peoples; on the other hand, quite obviously, none of the information below was initially intended to be viewed from this perspective, and as such is to be taken as a partial and personal impression of an lived culture that is to be respected in its own right.

The Zoryas are a Slavic folkloric figure group associated with largely love and healing. The most common contexts for invoking them are magical incantations and folk songs.

The name, which is plural, literally means "stars", which is, of course, a potent symbol of hope and reassurance in the Filianic faith. They may be encountered as a group of three, calling to the trinitarian nature of the practice, the Evening, Midnight, and the Morning Star, each assigned a somewhat different character (usually sorrowful, pensive, and joyful), or as a singular being. In many examples there are also parallel texts in active use that either call upon them, or replace them, it seems fully equivalently, with Mother Mary.

Though adorned and certainly involved in what one would assume gentle matters, in many cases they are shown in a knightly form, riding horses across the sky, measuring time and watching over us, sovereign and never paired to a male.

As mentioned before, their presence is welcomed for protection and healing, and love. This once again showcases their general care for universal order, as in a sense healing and safety are just a restoral of harmony to body and life.

Then, of course, young women looking to find love would near universally call the dear sisters to ignite the feeling in another's heart and make themselves irresistibly attractive. Romance being self-explanatory, the love we have in our hearts is a sister to the love that drives particles to motion, spirit to action, and a human being to seek companionship of any kind. Going hand in hand, - and this is where we enter the realm of a personally held belief, - the cultivation of beauty within your own self is a divinely driven desire for joy and pleasure in everything, a way of honouring your person as a divine being. Similarly to this, an artist would generally endeavor to depict a deity or a saint as pleasingly as they can, as as not to idolize but to show respect towards them and grace within them.

Personally, as a Ukrainian and a perennialist, these figures to me speak of the universality of certain principles that reoccur within the human psyche due to experiencing them directly. This is the seed of truth within the image that grows from it.

On the other hand, of course, I am speaking here in a very incomplete manner. Any questions are welcome.

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Are there any Ukrainian folk beliefs about the moon? Does it play a part in slavic faith? I would love to hear everything you'd like to share. Also, are there Ukrainian werewolf beliefs? Please take good care of yourself. I keep Ukraine in my prayers and send you a virtual hug if you'd like💛

Yes and yes.

First of all, there is the moon phase symbolism, and my musings about the black moon in particular, while we are at it. Have some information about misiachnyks for good measure.

The moon, being a masculine word in Ukrainian, is generally referred to as male; the sun can be feminine if they are made a pair, but the word itself is neuter, and the solar divinity we know of is masculine.

As for werewolves, and other shape-shifters, there are a few ideas about it. Some might be born with it, if the pregnant person, for example, happens to meet a wolf at an unfortunate time, or eats an animal killed by one. Still, it is usually considered a consequence of spell work, though the attitude varies depending on the source of the spells. Those magical practitioners who choose to turn into an animal (stick a knife into the ground, somersault thrice over it, hope that no-one takes it while you are about) are to be particularly feared, as it is unlikely they do so for a pleasant reason. They also have an unfortunate habit of turning other people and whole weddings into animals. It is only appropriate I end the response with yet another link.

rusalki are not mermaids. stop translating the word "rusalka" as "mermaid" and stop calling rusalki "slavic mermaids". it's confusing, it's misleading, and it's simply isn't true. the association of rusalka with a western mermaid and undine began in 19th century, when russian empire poets wanted to adapt a popular western motif of a sorrowful water maid that is unrequitedly in love with a mortal man. this literature character of rusalka has nothing to do with actual rusalki folklore and cult.

rusalki are natural undead spirits that are connected to slavic ancestral worship. they don't have tails. they are not in any way connected to the sea: only lakes, ponds, and rivers. often, they're not even connected to water at all: there are forest rusalki, field rusalki, meadow rusalki, etc. they are in close relationships with their human kin: during the spring and summer, they are used in agricultural rites and are believed to help with farming and raising crops. rusalki were sacred to slavic people. the "week of the rusalki" festival, when rusalki are believed to walk on earth and visit their relatives, is celebrated to this day. to call them "slavic mermaids" is very diminutive of their actual role in slavic cultures.

Evil Eye

The belief in evil eye, intentional or not, is rather prevalent in Slavic lands in general and in Ukraine in particular. Perhaps the most notable example is the tradition of not showing newborn babies to anyone but the closest relatives - hence why many a young mother can be seen avoiding public spaces and covering the baby carriage so that the child is not visible when it can not be avoided. 

Naturally, such a belief produces many a way to protect oneself from ills brought by tempting the fate and glances filled with envy.  An obvious example would be a cross, or any other symbol that signifies divine protection. A red string, preferably woolen, tied with seven knots around a person’s left wrist  is worn for the same purpose; it is believed that when the string is torn or lost, it has completed its purpose, perhaps due to the number or the strength of the attacks, and is no longer of use - so a new one should be tied. A safety pin can be worn pinned to the wrong side of clothes near chest area - interestingly, knives or needles by doors or windows similarly protect homes and vehicles. A piece of clothing worn inside out protects both from evil eye and from malicious or overly playful spirits. It is believed that when a Lisovyk leads you away from your path in the forest, putting something on inside out, boots on the wrong feet, or looking around upside down between your legs - making something one way or another wrong, not-you or not-human about your appearance or perception, - should help you see through the spirit’s tricks.   

Certain protective elements are imbedded in the traditional costume itself - vibrant colours and reflective surfaces distract the malicious eye from the individual, which is considered especially important for young, attractive people. You can have a mirror on your person for that purpose - or, once again, put one in your window, facing the street.

One, of course, could benefit from the knowledge that a person with a strong will and mind is harder to influence, so a positive outlook is a useful and inexpensive tool to have in your kit along with sharp objects and colourful accessories.