Altar Placement By Ukrainian Tradition

“Years of My Youth, Come Visit Me” - Maria Prymachenko (1909 - 1997), Ukrainian artist. Prymachenko is well-known, frequently posted and much loved. Her art was like a fountain, coming out with great force, never losing its magical quality and representing the best in Ukrainian fork art.  

“In 1936 Maria Ovksentiyivna was invited to experimental workshops. Folk talents were gathered here, Pryimachenko was among them.

In 1936, at the First Republican Exhibition of Folk Art, Pryimachenko’s paintings were given a whole hall. This exhibition was seen by Moscow, Leningrad, and Warsaw. Maria Prymachenko was awarded a first-degree diploma for participating in an exhibition of folk art in 1936. Since then, her works have been exhibited with constant success at exhibitions in Paris, Warsaw, Sofia, Montreal, and Prague. In 1937 the artist’s works were exhibited in Paris. She became famous.

Mysterious and emotionally charged, the works of Maria Pryimachenko, a folk master of Ukrainian decorative painting, seem to absorb the age-old traditions of many generations of Ukrainian master-craftsmen who, from the depths of the centuries, have brought forth their understanding of good and evil, of ugliness and beauty.

Images often had арреаred to the artist in dreams and later materialized in her compositions. Maria Pryimachenko’s art works depict fabulous mythological beasts and take their roots in folk legends and fairy-tales, nourished by real life and culture of the Ukrainian реорlе.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Prymachenko

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”

A Welcomed Place

As our Lord entered the holy city, the Hebrew children professed the resurrection of life. Holding palm branches, they cried out, “Hosanna in the highest!” – Antiphon 1: Procession for Palm Sunday

My ancestors’ holy days are my holy days. I reinterpret and redefine to create personal meaning, so my connection to them is genuine yet reflective of my own beliefs. Even though Jesus Christ isn’t my savior, he has a welcome place at the table of resurrective gods I waitress.

see also: #altar, #palm sunday

Are there are Slavic runes or symbols I can/should familiarize myself with? If so, do you have any sources you can point me towards? Very much appreciated.

This is not the subject I am particularly well versed in but no, to the best of my knowledge Slavs did not have any runic alphabet of their own, Glagolitic script being the oldest known Slavic writing system. Now there is one mention, by a 9th century bulgarian writer, that Slavs of the past did not write books but for the purposes of counting and divination they used a system of strokes and incisions. Following an old post Lamus Dworski made in Polish ages ago I believe the aforementioned signs might be something similar to tamgas.

Unfortunately it also came to my attention that there are some problematic modern groups of conspiracy theories-loving pagans and self-appointed history specialists who believe Slavs did have their own alphabet it was just destroyed by evil Westerners or Jews and all traces of it have been hidden. Just like all traces of Great Lechia, Slavs defeating Julius Cesear and other proofs of Slavic racial and cultural supremacy. If you catch a scent of those people best stay far away from them.

Рута - Rue

In Carpatho-Ukraine and Hutsul belief, the common rue (ruta graveolens), which normally blooms yellow, will bloom red every ten years. The red ruta, featured in literature and folk songs, can be used to charm a person of your desire. 

It is also believed that during storms the devil can find shelter in the rue plant.

(translated by me from Магія Українців - Лілія Мусіхіна; Ukrainian Magic by Lilia Musikhina)

The Amber Tears of Mokosh Ritual Necklace ~ #Mokosh is the protector of women’s work & destiny, she is a #goddess of #fertility, water, & women. According to folk belief she shears sheep & spins thread. Her name itself is derived from the word combo maty kota‘mother of the cat,’ ‘mother of good #fortune.’ In the 14th century her #cult was transformed into that of Saint Parasceve.

Obtain at #TheWitchery via https://www.thewitchery.ca/product/the-baltic-amber-tears-of-mokosh-ritual-necklace/

This necklace is strung like a Ukrainian korali necklace. Beaded necklaces (namysto) are one of the oldest forms of women’s ornaments in #Ukraine. They carried deep symbolic significance. They were #protective & informative, & could tell how wealthy the family was as since 6 strings could cost as much as a pair of oxen). The colour red symbolizes protection, beauty, vitality, fertility & #strength in old Slavic traditions.

Warm to the touch & often containing insect fragments it was believed to contain the very essence of life itself. It has associations with time, cycles & longevity. As it once was a living substance, it is related to spirit. Some thought #amber was the petrified tears of #gods.

Amber #amulets were worn as protection from diseases & against being killed in a battle. People believed it “pulled out” disease from the body & “attracted” #goodluck – in the same way as it attracts small objects if you slightly rub it. It was believed to avert misfortune, kept its owner safe from black magic, cast out devils, guarded one from the #evileye, brought luck in love, & made it’s owner stronger & cleverer.

Alleged to relieve depression, anxiety, & promotes joy. In Latvia, bands of amber rings were used in wedding ceremonies to ensure an eternal bond. Today, amber represents renewed fidelity in marriage.

This beautiful set is comprised of four 9″ Faceted Dark Cognac Amber strands all connected with a beautiful amber clasp

Only 1 was birthed into existence ~ When it’s gone it is gone. https://www.instagram.com/p/CpIgNLup9vV/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Forgotten Galicia

Forgotten Galicia - A Protection Symbol for the Home: The Six-Petal Rosette оn the Crossbeams of Galicia

The Six-Petal Rosette The six-petal rosette, the flower-like symbol created by overlapping seven circles, as well as the expanded variants w

The Six-Petal Rosette

The six-petal rosette, the flower-like symbol created by overlapping seven circles, as well as the expanded variants with 7 interlocking rosettes and 19 interlocking rosettes (the latter is called the “Flower of Life” in the New Age movement), is an ancient symbol that has been used across cultures and religions for millennia.

The rosette is a solar symbol in many cultures and many peoples believed it to be magical. It was commonly used as a decorative motif to adorn doors, ceiling beams, crosses, cornices, coats of arms, everyday objects, furniture, musical instruments, ritual items, graves.

In ancient Slavic tradition, the rosette was associated with the chief pagan god Perun, the god of thunder and lightning, and was supposed to protect against lightning and generally ensure the favor of the Thunderer. Appropriately, the symbol is also called the “symbol of Perun” and a “thunder mark” in Ukrainian.

The Rosette on Crossbeams

Supporting a ceiling with large wooden crossbeams (“svolok” in Ukrainian and “sosręb” in Polish) was once a common construction practice, found in noble residences as well as in burgher homes, and through the early twentieth century in regional construction, especially in the Carpathians.

The crossbeam was not only an important structural element of the home, but also a symbolic and decorative one: it was in the center of this beam that the rosette was engraved to protect the house against misfortune and especially against fire. Additionally, the date of construction, decorative motifs, the name of the owner, the name of the carpenter, mottos, or religious symbols could be engraved on the beam, turning the crossbeam into a vital record of the house.

Detailed information about the use of crossbeams and the rosette in the architecture of the peoples of Galicia can be found in excellent works of research from the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries by Władysław Matlakowski and Kazimierz Mokłowski. Władysław Matlakowski, a surgeon, ethnographer, and researcher of Podhale architecture and folk art, published Budownictwo ludowe na podhalu (Folk Buildings in Podhale) in 1892 and Zdobienie i sprzęt ludu polskiego na Podhalu (Decoration and Domestic Utensils of the Polish People in Podhale) in 1901, while Kazimierz Mokłowski, a Polish architect and art historian, who later lived and worked in Lviv, published Sztuka Ludowa w Polsce (Folk Art in Poland) in 1903. These three works include thorough descriptions as well as a plenty of illustrations of various elements of the architecture and applied art of the region.

Crossbeams in the Folk Architecture of Galician Highlanders

Though historically used across much of Ukraine and Poland, today the rosette is most associated with and best preserved in the culture of the Carpathian highlanders of Galicia, in particular in Hutsul, Boyko, Lemko, and Goral folk architecture, woodwork, and household objects. Accordingly, in Ukrainian it also has such names as “hutsulska rozetka” (Hutsul rosette), “boykivska rozetka” (Boyko rosette) and in Polish “rozeta karpacka” (Carpathian rosette), “rozeta podhalańska” (Podhale rosette), “rozeta góralska” (Goral rosette).

Goral Cottages

Podhale is a region in the Polish Tatra Mountains inhabited by highlanders known as Gorals. Władysław Matlakowski writes in his book Zdobienie i sprzęt ludu polskiego na Podhalu that the “gwiazda” (meaning “star”—another name for the rosette in Polish) is “the most common and the most characteristic ornament in Podhale: it is found everywhere, but mostly on every crossbeam.” Indeed, throughout this book as well as his other book Budownictwo Ludowe na Podhalu, the gwiazda appears in illustrations of such items as spoon racks, chairs, distaffs, and lintels, but most notably on crossbeams.

Examples of old crossbeams with rosettes from the Podhale region can still be found in Poland, especially in open air museums which have preserved the local folk architecture.

Hutsul, Boyko &  Lemko Cottages

The Hutsuls, Boykos and Lemkos inhabit what is today the Ukrainian and eastern Polish Carpathian Mountains. Just as among the Gorals, the rosette is found in the architecture and folk crafts of these highlanders.

A testament to the ubiquity of the rosette in the folk architecture of the Carpathian highlanders is Lviv’s Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Life, which features examples of the architecture of the Hutsuls, Boykos, and Lemkos. The rosette can be seen all over the open air museum, including on several crossbeams inside the homes. It is no wonder the museum uses the rosette as its logo.

Crossbeams in Renaissance Buildings in Lviv

In addition to examples from the Carpathian Mountains, Kazimierz Mokłowski’s book Sztuka Ludowa w Polsce includes illustrations of crossbeams from buildings in Lviv which include the rosette, as well as other solar symbols, often along with the year of construction and religious symbols.

Fortunately, not only do these original engraved Renaissance-era crossbeams, as documented by Kazimierz Mokłowski, still support the ceilings of the buildings in Lviv’s historic center, but many of them are open to public viewing as they are generally located in shops, restaurants, and museums.

Crossbeams in Zakopane Style Villas

A widespread symbol among the Gorals, the rosette was a popular symbol in the architecture and interior decor of Zakopane Style villas. Zakopane Style architecture emerged at the end of the nineteenth century when architect Stanislaw Witkiewicz, rejecting foreign building styles that had started to appear in the booming ski resort of Zakopane, chose to embrace traditional Podhale-style architecture, enriching it with elements of Art Nouveau. The new Zakopane Style villas included large intricately engraved crossbeams prominently featuring the rosette, such as can be found in Villa Oksza (built in 1894 by Witkiewicz, today an art gallery) and in the guest house Villa Orla (built 1901). Though by this time the symbol likely lost its meaning as a “thunder mark” and was used purely as a decorative element cherishing the local culture.

A Sign from the Past

Today, the rosette has found new places to thrive across Galicia—for example, it is used as logos for museums and a microbrewery, and found on folk-inspired accessories. Although its history, meaning, and usage may have been forgotten, the “Carpathian” rosette is in fact still alive and well today.

So don’t forget—next time you enter a Carpathian highlander’s cottage, a Renaissance building in Lviv, or a Zakopane Style villa, look up! If you are lucky, you will find an authentic example of this ancient and mystic symbol.

Written by Areta Kovalska

(Wonderful photos on the page)

When Fern Blooms (Hope Floats): Elusive

Kupala Night, also called Ivanа-Kupala, is a traditional eastern Slavic holiday which is celebrated in Ukraine, Poland, Belarus and Russia during the night from 6 to 7 July (on the Gregorian calendar). (This corresponds to 23-24 June on these countries’ traditional Julian calendar.) Calendar-wise, it is opposite to the winter holiday Koliada. The celebration relates to the summer solstice when nights are the shortest and includes a number of Slavic rituals.

The name of the holiday was originally Kupala; a pagan fertility rite later adapted into the Orthodox Christian calendar by connecting it with St. John’s Day which is celebrated on 24 June.

The Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian name of this holiday combines “Ivan” (John, in this case John the Baptist) and Kupala which was thought to be derived from the Slavic word for bathing, which is cognate. However, it likely stems from the proto-Slavic kump, a gathering. The two feasts could be connected by reinterpreting John’s baptizing people through full immersion in water. However, the tradition of Kupala predates Christianity. The pagan celebration was adapted and reestablished as one of the native Christian traditions intertwined with local folklore.

The holiday is still enthusiastically celebrated by the younger people of Eastern Europe. The night preceding the holiday (Tvorila night) is considered the night for “good humour” mischiefs (which sometimes would raise the concern of law enforcement agencies). On Ivan Kupala day itself, children engage in water fights and perform pranks, mostly involving pouring water over people.

Many of the rites related to this holiday are connected with the role of water in fertility and ritual purification. This is due to the ancient Kupala rites. On Kupala day, young people jump over the flames of bonfires in a ritual test of bravery and faith. The failure of a couple in love to complete the jump, while holding hands, is a sign of their destined separation.

Girls may float wreaths of flowers (often lit with candles) on rivers, and attempt to gain foresight into their romantic relationship fortune from the flow patterns of the flowers on the river. Men may attempt to capture the wreaths, in the hope of capturing the interest of the woman who floated it.

There is an ancient Kupala belief that the eve of Ivan Kupala is the only time of the year when ferns bloom. Prosperity, luck, discernment, and power befall whom ever finds a fern flower (Chervona ruta). Therefore, on that night, village folk roam through the forests in search of magical herbs, and especially, the elusive fern flower (Chervona ruta).

Traditionally, unmarried women, signified by the garlands in their hair, are the first to enter the forest. They are followed by young men. Therefore, the quest to find herbs and the fern flower (Chervona ruta) may lead to the blooming of relationships between pairs within the forest.

According to folklore, the flower is Chervona ruta. The flower is yellow, but according to legend, it turns red on the eve of Ivan Kupala Day. Ferns are not angiosperms (flowering plants), and instead reproduce by spores.

In Gogol’s story The Eve of Ivan Kupala, a young man finds the fantastical fern-flower, but is cursed by it. Gogol’s tale may have been the stimulus for Modest Mussorgsky to compose his tone poem Night on Bald Mountain, adapted by Yuri Ilyenko into a film of the same name.

SOURCES: Image #1: Wikimedia Commons: License: Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Source Photographer: Simon Kozhin/С.Л.Кожин Title: Kupala Night, Divination on the Wreaths Artist: Simon Kozhin/С.Л.Кожин Image #2: Wikimedia Commons:   Title: Night on the Eve of Ivan Kupala Artist: Henryk Hector Siemiradzki License: Public Domain Image #3: Wikimedia Commons: Title: Івана Купала (Ivanа-Kupala). Stamp of Ukraine (1998) License: Public Domain Text:  Wikipedia: Kupala Night:  Fern Flower: Chervona ruta. License:  Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

“People believed clay to be an embodiment of the primordial cosmic matter and honoured it as such - like a life-giving substance of the world with wonderful properties and abilities. Only clay of all natural materials gives people the fullest creative ability to materialise the products of their imagination. Thus, temples, houses, dishes, ritualistic and decorative objects were made of it; it was used in folk medicine, magic, astrology and rituals. They believed that people who work with clay, potters, are also special, knowing more than others.”

— Folk Medicine and Magic of Ukrainians, by Iryna Ihnatenko.

My Western, mostly American and Anglo-Saxon friends: Halloween

My Celtic friends: Samhain

Me, a Slav: DZIADY

But seriously, I really recommend you to read about Dziady (or the Forefathers’ Eve, as that’s how it is sometimes translated into English). It is traditionally celebrated in Belarus, Ukraine, Baltic countries, and some parts of Poland as well. Similarly to Celtic Samhain, it is also believed that during Dziady our ancestors come back to the world of the living. As the descendants, we are obligated to welcome them properly, commemorate them, and learn from whatever advice they may have for us. It's really cool, Adam Mickiewicz, the national poet of Poland, Lithuania and Belarus, even wrote a drama inspired by this feast!

(“Dziady, pradziady, przyjdzcie do nas!” Depiction of dziady ritual in Belarus, Stanisław Bagieński. Source: Wikipedia)

More under this link:

en.m.wikipedia.org

Dziady - Wikipedia

Dziady - Wikipedia