When Fern Blooms (Hope Floats): Elusive

"There is still a saying among people, "The moon is our god, and who will rule over us when he is gone?" - Outline of Ukrainian Mythology, V. Hnatiuk

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.

Hi! May I ask for some folk magic that you know?

That is a very broad topic! But I will share a tidbit or two from my arsenal of Ukrainian Folk magic.

A very easy and effective protection against the Evil Eye (оберіг від вроків) is to form the fig-sign (дуля, pronounced dulya ) in your pocket. If you’re not sure what a fig sign is, it looks like this:

Another very common protection is to hide a safety pin under one of your garments of clothing. Unlike the common red thread protection found in many cultures, including Slavic cultures, the importance of discreetness is stressed when it comes to the safety pin and fig-sign. 

Other ways to protect yourself from the Evil Eye is to carry Blessed Salt or even a Blessed Cross around your neck.

And finally, if you do or say something taboo that may bring the Evil Eye upon you, spit (not with full on saliva but more gently, like with air) over your left shoulder three times. This method will not lift the effect of Evil Eye from you in the more extreme cases. In more extreme cases going to your local knower (той хто знає) to have them lift it from you.

This is in no way a complete list, but some my personal favorites.

May the Most Holy God-bearer cover you with Her wings!

Hello! Regarding your post about opening asks, I was wondering if you have any advice about searching for Ukrainian sources about folklore/magic/superstition etc that are actually specific to Ukrainian beliefs? Every time I try to do research I find things that *say* Ukrainian, but all the sources are Russian. For example when I try to read about Mokosh, who is said to be an earth goddess for "all slavic people" (already a red flag statement) I can only find Russian sources and stories. People tend to lump us into one group, an issue Im sure you're familiar with. Either way, thank you for your time!! <3

That is a simple one - you would have to be more specific in your research. Do not look up Ukrainian beliefs about Mokosh, Ukraine nor Ukrainians (or Russians, for that matter) did not exist when this deity was worshiped. Research the history itself, or any particular region, subject, or group, and make your own conclusions.

With Mokosh, however, the trick is that the one reliable primary source in existence, the Tale of Bygone Years, also known as the Primary Chronicle, only states the name itself, without a hint towards gender or patronage. The rest, academically, is conjecture derived from romantic pet theories and the images of the Virgin Mary and St. Friday in folk imagination. This is not to say there is no earth goddess making herself known through this name, or through the saints mentioned, for that matter, but it has to be acknowledged there is no way of knowing who this being was at the time of writing.

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=

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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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”

Thank you for the question @newbiepagancat ! I’ll give you a direct answer and a broader view answer.

Direct answer: The general theme of the myth was reconstructed by slavists on the basis of folk songs, folktales and comparative mythology, there is no one concrete historical source. The names of gods and the storyline connecting multiple myths are an educated speculation by slavists of yore. The minute details are typically added by neopagans as they’re almost impossible to reconstruct.

The Russian philologists Ivanov and Toporov found (mainly on the tradition about Zeleni Jurij) traces of the principal myth of Perun and Veles, linking Jurij/Jarylo with the Balto-Slavic Jarovit, a deity of fertility, who was initially worshipped on April 15. Furthermore, Radoslav Katičić wrote extensively on Jurij’s myth among the Slavs and on the duel between the Thunder God with a dragon. Both Radoslav Katičić and Vitomir Belaj share the opinion that Jurij/Jarylo is the son of Perun and thus central to the pre-Slavic vegetation and fertility myth. Jurij was taken by envoys of Veles to the land of the dead from which he returned to the world of the living in spring. As a harbinger of spring, Zeleni Jurij is also connected with the circular flow of time and with renewal. According to Katičić’s reconstruction of the myth of Zeleni Jurij, the mythic story recounts how young Jurij rides his horse from afar, from the land of eternal spring and the land of the dead – from Veles’ land – across a blood-stained sea, through a mountain to a green field. (…) At the end of his journey, Jurij arrives at the door of Perun’s court to marry Perun’s daughter, (his own sister) Mara. Together with the sacrifice of the horse, the hieros gamos ensures the growth and fertility of plants. Some Slovene folktales and songs also mention an incestuous relationship between a brother and a sister, which is the reminiscence of the sacred marriage already mentioned in the myth of Kresnik. The sacred marriage is therefore also connected with Zeleni Jurij.

- Supernatural beings from Slovenian myth and folktales by Monika Kropej

Mikhailov summarized Ivanov’s and Toporov’s reconstruction of the basic myth by describing that the thunder god Perun, who dwells in the sky on the top of a mountain, persecutes his enemy, who has the form of a snake and lives below on earth. The reason for their conflict is that Veles stole cattle and people, as well as the Thunderer’s wife in some versions of the story.

- René Girard’s Scapegoating and Stereotypes of Persecution in the Divine Battle between Veles and Perun by Mirjana Borenović

Broader worldview answer: There are some common mythological themes that exist in one form or another among countless different cultures and peoples, adjusted to fit the local gods and their broader stories.

The God of Thunder fights The Serpent of the Waters. They have to fight - be it as Perun and Veles, as Thor and Jörmungandr, as Zeus and Typhon or as Marduk and Tiamat. The detailed reasons will vary but will make sense locally. The older and simpler reason is likely that we need a good justification for the changing of the seasons.

The Death will always take away someone’s Loved One, sometimes that Loved One will be a child, since that makes coping with the situation particularly difficult. That’s just what death does - be it as Veles and Yarilo or as Hades and Persephone. Bonus points for explaining the seasons changing too.

So let’s say you’re a slavist or a neopagan desperate for a coherent body of Slavic myths but lacking one. All you have to work with are some fleshless skeletons of myths, painstakingly glued together from random bones that you found here and there. Truth be told you only managed to get this far because they’re real classics of the genre and other cultures tend to have similar ones too. Let’s introduce the skeleton gallery in play here:

The Thunderer and the Serpent are fighting (described more in depth here),

The God of Death/Underworld abducts a child (described in the quotes above),

The Spirit of Vegetation has to die - creative sacrifice/murder (explained shortly here),

The Fire and Water need to marry at Midsummer - magical incest temporarily allowed (explained in this post, if it’s too long just read the last quote and the tldr).

(You might notice pretty much all those myths are centered around vegetation, what makes plants grow, and people needing to have food. Two first skeletons do a decent job of explaining change of seasons and the reason for seasonal coming of rains, that are needed for the fields to grow; two last ones are related to rituals that are supposed to ensure that land stays fertile/there’s enough sun and water so that grain grows and we can avoid starving.)

Ok, so let’s say you’re a slavist or a neopagan desperate for a coherent body of Slavic myths. What is the optimal way to connect the dots here?

Perun and Veles fight. Why are they fighting? Multiple reasons but the biggest one is Veles stealing something that rightfully belonged to Perun. What did he steal? Well the myth works perfectly if it’s a) a child and b) a spirit of vegetation. This fits both Morana and Yarilo and I saw fans of both versions, but let’s go with Yarilo here. Because of a flower, a folk song and an old chronicle Yarilo/Yarovit, the spirit believed to be one of vegetation, life, spring, sun etc. has to marry the spirit of vegetation, water and death, that miiiiiight also be his sister. How the fuck do you marry your own sister? Well you got abducted and separated at young age, but as The Spring, The Embodiment of Sprouting Seeds and maybe also The Sun Child, Yarilo (born at Midwinter) will come out from the Underworld uscathed as a young adult and meet a girl who he fails to recognize as his sister and marries at Midsummer (part of fertility ritual for good harvest). Anyway tragedy follows, could be murder, could be suicide, either way it has to be death.

Why? Because that’s what makes sense, the most optimal way to put together the puzzle pieces that we currently have. Does that mean that’s exactly what Ancient Slavs believed? No, but a) we don’t know for sure what they believed and will likely never find out for sure, b) they probably believed bunch of different, conflicting stories depending on the region.

Obviosuly speculating slavists are much more light-handed than speculating neopagans. The slavists will usually let you know which parts they added, why they hold this particular belief, what purpose this story may serve, what other authorities support their hypothesis, and of course, that nothing is for sure and this is merely a hypothesis. Neopagans are rarely this kind and forthcoming.

Have a lovely day!

Zarya

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

Hello I was wondering about popular or common Slavic embroidery patterns ? I unfortunately don’t know how to embroider myself, but I would like to incorporate it into my drawings and paintings as art is a big way for me to connect spiritually. Thanks so much !

First of all ”Slavic embroidery patterns” are a huge subject. There are many Slavic states and countless smaller regions within those states that have their own unique and characteristic patterns.

Having said that here are some sources for you to check out:

Polish folk embroidery by Jadwiga Turska

Ukrainian folk embroidery by K. R Susak and N. A. Stefyuk

Some Balkan Folk Embroidery Patterns by Edith Durham

Ukrainian Rushnyky: Binding Amulets and Magical Talismans in the Modern Period by Frank Sciaccia

And make sure to check out the great blogs we have here: Polish Costumes, Zvetenze, Me-Sharing-With-The-World, Eastern European Crafts and Pagan Stiches.

Best of luck!