Slavic Resources In English: My Collection Of Academic Resources For Beginners On The Subject Of Slavic

“Interestingly, travellers, nomads, and foreigners also were thought to have a special status and possess secret knowledge. They were often imagined as soldiers, beggars, hermits, old men, and so on. Seeing most of them as intermediaries between the worlds, as possessing magic knowledge, is not accidental, as, in Ukrainian folk imagination, occult powers are connected to paths and the other side. Foreigners and visitors had powers ascribed to them as they come from “the outside” (unlike people of settled lifestyle), and that is where they go, as well.”

— Ritual and Magic in Ukrainian Cultural Tradition, by Iryna Ihnatenko

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!

Altar placement by Ukrainian tradition

The information I will share in the post is mainly about the Christian home altar, but it may provide some ideas for individuals interested in Slavic paganism, as well.

The altar is called “червоний кут”, which translated to “red corner” (here is another post on red colour in the Slavic tradition that I made). It used to be the most important part of the house that usually contained items valuable from cultural and religious point of view: icons, the Bible, books of prayers, candles, pictures of deceased relatives, all decorated with beautifully embroidered cloths. The table was placed in that corner, too. As a general rule, it was across the room from the oven, well-lit, which would make it South or East.

The person to sit in that corner was the master of the house or the most important guest; in times of death, forty days after, the person who passed away - they also get a plate and a cup of their own, of course. Due to the importance associated with the red corner, it was said that if you hear cracking in the walls on that side, the master may soon die.

Ukrainians say, “у своїй хаті й кути помагають” - “at home even corners help”, which was true in the more literal sense for women giving birth back when doing it at home was the usual practice for most. People believed that, should the process be especially difficult, the woman should be led around that very table every now and then.

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

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.

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.

"How can I be a witch/pagan without falling for conspiracy theories/New Age cult stuff?" starter kit

Posts & Articles

Check your conspiracy theory. Does any of it sound like this?

Check your conspiracy theory part two: double, double, boil and trouble.

QAnon is an old form of anti-Semitism in a new package, experts say

Some antisemitic dogwhistles to watch out for

Eugenicist and bioessentialist beliefs about magic

New Age beliefs that derive from racist pseudoscience

The New Age concept of ascension - what is it?

A quick intro to starseeds

Starseeds: Nazis in Space?

Reminder that the lizard alien conspiracy theory is antisemitism

The Ancient Astronaut Hypothesis is Racist and Harmful

The Truth About Atlantis

Why the Nazis were obsessed with finding the lost city of Atlantis

The Nazis' love affair with the occult

Occultism in Nazism

Red flag names in cult survivor resources/groups (all of them are far right conspiracy theorists/grifters)

The legacy of implanted Satanic abuse ‘memories’ is still causing damage today

Why Satanic Panic never really ended

Dangerous Therapy: The Story of Patricia Burgus and Multiple Personality Disorder

Remember a Previous Life? Maybe You Have a Bad Memory

A Case of Reincarnation - Reexamined

Crash and Burn: James Leininger Story Debunked

Debunking Myths About Easter/Ostara

Just How Pagan is Christmas, Really?

The Origins of the Christmas Tree

No, Santa Claus Is Not Inspired By Odin

Why Did The Patriarchal Greeks And Romans Worship Such Powerful Goddesses?

No, Athena Didn't Turn Medusa Into A Monster To Protect Her

Who Was the First God?

Were Ancient Civilizations Conservative Or Liberal?

How Misogyny, Homophobia, and Antisemitism Influence Transphobia

Podcasts & Videos

BS-Free Witchcraft

Angela's Symposium

ESOTERICA

ReligionForBreakfast

Weird Reads With Emily Louise

It's Probably (not!) Aliens

Conspirituality

Miniminuteman

Behind The Bastards

“Along with celebration, feasting, and games, people would remember the dead. The dance moved from sacred groves and rivers to graves: there the tryznas* took place, with activities the same as in spring. *Tryzna - the ending part of funerary rites, normally consisting of a sacrifice, military-themed games, a feast to honour the deceased person; turned into a dinner during Christian times. At the same time the term meant the three days the winning army received for plundering and celebration. By some definitions, a fight, a competition, a battle.”

— Mykola Kostomarov on celebration of Yarylo’s holiday, supposedly in late May-early June.

How To Get Free Books On Folklore

I do not believe in gatekeeping knowledge, so this post will be sharing how I get all my folklore books for free, legally.

To explain, when a book gets over a certain age and the copyright is not upkept, it falls under “public domain.” When that happens, many different websites will provide those books as a free download.

This is not restricted to one type of book, either. You can grab anything from Sherlock Holmes to history books, to folklore, and more.

If you are looking for a specific book, you may have to check more than one source, so I suggest bookmarking more than one website.

Example Websites:

Internet Archive

Project Gutenberg

Google Books

Open Library

Electric Scotland (Scottish books)

Sacred Texts

National Library of Scotland: Ossain Collection

Forgotten Books

Hathitrust

For me when I download a book, I then upload them to my Google library so that I can use the search functions as well as bring up the books anywhere, but a popular PC option isCalibre.

If you are interested in Scotland-specific folklore, I do have some suggestions of books you can start with.

Scottish Folklore Books:

(link) A Dictionary of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures by Katharine Briggs (1976)

(link) Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs by James M. Mackinlay (1893)

(link) Superstitions of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland by John Gregorson Campbell (1900)

(link) The Peat-Fire Flame: Folk-Tales and Traditions of the Highlands and Islands by Alasdair Alpin MacGregor (1937)

(link) Notes on Folk-Lore of the North-East of Scotland by Walter Gregor, M.A. (1881)

(link) The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries by W.Y. Evans-Wentz (1911)

(link) Witchcraft and Superstitious Record in the South-Western District of Scotland by J. Maxwell Wood (1911)

(link) Witchcraft & Second Sight in the Highlands & Islands of Scotland by John Gregorson Campbell (1902)

(link) Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs by James M. Mackinlay (1893)

(link) Folk-Lore From The West of Ross-Shire by C.M. Robertson (1908)

(link) The Fairy Mythology / Illustrative of the Romance and Superstition of Various Countries by Thomas Keightley (1850)

(link) Popular Tales of the West Highlands by John Francis Campbell (1862)

(link) Scottish Fairy and Folk Tales by Sir George Douglas

(link) The Scottish Fairy Book By Elizabeth W. Grierson (1918)

(link)

(link) Popular Superstitions of the Highlands By W Grant Stewart (1823)

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)