Slavic Paganism - Blog Posts

Does anyone else on the pagan community feel genuine love for their deities? Not in the romantic sense, but more in the way you love a family member. It's especially strong coming from a religion where you never felt a genuine connection to "your" God. You felt fear, obligation, confusion, curiosity, and maybe love on some level, but this love is different.

It is finally understanding the feeling people around you described from being in church every Sunday. It's growing up finding the congregation's hands in the air, the singing and crying, the raw emotion to be... unusual, strange. What were they feeling? How can I feel this way? You try to forge that connection, but you're never successful. You start to doubt the God you grew up with. You wonder if he hates you, or if you're not trying hard enough — if you're broken.

...Then, one day, you find what you've been searching for all this time, somewhere else. You experience the feeling of finally meeting your soulmate, finally finding your place or your tribe. You experience the pure joy, the peace, the childlike wonder, the longing, the wisdom, the bond, the reverence, the admiration. You experience an unfamiliar tightness In your chest when you pray to them or make offerings.

I've never felt more in love than I am with my gods. Ive never felt more at home, more at peace.

I hope to feel this way for the rest of my days, because what is life without the gods? What is life without something beyond this world, yet at the same time, an integral part of understanding the meaning of existence on this physical plane — on this planet?

Finally re-doing my altar after so many months not getting to it. I miss praying. Sure, nobody needs anything to pray, but last months were very stressful and now finally it becomes easier, so, it’s time to reconnect again. Religion is beautiful when not abused.

I've read a 1912 compendium of criminal case studies featuring peasant girls and women from all corners of former Russian Empire as perpetrators, and I couldn't shake the thought of all those 16, 17, 18 year olds driven to killing themselves, their unwanted children, their husbands two or three times them older who were essentially r*ping them for years. Hence the little mermaid - a Slavic edition (in Slavic folklore, mermaids are a type of the undead). All violence starts with domestic and gender-based violence. Russia is a terrorist state and always has been. Down with empires.

Lighting two tea lights before bed as an offering to my ancestors (the more visible one) and mokosh. It's not something I do often but I just felt like it tonight. What little things offerings do you do with your spirits tmblr?

(Also to preface i am very new to Rodnovery so pls feel free to give advice if you'd like)

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

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

Thoughts on Slavic Polytheism

I just needed to get some of my thoughts out on this topic so this may seem very unorganized and chaotic, but I hope to have better organized posts that are much more informative and stick to a single point, but I do not have the time for that currently with everything going on at university. The concerns I raise are found consistently in Western academia, “Slavic academia” (whatever that means), and of course on tumblr which pulls heavily on outdated materials because thats all they have access to. I am currently compiling a list of articles in English which I think may help clear some of the misunderstandings and offer actually credible/up to date sources, but you’ll have to wait for that.

Also, as a disclaimer, I am not an academic on Slavic polytheism or a professional on the matter (yet!), but these random musings come from years of personal research. And when I say years I mean years. But to just quickly state the biases I might have: I am practitioner of the folk religion of the Slavic peoples, but more specifically the Ukrainian branch of it. Most of my resources have focused on the Ukrainian flavor of the Slavic pre-Christian faith, but most definitely not exclusively as that would be impossible to get any sort of understanding of the faith without comparing it to my neighbors. 

First and for most, Slavic polytheism has had influence from the Nordic and Germanic polytheisms, but it is no where the closest or most related. I see this mostly in imagery and how people conceptualize the deities. Thor and Perun are not two sides of the same coin, sure they might have similarities being both derived from an Indo-European source, but seeing Perun as a Slavic Thor is very much bad academia. Slavic polytheism and folklore has a whole load of connections to ancient Iranian polytheism. I would even venture to say that Slavic polytheism is a very interesting blend of Baltic and Iranian mythologies and folklores. This is not to say it is one and the same, but when looking into comparative studies these will offer the richest and most accurate comparisons. 

We need to stop seeing Slavic polytheism in terms of Christianity and other institutionalized/state religions (Like Greek or Roman polytheism). Knyaz Volodymyr attempted to institutionalize the Slavic pantheon and failed, converting the people to Orthodoxy only a couple years after this attempt. His pantheon was not universal to Slavs. It pulled from various Slavic tribes and non-Slavic tribes and therefore is perhaps more representative of the elite’s conceptualization of the deities, and not of the common people.

Attempting to reconstruct the Slavic religion without recognizing ancestor veneration is impossible. This is the backbone of the entire religion. The deities were seen as the first ancestors, not like in Greek polytheism where the Gods are a different “species”, for a lack of a better term. We see this reflected in folklore about the Saints being the people’s ancestors, or naming the Moon as an ancestor. 

(This concern is more pointed towards people who wish to worship the slavic gods: You can not worship Perun or Veles or Mokosh, etc. without worshiping ancestors. I mean you can, but you aren’t reconstructing the slavic faith, but rather implanting Perun into a, dare I say, New Age/Wiccan(?) structure/conceptualization of paganism.)

People need to start changing how they conceptualize the Slavic pantheon not as a rigid religion controlled by a state, like Greek or Roman polytheism, but rather look into folk religions like Vodou, and rely more on Folklore then on sources writing about the Slavic pre-christian faith through a Christian lens. Of course these few and far between sources can point us in a direction, but when reconstructing the “theology” of the Slavic faith it gives us close to nothing. What I mean is, these sources do not offer anything in terms of how the pre-christian slavs conceptualized the the cosmos, spirits and their gods.

I’m not even going to touch the embarrassing amount of fake gods propagated in academia and on tumblr. I tried making a post about this and failed because i didn’t even know where to start. And many gods are just mislabeled rather than being outright forgeries (I’m looking at you Svarog and Stribog). But please don’t say that every holiday name (Koliada, Kupala, etc.) are gods… and stop with Bilobog and Chernobog… I can’t take it anymore (sarcasm, I will fight you to my grave and then some more in the afterlife).

These ideas and theories are of course are based of my own research, and these ideas will continue to shift as more knowledge is brought to light. Also do not take this as gospel, this is mostly ramblings. When the Gods and ancestors allow it, I want to support these claims with sources so people can read them and decide for themselves. Would love for people to submit their own evidence and theories and claims, so we can have a discussion about the faith that means so much to us. 

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.

“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.

Is Slavic polytheism closed or open to anyone? Does it depend on the branch so to speak? I know Slavic polytheism is a broad term.

Slavic resources in english: my collection of academic resources for beginners on the subject of slavic folklore, paganism and folk magic

Is Slavic paganism closed? - my thoughts

Slavic offerings

Slavic creation myths

My translation: Veles

My translation: Yarilo

My translation: Mokosh

Mokosh: offerings and devotions

Quotes: Perun and Veles as Saints

Quotes: Prophet Elijah and Saint Nicholas, a folktale

Quotes: Sources for Rod and Rozhanitsy

Quotes: Kupala, Kostroma, Yarilo and Mara - seasonal rituals of the Slavs

Quotes: Russian domovoi lore

What’s a zagovor and how it’s built.

Key tags: #slavic paganism #slavic folklore #slavic art #magia Slavorum  #asks

Other recommended tags: #slavic folk - traditional clothing and folk art, #ancestral veneration #wooden architecture #embroidery #folk magic #maskers

My asks are open but please keep in mind that I did not receive academic education in the field of Slavic studies. Any answers I might provide will be based on my experiences as a Polish person and Slavic pagan as well as my own unsystematized research.

Slavic paganism is an open path, however please approach it respectfully by educating yourself on Slavic culture and making an effort to not propagate already rampant misinformation any further.

Lastly I’d like to disclaim that as helpful as the words “Slavs” and “Slavic” can be at the beginning of your research it is of paramount importance to remember that the “Slavs” were never a unified ethnocultural group or civilization. 

Dozhinki, the harvest of Jarilo

Between Slavics, they celebrated the harvest of Autumn, which, in ancient times, were dedicated to Jarilo, God of Vegetation, who in Autumn descends in the Underworld.

During this festival the last sheaf of August was decorated with ribbons, symbols, berries and flowers. Besides of the sheaf, they prepared large garlands with bundles of wheat, that will be used during the parade; everything will end with dances, chants, banquets and binge drinkings.

Anciently, the festival was dedicate to the beauty Jarilo, a young God, blinde like wheat and eternally shoeless because where he walked, the earth would regenerate.

The whole mythology which recalls to him is the description of seasonal cycle. Jarilo, son of the God of Thunder Perun, was born the last night of February (anciently was New Year's Eve) and the same day had been kidnapped from the God of Underworld Veles and grew up as his son. During Spring, Jarilo went back to the surface, coming back to life generating vegetation.

During Summer he marries his twin Morana, Goddess of Nature and Death, but in Autumn he is ceremonially killed. Later also Morana dies for the lack of Jarilo, but they both rebirth during Summer Solstice.