Slavic Folklore: Pagan gods and spirits

Rod

name means “birth”, born from a golden egg

What is the first law of life and who gave it?

Rod: “life is endless”

Number of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of Rod

5 children, 4 grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren

Who are Rod’s Children?

Svarog, Lada, Veles, Khors, Svyatogor

Who are Rod’s grandchildren?

Perun, Semargl, Dazdbog, Jarilo

Who are Rod’s great grandchildren?

Ovsen, Kolyada, Stribog, Kostroma, Kupala

Dolya

Rozhaniza of Rod, good luck, on Rod’s right side

Nedolya

Rozhaniza of Rod, bad luck, on Rod’s left side

Mokosh

godess of earth, fertility, and midwifery, called “moist mother earth”

What does Mokosh do?

spins web of life and death

Who did Mokosh become after the adoption of Christianity?

St Paraskeva

Svarog

god of fire, “one who walks through the sky”

What did Svarog create?

sun, earth, fire, and joy

Who are Svarog’s sons?

Dazhdbog, Semargl, and Perun

Lada

goddess of spring love and beauty, name means “nice and kind”

Veles

god of the underworld, name comes from word for hair

What does Veles protect / stand for

cattle, trade, divination, poetry, and the arts

What is the second law of life and who gave it?

Veles: rotation from dark to light came from the revolutions of the sun

Khors/Hors

god of yellow, solar/starlight, and good, name comes from word for good, adaption from iranian sun god

What is Khors/Hors also known as

The shining sun

Svyatogor

giant war hero, name means holy/sacred and mountain

What does Svyatogor do?

Protects prav and yav from nav

Perun

god of lighting, warriors, and storms, name means “to strike”

What is the symbol of Perun

a wheel with six spikes

Semargl

messenger of the gods, name comes from iranian word close to “the birds” and “seven”

Who are Semargl’s children?

Stribog, Kastroma, and Kupalo

Dazhdbog

god of the sun, name means “god” and “give” (god-giver)

What does Dazdbog bring to people?

sunshine, justice, and prosperity

What is Dazdbog known as?

The grandfather of the Russian people

Who are Dazdbog’s attendants?

Two maidens (morning and evening stars), seven judges (the planets), and seven messengers (comets)

Jarilo

god of erotic sexuality and heat, young and fair in appearance

What does Jarilo do?

Upon Lada’s command he opens the gates of the sky bringing spring, and returns to the heavens at the end of summer

Who is Jarilo’s father

Either Veles or Perun but no one is sure

What is Iriy?

Pagan paradise / heaven

What is Svarga?

Place above us where ancestors live

What is the Milky way in folklore?

a river in prav

What is the Kalinov Bridge?

 mystical place where human soul fights with itself deciding to be with prav or nav/good or evil/perun or veles, seperates nav and yav

Smorodina River

seperates yav and nav

Juriy / Peklo

Hell, peklo means hot

Who guards pass to nav?

Baba Yaga

Who guards pass to prav and yav?

Svatogor

Kupalo

god of summer solstice, bright white, name means bath/to bathe

Kolyada

real man, name comes from “calandae”- first day of the month

What did Kolyada create

the calendar

What is the third law of life and who gave it?

Kolyada: “yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift”

Ovsen

god of new day of new year, name comes from russian word for morning, is a bridge to the future

What does Ovsen do?

starts new day of new year

Who is Ovsen’s twin brother?

Kolyada

Kastroma

fertility goddess, personification of spring, name reflects appearance/hair- fire

Who is Kastroma’s twin brother?

Kupalo

What happened with Kupalo and Kastroma?

Kastroma punished by gods and unknowingly married her brother. gods then turned the siblings into flowers out of pity (yellow and blue, fire and water)

Stribog

god of winds, storms, and dissension, “grandfather of the winds”, appears as old man

What does Stribog bring to people?

frost, cold, winds, wealth

Belobog

“white god”, “giver of light”, only travels during the day and leads lost out of forests, appears as old man with beard

What does Belobog bring?

light, wealth, fertility

What do Belebog and Chernobog do every solstice?

fight

Chernobog

“black god”, opposite of Belobog

What does Chernobog bring?

calamity and destruction

Domovoy

spirit/protector of house, name means house, oversees domestic activities

Domovoy’s appearance?

old man with long grey beard, sandals made of birch, can appear as dog or cat

Where does Domovoy live?

near stove, under threshold, or in attic

What offerings does Domovoy like?

porridge, tobacco, bread, salt

Bannik

spirit of bath/bathhouse, name means bath, can be evil and strangle people who do something wrong in the bathhouse

Bannik’s appearance?

old man with green beard

Where does Bannik live?

behind stove or under steaming shelf

What offerings does Bannik like?

treats like salted bread or black chicken, soap

Kikimora

domestic spirit, oracle of disaster, name means scarecrow, good to good housewives, bad to lazy housewives

Kikimora’s appearance?

a woman dressed in traditional costume, but with long flowing hair and no headdress

What offerings does Kikimora like?

ferns