Pagan rites. The traditions of our ancestors. Rodnoverie and paganism

The entire life of the ancient Slavs was accompanied by a wide variety of ceremonies and rituals, which symbolized the beginning of a new natural or life stage. Such traditions embodied the belief in natural strength and the unity of man with the natural principle, and therefore with the gods. Each ritual was carried out with a specific purpose and was never something empty and meaningless.

A person passed through peculiar rituals, choosing one or another profession. These rites were initiation into warriors or priests, artisans or farmers. In order to become an artisan or a farmer, it was enough just to master the skill of these professions. This often took place in a solemn atmosphere. Having reached a certain age and having learned to do their job flawlessly, a person was awarded an honorary title.

Depending on which god people worshiped, a potential priest also passed such a dedication. All this was accompanied by sacrifices and special magical actions. A man could become a warrior only after passing certain tests.

It is a test of endurance, dexterity, courage and skill with a weapon. Not every person could become a warrior. And only those who have withstood sometimes deadly and dangerous difficulties can bear the title of warrior and protector of all other people.

Such rituals had an agrarian meaning and were associated primarily with natural forces. With the advent of the new year, special gods came into power, who were revered by the Slavs, making sacrifices to them and performing magical actions in their honor.

Each ceremony played the role of a kind of performance, where its participants, like the heroes of the performance, acted out magical performances. Moreover, all the ceremonies of the Slavs in the annual calendar were considered holidays. Each such holiday presupposed not only the veneration of the gods, but also the observance of a certain tradition.

Birth

When the child was safely born, a large series of rituals began to protect the child from evil spirits, to introduce a new person to nature and give it under its protection, so that he would be accompanied by good luck in business and life.

Let's take a closer look at only one thing - this is the custom of dipping a baby in water (or at least sprinkling it), which is noted among various peoples. In particular, the Scandinavians did this during the Viking Age.

For a very long time this was due to the influence of Christianity. However, then similar customs were recorded among peoples who had never even heard of Christianity!

The rite of naming

The rite of naming - if a Slav or Slav was named from birth with a Slavic name, then the rite of naming is not necessary. Of course, if there is no need to give a new name.

If a person was not baptized or brought to some other foreign faith, then the naming rite is carried out as follows.
The nominated one stands facing the Sacred Fire. The priest sprinkles the face, forehead and crown of the head with spring water three times, saying the words: “As this water is pure, so the face will be pure; as this water is pure, so thoughts will be pure; as this water is pure, so will be a pure name! ”. Then the priest cuts off a lock of hair from the dubbed and puts them in the Fire, while uttering a new name in a whisper. Before a person receives a name, no one except the priest and the named should know the chosen name. After that, the priest approaches the person and loudly says: "Narcemo is your name ... (name)." And so three times. The priest gives the betrothed a handful of grain to bring trebla and brother suria to commemorate the ancestors.

A Slav who was previously baptized, or was brought to some other foreign faith, must first undergo a ritual of purification. To do this, sit the person on his knees on the deck (he should not touch the ground with his knees), circle this place in a vicious circle.

Before sitting in a circle, the subject takes off his clothes, stripping himself to the waist.
The circle is drawn with a knife, which is then left in the ground until the end of the ceremony. As a rule, before the beginning of the naming, lots are cast: is a person worthy of such an honor to receive a Slavic name and go under the patronage of the Ancestors. This is done as follows: the priest, standing behind the back of the dubbed, swings the ax three times over the head of the latter, trying to lightly touch the hair with the blade. Then he throws the ax to the ground behind his back. If the blade of the fallen ax points to the named person, then the rite is continued. If not, the naming is postponed until better times. So, if the lot is successful, then the named person is lightly washed his head with spring water, covered with salt with fire, showered with grain, making cleansing movements with his hands. The cleansing is carried out by a priest or three priests. They go around the designated salmon in a circle, holding their right hands above his head. At this time, they chanted the cry “Goy” with a drawn out voice - three times. Raising their hands to the sky, they solemnly exclaim: “Nartsemo is your name ...”, then the name chosen by the community (in agreement with the priest), or the name that the named has chosen for himself (again, with the consent of the priest) is pronounced.

And so they exclaim three times.
The circle is broken, the betrothed is given a handful of grain for his first sacrifice and a ladle of honey for commemorating the ancestors, under whose patronage he is now passing.
The ancients considered the name to be an important part of the human personality and preferred to keep it secret so that the evil sorcerer would not be able to "take" the name and use it to induce damage (just as they used cropped hair, scraps of clothing, dug out pieces of earth with traces on it and even litter swept out of the hut).
Therefore, in ancient times, the real name of a person was usually known only to parents and a few closest people. All the others called him by the name of the clan or by a nickname, usually of a protective nature: Nekras, Nezhdan, Nezhelan. Such nicknames were supposed to "disappoint" illness and death, make them look for "more worthy" living elsewhere.
This was done not only by the Slavs.

For example, the beautiful Turkish name Yilmaz means "something that even a dog does not need"
A pagan, under no guise, should have said “I am such and such,” because he could not be completely firmly convinced that his new acquaintance deserved the knowledge of complete confidence, that he was generally a human being, and not my spirit. At first, he answered evasively:
"They call me ..." And even better, even if it was not he himself who pronounced it, but someone else. Everyone knows that, according to the rules of good form, it is still considered preferable for two strangers to be represented to each other by someone else. This is where this custom came from.

Wedding

Hence the habit of calling the husband's parents “mom” and “dad”, which, by the way, is often very dear to the elderly, although they cannot really explain where this custom came from. “I entered the family” - and that's it!

Now it is clear to us why the groom tries to bring the bride through the threshold of his house without fail in his arms: after all, the threshold is the border of the worlds, and the bride, who was previously “alien” in this world, must turn into “her” ...

From time immemorial such importance was attached to it in Russia. And the other - a mournfully wedding color was red, black, as it was also called. It has long been included in the dress of brides. There is even a folk song: "Don't you me, mother, a red sundress" - the song of a daughter who does not want to leave her home to strangers - to get married. So, a white (or red-and-white) dress is a “mournful” dress of a girl who “died” to her former kind.

For the same reason, the young took each other by the hand exclusively through a handkerchief, and also did not eat or drink (at least the bride) throughout the wedding: after all, at that moment they were “in different worlds”, and touching each other and so more only people belonging to the same world can eat together, moreover - to the same group, only "their own".
Nowadays, young people are also not recommended to diligently treat themselves at their own wedding, and even more so to drink intoxicated drinks, but for a completely different reason. They should soon become Mother and Father, but can drunken spouses have full-fledged children?

Exactly - like brother and sister. (sharing a meal made people "relatives".
And marriages between relatives were not encouraged - again in the interests of the offspring ...
At the Russian wedding, many songs were sung, moreover, mostly sad ones.
The heavy veil of the bride gradually swelled from sincere tears, even if the girl followed her beloved. And the point here is not in the difficulties of being married in the old days, or rather, not only in them.
The bride left her family and passed on to another. Therefore, she abandoned the patron spirits of the previous kind and entrusted herself to the new. But there is no need to offend and annoy the past, to look ungrateful.

So the girl cried, listening to plaintive songs and trying with all her might to show her devotion to the parental home, former relatives and her supernatural patrons - deceased ancestors.

Let us also recall the "braid - maiden beauty".
Since pagan times, the custom has been preserved to say goodbye to her forever and to braid two braids for the young wife instead of one, moreover, laying the strands one under the other, and not on top.
If a girl ran away with her beloved against the will of her parents (it was such a marriage that was called “marriage against her will,” the will was meant exclusively by the parent, and not the bride herself, (as they sometimes think), the young husband cut off the precious girl's braid and presented it to the newly-made father-in-law and the mother-in-law together with the ransom for the kidnapping of the girl. And in any case, a married woman had to cover her hair with a headdress or a scarf (so that the “power” contained in them would not damage the new family). dress meant to inflict witchcraft damage on her family, offend her herself and make serious troubles - a fine, if not blood feud. headdress.

Housewarming

Housewarming - the beginning of the construction of a new house was associated with a complex of ritual actions to prevent possible opposition from evil spirits. Choosing a safe place for a construction site, often at first they let go of the cow and waited for it to lie on the ground. This place was considered a good place for a future home.
Before the laying of the lower logs, a coin was buried at the front angle - “for wealth”, a piece of incense was placed next to the coin - “for holiness”.
After the construction of the log house, the rooster was cut and blood was sprinkled on four corners. The animal was buried under the door.

Moving to a new hut and the beginning of life in it was considered the most dangerous period. It was assumed that "the evil spirits will strive with all their might to interfere with future well-being.
To deceive her, a rooster or a cat was the first to enter the house, which had to take on a possible danger from evil spirits. For the animals, all the other members of the family entered with an icon and bread - salt. It was believed that it was safer to move to a new house at night, since the evil spirits did not assume that at this time people could move into the house. ...
Putting an icon in the front corner, all family members were baptized on it. Then the hostess cut off the first slice of the loaf of bread and put it under the stove, "welcoming the brownie.
Until the middle of the 19th century, in many places in Russia, another ancient ritual was preserved and was also carried out:
- taking off her clothes, until dawn the hostess of the house went around the new hut naked and pronounced the verdict: “I will put an iron tyn near the yard so that neither a fierce beast. the forestry did not look through it. "

To give the spell additional strength, the woman had to turn over head over heels at the gate three times, saying: "Let the family and fruit increase in the new house."
Shortly before the housewarming or immediately after the move, the owner invites the brownie to move to a new place, he put a treat under the stove, put an open sack next to it (so that the brownie could get in there) and asked him to follow the family.
Introducing the cattle into the new barn, the owner also introduced her to the brownie. Otherwise, it was believed that the cattle would not take root in a new place.

Harvest

A wide range of ceremonies and magical rituals were associated with the harvest period. They were not confined to a specific date, but depended on the time of ripening of cereals. Sacrificial ceremonies were carried out to thank the mother land for the long-awaited harvest. With the help of magical actions, the participants in the ceremony sought to restore fertility to the earth, ensuring the harvest of the next year.

In addition, the ceremony was of practical importance: the reapers needed a certain break in their work.
The beginning of the harvest was marked by a special ceremony of the “first sheaf”.

The first sheaf, called the birthday boy, was stung by the oldest woman in the family. The sheaf was tied with ribbons, decorated with flowers, and then placed under the icons in the front corner. When the harvest was over, the sheaf was fed to domestic animals, and some of the grains were hidden until the next sowing. A year later, these grains were poured into the first handful of grain.
Since it was mainly women who reaped the bread, songs were sung mainly on their behalf. Singing helped to organize the rhythmic tempo of the work. Each line in the harvest song ended with a high exclamation: "U" go "Gu"
It's time, mother, to harvest
Oh, and the spikelet has poured -Wh?
The spikelet is full
It's time, mother, daughter to date, Ou!
Oh, and the voice changed - Ou!
They tried to finish the harvest as quickly as possible until (the grain was crumbling. Therefore, they often finished the bread with “we blow the world” "going out" to one field. On the way to cleanup (joint work) and back home, they sang special songs in which they addressed the grain:
When they finished harvesting the field, they thanked the earth and asked it to transfer part of its strength.
The end of the harvest was accompanied by a special rite of "hugging the goat". The elder reaper left a small round area of unharvested ears, the grass was carefully cut out around it and inside, the remaining ears were tied up above.
So it turned out a small hut, called a "goat".
A slice of bread sprinkled with salt was placed in the middle of the hut: they brought a gift to the mother - the earth. Then all present read a prayer, thanking God for successfully completing the harvest.
After that, fortune-telling began: the elder reaper sat down on the ground with her back to the “goat”, and sickles were folded around her. Taking one sickle in her hand, the reaper threw them over her head. If the sickle stuck into the ground when falling, then this was considered an unkind omen. If the sickle fell flat or found itself close to the goat, then a long life was predicted for its mistress.

When all the fields were harvested, they performed the marriage sickle ceremony.
The reapers thanked the sickle for helping them gather bread and not cutting off their hand.
On each field, a bunch of ears was left uncompressed, it was called a reaping beard and was intended for one of the Christian saints: Elijah the Prophet (Perun), Nicholas the Wonderworker or Yegoriy.

For this, the stalks were twisted with a tourniquet, and the ears were trampled into the ground. Then a piece of bread sprinkled with salt was placed on top.
It was believed that the fertile power of grain was preserved in the beard left in the field, they tried to give it to the land in order to ensure the fertility of the land next year.
In order not to offend the earth, they always reaped the last sheaf in silence, then, without uttering a word, they took it home. Magic power was attributed to this sheaf. Bringing a sheaf of dozhin into the house, the hostess pronounced the verdict:
Shoo, flies, get out,

The owner came to the house.
Sheaf grain Stored all year.

Caroling

Caroling - the origin of the caroling rite goes back to ancient times. Even in pagan times, several times a year, the Slavs produced a spell - evil spirits.
With the adoption of Christianity, the ceremony was timed to coincide with the Christmastide period. It consisted in the fact that groups of slave-goers, consisting mainly of teenagers, went to their homes. Each group carried a six- or eight-pointed star, glued together from silvery paper. Sometimes the star was made hollow and a candle was lit inside it. The star glowing in the dark seemed to float down the street.

The glamors stopped under the windows, went into the houses and asked the owners for permission to sing carols. As a rule, in every house, the worshipers were greeted cordially and hospitably, food and gifts were prepared in advance.

When they finished singing, the worshipers received as a gift special ceremonial cookies, figurines of pets baked from dough, food, and sometimes money.
After going around several houses, the slaves gathered in a previously designated hut and organized a general feast. All gifts and food brought were shared among the participants.

Funeral rite

The funeral rite - the simplest funeral rite is as follows: “If anyone dies, they will bite at him, and then I will steal a large fire (a special bonfire,“ stealing ”(stealing objects put on it from our world) is laid out in the form of a rectangle, shoulder-height For 1 domino, it is necessary to take 10 times more firewood by weight.

Firewood should be oak or birch. Domovina is made in the form of a boat, boat, etc. Moreover, the bow of the boat is placed at the sunset. The most suitable day for a funeral is Friday - Mokoshi day. The deceased is dressed in all white, covered with a white blanket, put in the domina milodar and memorial food. The pot is placed at the feet of the deceased.

The deceased in the Vyatichi should lie with his head to the west), and lay it down and burn the dead man on the steal (The elder or priest sets fire, undressing to the waist and standing with his back to the steal. following the setting sun, the interior of the steal is stuffed with flammable straw and twigs.
After the fire is kindled, the funeral prayer is recited.

At the end of the prayer, everyone becomes silent until a huge column of flame rises to the sky - a sign that the deceased has ascended to Svarga), and after that, having collected bones (for the Severians, for example, it was customary not to collect bones, but to pour a small hill on top, where the funeral was arranged.

Throwing weapons and milodars from above, the participants in the funeral party dispersed to fill their helmets with earth and fill a large grave mound), put a mala (clay pot) in the sudinu and put it on a pillar (in a small burial hut “on chicken legs”) on the tracks (on the way from the village to sunset), hedgehog to create Vyatichn even now (the custom of putting huts “on chicken legs” over the grave was preserved in the Kaluga region until the 30s of the XX century) ”.

Rites in honor of the dead - in many Slavic lands, traces of holidays in honor of the dead are still preserved. The people go to the cemeteries 1 Suhenya (Marta), at the hour of dawn, and there they offer sacrifices to the dead. The day is called “Navi Day” and is also dedicated to Morena. In general, any ceremony in honor of the dead has its own name - Tryzna.

A feast for the dead is a feast dedicated to them. Over time, the Slavic Tryzna was changed into a commemoration. Trizna was previously a whole ritual: cakes, pies, colored eggs, wine are brought to the burial ground, and the dead are commemorated. At the same time, usually women and girls lament. Wailing is generally called crying for the deceased, but not a silent, not a simple hysterical fit, allowing the loss of tears, often without a sound, or accompanied by sobbing and time-based groans. No, this is a sad song of loss, deprivation, by which the author, himself the victim or suffered deprivation.

The author of such lamentations, shedding burning tears about a deceased relative, and being unable to harbor emotional anxiety, falls on the burial ground where the ashes are hidden, or striking his chest, weeps, expressing in chant in the form of folk songs, the word she said from all soul, from the bottom of my heart, often deeply emotional, sometimes even bearing a deep imprint of folk legend.

After lamentations, a funeral ceremony was arranged. There are also folk funeral feasts during which the entire nation is remembered. In modern times, the people perform such a feast on Radunitsa or Great Day (Easter). Songs, appearances, and lamentations bring joy to the souls of the dead, and for this, they inspire the living with a useful thought or advice.

Professional rituals

Riutals associated with a person's choice of a certain profession. In such rituals, it was taken into account in which caste (if we use Indian concepts) a person would work: kshatriyas (warriors), brahmanas (priests, magicians) or vaisyu (artisans). Moreover, if the rituals when becoming a warrior or priest / sorcerer were much more permeated with mysticism and a sense of some kind of divine communion, then for artisans this rite was more reminiscent of the adoption in October (solemn, but not divine).

This does not in any way detract from the work of the artisans; just the actions of the warriors were equated with the actions of the priests. The warrior himself was wearing iron - a magic talisman given by Svarog from Heaven, forged on Fire, and shining like the Sun; the fight itself was considered a sacrifice. Thus, we can say that the warrior going into battle embodied the power of the Heavenly Svarog, and his sons - Semargl the Firebog, the Solar Dazhbog and Perun the Thunder God.

Among the priests, the rituals of initiation varied depending on which of the Gods a person was dedicated to. But, despite the fact that the Slavs dedicated themselves to Dyu, Indra or Marena, the ceremonies invariably took place decently, because the Night is just the other side of the Day.

The initiations of the Magi were more reminiscent of the delights in Nature of the northern shamans, during which they received the necessary knowledge and strength.
Military initiation most of all resembled passing the standards: those who wanted to become a warrior had to prove that they were worthy of this title.
Often it was survival in the forest for several days with only one knife; duel; the art of hiding or all of the above.

In this article, you will learn:

What is Slavic paganism

What stages did Slavic paganism go through

What are the characteristic features of Slavic paganism

What is the essence of Slavic mythology

What gods were worshiped in Slavic paganism

What rituals are key in Slavic paganism

The system of religious beliefs among the ancient Slavs took shape over many centuries. As a result, two cults were formed: the veneration of ancestors and the endowment of natural phenomena with divine powers. All this can be called one term: "Slavic paganism." Our forefathers did not have a single God, since the Slavic tribes did not seek to unite in political and economic alliances. Only general features of beliefs have become ubiquitous: funeral rites, family and clan and agricultural cults. Most of the points of contact between different tribes are observed in the Old Slavic pantheon. To date, only a few customs and rituals have remained unchanged, but they also bear the imprint of modernity.

The main stages and features of Slavic paganism

Each nation worshiped its own gods. Like the Greeks or Romans, the Slavs also had their own pantheon. The gods and goddesses were present in it very different: good and evil, strong and weak, main and secondary.

A religion where people worship several gods at the same time is called polytheism or polytheism. The term comes from the combination of two Greek words: "poly" - many and "theos" - god. In our country, such a religion began to be called paganism - from the Old Slavonic word "yazytsi", that is, foreign peoples who did not accept Christianity.

In Slavic paganism, there were several magical holidays, and such rituals were carried out strictly according to the schedule. Our ancestors always met and saw off the seasons and agricultural seasons. For example, in December, the Slavs celebrated the arrival of Kolyada, the harsh god of winter. New Year's Day, which was celebrated on January 1, was considered the best day for spells of well-being for the year ahead.

With the arrival of spring, "sunny" holidays began. The sun was symbolized by pancakes baked on Shrovetide, as well as a tarred and lit wheel on a high pole. At the same time, a straw effigy of winter was burned outside the village. After spring, summer came, and its first week was devoted to the patrons of love - Lada and Lelya. On these days, it was customary to sing merry songs and celebrate weddings.

In Slavic paganism, an important place was occupied by the worship of the gods of the elements, as well as those of the deities who patronized a certain type of human activity. City squares were decorated with images of gods, whole temples were erected, followed by magi, sorcerers and wizard priests. Slavic paganism has its own myths about the life and deeds of the gods. The forefathers were especially grateful to the sun god, who taught people blacksmithing and established a set of family rules.

Unfortunately, much of Slavic paganism has been forgotten today. That is why modern scientists interpret the religious and mythological ideas of our ancestors in different ways.

If we talk about the periodization of Slavic paganism, then most often there are four main stages in the development of religion:

The cult of ghouls and berein

People who lived in the Stone Age endowed all natural phenomena with a spiritual principle. The spirits around them could be both hostile and benevolent towards a person. The most ancient cult is the worship of the Bereginas. For the Slavs, they were the keepers of life and the patroness of the hearth.

But a special place among them was occupied by Bereginya-Zemlya. Needlewomen on some things depicted the rite of service to this goddess: Bereginya's hands are raised, and above her head are several solar disks. In Slavic paganism, the great goddess was inseparable from other symbols of life - flowers and trees. No wonder the sacred tree of our ancestors is called "birch" - a word similar in sound to the name of the goddess.

The cult of "Sort" and "women in labor"

In Slavic paganism, Makosh and Lada (women in labor) appeared before Rod, back in the days of matriarchy. These fertility goddesses were responsible for female fertility. But matriarchy was replaced by patriarchy, and Rod stood at the head of the pantheon, also symbolizing fertility, but already male. The formation of a monotheistic religion, where Rod is the main one, is attributed to the VIII-IX centuries.

Cult of Perun

In the 10th century, Kievan Rus was founded, and Perun became the supreme deity of the Slavic pagan pantheon. Initially, it was the god of thunder, lightning and thunder, but after some time Perun began to be considered the patron saint of war, warriors and princes. Prince of Kiev Vladimir Svyatoslavovich in 979-980 ordered to collect various Slavic gods in one place and build a temple, in the center of which to set the image of Perun. The supreme deity was surrounded by other gods:

Dazhdbog- the giver of heavenly goods and the god of light;

Svarog- the father of Dazhdbog, the deity of the upper tier of heaven and the Universe;

Horse- the deity of the solar disk;

Makosh- the ancient goddess of the earth;

Simargl- was depicted as a winged dog and was responsible for seeds, roots and shoots.

Time after the adoption of Christianity

Many Russians, even being baptized, continued to worship their gods at the same time. This is the so-called period of dual faith in Slavic paganism. Since the 10th century, Christianity gradually takes over the pagan culture, and the times of ancient beliefs are coming to an end. But this can only be said in a formal sense. In fact, the ancient cults have not completely disappeared. They have lost their original magical meaning, but still remain in oral folk art, their echoes are present in arts and crafts.

Myths of Slavic paganism

The Slavic belief system is no less interesting than any other. It is both similar and not similar to Greek or Scandinavian myths. Having certain common features with them, Slavic pagan mythology contains many unique elements. The knowledge, traditions and legends of our ancestors, the order of the world order are not repeated in the epics of any other people.

The mythology that we inherited from the times of Slavic paganism has come down to our days not only in a greatly reduced, but also revised form. The fact is that writing among the Slavs appeared much later than among the Greeks - already at the very end of pagan history. But, despite the diversity of ethnic groups and religions, the Slavs still managed to preserve the ideas inherent in their distant ancestors. You don't have to go far for an example, just remember the tradition of burning a scarecrow of winter at Shrovetide.

Our most ancient mythology is of particular interest. The system of gods in Slavic paganism is as follows:

The inhabitants of the highest level were the gods, who personified all living things. For example, Svarog was identified with Heaven. At the same level was the Earth and her children with Svarog - Perun, Fire and Dazhdbog.

The middle level, according to the myths of Slavic paganism, was inhabited by deities responsible for the economy, as well as for the development of certain tribes - Chur, Rod and many others.

The lower level was inhabited by entities, one way or another connected with the environment - goblin and mermaids, brownies and ghouls.

In Slavic paganism, the cult of ancestors was very important: the legendary forefathers were respected and revered in every possible way. The Slavs paid no less attention to the issues of the origin and development of the world.

Scientists believe that Slavic pagan mythology developed even before the formation of separate tribes. Therefore, there was no need for any special rituals, the priestly class was not able to develop widely.

The main feature of Slavic paganism was that the real world was closely associated with beings of a lower level. Moreover, they could both help people and harm. Our ancestors believed in brownies and goblin, berekinas and ghouls. Based on this, ordinary life was full of mysteries, and any unusual phenomenon could be explained in terms of the intervention of these spirits.

If it was still possible to somehow agree with small entities or outwit them, then the will of the middle and higher gods had to be carried out unquestioningly. The ancient Slavs were afraid of the forces of nature and the wrath of their ancestors. Our forefathers tried to appease the divine essences with the help of festive rituals, some of which are known today.

Gods of Slavic paganism and their worship

Slavic paganism is based on the vast life experience of our ancestors. People not only learned about the world around them, but also tried to understand their own essence. The number of Slavic gods was very large, and it is not surprising that the names of many of them are now forgotten.

In the Slavic pagan religion, all the gods stood at one or another rung of the hierarchical ladder. Moreover, in different tribes, different deities could enjoy the greatest honor.

The most ancient male deity is considered Genus... This god of the sky, thunderstorms and fertility was worshiped by all peoples without exception. According to the mythology of Slavic paganism, Rod moved on a cloud, sprinkled the earth with rain, and thanks to this, children were born. The clan was the creator of all that exists and at the same time its master.

If we talk about the etymology of Slavic words, many of them have just the root "genus". Words with such a root have a lot of meanings: kinship and birth, water (spring) and profit (harvest). Everyone knows the concepts of homeland and people. Rod can mean red and lightning (ball is called rhodium). The number of words formed with the help of this root is unusually large, which once again confirms the greatness of Rod as a god.

Svarog is the first incarnation of the Family on earth. This is a single deity of the Universe and at the same time a blacksmith god who gave people the secrets of working with metal. The hammer and anvil are the symbols of Svarog, and any smithy is a temple. The meaning of the Slavic root "svar" is something shining and burning. In many northern dialects, the word "var" still means heat or burning.

Scientists have different opinions about the sun god in Slavic paganism. Some are inclined to Dazhdbog, others are convinced that it was Yarilo, according to the third - Svetovid. But no one denies that the god of the sun among the Slavs (especially the southeastern ones, where no one ever complained about the lack of sunlight) was Horse.

The roots "horo" and "colo" in ancient times meant a circle and a solar sign of the sun. Speaking "mansions", the ancestors meant a circular building of the courtyard. And the words "round dance" and "wheel" are not even considered outdated now.

Two major holidays are dedicated to this god in Slavic pagan culture. One of them is celebrated on the day of the summer solstice, the other on the winter. In June, our ancestors from the mountain to the river necessarily rolled the cart wheel, implying by this action the sun's retreat for the winter. In December, Kolyada, Yarila and others were honored.

Word carol comes from "colo". The latter meant "baby sun". He was represented as a child - and it doesn't matter, a boy or a girl. When the child is very young, gender does not matter, and the very word "sun" among the Slavs of the middle clan. The deity owes its birth to the holiday of the winter solstice: on this day, the sun of the next year was allegedly born.

Kolyada is a rather protracted holiday, which was celebrated for several days, from December 25 (Christmas Eve) to January 6 (Veles day). Severe frosts and snow blizzards usually fell on the carol. At the same time, evil spirits and evil witches were walking on the earth, stealing the moon and the stars.

Dazhdbog. Most of all he was revered by the East Slavic tribes. The task of Dazhdbog is to preserve his family and give people earthly blessings. This deity is responsible for all the basic phenomena of nature: light, heat and movement. The latter is understood as the alternation of the seasons, the change of day and night, etc. Perhaps, in Slavic paganism, the role of Dazhdbog was even more significant than the role of the sun god, although in some ways they coincided. Dazhdbog was understood as the whole world.

Belbog in Slavic paganism, he was the god of luck and happiness, the keeper of goodness and justice. A statue of Belbog has reached us, holding a piece of iron in his hand. In ancient times, the iron trial was practiced to restore justice. If a person was suspected of any crime, he was forced to squeeze a red-hot piece of metal in his hand and walk that way for at least ten steps. If there were no burn marks, the charges were dropped. A man branded with iron was doomed to eternal disgrace. Based on this, we can conclude that Belbog was also responsible for justice. However, other supreme gods in Slavic paganism also carried this function, being the Supreme Judges and Zealots of Justice. They punished the guilty and protected the family from the loss of morality.

Perun- the pagan god of thunder and lightning. He had a lot of relatives and assistants. In addition to Thunder and Lightning, his retinue included Rain and Hail, mermaids and water, as well as four winds corresponding to the cardinal points. That is why Thursday is considered the day of Perun. Although in some traditions of Slavic paganism there were seven, ten, twelve or just a great many winds. Forests and rivers considered sacred were dedicated to Perun.

Veles. One of the most ancient pagan gods worshiped by the Eastern Slavs. Initially, he was the patron saint of hunters. There was a taboo on the deified beast, therefore God was called "Volokhaty", "Hair" and "Veles". This name also meant the spirit of the slain beast. The root "led" among the ancient Slavs meant "dead". For our ancestors to retire meant to adhere, to join the soul with their heavenly ancestors, leaving the mortal body to the earth.

Also in Slavic paganism there was a tradition after the harvest to leave "the ears of the ears on the beard". The Slavs were sure that the ancestors resting in the land help it to become more fertile. The worship of Veles as a pagan cattle god was at the same time a tribute to the ancestors, associated not only with a rich harvest, but also with the well-being of the family. No wonder in the Slavic pagan tradition, herbs and flowers, bushes and trees were called "hair of the earth."

The women goddesses who were worshiped by the Slavs came from the ancient pagan cult of Rozhanitsy. One of the main goddesses of the East Slavic tribes - Makosh. There are two parts to this name. Ma means mother and kosh is a basket or purse. It turns out that Makosh is the mother of full baskets, the goddess of a good harvest. Do not confuse her with the pagan goddess of fertility, because Makosh, in contrast to her, sums up the results of the agricultural season, gives people the appropriate benefits.

The harvest cannot be the same from year to year, sometime it is more, and sometime less. Slavic paganism implied faith in fate. It depended on her whether the year would turn out to be successful or not. Therefore, Makosh was at the same time the goddess of fate. With the adoption of Christianity in Russia, the pagan Makosh was transformed into the Orthodox Paraskeva Friday, which, like the Slavic goddess, is the patroness of marriage and family happiness.

One of the most beloved goddesses of the Slavs was Lada responsible for love, charm and beauty. As soon as spring came, it was time for the pagan Ladin holidays, time to play with the burners. The word "burn" also meant "love." And love itself was often compared with red, fire and even fire.

In Slavic paganism, the root "fret" was widespread in words that have a marital meaning. For example, a matchmaker was called a freak, a wedding song was called a ladkany, and a loved one was called a freak. In modern language, there are words like "get along" (live in harmony) and "okay" (beautiful).

Lada had a child named Lel... His task is to encourage nature to fertilize, to bind people by marriage. There is also a female hypostasis of this pagan deity, called Lelei, Lelya or Lyalya.

The second son of the goddess Lada in Slavic paganism is called Polelya. The god of marriage was depicted dressed in a simple white shirt and with a crown of thorns on his head. Polel held out the second wreath of the same kind to his wife. Poleli's task was to bless the lovers for a thorny family life.

Slavic pagan traditions associate with Lada a god named Znich with his fire, heat and the sacred flame of love.

The light gods in Slavic paganism are opposed by the dark gods. One of them - Chernobog who is the ruler of the underworld. Such concepts as "black soul", "rainy day" are associated with this deity.

She acted as the goddess of death among the Slavs Mara(Pestilence). The words "die", "dead" and others probably originated from her name. You can also remember the pagan goddesses of mortal sorrow Jelly,"The parent of the words" pity ", pity", and Karnu, from which the expressions "carnate", "befell punishment", etc. came from. In other tribes, these deities, embodying infinite compassion, were called Zhurboy and Kruchina. In Slavic paganism, it was believed that a person can relieve his soul and prevent many troubles, only by pronouncing these names. It is no coincidence that Slavic pagan folklore is filled with all sorts of lamentations and laments.

Key rites of Slavic paganism

In addition to its own system of gods, Slavic paganism had various rituals and ceremonies. They accompanied a person throughout his life, being symbols of the next natural cycle or life stage. The very essence of Slavic paganism lies in the desire of man to connect with nature, and therefore with the gods. Each ritual had its own deep meaning, not a single ritual was carried out just like that. The belief in natural forces among the ancient Slavs was endless.

The rite of naming

It was carried out by pagan priests, and only after a person acquired the Slavic faith. Over the years, the name could change several times, here much depended on the type of human activity, his abilities and inclinations. The peculiarities of Slavic paganism are that in different communities such a rite could be carried out in different ways, and a lot depended on the priests. But the essence has always remained the same: a person had to acquire a NATIVE Slavic name, connecting him with the ROD in the energy-informational plan.

The intended person connected to the ancestral energy field and received the protection of the Slavic gods. Those who were called by their NATIVE name at birth no longer needed such a ceremony. According to essays on Slavic paganism, the future fate of a person largely depended on the choice of a name. The one who took a new name, as it were, was reborn and set foot on a completely new, unknown path. This man could no longer remain the same.

The name for the Slavs was the key to the kindred memory. The sorcerer performing the rite of naming (and sometimes the named himself) had to “hear” the name in the Spirit and then pronounce it aloud, thereby uniting the World of Spirit and the World of Reveal. Choosing a name was never something to rush into. At first, a person had to completely determine the direction of his path - or find out the divine will. The name had to be born of the Gods, and not from the worldly pendant.

Wedding ceremony

Truly, a wedding is the most glorious demand for the ROD, performed in its turn by each of the Russian ROD, from the Slavic Tribe, who is like soul and body in Health. Truly, you can't take a Slav's wife - it's the same as not giving birth to a Slavic wife - it's equal to not continuing the work of your Ancestors - it's equal to turning blasphemy to the Kindred Gods and not fulfilling their will. To do the opposite is like dropping grains into arable land - to live according to God's rule - To fulfill the duty of the RELATIVE - to extend the Rope of the Fathers. For the duty of every person on Earth is to preserve and continue their ROD, the duty of every Rusich and Slav is to continue the Russian and Slavic ROD. The chain of generations must continue and be inseparable.

This rite in Slavic paganism, like the birth of a person, and his introduction to the ROD, and burial was considered a very important event in life. On this occasion, not even intra-family, but general pagan festivals were organized. After all, the connection of the young in order to live the future life together is a matter not only of close people, but of the entire Family, both Earthly (relatives) and Heavenly (ancestors), and even the Family of the Most High.

The story was just ending with a wedding in Slavic paganism. It all began with matchmaking, followed by a bride and a conspiracy. During the latter, the parties finally decided what size the bride's dowry would be. After that, the betrothal and other pagan actions took place, for example, with mutual consent, the bride could be stolen. If this happened, the groom was obliged to pay the bride's father a ransom. When a day or two remained before the wedding, a special ritual loaf was baked, decorated with signs of fertility. In addition, kurnik was prepared for it - a chicken pie that was supposed to personify happiness and prosperity in the future family.

Housewarming ceremony

Housewarming was considered one of the holidays in Slavic paganism. Even when the house was just beginning to be built, our ancestors performed many rituals against the wiles of evil spirits. But the most dangerous moment was actually the move to a new house. It was believed that evil spirits would try in every possible way to prevent the owners of a happy and prosperous life. In order to avoid the evil influence of evil spirits, a pagan protective rite of housewarming was carried out, and in many regions of the country this practice continued until the middle of the nineteenth century.

According to Slavic pagan traditions, before building a house, it was necessary to choose a site suitable for it and building materials. To find the best place, various fortune-telling was used. For example, it was considered a good sign if in a cast-iron pot with a spider left on the site, the latter began to weave a web. Sometimes a vessel filled with honey was used for the same purpose. If ants crawled into it in search of food, the site was considered lucky. Another pagan way of determining a good place to build was to release a cow on a piece of land. Where she lay down, and began to build a house.

In Slavic paganism, there were also special conspiracies that helped in choosing a place for housing. The person who started building a new hut had to collect stones from different fields and lay them out on the supervised area in the form of a quadrangle. It was necessary to put a hat inside it and read a special pagan conspiracy. After three days of waiting, it was necessary to look at the stones again. If they lay in their place untouched, the site of pagan beliefs was defined as successful.

The Belarusians still believe that it is impossible to build a house on the disputed land. A person who has lost a lawsuit can send a curse on the owner of the home, and happiness will forever turn away from that. According to the traditions of Slavic paganism, the hut could not be placed on the site where human bones were found. Even if someone cut an arm or a leg at this place, a different site should have been chosen for construction.

Bath rite

Even today, this rite of Slavic paganism is not completely forgotten. It is assumed that a person who crosses the threshold of the bath must greet its Master - Bannik. This greeting is at the same time a kind of pagan conspiracy of the space in which the ablution ritual will be carried out. With the help of special words, the environment is tuned in a certain way. Moreover, these words can be prepared in advance, or pronounced spontaneously, entering the steam room.

After reading this pagan conspiracy, you need to splash hot water from a ladle on the stove and distribute the rising steam throughout the bath in a circular motion of a broom. It is not forbidden to use a towel instead of a broom. This is how light steam is created. The secret is that the steam in a room is usually divided into several layers. Below these layers are wet and cold, but the higher, the drier and hotter the air becomes. Steam that is not properly mixed is "heavy".

A person in such a bath is not very comfortable, because his legs are cooled, and his head, on the contrary, heats up. If you do not create a space uniform in temperature and humidity, then the body will be in completely different layers of steam, and it becomes problematic to get any pleasure from the procedure. Due to the feeling of some kind of disunity, this simply cannot be done.

Kalinov bridge (funeral rite)

The funeral rite adopted in Slavic paganism even has its own name, and more than one. It is called Kalinov Bridge or Star Bridge. It connects Reality and Nav, the world of the living and the world of the dead. It is by crossing this bridge that a person's soul finds itself in the next world. The pagan legends of the ancient Slavs mention a magic bridge, which can only be passed by the souls of those people who, during their lifetime, were distinguished by kindness and courage, honesty and justice.

This bridge can be seen on clear nights in the firmament, and its name is the Milky Way. The righteous - those who live according to the precepts of the Gods, according to the Rule and Pra-Vedas - can easily cross this bridge and find themselves in Bright Iriya. Unrighteous people - all sorts of deceivers and envious people, rapists and murderers - fall from the star bridge and go straight to the Lower World Nav. By the way, murderers mean people who committed a crime out of self-interest and malicious intent, and not at all those who committed this act, defending the Slavic ROD. If a person has had many good deeds and many bad deeds in his life, then he will have to go through tests - and for each they will be their own.

During the funeral rite adopted in Slavic paganism, mourners were always present. Under their lamentations, the funeral procession was supposed to pass along the symbolic Star Bridge, as if escorting a person's soul to the point of intersection of two worlds - Reveal and Navi. After that, the body of the deceased was laid on a funeral pyre, laid out in the form of a rectangle. The height of the steal (which in translation means "sacrificial fire") should have been on the shoulders of an adult or even higher. From the inside, the steal was stuffed with dry straw and branches.

Domovina was made in the form of a boat, which was put on the fire with its nose at sunset. Gifts and memorial food were put into it. The deceased was dressed in white clothes and covered with a white veil on top. The deceased had to lie with his head to the east. Either the elder or the sorcerer had the right to light the funeral pyre, having undressed to the waist and standing with his back to the sacrificial fire.

Harvest

In Slavic paganism, there are several ceremonies dedicated to the harvest. But among them, the beginning of the process and its end, zaginka and dozhinka are especially important.

Magic rituals and pagan rituals were not carried out on any particular day, but were tied to the ripening of certain cultures. With the help of treasures (sacrificial rites), our ancestors thanked the land for the harvest it presented. Magical actions were aimed at making the soil fertile again, capable of giving birth for the next year. However, this pagan rite also pursued a purely utilitarian goal: the reapers should have at least a little rest from hard work.

According to the traditions of Slavic paganism, for a successful harvest, it was necessary to choose the right woman - a hard-working reaper with strength, health and a "light hand". The choice has never fallen on pregnant women. Moreover, they didn’t even have the right to look at the meat. Otherwise, the entire future harvest could become "heavy."

The zazhinchitsa was elected at a general meeting. Moreover, the chosen one carefully prepared for the ceremony: she washed the home altar, wiped the benches and the table. A tablecloth was laid on the table top so that the first squeezed ears could be put on a clean one. After that, the woman was washing herself, dressing up in a fresh white shirt and in the evening went to the field. She had to walk with a brisk pace, without stopping, it was assumed that the speed and success of the harvest depends on this. When she reached the field, the woman took off her outer clothing and immediately began work.

It was necessary to return home also hastily. Some Slavic pagan traditions implied the secret holding of zhin. The selected worker had to go to her field unnoticed. But when she returned from the field, everyone in the settlement already knew: the job was done, and the next morning you can safely start harvesting.

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One of the main customs of the ancient Slavs was that all generations of the family lived under one roof, and there was also a family cemetery somewhere not far from the house, so that long-dead ancestors also invisibly took part in the life of the family.

Many more children were born in those days than in our time, i.e. by the number of children in the family of the ancient Slavs and modern families are very different, in addition to this, among the pagans, it was not considered shameful for a man to bring as many wives to his house as he could feed. Those. in such a house lived, approximately, four or five brothers with wives, children, parents, grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles, aunts, cousins, second cousins.

Each person who lived in such a family considered himself primarily a member of the clan, and not an individual. And also any Slav could name his ancestors several centuries ago and tell in detail about each of them. Numerous holidays were associated with the ancestors, many of which have survived to this day (Radunitsa, parental day).

Getting acquainted, the ancient Slavs must have mentioned whose son, grandson and great-grandson he was, without this people would have thought that a person who did not name his father and grandfather was hiding something. Each genus had a specific reputation. In one, people were famous for their honesty and nobility, in the other there were fraudsters, therefore, having met a representative of this kind, one should keep an eye out. The man knew that at the first meeting he would be assessed as his family deserves. On the other hand, he himself felt responsible for the whole large family.

In those days, everyday clothes of every Slav represented his full "passport". The clothes of each contained a huge number of details that spoke about its owner: what tribe he was from, what kind, etc. Looking at the clothes, it was immediately possible to determine who it was and where it was from, and therefore how to behave with it.

In such a family, there have never been any forgotten children, or abandoned old people, i.e. human society took care of each of its members, worrying about the survival of the clan and society as a whole.

The house, which has always been a protection, a refuge, in beliefs was opposed to everything else, a stranger. He was the first concern of any man who decided to stand out from the previous family. The place for the building was chosen very carefully, it depended on whether there would be luck, happiness and prosperity in the house. The place where the bathhouse used to stand was considered bad, the suicide was buried, where the house burned, etc. At the place they liked, they put water in a vessel for the night under the open sky. If by the morning it retained its purity and transparency, then this was considered a good sign.

Starting work, they prayed for sunrise and drank the "hand-held" set by the owner. Three things were placed in the front, "holy" corner: money (coin) - "for wealth", incense - "for holiness," sheep wool - "for warmth." Above, under the roof, there was a carved comb with carved figures, for example, a rooster. As a prophetic bird, he was very revered by the ancient Slavs. It was believed that the rooster awakens the sun to life, returns light and warmth to the earth. In the guise of a rooster, the Slavs personified heavenly fire. He protected the house from fire and lightning. Moving to a new house was made at night, in the full moon. It was accompanied by various rituals. The owners usually carried with them a rooster, a cat, an icon and bread and salt; often - a pot of porridge, coals from an old stove, rubbish from an old house, etc.

Garbage in the beliefs and magic of the ancient Slavs is an attribute of the house, a receptacle for the souls of ancestors. He was transferred during the relocation, hoping that together with him the spirit would pass into the new house - the guardian of the house, good luck, wealth and prosperity. They used garbage in fortune telling and for various magical purposes, for example, fumigated with the smoke of burning garbage from the evil eye.

One of the sacred centers of the house was the oven. Food was cooked in the oven, people slept on it, in some places they used it as a bath; mainly traditional medicine was associated with it. The stove symbolized a woman giving birth to a female womb. She was the main guardian of the family inside the house. Oaths were taken at the stove, an agreement was made at the stove pillar; milk teeth of children and umbilical cords of newborns were hidden in the stove; the patron saint of the house, the brownie, lived in the sub-furnace.

The table was also a subject of special reverence. When a house is sold, the table must be handed over to the new owner. He was usually moved only when performing some rituals, for example, a wedding or a funeral. Then they carried out a ritual round of the table, or carried a newborn around it. The table was both the starting and ending point of any path. They kissed him before a long journey and upon returning home.

The part of the house endowed with many symbolic functions is the window. It was often used as an “unconventional way out of the house” to deceive unclean spirits, illness, etc. For example, if children were dying in the house, then the newborn was passed through the window so that he remained to live. Windows were often perceived as a path for something holy, pure. It was not allowed to spit through the windows, pour out slops, throw out rubbish, since under them, according to legend, stands the Angel of the Lord.

If the house was a protection, a refuge, then the gate was a symbol of the border between one's own, mastered space and a foreign, external world. They were considered a dangerous place where all evil spirits dwell. They hung icons on the gates, and in the morning, leaving the house, they prayed first to the church, then to the sun, and then to the gates and on all four sides. A wedding candle was often attached to them, the teeth of a harrow were stuck in them or a scythe was hung to protect them from unclean spirits, thorny plants were stuffed into the cracks of the gate as a talisman against witches. Since ancient times, various magical actions have been performed at the gates. In them, traditionally, in early spring, fires were kindled, which cleared the space of the gate, and with it the entire space of the courtyard.

Initiation, funeral and wedding as the main rites

Initiation

To become a member of the tribe, a child had to undergo an initiation ceremony. It took place in three stages.

The first - immediately at birth, when the midwife cut the umbilical cord with the tip of a combat arrow in the case of a boy, or with scissors in the case of a girl, and swaddled the child in a diaper with signs of gender.

When the boy reached three years old, he underwent a pull-up - that is, they put him on a horse, girded him with a sword and drove him around the yard three times. After that, they began to teach him the actual male duties. At the age of three, the girl was given a spindle and a spinning wheel for the first time. The action is also sacred, and with the first thread spun by her daughter, the mother girded her on her wedding day to protect her from damage. For all peoples, spinning was associated with fate, and from the age of three, girls were taught to spin fate for themselves and their home.

At the age of twelve - thirteen, upon reaching marriageable age, boys and girls were brought to the male and female homes, where they received a full set of sacred knowledge that they needed in life. After that, the girl jumped into a poneva (a kind of skirt worn over a shirt and spoke of maturity). After initiation, the young man received the right to carry military weapons and to marry.

Wedding

Marriage customs were different for different Slavic peoples. The most common ceremony was as follows.

The wedding consisted of worshiping Lada, Triglav and Rod, after which the sorcerer invoked a blessing on them, and the newlyweds walked three times around the sacred tree, as usual around the birch), calling to witness the gods and bearers of the place where the ceremony took place.

Without fail, the wedding was preceded by the abduction of the bride or a conspiracy. In general, the bride had to go to a new family (clan) by force, so as not to offend the guardian spirits of her clan (“I’m not giving away, they are being led by force”). Therefore, long sad, mournful songs of the bride and her sobs are associated with this.

At the feast, the newlyweds did not drink, they were forbidden, it was believed that they would be drunk from love. The first night was spent on thirty sheaves, covered with furs (wish for wealth and many children).

Funeral

The Slavs had several funeral rites. The first, during the heyday of paganism, was the rite of burning, followed by the filling of the mound.

The second method was used to bury the so-called "mortgaged" dead - those who died a suspicious, unclean death. The funeral of such deceased was expressed in throwing the body away into a swamp or ravine, after which this body was heaped from above with branches. The rite was performed in such a form so as not to desecrate the land and water with an "unclean" deceased.

Burial in the ground, customary in our time, became widespread only after the adoption of Christianity.

Conclusion: Many traditions, customs and rituals that existed among the ancient Slavs have survived to our times.

Introduction

With age, a person should have realized that each time he goes to a completely new stage of life. For this, special age rituals were carried out, symbolizing that a person had reached a certain age. As a rule, such ritual actions were associated in people's ideas with a new birth and therefore were quite painful. A person was experienced with pain in order for him to remember that birth is the greatest pain in his life. A person passed through peculiar rituals, choosing one or another profession. These rites were initiation into warriors or priests, artisans or farmers. In order to become an artisan or a farmer, it was enough just to master the skill of these professions. This often took place in a solemn atmosphere. Having reached a certain age and having learned to do their job flawlessly, a person was awarded an honorary title.

The situation was quite different with the warriors and priests. Priests were chosen only when a person could boast of special knowledge. The priest was the liaison between man and god. The ritual ceremonies of the priests were different. Depending on which god people worshiped, a potential priest also passed such a dedication. All this was accompanied by sacrifices and special magical actions. A man could become a warrior only after passing certain tests. It is a test of endurance, dexterity, courage and skill with a weapon. Not every person could become a warrior. And only those who have withstood sometimes deadly and dangerous difficulties can bear the title of warrior and protector of all other people.

There were rituals in the life of the Slavs that accompanied significant life events. Rituals associated with a wedding or funeral, the birth of a child or other event have always had magical properties. Sacred actions related to such moments in life were designed to protect a person from evil forces, give him confidence and attract good luck. In addition to such special rituals, there were regular rituals in the life of the people that accompanied them all year round. Such rituals had an agrarian meaning and were associated primarily with natural forces. With the advent of the new year, special gods came into power, who were revered by the Slavs, making sacrifices to them and performing magical actions in their honor. Each ceremony played the role of a kind of performance, where its participants, like the heroes of the performance, acted out magical performances. Moreover, all the ceremonies of the Slavs in the annual calendar were considered holidays. Each such holiday presupposed not only the veneration of the gods, but also the observance of a certain tradition.

Birth

The father's shirt served as the first diaper for the son, the mother's shirt for the daughter. In general, all the very first actions with the baby (bathing, feeding, cutting hair, and so on) were surrounded by important and very interesting rituals, which, again, can be devoted to a separate book. Let's take a closer look at only one thing - this is the custom of dipping a baby in water (or at least sprinkling it), which is noted among various peoples. In particular, the Scandinavians did this during the Viking Age. For a very long time this was due to the influence of Christianity. However, then similar customs were recorded among peoples who had never even heard of Christianity!

The rite of naming

The rite of naming - if a Slav or Slav was named from birth with a Slavic name, then the rite of naming is not necessary. Of course, if there is no need to give a new name. If a person was not baptized or brought to some other foreign faith, then the naming rite is carried out as follows. The nominated one stands facing the Sacred Fire. The priest sprinkles spring water three times over his face, forehead and crown, saying the words: “As this water is pure, so will the face be pure; as this water is pure, so thoughts will be pure; as this water is pure, so will be a pure name! ”. Then the priest cuts off a lock of hair from the dubbed and puts them in the Fire, while uttering a new name in a whisper. Before a person receives a name, no one except the priest and the named should know the chosen name. After that, the priest approaches the person and loudly says: "Narcemo is your name ... (name)." And so three times. The priest gives the betrothed a handful of grain to bring trebla and brother suria to commemorate the ancestors. A Slav who was previously baptized, or was brought to some other foreign faith, must first undergo a ritual of purification. To do this, sit the person on his knees on the deck (he should not touch the ground with his knees), circle this place in a vicious circle. Before sitting in a circle, the subject takes off his clothes, stripping himself to the waist. The circle is drawn with a knife, which is then left in the ground until the end of the ceremony. As a rule, before the beginning of the naming, lots are cast: is a person worthy of such an honor to receive a Slavic name and go under the patronage of the Ancestors. This is done as follows: the priest, standing behind the back of the dubbed, swings the ax three times over the head of the latter, trying to lightly touch the hair with the blade. Then he throws the ax to the ground behind his back. If the blade of the fallen ax points to the named person, then the rite is continued. If not, the naming is postponed until better times. So, if the lot is successful, then the named person is lightly washed his head with spring water, covered with salt with fire, showered with grain, making cleansing movements with his hands. The cleansing is carried out by a priest or three priests. They go around the designated salmon in a circle, holding their right hands above his head. At this time, they chanted the cry “Goy” in a drawn-out manner - three times. Raising their hands to the sky, they solemnly exclaim: "Nartsemo is your name ...", then the name chosen by the community (in agreement with the priest), or the name that the named has chosen for himself (again, with the consent of the priest) is pronounced. And so they exclaim three times. The circle is broken, the betrothed is given a handful of grain for his first sacrifice and a ladle of honey for commemorating the ancestors, under whose patronage he is now passing.

The ancients considered the name to be an important part of the human personality and preferred to keep it secret so that the evil sorcerer would not be able to "take" the name and use it to induce damage (just as they used cropped hair, scraps of clothing, dug out pieces of earth with traces on it and even litter swept out of the hut). Therefore, in ancient times, the real name of a person was usually known only to parents and a few closest people. All the others called him by the name of the clan or by a nickname, usually of a protective nature: Nekras, Nezhdan, Nezhelan. Such nicknames were supposed to "disappoint" illness and death, make them look for "more worthy" living elsewhere. This was done not only by the Slavs. For example, the beautiful Turkish name Yilmaz means "something that even a dog does not need"

A pagan, under no guise, should have said “I am such and such,” because he could not be completely firmly convinced that his new acquaintance deserved the knowledge of complete confidence, that he was generally a human being, and not my spirit. At first, he answered evasively:

"They call me ..." And even better, even if it was not he himself who pronounced it, but someone else. Everyone knows that, according to the rules of good form, it is still considered preferable for two strangers to be represented to each other by someone else. This is where this custom came from.

Wedding

Wedding - in ancient times, each person was aware of himself primarily as a member of a certain kind. The children belonged to the family of their parents, but the daughter-girl, getting married, passed into the family of her husband. (That is why they “marry” - in the sense, they leave their kind, leave it.) Hence the increased attention that we now see at weddings, and the custom of taking the husband’s surname, because the surname is a sign of the family. Hence the habit of calling the husband's parents “mom” and “dad”, which, by the way, is often very dear to the elderly, although they cannot really explain where this custom came from. “I entered the family” - and that's it!

And what about the white dress? Sometimes one hears that it, they say, symbolizes the purity and modesty of the bride, but this is wrong. In fact, white is the color of mourning. Yes exactly. Black in this capacity appeared relatively recently. White, according to historians and psychologists, from ancient times was for humanity the color of the Past, the color of Memory and Oblivion. From time immemorial such importance was attached to it in Russia. And the other - a mournfully wedding color was red, black, as it was also called. It has long been included in the dress of brides. There is even a folk song: "Don't you me, mother, a red sundress" - the song of a daughter who does not want to leave her home to strangers - to get married. So, a white (or red-and-white) dress is a “mournful” dress of a girl who “died” to her former kind.

Now about the veil. More recently, this word simply meant "scarf". Not the current transparent muslin, but a real thick scarf, which was used to tightly cover the bride's face. After all, from the moment of consent to marriage, she was considered “dead”, and the inhabitants of the World of the Dead, as a rule, are invisible to the living. And vice versa. The famous phrase from "Viy" by N. V. Gogol is not accidental:
"Raise my eyelids: I don't see!" So nobody could see the bride, and violation of the prohibition led to all sorts of misfortunes and even to untimely death, because in this case the border was violated and the Dead World "broke through" into ours, threatening with unpredictable consequences ... For the same reason, the young took each other by the hand exclusively through a scarf, and also did not eat or drink (at least the bride) throughout the wedding: after all, at that moment they were “in different worlds,” and only people belonging to the same the world, moreover - to one group, only “ours”.

Nowadays, young people are also not recommended to diligently treat themselves at their own wedding, and even more so to drink intoxicated drinks, but for a completely different reason. They should soon become Mother and Father, but can drunken spouses have full-fledged children?

It is necessary to mention one more interesting custom associated with the joint meal of the bride and groom. In the old days in Russia they said: "They do not marry those with whom they eat together." It would seem, what's wrong if a guy and a girl work together or hunt and eat from the same bowl, like brother and sister? Exactly - like brother and sister. (a joint meal made people “relatives.” And marriages between relatives were not encouraged - again in the interests of the offspring ...

At the Russian wedding, many songs were sung, moreover, mostly sad ones. The heavy veil of the bride gradually swelled from sincere tears, even if the girl followed her beloved. And the point here is not in the difficulties of being married in the old days, or rather, not only in them. The bride left her family and passed on to another. Therefore, she abandoned the patron spirits of the previous kind and entrusted herself to the new. But there is no need to offend and annoy the past, to look ungrateful. So the girl cried, listening to plaintive songs and trying with all her might to show her devotion to the parental home, former relatives and her supernatural patrons - deceased ancestors.

Let us also recall the "braid - maiden beauty". Since pagan times, the custom has been preserved to say goodbye to her forever and to braid two braids for the young wife instead of one, moreover, laying the strands one under the other, and not on top. If a girl ran away with her beloved against the will of her parents (it was such a marriage that was called “marriage against her will,” the will was meant exclusively by the parent, and not the bride herself, (as they sometimes think), the young husband cut off the precious maiden braid and presented it to the newly-made father-in-law and the mother-in-law together with the ransom for the kidnapping of the girl. And in any case, a married woman had to cover her hair with a headdress or a scarf (so that the “power” contained in them would not damage the new family). dress meant to inflict witchcraft damage on her family, offend her herself and make serious troubles - a fine, if not blood feud. headdress.

Housewarming

Before the laying of the lower logs, a coin was buried at the front angle - “for wealth”, a piece of incense was placed next to the coin - “for holiness”.
After the construction of the log house, the rooster was cut and blood was sprinkled on four corners. The animal was buried under the door.

Putting an icon in the front corner, all family members were baptized on it. Then the hostess cut off the first slice of the loaf of bread and put it under the stove, "welcoming the brownie.
Until the middle of the 19th century, in many places in Russia, another ancient ritual was preserved and was also carried out:

- taking off her clothes, until dawn the hostess of the house went around the new hut naked and pronounced the verdict: “I will put an iron tyn near the yard so that neither a fierce beast. the forestry did not look through it. "

To give the spell additional strength, the woman had to turn head over heels at the gate three times, saying: "Let the family and fruit increase in the new house."
Shortly before the housewarming or immediately after the move, the owner invites the brownie to move to a new place, he put a treat under the stove, put an open sack next to it (so that the brownie could get in there) and asked him to follow the family.

Introducing the cattle into the new barn, the owner also introduced her to the brownie. Otherwise, it was believed that the cattle would not take root in a new place.

Harvest

The beginning of the harvest was marked by a special ceremony of the “first sheaf”. The first sheaf, called the birthday boy, was stung by the oldest woman in the family. The sheaf was tied with ribbons, decorated with flowers, and then placed under the icons in the front corner. When the harvest was over, the sheaf was fed to domestic animals, and some of the grains were hidden until the next sowing. A year later, these grains were poured into the first handful of grain.

The rite of naming

The rite of naming is carried out by the priests upon the acquisition of the Slavic faith by a person. In the process of life and maturity of a person, the name can repeatedly change depending on the abilities and inclinations of the person, his type of activity, the path on which he set foot and goes through life. The ritual may differ for different priests and in different communities, but its main essence always remains the same - to help a person find a traditional and NATIVE Slavic name, an energy-informational connection with the ROD and the community, connect to the egregor of the ROD and stand under the protection and patronage of the NATIVE Slavic Gods ... It should be noted that if a Slav or a Slav was named by the name of KIND from birth, then this ceremony does not need to be performed. Choosing a name, we choose a Path (Destiny). Acceptance of a new name is like a new birth (rebirth) of a person, a new step into the unknown (unknown). Once we take this step, we will never be the same. The name is the key that unlocks the gates of the NATIVE memory. "Hearing" the name in the Spirit, the sorcerer performing the rite of naming, or the named himself, to whom his name was "revealed", pronounces it aloud, "connecting" taco the World of Reveal and the World of Spirit. Thus, the one who is named is likened to the Father-Svarog himself, who once created our World, and the named person is likened to the new world being born. One should not rush to choose a name. If there are doubts about the upcoming life path of a person, it is better to postpone until clarity in this matter is gained, or to ask for the will of the NATIVE Gods. For the name born of the worldly pendant is pendulous, and the name born of the Gods is God.

Baptism rite

The rite of baptism itself is carried out somewhat similar to the rite of naming. But this is only at first glance. For these two ceremonies have different purposes. When baptizing a renounced person, the priest helps to cleanse himself of faith alien to him. When naming a person, they help a person to find a NATIVE faith and stand under the protection and patronage of NATURAL gods.

The dubbed, stripping himself to the waist (or not doing this if it is winter outside), and taking with him an old shirt and three different treasures, kneels down at the temple. It is placed on two knees, and not on one, because he was a "servant of God" on earth, and carried this cross through life. It should not be forgotten that it is necessary to remove the cross from the neck and leave it outside the ritual circle until the beginning of the ceremony.

The rite ends after the priest congratulated the person of the past rite on the completion of the rite and opened the circle by removing the knife from the castle. The rite of baptism is held not only on holidays and not only at the temple, but can be performed by the priest at the sanctuary on a weekday or near the river, where the person being baptized must bathe. The main thing is the will of the baptized and the priest. The ceremony is recommended to be performed with three witnesses.

Wedding

Truly, a wedding is the most glorious demand for the ROD, performed in his turn by each of the Russian RODA, from the Slavic Tribe, who is like soul and body in Health. Truly, you can't take a Slav's wife - it's the same as not giving birth to a Slavic wife - it's equal to not continuing the work of your Ancestors - it's equal to turning blasphemy to the Kindred Gods and not fulfilling their will. To do the opposite is like dropping grain into arable land - according to God's rule - to live according to God - To fulfill the duty of the Gentile - to extend the Rope of the Fathers. For the duty of every person on Earth is to preserve and continue their ROD, the duty of every Rusich and Slav is to continue the Russian and Slavic ROD. The chain of generations must continue and be inseparable.

The wedding, along with the birth, introduction to the ROD (age-related initiation) and burial, from time immemorial was revered by the Ancestors by our most important event in the life of a person's Kolo (circle, cycle) and belonged to the number of not intra-family, but general-clan festivities. For, truly, this action is not only a private affair of the young and their closest relatives, but of the whole of the Earthly KIND (relatives), the Heavenly KIND (Ancestors), and the Most High KIND itself, the greatest deed - Spravochnaya KINDU Unity, the will of the RODOVA implementation, and the Isto KINM glorification ...

The wedding is usually preceded by: matchmaking, bride, conspiracy (during which they finally agree on the amount of the dowry) and betrothal, as well as, there are also other actions, for example, abduction (theft) of the bride (usually by mutual consent). In the latter case, the groom pays the bride's father a veno (ransom). A day or two before the wedding, a special ritual korovai with signs of fertility and a chicken pie - kurnik are baked, personifying a happy life, prosperity in the family and home.

Housewarming

The beginning of the construction of a house among the ancient Slavs was associated with a whole complex of ritual actions and ceremonies that prevented possible opposition from evil spirits. Moving to a new hut and the beginning of life in it was considered the most dangerous period. It was assumed that the "evil spirits" would seek to interfere with the future well-being of the new settlers. Therefore, until the middle of the 19th century, in many places in Russia, the ancient protective ritual of housewarming was preserved and carried out.

It all started with finding a place and building materials. Judging by the ethnographic data of the 19th century, there were many ways of divination when choosing a place for a house. Sometimes a cast iron pot with a spider was placed on the site. And if he began to weave a web during the night, then this was considered a good sign. In some places on the proposed site, a vessel with honey was placed in a small hole. And if goose bumps got into it - the place was considered happy. Choosing a safe place for a construction site, often at first they let go of the cow and waited for it to lie on the ground. The place where she went to bed was considered successful for the future home. And in some places, the future owner had to collect four stones from different fields and spread them on the ground in the form of a quadrangle, inside which he put a hat on the ground and read the plot. After that, it was necessary to wait three days, and if the stones remained intact, then the place was considered well chosen. The Belarusians have a popular assertion that in no case should a house be built on a disputed land, because this could incur curses from the loser of the dispute, and then the new owner of such land will not see happiness forever. It should also be noted that the house was never built in the place where human bones were found or where someone cut an arm or a leg.

Get tonsured

The tonsure (tonsure) is a Slavic Vedic rite, consisting in cutting the hair of a child of seven years from ROD, as a sign of transfer from the care of the mother to the care of the father, from the care of the deities Lelya and Polel, Perun and Lada. The rite was preserved in Poland until the XIV century. In Russia, there has long been a custom of the first cutting of hair for male children - tonsured under authority and patronage (obsolete - tonsured).

Vows are usually carried out in the morning in sunny weather. Characters: Magus (Priest, Elder); squire (among the Rusichs - voivode); father; mother; son-yunak (initiate); Gudkovites (musicians) and singers (choral); participants and guests (relatives and friends).

The following ritual objects and elements must be present at the ceremony: chest band; elder sign (hryvnia); missal, stool for the initiate of the Junak; scissors on a tray held by the Voivode; a white shirt or Slavic shirt for a Yunak (initiate); Fire that kindles the Magus (Priest); "male" gift for the tonsured, in the hands of the father; goodies (musical instruments); bowls for honey and other ceremonial utensils.

All participants in the ceremony stand throughout the entire solemn ceremony. Yunak in a white shirt sits on a stool near the sacred Fire. The elder, putting on a bandage, opens it solemnly and reads the words from the missal.

Yunak sits down on a stool, the elder takes scissors from the tray, cuts off a bun of hair with them and betrays them on Fire. Yunak gets up, the elder (Magus) announces the initiation of RODICH into adulthood (as is known from historical sources, our ancestors taught their children the art of war from a young age). At a signal from the elder, everyone stands up and sings a hymn to the music.

Caroling

The origin of the caroling rite is rooted in ancient times. Even in Vedic times, several times a year, the Slavs made a spell against evil spirits. This ceremony, both before and after the adoption of Christianity in Russia, was timed to coincide with the Christmastide period and the great holiday of Kolyada. It consisted in the fact that groups of carolers (slaves), consisting mainly of teenagers, went to their homes. Each group carried on a stick (pole) a six- or eight-pointed star, glued together from silvery paper. Sometimes the star was made hollow and a candle was lit inside it. The star glowing in the dark seemed to float down the street. The group also included a mekhonosha, who carried a bag for collecting gifts and gifts.

Carollers walked around the houses of their fellow villagers in a certain order, calling themselves "difficult guests", bringing the owner of the house the joyful news of the birth of a new Sun - Kolyada. The arrival of carols in Russia was taken very seriously, they gladly accepted all the dignities and wishes, tried to bestow upon them, whenever possible, generously. "Difficult guests" put the gifts in a bag and went to the next house. In large villages and hamlets, five to ten groups of carol-singers came to each house. Caroling was known throughout the territory of Russia, but it was distinguished by its local originality.

Dressing up is recognized as a typical Christmastime amusement. The meaning of the ritual action is to change the appearance so that the evil spirits do not recognize and fool or frighten those around them with their comic appearance. Carollers dressed up as bears, parsley, devils, as well as old men and women; sledding from the mountain, throwing snowballs at the target, putting together a delicious table, going to gatherings in the evening to have fun and look after the groom or the bride. The mummers danced, tumbled, spoke in squeaky voices. Costumed in whole bands went from hut to hut, sometimes from village to village.

Bratina

Bratina is an integral part of many communal celebrations, games, rituals and feasts. The priest with his assistants (obavniks and obavnitsy) administers it at the holiday. It is made from wood (most often from linden). It comes in a round shape with two handles. It is painted with carved Slavic ornaments and symbols. By capacity, it is found up to a liter. At its inception, salting is always allowed (along the Sun, clockwise), so that people can quench their thirst and glorify the gods in unity, while observing the order. It develops a sense of community and brings people together at the beginning. What the priest should give significance at the time of conception. Uniting people in the spirit of the Slavic is one of the goals of all Vedic holidays. If you want, take a sip of it and pass it on, if you want to drink it to the bottom, if the thirst is great, but respect for the brother herself in the circle must be shown so that the colo is not interrupted. And how you do it, your worries are yours. It is poured into the brother, depending on the essence of the ritual: kvass made by the hands of the community, or fermented surya with honey, or seasoned suryna with milk and herbs, or more attractive wine, or hoppy beer. At the same time, it is necessary to remember that it is not in the strength of degrees, but in the strength of unity, brotherly. The preparation of ritual drinks is a favorite activity of enchanters and healers who prepare ritual drinks and potions from various herbs, kvass, honey and grapes.

Bratchina

Bratchina is an ancient Slavic Vedic rite that accompanied most of the festivities of our Ancestors. Translated from the Old Russian "bratchina" means - a banquet arranged in a pool, that is, a communal festive feast. Folk feasts known as "bratchina" have been preserved almost unchanged since ancient times up to the beginning of the 20th century. The Russian brotherhood was often combined with major annual holidays, was timed to coincide with the end of the harvest, as well as the days of veneration of the supreme Deities of the Slavic Vedic pantheon.

The rite of the brotherhood is now being restored approximately in the following way: the day of the brotherhood is appointed and the headman-pirnik is elected; contributions are collected for the purchase of products for the common table; the necessary ritual drinks are made (kvass, wine, beer, surya; all drinks are strictly non-alcoholic, only surya had a weak degree of fermentation, but it was allowed to drink only to men who fulfilled their duty to the ROD, who gave birth to 8 children - half a glass, 16 children - a glass), that is, the eve is being prepared. The community, guests, merchants, merchants, squads, villagers, townspeople choose the place where the brotherhood will be held. The place for the brotherhood could be the house of the elder of the brotherhood, a field, a mound, a sanctuary and other places. It is necessary to receive an invitation to the brotherhood, including buffoons, musicians, songwriters. The guests are seated in the brotherhood in strict order, at different tables: "front", "middle", "roundabout". The principle of placement could have a different basis: according to merit before the community or according to age. The buffoons in epics sat behind the stove, and it was only by the skill of their playing that they determined whether to transplant them to a more honorable place. Be sure to drink three row bowls at the brotherhood, that is, the brothers walking strictly along the row of those sitting at the table, the rest could not drink. At the feasts-brothers discussed various issues, apparently, it was on this that the composition of the participants of the feast depended. The feast could last for several hours in a row - a day, two, three days, twelve days, or even a month. The bones of eaten animals, wax and clay bread and other offerings were buried, drowned in water or burned. Innocent sacrifices (treasures; more on this at the end of the article) were presented to the previously mentioned Gods and the four elements of the universe, while prayers or conspiracies were offered up.

Bath rite

The bath ritual should always begin with a greeting from the Master of the Bath, or the spirit of the bath - Bannik. This greeting is also a kind of conspiracy, a conspiracy of space and environment in which the bath ceremony will be held. This is the tuning of this environment to a certain fret. Such tuning can also occur both according to a pre-prepared conspiracy - a greeting, or one born spontaneously right at the entrance to the steam room.

Usually, immediately after reading such a greeting conspiracy, a ladle of hot water is fed to the stone and the steam rising from the stove is evenly distributed in a circular motion of a broom or towel throughout the steam room. This is the creation of light steam. The fact is that steam in a steam room usually stands in layers. Above there are hotter, drier and lighter layers of air - steam, and the lower, the layers of steam become colder, more humid and heavier. And if you do not mix these layers with each other and do not create a space of steam that is uniform in temperature and humidity in the steam room, then this steam will be perceived as "heavy". It is heavy because the head will heat up, and the legs will cool down, and the whole body will be in different temperature and humidity layers, in layers of different pressures. All this will create a sense of disunity and fragmentation in the body, and will be perceived as a feeling of heaviness.

Star bridge

The traditional ancient Slavic funeral (burial) rite is called the "Star Bridge", also "Kalinov Bridge" is a bridge between the world of the living and the world of the dead, in other words - the bridge between Java and Navu, passing through which the soul of a person gets to the "next world". In the legends of the Slavic peoples, a wonderful bridge is mentioned, over which only the souls of kind, courageous, honest and fair people are able to cross. We see this bridge in our sky on clear nights, but now it is called the Milky Way. The righteous (people who lived according to the Rule, the Pra-Vedas, the Testaments of the Gods) easily pass through it and end up in Iriy the Light. Deceivers, scoundrels, rapists and murderers (meaning not the murderers of the enemies of the ROD Slavyansky, but the murderers who committed crimes out of mercenary motives and dashing intentions), evil and envious people fall from the star bridge down into the darkness and icy cold of the Lower World of Navi. Those who have done a lot of good and a lot of evil in this life are invited to undergo tests, however, they are their own for each, therefore we will not write about this.

During the funeral rite, the procession, accompanied by the lamentations of the mourners, must cross the symbolic "Kalinov Bridge", thereby leading the soul of the deceased to the border of the worlds (Yavi and Navi), after which the body of the deceased was placed on the funeral steal ("If anyone dies, I will bite him , and for the sake of my creation I steal a great "). Krada is a funeral pyre among the Slavs (the Slavic word “stealing” means sacrificial fire). The fire is laid out in the form of a rectangle, shoulder-height or higher. Domovina (coffin) is made in the form of a boat, a boat, and the bow of the "boat" is placed at the sunset. The interior of the thief is stuffed with flammable straw and twigs. The deceased is dressed in all white, covered with a white blanket, and gifts (gifts) and memorial food are placed in the house. The deceased should lie with his feet to the west. The elder, or the Magus (Priest), sets fire to the thief, stripping himself to the waist and standing with his back to the thief.

Trizna

Trizna is a funeral military rite among the ancient Slavs, which consists of: games, dances and competitions in honor of the deceased; mourning the deceased; memorial feast. Initially, the feast consisted of an extensive ritual complex of bloodless sacrifices, war games, songs, dances and groans in honor of the deceased, mourning, lamentations and a memorial feast both before and after the burning. After the adoption of Christianity in Russia for a long time, the funeral service was preserved in the form of memorial songs and a feast, and later this ancient Vedic term was replaced by the name "commemoration". During sincere prayer for the dead, in the souls of those who pray, there is always a deep feeling of unity with the KIND and the Ancestors, which directly testifies to our constant connection with them. This ceremony helps to find peace of mind for the living and the dead, contributes to their beneficial interaction and mutual assistance.

Trizna is a glorification of the NATIVE Gods, dedicated to the commemoration of the deceased kindred. This divine service affirms the eternal victory of Life over Death due to the unity of the three worlds in the Triglav of the ROD of the Most High. The word "funeral" itself is an abbreviation of the phrase: "Triglav (three worlds) to know", that is, to know about the commonality of three levels of being (Nav, Yav, Prav) and fulfill the sacred duty of maintaining communication between generations regardless of the place of residence of the Ancestors. During this ceremony, the greatness, justice and mercy of the Slavic Gods are glorified, as well as the feats and righteous deeds of the glorious Knights, Heroes and Ancestors of ours, who died defending the Motherland and the ROD Slavic. With the help of this memorial rite, the Slavs turn to the Gods with a request to protect and preserve the sacred Slavic ROD and the Russian Land - Native, as well as to give the deceased relatives, in the world of Navi, the opportunity to correct all the falsehood they did (if there was one) and get a decent life (to be reborn again ) in Java.

Harvest

The harvest is one of the main periods of the agricultural cycle. In the cycle of rituals that accompanied the harvest, its beginning (zhinki) and the end (zhinki, dozhinki, sponges) are especially distinguished.

An extensive complex of ceremonies and magical rituals was associated with the harvest period. They were not timed to a specific date, but depended on the time of ripening of cereals. Sacrificial rites (trebies) were carried out to thank the mother land for the long-awaited harvest. With the help of magical actions, the participants in the ceremony sought to restore fertility to the earth, ensuring the harvest of the next year. In addition, the ceremony had a practical meaning: the reapers needed a certain break in their work.

For the beginning of the harvest, the main thing was considered to be the correct choice of the "zazhinshitsa", the reaper, who was famous for her health, strength, dexterity, agility, "light hand"; never entrusted to a pregnant woman (popularly called "heavy"); she was forbidden even to watch as they were harvested, so that the Harvest would not be "heavy." The woman elected at the general meeting prepared with particular care for the zing: she washed the altar, benches, table in the house, covered it with a tablecloth in order to adequately accept the first handful of squeezed ears. Then she washed, put on a clean white shirt and in the evening went to the field. In order for the harvest to proceed quickly and successfully, the worker walked to the place of work at a quick pace and without stopping; when she came to the field, she threw off her outer clothing without hesitation and began to reap; after work she hurriedly returned home. Sometimes the cooking was done in secret: the woman tried to pass unnoticed to her field, and when she returned home, it became known in the village that the jam had taken place, and the next morning all the owners began to harvest.

Fraternization

The rite of blood fraternization is a very serious Vedic ritual action, fraught with a deep sacred essence and meaning. The meaning of this is the unity at the spiritual level of two warriors (as a rule) with the help of an oath of allegiance (by breaking which a person spiritually dies) and blood (which has long been revered as the bearer of a person's soul). The warriors swore not to betray for anything, to be faithful to death, and to stand for each other until the end in battle. This rite is especially necessary to strengthen the Host of the RODov and consolidate tribal ties and relations between representatives of the same people.

If two glorious husbands decide to fraternize in blood, thinking hard and then giving up and retreating without thinking, they will notify the Magus of the community or the Voevoda of their own or elder, so that he will testify both to the oath and the ritual of the word ryok. Men will stand against each other before the fire, and the Magus is next to them. And men cut off their left hands (veins), each one with one knife, red-hot in the fire, or each with his own. Blood streams are poured into a bowl of hops and mixed into a single drink, and the wounds are brought to one another firmly. Then the Magus performing the rite begins his utterance. After that, the Magus gives a cup to drink in half to each brother of the spoken, after which the blood brothers must hug tightly, thereby cementing their blood brotherhood.

Burial of flies

In traditional Russian culture, the burial rite of flies and cockroaches is also known; the fly is a participant in the autumn ceremonies of the calendar cycle. The funeral rite and fly-out are especially interesting. This ceremony attracted the attention of researchers back in the 19th century. The writer and ethnographer S.V. Maximov described the custom of burying flies in the north of Russia (in the eastern regions of the Vologda Oblast). This custom was called "amusing". The ethnographic material recorded by Maximov looks like this: “The funeral is arranged by girls, for which they cut small coffins from turnips, rutabagas or carrots. At the same time, during the removal, someone should drive the flies out of the hut with a "handkerchief" or a towel and say: "Fly on a fly, fly to bury the flies" or "Flies, you are flies, mosquitoes friends, it's time to die. Eat a fly, but the last one to eat yourself. "Maksimov notes that the details of the ceremony are the same everywhere, however," in some places, instead of a handkerchief, it is advised to expel flies with trousers, in full confidence that this remedy is immeasurably more effective, because a fly driven out by pants forever loses the desire to return to the hut again. "Maksimov also writes that" the custom of burying flies, cockroaches and bedbugs is practiced not only on Semyonov Day, but also on the Autumn Serpentine (Exaltation), and on Pokrov, and some other holidays. "The meaning of the rite was not only in the destruction and expelling of insects from peasant huts, but also in the fact that during the" fly funeral "the girls arranged a bridegroom, trying to show their dignity in front of the audience gathered to watch the ceremony, especially the guys who they were looking out for brides, as the autumn wedding time was approaching;

Living fire

Not one Slavic rite and holiday is complete without fire, or rather, without lighting sacred fires and stealing. Often, these bonfires are kindled with the help of all kinds of obscenities like lighters and gasoline, as well as oil and matches. All this is of course good, but you can set fire to theft in another way - with Living Fire. The meaning of this rite is to kindle a fire, create it with your own hands, feel unity with this great element and the God of Fire - Simargl, as well as our Ancestors-Ancestors. However, you can feel the difference between the fire lit with matches and the fire lit with your own hands.

As a child, probably, everyone noticed that when iron hits a stone, sparks fall, and this very method is used in today's lighters. The most suitable stone for producing sparks is flint. It is easy to get it, since stones are not uncommon these days. You can find flint on a country road or in a quarry, or simply buy it in a store. You will also need a chair, which can also be purchased, for example, from reenactors. It is a piece of iron, with which it is beaten on flint in order to strike sparks. This piece of iron, if necessary (if it is of an uncomfortable shape), can be fastened to a handle, for example, with a piece of high-quality steel, a fragment from a file, etc. However, for this you may need a blacksmith. Now try knocking on the flint with a chisel. Flint must be taken in hand and placed on some surface. Since we will have to make a fire in the forest, then we will put it on the ground. We take the armchair with the other hand and try to hit the flint, and we should hit it casually. Flint will start throwing sparks ... This is, in fact, in such an uncomplicated way that our Ancestors-Ancestors mined the Living Fire.

Consecration

Protective consecration should be carried out only on light holidays, when the rage of the Gods prevails on the earth, in the daytime, at the end of the rite, if only the consecration itself was not planned during the rite. The consecration of private amulets can be carried out at any rituals and on any good day for that, as well as on holidays. This action must be performed in front of the churas (caps) of the Gods on a temple (sanctuary), God's stone, a holy tree or a source, in front of a large or small fire, or turning to the rising of the Red Sun. All that is one holy is. The purchased amulet is collected in a towel and placed on the ground in front of oneself or the required stone is laid, while the pink is taken from the owner from the hand to the hand and placed on a stone, altar, shield, towel, or anything else, except on the ground. With all this, to consecrate other things that they wish to give strength to - weapons, adornments and all kinds of utensils. And if there is a basis for that, then they circle a towel with a guard with a holy knife, closing it in a spike. In the same way, the cleansing of the amulet with five articles, on which the light is white, initially stands, must be accomplished. And those articles: water, which reveals the power of Veles; earth (or grain) - the power of Lada-Mother; fire - Svarogov support; iron (knife or ax blade) - Perun vlada; air - Stribozhya rage (and others rekut that se is a silushka Yazhe-Serpent, Lord of the Underground).

Parting

The rite of farewell to the Chur is carried out by the Magi in the event of an insult to the Chur, if it is badly damaged and cannot be restored - it is badly burned, hacked or cut down. Also in some other cases, when for some reason it has become unusable. If the damage can be repaired, then they are eliminated, but this rite is not performed. In part, this rite was borrowed by Orthodox Christianity in relation to decayed or burnt icons. A special and rare case is a lightning strike. Such injuries (even strong ones) are not in any way corrected, but are considered as a special blessing of the Gods (in particular, Perun), making the chura a true shrine. However, if, as a result of a lightning strike, the face of the chur is completely damaged (that is, it is actually absent), then a fiery burial of the chur (but not God, whose image he was) should be performed. Also, if lightning knocked down the chura or split it in such a way that the part with the face broke off and fell to the ground. The farewell ceremony for Chur is held solemnly, but not festively and without the participation of guests.

Fortune telling

In a general sense, fortune-telling was understood as a set of ritually arranged actions aimed at finding out the future, to clarify how beneficial life-giving and deadening forces relate to a person and his life path. Magic actions and fortune-telling were an integral and natural part of the life of our Slavic ancestors. In understanding the action of fortune-telling, several main stages can be distinguished: from veneration of faceless "living" forces to personification and deification. Initially, people revered the very elements and forces of nature: the sun, rain, wind, trees, stones ... The Slavs always treated their ancestors with the same respect. If necessary, they turned for help and support to the elements and ancestors, as well as to the patrons of the heavenly, earthly and underworld. Then more specific characters appeared, embodying the elements of the universe, calendar dates, "works and days" of a person, his fate, mental state, diseases: Avsen, Maslenitsa, Brownie, Bannik, Polevik, Dolya, Fever and others.

The purpose of most fortune-telling was the desire to get answers to questions about the life, health, death of family members, about the weather, harvest, offspring of livestock, bird breeding, honey bees, about wealth and poverty, about the fate of absent relatives; about the causes and outcome of the disease, about whether the purchased cattle will take root, about where and when to build a new house, etc. However, the most widespread and diverse group can be recognized as a group of fortune-telling about future marriage and marriage, performed mainly by girls. When guessing about marriage and marriage, they tried to find out the name of the future spouse, his appearance, age, character, skills and financial situation, who will have primacy in the family, how many children there will be, what gender and what fate, which spouse will live longer, etc. NS.

Treba

Treba is a gift of grateful descendants to their Higher Parents, in other words - a bloodless sacrifice to the KINGDOM Gods. The World is united by demand. I must bring the demand, Cleansing my heart from all that is superfluous - not in anger, not in rage, not blinded by an empty pendant. Anyone who brings demands to the Gods only to achieve some worldly goals dooms his soul to oblivion, in May arriving blasphemy to the Native Gods. For the Gods are our parents above and give us everything that we really need, and begging for unnecessary trinkets (for example, money) from them is to offend them, and to fall face down in the mud. Therefore, it must be brought with a pure heart and with good intentions - Glorifying the Gods for their generous gifts. I must say that when we bring demand to the Gods, we not only thank Gods NATURAL with gifts, we don’t bring a piece of ourselves together with these gifts, burning everything that has become obsolete in Fire in order to unite with the Power of God. Because you cannot receive anything without giving something. This is the essence of treba (sacrifice).

Know people who say that certain requirements for certain Gods are brought at a special time, at special places. Each God has his own time, in which his power is most fully manifested in Revelation, and at this time he must praise this God and bring demands. For the Light Gods, treasures are performed in the daytime and in Kologoda (in spring and summer), for the Navi Gods - at night or at dusk, in winter and autumn. To the Light Gods, bringing the treasures, the movement is made by salting (along the Sun, clockwise), to the Naval gods - anti-salting (against the Sun, counterclockwise).