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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in Slavic Paganism

Posted by on in Culture Blogs

Baba Yaga's Lawn

You can tell which house is Baba Yagá's by the lawn. The grass around it grows so thick, so lush, and so green that (I swear) you could pasture a cow on it.

It also, I swear, grows faster than that of any other house on the block.

I should know. I'm the one that mows it.

 

(You've heard of Vasilissa the beautiful, right: the one who does housework for Baba Yaga?

Well, I'm Steven the grounds-keeper. I do yardwork for Baba Yaga.)

 

Calamities

In her shrine in Pig's Eye, MN (a.k.a. “St” Paul), Baba Yaga—the fearsome old forest-witch of Russian folklore—has been receiving prayers and offerings for more than 30 years now.

Say what you will about Old Boney Legs, she's anything but antisocial. In fact, she shares her shrine with the ancestors, the Sun, and the Moon.

Also with Poverty, Famine, Disease, and Death. Really: they've got altars and everything.

 

In the Yard of Baba Yaga

It's not just grass that grows richly in Baba Yaga's yard.

Now, in May, the dandelions are numerous and huge, practically the size of peonies. The nettles here sting worse than anywhere else. They also make a delicious soup.

Talking with the resident priest before I begin my tour of grounds-keeping, I shake my head.

“Whatever you're doing,” I tell him, “it sure does seem to be working.”

He grins.

"It can be dangerous, being on Baba Yaga's good side," he says.

 

Apotropaics

It's a very Slavic way to see things, though of course Slavs aren't the only ones to think apotropaically.

Apo-tropaic: literally, “turning away, averting.”

Keep the dangerous ones happy, and maybe they'll leave you alone.

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Posted by on in Paths Blogs

Some Slavic pagan reconstructionist groups have a special day for the Dark God on Leap Year Day. This day may be for Koschei, Chernobog, or the Dark Face of Veles.

Leap years are years that have an extra day, and they happen every 4 years, in our current calendar system. The extra day is February 29th, and some cultures have holidays for Leap Year's Day. One of those is the reconstructed pagan religion, Ukrainian Ridnoveri, and other Slavic pagan groups. But they use the Slavic calendar, which is the same as the Orthodox calendar in use in Slavic countries, based on the old Julian calendar, rather than the Gregorian calendar in use in Western countries. Slavic February 29th is not the on same day as our February 29th in the English speaking world. 

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Posted by on in Paths Blogs
Summertime Ukrainian Ridnoveri Holidays

If you have recently contacted the Slavic gods and are looking to deepen your connection to them, here is a list of holidays observed by some Ridnoveri groups and individuals. Ridnoveri is a modern Ukrainian pagan path. Other Slavic peoples have their own paths, which share many gods and characteristics but don't always have the same holidays.

Some of these holidays have a Christian history and some Ridnoveri pagans are Christopagan. I have done the math to translate these from the Julian calendar, traditionally used by Orthodox Christians in Slavic countries and also by Slavic pagans, to the Gregorian calendar generally used in English speaking countries.

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Posted by on in Paths Blogs

As recently reported in the Wild Hunt, it appears that a Ukrainian news agency reported that Ukrainian witches are planning a ritual against Putin. The Wild Hunt indicates this article may be propaganda by Russia, since it was picked up by Russian state controlled media after the Ukrainian article ran.

link to Wild Hunt article: https://wildhunt.org/2022/03/pagan-community-notes-week-of-march-28-2022.html

link to Ukrainian article: https://www.unian.net/society/ukrainskie-vedmy-provedut-31-marta-ritual-na-otstranenie-ot-vlasti-putina-novosti-ukrainy-11756578.html

I make no claims for whether this really originated from Ukrainian witches. I don't have the kind of intelligence assets that would allow me to make that determination. The article itself indicates the ritual is being done by both Ukrainian witches and foreign allies, but only includes ritual instructions for second part of the ritual, the part that is not a curse but is instead meant to be supportive of the fighting forces in Ukraine. Curiously, the gods called upon in the instructions include Heathen (Norse / Asatru) gods in addition to a Slavic god. War is inherently violent, so even though the second part of the ritual is not a curse but appears to be positive magic, it is still in support of violence, so don't participate if you are not comfortable with that.

This article calls for a 3 part ritual, with each part to be performed at a different time. The first part was in March and has been done. April's ritual is in support of Ukraine's armed forces.

This ritual calls for these words: "На победу нашего великого народа, на удачу, успех и открытие дорог! И пусть все боги войны - Один, Тор, Перун - сопутствуют нам!" Roughly translated, this means "For the victory of our great people, for good luck and to open the way! I call on the gods of war, Odin, Thor, and Perun, to help us!"

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Erin Lale
    Erin Lale says #
    Latest war magic news: Ukrainian video evokes an Old God (tw: graphic) https://twitter.com/pilotmsv/status/1513131559834079234 a
  • Erin Lale
    Erin Lale says #
    Anthony, great ritual! Great use of checking with the pendulum too.
  • Anthony Gresham
    Anthony Gresham says #
    After the invasion I felt an impulse to do magic in support of Ukraine. In the morning before breakfast I light a candle and say:

Posted by on in Paths Blogs
Upcoming Ukrainian Ridnoveri Holidays

If you've recently initiated contact with the Slavic gods and are wondering what to do next, here are some upcoming holidays you might want to research and explore. These are Ridnoveri holidays, which is a modern Ukrainian pagan path. Other Slavic peoples have some of the same holidays and some different ones. There are cultural and linguistic differences between the various Slavic peoples and their varieties of paganism but their gods are recognizably named the same names and most pagans consider the various versions of a same name god to be the same god, just like with the heathen Germanic and Scandinavian gods. That is, all versions of Mokosh are Mokosh, just like all versions of Odin are Odin, even if spelled slightly differently (Wotan, Odhinn, Mr. Wednesday, etc.)

The Slavic gods are busy right now so if you are going to pursue your new relationships, just honor them, don't ask for anything unless you're Ukrainian yourself.

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs

 File:Put ratnika by Andrey Shishkin.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

In Andrei Shishkin's neo-Romantic painting Put' Ratnika, “The Way of the Warrior,” a youthful blonde soldier in camo fatigues, with backpack and a machine gun slung over his shoulder, stands on the edge of a stone circle gazing—respectfully, one gathers, to judge from his removed helmet—upon the statue-menhir of an ancient Slavic god.

The god is himself a warrior, with helm and sword. Before him burns a sacrificial fire; behind him, a cloudy army rides across the sky.

 

As Mariya Lesiv describes in her 2013 book The Return of Ancestral Gods, contemporary paganism in post-Soviet Russia and Ukraine tends to be characterized by both a profound social conservatism and a pronounced nationalistic character. In the ongoing Russian-backed war in Donbas—the two break-away provinces in south-eastern Ukraine where fighting has continued since 2014—there has been a noteworthy pagan presence on both sides of the conflict, including one all-pagan battalion named for Svarog, the ancient pan-Slavic god of Fire. To judge from the kolovrat patch on his shoulder, Shishkin's soldier may be a member of one such. Perhaps we are to understand that it is he who has lit the sacrificial fire.

If Russian President Vladimir Putin goes through with his proposed invasion and annexation of Ukraine, we can be sure that there will be pagans fighting among both the invading and the defending forces.

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Posted by on in Paths Blogs

These holiday dates are drawn from various Slavic traditions. Some are reconstructed holidays from reconstructionist pagan traditions. Some are continuously celebrated in their countries of origin. Many of the holidays that have been continuously celebrated down to the modern day are also celebrated by Christians. 

 October

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