#rodnovery

Now, we can get to the subject.

The first and foremost part of Rodnovery, is that there are a lot less sources than about Hellenism for example. That is due to the lack of literal ability to write for Slavs at the time. It is also important to note that Slavs didn't have a centralised religion. No temples, no priests, small tribes scattered all around eastern europe.

That means an important difference with hellenism — Slavs didn't have a pantheon. Now, for better understanding l might still use that word, but it's important to note anyway. The reason was simple, because there was no country, no temples, no authorised people of religion(priests/etc).

Even more so, that IS why in 988 the king of the biggest slavic kingdom at the time, decided to convert the kingdom to Christianity. The kingdom was simply divided by different tribes worshipping different gods.

The next part is — The common beliefs.

So, the difference that I find fascinating, is that Slavs were very close to nature. Like, incredibly so. If Hellenism is built on centralised worship of gods, in slavic folklore the gods are a rare occurrence. The everyday worship of Slavs was dedicated to the Spirits or as we know from Hellenism — Daemons.

The world in the eyes of Slavs was similar to Norse beliefs — a big oak tree, the green crown of it the clouds, on top of which there was Prav’(or Pravia), the Kingdom of gods. Lower on earth there was Yav’(or Yavia), a home for humans, and in the roots there was the Underworld — Nav’(or Navia) with Veles, the god of death, usually shown as a serpent.

Next let's start with Gods.

Now, as I said there are different places, with different gods, but there were ones that were mentioned almost everywhere.

Svarog — The primary god. Connected to fire, steel, equivalent to Hephaestus, but in the place where Kronos would be.

Perun — The king of the gods, very similar to Zeus. The interesting thing is that in Ukraine and other more southern slavic countries, Perun was very similar to Zeus, the primary god, with lightning and thunder as the main domain, but also law, order, war, and other. BUT in the northern parts of slavic countries straight to the Balcans, Perun becomes more like Thor, losing his primary place.

Veles — Some say he's Perun’s brother, some say just his enemy. The god of the Underworld, Cattle, wild animals, and a ton more. He is said to fight Perun constantly in the eternal battle of Order and Chaos.

Mokosh’ — The wife of Perun, the queen of Prav’. She is the goddess of fertility, motherhood, summer and harvest. The mother of Yarilo and Morana(Marzanna).

Yarilo — A male equivalent of Persephone. He is the god of life, fertility and spring. As the god of life, he never had sacrifices that included death. Was kidnapped by Veles as a child, and some myths say Perun fought Veles to get his son back. Yarilo is a reborn god. He dies when the winter starts and reborns every spring.

Marzanna(Morana) — The goddess of winter, frost. Sometimes also is considered as a goddess of Death, probably because at the time every winter took a lot of lives. Some sources state that she's married to her brother Yarilo. Marzanna is also a reborn deity, dying every spring and reborning every autumn.

Of course, technically, there are a lot more gods. Those who I listed were the ones who I saw in a lot of different sources. I will definitely make a part about all of the ones that I could find.

AND NOW we get to the most important part of the Rodnovery worship — The Spirits.

The Spirits were usually portrayed as mythical creatures and folk characters. I won't go too much into details, cause it will be too much, and I might also make another part on them.

The Spirits were the most important part of the worship. Even though gods had idol statues and were celebrated on their festivals, the everyday offerings/prayers were dedicated specifically to spirits.

That was due to spirits looking over the larger part of human life. In every house there was a Domovik.

It was a mischievous creature, portrayed close to a gnome. It was believed that Domovik could burn your house, if you won't please him, so people left milk in an offering to him every evening, so that he'll take care of the house.

Leshy — The spirit of the forest. It was believed that if you would upset him, he'll make you get lost, and if you please him, he'll guide you out.

Mavkas/Rusalkas — The spirits of water. They lived in seas, rivers and lakes. They had a lot of different sources. Some say they would feign drowning and that's how they drown people, some say they come out of the water and chase you to the forest where they would tickle you to death.(The second one I am very familiar with as a Ukrainian.)