The Zorya

*The room is silent save for the picking of food and the ticking of the clock. Marika sits at the head of the table, eye bloodshot and heavilly bagged as she waits, WAITS, for something to happen*

Radagon: ...So... Radahn... how's you latest campaign going?

Radahn: ...Where's Godfrey? I was told Godfrey would be here.

Radagon, putting his head in his hands: Son, I'm trying here.

Rykard: Sorry, dad, I don't think he can hear you over the sound of the fucking divorce papers.

Zoryas, a baby at the moment: Bleh! *clangs spoon against bowlk, wanting more pudding*

Rykard: One moment-

*Ranni takes the opportunity to scoop up baby Zoryas and cuddles her. Zoryas yawns and goes to sleep in Ranni's arms*

Tanith: How are you better at that than me, sister-in-law?

Ranni, look Radagon dead in the eye: MY mother showed me how. She's a good mother

Leonard, the horse, next to Radahn: Neigh!

Radahn: Good point, well made Leonard!

Miquella, at the kids table int he corner: Guys, can we please come to the main table? This plastic chair is hurting my ass.

Malenia, sitting with him in a chair that's comically too small: My legs are getting cramped.

Radahn: OBEY MY RESTRAINING ORDER YOU LITTLE CREEP!

Mohg, from his seat: MINE TOO!

Miquella: I SAID I WAS SORRY!

Messmer: THIS IS THE FAMILY YOU ABANDONED ME FOR, MOTHER?!'

Marika, her concentration finally breaking: I ABANDON A LOT OF FAMILY MEMBERS, MESSMER! YOU AREN'T SPECIAL

Godwyn, as the fight continues: One dinner. I'd like one dinner-

Melina: It's a fools hope, brother.

Morgott: ...Where is father, though?

Melina: I think he said something about catching the main course-

*the doors burst open. Godfrey, bare chested, carries two giant goats over either shoulder. Nepheli is beside him, also carrying a goat*

Godfrey: WE BRING THE MAIN COURSE!

Nepheli: FRESHLY SUPLEXED THIS MORNING!

Radahn: WOOOOOO!

@hynpos myth challenge day 10: favorite Slavic deity pair/group

The Zorya

#i feel like zorya polunochnaya said zorya diff from the rest n now im confused#zorya#old gods#103

Erika Kaar is Polish, so trust her pronunciation. In Russian, it’s two syllables - Заря - Zar-ya.

Ian McShane, Cloris Leachman, and Peter Stormare all went with “Zor-i-yah” - surprised no one was there to set them straight. 

I suppose this is a group of traditions that are still very much developing, particularly having started in rather ideologically charged conditions.

There is, of course, Lada - who I will not call inaccurate to venerate, but it personally feels like an image constructed because it felt like Slavs need an "Aphrodite" more so than due to genuine references. This is of course an entirely separate subject from whether one connects with a genuine divinity in this way; for example, many demonic figures in ceremonial traditions came from a misunderstanding of a name or a figure, this does not mean that demonolatry is not real. Likewise, local goddesses can still appear very clearly as Mary. This is not new.

That said, it often seems like Zoryas are overlooked in that department, and they definitely deserve to be seen as goddesses of love, beauty, and vitality. They also have other governances, depending on one's tradition, of course, like their connection to the cycles of nature or deep wisdom (I myself do not include the doomsday hound myth as incongruent with my theology). I suppose, despite the evidence in a lot of traditional spellwork, it may be a little difficult to conceptualize a Mistress of Love in this expanded function.

Now, this is SPG - I was lucky to learn that it is an opinion actually shared by fellow believers, - but I consider Zorya, particularly in her Morning Star image, to be a continuation or kin to the Scythian Artimpasa, understood by the Greeks as Aphrodite Ourania, and also Zhyva. She is deeply tied to the ocean waters, in particular the image of the sun rising above the sea, and is described in some cases as inhabiting a distant sea island. She is called on for love, beauty (in case anyone thought beauty magic is a vain new invention), and physical and spiritual healing. It would be amiss to not also mention her connection with the sun and therefore fire in the Slavic tradition. As related to the sun, she is innately a being of prosperity and nature in its full opulence. This also links her to fire - and love incantations often opt specifically for fire imagery.