Mythical creatures (40 photos). Creatures in Slavic mythology Ears and eyes in Slavic mythology

Eye makeup “The eyes are the mirror of the soul”, so it is natural that special attention has always been paid to their design. Eye makeup includes makeup not only for the eyelids and eyelashes, but also for the eyebrows. First, if necessary, tint the eyebrows with a contour pencil or

Gymnastics for the eyes 1. With eye fatigue, such an exercise relieves stress well: from time to time you need to carefully peer at some point in the distance (it is advisable to look at green color), then quickly look at an object nearby.

Eye A very long time ago, the word eye in Russian meant simply a ball or a round stone. But to designate the eye, then the word eye was used, which still lives in poetic speech, as well as in proverbs and sayings. Today the word eye has lost its original

The Slavic epic has big number UNDEAD - everything that does not live as a person, that lives without a soul, but in the form of a person.

undead- a special category of spirits, these are not aliens from that world, not the dead, not ghosts, not trouble and not devilry, not the Devil, only the Water One forms some kind of transition to evil spirits and is often called both a jester and Satan. The undead neither live nor die. The healer knows the Undead. There is a belief that the undead do not have their own appearance, they walk in disguises. All Undead are speechless.

Spirits - the guardians of the ancient Slavs were called BEREGINI. Protected the house, well-being various places and types of nature. The word "Bereginya" comes from the concepts of protecting, helping the wanderer, sailing, in distress - to get to the shore.

Auka
THIS IS THE SPIRIT of the forest, which, unlike other undead, does not sleep either in winter or in summer. Auka himself is small, pot-bellied, with puffy cheeks. He lives in a hut caulked with golden moss, water all year round from melted ice, pomelo - a bear's paw. In winter, he has a special expanse when the goblin sleeps! He loves to fool a person in a winter forest, to respond immediately from all sides. Togo and look will lead into the wilderness or windbreak. He inspires hope for salvation, and he leads until the person gets tired and falls into a sweet frosty sleep, forgetting everything.

Borovichki- little old men, an inch in two, the owners of mushrooms - milk mushrooms, mushrooms; live under them.

DOMOVOI- in East Slavic mythology, a demonological character, the spirit of the house. He was presented as a person, often on the same face as the owner of the house, or as a small old man with a face overgrown with white hair, and the like. It is closely connected with ideas about beneficent ancestors, well-being in the house.
From his attitude, benevolent or hostile, the health of the cattle depended. Some ceremonies related to DOMOVO could previously be associated with the “cattle god” Veles, and with the disappearance of his cult, they were transferred to DOMOVO. An indirect argument in favor of this assumption is the belief that a married woman who “shone her hair” (showing her hair to a stranger) aroused the wrath of the DOMOVOI - cf. Data on the connection of Veles (Volos) with beliefs about hair.
When moving to new house it was necessary to perform a special ritual in order to persuade the DOMOVOI to move with the owners, who would otherwise be in danger. There were two types of HOUSEHOLDS - a homemaker (cf. the mention of a demon-horseman in the medieval “Word of St. Basil”), who lived in a house, usually in the corner behind the stove, where it was necessary to throw garbage so that “HOUSEHOLDS do not run out” (also called dobrozhil, well-wisher, breadwinner, neighbor, owner, grandfather), and a courtyard, often torturing animals (DOMOVOI in general often approached evil spirits). According to popular beliefs, D. could turn into a cat, dog, cow, sometimes into a snake, rat or frog. According to Belarusian According to popular beliefs, DOMOVOI appears from an egg laid by a rooster, which must be carried under the arm on the left side for six months: then a serpent hatches - DOMOVOI (cf. Fire Serpent, Basilisk). HOUSEHOLDS could be people who died without communion. Sacrifices for the DOMOVOMU (some food, etc.) were brought to the barn where he could live.
Sometimes it was believed that DOMOVOI had a family - a wife (domakha, domovichiha, bolshukha) and children. By analogy with the names of the female spirit of the house (maruha, kikimora), it is assumed that the oldest name for DOMOVO could be Mara. Similar beliefs about the spirits of the house existed among the Western Slavs and many other peoples.

The practice of communication: Brownie in itself is not a sociable creature, but there are many cases when He was the first to speak to a person. His voice is not very intelligible - quiet and rustling - but you can make out some words. Most often, brownies speak at night when they want to predict something to the owners. Hear the voice - don't be afraid. If you get scared, the brownie will be offended and will never speak to you again. It is better to pull yourself together and ask him about everything in detail. There are many rules and will take on communicating with brownies. Eg:

Brownie cries - expect trouble, laughs - fortunately;

It happens that in the middle of the night a brownie will lay down on a sleeping person’s chest or begin to choke, so you can’t breathe. There is nothing to be afraid of - the brownie will never strangle to death. And waking up from heaviness in the chest, one should ask: "For worse or for good?" If it’s good, the brownie will stroke his palm. If for worse, he will knock, pinch or pull his hair. True, there were cases when he answered directly;

The brownie feels the approach of damage in advance. If, for example, an unkind person with black thoughts came to visit you, bringing with him a pile of blackness, envy, then the brownie begins to worry. If the owner of the apartment does not hear the whispers of the brownie, then the latter will do anything to attract attention. An unkind guest can break out of the hands of a mug and break, spill something on the tablecloth. Sometimes the dishes break at the owner himself - this is also a warning;

In order to be friends with the brownie, it is customary to treat him: on the first day of each month, in a place inaccessible to your pets, ideally - under the battery or on the refrigerator, away from human eyes, put a plate of treats. Brownie porridge is removed the next day and often fed to street animals, and sweets are kept until the next day. It is also customary to treat well-wishers with wine (do not offer vodka) and bread crust every time at family holidays. At the same time, it is necessary to say: "The owner-father, sir brownie, love me and, perhaps, accept my treat." Everyone clinks glasses with a glass of brownie;

If the brownie began to play pranks without a goal, he should be scolded: "Such an adult grandfather and you are playing pranks. Ay-yai-yai!";

If the brownie dislikes your cat or dog, then be sure - your pet will not last long in the house - how to drink the brownie will exhaust the indecent animal;

Pay attention, sometimes your fluffy pet suddenly topples over on its back and starts waving its paws in the air. It is her brownie tickling. Sometimes a cat, while licking itself, will wake up and stare into the void, and looks as if following someone with a look. This invisible traveler is the brownie;

He helps to find the missing things. To do this, you just need to ask him about it: "Owner-priest, help, tell me where this and that lies ...". Or: stand in the corner of the room and turn to the brownie: "Brownie, brownie, play and give." Search each room separately;

Domovoi do not enter the bathroom at all. And in the countryside, completely different creatures live in the baths - banniki. Due to constant communication with the blackness, banniks become evil and dangerous. You spend a little time in the bath, longer than necessary, and instead of pleasant freshness, you feel empty and powerless;

Old beads, jewelry, shiny buttons, old coins. Put all this in a beautiful box without a lid and tell the brownie that this is a gift for him, and put it in a secret place. No one should touch the box and its contents. The box can be sewn from postcards, glued together or taken ready-made and dressed up with all sorts of shiny pieces of paper, rain. Give money to your home. Usually it is five kopecks in one coin. It is placed in a hard-to-reach place in the house, often left between cracks in the floor. At this time they say: "Grandfather brownie! Here's some money for boots and seeds. I give it from my heart, I give it to you!";

When they built a new house, they always put a coin in the basement, or even four (in the corners) for the brownie;

Leaving the old apartment, say on the threshold: "My master, come with me!" or at night, the host should invite him, setting him a treat - a slice of bread with salt and a cup of milk. They say: "Father, my master, my good brownie. I will give you new mansions, bright chambers. Come with me, there will be no happiness without you." They carry the brownie in a bag, where he is politely asked to climb. An ember or an awl, which should be put in a bag, becomes the material embodiment of the brownie. The brownie will not go with you without an invitation. And stay alone and abandoned. And with your brownie, well-being in a new place is guaranteed to you. He can appear in real life in the form of a cat, therefore, when moving to a new place of residence, this animal is the first to be let in, saying: "Here you are, master, a shaggy beast for rich housing." If there is a stove in the house, she should bow 9 times, then bring the cat to the stove with the words: "Here you are, the owner, a shaggy beast for rich housing." Then make a pie. Knead the dough: 800 g flour, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons sugar, 200 g butter, 2 pinches of salt. Bake a bun. Do not touch the product for three days. After the specified period in the evening, set the table for the whole family, put an extra appliance and a glass. The elder in the house pours wine, cuts the bun. He divides one half for everyone, and puts the other half with a glass on the table with the words: "Father brownie, love me, protect and take care of my goodness, accept my treat and drink wine from a full cup." If after a day the wine is drunk, then add it again, saying the same words, if not, then ask the brownie to accept the treat in your own words 9 times. Perform the ritual every first day of the month;

It is very important to greet and say goodbye to the brownie, respectfully calling him "master". Sometimes the brownie can even reveal his name to you - a sign of boundless trust on his part;

A way of reconciliation with the brownie: bread and salt are placed on the place you have chosen for the brownie and a cup of milk is placed with the words: “Neighbor-home-neighbor, a slave is coming to you, carrying his head low; them friendship, but do an easy service. Here is a warm place for you and a small treat. " After a day, remove the treat;

If, having bought a house in a new building, you moved there from your parents (or in other cases when it is not possible to take the brownie with you), you can attract the brownie in the following way: at midnight (if you wear a cross, hang it on your back) put a glass on the table milk and a loaf of bread and say three times: "My master, come to my house, be always with me, here is your home. Batiushka, breadwinner, come to my new house to eat bread here, drink milk, and we will not know sorrow and grief "leave the treat on the table for 3 days, and then, as a sign of love and respect, finish your bread and drink the milk left on the table. It’s a completely natural question - does a brownie live with you - you can easily resolve it, paying attention to how subtly the situation in the house has changed, how light and comfortable it has become, how longing is gradually passing. After that, thank him by putting a treat. There is another way: on the new moon, when you begin to have dinner, put two saucers with treats - pour a little milk into one and determine it under the stove or at the stove oven with the words: "Eat, drink, grandfather, as much as you want, and live with me ". In the second saucer, put a little of what you have on the table. When you begin to bet, you need to say: "Eat, eat, grandfather, as much as you want, and live with me." if you speak sincerely, then the brownie will certainly appear and drive out all kinds of evil spirits and remain with you;

Domovoy also has special holidays. One of them is February 7, the day of Ephraim the Syrian, the "name day of the brownie", when the brownie was "fed", they left him food (porridge on the bridle) with a request to take care of the cattle. On April 12, on the day of John of the Ladder, the brownie celebrated the onset of spring. According to the peasants, on this day he was furious, threw off his skin, rolled under the feet of the owners, broke dishes, etc. The peasants of the Novgorod province believed that the brownie was furious before Peter's Day.

In the Tobolsk province they said that "in November, with a brownie as with a family: either appease or expel"; in some regions of Russia, the brownie was "pleased" on Mikhailov's day. On November 1 (on the day of Kuzma and Demyan) the brownie "was driven with a broom and marked with a broom so that he would not ruin the yard and kill the animals."
<Ермолов, 1901>

To see a brownie in the form of a still living person - to the death of this person, "the very phenomenon is, they say, from the other world" (Yaroslav). Brownie - the ancestor of the clan, doomed to work as a farmhand living in the house and each time taking the form of the last deceased in the family (Tamb.)

Before the death of the owner, the brownie sits in his place and works his work
<Даль, 1880(1)>

In numerous stories, it becomes a cause or a harbinger of inconvenience, trouble. He is naughty, harming in the hut (stomping, screaming, throwing bricks, scattering dishes, etc.) or unreasonably surviving the owners from the house (in this case it is better to leave - Tom.); brownie "likes to be self-willed" (Orl.). “If at night something taps in the attic, then they think that the undead were brought into the house. This also means that the brownie kicks the tenant out of the house, that there is no more fat. When there are a lot of rats and mice in the house, the tenant does not get along for a long time in it. This also means that the creature let loose by the brownie survives the residents "(Arch., Murm.)
<Ефименко, 1877>

If you are unable to negotiate with the brownie, take a broom and, saying: "I'm sweeping you, a stranger, a harmful brownie, I'm kicking you out" - mark the floors, looking into every corner with a broom. And so every day, except Friday, all week. I want to warn you, it's worth trying all the methods of influencing it, indicated here. And scold, and scold, and caress, and only if nothing comes of it, and he is really very angry, then kick him out, but remember, life is bad without a brownie.

In the end, it is worth adding that there is an opinion that after talking with a brownie, you can become numb or remain a stutterer for life.

wild men
These are creatures of small stature with a huge long beard and tail, akin to goblin. They roam the forest, calling to one another in the dead of midnight with terrible voices, attacking people, tickling them with laughter all over their bodies with bone fingers until they die

Sinister, sinister - in East Slavic mythology, evil spirits, small creatures that, having settled behind the stove (like a brownie), remain invisible and bring misfortune to the house. Ukrainian and Belarusian proverbs and sayings mention EVIL in the context usual for ancient mythological characters: Ukrainian: “Bodai you were beaten by zlidni!” - a wish for misfortune, “to hell” - to hell.
Sinisters have vaguely rounded outlines, either they are invisible little old men - beggars, or they look like an old, angry and nasty woman. A person who has EVIL in his house will never get out of poverty. Usually there are twelve; the Sinisters live behind the stove or under it, the Sinisters, like their master, live very badly. It is possible to get rid of the SPIDERS by deceit: put them in a snuff box, and when the SPIDERS running after the owner ask him to sniff the tobacco, bury them; plant them in a barrel so that they have more room, and take them out to an open field, etc. Having got rid of the EVIL, a person quickly grows rich, and the one who moved into the house where the EVIL live sinks into poverty. If someone, out of pity for the SPIDERS or out of envy for the rich, frees the SPIDERS from imprisonment, they will attack him, cling to him and will not leave him alone, cf. Ukrainian proverb: “Sinisters asked for three days, tai vignati is not possible.”
In order not to bring EVIL into the house, you cannot sweep with a broom from the threshold, and if you sweep the floor to the threshold, you can sweep the EVIL from the hut. Sinister can be killed with a stake (as well as other evil spirits), after which they should be thrown into the bog and plugged into the Sinister stake, but if the stake is pulled out, the Sinister will come to life again. Sinisters are often mentioned in curses: “Nay go Sinister!” etc.

Ice cold(Laying) - A SPIRIT of straw, all swollen from sleep, with straw in its head.
No one has ever seen him, only you can hear him yawning.
Many unclean people sleep in the winter, but the ice-cold one in this business was the ringleader. No one can wake him up, except for Mother Spring. He always wakes up dissatisfied and, awake in the summer, looks forward to the end of summer, so that again he can fall asleep soundly and sweetly in a pile of fresh straw.
If in the summer someone hears sighs and yawns, and there is no living creature nearby, it is an icy

Leshy, forest man, leshak, fox, boletus - in East Slavic mythology an evil spirit (K: Why do they see EVIL spirits everywhere?), The embodiment of the forest as a part of space hostile to man. LESHIY - the owner of the forest and animals, he is represented dressed in an animal skin, sometimes with animal attributes - horns, hooves; LESHY can change his height - become lower than the grass or higher than the trees; drives herds of animals from one forest to another; connection with wolves unites him with St. George - Yuri, the wolf shepherd Yegoriy of Russian spiritual traditions. Endowed with negative attributes, a connection with the left (a sign of evil spirits), his left side of his clothes is wrapped around his right, his left bast shoe is put on his right foot, etc. (cf. a similar motif in connection with the Slavic waterman, etc.). In the bylichki, LESHY is a cursed person or a mortgaged (malicious) dead person.
LESHIY can scare people with his laughter, lead a child away, lead astray. To protect against LESH, the person taken away by him should not eat anything or should carry a litter (a piece of linden tree peeled from the bark), turn the insoles of shoes, etc. thrown behind the back. Similar forest spirits are known in West Slavic and other traditions.

Listin
OLD blind spirit of the forest, leader of the woods; his wife and assistant is Baba Listina. They are not scary, although they like to scare.
Listin is a mole rat all made of leaves, his woman is with a body of moss, instead of hands there are fir cones, on her feet there are real bast shoes.
They are not as violent and nimble as woods - they sit in a pile of leaves near a stump or ravine and command - who should rustle when. In autumn, at first, a light whisper is heard: this is leaf with leaf consulting and giving the woods a start. And then there is a rustling and noise, round dances of fallen leaves are spinning: then the woods are playing.

mokhovik
THE SPIRIT OF MOSSY SWAMPS appears to people in the form of a pig or a ram. It feeds on plants, but sometimes seizes children. This is the smallest of the forest spirits compared to the boletus and goblin. He submits to the forest king, does the same as all the forest ones: he leads him into the depths of his possessions in order to destroy a person there. The means of salvation from mossiness mushrooms are the same as from goblin.

Underground
He LIVES underground, he is evil in temper and often drags girls cursed by his mother to him; has children with them. To see him, you have to go down three steps on the stairs leading to the underground, bend down and look between the legs.

Khovanets(godovanets, vykhovanok) - in Ukrainian demonology (Prykarpattya) a spirit that enriches the owner. KHOVANETS is represented as a little boy or a chicken. By origin, KHOVANETS is associated with "mortgaged" dead: a miscarriage becomes a KHOVANTS 7 years after an abortion; during this time KHOVANETS asks passers-by for baptism.
A person could bring out for himself KHOVANTS from an egg laid by a rooster or a black hen, which must be worn under the left armpit for 9 days, during which it is impossible to wash, cut nails, pray, and be baptized; if KHOVANTS is not reported, he will torture a person to death. KHOVANTS can be bought, while renouncing Christ and the Virgin, mocking the cross and icons. It was believed that when buying and breeding KHOVANTS, a person sells his soul to the devil.
KHOVANETS lives in a house in the attic, eats unsalted food, primarily wheat bread, milk and sugar. KHOVANETS provides wealth to his owner, prosperity to the house and household, takes care of livestock. There may be several KHOVANTS in the house, distributing work among themselves - one guards the house from thieves (like the other spirit, treasury), the other takes care of the apiary (like the spirit - beekeeper), the third works in the field, etc. If KHOVANETS is offended by something, for example, they give him salty food, then he will kill all the dishes, he can knock out the owner’s eyes and generally leave the house, taking happiness with him, or torture the owner so that he hangs himself.
With the death of the owner of the khovanets, the wealth in the house also disappears. The death of such a person is very difficult: according to Hutsul beliefs, KHOVANETS takes his soul to hell to the eldest devil, who will drive it into an egg, and an even more evil spirit will hatch from it. You can get rid of KHOVANZ with the help of a priest, consecrating the hut three times, throwing KHOVANZ over the roof, taking him beyond the ninth boundary. Hovantsa, like the devil, is killed by thunder. He can be killed by hitting him backhand, but if KHOVANZ is then hit on the head with a beech stick, he will resurrect.

Shish
UNCLEAN force, usually living on the roadsides and playing their weddings, when whirlwinds rise in a pillar on the passing roads. Boring or unpleasant people are sent to the "shish" in anger. "Intoxicated shisha" are drunk to the point of delirium tremens: to hell. The head is a chisha with a cam, the nose is long and fidgety - exactly a chisha - or a fig.

SHULIKUNS, shilikuns, shulukuns, shlikuns (possibly from other Slavic shui “left, bad, unclean” with a double suffix - “ik” and “un”) - northern Russians have seasonal demons. SHULIKUNS, associated with the elements of water and fire, appear on Christmas Eve from the chimney (sometimes on Ignatiev's day on December 20) and go back under the water for Epiphany. They run through the streets, often with hot coals in an iron pan or a hardened iron hook in their hands, with which they can capture people (“hook and burn”), or ride horses, troikas, mortars or “hot” stoves. They are often the size of a fist, sometimes larger, they can have horse legs and a pointed head (cf. Devil), fire burns from their mouths, they wear white self-woven caftans with sashes and pointed hats. SHULIKUNs hustle at Christmas time at crossroads or near ice-holes, they also meet in the forest (hence the formula for scaring children “Do not go into the forest - SHULIKUN is on fire”), tease drunks, circle them and push them into the mud, without causing much harm, but they can lure into the hole and drown in the river.
In some places, the SHULIKUNS carried a spinning wheel with a tow and a spindle in the cage, so that they would spin the silk. SHULIKUNS are able to steal the lanyard from lazy spinners, watch and carry away everything that is supposed to be without blessing, climb into houses and barns and quietly lime or steal supplies (K: see Theft, Sacrifice). According to Vologda notions, babies cursed or killed by their mothers become SHULIKUNs. SHULIKUNS often live in abandoned and empty sheds, always in artels, but they can also get into a hut (if the hostess does not protect herself with a cross made of bread, etc.), and then it is difficult to drive them out. In the Russian North, SHULIKUNS are also the name of Christmas mummers. SHULIKUNS are related to other Slavic demons - Karakondzhals, Kikimors and demons of non-Slavic peoples of the Volga region and Siberia.

Shishiga
A SMALL, hunchbacked creature, belly-bellied, cold, with gnarled hands. Pounces on gaping passers-by and drags them into the water. Unlike the well-known water shishiga, it lives in reeds, prefers small rivers and reservoirs. Sleeps during the day, appears only at dusk. It can be assumed that shishiga is related to shish, because it reminds him of the pettiness of his dirty tricks.

YAGA(BABA-YAGA) - initially caring Bereginya, who later, during the time of Christianity, turned into a terrible, demonic creature that scared children. Yaga is a coarsened word "Yashka". Yasha in Slavic songs was called foot-and-mouth disease - who once lived on earth and disappeared progenitor of all living things, hence the name "foot-and-mouth disease". Baba Yaga was originally a progenitor, a very ancient positive being, a guardian (if necessary, militant) of the family, traditions, children and near-home (often forest) space.

ANCHUTKA- in Russian mythology, a small, but very mischievous imp, a cross between a devil and a duck. His distinguishing feature- short stature, the ability to fly and increased grittiness. Anchutka is associated with water and at the same time flies. Sometimes it is called water, swamp. His usual epithets are "fifthless" ("fifthless"), "horny", "fingerless".

BOLI-BOSHKA- the Russian spirit of the forest, living in berry places, most of all on cranberries and lingonberries. He himself is big-headed, handy, clumsy, his clothes are ragged in patches. The nose is pointed, and the eyes - you won’t understand, either sad, or cunning. He pretends to be a miserable old man, comes out to meet him and asks for help to find a lost wallet or something else. You can not succumb to persuasion, no matter how you plead. You give in - you start thinking about the loss, look around, bend over, search - Pain-Boshka jumps on his neck, pulls his head with a noose, and leads him through the forest. Your head will hurt, you will get lost - and you will completely disappear.

BOROVIK- Russian spirit of boron, grove. It looks like a huge bear, but without a tail, which is how it differs from a real beast. It feeds on animals, but sometimes eats people. When people want to see Borovik in order to negotiate with him about the safe grazing of livestock, about returning the missing (human, cattle), curing a disease that has become attached to the forest, they take a cat and begin to strangle it. Hearing a cat's meow, Borovik comes out of the forest to a man and enters into negotiations with him.

resentment- Goblin, often in the form of a woman, with huge breasts and shaggy hair.

FIELD(POLEVIK) - in Russian mythology, the genus of the Undead, one of the few subspecies of evil spirits that does its dirty deeds not at night, but in broad daylight. It is not easy to see him, he moves very quickly, so that you can only notice him by the flash of fiery red hair. He is short, with crooked legs, horns and a tail topped with a tassel. If Polevik gets angry, then at the time of haymaking, the worker may have a sunstroke. Polevik, in a good mood, helps to save his home - the field.

NOON(RZHANITSA) - Slavic field spirit, in particular - the embodiment of a sunstroke. Presented as a girl in a white dress, with long hair, or a shaggy old woman who appears on the field and pursues those who work on it. Can twist his neck, kidnap a child left in the field.

LUGOVICHOK- Russian spirit of the meadows, a little green man in clothes made of grass. He helps people surreptitiously during haymaking and is considered a child of Polevoy. Runs through the meadows and catches birds as food for his parent. A meadow grass is very angry when people miss mowing: it drives the grass into lush growth, and braids it so that it can neither be cut nor torn, otherwise it dries the grass on the vine.

MEZHEVICHOK- brother of Lugovichka, son of Polevoy. He is just as small, dressed in grass, but not green, but black. He runs along the boundary, guards it, just like a brother, he gets food for his Parent. Punishes those who violate the boundary, crosses it illegally. Installs and adjusts poles, helps working owners in the field. But if he finds a person sleeping on the boundary, he leans on him, braids his neck with grass and strangles him.

LIFTS- Russian evil spirits, Leshy's grandfather and grandmother. They are very small, grey, similar to hedgehogs. They live in last year's foliage, awake from late summer to mid-autumn. All this time they have fun, dance, raise leaves, rustle, rustle, swarm - small shaggy balls will work hard in a short time, grow tired, and then sleep for a long time.

BOSORKUN- Russian mountain spirit, windmill, which raises a strong wind, and flies with it invisibly. Whoever tries to catch him, he kills with the power of the wind. Bosorkun causes drought, brings diseases to people and cattle - plagues.

VORTEX- Russian spirit, located in the wind. These spirits harm a person, cause illness, nervous disorders. A strong destructive whirlwind, in which, led by Vikhrov, evil spirits are transferred.

VORTEX-DEVIL- the Russian evil spirit, which, seeing that a thunderstorm is approaching, runs away from it so that it is not hit by the arrow of Elijah - the prophet (formerly - Perun). Whoever wants to see him as the old men and women teach, must take off the cross and bend down to look between the legs. Whirlwind-Devil will appear in the form of a huge man, waving his arms and running headlong.

SUBMISSION- malaise, identified with evil spirits. It is believed that the wind, especially the whirlwind, is unclean. If you accidentally get into a whirlwind, something bad will happen to a person. It can be applied in the form of damage by Sorcerers, who call on a bad wind from the "damn" swamp, from a deaf, unclean place.

STEPOVOY- Russian spirit of the steppe, steppe master. They notice him by the rushing whirlwinds. Sometimes he "showns", and such an appearance is not good. A grey-haired tall old man appears in the crowd of whirlwinds, with a long ashy beard and a shock of hair fluttering in all directions. It will seem, threaten with an senile bony hand - and hide. The trouble is for the traveler who, without blessing, leaves the house, but at noon he gets on the steppe road, where a dusty crowd of whirlwinds is spinning.

NEKOSHNOY- the name of the Brownie, when the owners of the house do not get along with him.

BANNIK- In Russian mythology, the spirit of the Undead kind, who settles in the bathhouse. Bannik is a gentle creature that lives in a bathhouse behind a heater or under a shelf. It looks like an old man covered with leaves from a birch broom. Steam survives it temporarily, but it always lives in the unheated part. Bannik does not like women in childbirth, who are usually taken to the bathhouse because of the cramped conditions in the house. At the same time, women in labor should not be left alone in the bath. According to other versions, this is an evil old man who does not like those who take a bath after midnight. If a person is there alone, Bannik can scald him to death or kill him with a stone. He is Bainik, Baennik, Bainnik, Banny.

OBDERIHA(RINGS) - a type of Bannik, characterized by unusual cruelty. For the slightest violation of the bathing ritual - punishes. It is considered a great sin to wash in the bath alone, especially on the third steam, which is prepared for Obderikhe. On the third shift, especially for Obderikha, they leave a little hot water and a bar of soap on the shelf. From a person who has entered his time, Obrerikha rips off the skin, hangs it on the stove - a heater, and hammers the body under the floor, into the cracks. Any night visit to the bathhouse, especially that you should not be afraid of devils, is punished by Obderikha. He also punishes those who do not leave soap or water. On the next visit, he will splash the offender with boiling water or suffocate with intoxication. If someone comes out of the bath with a scratched or torn back, then Obderikha "teared." We saw Obderikha under the regiment, in the bathhouse. At midnight, can be seen like a cat, with wide open, glowing eyes.

BATANUSHKA(BATAN) - a synonym for Brownie. The origin of the word "Batan" comes from the meaning of the concept of "bati-father", or the concept of "bro" i.e. stepbrother.

VOSTUKHA- Russian clan of the Undead, a kind of Brownie. Lives behind the stove and guards thieves. Nothing can be hidden from Vostukha's acute hearing. Where he lives, nothing can happen, nothing will be lost in the house. Even the beauty and purity of young maidens, as an honor and property of the house, is protected by Vostukh.

KIKIMORA- in Slavic mythology, the genus Domovoy is a female gender, one of the types of Undead, the spirit of sleep and night ghosts, which spins at night. During the day she sits at the stove, and plays pranks at night with a spindle, a spinning wheel and a sack. According to legends, from the message of Domovoy with Kikimora, they have offspring, and so. continue their lineage. Kikimora is hostile to men. May harm pets, especially chickens.

GORGEOUS- Slavic evil spirit. Undead. Sneaks into the house through
unprotected thresholds of the doorway and affects mainly women, causing unnecessary excitement and bad thoughts about loved ones, sometimes leading to a mental breakdown. To protect against Kumushnitsa, a sickle is plugged over the threshold, bunches of thistles and nettles are hung and a conspiracy is pronounced in defense of the house.

SHULIKUNS- Russian unclean spirits that appear on Christmas Eve from a pipe and go under water for Epiphany. They assure that they breed Kikimors. They run through the streets with hot coals in frying pans or with a red-hot hook in their hands, with which they can seize a drunkard: they circle him, push him into the mud, they can lure him into an ice hole. Sometimes they ride on mortars or stoves. Growth with a fist, horse legs, fire bursts from his mouth. They wear self-woven caftans, sashes and pointed hats.

VAZILA- a kind of Undead that lives in outbuildings, especially in stables, has the appearance of a tiny man with horse ears and hooves. He takes care of horses in every possible way, protects them from diseases, and when they are on a pasture, in a herd, from a predatory beast. He is a Yard.

DREAM- Russian evening or night spirit in the form of a kind old woman with soft, gentle hands or in the guise of a little man with a quiet, lulling voice. At dusk, Sandman wanders under the windows, and when the darkness thickens, seeps through the cracks or slips through the door. Sandman comes to the children, closes their eyes, straightens the blanket, strokes their hair. With adults, this spirit is not so gentle and sometimes brings nightmares.

TYuHA shaggy- the Slavic clan of the Undead, is rare, and lives only in huts, next to Domov. The size is small, with a mitten, shaggy all over and kind of funny. He looks after the household, children, and loves domestic animals, cats, most of all. If she is not offended, then the house will always have peace and a full bowl. Tyukha Shaggy is not afraid of anyone except Domovoy, but only he does not touch her. If the owners are sloppy, they breed dirt, the economy is poorly managed, then she loses her temper and rages.
KOSHEMARE is a Slavic spirit that torments people during sleep. More often people experience feelings of danger, persecution, see dream plots associated with them.

HAIRWOMAN- in Russian mythology, the genus of the Undead. Brownie female, living in a bathhouse or a barn, hence another name - Ovinny.

ZHIKHAR- Russian evil domestic spirit. Where he lives in the house is not exactly known, but he is a dangerous neighbor: in the absence of his mother, he steals children from the hut, but he does not dare to do this in her presence. To protect a child from Zhikhar, you can only put scissors and a spindle stone in the shank, and an old broom under the shank, on the floor. If such measures are taken, Zhikhar is powerless.

Udelnitsa- the Russian spirit - the thief of share, happiness, fate and giving another lot in life: illness, death, ugliness. The genius of evil fate, black, hairy, disheveled. They prematurely take the baby out of the mother's womb and mutilate it, torment the puerperal. If a pregnant woman sleeps on her back, wide open, without a belt, and a knife is left on the table, the Lady takes out the baby with it. From that, freaks are born or the stomach turns out to be empty, although there are all signs of pregnancy.

SUSEDCO- Russian clan of the Undead, one of the varieties of Brownies. This spirit lives almost in the oven (on the hearth), and is so nicknamed for its willing cohabitation with people. It is very small and almost invisible. Husband of Kikimora. He is wearing a huge, oversized, shaggy hat. Susedko is very friendly, and tries to warn people in a timely manner about impending troubles.

IGOSHA- the Russian spirit of a child who was born but died unbaptized. Has no arms and legs. He lives here and there and misbehaves, especially if someone does not want to recognize him, invisible, as a Brownie, does not put spoons and slices of bread at the table for him, does not throw hats and mittens out of the window for him.

CHUDINKO- Russian likeness of Kikimora, the embodiment of an evil inclination. Bad people they lay it in the form of a small rag or wooden doll, under the log of the house during construction. It scares tenants at night with a knock and a bang. Especially strong in abandoned houses. You can get rid of him only by destroying the doll. Those who are fed up with Chudinko's pranks should call the healer for help or, at worst, prick with a pitchfork into the lower logs of the hut with a sentence: "Here you are, here you are for this, and here you are for that!"

TRANSFER- Russian evil domestic spirit. Appears at night, does not like to be watched. After scary conversations, stories, before going to bed, you can hear his quiet crying and muffled restrained moans. You can’t talk to him - you can get sick, there will be no good. Sometimes it flashes in the dark, in the form of a clumsy old man - and disappears from sight.

MOKUSHA- Russian night spirit, walks at night to spin wool and shear sheep. If a sheep's wool comes out, they say: "Mokusha sheared." They do not see her, but at night they hear the rumbling of the spindle when she works. Leaving the house, he clicks the spindle on the bar, on the floor. If she is not pleased with the mistress, then she cuts off some of her hair.

OVINNIK- a kind of Undead living in outbuildings, in barns - buildings where peasants dry sheaves. His duties include guarding the barns from fire, monitoring the laying of sheaves, and monitoring the temperature regime. Ovinnik knows how to bark like a dog, clap his hands and laugh when he manages to punish a negligent owner. Considered the most malevolent spirit surrounding the owner in Everyday life, especially if the owner is negligent.

POSTEN(PO-STEN) - Slavic, ghostly creature. A synonym for Brownie, so named for the way of existence (ghost). The origin of the word is due to the word "shadow" or "wall".

SHED- in Russian mythology, the genus of the Undead. Brownie living in a barn.

VIY- a Slavic inhabitant of the underworld, whose deadly gaze is hidden under huge eyelids or eyelashes. I couldn't raise my eyelids on my own, and assistants lifted them with pitchforks. The man who looked into Viy's eyes could not bear the look and died.

VOLKODLAK- in Slavic mythology, a person with the supernatural ability to turn into a wolf. It was believed that sorcerers could turn entire wedding trains into wolves. Had many names: Vovkulak, Varkulak, Werewolf, later Werewolf. In Christian beliefs - a servant of the devil, who leads packs of wolves, turning into a wolf at night, and attacking livestock and people.

A VAMPIRE- a Slavic fairy-tale dead man, animated by his lower principles and preserving something like life in himself, coming out of the grave at night, enchanting his victims, sucking their blood. Literally "blood sucker". From an energetic point of view, Vampires are distinguished solar and lunar. Energy vampirism, as a phenomenon, was a constant companion of a person. A person who lacks his own energy can consciously or unconsciously feed on it from other people. Vampirism is a disease. Studies have proven that the Vampire's blood differs from the blood of healthy people in its liquid crystal structure. He is a Vurdulak.

GHOUL(UPIR) - Slavic shifter, shifter. A werewolf roaming at night as a witch, wolf or pugach and sucking people and cattle, a bloodsucker (vampire), which people who are born from evil spirits become. The future Ghoul can be recognized by the double rows of teeth. This is also the deceased, over whose coffin, the Devil jumped, in the form of a black cat, a “mortgaging dead man” (suicide). Evil healers roam death by ghouls, and in order to calm them down, they tear open the grave and pierce the corpse with an aspen stake.

ZERDYAY- Russian unclean, having a very long growth and very thin (from the word "pole"). He sometimes staggers through the streets, warms his hands in a chimney, looks into windows and frightens people. This is a miserable connecting rod, which is condemned for a century, to wander around the world to no avail and meaning.

KHOPOTOUN- Russian spirit of the dead Sorcerer. The devil, who uses the outer shell, the skin of a corpse, a dead sorcerer, in order to suck blood at night and seize living people. The troublemaker waits for a dead person to appear in someone's family, and as soon as the soul leaves the body, he enters the dead person. Then one misfortune follows another in the family. The troublemaker can take on someone else's appearance and penetrate into his own (that is, into the one whose appearance he took) or someone else's family, then people will disappear not only from this house, but from the whole village - the troublemaker seizes them. You can kill him with a blow of a whip from an unbaited horse, a cart axle, but only with a backhand, and the first time, because. the second hit will revive him.

BAD(NOSAK) is a Russian mythological creature that looks like a fiery broom. It flies through the air and enters the house through the chimneys. It is derived from an egg that a rooster lays once every 3 years, If you do not immediately notice, the rooster will trample it. Whoever saves the egg, the Bad One will carry money and oil, taking them where they were not blessedly left.

NAMELESS- Russian ghost - double. Bringing before death. The spirit of a dead unnatural death, drowned, suicidal. In everything he looks like a person, but he does not have his own face, and in his impersonality wears the mask of who he wants to appear. To see such a double is to death. Anonymous is also called the image of a person called up in a mirror during divination. In conspiracies, Sorcerers turn to the help of the Nameless, wanting to spoil a person. In the forest near the aspen, facing the West, the sorcerer asks all the "dead, killed, lost, unbaptized and nameless" to stand up and damage such and such. He is the Shadow, the Next.

BES- Slavic designation "without", and then any positive concept follows, for example: without ... conscience, God, justice, concepts, goodness, honor, etc. The soul of such people after death could not get into Vyriy (Paradise) and toiled on Earth, attracting attention to itself with various tricks. The negative emotions caused by these tricks in living people served as food for such spirits. Common Slavic word, the same root as "to be afraid." Evil spirits, which for the followers of Satan were the same as for the righteous guardian angels. They are small in size, capable of everything - from innocent pranks to murder.

EXCHANGE- Russian mythological baby, replaced by Bes with an imp. The exchangers are very skinny and extremely ugly. The legs are always thin, the arms hang like a whip, the belly is huge, and the head, which is certainly large, hangs to the side. Moreover, they are distinguished by natural stupidity and anger and willingly leave their foster parents, leaving for the forest. However, they do not live long and often disappear or turn into a firebrand. As for the fate of the abducted children, the devils drag them with them, forcing them to fan the fires that have begun on Earth. But it happens otherwise: kidnapped children are given to be raised by Mermaids or cursed girls, with whom they remain, subsequently turning into Mermaids (girls) or Leshih (boys).

WATER- in Russian mythology, the genus of Undead, unclean, a demon sitting in pools and buchals, under a mill. He walks naked or shaggy, bearded, covered in mud, sometimes with a green beard. A water comrade to Leshem and Polevoy, an enemy to Domovoy, but more evil than all of them and closer in kinship to evil spirits. He is the Water Grandfather, the Water Man.

BOLOTNYAK- Russian spirit of the swamp, lives there with his wife and children. His wife Bolotnitsa, a maiden drowned in a swamp. Bolotnyak is a relative of Vodyanoy and Leshy. He looks like a gray-haired old man with a broad, yellowish face. Turning into a monk, he bypasses and leads the traveler, lures him into the quagmire. He likes to walk along the shore, frighten those passing through the swamp, either with sharp sounds, or with sighs, blows out the air with water bubbles, and smacks his lips loudly.

MERMAIDS- Slavic species Beregin, one of the clans of the Undead. The mermaid is depicted with a female face and breasts, a fish body and tail. Lives in the waters. During the period of Christianity, criticism and denial of paganism, all pagan deities were given evil, demonic features. Gradually, from Beregin, the Mermaids began to turn into drowned women and dead unbaptized children. It was believed that they are always dangerous for people in the Russian week (July 19 - 24) before Ivan Kupala, especially on Thursday (Perun's Day).

SWAMP- the Russian clan of the Undead, the sister of the mermaids, Vodyanitsa, only she lives in a swamp, in a snow-white flower of a water lily the size of a cauldron. She is indescribably beautiful, shameless and seductive, and sits in a flower to hide her goose feet with black membranes from a person. Seeing a man, the Bolotnitsa begins to cry bitterly, so that everyone wants to console her, but it is worth taking one step towards her through the swamp, as the villain will attack, strangle her in her arms and drag her into the swamp, into the abyss.

VODYANITSA- in Russian mythology, a mermaid, but a drowned woman from the baptized, and therefore does not belong to the Undead (other mermaids), according to legend, - in general, children who died unbaptized.

MAVKI- one of the varieties of Mermaids. According to Ukrainian beliefs, children who died before baptism turn into Mavok. The name Mavka (sometimes Navka) is derived from the concept of Nav. Mavki have a human body, but they do not have a back, so all the insides are visible. Passers-by are begging to be baptized, crying. If they are still angry with the living, they try to lure them into the rocks, the turbulent waters of the river.

SHISHIMORA- Slavic variety of the Undead. A small hunchbacked creature, belly-bellied, cold, with gnarled hands. Pounces on the gaping and drags him into the water. Unlike Vodyany, it lives in reeds, prefers small rivers and reservoirs. Sleeps during the day, appears at dusk.

ICETIC- Russian evil spirit from the Vodyany family, their assistant. He does not have the strength of his mighty relative, and he himself is smaller, although the same green, all covered with leeches and algae. Swims out accompanied by frogs and other reptiles. He likes to play cards, drink brew and do dirty tricks in a small way: flood crops, wash away masonry, wash bridges and steep banks. Like Vodyanoy, he never misses an opportunity to drag a child or a tipsy adult under the water.

GODDESSES- in Russian mythology, the spirits of women who, during their lifetime, committed some terrible atrocity and killed: their children, who violated the holy oath, These are the most evil spirits. The goddesses cast a shadow, but they themselves are not visible.

BLAZNE- obsession, ghost. It can appear anywhere: at home, in the forest, in the field. Not a single Blasphemy can do without the participation of evil spirits, which darken the mind of a person, forcing him to see what is not really there. Realizing that he has a vision in front of him, a person cannot get rid of the obsessive image. Blasphemy happens in the house where there was a quarrel. After a quarrel Blaznya starts throwing sticks, dishes, litter, and throws everything off the table. There is no great harm from Blaze, except for fear, shock, bewilderment and anxiety.

MPA(Petroleum Maiden, Pestilence) - in Russian mythology, it is personified by a woman of enormous stature (sometimes on stilts), with loose braids and in white clothes. She travels around the world in a wagon or makes some person carry herself around cities and villages. With her bony hand, she blows on all sides with a bloody or fiery handkerchief - and after the wave of her handkerchief, everything around dies out.
MANA (MANIA) - old Russian (to beckon - to lie, to deceive) a ghost in the form of an old frail woman.

NAVI- Russian spirits of the dead, hostile to man. The incarnation of death, beings without flesh that move with the movement of the thought of the dead. In the old days, it was believed that the cause of death is the navya bone, which is preserved in a decaying corpse. Navi appear after midnight in the form of clouds resembling a person. They bathe with evil spirits in the fourth couple, in the bathhouse, leaving behind traces slightly reminiscent of chicken ones.

PLAQUE(DREAM) - the Russian phenomenon of the spirit of the deceased, which flies at night to people who yearn for the dead in order to exterminate them. The plaque is only visible to those they visit, the rest only notice the radiance. Only Sorcerers are capable of raiding. To do this, the Sorcerer takes his heel with his hand and holds it "with a word", with a conspiracy. The Flying Dream would then stop, spin around until it was human. The Sorcerer will let go of his heel, - The raid will again be invisible or crumble. So that the Plaque would not frighten the sleeping person, they surrounded him with crosses made of linden, put crosses on windows, doors, in a barrier, in a pipe. Some Sorcerers manage to negotiate with the dead so that he stops disturbing the living. For example, when a Raid appears, the Sorcerers exhort him: "Where are you going? The dead do not go to the living. Amen! My place is holy!". Others are saved by putting a prayer to the Guardian Angel under their heads for the night. They smoke in the house with incense, the root of the plakuna.
NAMNOY - Russian night spirit, comes to a person during sleep, crushes the sleeping person to bruises. If the bruises hurt - for worse, if they are insensitive - everything will go well.

GHOST- Slavs defined several types of ghosts:
"Cemetery Watchman" - the ghost of a man who was the first to be buried in this cemetery. Protects the bodies of the buried, in this cemetery, from all encroachments and evil spirits.
"Settled" - a ghost that appears every time, in the same place. This kind of thing can happen anywhere. The ghost owes its origin to some tragic event at this place, for example, someone's death that occurred at this very place. Becomes like " visible memory about this event.
"Hangman" - this is the name of the ghost of a man hanged for a crime committed by him. According to legend, they remain at the place of execution.
"Crossroads" - in the old days - a crossroads - a favorite place of execution, where the ghosts of the executed remain after death.
"Shadows of the Dead" - dark, obscure silhouettes, in the form of which the souls of the dead are alive.
"Dispersing" - "settled" ghosts often dissipate and disappear over time. However, there are stories of ghosts dating back at least 1600 years in some places.
"Double" - a ghost - an exact copy of a living person. An omen of impending doom. In Russian mythology - Nameless.

reptiles- Slavic concept of unclean animals. Reptiles include mainly reptiles (primarily snakes) and amphibians (frogs, turtles, etc.) and some other animals (mice, snake-like fish - loach, eel, etc.), worms, caterpillars. Reptiles are closely associated with demonic characters and are mainly associated with the underworld, they live in the earth, therefore they are often blind, in a hole, underground or under the threshold of a house. Often associated with the soul of an ancestor - "great-shura". Various ritual methods of their expulsion and numerous prohibitions and amulets are known, but they themselves often perform the functions of a talisman and patron.

GAME - Russian name some witches. The thing puts its body under the mortar, and the magpie itself flies into the chimney, which is why the magpie itself is called the thing (like a crow - a prophetess). The little thing steals a child from the womb of a sleeping mother, and instead of the kidnapped child, puts a golik, a smut or a piece of bread in the womb. Pregnant women, so that the Veshchitsa does not replace the child, go to bed in the absence of her husband, putting on something from her husband's clothes or girding herself with her husband's belt. Gizmos are sometimes called demons of fate, spirits that predict troubles and misfortunes.

WILD BABA- Russian assistant to witches and sorcerers. She is sent to people to do various dirty tricks. For women in labor, young mothers, they replace children with their own witches, who live longer than seven years, and are very angry and stupid. Wild Baba sucks the blood of small children, which makes them turn pale and wither. Wild Baba - the flyer is a golden-haired beauty in a dream or in reality to young men. She also charms the married so that they leave their wives, and until the Wild Baba leaves the man, no force will return him to his wife.

LETAVITSA- Russian variety of Wild Baba. It flies with the help of boots - fast walkers, but if they are removed, it loses supernatural strength, obediently follows the person who took off her boots, and faithfully serves him. You can find her in a field or in a garden where peas grow, to which she is a great hunter.

FAMOUSLY- Slavic embodiment of an evil share, grief. Appears in the form of a thin woman without one eye, a meeting with her can lead to the loss of an arm or death. Sometimes Likho will bypass the sinner, he will fall on a good, hardworking person: and his house will burn down, and his fields will be beaten with hail, and he himself will not know where to go from the disease, but Likho still sits on his neck, his legs dangling.

FEVER- Russians, 9 or 12 sisters who live in the gloomy dungeons of Hell and appear as evil, ugly virgins, starved, always feeling hungry, sometimes blind and armless. The eldest, Nevea (dead) - commands the sisters: Shaking (Shaking), Fire (Fiery), Ledeya (Chill, Znobeya, Znobushka), Oppression, Breast, Deaf, Lomeya (Bone Breaker), Fluffy, Yellow, Korkusha (Korcheya), Looking .

LYARVA- an astral being generated by our passions and bad feelings. Once summoned, Larva lives semi-consciously, striving to satisfy the desire that gave rise to her. The stronger and longer the desire that gave birth to Lyarva, the more vital it is. The life of Lyarva is supported by the nervous force of a person and therefore it sticks to the one who created it. If a person gets rid of such a desire, Tol Ljarva may soon collapse, but, clinging to life, she can separate from the person who gave birth to her and, traveling in the astral plane, surrounding the morally weak, incites them to increase degradation, feeding on their falls of feelings from unrighteous deeds, and continuing to live.

OZEVA- a state of sudden indifference to everything, laziness, burden. It comes from the evil eye or words spoken by someone in their hearts about another with annoyance, malicious hatred, or from yawning and stretching when overcoming laziness on someone, for example, when such a spell text is pronounced: "Laziness is a burden, go to Fedot , from Fedot to Yakov, from Yakov to everyone.

The cult of the wolf is very ancient and complex. Probably, for the ancient Slavic farmers, wolves were very useful in the spring, when spring bread and flax sprouted, and in the forest thickets there were a lot of horned little things (roe deer, wild goats, chamois), deer, wild boars, causing great harm to crops; wolves in the open spaces of sown fields easily caught this living creature, thereby protecting the fields from grass. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why the wolf in the popular representation began to be associated with fertility; another reason could be the ancient representation of a cloud in the form of a wolf. At the same time, the connection between the wolf and the harvest was preserved under Christianity; for example, the Serbs believed that the wolf brings good luck and even specifically can predict the harvest, and meeting with him and the Eastern Slavs was considered a good omen. In the guise of a wolf, they sometimes imagined the spirit of a field, bread: for example, when the winds swayed the bread, in some places they said: “A wolf passes through the bread”, “A rye wolf runs across the field”, etc .; and children gathering in the field to pick spikelets and cornflowers were warned: "A wolf is sitting in the bread - he will tear you to pieces", "Look, a rye wolf will come and eat you", etc. In some places it was even believed that the wolf was hiding in the last sheaf of bread, such a sheaf itself was occasionally called the "Rye Wolf".

Wolf cult. Wolf in Slavic mythology

Fenrir grew up among the Ases, only Tyr, the god of military courage, dared to feed him. To protect themselves, the aces decided to chain Fenrir, but the mighty wolf easily tore the strongest chains (Leding, Drommi). In the end, the aesir, by cunning, nevertheless managed to bind Fenrir with the magic chain Gleipnir, but in order for the wolf to allow himself to put this chain on himself, Tyr had to put his hand into his mouth as a sign of the absence of evil intentions. When Fenrir was unable to free himself, he bit off Tyr's hand. The Æsir chained Fenrir to a rock deep underground and stuck a sword between his jaws.

On the day of Ragnarok, according to the prophecy of the prophetic Norns, the goddesses of fate, Fenrir will break his chains and swallow the sun. At the end of the battle, Fenrir will kill Odin and will be killed by Vidar, the son of Odin. Fenrir joined other monsters and giants in a campaign against the gods. Ragnarok begins like this: one Wolf will devour the sun, and the other the moon. The earth and mountains will tremble, trees will fall, mountains will break from top to bottom, and all shackles and chains will be broken and broken. Fenrir Wolf will break free, and the sea will rush on land, because the World Serpent will crawl ashore in a rage. The ship Naglfar, equipped in Hel, will take on board a team of the dead and, under the leadership of Loki, will sail from the swamps of Hel, picked up by a gigantic shaft. Fenrir Wolf will rush forward with his mouth open: the lower jaw to the ground, the upper jaw to the sky; if there were more room, he would open his mouth even wider. Flames blaze from his eyes and nostrils. And next to the Wolf, the World Serpent crawls, spewing poison into heaven and earth. Odin rides ahead of the army of the gods - in a golden helmet, with a spear Gungnir in his hand. He goes out to fight Fenrir the Wolf; side by side with him is Thor, but he cannot help Odin, for he is fighting the World Serpent. Freyr fights Surt until he falls dead. Garm, imprisoned in Hel, in the bottomless cave of Gnipahellir, breaks free. He enters into a furious fight with the god Tyr, and they strike each other to death. Thor kills the World Serpent, but, moving nine steps away, falls to the ground, poisoned by the putrid breath of the reptile. Fenrir Wolf swallows Odin; but Odin's son Vidar pushes forward and puts his foot on lower jaw wolf. This foot is shod with a shoe, which has been made piecemeal since the beginning of time. Vidar grabs the Wolf's upper jaw with his hand and rips his mouth open. The wolf is dying. But Surt throws fire on the earth and burns the whole world. Thus is accomplished Ragnarok, the death of the gods.

Wolf in Slavic mythology

Wolves were once considered sacred animals of the god of wealth and fertility Veles; "Veles days" that fell on winter Christmas time were also called the "wolf holiday". In addition, the patron of wolves, apparently, was the solar god Dazhbog (similar to the Greek Apollo Lykeisky, "Wolf", the patron of wolves), and also probably the goddess of the earth and fertility Lada (similar to the Greek goddess Leto, turning into a she-wolf in myths). As a sacred animal, the wolf was highly revered by the Slavs, and the echoes of these reverences have survived to this day in fairy tales and legends, where the wolf, by the way, is one of the most honest characters. Even some Old Slavic names were associated with the wolf; for example, names like Wolf, Vuk and diminutive Vuchko, Hort, etc.

The origin of the wolf in folk beliefs was usually associated with evil spirits. For example, according to one of the legends, the devil molded a wolf out of clay or carved it out of a tree, but could not revive him, and then God himself breathed life into the wolf, while the wolf animated by God rushed at the devil and grabbed his leg (therefore, the devil from those lame now). A variant of this legend, spread elsewhere, said that the devil was jealous of God when he created Adam, and tried to create a man himself, but instead he turned out to be a wolf.

The chthonic properties of the wolf (the origin associated with the earth, clay, the belief about treasures "coming out" of the earth in the genus of the wolf) bring it closer to reptiles - snakes, lizards, eels, etc .; even their origin was sometimes considered common (for example, according to one of the beliefs, reptiles were born from shavings from a wolf carved by the devil). At the same time, the wolf, in popular beliefs, sometimes unites with various unclean animals that are not eaten, the characteristic principle of which was blindness or blind birth. Some beliefs about wolves were, as it were, somewhat modified beliefs about reptiles: for example, in some places they believed that a she-wolf brings wolf cubs once in her life, and that she who brought offspring turns into a lynx five times (cf. the idea that a snake or a frog, living to a certain age turns into a flying snake); at the same time, wolf cubs are bred where the wolf howls during the Easter Vespers, and there are as many of them as there were days for the meat-eater from Christmas to Great Lent.

As a supernatural being, involved in the world of Gods and Spirits, the wolf in folk beliefs was endowed with the gift of omniscience (he usually appears in Russian fairy tales, if not omniscient, then at least a wise and experienced beast in various matters). In addition, the functions of an intermediary between "this" and "the next world", between people and gods or evil spirits, in general, the forces of another world, were traditionally attributed to him; for example, the Serbs believed that the wolf often visited the dead in the "other world", and when they met with the wolf, they sometimes called the dead for help. Because of such beliefs, as well as because of the notions of lycanthropy and werewolf, the wolf in folk beliefs is often associated with "strangers": the dead, ancestors, "walking" dead, etc.

In addition, the wolf in popular beliefs was usually closely associated with evil spirits. So, for example, in the stories of some places, wolves oppose a person as unclean spirits, and they are driven away with a cross by prayer, bell ringing, and generally illuminated objects. It was also often believed that the wolf "knows" with evil spirits and sorcerers, who, at will, can turn into a wolf, or send wolves to people and cattle. Devils, demons, etc. also often appear in the form of a wolf, or have wolf signs (wolf teeth, ears, eyes, etc.). Everywhere there was also a belief that wolves are subordinate to the goblin, and the goblin disposes of them like his dogs, feeds them bread and indicates to them which cattle in the herd can be bullied; at the same time, the goblin itself can turn into a white wolf. However, at the same time, the attitude of the wolf to evil spirits was ambivalent: on the one hand, it was believed that the evil spirit disposes of wolves and even devours wolves (cf. the notion that unclean spirits sometimes drive wolves to human habitation in order to profit from wolf carrion later, and the devil annually drags himself one wolf into hell); but on the other hand, wolves in folk beliefs eat and generally exterminate devils so that they are less fertile.

Under Christianity, St. Georgy (Yuri, Egory), "wolf shepherd"; in addition, among Western Ukrainians, St. Mikhail, Luppa, Nikolai, Peter and Pavel. It is possible that it was the patronage of St. George over the wolves led to a peculiar perception of the predatory actions of the beast: "What the wolf has in its teeth, Yegoriy gave it"; this, in turn, led to the fact that the attack of the wolf on the cattle was considered by the peasants as a sign of future good luck and contentment. For example, livestock abduction by a wolf was often perceived by pastoralists as a sacrifice that promises good luck to the owner: other animals from the herd after this sacrifice will remain untouched, and some supernatural forces (goblin, etc.) will protect the cattle during summer grazing. In some places, shepherds, trying to appease the goblin, even deliberately left one sheep, cow, etc. in the forest to be eaten by wolves. from the herd. In general, in order to appease the wolves or their owners (goblin, St. George, etc.), the peasants often promised one or more cows from the herd, believing that the promised cow would certainly be picked up by the wolves, but the rest of the herd would remain intact and safety.

According to popular beliefs, wolves are especially dangerous for people starting from the day of Elijah the Prophet, since it is at this time that "wolf holes open"; and from Yuri Kholodny (December 9), wolves begin to approach rural backyards for prey, and at this time it is dangerous to go outside the village. Around the day of St. Anna (December 22; the beginning of winter in folk calendar: "with the feast of the conception of St. Anna, winter begins") wolves, according to popular observation, gather in packs and become especially dangerous; they scatter only after the shots at Epiphany (January 19). From Nikola Zimny, wolves in packs begin to scour the forests, fields and meadows; from that day, until Epiphany, "wolf holidays" continued. These holidays, celebrated in the middle of winter at Christmas time, were celebrated by many Slavic peoples, wishing to appease the "flock of sunny Yegori", especially fierce in the winter months, by honoring the wolves at this time. For example, in the Western Ukrainian and Podolsk peasant villages until the twentieth century. The custom was preserved to dress up in wolf skins for Kolyada, and with songs to carry a stuffed wolf through the streets. In ancient times, such holidays, apparently, were dedicated to the god of fertility and wealth Veles and his sacred animals - wolves; under Christianity, some of these Christmas rites, including those dedicated to wolves, were preserved, although they were somewhat modified.

In ancient times, wolves were sometimes perceived by peasants as a threat no less than the invasion of enemy armies. This was especially true for remote forest villages (cf .: "There were many wolves in our places in those years. Now they howl in the autumn right under the factory, but then they were - strength!"). Therefore, despite all the positive functions of wolves, the peasants treated them with caution and fear, they tried to protect themselves from them by all means. possible ways both normal and magical. For example, to protect livestock, on some special days, certain prohibitions were observed on actions and work related to sheep wool and yarn, livestock meat, and manure; With weaving and sharp objects. So, for example, in order to prevent the wolves from touching the cattle, the peasants did not do any work on St. George and others: they did not lend anything during the first grazing of cattle and the removal of manure to the field; did not spin at Christmas time; they did not give weaving tools beyond the boundaries of the village, they did not put up fences between the days of St. Yuri and St. Nicholas; did not eat meat on St. Nicholas; they did not allow sexual intercourse on the last night before Shrovetide, etc.

To prevent the wolf from touching the grazing cattle, in many places they also performed various magical actions, symbolizing the erection of a barrier between the wolf and the cattle. For example, to protect livestock on St. Nikolai was put iron in the oven, stuck a knife into the table, into the threshold, or covered the stone with a pot with the words: "My cow, my nursery nurse, sit under the pot from the wolf, and you, wolf, gnaw your sides." At the first pasture of cattle, locks were closed for the same purpose ("they locked the teeth of a wolf"), sprinkled oven heat on the threshold to the stables, etc.

To protect the wolves, conspiracies were also used, appealing both directly to the wolf, and to the goblin or to the saints - the lords of the wolves, so that they would appease "their dogs"; reading conspiracies was usually accompanied by clenching fists, closing teeth, sticking into a wall, etc. At the same time, in conspiracies, the wolf was usually called by its ancient name - "hort" (cf .: "Saint George, protect me from a fierce beast, from a hort with hortens", etc. Entering the forest, the peasants usually read the plot "from the evil beast ", so as not to meet the wolf. When meeting with the wolf, they tried to be silent and not breathe; often they even kissed dead or, on the contrary, showed the figurine to the wolf, scared him away with threats or knocking, screaming, whistling, swearing; sometimes they bowed, knelt before the wolf , welcomed, or asked for "pardon".

It was also widely believed that the wolf, like unclean spirits, instantly responds to the sound of his name, so it was forbidden among the people to mention the name of the wolf so as not to call him (cf. the proverb: "we are talking about the wolf, but he is towards"). The peasants usually used other names for this taboo animal, for example: “beast”, “gray”, “biryuk”, “lykus”, “kuzma”, etc. But even such nicknames were rarely used, since they (although less likely) could attract the attention of the beast, and therefore, bring danger to the person and his environment (his relatives, as well as livestock, etc.).

The wolf was sometimes interpreted by the peasants as a foreigner: for example, a pack of wolves was often called a "horde"; in order to protect themselves from wolves, they were sometimes called "carolers" (i.e., carolers and, in general, participants in roundabout rites, in the popular attitude, also belonged to "strangers", foreigners), etc. Various foreign bodies were also associated with the wolf (for example, in the folk tradition, the wolf is the name of the growth on the tree; growths and tumors on the body of patients were often treated with a wolf bone or with the help of a person who had eaten wolf meat, etc.). By the way, each of the parties participating in the wedding could be endowed with "wolf" symbols, as the other in relation to the opposite: for example, "wolves" were popularly called the squad of the bride or groom, relatives at the wedding; "gray wolves" in the lamentations of the bride are the groom's brothers; the groom's relatives often called the bride - "she-wolf", etc.

The eye, heart, teeth, claws, wolf hair among the people often served as amulets and remedies. So, for example, a wolf's tooth in some places was given to gnaw on a child whose teeth were erupting; It was believed that then the baby would have the same strong and healthy teeth like a wolf. The wolf's tail was sometimes carried with them from diseases, damage, etc.: and the healers could use it along with the wolf's paws, for divination and sorcery. The mere mention or name of a wolf could even serve as a talisman for ordinary people (for example, they said about a calf that was born: "This is not a calf, but a wolf cub", believing that after that the wolf will take the calf for one of his puppies and will not touch him during the summer grazing.

IN folk omens, a wolf that ran past the village, crossed the road or met on the way, usually foreshadowed good luck, happiness and well-being; but the wolf that ran into the village was considered a sign of crop failure. A lot of wolves that appeared in the vicinity of the village promised war (as well as the appearance of a lot of anything, for example, white butterflies, ants, etc. ;-( the howl of wolves foreshadowed hunger, and their howl under housing - war or severe frost, in autumn - rains, and in winter - a snowstorm.

The development of the cult of the wolf in ancient Rus'

In various sources reflecting the development of the religious views of our ancestors, along with references to various cults, one can find information about the veneration of animals. In the system of traditional folk ideas about the surrounding world, animals act as a special kind of mythological characters, along with deities, demons, elements, celestial bodies, people themselves, plants, and even utensils. These elements, as objects of a structural description, partially intersect with each other. That is why it is far from always possible to draw a clear line between mythological and animal characters.

The purpose of this work is to trace the development of attitudes towards the wolf of our ancestors. The wolf is the most mythologized character. It has a wide range of different meanings, many of which combine it with other predators, as well as with animals that are endowed with chthonic symbolism. Combining information from different sources, you are amazed that the attitude towards this animal has changed in the opposite direction with the passage of time. If at first the wolf was revered by the ancient Slavs, then later (especially with the adoption of Christianity) it becomes a hostile creature, and sometimes the embodiment of evil. However, this change is due not only to a change in religious beliefs. The meaning of this character changes even in the pagan period, at a time when cattle breeding and agriculture became the main occupation of our ancestors.

It should be noted that it is difficult to establish a clear time frame for such a study. First, if we talk about the lower limit, it should be noted that the development of the Slavic tribes was uneven and depended on the natural conditions in which they lived. Secondly, if we talk about the upper limit, then this is the period of the so-called. dual faith, but the work uses sources recorded much later. In addition, it must be taken into account that many echoes of ancient beliefs survived until the end of the 19th century.

In order to trace the development of the “wolf cult” among the Slavs and the transformation of the wolf into a hostile creature already in the Christian era, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with a variety of sources of oral folk tradition, such as beliefs and signs that cover different aspects of human life, conspiracies, fairy tales, proverbs and sayings, legends, riddles, etc. at the same time, each of the forms of folk culture, each folklore genre has its own specifics and different value in terms of the reconstruction of mythological representations.

Traditional folk beliefs act as motivations, prohibitions, amulets and ritual and magical actions. However, their original mythological meaning is often changed, or completely erased. Rites in which animals appear either directly (often as central characters) or symbolically (characters dressed up, figurines of animals and birds, etc.) provide rich material for revealing the mythological symbolism of animals.

In folklore texts, mythological ideas about animals are presented in a purer form in epics, legends, and less often in toponymic and historical traditions. These representations are reflected in various song texts, primarily in ritual ones, but also in epic and ballad ones. To a lesser extent playful and comic, even weaker in lyrical and historical1.

In many folklore texts, mythological symbols appear in a transformed form. this applies primarily to incantations, dream interpretations, and riddles that have preserved traces of deep archaism. The meaning inherent in them is revealed not directly, but taking into account the magical function of the word, poetic allegory. In general, small folklore texts are an important material for the reconstruction of mythological representations, since they have a stable formulaic character. In addition to conspiracies and riddles, these are incantations, spells, curses, formulas for exhorting and appeasing animals, intimidating children. Swear formulas containing comparisons with animals have the same stable character. In poetic form, traditional beliefs were reflected in various genres of children's folklore and in fairy tales. The worldview of our ancestors can be partly restored with the help of works of ancient Russian literature and archaeological data.

Invaluable assistance in such studies is provided by the work of scientists so-called. mythological school of I.P. Sakharova, F.I. Buslaeva, A.N. Afanasiev, A.A. Potebni and others. They were the first, based on the analysis of Russian folklore, its comparison with the folklore and mythology of other peoples, who tried to restore the beliefs, cults, rituals and customs of the ancient Slavs. These researchers collected a mass of folk art works that found their second life on paper. The works of "mythologists" are also popular with modern scientists.

As mentioned above, the attitude towards the wolf among the Eastern Slavs changed with the passage of time. The beliefs of our ancestors were constantly developing and changing, but the old did not die off, but was layered on the new. Thus, it is obvious that any cult is multilayered.

Stages of development early forms Religions, as scientists have proved, are inextricably linked with the development of society, with the historical features of its life and activities. S.A. Tokarev claims that among the most ancient forms of religion in their origin are: 1) totemism, 2) witchcraft, 3) quackery. They are rooted in the conditions of life primitive people. Later forms of religion, which already reflect the processes of decomposition of the communal-tribal system, should be considered: 4) initiations, 5) a fishing cult, 6) a family-tribal cult of shrines and patrons, 7) a patriarchal cult of ancestors, 8) nagualism, 9) a cult of leaders , 10) the cult of a tribal god, 11) agrarian cults2.

Hunters believed that wild animals were their ancestors. Each tribe had its own totem. Totemism reflected a sense of the connection of the human group with the territory belonging to it. This form of religion, as it were, sanctifies and consolidates the traditional rights of the clan to its land and hunting grounds.3 In addition, totemic mythology is nothing more than a mythological personification of the feeling of unity of the group, the commonality of its origin and the continuity of its traditions. Totemic ancestors are her religious and mythological sanction of the customs of the community. They are the supernatural founders of the rites performed by the members of the group, the prohibitions observed by them4.

Perhaps Herodotus witnessed a similar rite: “These people (in my opinion) werewolves. After all, the Scythians and Hellenes who live in Scythia say that once a year each Nevr becomes a wolf for several days and then returns to its former state again. In this news of the Greek historian, many commentators see evidence of the Slavs of the Neuri. Since, according to many sources, the cult of the wolf was widespread among the ancestors of the Slavs at that time. This can be explained by the fact that the wolf is a successful hunter, like him, people existed due to hunting. Hence the desire to imitate this animal. This was reflected in hunting rituals: dancing in animal skins, which in turn develops into fishing magic.

As for magical prohibitions, different types hunting taboo, then this is the most stable manifestation of fishing magic. They arose from elementary precautions in hunting: not to frighten away the beast with noise, conversations, smell and, as a result, the requirement to observe silence, cleanliness in the fishery and all kinds of secrecy. It was on this soil that superstitious ideas were born that the beast understands human speech, hears it from afar. Confirmation of this is such proverbs: “I would say a word, but the wolf is not far away”; "Don't call the wolf out of the ring." and therefore, even being at home, the hunters were not supposed to speak directly about the purposes of hunting, to call the beast by name. He was called either uncle (Belarusian) or fierce. Hunters imitating this beast called themselves "lutichi".

The rich ethnographic material makes it possible to trace the evolution of religious-magic and religious-mythological ideas associated with fishing rites and, one might say, developed on their basis. It was originally a belief in magic, the supernatural power of human action itself. But gradually, as the general historical development, there was a personification of these magical ideas, they increasingly took the form of animistic (mythological) images. The same happened with the cult of the wolf. This beast is beginning to be endowed with miraculous properties.

The cult of the guardian spirit is also connected with the fishing cult. According to S.A. Tokarev, the family-clan cult of shrines and patrons, the patriarchal cult of ancestors and nagualism intersect here, i.e. cult of a personal spirit-patron. Probably, the appearance of magical fairy tale stories about a wolf-helper, a wolf-devourer of evil spirits, as well as signs that meeting a wolf on the way is for good dates back to this time. Belarusians have an expression “forward to the pit, I ran across the road”, which means, in essence, the same as “happiness fell on him”.

The custom of wearing amulets is associated with the cult of the patron spirit: numerous archaeological finds show that men's jewelry most often consisted of wolf fangs - apparently, these are still echoes of witchcraft.

Hunting is being replaced by animal husbandry and agriculture. They become the main occupations of man. Accordingly, new cults associated with them appear. Many of the former magical rites are losing their generally understood meaning. The wolf for pastoralists and farmers becomes a hostile animal. However, tradition is something stable, and respect for the fierce beast remains both at this time and in the future.

The farmers, as already mentioned, had their own cults and ideas about nature. This is the so-called. meteorological magic associated with heavenly forces and deities. The wolf, due to its predatory and predatory disposition, receives in folk legends the meaning of a hostile demon. In his image, fantasy personified the power of night darkness, clouds darkening the sky and winter fogs. Such a personification is in close connection with the belief in the fertile heavenly herds that give fertility to the earth. Herds, both heavenly and earthly, have a common enemy - the wolf.

So, in riddles, the word "wolf" is taken as a metaphor for the darkness of the night: "The wolf came - all the people fell silent, the falcon came clear - all the people went."

The epithets "wolf" and "evening" were sometimes used as equivalent. So, Vechernitsa (the planet Venus) was called the “wolf star”. The fact that the wolf serves as a symbol of a dark cloud is indicated in the “Pilot Book”: “clouds - goneshtei from the villagers are called leekodlatsi: when a lone or slate perishes, they say: eloquent lone has eaten up or slate”8.

Vlekodlatsi - dressed in a wolf skin (dlaka). The heavenly bodies, darkened by clouds, and the stormy spirits walking in the clouds, seemed to be dressed in wolf skins. Since celestial wolves attack celestial herds (stars, moon, sun), there is a belief that a wolf can eat fire (in fairy tales: a fire-eating wolf). The wolf-cloud, the devourer of heavenly bodies in Russian folk tales is called the self-swallowing wolf: he lives on the "sea-okiyana" (or in the sky) and extracts fairy tale hero gusli-samogudy. The epithet "bloody sunset" apparently came from the fact that people believed that in the evening the wolf devoured the sun9. Cracked on the moon are the marks of wolf teeth.

Took from * Raven *