#WORLD : SLAVIC MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION

[valya-dudycz-lupescu]

Bread & Salt

Today is the 32nd anniversary of Ukrainian Independence. It is also day 546 since Russia began its war in Ukraine. On August 24, 1991, Ukraine regained its independence from the Soviet Union. The day is a powerful reminder of Ukrainian democracy and self-rule, and we celebrate the courage and bravery of the Ukrainian people.

Last week, at the Parliament of the World's Religions, I participated in a ritual performance that featured goddesses from around the world offering messages to the audience, each one wearing a beautiful mask hand-made by artist Lauren Raine.

Each of us was tasked with writing something that spoke to the challenges we see around the planet: pollution, starvation, inequality, war.

It was my honor to wear a mask of the goddess Lada, as well as my embroidered folk costume from Ukraine. I carried bread and salt on top of an embroidered rushnyk, in a traditional greeting.

In Ukraine, bread and salt are offered as a sacred tradition, incorporated into celebrations that include weddings, funerals, and holidays. I asked my aunt Katia Hrynewycz, who is a baker and the owner of Chicago Cake Art, to bake a special circular bread (korovai) that could be used in the performance and then shared with the audience.

There are so many ancient ideas and stories tied to bread in Ukrainian culture: The grain is symbolic of prosperity and fertility, the circle a symbol of eternity and community, the salt exemplifies wealth and also protection. The bread may be adorned with trees, braids, birds, and more, depending on the occasion. As is the case with Ukrainian pysanky and embroidery, every object that adorns Ukrainian bread is symbolic of a blessing or intention for the people who will receive it.

On Ukrainian Independence Day, I wanted to share Lada's message:

Lada's Message We come to the threshold with bread and salt, our greeting since before maps and borders. We say Vitayemo to welcome guests and offer communion with treasures of the rich black soil we call chornozem: grains we grind to bake this holiness, salt precious and pulled from the ground, to preserve, to give life flavor. Everything we have loved and grown and lost and buried, is in that black earth. When we say Vitayemo, we are inviting you into our home and into our story, with wheat grown from the heart of our Mother, and salt from her seas and stones, We are sharing a part of ourselves, a part of our ancestors, our roots deep in that fertile soil. When we say Vitayemo, we are telling you that we see you. and we will remember the way you receive our gifts: Will you show gratitude? Will you take nothing more than what was offered? Will you share something of yourself? Will you leave the space better than when you entered? We are living the legacy of betrayal— what happens to bread and salt when all is blood and butchering? When we say Vitayemo, we enter into relationship— I am saying that I am open to you. Can you feel the opening of my heart? Do you see the ripping open of my heart? Will you watch the bleeding of all who are held in my heart? How will you cross the threshold? ~Valya Dudycz Lupescu

Слава Україні!  Героям слава!

[luminescenc1e]

“ The filth had seeped into the soil, they have polluted everything. No stone was left unturned, unbesmirched, and unsoiled. If anything, one should be proud of their consistent disappointment. ” Without anger, he speaks, a sadness hanging and clutching at the air.

@forrkeeps from the starter call / accepting.

[batmanlovesnirvana]

— Faith in the grishaverse.

I’ve always thought that, despite the important role religion plays in the Grishaverse, it isn’t very well explained when it comes to the Ravkans.

There is no central Ravkan deity. People pray to the saints, who are the ones performing miracles, unlike the real-world concept where people ask saints to pray to God on their behalf.

Not all Grisha are saints, but it’s been debated that all saints were actually Grisha. Grisha used to be much more powerful, but their powers diminished after the formation of the Second Army and its orders.

The world was created in The Making at the Heart of the World (let’s call it MHW for short, lol), which is like the central point of creation where everything comes from. The Grisha are connected to MHW—they come from it and return to it after death, but the concept of "Grisha" came later than the Ravkan religion. People credit Sankt Grigori, who was a healer, with forming the first Corporalki, but even in Grigori’s time, saints were already a thing.

The religion is older than Ravka itself. The monks helped the first king of Ravka unify the country, and then founded the Priestguard in exchange for their help. It’s suggested that they were also Grisha.

It’s implied that all gods are the same god, meaning Djel, the saints, and even the Ravkan religion come from the same central source. (I don’t totally agree with this because Ghezen is opposed to Djel, but okay, lol).

Leigh has said the religion is based on Slavic paganism, but the very concept of having saints, cathedrals, icons, monks, and a kind of central religious authority (the Apparat) feels a lot like Eastern Orthodoxy, which was the official religion of the Russian Empire.

In an interview from 2012 (pre-Six of Crows), she said: “I never get specifically into Christianity. That was really important to me. There is no Christ in this world. The religion that is in the world is much closer to the kind of pagan tradition that was in Russia pre-Christianity, and even that grew out of the influence of Christianity, but that couldn’t tamp down these local mythologies.”

Interestingly, a concept of heaven or hell is never mentioned… The Fjerdans are very focused on not sinning against Djel, but we don’t really know what happens if you do. Djel has his saints and is the higher power for the Fjerdans, just like Ghezen is for the Kerch. But there isn’t a central Ravkan deity, and we haven’t heard much about the Shu religion either, just that they believe in some « seven knights », but it was never adressed. I think they believe in more sciency/superstitious and the Suli believes in their Saints, Gods and curses…

Grisha, on the other hand, don’t believe in life after death, though it’s unclear if non-Grisha do. In Crooked Kingdom, Inej tells Nina to let Matthias go to his god, which might imply some kind of afterlife for the Fjerdans. At the end of Rule of Wolves, it’s hinted that all gods are the same god (AGAIN I’d disagree—don’t tell me Ghezen and Djel are the same), suggesting Djel could be the central god of the Grishaverse, taking different forms depending on the culture.

The use of expressions like “heaven” and “hell” might just be a way of speaking that’s familiar to us in the real world. Sometimes authors reshape these concepts to fit their fictional worlds, but Leigh Bardugo doesn’t seem to have done that here.

Honestly, we don’t know much. We know more about the Grisha’s involvement in religion and how people interact with it than we do about the beliefs themselves… What do they believe in? Is there a code of behavior/practice? Is MHW like the Big Bang, or was it set in motion by someone else? I have questions, too…

I had another point, but I forgot it before I could type it out—I'll add it in the comments if I remember… The Nikolai Duology touches on this more, but it doesn’t explain a lot either. It’s more about the influence of religion on Ravkan/Grisha society than actual world-building.

[bestiarium]

The Ale [Bulgarian mythology; Slavic mythology]

Many cultures from around the world have tales of powerful supernatural creatures – be they spirits, deities or monsters – who can create bad weather. In Slavic folklore, this role is taken by the Ala, a type of malevolent meteorological spirits associated with storms, hail and hurricanes. They are found in Serbian, Macedonian and Bulgarian beliefs (in the Bulgarian version, these creatures are called Hali (singular Hala).

Ale are demonic creatures with serpent-like bodies and the head of a horse, though their appearance varies a lot between stories and iterations. They usually have wings, and sometimes three heads or a sword-like tail. The Ale are shapeshifters and can also assume a human form. Sometimes, they become ravens.

Inherently malicious, the Ale are notorious for destroying or stealing crops, uprooting trees and creating powerful storms to devastate orchards. These demons have the ability to transform into a thick fog cloud: when they take this form and descend on farmland, the corn can no longer ripen.

Interestingly, these monsters are said to avoid lakes and rivers. Being inherently solitary creatures, an Ala usually lives alone in a cave and will even defend its habitat if other Ale approach.

When an eclipse happens, it is said that an Ala is trying to devour the sun, as their hunger is insatiable.

Sources: Conrad, J. L., 2001, Male Mythological Beings Among the South Slavs, University of Kansas, SEEFA Journal 4(1), pp. 3-9. Bane, T., 2014, Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures, McFarland, 416 pp. Avilin, T., 2007, Meteor Beliefs Project: East European meteor folk-beliefs, WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 35:5, p.113-116. (image source: John Wigley on Artstation)

[yoga-onion]

Legends and myths about trees

Forest myths, Estonian traditional beliefs (7)

The world of the Estonians’ ancestors – Metsavana, the old man of the forest

Metsavana, also known as metsataat or metsaisa, is a forest deity in Estonian mythology. Metsavana is a compound of metsa ("forest") and vana ("old, ancient"). The names metsataat and metsaisa translate to "forest father" or "forest old man".

Metsavana is one of the many types of forest spirits found in Estonian mythology, such as Metsaema ("forest mother"Ref) and Metsik ("forest fairy" Ref2). Finnic folklore has links with Slavic mythology, shown in Metsavana's similarities with the Leshy and corresponding other spirits.

Estonian forest spirits are often seen as tricksters, generally benevolent but posing some danger to humans who stray from the path or act against them. In Komi folk religion, he is referred to pseudonymously to avoid catching his notice, using names such as "uncle" (djadja) and "old man".

Each forest has its own metsavana. Metsavana is described as a tall elderly man with an unkempt beard, overgrown with moss. His clothes are made of birch and he wears a large birch hat and boots. Metsavana rules over the forest, deciding how plentiful the hunters' harvest will be, and he can speak with the birds and animals. They can be the protectors of wild animals, for example bears, wolves, snakes and foxes.

木にまつわる伝説・神話

森の神話・エストニアの民間伝承 (7)

エストニア人の祖先の世界 〜 森の老人メツァヴァナ

メツァヴァナとは、エストニア神話に登場する森の神である。メツァタートまたはメツァイサ とも呼ばれる。メツァヴァナは、メツァ は「森」とヴァナは 「古い、古代の」を意味する2語の合成語である。メツァタートとメツァイサは「森の父」または「森の老人」と訳される。

メツァヴァナはエストニア神話に登場する森の精霊の一種で、メツァエマ（「森の母」参照）やメツィク（「森の妖精」参照2）などがこれにあたる。バルト・フィン族の民間伝承はスラブ神話とのつながりがあり、メツァヴァナがレーシーやその他の森の精霊と類似していることからもわかる。

エストニアの森の精霊はトリックスター (悪戯者) として見られることが多く、一般的には善良であるが、道から外れたり逆らったりする人間には何らかの危険をもたらす。コミの民間宗教では、彼の目に留まらないように仮名で呼ばれ、「おじさん」や「老人」などの名称が使われる。

それぞれの森にはそれぞれのメツァヴァナがいる。メツァヴァナは背の高い老人で、髭は手入れされておらず、苔が生い茂っている。服は白樺でできており、大きな白樺の帽子とブーツを履いている。メツァヴァナは森を支配し、猟師たちの収穫の豊かさを決定し、鳥や動物と話すことができる。例えば、クマ、オオカミ、ヘビ、キツネなどの野生動物の保護者にもなれる。

[thewritetofreespeech]

Hi, how are you? I would like to propose a Buddha, Thor request with a reader who is the goddess of Slavic mythology, or rather winter and death. She is usually strong and formidable. Her image symbolizes the combination of birth, fertility and death. The Slavs were not afraid of her, but revered. It was believed that the goddess always observes and reminds of the incessant passage of time (I would like to see the development of relationships)

Well mark him down as scared & horny.

Buddha isn’t necessarily scared of death. He appreciates it as a process in the lifecycle, before reincarnation and our inevitable transition into Nirvana.

He hadn’t considered how powerful she’d be, or how beautiful.

His usual ‘chill guy’ tactics don’t work on her. She seems to not appreciate his go with the flow spirit or how happy go lucky he is. At first.

What she does seem to appreciate is his honesty, and love of humans.

Buddha has very little guile (except when it comes to the ‘higher ups’) so he’s transparent in what he wants and needs, which she would find very comforting.

Guessing games are not her stride.

She too loves humans, and takes her role in death very seriously to give everyone peace and comfort in their final moments. A respect for the race and their indomitable spirit is something they share.

Secretly loves the candies he give her.

Have a lot of opportunity to interact with one another, as they are gods on the same par and similar religions.

Norse and Slavic gods have quite a bit of cross over; most likely due to migration. So he is aware of the goddess of death before they even had their first conversation.

Which are not many.

Thor, as we all know, is not much of chatter. He’s the tall stoic type, which plays very well into Goddess-san’s aesthetic.

Their relationship is built on a lot of long, intimate, knowing silences. But also a great deal of respect.

They respect each other as old gods, their duties in the world, and each other as an individual. Thor appreciates her dedication to duty and she appreciates his devotion to honor.

Her beauty is something he enjoys, but it’s her formidableness that gets him going.

Being with a powerful woman is something he enjoys. He would never be with someone less than.

Try to make as much time for one another as possible, as quality time is their love language, but it is hard with their very busy schedule.

[dailydemonspotlight]

Chernobog - Day 90

Race: Fury

Arcana: Moon

Alignment: Dark-Law

August 9th, 2024

A lot of religions are focused on dualities- the contrast between good and evil, life and death, as these are obvious parts of life. Sin versus virtue, the entire karma system, so much of the world is focused primarily on contrast, and this is reflected just as obviously in several former mythologies as well. Ancient times were far more focused on contrast and duality, whether it be the eternal Canaanite conflict between Baal and Mot being a metaphorical representation of life and death essentially duking it out, to the very obvious examples of the contrast between Hades and Demeter. However, what I want to focus on today is a far lesser known pair of deities, both originating from Slavic mythology, specifically in the Polabian tribes: Chernobog and Belobog. Granted, Belobog will get his own entry later down the line, but a lot of the mythology between the two is very intertwined, so it's hard to talk about one while avoiding the other.

Information about Chernobog is incredibly scarce, as it was an already obscure deity made even more obscure by a lack of primary sources. However, there are at least some sources to work off of, unlike a certain counterpart... but I'll get to that in Belobog's entry. This is about the Black God. Chernobog is primarily attested to in 'Chronicle of the Slavs,' a book published by ancient priest Helmold, and one of the main sources for pre-christian Slavic culture we have. While mentioned only briefly, the book does describe the first concrete reference we have to Chernobog's cult, wherein Helmold describes a strange ritual practice the slavs undertook in regards to Chernobog. To quote,

Also, the Slavs have a strange delusion. At their feasts and carousals, they pass about a bowl over which they utter words, I should not say of consecration but of execration, in the name of [two] gods — of the good one, as well as of the bad one — professing that all propitious fortune is arranged by the good god, adverse, by the bad god. Hence, also, in their language, they call the bad god Diabol, or Zcerneboch, that is, the black god.

The bad one described, of course, seems to be Chernobog, a name gotten from literally translating Black God in Russian. However, this is just a cursory glance at Chernobog, and what we really want to focus on comes later down the line. Chernobog was a minor deity by most aspects, only worshipped (or possibly feared?) by a small people-group who saw him in conjunction with Belobog, who was seemingly a later interpretation of the contrasting deities, as a primary name wasn't given for the 'good god' to contrast the 'evil god.' My leading sentences about contrast also were a bit of a mislead, as Chernobog wasn't truly seen as evil, at least based on the paper linked above. The two slavic deities we can be sure did exist, being Perun and Veles, were neither wholly good nor wholly evil, and their clashes were less of life and death and more of ideals. They were both revered in equal measure.

This seems to pose the question; did Chernobog even exist? At least based on the source we can reference, given that Helmold wasn't literally just lying, Chernobog did seem to exist, but only as a minor deity to some small cults. Frustratingly, though, this is the only main source we have regarding Chernobog, as after this 12th century paper, it would take another 4 centuries before we got yet more references to the deity, now seeming to have taken a shift from a minor occult deity to a major one in Lusatian paganism, a then-dissolved sect of paganism during the bronze age. In 1538, a scholar named Thomas Kantzow published 'Chronicle of Pomerania,' in which he wrote this in regards to Slavic mythology.

In addition, they worshipped the sun and the moon and, lastly, two gods whom they venerated above all other gods. One [of them] they called Bialbug, that is the white god; him they held for a good god. The other one [they called] Zernebug, that is the black god; him they held for a god who did harm. Therefore, they honored Bialbug, because he did them good and so that he might [continue to] do them good. Zernebug, on the other hand, they honored so that he should not harm them.

All of this ultimately comes down to the idea that Chernobog (referred to as Zernebug) appeared to be an evil god, though his existence is incredibly mysterious and hard to track. His aspects, his appearance, almost everything about him is incredibly obscure, to the point all we can really do is cross-reference him with similar deities in similar roles, such as Set or Mot. For all we know, he may not even exist! However, this lack of knowledge does give people plenty of room to interpret him, and this does lead to one of the best designs in SMT in my opinion. Chernobog is cool. There's nothing much more to it- the mushrooms, the blade, the skeletal face, it's all an insanely badass design, with unique ideas behind it.

I think the mushrooms and the skull all point to themes of decomposition, tying into his role as the black god, and while he's not explicitly tied to death, it can be extrapolated that he is, in some way, connected to it. Sometimes, you just need a baseline idea to go nuts, and Kaneko sure did with this design. While I wish I had more to say about Chernobog itself, the god is defined by its obscurity, so sometimes less can be more.

That's a cop out, Vee-ho.

Shut up.

[mask131]

Seasonal theme: Magical summer (beginning)

This summer will be a season of wonders and enchantments, of spells and wizards - a magical summer!

Here is a list of beings, entities, objects and concepts you can check out if you want to add some magic to your summer:

In the myths, legends and so-called “real” world...

In the Arthurian literature: Merlin the enchanter, most famous of all wizards, derived from the legendary Welsh figure of Myrddin. Morgan le Fay, the ever-so-ambiguous enchantress of Arthurian mythos. Excalibur, the greatest and most iconic of all magical swords.

In Greek mythology: Hecate, the goddess of magic and witches. Circe, the divine enchantress of the Odyssey. Medea, the most frightening sorceress of the Greek legends. Lamia, a Greco-Roman bogeywoman that medieval times assimilated with various monsters and witches.

In Norse mythology: seidr, the old Norse magic, and its patron goddess Freya. Loki, expert shapeshifter and trickster supreme.

Christian legends, myths and beliefs: the Malleus Maleficarum, the unfamous manual used by many witch-hunters during the great witch hunts throughout Europe - a manual which was not accepted by the Church, unlike what many people believe. The Ars Goetia, both the art of invoking demons and the grimoire containing the secrets of said art. Astaroth, a demon often associated today with witchcraft. The famous witches sabbath, that was the great terror and fantasy of devil-fearing men of the Middle-Ages and the Renaissance. The paintings of Goya, which illustrated the various superstitions and beliefs surrounding witches in Spain.

The folklore of the British Isles: the British Grimalkin, with its cousins the English King of Cats and the Celtic Cat-sith. Lugh, the Irish Celtic god that mastered all of the arts, including magic.

Vaïnämöinen, the great bard-enchanter of Finland, and one of the sorcerer-heroes of the Kalevala alongside the magical blacksmith Ilmarinen, all fighting against the evil witch-queen Louhi.

In fairytales: the fairytales of the brothers Grimm brought many of the famous fairytale witches, from the evil queen with her magic mirror in Snow-White to the witch living in a house of bread and sugar in Hansel and Gretel. In Slavic fairytales, the great and iconic witch is the dreaded Baba Yaga. The French fairytales also brought the archetype of the fairy godmother: Cinderella, Toads and Diamonds, Donkeyskin, Cunning Cinders, The Hind in the Woods/The White Doe, Prince Marcassin... And let’s not forget Carabosse, the wicked fairy of the fairytale Princess Mayblossom, that became thanks to Tchaïkovsky’s ballet the old antagonistic fairy of Sleeping Beauty. Plus: the seven-league boots, one of the most famous magical items of French fairytales, appearing in Little Thumbling or The Orange Tree and the Bee.

The world of alchemy: the famous philosopher’s stone, elixir of life, and panacea that formed the ultimate goals of alchemists. Hermes Trismegistus, the mythological patron and ancestor of all alchemists (himself a mix of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth). Nicolas Flamel, the 14th century book-seller everybody believed to be the discovered of the philosopher’s stone.

Some famous grimoires of our world: The Book of Abramelin, a tome of sacred Jewish magic. The Lesser Key of Solomon, a demonology grimoire of the 17th century inspired by the older book of sacred spells known as The Key of Solomon. The very famous duo of French grimoires known as the Grand Albert and Petit Albert. The Book of Shadows, a type of grimoire originally part of the Wicca religion, and that became popularized in America media thanks to the television series Charmed.

Principles, beliefs, personalities and practices of our world (which, as you will note, frequently mix magic with religion and folk-healing): Nostradamus, the great French prophet. The magi of Persia, Zoroastrian priests and astronomers that gave birth to the concept of the “mage” as we know it today. The original mana - not the video game mechanic, but the supernatural force of Oceanian beliefs. The Celtic druids and the most famous of their sacred sites: Stonehenge. The marabout, a type of Muslim holy man from Africa to whom was attributed some magical powers in folk-belief. The shamans of Siberia, the ones from which the very principle of “shamanism” was codified in the West. The medecine people of the First Nations in Northern America. The sangomas of Southern Africa, one of the most famous types of African “witch-doctors”. The Haitian Vodou and the Louisiana/New-Orleans Voodoo, folk-religions and magic beliefs deriving from the Vodun religion of West Africa (not to be confused with their various “cousins”, such as the Vodu of Cuba, the Jejé of Brazil or the Hoodoo).

More general magic tropes and concepts: the magic potion. The flying broomstick. The magic wand, or its variation the wizard’s staff. The familiar of the witch. The trope of the wizard duel, which, despite its prominence in modern literature and contemporary folk songs, has roots in ancient mythological fights and legendary magic hunts. The tempestarii, or the belief in weather-influencing, weather-changing sorcerers.

[zarya-zaryanitsa]

are you familiar with the topic this reddit post is talking about?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Rodnovery/comments/15i4uyl/questionhow_did_pagan_slavs_interact_with_other/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

I actually replied to a related ask recently (regarding whether one can worship Slavic gods alongside gods from other pantheons) however I did so in Polish so for simplicity’s sake I’m gonna just translate that for you and add some more sources at the end:

To the best of my knowledge, they don't mind. I don't think I've come across a case of their opposition to such practices, either in my personal experience or from other pagans I've talked to about it. There are also some sources that suggest that this type of practice could also have taken place among the pagan Slavs. As I mentioned in the answer to another question, the Slavs were fairly open to other peoples. Moreover, as Roman Zaroff points out in one of his articles, the Slavs treated the gods of other peoples as real as their own.

Moreover, the concept of monotheism was alien and strange to the pagan Polabians. A single god jealously demanding exclusive devotion and worship was conceptually unpalatable in the world of a multiplicity of gods and spirits characterized by general religious tolerance. A world, where gods of other people, although not their own and not worshipped were as real as their own deities. The Polabian Slavs did not comprehend why exclusiveness was demanded and after a forceful conversion, as evidence from Szczecin shows, they worshipped old gods alongside the Christian God. The Polabians did not negate the existence of the Christian god but simply added yet another deity to their old pantheon, albeit strange and alien. It is worth noting that a similar attitude was observed among Scandinavians. During the raid on Courland, Swedish warriors consulted through divination various gods of their own to gain their divine support for the campaign. Apparently the outcomes of these divinations were interpreted as unfavourable. On someone’s suggestion they performed one more rite for a Christian God. This time the outcome was favourable and they succeeded in their enterprise. This account clearly shows that for non-Christian Swedes the Christian God was yet another deity that existed and although not their own, it was as real for them as Odin or Thor.

- Perception of Christianity by the Pagan Polabian Slavs, Roman Zaroff

If the Slavs from Szczecin could worship the Christian god next to their own gods it seems to me quite likely that in other places a similar fate befell other deities of nearby peoples - religious syncretism is a very common phenomenon where two cultures meet, especially friendly ones.

As Zaroff recalls, the particular aversion to Christians, which resulted in the ban on the open practice of Christianity in Wolin, was probably not universal and originated from the ongoing open conflict with the Christian neighbors, striving for the complete eradication of the tribal culture and religion of the Polabian Slavs (which they generally succeeded in doing).

The influence of neighboring peoples is visible in many places in the known folklore and obviously must have influenced the beliefs of the pre-Christian Slavs as well. In their book Slavic Gods and Heroes, Uchitel and Kalik put forward a rather controversial theory that all the gods we consider Slavic were in some form borrowed from other peoples, and the Slavs originally worshiped the cult of ancestors, in particular the founding heroes of various tribes and related totemic animals. I personally do not fully agree with this hypothesis, but I think that some of the examples they present may be true. Much ink has been spilled over the possible borrowing of Khors from northern Iranian tribes, and the Simargl seems to be related to similar mythological creatures from other cultures. Slovenian Kurent may be related to the cult of Cybele, etc.

Back to the present me, if you want to read some interesting theories on the influences the neighboring peoples had on pre-Christian Slavic religion as well as later syncretism you I recommend the following pieces:

Organized pagan cult in Kievan Rus’. The Invention of Foreign Elite or Evolution of Local Tradition? by Roman Zaroff - more information on the possible origins and influences on the Kievan pantheon, great source lots of info packed into 30 pages,

Non-Iranian origin of the Eastern-Slavonic god Xŭrsŭ/Xors by Constantine Borissoff touches on some popular theories regarding who the fuck actually was Khors and what’s his deal as well as offers a counter-theory,

Supernatural Beings from Slovenian Myth and Folktales by Monika Kropej - longer text, lots of great info on Kurent, Mokoš and many others

My amateur translation of fragments from the works of Polish Slavists Aleksander Gieysztor and Andrzej Szyjewski touching again on Mokosh

Saint Perun and Saint Volos by James Joshua Pennington - a few words on gods influencing Saints, a interesting form of religious syncretism,

Russian Folk Belief by Linda Ivanits - a lot more words on gods influencing Siants

Slavic Gods and Heroes by Alexander Uchitel and Judith Kalik - already explained what this one is about.

TLDR: It would be silly and unrealistic to think our neighbors had no influence on us our customs and beliefs. They do now and it wasn’t any different in the past.

[nerdasaurus1200]

What's been your inspiration for coming up with all your Saporia and Corona Lore?

Ohhh man this is a good question. Forgive me, Anon, but I'm about to infodump.

God so many things...especially in the last year where I've been really heavily focusing on it. One of the biggest rules I've had for myself during this whole process is to treat it with the same respect as I would any other religion. Every culture has religion as a way to tell what they believe is the truth of how they came to be and how the world around them works. It's their truth, and I wanted to emphasize that.

So, Skinandi was essentially inspired by the Sundrop flower, and was the very first thing I came up with. In the very early stages the Norse gods were the inspiration for my Saporian gods, particularly their names. Back in the day because of their feminism I thought Saporia to be a pseudo Viking culture. Canis was also a big result of Nordic influence, Fenrir was a huge inspiration for that. But there were also some greek influences as well as I developed the gods. Vitur is a combo of Athena and Thor, Draumur could be seen as a combo of Odin and Orpheus. Jolakotturinn in Saporia is taken straight out of Icelandic folklore. And Hatid was heavily inspired by the Ghost of Christmas Present and Dionysus. It wasn't at all intended in the creation, but Wilkolak could be interpreted as Saporia's version of a Medusa-like figure. And lately folklore such as Baba Yaga or the Leshy has been inspired by Slavic lore.

As for Corona, I'm sure people have noticed this but a big inspiration so far has been German fairytales, but with twists. For instance in Corona Red Riding Hood is considered a famous Robin Hood type thief and her hound is named Wolf. The Princess and the Frog is one of Rapunzel's ancestors and her husband was cursed. Hansel and Gretel are famous soldiers of the Corona Guard who were witch hunters....not the greatest figures in the name of Coronan-Saporian unity. Elodie the Great but when I made her on Heroforge I was thinking of some...I guess Nordic/Germanic Paul Bunyan-esque wild woman. I'm still working out all the nitty gritty details but I do think by the time of Tangled Corona is a pseudo christian kingdom with some very faint flavors of Saporian paganism. And by extension slavic mythology is inspiration for Corona lore as well because I think they also have creatures like Baba Yaga and the Leshy but they're viewed in a slightly different light.

In the case of customs and places, Vox Machina has been an inspiration. Celtic lore might become inspiration for Janis Point because it kinda gives me Stonehenge/fairy ring vibes. My creation myth for how dragons came to be and why they're so important in the Corona/Saporia area is also inspired by the Fenrir myth.

And...I guess you could kinda say Paleolithic culture plays a smidgeon of a role as well? Cause I do think that the Lost Lagoon has a bunch of ancient cave paintings.

And also as of very recently, like last 24 hours recently, instagram, Scottish folklore, and Arthurian legend has been inspiration because I've been working out:

The idea of Arthur and Morgan le Fay being among the first if not the very first monarchs of Corona and Saporia

Some kind of lake monster that lives in the Lost Lagoon

How dragonseals are viewed in Corona and Saporia lore....and also Equis lore because it's a requirement. It's literally a seal, I have to

[ya-world-challenge]

Alright, I made a challenge! If anyone wants to read globally with me, I made a little list of prompts, neatly divisible by 12 months, plus a bonus. If you want to track your progress, I set it up on Storygraph, too - the link is below.

Tag your posts with "#ya world challenge" ! You don't have to read YA, but I want to see all your posts. :D Also please reblog to spread the word.

YA World Challenge 2023 prompts

By a Caribbean author

Features a religion not your own

Historical/contemporary fiction in a country not your own

Set in Latin America

European book in translation

Features a minority group in your country

Desi lead character, or set on the Indian subcontinent

By an Australian or New Zealand author

A non-Western sci-fi or fantasy world

Set in Asia

By an African author

Minority or non-US disabled character

LGBTQIA+ book in translation

About immigrants or refugees

Set in the Middle East

By an indigenous author

Diversity jackpot! Team of characters of varying cultures

By a Pacific Islander author

Set somewhere you'd like to travel

Non-Western mythology or fairy tale

Memoir of someone outside your cultural group

A country you heard about on the news

Focus on environment or climate

Eastern European or Slavic book

Bonus! Roll a random number and read a book for that country (my personal method, see instructions below)

Storygraph challenge link is here

Roll a random number and read a book for that country

Go to random.org and generate a number from 8 to 215.

Go to my spreadsheet here, and find your number. Use my picks or find your own!

Goodreads lists or this group are helpful for finding books. (If I'm having trouble, I'll allow myself a culturally relevant fantasy world as substitute. Or you can reroll if you get a particularly difficult country!)

If you don't want to include the territories from my list, an "official" list of 195 is here, enter 1 to 195 in the randomizer.

[spinallyspiraling]

Light Bearers in All Belief Systems

All religions and Myths are the same, using different names for same symbols and different allegories for the same teachings

The teachings of Gnosticism, usually reveres Lucifer not as the devil, but as a savior, a guardian or instructing spirit or even the true god as opposed to Jehovah.

Léo Taxil (1854–1907) claimed that Freemasonry is associated with worshipping Lucifer. In what is known as the Taxil hoax, he alleged that leading Freemason Albert Pike had addressed "The 23 Supreme Confederated Councils of the world" (an invention of Taxil), instructing them that Lucifer was God, and was in opposition to the evil god Adonai.

Cultures around the globe assign the Morning Star a central role in Creation. Yet despite its prominence in ancient myth and ritual, the cosmogonical traditions surrounding the

star-god have remained virtually unexamined to date. In the following essay, we will investigate the sacred terminology associated with the Morning Star and argue that itsorigins and theoretical rationale are likely to be found in that star’s unique and cataclysmic recent history.It is notable that the Morning Star is known by similar names virtually everywhere. In numerous cultures the Morning Star was celebrated as the bringer of light. Such is the original meaning of the Latin epithet Lucifer, for example, applied to the Morning Star (Helel ben Shahar) by exegetes of the Old Testament.An early Greek name for the

Morning Star—Phosphoros—has the same meaning.

It is equally common to find the Morning Star described by an epithet denoting “Lord of

the Dawn.” To the Aztec skywatchers in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, for example, the

Morning Star was known as Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, Lord of the Dawn. For the Skidi Pawnee of the North American Plains, the Morning Star was conceptualized as being intimately associated with the dawn, the celestial domain of departed souls:

“The Morning Star stands upon the dawn. The dawn is represented as a bed of flint

stones, the souls of the dead. As the Morning Star walks, coming up, it makes a blaze of fire so that the red streaks of dawn are seen.” For Homer and Hesiod alike the Morning Star was conceptualized as masculine in natureand known as Heosphoros, “Dawn-bringer.”Thus Homer writes: “At that time when the dawn star passes across earth, harbinger of light, and after him dawn of the saffron mantle is scattered across the sea.”

Hesiod described the mythological genealogy of

Morning Star as follows: “And after these Erigeneia [Eos] bare the star Eosphorus (Dawn-Bringer), and the gleaming stars with which heaven is crowned.” Countless cultures referred to the Morning Star by a name that identified it as the “day bringer” or day-star. For the Polynesian astronomers who charted that culture’s countless long-distance voyages, the Morning Star was known as Fetia ao, “Star of Day.” So, too, among the Slavic peoples of ancient Europe, the Morning Star was known as Denica, “star of day.” Analogous names were commonplace among Amerindians of the New World. For the indigenous cultures along the Northwest coastal region of North America, recurringnames for the Morning Star include “Bringing the Daybreak,” “Bringing the Day,” “Star of Daylight,” and “Daylight has come.”In the Quiché Maya account of Creation, similarly, the Morning Star was described as the first star to appear in heaven: “This one came first before the sun when the sun was born, the new day bringer.”

All of the aforementioned names are commonly thought to have reference to the planet Venus in its familiar role as the Morning Star, during which it appears as the brightest star in the pre-dawn sky and, so the story goes, seems to announce the forthcoming “light of the Sun and day." Upon reflection, however, it seems most unlikely that any ancient skywatcher worth his salt would have chosen the relatively diminutive Venus to denote

the “day-bringer” or the “bringer of light.” Such names would appear to be much more

suitable for the Sun.

The light bearer is also known as Horus Duat, Athtar, Cinteotl, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, Itztlacoliuhqui, papa pachapacari ch’aska, Raven, Nanauatzin, Tecuciztecatl, Quetzalcoatl, Viejito, Nanahuatl, abogado de las bubas y del mal de los ojos y del romadico y tosse, u-pirikucu, Icoquih, is raxa, Venus, Mars, Christ, Tlahuizcalpanteuctl.

Every single faith has a light bearer just as every faith worships the same God whether it be the God of the Bible or Allah; as is also a Shiva and Shakti.

There is no other belief set that vilifies a day star except for Christianity. In fact you'll see worship of both the Daystar and the morning Star all at the same time, as they saw the importance of both. However the Bible demonizes A Day star and proceeds to call it Satan. as if it's not a star. It proceeds then further to say that the day star being Lucifer or satan waged a war against God, etc, instead of seeing or realizing that for it to even exist God still gave life to it. I just don't see why anything that is celestial or of any importance would ever wage a war against something much greater. We must remember both Lucifer and Christ called themselves The morning Star I'm not saying they're both the same character or the same morning Star because one eventually begins to become the Daystar however here in this must mean they both share importance for the spiritual teachings of mankind.

[gallalctyka]

oooo wait i like ur ocs story even in shitpost small summary form tell me more :)))))))))

UAUAUAAAAAA..... alright then :3

okay so. like i said the whole premise is that, instead of the cold war ending by the fall of the eastern bloc and dissolution of the ussr, it ends with a world scale nuclear war that devastated mankind as we know it. not COMPLETELY wiped it out but. you know it was still pretty bad all things considered

the story focuses entirely on the eastern europe and the aftermath, as the action takes place a LONG time after the conflict. mankind is basically trying to rebuild itself from the ashes. think fallout or s.t.a.l.k.e.r. like (albeit i know the second one isn't technically post apocalyptic jdhgskh but i digress). ANYWAY the gimmick is that the long forgotten demons and spirits from slavic folklore have made themselves known after centuries (if not millennia) of hiding ^_^ they're fucking shit up!! well not all of them. many demons are cool actually. still dangerous as shit though

anyway with their "reawakening" so did the old faith. the slavic pantheon and old traditions are INTEGRAL to the lives and culture of the survivors. christianity who? (well it still kind of lingers i won't lie. considering the impact it had on our history but that's for another time). still, religion is a... tricky subject for some. as some people are understandably upset that the divine never came to stop the cataclysm from happening, ESPECIALLY since there are old tales of them actually showing up to aid after the fallout. but who knowsssss those are old sayings... wink wink

basically the whole thing is a mix of fantasy PURELY inspired by slavic mythology and sci-fi (there are ROBOTS HERE!!! soviet robots... and other weird soviet experiments that nobody knows what were for because nobody has any knowledge about technology anymore lol. oh also RADIOACTIVE MUTANTS) set in a post-apocalyptic setting

casimir is the main character!! a teenage disaster i tell you. they're basically a vagabond travelling between different settlements, their goal is to actually find a way to reach the Iron Curtain and to escape to the outside world (the whole eastern bloc is COMPLETELY unaware of what's going on outside). something something a metaphor of young eastern europeans running off to the west for better opportunities ANYWAY. the road to get there is basically unbeatable lol good luck trying to survive the ghouls lingering there. and if that won't stop you then good luck trying to pass through the Never Ending Storms. they're also a bounty hunter and Can Kill Demons. epic. something very useful. the story "starts" with them reaching lviv and kind of. getting stranded there?? but not really??? the details aren't important. what is important is that they're THERE

that's where they meet the brothers i mentioned! elias and nikolai :) they're old gruff men with an aura of mystery to them. elias is LOUD and very short tempered, emotional as all hell too. every emotion he has is explosive. he's definitely intimidating to a lot of people but once you start talking to him it's like to an old friend you've known all your life. he values camaraderie a lot. also he's a beast at parties. nikolai is more reclusive, always saying some ominous shit. you'd think he's the cool mysterious brother at first glance but really he's a chaotic freak that likes to fuck with people sometimes. mostly elias. but he is definitely more laidback of the two. one thing though is that their relationship is... VERY strained. to say the least. it's so bad to the point that basically EVERYONE IN THE CITY has no idea they are related. for all they know elias could chop off nikolai's head and nikolai could hex elias if given the right opportunity

oh right did i mention they are gods. perun and veles in fact, the two leading deities in the slavic mythology. that's fun. yeah they're basically undercover lol. you could even say retired. at least in elias's (perun's) case who feels unworthy of carrying the title of the "supreme god" after everything. nikolai (veles) is however more busy than ever being the god of death and afterlife. he feels like he's never going to rest - doesn't consider that a burden though, as he loves humanity. anyway they are DEPRESSED!

so when casimir comes into their lives they don't think much about it. elias doesn't even TRY to get attached because he never learned to cope with mortals passing. nikolai however decides to indulge in them... for one reason or another (:3) and it's like oh god. oh fuck i got attached. elias help. elias voice you're so pathetic watch me- oh no

honestly the one MOST against getting attached was casimir lol. all they wanted is some intel then they'd skeddadle outta there as fast as possible. people in this settlement were supposed to be nothing more than means to an end and now they ended up with TWO ADOPTIVE UNCLES and a CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. i love found family

[dwellerinroots]

What is it about birds that you enjoy :)

Thank you, my friend; this is such a good question..? Since I'm going to talk a bit, those uninterested in the sum total of the birdposting tag can roll their eyes and avoid this one, ahaha. Conversation about how great flora, fauna, and especially birds are under the cut!

First, some mood music.

Topsy already knows some of my predilections, here, but unless people peek at my tags, I suppose it'd be easy to say 'oh, this fellow just casually likes birds.' And in a way, that's true; I like pretty much all creatures, real or fictional. I tend to like natural things more then I like people, which I don't think is entirely uncommon among writers, nor does it excuse behaving cruelly to other people (something that is easily forgotten). But first and foremost, I've got a bit of a connection to them. My parents raised me on a steady diet of fiction, classical religion and mythology, and folk tales. A lot of these were 'world' tales, which meant whatever they thought was cool at the time, because my parents were hippies and I love them for that! But just as much was from our culture, which means bird. Lots and lots of bird. Slavic culture has tonnes of mythological bird-ery in it, just as much as mushrooms. I could make the statement that it's more about birds then bears or anything else people want to associate with it, but I think many people would - disagree with that, ahaha. A famous writer (who a lot of people do not care for and I understand that) went by the pen-name Sirin. Who's Sirin? Good question.

But there's tonnes of cool mysterious bird entities over yonder; Alkonost, Gamayun, sometimes even Maiden Midday is depicted as a bird or bird-like. Naturally, some bird or another on fire is important, too. We just - really like birds. But why, though, and why me? Well... I think it's pretty obvious from how I talk and some of my stories that I've travelled a lot and lived a lot of places. One of the few constants is that I've watched the travel of wings, and wondered at that freedom; moving often feels fatalistic, especially when you're young. I don't really have a place or people I consider 'home.' Not an unusual feeling, but... Actually, since I can be as personal as I want this far down, I often disassociate a bit from feeling human. Part of that is the usual stuff a lot of us go through, but part of it is unique to me. I can't tell you how many times, in how many places, I spent watching distant forms lazily drift overhead, wishing I could do nature sketches, but quite content to simply exist, with no greater goal in mind. One of the places I miss most, though, that I think of most as 'home' if I could choose where 'home' is are the moorlands of a certain island nation, rich with heather. I could paint those landscapes from my mind's eye, if you asked me to, also if I could paint. Bahahaha! Brings us nicely to the next point which is that I stumbled unto a very unlikely piece of media and fell in love with a hawk. That's just how these things go; if I cry a lot about a very big bird lady, that's why. Finally, a good friend whom I only occasionally interact with is the second-or-third-best-bird in my life, he's the best*. But these are all personal; the backstory, as you will. In general, outside of my personal reasons - the fact that I like them for how unencumbered they are, their habits, what they mean to me - I like birds a lot because they're pretty! From the most colourful sparkling dainty lads to the tones of feathers that are almost steel. The wingspans of birds unfurling is kind of magical; I don't know if it's some primal sprout mindset that thinks birds == dinosaurs == very cool, or simply that I find the textile sense of wingspan unfolding Reall Cool, but again, I wish I could do scientific sketches or similar. I love how hygienic they are, by and large, and how incredibly goofy most birds are when they've ascertained you are not there to interfere in any way and are just watching. Because all animals are goofballs, but birds are goofy in their own unique way. The many differences in how birds treat each other, how weird and alien some nests look (for nestbuilders), what birds choose to steal everything not nailed down, and which ones are very picky. I just think they're neat! And there are lots of animals I love; I love bees, social insects, asocial solitary pollinators... I love cats and dogs, obviously, I love domesticated animals and weird wild critters, danger noodles and - really I just love nature in general, as mentioned above. But if I was going to choose one (1) kind of animal to watch for, it'd be birds. They're heartening, beautiful, and a bit melancholic.

Thanks for reading this far; here are some magpies being silly. Hopefully this was at least a little interesting to read, and see you around..!

[eirrw]

spoilers are below the break and indented

2022-11-13, 15:13

so id written up this whole first impressions review after watching s2e1 of warrior nun but i think it disappeared into the aether?

im through s2e4 now and and opinions are pretty much the same. writing is better but still not great, feels like the got a better budget and/or practice on the vfx, storylines are interesting enough to make me want to keep watching

im sketch about the major new characters (but i always am (especially men)), but as theyre built out i am intrigued how things will go. there's some relationships hinted at that id love to see followed up on cause im a hopeless romantic at heart

theres also some kickass demon murder which is always cool

2022-11-14, 00:07

right so netflix already killed one show i loved this year (rip first kill, you were too stupid to live 🙏). if warrior nun doesnt get a third (final? wrap it up, dont push your luck) act i might actually fuckin riot.

and dont get me wrong, i have ~feelings~ about how the show went down (particularly e8), but those can (and should) be cleaned up

can we talk about the tropes that went into the last bit tho? kill your gays, forbidden lovers, borderline enemies-to-lovers, fuck! also the whole thing felt really male-gaze-ish

dont get me wrong, i was rooting for it the whole time (see: hopeless romantic), as someone who mostly ids as male it felt kinda icky. idk maybe im just drunk

but anyways, it was good solid fun and i think it deserves another go. give it a whirl netflix, take a risk, you have a content problem and making cool shows that ~some~ (not all!) people like helps

also it takes the piss outta the church. i think i make my view on religion fairly clear (and am happy to clarify them if i dont), but i am an absolute sucker for myth and legend and boy howdy do the abrahamics have a lot of that

christianity is of particular interest to me, maybe because its the predominant religion in my part of the world, and the one ive been exposed the most. i also find that in general its the least commonly to be used in a mythological sense

i love shit like warrior nun, or lucifer, or his dark materials (is the show good? i havent seen it), that use christian myth as an inspiration/basis and spiral out from there. like fuckin da vinci code is about the fake history, these build a fantasy out of the legends

i see "a lot" of stuff stemming out of islamic and jewish myths, and im not nearly well-versed enough to say why that is. maybe theyre older religions that hung on to some of the old gods cruft? the creatures and shit that dont really appear in christianity

and dont get me started on the ips that are built on other old religions. norse, greek, slavic, the "old gods" that are classified as myth solely cause no one really believes it any more

theres no difference to christianity, or judaism, or islam, outside of the fact that people still believe in it. its all stories to explain why the world is the way it is and codify a way to live

im mainly picking in the big three here, but i have the same feeling towards all the others. hinduism, shintō, etc dont get a pass

so yeah, more christian myth please. theres a lot of material there and making people mad is fun.

2022-11-14, 12:51

been thinking a bit more about why this bothered me so much can we talk about the tropes that went into the last bit tho? kill your gays, forbidden lovers, borderline enemies-to-lovers, fuck! also the whole thing felt really male-gaze-ish

i think its the build up. they were pushing this from e1 or e2 with the dance scene, but then did the ol classic "we're into each other but we're never gonna talk about it like normal people"

and the relationship never progressed. at all. until the last half hour when its just lets kiss and declare our love for each other

which fair, these chars are young and in a rough spot (mildly) so maybe theres no time for that. but it still felt weird

and something i see pretty often (from a certain crowd) in these situations is the "oh so youre just gonna make 'a' gay now? she never suggested anything like that", and its like, no

bi people exist. and if theyre in a heteronormative relationship then 1, good for them, and 2, they can still be into the same sex! they dont need to talk about it!

and in this case, 'a' had been confined to a bed in a catholic orphanage for most of her life. maybe the whole, oh i like girls too thing just didn't hit for a while.

and 'b' was obviously gay right from her exposition chat in s1, even if they didn't come right out and say it (see: catholics).

i love that it happened but im bothered that there was no depth to it. idk, maybe if they figured it out in like, e5, and were able to spend some time building up to that final release itd have gone down better

i.e. still tropey but at left i could have felt better about it

copied from twitter, 2022-11-13/14 https://twitter.com/virunus_/status/1591887046150340615

[zarya-zaryanitsa]

I've seen in a lot of art (and on the wikipedia page) that Perun is associated with eagles, but I've been finding it difficult to track this association to any ancient or academic source. Would you happen to know of any sources on this association?

TLDR: I think the eagle originates in a blend of comparative mythology and study of later Slavic folklore. It’s hard for me to pinpoint one specific source that I could say „started it all”, and a lot of slavists that refer to it simply build up on the theories of older researchers.

Comparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics. Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes. For example, scholars have used the relationships between different myths to trace the development of religions and cultures, to propose common origins for myths from different cultures, and to support various psychoanalytical theories. Wikipedia on „Comparative mythology”

Two very well known slavists named Ivanov and Toporov reconstructed the Slavic version of a common indo-european myth in which the Thunderer (representing some variation of: thunder, light, sky, fire, justice, war, protection) defeats a snake-like adversary (associated with: darkness, underworld, waters, chaos, danger). Thor and Jörmungandr, Zeus and Typhon, Marduk and Tiamat, Perun and Veles; the details of the story will vary greatly but they all share some characteristics and belong to the same, common mythological motif.

I see Radoslav Katičić mentioned very often in connection with the idea of Perun-as-eagle and Veles-as-snake. Katičić studied the myth of the battle of Perun and Veles in the context of it serving as the explanation of various natural phenomena, and he noticed that the traces of the story of their fight can be found in a lot of folk songs in various Slavic regions. In some of the songs he studied the battle took place on the World Tree (another common mythological motif present in many cultures) and so he reconstructed a sort of symbolic image of the two gods, with the serpentine Veles around the roots of the tree and Perun, symbolized by an eagle, in it’s crown.

Here is probably a good moment to say that I was not able to read the works of Ivanov, Toporov and Katičić because I couldn’t find them translated into a language I speak. I only know their contents through descriptions of other scholars that I found in sources available in Polish and English.

The Slavic folk tradition says that a bird of prey sits on the top of the world tree, bees live in the middle and the hawk’s enemy dwells at the bottom in the form of a dragon or a snake. The bird of prey (a hawk or an eagle) who rules on the top of the world tree in none other than the divine Thunderer, whom the Slavs name Perun. The traditional folk songs describe Thunderer sitting on the top of the world tree and defending himself from his opponent who is attacking him from below, out of the roots of the world tree. Traditional songs sometimes mention that the snake threatens both Perun and his family. In the end, Perun wins the divine battle and defeats Veles (the snake).

Ethnologists and anthropologists classify the myth of divine battle between Veles and Perun as a storm myth that our ancestors used to explain the turning of seasons and periods of drought and plentiful rain

- René Girard’s Scapegoating and Stereotypes of Persecution in the Divine Battle between Veles and Perun by Mirjana Borenović

Here is another example of comparative mythology at work, to illustrate my drawn out point further:

An important point that recurs in a number of birth stories of the young gods is that the god associated with darkness and death, who is the king’s opponent, is born first. In the Mahābhārata, for instance, where the story is told on the human level, Karn.a is born before the rest of the brothers including Arjuna, who corresponds to Indra and who eventually kills the first-born son. If we apply this to the present instance, Veles would be born first. It can be taken for granted that there is no long period of infancy, and that the gods are immediately capable of adult action. Veles, established at the root of the world tree before his siblings are born, is in a position to prevent their emergence. They may be ‘hidden’ (as the sun is certainly said to be) and possibly Veles swallows them, and a distant but perhaps suggestive analogy is that of the salmon which swallow the nuts of wisdom that fall from the hazel trees overhanging a mysterious well in Ireland. As snake, Veles may threaten nestlings that are helpless to defend themselves. However, Perun, as bird of prey (eagle or falcon) at the top of the tree, can fly and he attacks and defeats Veles, after which, in this postulated form of the story, all the other young gods of light are freed. The release of his swallowed siblings by the king who is the last-born occurs in the story of the birth of Zeus in Hesiod’s Theogony.

- Indo-European Time and the Perun-Veles Combat by Emily Lyle

Among the birds with mythological connotation, the eagle occupies the highest position. The eagle was the bird of ancient Zeus and also of the Slavic god Perun. The eagle belongs to the supreme thunder-making deity.

- Supernatural beings from Slovenian myth and folktales by Monika Kropej

But there are also slavists who do not focus on the eagle when describing animals associated with Perun. For example in „Mitologia Słowian” Aleksander Gieysztor mentiones his likely connection with horses (in particular a white horse) and lists some other animals possibly connected to the Thunderer such as bull, ox, ram, pigeon. A similar list appears in „Religia Słowian” by Andrzej Szyjewski (bull, ox, ram, pigeon, eagle), though here the eagle reappears at the end.

Lastly, as a bit of trivia, I recall Leszek Paweł Słupecki mentioning that according to Saxo Grammaticus eagle was one of the symbols/war emblems used by the Rani Slavs, which as Słupecki suggests may be associated with their main god Sventovit. I know some slavists view Sventovit as related to Perun/serving a similar role to Perun/a form of Perun, though of course others disagree.

To be perfectly honest, I think the depictions of eagles and horses accompany Perun in art this often simply because we think they are majestic and they match the idea of a fearsome thunder god we have in our heads. I suppose a dove and a goat just don’t deliver the same punch.

Sources: René Girard’s Scapegoating and Stereotypes of Persecution in the Divine Battle between Veles and Perun by Mirjana Borenović (I recommend starting with this piece, chapter 2 concisely explains a lot of what was mentioned here), Indo-European Time and the Perun-Veles Combat by Emily Lyle, Supernatural beings from Slovenian myth and folktales by Monika Kropej, From Tradition to Contemporary Belief Tales: The “Changing Life” of Some Slovenian Supernatural Beings from the Annual Cycle by Monika Kropej, Slavonic Pagan Sanctuaries by Leszek Paweł Słupecki, Mitologia Słowian by Aleksander Gieysztor, Religia Słowian by Andrzej Szyjewski.