#domovoi

[slavicafire]

Tales of regional devils, elements of Christianity, remnants of beliefs in old Slavonic spirits and demons, combined with variations in folklore to provide a rich tapestry of demonology. Since in the majority of Polish witchcraft confessions there were no references to familiars, it can be suggested that the personification of the devil was an analogous concept. 

However, the familiar nature of devils could equally be perceived as a continuation of the tradition of the domovoi (house spirits), who were an important part of ancient Slavonic mythology. They were mischievous, rather than harmful spirits who looked afer the home and were placated with offerings of food. Christianity, according to Pełka and Baranowski, demonized these harmless creatures. The lingering spirit of the Christian could conveniently be viewed as a Slavonic water or forest spirit, and many of them were identified with liminal Christian situations, such as death without the appropriate rites, for example suicides or the death of unbaptized infants. Thus from a brief examination of the trial records and printed sources, one can see that the portrait of the devil serves a variety of purposes and beliefs and appears to be distinctly different within elite and popular cultures.

- Jewish, Noble, German, or Peasant? The Devil in Early Modern Poland by Wanda Wyporska.  [Demons, Spirits, Witches Vol. 2 :Christian Demonology And Popular Mythology - Gábor Klaniczay, Éva Pócs (Eds.)]

[loungeofthelost]

Today I discovered that Russian household spirits are called domovoi. As in Domovoi Butler. Is that mentioned in Artemis Fowl or did we all just breeze by that as a fandom?

[dwollsadventures]

House Spirit (Early Modern)

House spirits are a group of beings united by behavior rather than genealogy. While there are some supernatural creatures which will perform domestic duties for an incentive, house spirits are intrinsically tied to the property they live on or in. One could say that they are symbiotic with humans, but the truth is not so simple. House spirits are anything but servile. In their minds, the house they live in is theirs. The humans inhabiting it are merely tenants which they have to pick up after. Violations of the spirit's rules lead to an eviction, so to speak, where the spirit tries to force them out. Unlike mundane landlords, a house spirit is important to a home's health. They keep the house from aging, holding it together in a very real sense. Many inhabit farmsteads where the prosperity of the crops and animals is in no small part due to the house spirit's presence. As the farmers toil during the day, the spirit will do their own labor, vastly improving the health and conditions of the animals and plants. There are many varieties of house spirits. Specifics, like forms of appeasement, behavior, appearance, etc., depend on the species. Regardless of what breed you encounter, remember to show respect. 

-Habitat: Coterminous with human settlements, especially farmsteads. 

-Slayer Tips: Spread a fine material capable of catching invisible footprints, like flour or sugar. Just make sure not to leave it out for too long, or else the spirit will clean it all up. 

--

The first urban creatures of the bestiary! The brownie and nisse are based on less conventional descriptions; the brownie has no nose and a brown mantle (where the name "brownie" comes from), and the nisse has a single eye. The domovoy is based on a famous painting by Ivan Bilibin. The kobold is based on their supposed origin as the ghost of a child and their infrequent appearance as a pillar of flame. Finally, the portune and lubber fiend are here to demonstrate the size variation. Respectively they're the smallest and largest of the house spirits.

[ceaseless-rambler]

Yeah I'm normal

Normal

abOut

Rdomovoi

M

A

Like so normal

[wellmaybetheresworms]

Have you listened to Domovoi? Because I have. And it’s given me Emotions.

[sixminutestoriesblog]

domovoy

Let's wander a bit away from superstition for a moment and head into folklore.

People the world over all seem to have the same idea. There just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done - and wouldn't it be nice if someone in this house would pitch in and help from time to time! And so, all over the world, you'll find household helpers. The Domovoy is the Slavic answer.

The Domovoy lives behind the stove or under the doorstep in a house and is rarely if ever seen. Which isn't to say that he doesn't make his presence known! This household guardian is responsible for all the quiet noises the house makes during the night, the creaks and groans of the wood floor settling are the sounds of the domovoy finishing off the household chores after everyone has gone to bed. He's a hearth guardian, watching over the banked coals all night long and keeping them alive until morning when they'll be needed. A pleased domovoy will watch after the children of a household and the animals as well, keeping them away from dangers - and keeping dangers away from them. The domovoy also plays a prophetic roll, aware of approaching death, disease or misfortune and warning the family with noises in the night. The domovoy, a creature centered more on family than building, also doesn't like to be left alone for too long and so there's a tradition of, just before you set off on a long journey, sitting quietly near the door for a few minutes in the hopes of tricking the domovoy into thinking you're not really leaving.

This is because the domovoy isn't always helpful or even protective. If it suspects the family is going on a long journey it may steal things and hide them, so the family has to stay to look for something they can't leave on their journey without. The domovoy is also easily angered with slothful house members or the use of foul language and will retaliate with terrifying noises in the night if you're lucky and burning your house down around you if you're not so lucky. A domovoy is best treated with respect then. He should always be referred to, not by name but rather as 'grandfather' or 'himself'. If a family is planning on moving, they should invite their domovoy to go with them and, when they move into the new house, leave the first slice of bread from the first meal the family eats in the house either under the stove or buried in the courtyard to welcome him in. In more extreme cases, its blood the domovoy requires, in the form of a rooster or a hen.

In appearance, domovoy are said to look like little old men, with big grey beards and flashing eyes, dressed either in red or grey. Domovoy can change shape at will as well, all the way from snakes to barnyard animals right up to the head of the family or a dead ancestor.

Speaking of which, tracing back to his early beginning roots, the domovoy was probably once a form of ancestor worship, the belief that a founding member of the family, after death, didn't pass on but rather stayed behind to watch over his progeny and share their joys and pains. He started as a small, personalized household god, one the family appeased and honored in exchange for his goodwill and support against outside forces. There's a female version called the domania as well but oftentimes the domovoy ruled the household alone.

a Silesian domovoy statue. These statues were usually placed in niches near the door or hearth of a home.

[jckthelad]

the bear and the nightingale: moodboard

[thecraftwitchrachel]

A domovoi, which can be spelled domovoj or domovoy, is a house spirit in pre-Christian Slavic mythology, a being who lives in the hearth or behind the stove of a Slavic home and protects the inhabitants from harm. Attested from the sixth century CE, the domovoi sometimes appears as an old man or woman, and sometimes as a pig, bird, calf, or cat.

In Slavic mythology, all peasant houses have a domovoi, who is the soul of one (or all) of the deceased members of the family, making the domovoi part of ancestor worship traditions. The domovoi lives in the hearth or behind the stove and householders took care to not disturb the smoldering remains of a fire to keep their ancestors from falling through the grate.

My personal practice includes working with my hearth spirit as I tend to dabble in Kitchen Witchery. I keep a small gnome figurine on my stove as a representation of my apartments Domovoi. I keep it secured with a bit of museum wax which is necessary for all over my apartment because my black cat, Vlad likes to knock things over.

Slavic Chronicles writes that "the domovoi tries to take good care of pets – if a cat gets too noisy during the night, that means it is playing with the home domovoy". I have two cats, Greta and Vlad and Greta's favorite spot is by the stove so I like to think she is keeping our Domovoy company or vice versa. I try to keep my apartment up to our Domovoy's standards but as someone who struggles with depression that leads to some executive dysfunction, chores often are the first thing to be ignored when I'm "down bad". So when my depression finally lessens, I do cleanings and cleansings along with giving my Domovoy an offering as an apology. I work with other ancestral energies, so I like to think that my spirits are understanding that keeping my home in this state isn't a sign of disrespect so they don't act out, which I am grateful for.

Britanica and Madame Pamita gave me the idea of when I moved into my new apartment to make sure I did something to invite my ancestral Domovoy from my previous apartment to my new one. So after getting my new keys and checking out the apartment, I did a smoke cleanse of mugwart and rosemary, said a small 'prayer' in my previous apartment inviting my Domovoy to my new apartment and when in my new apartment I cleaned my stove and brought my gnome figurine and put it on my stove and welcomed the spirit to it's new home.

[vera-deville]

Artemis Fowl Incorrect Quotes #24

Y/N: On a scale of "damn Daniel" to "fre sha vaca do," how are you feeling? Holly: In between "it's an avocado, thanks" and "how did you defeat Captain America," but a solid answer from me would be "I don't need a degree to be a clothing hanger." How about you Butler? Butler: Probably "road work ahead." Artemis: I speak many languages, and this is not one of them.

01/03/2022

[best-fantasy-mythical-creature]

[domovi]

This is me! A free brownie that does not forget about here duties. ( My oc)

Это я! Вольный домовой, что не забывает про свои обязанности. (Моя ос)

[thechaosgods]

Has Anyone else read Domovoi? It was pivotal in my PacRim addiction, and I still think about it.

[jupiter-dromaeos]

Ilmarinen and Domovoi DromaeOS

[myth-lord]

MYTHIKA's HOUSE SPIRITS

All the house spirits in these AI pictures are too large, but for some reason they won't give them the proper size, but these creatures are the size of a human child, also ignore the limbs, they probably have 2 more toes, only one feet and so on, but that is AI for you lol, these are just good indications on how they look a bit in Mythika.

Blue = Domovoi, it is the standard house spirit and protects the home, unlike the kind Brownie it will ask for offerings, if not given it turns hostile and violent.

Red = Ovinnik, hostile red house spirit, it looks kinda demonic and cat-like in the face, it starts fires, small at first, but when it is bored with the house it will burn it to the ground if it isn't removed by force. They also are said to bring bad luck to the house as long as they are there.

Yellow = Bannik, strange yellow haired house spirit, it mostly resides in bathhouses and emerges from the water in lakes, wells and even from the water used in houses, it is tricky, sometimes it helps but mostly it just plays with the feelings and flesh (burning it with hot water) of it's playthings.

Green = Leshy, while they are of the house spirit family, and look pretty much like them, they are residing in the forest around the houses and are more often found in and around cabins in the woods, they are tricksters and love playing tricks, they also protect the forests and the cabins they choose to protect against any interloper, sometimes even being hostile to the residents visitors. The worst thing a Leshy can do is turn you into a plant.

Grey = Bodach, these evil house spirits are also half bogeymen, they first scare the younger residents of a home with scary nightly visits from the chimney, then after they get bored with their prey they will eventually kidnap them and feast on their flesh by turning it slowly into ash. These are even more hostile than the Ovinnik.

Pink = Albastor, these pink haired and skinned House Spirits are full of lust, they travel in the form of falling stars and mostly appear in bath houses and around inns to kidnap beautiful creatures for their sick amusement.

Brown = Brownie, the most kind of the House Spirits, they help the residents with all tasks in the house and protect it against all evil and other house spirits, fights between Brownies and Domovoi are legendary!

[ceaseless-rambler]

No, don't cry. Domovoi by The Forgetmenauts, okay? Oh god that made it worse oh no

[whencyclopedfr]

Kikimora

Une Kikimora est un esprit féminin de la maison de la tradition slave qui peut être bienveillante ou non selon le comportement du propriétaire de la maison. Dans les différentes versions de ses histoires, il existe deux types d'esprits, l'un généralement bienveillant et l'autre nuisible, tous deux représentés sous la forme d'une femme ayant parfois un bec de poulet ou un bec de canard.

Lire la suite...