#perun deity

[gachats]

Perun the Thunderer, 2013 - oil on canvas

— Andrey Shishkin (Russia, 1960–)

In Slavic mythology, Perun is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees.

[jezzzebel]

Prayer to Perun, the Slavic god of Thunder, storms, war and justice

Written by jezzzebel

Perun, the great punisher of injustice, the one who protected us for centuries, our Zaštitnik, our Gromovnik. Please help me, your loyal follower, when i need it. As you have protected my ancestors in battles against their enemies, protect me from all evil, Perun of the Oak. Punish those who break oaths with me, for you have always been fond of justice and keeping promises. Gromovnik, King of the gods, thank you for being there for me.

Glory to Perun!

https://pin.it/7L4qaf3fq

[leslie-redirects-here]

[nogetron]

Perun, the Slavic god of lightning and the sky. Created from an aspect of the supreme deity Rod, Perun’s counterpart: Veles, was believed to be his eternal rival. Sitting atop the world tree, Perun held complete power over the heavens and the physical world. However sometimes Veles in the form of a serpent would slither up from his abode in the underworld and up towards heaven, kidnapping Perun’s Cattle, wife, or daughters. In response Perun will chase the fleeing Veles across the earth, hurling thunderbolts at his rival, who would often hide behind other objects to protect himself from the power of Perun’s lightning. Eventually Perun defeats Veles and reclaims what was his, causing the storm to end.

Perun is an excellent example of both the thunderer and sky father archetypes, being descended from the Proto-indo-european gods Dyēus and Perkūnos. Perun was closely related to the Norse Thor as well as the Vedic Indra. Eventually Perun overtook Rod as the chief deity among Slavs, with his western equivalent Svarog doing the same. The hypothetical Slavic deity Belobog is most likely a roll that Perun filled.

[lukiustheweirdvoid]

Thor-Perun Prayer

Oh Thor-Perun god king of thunder with so much migthy but kind as a caring dad you who use your strength to protect us

I thank you for all you done to me from making me feel loved and protected you gave me so much

Oh god king of the thunder among the clouds with cloud as fearsome and good as you i come here just to thank you

[cervenakoviny]

Love the detail of his golden beard and silver hair straight from descriptions of his idols. As for his partner... Fellows from Lumyd pondered her too. Those who understand slovak can read the article, for the rest I shall provide english translation.

Ancient Slavs begged her for rain: Did Perun have a consort who was forgotten?

Dušan Valent, 2020-11-03 07:59:00 According to one of the most significant linguists of 20th century fragments of old Indo-european traditions suggest that Perun and his predecessor was accompanied by a female partner or “concubine“.

When summer drought beat upon fields and wells of southern Slavs, they turned to higher powers for help. Ritual they conducted to summon rain was quite peculiar.

It centred around a young girl, 5 to 12 years old[1]. The ceremony necessitated her absolute innocence. This girl had to be unable to conceive as of yet, while her mother had to be past her child-bearing age (post-menopausal).

People dressed this chosen maiden into woven twigs underneath which she wore nothing or only old tattered dress. Upon her head she bore flower crowns and occasionally also bouquet in her hands. Followed by other children she walked through the village, stopping at each house to sing songs and praise to Perun or later st. Elias so as to make them water and fertilize Land. While other children danced in circle old women came out to pour water upon the girl. The was followed by feasting and drinking in honour of Perun.

After all, Perun wasn’t merely a god of storms, lightning and thunder, but also of rain and fertility. And once Christianity replaced Slavic paganism, elements of his cult were incorporated into veneration of saint Elias who too was associated with storms and rain.

In some places aforementioned ritual lasted into 20th century, practiced not only by Slavic nations of Balkans, but also in Romania and northern Greece. Many researchers reason it spread there from Slavs.

Relict of a forgotten goddess?

Roman Jakobson, one of the greatest linguists of 20th century, remarked upon the fact that the ritual and the young girl on whom it is focused bear “reduplicated name of Perun”. Through reduplication of word root “per“ in Perun we arrive at Perperuna (per-perun-a): according to Jakobson the original expression from which local variations derive - prporuľa, perperuda, peruniga etc.

Did this expression emerge as name of the specific ritual and its main character. In opinion of this Russo-American linguists not. Roman Jakobson claims we are dealing with tradition that hails from prehistoric paleolithic times and Perperuna ritual captures precious relict of an ancient, mostly forgotten mythical being, a concubine of god Perun.

Of course, nowadays researchers of folkloric traditions (especially those of Balkans) tread very carefully. Instead of automatically assuming they are paleolithic relicts reaching as far as stone age, they understand that many are products of folk creativity not older than few centuries.

However, in this case Roman Jakobson states that when we use lens of historical linguistics, which study mechanisms of word evolution in various languages, and combine them with comparative mythology of Indo-European nations, we find many clues pointing towards Perperuna’s origin in deep Indo-European prehistory.

Balto-Slavic or Balkan roots?

Let’s take a closer look at origin of the ritual. Number of Balkan and Romanian researchers are of the mind that the ritual originally wasn’t Slavic and in fact Slavs borrowed it from older pre-Slavic Balkan populations, like Thracians. These researchers support their claims with written evidence of Perkos or Perkon cult dated to antiquity, apparently a Thracian deity etymologically corresponding to Perun.

But here’s the catch. Rainmaking ritual very similar to that of Balkan people is attested among Balts. This is very important. Balts are the nearest, “brotherly”, branch of Indo-European tree to Slavs and according to historical linguists they share centuries of intertwined – Balto-Slavic past.

For example, there is a Lithuanian record from 1610 describing a ceremony in honour of Perkunas, Baltic equivalent of Perun: “When there is a great drought upon land and no rain to be seen, in mountains and in very deep forests they start to make noise and bring him red heifer, black male goat, black rooster as sacrifice, hallowed by this ritual they gather in great numbers from neighbourhoods, feasting and drinking there, summoning Perun, a god of thunder, most of all pouring beer into vessels and thrice carrying them around bonfire they started there and then emptying the vessels into the flames and praying to Perkunas so that he would give them rain and moisture.”

And we have some more supporting evidence for Baltic connection. Among Balkan Slavs there is another attested term beside Perperuna (and its variants). It is dodola[2] (or dudula, dodoa), which according to Roman Jakobson shares origin with Lithuanian expressions “dundulis” meaning rumble, thunder (“dundeti” – to make thunder), used as alternative (substitutive synonym) for taboo direct naming of thunder god Perkunas. “It is difficult to explain correspondencies between these two – southern Slavic and Lithuanian – pairs of sacral synonyms without making appeal to their origin in Balto-Slavic era,” says Russo-American linguist.

Indications of presence of a ritual and a deity similar to Perperuna were found also among eastern Slavs, which speaks in favour of Balto-Slavic instead of Balkan origin. One of them is Pereplut, a lower deity recorded in 12th and 14th century. Roman Jakobson considers ceremonies in her honour to bear strong resemblance to southern Slavic and Baltic ritual: their observance was tied to water element, cups were raised and poured in honour of the deity, ritual circular dances accompanied the ceremony. “In the first component of name Pereplut We can easily recognize reduplicated root “per” with pleophonic [type of vowel shift in Slavic languages, author’s note] word form per- > pre/,” says Jakobson.

Russo-American expert however reaches far beyond Balto-Slavic area. In his opinion incantations performed during ritual of Perperuna show “remarkable similarity to Rigvedic ritual prayers to Parjanya, asking for rain and crop.”

God of thunder Parjanya is one of lesser known vedic gods. The main thunder god of Vedic tradition is Indra. But it is Parjanya in particular who shares comparable name and characteristics to those of Indo-European thunder god. He is associated with rain, assigned with a form of benevolent bull and known to be smiting demons and evildoers with lightning bolts. Anthropologist James George Frazer even shortly describes a rite akin to Blkn Perperuna taking place in Hindu town Puné, where local boys dress one of themselves into twigs and name him a “Rain king”. Afterwards they walk from house to house where they have water poured on them are food given to them, that they later eat.

It seems we really are dealing with a ritual originating from prehistoric Indo-European times.

Forgotten Indo-European goddess

What about potential goddess though? Did ancient Balto-Slavic rite tied to a god of storm and rain exist only, or do we have proofs of worship in honour of Perperuna as an actual entity and consort of Perun?

In Baltic tradition there is no female figure of similar name connected to rain-making ritual. But according to Jakobson such divine being in fact did exist in Baltic worldview. Her name was Perkunija and she was mostly known as Perun’s mother. And occasionally she was instead recognized as his wife or companion.

Germanic traditions offer another piece of puzzle. In Jakobson’s opinion supposed pairs Perun-Perperuna and Perkunas-Perkunija etymologically correspond to pair Fjörgynn-Fjörgyn.

From linguistic perspective male name Fjörgynn is almost direct equivalent to Baltic Perkunas (emergent from wordform *Perkwún(i)yos). Unfortunately, all we know about him from surviving traditions is his parentage od goddess Frigg (wife to Odin). Germanists consider him archaic relict pushed to sidelines: based on etymology of his name there is a notion it was him who originally held position of thunder god. When it comes to goddess Fjörgyn (emergent from wordform *Perkwuni), her role in Nordic myth is that of Thor’s mother.

One inconspicuous relict can be found even in ancient Greece, where role of thunder god belonged to Zeus. To be more precise, Zeus embodied complicated mixture of myths both of Indo-European origin and from Near East. He has attributes of prehistoric Indo-European god of daytime sky (*Dejeus), from whom Zeus derives his name, and prehistoric Indo-European thunder god (*Perkwunos), whose name endured in term od Zeus‘ lightning weapon (Keraunos). In ancient Greek tradition there is also female counterpart to this term, Keraunia. Sophocles and Euripides mention Keraunia as one of names of Zeus‘ lover Semele.

Kerauns and Keraunia are therefore both etymologically and through association with a thunder god equivalents to pairs Perun-Perperuna, Perkunas-Perkunija and Fjörgynn-Fjörgyn.

At last, but not least, there are hints that relict of Perun’s female companion was preserved among Slavs not only as term for the main character of rain-making rite, but also as name of an actual goddess. Its alternative title Dodola has Bulgarian variants such as didjulja, didjul, djudjul, “which we can compare to Polish Dzidziela” says Jakobson. Dzidziela is one of names of Devana[3], goddess of daylight and woods and most importantly daughter of Perun.

Pushed to the sidelines by goddess of earth?

Listed examples od goddesses associated with deity of thunder and bearing similar name to his can be traced to number of Indo-European traditions. That means they might be referring to prehistoric Indo-European times (approximately 4500-2500 B.C.), therefore a consort[4] of prehistoric Indo-European thunder god *Perkwunos. At the same time these relicts are so miniscule, sidelined or transformed by later traditions, that supposed goddess (analogically *Perkwunia[5]) had to lost her position deep into prehistoric times.

What happened?

Earth goddess is most likely at fault. In Germanic tradition in was earth goddess Jörd whose influence expandedat the expense of Fjörgyn and her association with Thor. In fact, Fjörgyn was very often even merged and identified with her.

Similarly in ancient Greek tradition Keraunia, in spite of her name characteristic of thunder deity, is identified with Semele, who etymologically corresponds to Indo-European goddesses of earth, such as Baltic Žemyna, Hittite Daganzipa and Greek Demeter and Gaia/Ge[6].

Why such development? I couldn’t find the answer in relevant literature. But Jan Korda, author of excellent blog Karug dedicated to Indo-European mythology, came with quite an interesting idea. When I consulted him, he drew my attention to the fact, that thunder god’s consort and earth goddess are not interchangeable in regards to their functions: “I suppose, that thunder gods female companion is “humble” and “cultic” deity, suitable for rain-making rituals, but with little influence in other domains. Earth is “great” deity who has not only cultic function, but even plays a role in mythic narratives and thus her mentions had better chances to last until now.”

These two goddesses were not confused because of having the same partner. “I’d rather say that earth deity overshadowed thunder god’s consort in those cases, when thunder god took upon himself role of sky deity (pr as in case of Greece when sky deity took upon himself role of thunder god)”, but did not tak over her function – female deity hailed during rain-making rituals.”

If you like our posts, please support us on Patreon. Even symbolic contribution helps.

Author of the article sends many thanks to Jan Korda for his valuable suggestions.

Notes

1 In some versions boy or numerous girls.

2 In Roman Jakobson’s view this tradition shares origin with another one. He brings up a place called Dodona situated in northern Greek Epeira, where oracle of Zeus’ sacred oak (typical tree of Indo-European thunder gods) used to stand. It was second most important oracle after Delphi one. Its priests interpreted rustling of oak branches I the wind as messages from Zeus. According to archeologic findings Dodona oracle served this purpose since 3rd millennium B.C. Philologist Olga Zolotnikova argues in one of her recent studies that this sanctum was founded by “some Indo-European tribe of herdsmen from northern Balkans as customary place of worship of a storm god”. Zolotnikova reconstructs his name as *Do(n)don. In her opinion this deity was later replaced be gods of Greeks, most prominently by equivalent *Do(n)dona Zeus.

3 Authenticity of this goddess is uncertain – nevertheless Michal Téra in one of his recent works assents that she was known in archaic or at least folkloric tradition.

4 There is a possibility, that the very „pairing“ of etymologicallly comparable Indo-European gods was a much more widespread tradition: fragments of such nature are captured in mythology of Mykens (1500-1300 B.C.). Among names of deities there is also equivalent famel companion of Poseidon named Posidaeia and female companion of Zeus (in Mykens called Diqo/Diwe) named Diwia. More about this hypothesis in future.

5 As it happens, original Celtic term for Hercynian forest has roots in prehistoric Celtic word form *perkunia and that one in prehistoric Indo-European *perkwunia „oak (forest)“. Analogically, name of Germanic goddess Fjörgyn used to be poetic phrase denoting landscape of (woody) muntains.

6 Ancient Greeks adopted various equivalent deities, not only earth goddess.

Literature

Frazer, J. G. (1890): The Golden Bough. Macmillan. Jakobson, R. (1985): Selected Writings: Volume VII. Contributions to Comparative Mythology. Walter de Gruyter. Profantová, N., Profant, M. (2000): Encyklopedie slovanských bohů a mýtů. Libri. Puhvel, J. (1989). Comparative Mythology. John Hopkins University Press. Rutherford, I. (2013). Mycenaean Religion. In M. Salzman: The Cambridge History of Religions in the Ancient World: pp. 256-279. Cambridge University Téra, M. (2009): Perun - bůh hromovládce. Pavel Mervart. West, M. L. (2007): Indo-European Poetry and Myth. Oxford University Press. Zolotnikova, O. A. (2019): The sanctuary of Zeus in Dodona: Evolution of the religious concept. Journal Of Hellenic Religion, Vol. 12, 85-132.

Perun and Dodola. I think they look good together. Their relationship is such that with her he's a lovely bunny and with others he's a fierce beast. Hmm. Love them))

[honoringthor]

15 days of Thor devotion ⚡ relations to other gods.

His relations with other Norse gods in the family tree entry. These are some deities similar to Thor, some were synchronized to him by their various cultures. Most of the information is from Wikipedia unfortunately. I couldn't figure out the right search terms so I kept getting Marvel movies.

🌩️⚡🌱🐐🌧️ 🧑‍🌾

The Romans synchronized Thor with Hercules and Jupiter. Though not a weather god, Hercules does carry a club, I'm not sure if that's why they're synchronized. Jupiter is a weather god who wields thunderbolts.

The gallo-roman god Sucellus wields a hammer and is associated with agriculture.

Zeus is a weather god, wields thunderbolts, and battled giants.

Perun is a Slavic god who also wields a hammer, mace, or ax. He is also associated with storms. Unlike Thor, Perun is considered the highest god

He is similar to the Celtic god Taranis. He's a thunder god honored in Gaul, Hispania, Britain, and Ireland.

Perk unos is a reconstruction of a Proto-Indo-European weather god. He and Thor share an association with oaks and weapons.

Perkūnas is a Baltic god of storms, fertility, and oak trees.

[bolszaja-miedwedica]

NEW ABOUT ME:

-I'm genderfluid and audhd, borderline too (undiagnosed because the system sucks) and diagnosed schizophrenic

-godspoused! if you're anti fuck off

-I'm an age regressor but i curse a lot on this blog so age regressors feel free to follow my agere side blog @there-are-sharks-in-my-milk

-i don't discriminate anyone this is a safe space for minorities, poc, microlabels, systems, lgbt people, therians, everyone who is not a hateful jerk

-this blog is a mix of me posting about my deities, stray kids and other stuff i find interesting

-sometimes i vent make sure you're okay with it

blog rules are:

-if my practice looks different than yours and you don't like it you're free to unfollow

-if my vents annoy you and you feel the urge to tell me its my fault you're free to unfollow this is my shadow work free from censor space

-if you feel the need to tell me i seem psychotic you're free to fuck off

-don't fuckin curse me??? some of yall are not behaving and it's pissing me off

-other than that be kind and respectful to me and my friends

to interact with my blog make sure that you aren't:

racist, homophobic, terf, pedo, ableist, anti agere, a nsfw blog (it makes me uncomfortable), generally a hateful human

now the best part:

worshipping:

-Sekhmet

-Holy Mary

-Baba Jaga

-Medusa

-Kali

-Lilith

working with:

Marzanna, Apollo, Dionysus, Hecate, Persephone, Asclepius, Hel, Anat, Death, Satan, Leszy, Cernunnos, Horned God, Helios, Venus, Freyja, Asmodeus, Baphomet archangel Jophiel, Thoth, Fenrir, Dantalion, Buer, Beelzebub, Mut, Bes, Bacchus, Kogkipr (an unknown deity), Proserpina, Cnabetius Mars, Tegid Foel, angel Sariel, Hermanubis, Amun, Deimos and Phobos, Kvasir, Wepwawet, The Dagda, Swarożyc, Lucifer, Begotho (unknown deity), Aphrodite Areia, Stracchus (unknown deity), Ruadan, Somnia, Kek, Cerberus, Hestia, Nyx, Cerridwen, the Morrigan, Parvati, Shiva, Krishna, Vishnu, RadhaRani, Lakshmi, archangel Gabriel, archangel Azrael, Nakir and Munkar, archangel Michael, archangel Israphil, Kiram and Katibun, Somnus, Loki, Mokosz, Allah, Brigid, Hermes, Shakti, Anubis, Weles, Baldur, Khnum, Poseidon, Amphitrite, Astaroth, Neith, Wenut, Ganesha, Perun, Khepri, Inanna, Dola/Niedola, Ariadne, Jaryło, Chors, Sleipnir, Zorza, Jormungandr, Odin, Czarnobóg, Blodeuwedd, Set, Mafdet, Idunn, Seshat, Dziewanna, Artemis, Arioch, Eros, Vesna, Selene, Luna, Leviathan, Behemoth, Nox, Mammon, Abaddon, Azazel, Kathos, Vesta, Sun, Moon, Minerva, Athena, Eosphorus, Stolas, Melinoe, Mary of Magdala

spirits that i work with:

-Pahiri (a white dragon spirit)

-Nkfofa (the mermaid spirit guide)

-a fae

-Fienon (a rusałka)

-Mo Xasii (familiar nr 1)

-Hilkog (spirit guide)

-Kalina (a harpy)

-Zanota (a mermaid spirit guide nr 2)

-Gawoż (hydra, familiar nr 2)

- Kiityk (upiór spirit guide)

-Xyo (a red fire dragon)

-Bemamo (a dragon shark)

devoting to:

-King Hades

-Bastet

-Aphrodite

I'm not really a hellenic polytheist, nor a kemetic one, not really a slavic one as well although i am hyperfixated on slavic paganism, yes, and i do wanna work with more slavic deities in the future but I don't label myself as anything I'm just a witch and a pagan i celebrate the slavic holidays and my deities holidays because they're the closest to me. if i were to label myself i would use "rodzimowierca"? but I'm just a witch, and well apparently a medium now too so 😀 fun uhh

i do free readings too! 5 a day to not burn out so quick but i wanna get more skilled since divination is my favourite skill to get one just dm me tp ask if im open!

I'm planning to master:

-cartomancy

-herbology

-moon magic

-blood magic

-protection

-palmistry

-reading more books...

-my fuckin research motivation...

i can do:

-tarot

-clairvoyance

-clairaudience

-spells and shit

-rituals

-sigils

-tea blends i guess

-motanki

-scrying

-oracle

-runes (both nordic and witch's runes)

-smoke reading

-crystal ball

-curses

sława! :]

[starsthewitch]

welcome back toooooo!

🥁🥁🥁…

STAR! DOES! FACTS!

today’s facts will be about…

SLAVIC MYTHOLOGY

this is my first time ever researching anything slavic and honestly? it was really fun! now, let’s get into the facts, shall we?

who is the main-or most well known Slavic God? It is Perun! He is the god of the skies and thunder. His father, Svarog, is the creator of the sun, and brother of Veles, God of cattle and the underworld

who is the most famous in Slavic folklore? That goes to Baba Yaga! Baba Yaga is an ogress who is said to steal, cook, and eat her victims, usually children

when it comes to both Norse and Slavic mythology, the two are often compared with one another. One reason being that both are polytheistic, meaning that they recognize multiple deities. The other is that some of the gods bear some similarities, like how Odin and Rod are known as the “chief gods” and how both Freyja and Lada are both goddesses of fertility

are there any tricksters in Slavic mythology? yes! the trickster, Leshy, is a forrest spirit. the Leshy is a sportive spirit who enjoys playing tricks on people, though when angered he can be treacherous. he is rarely seen, but his voice can be heard in the forest laughing, whistling, or singing

but… were there any Slavic goddess? yes there were! except she is the only female deity ever mentioned the Old Kievan pantheon of ad 980. her name is Mokoš, a tall woman with a large head and large arms. she spins flax and wool at night and shears sheep

were there any common themes in Slavic mythology? a common theme in Slavic mythology is the cosmic struggle between forces of good and evil, often depicted as battles between gods and dark supernatural entities

with Christianity spreading far and wide in the Slavic lands, many elements of traditional mythology were integrated into Christian beliefs and practices. this resulted in the adoption of Christian saints to replace some pagan deities while preserving elements of Slavic folklore and rituals

that is all folks for!

STAR! DOES! FACTS!

see you all tomorrow where I will be back for even more!

Tomorrow’s facts will be!

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY

[jinxstrology]

💫Mythical Astrology💫

A collection of gods and goddesses associated with each sign~ Before you say something, yes! I AM aware that some of these deities are the same entity with different names. I wanted to include all names so readers could recognize the ones they knew :) Talk to me niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice

Aries

Amun (Egyptian), Anat (Mesopotamian/Ugaritic/Egyptian), Ares (Greek), Badb (Irish), Belenus (Celtic), Cybele (Anatolian), Durga (Hindu), Hecate (Greek), Hestia (Greek), Indra (Hindu), Ishtar (Mesopotamian), Khnum (Egyptian), Macha (Irish), Marduk (Babylonian), Mars (Roman), Minerva (Roman), The Morrigan (Irish Celtic), Nergal (Mesopotamian), Ra (Egyptian), Sekhmet (Egyptian), Tiamat (Babylonian)

Taurus

Aphrodite (Greek), Asherah (Semitic), Astarte (Middle Eastern), Ba'al (Canaanite), Bacchus (Greco-Roman), Bast (Egyptian), Cernunnos (Celtic), Dionysus (Greek), Flora (Roman), Frigg (Norse), Gaia (Greek), Hathor (Egyptian), Horus (Egyptian), Indra (Hindu), Ishtar (Mesopotamian), Isis (Egyptian), Jupiter (Roman), Krishna (Hindu), Lakshmi (Hindu), Maia (Greek), Marduk (Babylonian), Mithra (Iranian), Osiris (Egyptian), Poseidon (Greek), Ptah (Egyptian), Venus (Roman), Zeus (Greek)

Gemini

Apollo (Greek), Artemis (Greek), Dumuzid (Sumerian), Enki (Sumerian), Hermes (Greek), Inanna (Mesopotamian), Janus (Roman), Krishna (Hindu), Mercury (Roman), Odin (Norse), Seshat (Egyptian), Thoth (Egyptian)

Cancer

Artemis (Greek), Ceres (Roman), Demeter (Greek), Diana (Roman), Isis (Egyptian), Juno (Roman), Kuan Yin (Chinese/Buddhist), Luna (Roman), Mercury (Roman)

Leo

Amun (Egyptian), Anat (Mesopotamian/Ugaritic/Egyptian), Bast (Egyptian), Cybele (Anatolian), Devi (Hindu), Diana (Roman), Durga (Hindu), Freyja (Norse), Hathor (Egyptian), Helios (Greek), Hera (Greek), Inanna (Mesopotamian), Ishtar (Mesopotamian), Juno (Roman), Mithra (Iranian), Nanna (Mesopotamian), Nergal (Mesopotamian), Ra (Egyptian), Sekhmet (Egyptian), Vishnu (Hindu)

Virgo

Anat (Mesopotamian/Ugaritic/Egyptian), Artemis (Greek), Demeter (Greek), Diana (Roman), Hestia (Greek), Inanna (Mesopotamian), Iris (Greek), Ishtar (Mesopotamian), Isis (Egyptian), Kore (Greek), Nanna (Mesopotamian), Odin (Norse), Persephone (Greek), Vesta (Roman)

Libra

Aphrodite (Greek), Athena (Greek), Cernunnos (Celtic), Frigg (Norse), Hephaestus (Greek), Isis (Egyptian), Justitia (Roman), Ma'at (Egyptian), Minerva (Roman), Mithra (Iranian), Nemesis (Greek), Njord (Norse), Shiva (Hindu), Thoth (Egyptian), Venus (Roman), Vishnu (Hindu)

Scorpio

Anubis (Egyptian), Ereshkigal (Mesopotamian), Hecate (Greek), Hel (Norse), Isis (Egyptian), Mars (Roman), Njord (Norse), Osiris (Egyptian), Persephone (Greek), Pluto (Roman), Set (Egyptian)

Sagittarius

Anat (Mesopotamian/Ugaritic/Egyptian), Artemis (Greek), Athena (Greek), Diana (Roman), Epona (Gallo-Roman), Hades (Greek), Isis (Egyptian), Jupiter (Roman), Mars (Roman), Nergal (Mesopotamian), Rhiannon (Welsh), Thor (Norse)

Capricorn

Agni (Hindu), Aphrodite (Greek), Ba'al (Canaanite), Dionysus (Greek), Ea (Babylonian), Enki (Sumerian), Faunus (Roman), Freyja (Norse), Freyr (Norse), Gaia (Greek), Hecate (Greek), Juno (Roman), Loki (Norse), Pan (Greek), Perun (Slavic), Saturn (Roman), Thor (Norse)

Aquarius

Astarte (Middle Eastern), Ea (Babylonian), Ishtar (Mesopotamian), Isis (Egyptian), Juno (Roman), Nut (Egyptian)

Pisces

Aegir (Norse), Aphrodite (Greek), Cupid (Roman), Diana (Roman), Ea (Babylonian), Enki (Sumerian), Eros (Greek), Neptune (Roman), Poseidon (Greek), Sedna (Inuit), Venus (Roman), Vishnu (Hindu)

[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.

[gachats]

Knyaz Igor and his retinue swear before the idol of Perun, laying down their weapons. Illustration by artist V.P. Vereshchagin from the album "History of the Russian State in images of its rulers with a brief explanatory text", 1896.

In addition to Perun's control over the thunderstorm because of his association with rain, he was responsible for crops by bringing rain to the fields, and so Perun was thought of as the god of fertility. Manipulation of the thunderstorm gave the deity a "thunderous character", which served to second-guess him as a god of war, as reflected in the oaths of arms in his name and his depiction as the patron of warriors, knyazs power and the Rurikovich dynasty.

[jezzzebel]

Hello! I hope it's okay if I ask you some questions about Slavic deities, since you're one of the few sources I've found on the topic.

My family is Polish and Czech so I've been looking into Slavic folk customs and deities as a form of ancestral worship, and I've recently been called to work with Mokosh. Unfortunately she seems to be a very hard deity to do much in-depth research on, so I was wondering if you have any resources for learning more about her. I'm also going to try out Slavic weaving and embroidery in her honor, and I'm curious what other offerings or altar decorations she might like.

Thanks so much, I hope you're doing well.

HI! THANK YOU FOR ASKING! I LOVE TALKING ABOUT THIS TOPIC @tolkien-fantasy

So, first things first. Let's break down who Mokosh is, what you can work with her on, what you can offer her, and her associations, and my UPG. Then i will try to give you some resources in English, as I don't speak czech or polish..

Mokosh is the slavic pagan goddess predominantly worshipped in ancient East Slavic countries / regions. Her domains are: weaving, sewing, embroidery, fertility, the Earth, motherhood, women, women's destinies and fates. She is the patron of women and traditionally female jobs. She is often seen as Mother Nature/Earth herself, and sometimes as her companion. She is often seen as the consort of Perun, god of thunder.

As a fertility and earth goddess, you can offer her grains, milk, fresh homemade bread and baked goods, and water. While you can also offer her your embroidery and sewing creations, and weave in her honor, you can also put earth themed things on her altar. Perhaps a flower pot? Herbs? And a green, brown, or red candle? As red is her common association amongst her followers and slavic pagans in general. You can spend time in nature in her honor. And you can read and educate yourself about women's history in her honor. But those are just some ideas!!!

In my UPG, Mokosh loooves makeup and skincare as a devotional act. She prefers to talk thru prayers, and doesn't really fancy me talking to her with divination. I like to offer her flowers from my garden from time to time. And devotional jewelry.

Some web sources i found:

https://www.thaliatook.com/AMGG/mokosh.php

https://brendan-noble.com/mokosz-mokosh-slavic-great-mother-and-protector-of-women/

https://oldworldgods.com/slavic/mokosh-slavic-goddess/

https://godsandmonsters.info/mokosh/

[temple-of-perunika]

QUESTION OF THE DAY (that i will probably forget about doing tomorrow...)

WHAT RANDOM THING DO YOU ASSOCIATE WITH A SLAVIC DEITY?

(examples: Mokosh and cute decorative boxes, Morana and goth music, Perun and rock band shirts...)

[smokeowl-mx]

THE OWL HOUSE...THEORY...?

Ok! Wanna dump something here real fast before it leaves my mind forever.

-Piece by the amazing @moringmark . A faithful representation of Phillip Wittebane's afterlife. Rest in Pain, b**ch!-

Something that actually bugged me about The Owl House was Phillip's name change to Belos.

Given he was a human and had enough knowledge to warp around as the Emperor of the Boiling Isles, his name had to mean something like Hunter's.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T CLAIM TO HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS, THIS IS JUST WHAT SOME RESEARCH LED ME TO. IT MAY BE WRONG OR STANDING ON FALSE INFORMATION. IF YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS SUBJECT FIRST HAND, FEEL FREE TO CORRECT ME AND GET ME OUT OF MY IGNORANCE.

Doing some research for a project I'm making. I stumbled upon the main deities of slavic folklore.

Perun, whose equivalents would be Zeus, Odin and/or Thor.

And his chaotic sibling: Veles, whose equivalent is Loki and Pan.

Even though I say "equivalents" is just so you get an idea of their abilities and roles. Perun was the main god of the pantheon with power over lightning, symbol of order.

Where I wanna go with this is what Veles was.

Veles was also known as Welos, he was not just the god of nature and shepherds, but also god of the barrier between this world and the underworld, guide of souls through the threshold and, get this, GOD OF MAGIC, ALCHEMY AND WITCHCRAFT!

Philip not only turned himself into a "Prophet" and Emperor, but, to his own DAMN SATISFACTION, HE BECAME A GOD FOR THE WITCHES. Everytime a Witch called his name, they were calling him their God.

After The Collector gave him the weapons to rule over the Isles, he felt himself as superior to them, even more so than he already did. So much so he gave himself the name of one of the few MALE GODS OF WITCHCRAFT to prove his point across. THAT'S THE EXTEND OF THIS GUY'S NARCISSISM!

Still don't believe me?!

Veles or Welos was often portrayed in two forms:

A horned inverted triangle and a Horned Man (thus, the horned mask)

Some of the animals that represented this deity were the snake, the dragon and the owl. Belos had a very slithery personality and a slow way of dealing with those who opposed him (like a snake killing it's prey) eventually became a Dragon (when he took the Titan's heart hostage) and the Golden Guard's mask looks like an Owl.

Also, remember that guardian of the threshold thing I said previously, it fits with his whole "protect the world from evil" BS he believed.

Given he couldn't do magic, he did alchemy. If you're familiar with the work of an artificer or FMA, you should get the idea. Alchemy was a pseudo science, antecesor of modern chemistry, that studied the world, it's elements and magic to harness it to make things as the famous Philosopher's Stone and Lead's transformation into Gold. One of the matters of study of alchemy was resurrection. Thus, the Grimmwalkers.

Following the previous point, Red was often asociated with the Stone and it's abilities, it also meant "the end of a great work". What leads me to believe his and Hunter's "Magic" were product of alchemy and, maybe, the creation of a Philosopher's stone.

Given the hints and little winks TOH makes to FMA, I believe I ain't jumping any sharks.

Though his Puritanism also influenced how things would run with the Isles under his control. He wanted to feel like a God, but without the Witches knowing it (because it will blow his cover in a sec) so, he gave himself a name connected to everything he hated, but that could elevate him without suspition: Belos, The God of Magic, Alchemy and Witchcraft.

So yeah...what Elijah from Not so average Fangirl said in "Hollow Mind" wasn't that far off.

Belos, for Witch and Hunter = Witch Hunter.

@danaterrace You have my love and respect.

Thanks for everything! Can't wait to see what you make next.

FOR MORE UPDATES ON THIS, FOLLOW THE REPLIES.

[ghilliedubh]

Þór-Freyja

I was doing a little lo-fi bedroom blót in honor of Þór and Freyja (and other related deities) and in my mind they suddenly combined into one. I then remembered the part when Þór disguised himself as Freyja, and although he does it somewhat reluctantly in that story, I really like this merged form of Þór and Freyja, or rather Þór-as-Freyja. It felt appropriate since it seems that around this time of year that Perun and Aphrodite would be celebrated, it being the raining season and summer is dipping its toes into autumn. I associate Þór-Freyja with plenty, luscious nature, feasts, strength, indulgence, and I see her as this beautiful, tall, wide shouldered and red-haired woman. She is incredibly strong, as she is of course Þór, but now she is not here to fight. She is here to enjoy food and drink, and look gorgeous while doing so.