Mother of God born - Vedism - history - catalog of articles - unconditional love. Rozhanitsa is a sign of Lada, the Heavenly Mother: meaning, differences. Goddess of fertility of women in labor among the Slavs

Hello, dear students! I welcome you to another lesson on Slavic mythology. Make yourself comfortable and let's get started.

Today we look at the very beginning. Who was the first god? God of all gods? Very often students remember Perun and say that this is the most important Slavic god. There is some truth to this statement. Perun was the main Slavic deity, but only at a certain historical moment. We will come to this point, but for now we have to find out where the gods came from. The Slavs have a clear answer to this matter - from Rod.

Rod is a rather dark "character" in Slavic mythology. “Dark” not in the sense of personifying dark, evil forces, but because the memory of him among the Slavs was most systematically destroyed. But now we’ll try to figure it out why.

So, Rod. It is he who is considered the first god, from whom other gods came, although now many assign him the role of a kind of brownie, guardian of the hearth. And others don’t mention him at all, as if there was no such god. However, let's turn to the most reliable sources, and these, of course, are not modern retellings, but the most ancient manuscripts.

The first such manuscript that has reached our times is a translation of Gregory the Theologian’s “Tale of Idols.” The Russian scribe traveled at the turn of the 11th-12th centuries on a ship in the Aegean Sea. Most likely, he was traveling from the “Holy Land” or from Egypt. Before the eyes of our traveler passed almost all the cult places of ancient Greece, with which the denunciations of St. Gregory were associated: the island of Crete, the birthplace of Zeus, the temples of Aphrodite and Artemis, the oracle of Apollo in Delphi and many other ruins of ancient pagan temples. It is not surprising that the Russian pilgrim became interested in the work of Gregory the Theologian, which, although it was not a guide to ancient antiquities, colorfully described Greek and Asia Minor rites and customs associated with the route of the ship sailing to Constantinople through Athos (Holy Mountain in Macedonia), that is from the south, from the Mediterranean Sea. And on the ship, obviously, there was a Greek text of the works of St. Gregory, which our author used.
The name of this traveler remains unknown, but his notes have reached us. The translation was not literary. It must be said that he was even disorderly. But what interests us most about it is the “marginal notes.” The author supplied the translation of this or that piece with his own reflections and comparisons with the gods of different nations, including the Slavic gods. But I must say that not much time has passed since the baptism of Rus'. Christianity was able to establish itself in Rus' only after 4 centuries, and during that journey the memory of Slavic gods was still fresh.

Among the notes of the Russian pilgrim, we will now be interested only in this phrase: “Behold, the Slovenians began to set a meal for Rody and the women in labor before their god Peryn. That is, before Perun they cajoled Rod and women in labor, and before them - ghouls and beregins.

And three stages of Slavic paganism immediately emerge.

The first era is the worship and sacrifice of ghouls and beregins. These are not personified deities. Ghouls are the personification of evil. It is clear that they tried to appease them. Beregini are, on the contrary, good forces designed to protect people. This is an era when people worshiped stones, rivers, springs, and all nature in general. Evil vampires, who need to be driven away and appeased with victims, and good caretakers, who also need to “lay demands,” and not only as gratitude, but also so that they actively show their goodwill towards humans.
We have no data on the appearance of beregins and ghouls. The later sirens with a bird or fish appearance are probably already some modification of the original ideas; This is also evidenced by the duality of the image (bird girl and fish girl), which was an attempt to express, on the one hand, kinship with the elements of water and air, and on the other, kinship with man himself. Vampires have not been exactly compared to anything real and have never been depicted in art.

Let's skip the second era for now and move on to the third, which is characterized by the cult of Perun. The cult of Peryn, from the point of view of this traveling Russian scribe of the 11th - early 12th centuries, had just moved to the first place in the system of diverse pagan ideas and did not supplant, but only pushed aside the previous cults, which turned out to be extremely tenacious and caused much more trouble for the clergy, than the quickly disappeared cult of the squad of Peryn. The same princely-boyar circles that had recently introduced the cult of Peryn very quickly replaced it with Christianity.
Perun was the patron of druzhina-princely circles Kievan Rus. It was the princes who worshiped him and asked for help in their military affairs. This cult appeared simultaneously with Russian statehood.

Who was this powerful predecessor of Peryn, with what economic and social era are the Rod and the women in labor associated with him connected?

The era of Rod occupies a fairly significant time interval between the worship of ghouls and beregins and the worship of Perun and his divine entourage.

The fact that this cult was very strong is also evidenced by the following fact. Or rather, the following source. This is the “Word of Isaiah the Prophet” (XII century), the meaning of which was only one thing - to bring down the full weight of biblical curses on Rod and his two women in labor. All who continued to worship Rod and his two mothers in labor were predicted to experience all sorts of misfortunes and curses rained down on their heads. “Having heard everything that has been said to you, give up meaningless actions, from serving Satan, from arranging these idolatry feasts for the Family and women in labor!” - Isaiah cried.
Why, one might ask, devote so much effort and attention to some petty god as they are trying to present him now? The more Isaiah scolds the original Russian god, the clearer it becomes that Rod is not a homely local god, but a powerful ruler.

And the third source. In the sixteenth century, in the “Rule of the Monk Sava” we find the following confessional question: “Didn’t she commit ungodly fornication with women, pray to the pitchfork, or to Rod and women in labor, and to Perun, and Khorsa, and Mokoshi, and drank and ate?”

In all Christian teachings against paganism, all Slavic deities are usually mentioned in a general list, but Rod and women in labor are always highlighted. All this suggests that the cult of this god was great and Christians could not overcome it for several centuries. In the 16th century, Russian Christian clergy were still carrying out explanatory work. Thus, in a manuscript from this time it is said: “For everything, God is the creator, and not the Race.” People didn’t argue, they agreed: “That’s right, the world was born by the Creator. That’s why his name is Rod.” This is how he was called in Russian translations of the Bible - “parent”. If they continued to pray to other pagan gods in secret, then the veneration of Rod and women in labor was obvious and open. Solemn feasts in honor of Rod became the main object of church denunciations, and churchmen sought to dissuade pagan theologians who believed that Rod, and not the Christian god, created all life on earth.

So, Rod is a common Slavic god, the creator of all living things. His place of residence is not in the house or under the stove, but in the sky, in the air. In a handwritten commentary to the Gospel of the 15th century, “On the Breathing of the Spirit into a Man,” Rod is contrasted with the Christian god himself - the creator god: “It’s not the same generation that sits in the air and throws piles on the ground and children are amazed at that... For all there is a creator God, not the race." This quote, says historian B.A. Rybakov, testifies to the primacy of the Family in the Slavic pantheon.
What are "piles"? Heaps, blocks? But then how does this relate to the birth of children? However, there is another meaning: “chest” - drops, “dewy chest” - drops of dew, “hail piles” - pellets of hail. It is most likely that the word “breast” without additional definition (dewy, hail) simply meant raindrops. The emergence of new life on earth is produced by the Family, which irrigates the earth with heavenly drops, as a result of which children are born. Here Rod looks like Zeus, who descended to Danae as a golden shower, from which Danae became pregnant.

Let's now turn our attention to the word "genus" itself. There are several groups of words containing this root.

The first group is words associated with the concept of kinship and birth:
Genus Relatives Nature
People Motherland Give birth
Relatives Give birth Harvest

The second group of words are words related to water: a water source - “rodishche”, a spring (krinitsa), as well as flowers growing near the water - lilies - “rodia” (“kryny”).

The third group of words correlates with the word “red”:
Rhodia - lightning;
Rhodium, rodiya - pomegranate fruit;
Kin, kinship - fiery Gehenna;
Dear, hearty, red - red;
To laugh, to blush - to blush.

The combination of both lightning and the pomegranate fruit in one homonym “rhodia” is of great interest, since it allows one to understand exactly what type of lightning we are talking about - only ball lightning, visible up close, is similar to a red round pomegranate.
The third group of words is united by a semantic core: fiery, red, flaming, lightning-like.

Rod turns out to be the all-encompassing deity of the Universe with all its worlds: the upper, heavenly, from where rain comes and lightning flies, the middle world of nature and birth, and the lower with its “fiery kinship.”

The birth is accompanied by women in labor. Gender was always used in the singular, and women in labor - in the dual (there was such a number in the ancient Slavic language: words in this number meant that we were talking about paired objects), and this meant that there were two of them. But who are they and why are there two of them?

Rod breathes life into people. It is not for nothing that the proverb “what is written in the family, so be it” is still alive. And women in labor may be goddesses of human life and destiny. Every person has both happy and unhappy moments in life. The Share is the first to know; the latter are sent by her gloomy sister, Nedolya. Sometimes they said that the loser was born under an unlucky star, and the lucky one - under a happy one.

According to another version, Lada and Lelya, goddesses of fertility, are considered women in labor. This version is supported by the fact that birthing meals took place at the end of the harvest. This was not a holiday of “first fruits”, not of the first ears of corn from which the first bread could be baked (this was celebrated in early August at the beginning of the harvest), but a holiday of the completion of the most important cycle of agricultural work: the bread was harvested, the sheaves were brought down and threshed, the harvest was counted , the grain is in the bins. It was this fruitful, agricultural character of the holiday that determined the composition of the dishes: bread, porridge (obviously from various cereals), cottage cheese and honey or “good wine.”

Rozhanichnye meals especially worried the clergy as the most noticeable and ineradicable manifestation of paganism. Therefore, on September 8, when the birth meal took place, Christianity appointed its own holiday - the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. However, up to the present day Orthodox Church On the feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God, she performs the “blessing of the loaves,” which makes this holiday similar to the ancient Slavic one.
But it was not possible to completely eradicate birthing meals. The cult of Rod and women in labor was widespread and persistent. And then ancient holiday The birth and women in labor became the “second meal”, organized after the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, most likely on the next day, September 9. For the sake of the share of the offerings they received, the clergy agreed to sing a troparion to the Mother of God at the second meal, which especially outraged the most strict clergy. At this meal, a ritual cup was carried, and each of those present said their words of gratitude to the gods over it.

For the second time, Rod and women in labor were honored at the Nativity of Christ (after December 25). Both associations with Christian holidays are explained not only by completely understandable ideas about the need to thank the gods for the harvest and the winter solstice as the turning point of winter, but also by the fact that in both cases, in Christian mythology, there are “birthing women” who give birth to goddesses. In the first case, this is Anna, who gave birth to Mary, and in the second, this is Mary, who gave birth to Jesus. Christian characters easily merged with archaic pagan women in labor, which made it possible to widely celebrate the ancient prayer of thanksgiving under the guise of church rites.
And then it becomes clear that women in labor mean mother and daughter.

In essence, Lada and her daughter, goddesses of spring reborn nature, goddesses of marriage and reproduction, fully correspond to two women giving birth.
However, here the situation is not so simple. The early personification of women in labor in the form of Lada and Lelya did not prevent the parallel existence of ideas about women in labor in general, without specific names, without connection with that ritual folklore, which not only required names, but also necessarily in the vocative case.
But along with the cult of these goddesses, the population of the most remote northern regions (namely, it was to them that the denunciations of the cult of women in labor were mainly addressed) continued to believe in two women in labor, preserving not only their namelessness, but also their close connection with the archaic hunting myth about two half-women ah -Half-moose. This was most fully revealed in the folk art of the 18th - 20th centuries, which preserved many features of deep antiquity.
In these myths, the main characters are elk women, the Heavenly Mistresses of the world, who give birth to deer and other useful animals for the earth (for people and animals). In the minds of primitive hunters, the whole cycle of nature boiled down to the fact that somewhere in the sky, in the immediate vicinity of the sun (the sun is the hearth of goddesses), two horned goddesses of a half-animal appearance gave birth to the source of people's well-being.
These goddesses were identified with two northern constellations - Ursa Major and Ursa Minor; The first constellation in Russia was named Elk.

Well, the last interesting information.
Idols or churas (idols) of Roda are made from beech, elm, ash or maple.
Rhoda's bird is a duck. Rod's fish is pike.
And this image is a symbol of the Family.

That's it, I'm finishing. We will meet Lada and Lelya again when we talk about them in more detail, but now homework. You need to choose questions that will give a total of at least 10 points. Overall score homework- 10 points. As usual, I give an extra 2 points for a creative approach to completing assignments.

Homework:

1. The first god and main god. How do you understand the difference between them? (0-2 points)

2. Describe Rod. Your opinion about him - what kind of god is he? (0-3 points)

3. You can even draw Rod and the women in labor - together or separately. (0-6 points)

4. Slavic mythology, unlike Greek, does not spoil us with beautiful myths. So let's write them ourselves. Write a myth about Rod and women in labor. (0-5 points)

5. Find in Greek mythology the god to whom Rod corresponds. Why? According to what general characteristics have you determined this? (0-2 points)

6. What is your opinion about women in labor? Who were they? What functions did they perform? Which Greek mythology characters can they be compared to? (0-3 points)

7. Why is the duck considered the bird of Rod? (0-1 point)

8. Why is pike considered the fish of Rod? Find confirmation of this fact in fairy tales. (0-2 points)

9. Why is the idol of Rod made from the listed trees? (0-2 points)

10. Imagine that you are at a birthing meal. Describe what you saw there and what you may have done yourself. (0-4 points)

11. Describe the symbol of the Family. What do you think each part means (symbolizes)? (0-2 points)

12. Find in mythology northern peoples myths about moose women. Retell one of them and analyze whether these female elk are really giving birth. What does this mean? (0-3 points)

13. So why exactly was the god associated with birth, fertility (and even in the company of women in labor) so revered among the ancient Slavs? (0-2 points)

Our Lady of Rozhana

VIRGIN ROZHANA - (Mother Rodikha, Rozhanitsa), the eternally young Heavenly Mother of God, Goddess of family wealth, spiritual wealth and Comfort.

Our Lady of Rozhana

Special food sacrifices were made to the Mother of God Rozhana: pancakes, pancakes, breads, porridges, honey and honey kvass.
The ancient Slavic-Aryan cult of the Mother of God Rozhana, like other cults dedicated to the Mother of God and Goddesses, is associated with women's ideas about the continuation of the Family and the fate of the newborn baby, whose Fate is determined.

The Heavenly Mother of God Rozhana patronized not only pregnant women, but also young girls until they underwent the rites of Coming of Age and Naming at the age of twelve.
The age of 12 years (one hundred and eight months) was not chosen by our Ancestors by chance; this is the period of growing up and gaining initial life experience. In addition, the child’s growth (meaning his development and worldview) by this age reached, as they said in ancient times: seven spans in the forehead. This was the beginning of a new stage in the children's lives.
Twelve years is the age of majority for children. Twelve-year-old boys undergo two rites: Naming and Coming of Age. At this time, all boys were taught martial arts and crafts (ancestral).
The number 7 among the Slavs had the image of the letter Z - Earth. The concept of “Earth” is a multidimensional, multifaceted form of existence, a kind of system and form of life, it was not for nothing that this system was previously called “Mother-Cheese Earth”, where “cheese” is unprocessed, original (from the beginning), “mother” is a dense system that generates everything within itself is the basis for further world perception and understanding of the world. That’s why it is said, “In the beginning... he created... the heavens... and the earth.” 7 was written in ancient Slavic as O-seven and turned into VoSem - “Axis” (Axis of the World), that is, the Earth as the basis in the center of which was the AXIS, around which the entire universe as a whole revolved. And in the image, it is like an axis in a circle, or a center, like a point - an infinitely small space, in the middle of a whole space called a sphere. That is why the Earth is round: no circle - no axis, no axis - no circle; there is no center of space - there is no sphere, there is no sphere - there is no stake around which infinitely small quantities of space rotate. After all, a Man consists not only of meat and bones, but also of an image and feelings, an image is an external manifestation of feelings, and feelings are an internal manifestation of an image. (Pyad is “similar” to the Slavic “five” “five” - in order not to dive deeply into images, we will limit ourselves to the concept of five senses). And if there is no one, then there is no other: no mind - no heart, no feelings - no image. Therefore, it is said that in the beginning God created “heaven,” and this is the external manifestation of Himself in the form of the Image of the World, “and the earth,” and this is the Heart, i.e. THE MIDDLE / WHOLE in which all the Images of the World are reflected, like feelings and tastes. And the fact that one is inextricably linked with the other is indicated by the letter “And -like”, which stands between the words - “...heaven and earth.”
Therefore, the newly formed Number - Axis, spins a circle of Seven rays in the Image of our Earth, Axis having in its image the Seven rays of Light (the spectrum of colors of the rainbow of our world), Once spins a circle of the next timeless space - Nine, and this already refers to another palace .
And before reaching the age of “seven spans,” any child, regardless of gender, was called a child and was under the protective protection of his parents, who were responsible for him. After completing the Rites of Coming of Age and Naming at the age of 12, the child became a full member of the Community and was responsible for all his words and actions.

Anthem-Orthodox Praise:
Three-light Rozhana-Mother!
Don't let our Family become poor,
sanctify the womb of all our wives and brides,
with his grace-filled power,
now and ever and from Circle to Circle!

CHILDREN AND WOMEN IN BIRTH

According to the beliefs of the ancient Slavs, it is the Rod that sends souls to born children from heaven to Earth.

The birth is accompanied by women in labor. There were two women in labor: Mother and Daughter.

The Slavs associated the mother with periods of summer fertility, when the harvest ripens and becomes heavier. Her name was . There are many words and concepts associated with it in the Russian language, and they all have to do with establishing order: get along, get along, get along, okay; ladushka, lada - an affectionate address to a spouse. Previously, the wedding agreement was called “ladins”. Lada was also considered the mother of the twelve months into which the year is divided.

Lelya- Lada’s daughter, the youngest woman in labor. Lelya is the goddess of trembling spring sprouts, first flowers, young femininity, tenderness. Hence, a caring attitude towards someone is conveyed by the word “cherish.” The Slavs believed that it was Lelya who took care of the spring shoots - the future harvest.

Sometimes only one Rozhanitsa is mentioned: “Out of the woods, lay demands on Atremis and Artemis, resha Rod and Rozhanitsa, and the Iguptians. Likewise, these words came to the word, and you began to lay demands on the Family and the Rozhanitsy, ... and behold, the Egyptians laid demands on the Nile and the fire, the river Nile is a fruit-bearer and a plant grower.” (“The words of St. Gregory about how the first abomination of the real pagans bowed to an idol and laid demands on them”). In the bright hypostasis, Rod is compared with Apollo-Atremids (Artemis): “Artemis, to the south is called Rod” (“The Torment of St. Tryphon from the February Menaion of the ceremonies according to the list of the 15th century.” Moscow spiritual. Acad. N584).

The Byzantine writer Gregory, who lived in the 12th century, reported in his “Tale on Idols” that the cult of Rod is one of the world religions. There was no point in exalting the “pagan” faith for the Christian author and, nevertheless, he argued that Rod was once worshiped in Egypt (under the name Osiris), Babylon, Greece (where he was allegedly known as the god Apollo), Rome and the Slavic lands. Of course, he shamelessly confused the names of the gods, but still understood that Rod was one of the highest deities, revered in different parts of the world.

In the same 12th century, “The Word of Isaiah the Prophet” was written, where the author compares Rod and his two women in labor with the Phoenician god Baal, “sitting in heaven.” The more he scolds the original Russian god, the clearer it becomes that Rod is not a nondescript idol, but an ancient lord of the heavens. The chronicler of the German bishop Herold Helmold wrote in 1156: “Among the diverse deities to whom they (the Slavs) dedicate fields, forests, sorrows and joys, they recognize the one god ruling over them in heaven, they recognize that he is omnipotent, cares only about business heavenly, other gods obey him, fulfill the duties assigned to them, and that they come from his blood and each of them is the more important the closer he stands to this god of gods.” The Western Slavs call this “God of gods” Sventovita; most likely, this is one of the main incarnations of the Family.
Even after the baptism of Rus', hundreds of years later, the Slavs continued to hold feasts annually on September 8 in honor of the great god Rod. Yes, this is understandable: no one wanted to be known as Ivan, who did not remember his kinship!

In the 16th century, Russian Christian clergy were still carrying out explanatory work. Thus, in a manuscript from this time it is said: “For everything, God is the creator, and not the Race.” People didn’t argue, they agreed: “That’s right, the world was born by the Creator. That’s why his name is Rod.” This is how he was called in Russian translations of the Bible - “parent”.

Modern pagans place idols of Rod in the form of wooden symbols painted red. It can also be simply a stone pile, which has analogues in India, where the linga symbolizes Rudra.

Such idols are always placed in an open place, and the higher the better. To make idols of Rod, it is best to use beech, elm, ash, but since these trees are rare, it is proposed to replace them with maple. Requests for Rod are still unknowingly brought in the form of “Easter” eggs to the graves of their ancestors.

A special celebration of Rodion falls on April 21 (Orthodox Rodion-icebreaker). This holiday is called in pagan Radogoshche, Svarozhich himself is honored as a solar deity. The most important thing is that the Almighty (Vyshen), Rod and Svarog, all the gods and people descended from them are relatives. All of them are manifestations of the first gods, their smaller copies. People called themselves grandchildren (“Dazhbozh’s grandchildren,” for example), and not slaves of the gods, as is customary in some modern cults.

September 8 - and BORN. Holiday . This Slavic holiday is dedicated to family well-being.
September 21 - second AUTUMN /MAKOSH/, BIRTHDAY and BIRTHDAY and the Christmas of Maya Zlatogorka - the mother of Kolyada.

The Palace of Pike is ruled by the Goddess Rozhana, the eternally young Heavenly Mother of God. Goddess of family wealth, spiritual wealth and comfort. Special food sacrifices were made to the Mother of God Rozhana: pancakes, pancakes, breads, porridges, honey and honey kvass. Goddess Rozhana is responsible for birth and patronizes women in labor and Pregnant women. A person born under this sign, as a rule, must experience the birth of his offspring and their upbringing for the benefit of the Family.

22 Ramkhat - 4 Aylet

Sacred Tree – Plum(human action in union with the knowledge of God). By autumn, it absorbs many necessary substances - essential characteristics (vitamins) necessary for the normal functioning of a living organism, structures them, taking into account the properties of compatibility (harmony) of each and enhances the action of the other with one essential aspect and stores them for a very long time.

People born in the Hall of the Pike and Swan strive for a calm, harmonious and measured Life, for a traditional way of life, filled with sensual empathy. For them, the most difficult task is making an important decision.
The Hall of the Pike gives you the ability to adapt to any environment and feel like a fish in water everywhere.

The pike that fulfilled the wishes of the notorious lazy Emelya, who was sitting on the stove... she is not an easy fish, but a very interesting one. The Hall of Pike clearly speaks of this. Remember the famous saying “At the command of the pike, at my will!”? The fabulous Emelya, a lazy man and a fool, was not such a fool after all when he caught a pike in the river. What could be more attractive than the opportunity to get everything you want?
People born in the Hall of Pike have an extremely balanced and calm worldview. And besides, almost everyone can envy them, since in any environment, society, company and situation, they feel like a fish in water.
This ability of theirs is also visible when reading the name of the palace according to the laws of all-clear literacy.
"Pike". The letter “Ш” symbolizes three unified, closely interconnected planes of existence, the laws of the universe and their unity for all. The tail of the letter “Ш”, facing downwards, seems to root these principles for people.
"KA" is the soul. This is an outdated name for our spiritual component.
Putting the meanings together, we understand that people, the palace of the pike, belong to the happy exceptions. Their intentions, thoughts and deeds, their very essence are brought into conformity with the laws of Life and Spirit. It is for this reason that their wishes so often and quickly come true and come true.
And yet, in the big barrel of honey, the character of a person - a pike, there is a decent fly in the ointment. It is very difficult for pike to decide and focus on the main thing. Often she begins to get scattered over little things.
A person endowed with such properties can be compared to a magic wand that fulfills any desire. But this stick needs a wise owner who will be able to direct its capabilities in a direction that is good and useful for the pike itself...”

People who entrust their lives to the protection of the Hall of Pike become flexible, like a fish, and wise, like a pike. Pike is not a gudgeon or a crucian carp. This is a toothy predator that never rushes ahead, but observes and chooses the moment of its successful action. A pike, like an experienced surgeon, will measure a hundred times and cut once. It is this approach to life that is most reasonable and fruitful. Don't flutter around like a small fish. And act like the queen of the waters.
Measurement and reasonableness are a special gift for a real woman. The pike strives for order. Vanity is always ugly. Harmony is essential for happiness.

The most mysterious and least studied of all Slavic deities is Rod - a deity known only to the Eastern Slavs and which has not survived in ethnographic material. The epigraph to this section could be the words of N.M. Galkovsky, written by him in 1916, but remaining valid to this day: “The question of honoring the Family and women in labor is one of the darkest and most confusing.”( Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity against the remnants of paganism in ancient Rus'. Kharkov, 1916, vol. I, p. 153.)

When reviewing the literature on the issue, two trends are striking, equally contradictory to the sources: some of the authors strive to present Rod as a small family god, close to a brownie, while others go even further and simply remain silent about Rod, without even going into the analysis of the sources.

The first article about women in labor was written in 1855 by I. I. Sreznevsky ( Sreznevsky I.I. Rozhanitsy among the Slavs and other pagan peoples. SPb. 1855), who considered them “maidens of life” like the Greek moira. This idea about the goddesses of fate was developed in more detail by A. N. Veselovsky. He believed that Rod was associated with the cult of ancestors, “the invisible guardians of the hearth and the growing generation.” Initially, “A clan is a producer, a set of male members of a tribe who jointly own women in labor, the mothers of a new generation.” Gradually, Rod turned into a “grandfather-brownie, also staying at the hearth.”( Veselovsky A. N. Research in the field of spiritual verse. XIII. Fate is fate in the folk beliefs of the Slavs. - ORYAS. St. Petersburg, 1890, t. 46, p. 172 - 264 (about Rod) A. S. Famints in his entire book about Slavic deities did not even mention either Rod or women in labor. ( Famintsyn A. S. Deities of the ancient Slavs. St. Petersburg, 1884. 5 Anichkov E. V. Paganism and Ancient Rus'. St. Petersburg, 1913, p. 163.)

E.V. Anichkov did almost the same thing, mentioning Rod only in connection with his textual thoughts, but avoiding considering the substance of the matter. Women in labor, according to Anichkov, are “fairies who appear at the birth of babies”; further he writes about a magnificent meal in their honor, “without going into the complex question of the meaning and meaning of the cult of the Family and women in labor.”( ) Without any objections, Anichkov cites Vladimirov’s opinion that “Rod is nothing more than a modern brownie.” ( Anichkov E.V. Paganism and ancient Rus', p. 162; Ponomarev A.I. Monuments of ancient Russian church teaching literature. St. Petersburg, 1897, issue. 3, p. 319.)

Lubor Niederle, giving a very detailed list of quotations from sources of the 11th - 15th centuries, agrees that Russian women in labor are similar to Greek moirai, Roman parks, Slavic constrictors, etc. Having focused mainly on women in labor, Niederle mentions Rod only in passing, joining the definition him as a brownie or a demon of male destiny.( Niederle L. Slovanske Starozitnosti. Praha, 1924, t. II, 1, s. 67 - 70.)

Supporters of the “brownie theory” should at least think about the fact that if women in labor, as a rule, are mentioned in the plural (or dual) number, then Genus is invariably referred to in the singular. What kind of brownie is this if there is only one for all people? In addition, in the same sources that talk about Rod, the brownie himself is mentioned among all the demonic trifles: “the demon of the hoarder” or “the god of Kutny”. On the other hand, the name of the brownie, Rod, is completely unknown to ethnography. The only historian of paganism who did not shy away from considering Rod and women in labor was N.M. Galkovsky; in his research, he devoted a special chapter to them: “Genesis and women in labor. Astrological beliefs.”( Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity..., vol. I, p. 153 - 191.) However, Galkovsky, who always wrote within the framework of official Orthodoxy, did not touch upon the essence of the cult of Rod, did not touch upon the dangerous likening of Rod to the biblical Sabaoth and artificially reduced everything to the fact that women in labor are moirai, spirits who help during childbirth and determine the lot, the fate of a person; women in labor are associated with the narrow family cult of ancestors.( Galkovsky II. M. The Struggle of Christianity..., vol. I, p. 154 - 160, 177.) He defines Rod in approximately the same way, equating him with women in labor: “the veneration of Rod and women in labor was a family, private matter.” Galkovsky equates Rhoda to a village brownie, a “helper”, a “licker”. He concludes the paragraph dedicated to the Family with the words of V. O. Klyuchevsky: “The focus of the cult of ancestors is (with the meaning of the guardian of relatives) the Family with its women in labor, that is, grandfather and grandmothers...” ( Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity..., vol. I, p. 177 and 183.)

Both of the above-mentioned tendencies appeared in Soviet literature: V.V. Ivanov and V.N. Toporov turned out to be followers of Famintsyn and did not mention, as already mentioned, even once in their voluminous work Rod. V. L. Komarovich dedicated a special article to the cult of Rod ( Komarovich V.L. Cult of Family and Land in the princely environment of the 11th - 13th centuries. - TODRL. L., 1960, vol. XVI, p. 84 - 104.), but did not review the sources, but only briefly and selectively mentioned the most famous ones, without even using the full reports of Niederle and Galkovsky. According to Komarovich, Rod is the totality of the ancestors of a given family. Objecting to the fact that “the cult of the Family in ancient Russian life has until now been attributed to a purely private, family-only character”( Komarovich V.L. Cult of Family and Land.... p. 88.), the author essentially remains in the same position, extending only this cult to the princely environment (“semi-pagan cult of princely ancestors”). The only argument in favor of this is the respectful attitude of the princes of the 12th century. to their grandfathers, the founders of local dynasties. For some reason, Komarovich interprets the chronicle references to “the prayers of our ancestors and ours,” which helps this or that prince in difficult times, as “an eloquent trace of the pagan cult of the Family.”( Komarovich V.L. Cult of Family and Land..., p. 89.)

In fact, everything here is within the strict framework of Orthodoxy: the father and grandfather of the prince are intercessors before God on behalf of their descendant, and does not help this descendant pagan genus, A christian prayer, heard by the Christian god. We can talk about transformation ancient cult ancestors, but this has nothing to do with the cult of Rod, the personified single deity.

One cannot think that all the numerous (and warring with each other) princely lines of the 12th - 13th centuries. agreed to honor one ancestor and for some reason, contrary to history, they called him not Igor the Old (as Jacob Mnich believed in the 11th century) and not Rurik, as the writers of later genealogical legends began to believe, but Rod. In agreement with his predecessors, Komarovich believes that the veneration of the Family has reached “in modern folklore to the nameless “domozhil”, “brownie”.( ) Komarovich’s most significant mistake, which entailed a number of incorrect positions, is the interpretation of the “second meal” in honor of women in labor as a wake: “We are talking,” writes Komarovich, “about extra-church, second commemoration for deceased ancestors in addition to the canonical commemoration in the temple .. "( Komarovich V.L. Cult of Family and Land..., p. 88.)

Firstly, the Orthodox Church has never persecuted either funerals organized by the relatives of the deceased in his home, or commemoration of the dead in the cemetery; both of these customs survived into the 20th century. Secondly, not a single source gives the right to interpret a meal in honor of women in labor as a wake for the deceased. Thirdly, neither a cemetery, nor “parental days”, nor radunitsa (days of remembrance of all the dead) are mentioned in connection with women in labor, and when pagan rituals are spoken of in GOST (for example, in “Stoglavo”), then no no talk about Rod or women in labor. Fourth objection: during the birth meal, the participants in the feast sang the troparion of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, which was never sung over the dead and expressed a completely opposite idea - joy over the life of a new being, and not death.

There are so many stretches and obvious deviations from the sources in Komarovich’s constructions that it is impossible to agree with him. From all that has been said above, an indisputable conclusion follows: a complete and detailed analysis of the sources is necessary. Until now, none of the researchers, with the exception of N.M. Galkovsky, have been engaged in a comprehensive review of all the sources speaking about the Irozhanites. Usually they were content with individual quotations, selectively taken from published texts, and therefore received incomplete and one-sided conclusions. Galkovsky, although he knew the sources perfectly (we owe him the most complete publication of teachings against paganism), was so influenced by the hypothesis of A. N. Veselovsky that he did not even begin to look for new ways to resolve controversial issues. Even the famous modern historian of the Slavs G. Lovmyansky, in a large book dedicated to the paganism of the Slavs of the 6th - 12th centuries, did not touch upon the most interesting problem of the god Rod and only mentioned his name in passing in two lines.( Lowmianski H. Religia slowian i jej upadek. Warszawa, 1979, s. 123, 124.)

The main reason for the mistakes of Veselovsky, Galkovsky and Komarovich was a misunderstanding of the dual nature of expressions containing the root “genus” contained in the sources. I already talked about this briefly in the section dedicated to Mokosh. In some cases, “kinship”, “birth”, “genital veneration” or “genealogy” were translations of such Greek words as genesis, genealogia, eimarmene, meaning fate, fortune telling, astrological horoscopes (“Christmas magic”) - in a word, then , “what is written in the family.”( Sreznevsky I. I. Materials for the dictionary of the Old Russian language. M., 1958, vol. III, column. 134 - 139. The Latin expression “fortunam ac fatum et genealogiam” was translated as follows: “part, imarmenia and genealogy.” Sometimes even the word “clan” meant the same thing: “From the need of the clan” (“ex fati necessitate”) - “according to the inevitability of fate.” See: Dyachenko G. Complete Church Slavonic Dictionary. M., 1900, p. 551 - 554.) This series of translated concepts is really connected with the fate of a person and the (astronomical) circumstances of his birth. But it was not this relatively innocent superstition that was the cause and object of furious church denunciations.

For several centuries, Russian church writers persistently and persistently fought against the cult of the Family and women in labor, with ritual feasts in honor of these “idols,” and never once, in any source, was the veneration of the Family confused with astrological “veneration of the family.” We shouldn't be confused either; after all, we are dealing here not with synonyms, but with a kind of homonym. The astrological aspect appears mainly in later works. At the end of the 15th century. Joseph Volotsky, polemicizing with the Judaizing heretics, wrote: “...and the teaching of the laws of the stars is fabulous and to look at the stars and build the birth and life of man, and to despise the divine scripture, as if it is nothing.”( )

In the 16th century, when the folk, peasant cult of women in labor was already eroding and its essence was not clear enough to Russian scribes, the author of “Domostroy” denounced the astrologers of his time: “... they believe in receiving [luck, fate] and in genealogy [horoscopes], rexha in women in labor and in charm according to astronomy."( Dyachenko G. Complete Church Slavonic dictionary, p. 554.)

It was these works that used the archaic term (giving it a completely different meaning), and influenced mainly the turn of the topic about Rod and women in labor, which we observe in the studies of the above authors. In their justification, we can only say that the simultaneous mention of Rod as a deity that preceded Perun, and “tribal veneration” in the sense of “Chaldean astronumea” was found once in a 12th-century source, the author of which, however (unlike his 19th-century readers) , did not confuse these two series of concepts.

Taking a general overview of the sources that provide information about the cult of the Family and women in labor, it is worth noting one feature that is striking: this information is not in the early sources talking about the druzhina-princely paganism of the 10th century. Neither in the treaties with Byzantium, nor in the chronicle story about the pantheon of Vladimir in 980, there is any mention of Rod and women in labor. In the “Word about the Bucket and the Plagues of God”, placed in the chronicle under 1068 and threatening Christians who apostatized from God and “deviated from the path of God” with the most severe punishments (hail, drought, locusts), despite the similarity of the situation with teachings against the cult Rhoda, there is no name for this god. It seems that in the ceremonial state documents, such as treaties with the Greek emperors and the grand ducal chronicle, there was no place for agricultural gods of fertility; they obviously seemed too democratic, rustic and, like the ancient Dionysus, did not immediately attract attention.

The first material about Rod and women in labor is the “Word of St. Gregory, invented in masses”, discussed in the first chapter, about how the first filth of the pagans bowed to an idol and laid demands on them; that is what they do now,” which we agreed for brevity to call “ A word about idols."( Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity... M., 1913, vol. II. Text, p. 22 - 25.) "The Word", as I believe, was written at the very beginning of the 12th century. on a ship sailing along the Aegean Sea to Constantinople via Athos. The Russian author (abbot Daniel the Pilgrim?) used the Greek text of the 39th word of Gregory the Theologian “On the Holy Lights of the Appearances of the Lord,” which he abbreviated and expanded with his observations and reflections on Russian paganism. The Russian "Tale of Idols" gives the impression of rough sketches, not systematized, replete with repetitions, but nevertheless of exceptional value for the history of Russian paganism. Having listed several Olympian gods (Zeus, Aphrodite, Artemis) and remembering the biblical Baal, the author moves on to his own, Russian gods, mentioning (in addition to what was recorded in the chronicle) Rod, women in labor, fork-mermaids and Pereplut. All additions are related to agrarian cults.( Rybakov B. A. Rusalia and the god Simargl-Pereplut. - SA, 1967, No. 2,) Next, the author came across in the text of Gregory the Theologian, which he had in his hands, with the expression Chaldaion astronomia nai genetlialogia, which he translated as “Chaldean astronomy and veneration of the family.” ( Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity..., vol. II, p. 24, 30.) The following phrase in the Greek text of Gregory (“a science that compares our fate with the movement of heavenly bodies, which cannot know about themselves, what they are or what they will be”) our author outlined very briefly, but with a full understanding of the matter: “veneration of the ancestors, etc. eat martola." In ancient Rus', Martoloi was the name given to false, renounced books that treated fortune telling by the stars: “Martoloi is a rex astrologer (Astrologer).”( Sreznevsky I.I. Materials..., vol. II, column. 112.)

The author warned his readers against confusing “family veneration” (traditional translation from Greek) with the cult of the Russian god Rod, which he talks about in another place and which he mentions in another environment. The mistake of Veselovsky and Komarovich was that they did not heed this warning.

The author's understanding of Rod as a significant Slavic deity is clear from his remarkable periodization of Slavic paganism, which I discussed in the introductory chapter. The oldest layer of ideas is ghouls and beregins, ubiquitous spirits of evil and good, characteristic of the hunting society. The next stage is “now the Slovenes began to serve a meal to Rod and the women in labor before Perun, their god.”( ) Rod is defined here as the predecessor of Perun, therefore, as the main deity of the Slavs before the establishment of the squad cult of Perun the Thunderer. The ratio is approximately the same as between the cult of Uranus or Kronos and the cult of Zeus, which supplanted them over time. Five times, more often than any of the gods, our author mentions Rod and women in labor in his work.( In another, often quoted and important teaching - “The Word of a certain Lover of Christ” we also see special attention to the Family and women in labor. The chronicle gods (Perun, Khors, Makosh, etc.) are mentioned only in the general list, and Rod and women in labor are highlighted and mentioned a second time as a special example of mixing “honest prayer with the cursed prayer service of idols” (Galkovsky N.M. The Struggle of Christianity..., vol. II, p. 43).)

The attempts of the author of “The Tale of Idols” to explain the origin of the cult of the Family and connect it with world religions are extremely interesting. This passage in the Lay, due to its literary disorder, is especially convincing of the rough, unfinished nature of the notes that accompanied the translation of Gregory the Theologian’s work, but the course of thought of the author-translator is quite clear.

The genus is compared with Osiris - the “cursed god” of the Egyptians; it is said that the cult of Osiris was borrowed by the Chaldeans: “... from those [Egyptians] the Chaldeans grew up in ancient times and began to create the demands of their god - the Family and the birth-giving people.”( Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity..., vol. II, p. 24.) It is difficult to say which Babylonian deity was replaced here by Rod and the woman in labor. Perhaps this is the biblical Baal (Baal-Hadd), who was also revered in Chaldea-Babylon.

In one of the lists of “Tales about Idols” (Paisievsky), which is actually less complete, there is an addition where Rod and the woman in labor are likened to the Hellenic “Artemis and Artemis”. In ancient mythology, we do not know the god Artemis; the only male deity close to Artemis is her brother Apollo.

Let me remind you that the Russian scribe, who left us his thoughts about Rod, knew Greek language and visited some southern regions. He might have known something about ancient mythology beyond those laconic references contained in the Greek denunciation of Gregory the Theologian, but this information received in the 12th century may not have been very accurate.

I will give the full text of the “Tale of Idols”, which interprets the spread of the cult of the Family and women in labor. Starting with the Chaldeans, the author continues: “From there, the Elini began to set a meal for Rod and women in labor, the same Egyptians, the same Romans. They even reached the Slavs; and the Slovenians began to set a meal for Rod and women in labor before Perun, their god...”( Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity.., vol. II, p. 24.)

It is unlikely that the author was right in so decisively uniting the various vanished cults of the Old World, but it is noteworthy that in search of analogies to the Family he turned not to petty domestic demons like the Lares and Penates, but to deities of the highest caliber. What a pity that our supporters of the “brownie theory” did not want to turn to this long-published text!

The next source in chronological order is the very important for us “The Word of Isaiah the Prophet, interpreted by St. John Chrysostom about those who supply the second meal to the Family and women in labor.” If in other denunciations of paganism various Slavic deities were listed in all their plurality - from the Thunderer to the vampire, then this teaching is devoted exclusively to the cult of the Family and women in labor. The dating of the “Words of Isaiah the Prophet” is very important for us. N.M. Galkovsky believes that in the 15th century. it already existed, and cites the opinion of E. E. Golubinsky about its dating to post-Mongol times.( Galkovsky’s reference (The Struggle of Christianity..., vol. II, p. 86) to Golubinsky’s book is incorrect (Golubinsky E. E. History of the Russian Church. M., 1901, vol. I, 1st half., p. 827 - 828). Us. 828 speaks of the “Word of Isaiah,” but Golubinsky does not give a dating.) The famous “Questioning of Kyurikovo” can help in more accurately determining the date. The Novgorod mathematician's questions were addressed to Bishop Nifont (1130 - 1156). Among the many questions, only one contained the names of pagan deities; these were the names of Rod and women in labor:

“Should Rod and the woman in labor steal bread and orchards and honey?” The bishop responded with a quote from the Word of Isaiah the Prophet:

"Velmi to the harrow. There is no place to say: woe to those who drink to the woman in labor!".( Monuments of Old Russian canon law, vol. I, § 33.) The nature of the question and answer is such that it makes one assume the very widespread existence of the ritual of innocent sacrifice with bread, cottage cheese and honey, the pagan essence of which was not even very clear to Kirik, since otherwise there would have been no need to ask the question to the ruler.

So, the “Word of Isaiah the Prophet” was created no later than the middle of the 12th century, i.e., very close in time to the “Tale of Idols.” Our “Word of Isaiah the Prophet” is a somewhat abbreviated retelling of the 65th chapter of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, which is included in the Bible. The whole point of creating a new work was only one thing - to bring down the full weight of biblical curses on Rod and his two women in labor.

I will cite parallel texts: the Bible - according to the canonical Russian edition, and “The Word of Isaiah the Prophet” - in its translation.

Bible Book of the Prophet Isaiah "The Word of Isaiah the Prophet"

8. Thus says the Lord: when in Thus says the Lord: if there is juice in a bunch of grapes, I will find a bunch of grapes, at least then they say “do not damage it, the berry, then I will leave it safe for there is a blessing in it.” Same with this bunch. A bunch is a sure thing I will do for the sake of my servants, so that a person, and a good berry is not to destroy everyone. good deeds prescribed by divine scripture. If there are no berries on the bunch, then it should be cut off and thrown into the fire. Such cutting off is death, and throwing into the fire is consignment to hellfire.

9. I will bring forth from Jacob the seed of those who hear me, and I will not destroy them, but also from Judah, the heir of the mountains, I will bring forth good seed from Jacob and them, and the chosen ones of Judah will inherit them. This is good growth; mine and my slaves will live there. people faithful to the divine law. They will own my holy mountain - the church and church teaching. Holy Mountain - Zion; on it I showed my goodness, and this mountain, Zion, is the mother of all temples; it contains the teaching of divine scripture.

The Lord said: the heirs of my holy mountain will be chosen people, i.e. those who serve Rod and (two) women in labor, useless idols. Faithful servants of God are people who make a pure sacrifice to the living God with a meek heart, enlightened by real church teaching.

10. And Sharon will be a pasture. They will be like sheep in a fenced-in meadow. The meadow is a paradise, and the ogra is for the sheep and the valley of Achor is a resting place for the oxen of my people who sought me. true believers who submit to God, and not to (two) women in labor. And the Okhor thickets in which the oxen rest are the pastures of the heavenly church, and the meek oxen are bishops and priests who themselves live Christianly and zealously teach others.

11. And you, who forsook you, who abandoned me, forgetting - lords, forgot the holy mountain of my holy mountain, preparing mine, preparing a meal for a feast in honor of Rod and the (two) birth of Gad and dissolving the full cup of the prostrates filling the ladles theirs for Manufi. I will demand the demons, -

12. I will condemn you to the sword, and I will betray you all to the sword, and you will all fall, you will bow down to the slaughter, pierced! because I called - and you are not This is death, but a weapon - they answered, said - and you are not eternal music. They listened, but did what was evil in their own eyes. I called you, and you did not respond; mine and chose what I told you, and you did not listen. I don't like it. Before my eyes, you do evil, and you choose those who are hostile to me.

13. Therefore, thus says the Lord Therefore, says the Lord, when God: Behold, my servants will eat, the people faithful to me will begin to feast, and you will starve; my servants, you will be tormented by hunger. But they will drink, and you will languish - you will be full only because you are thirsty. prepared for (both) women in labor. Now those who obey me will begin to drink, and you will become thirsty - quench it with your ladles, intended for demons.

14. My servants will rejoice, those faithful to me will rejoice, but you will be ashamed; my servants will be covered with shame. They will sing with heartfelt joy - They (the faithful) will rejoice in joy, and you will shout from your heart, but you, who have submitted to heartless sorrow and weep from yourself, praying to idols and causing contrition of the spirit. those who celebrate feasts in honor of the Family and women in labor - you will scream in heartache, you will sob in the convulsions of your hearts!

All this will happen to you not in this life, but in the future. You renounce the joys of the next century, since the eternal peace of otherworldly existence will be available only to my chosen slaves.

15. And leave your chosen name - the Lord will kill you. And to my humble ones for damnation. And those who kill me will rejoice, praising you, Lord God, and your servants, the true God. they will be called by a different name. You glorify the idols of the Family and women in labor with demonic chants and destroy the prophecies of the books.

It is a great misfortune to not understand what you read; great evil is not to obey those wiser than yourself, or, having understood everything, not to fulfill the will of God declared to you in the written law. Brothers! Having heard everything that has been said to you, give up meaningless actions, from serving Satan, from arranging these idolatry feasts for the Family and women in labor! Do, brothers, the will of God, as the books of the prophets, apostles and church fathers teach us, in order to receive eternal life under the Savior Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory forever! Amen.

Based on the evil and misanthropic biblical prophecies, the Russian author created a new work, magnificent in form, using the angry tones of Isaiah and directing his entire work, sanctified by the authority of the prophet and John Chrysostom, against the only section of ancient Russian paganism - against Rod and the two women in labor. This alone should show us the importance and significance of the cult of Rod, opposed, as is clear from the entire work, neither more nor less - to the Christian Lord God himself. The teaching castigates those who have deviated from the belief in the true biblical Christian God and “chosen for themselves those who are hostile to him” - Rod and women in labor. Here the opposition is also a comparison: Rod is compared with Hosts and with Jesus Christ. All the punishments, all the “convulsions of the heart” and burning in hellish fire, intended for apostates from the biblical God, are here promised to the fans of the Family and women in labor. And only to them. The scale of the cult of Rod is sufficiently determined by this.

Of no less interest to us is the comparison of the Russian work with the Bible, since it reveals the name of the biblical counterpart of Rod, the deity with whom the biblical god had to compete: this is Gad, or Baal (Baal-Hadd), Canaanite (Syro-Palestinian) mythology , god of fertility and life of some of the ancient Jews and Phoenicians. Baal sends rain and dew, watering the fields and vineyards. Baal was represented as a dying and resurrecting god, like Osiris or Dionysus.

Baal's female counterpart was the goddess Anat (aka Rahmai). Researchers have found that in Canaanite mythology, as in many others, there are two generations of gods. The elder god El (like Uranus or Kron) appears, like Rod, together with two women. The myth is permeated with phallic symbolism. Two women, created over fire on the seashore, become the wives of El and give birth to two daughters - the Morning Dawn and the Evening Dawn. The subsequent offspring of El are fertility deities. Baal is the son of El the Bull.

In fertility myths, Baal and Anat, the gods of the younger generation, prevail over the older god El, but often the mythical fields are named after two goddesses - Asherah (El's wife) and the Virgin Anat:

The field is the field of the gods, the Field of Asherah and the Virgin.

(Gordon S. Canaanite mythology. - In the book: Mythology of the ancient world. M., 1977, p. 202.)

Here again we have a complete parallel to Rod and his two women in labor: Baal, the god of fertility, and two goddesses associated with the field and harvest, and the goddesses, as in hunting myths, are a mother and a maiden daughter.( In Canaanite myths (Proud S. Canaanite mythology, p. 220), as in the myths of Siberian hunters, two cosmic rivers are mentioned. These rivers, as we remember, were depicted on Ugra sulda. It is possible that these coincidences should be considered from the standpoint of the Nostratic hypothesis.) Sometimes another pair of women performs - Anat and Astarte.

The name Baal means "lord", "master". The epithets of Baal are interesting: “Mighty Warrior”, “Lord of the Earth”, “Rider of the Clouds”, etc.( Gordon S. Canaanite Mythology, p. 223, 227.) In myths, Baal dies in a fight with sea ​​god Yamm, but then resurrects again, and the fat years of fertility begin again.

The Russian writer of the Monomakh era could not know all the myths about the Canaanite Baal-Gad, which became known only after deciphering the Ugaritic clay tablets, but he had at his disposal the Bible, in which this deity and all elements of the cult were illuminated in many ways.

Baal was revered in both Judea and Babylon, where the famous Tower of Babel was his temple. Therefore, the choice of a specific text (Isaiah, chapter 65) and the replacement of Gad by Rod were made by the author quite deliberately. And if this is so, then we must regard our Rod as a very significant deity of fertility, “commanding the earth” and “riding on a cloud.” Familiarization with other Russian sources will confirm this. The third important source after the “Word about Idols” and “The Word of Isaiah the Prophet” is an interesting commentary on the Gospel in a manuscript of the 15th - early 16th centuries, discovered by N.V. Kalachov in the Archive of Foreign Affairs.( Kalachov N.V. Archive of historical and legal information relating to Russia, published by Nikolai Kalachov. M., 1850-1861, ed. 2nd, St. Petersburg, 1876, book. I; Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity.., vol. II, p. 97 - 98.) Despite its long-standing publication, this source was stubbornly ignored by researchers. The only historian who appreciated its significance was K.N. Bestuzhev-Ryumin: “As for Rod,” he wrote, “there is no need to look for an ancestor in him, but we must dwell on the evidence of one manuscript of the 16th century cited by N.V. Kalachov: “it is not the Rod sitting in the air that throws piles on the ground and children are born in it.” Thus, the historian continues, the Rod is not the personification of the gens (gens), but the creator itself...” ( Bestuzhev-Ryumin K. Russian history. St. Petersburg, 1872, vol. I, p. 24.) Unfortunately, this observation, important and true for understanding Slavic paganism, was completely forgotten by all subsequent researchers who in one way or another touched upon the problem of the RoD. Moreover, E.V. Anichkov did not even include the source itself in his register of information about Slavic gods and idols.( Anichkov E.V. Paganism and ancient Rus', p. 248.)

Almost no mention was made of the dating of the interpretations of the Gospel. It seems to me that there is some data for chronological timing: the source contains a reference to heretics who “say from the books of the Srachinskys and from the damned Bulgarians... that their creator has not understood.” We have already seen the combination of Saracen books and Bulgarian heresies in the “Tale of Idols” of the beginning of the 12th century; After the Crusades, Saracen themes were no longer in fashion. The Bulgarian heretics (in this case the Bogomils) really denied the creation of the world by God. Already in the “Commandments of Metropolitan George” (1062 - 1079) against the Bogomils it is said: “Even all creatures, visible and invisible, do not think that they were created by God - let him be cursed!” Begunov Yu. K. Kozma Presbyter in Slavic literatures. Sofia, 1973, p. 399.)

An early Russian copy of “Conversations of Kozma the Presbyter” is known, dating back to the second half of the 12th century. ( Begunov Yu. K. Kozma Presbyter..., p. 34.) Around this time, to the 12th - 13th centuries, the source of interest to us should be attributed. The late list is explained by the fact that the controversy with the Bogomils continued into the 15th century.

The commentary on the Gospel was written about chapter 14 of the Gospel of John, where Jesus Christ is depicted persistently identifying himself with God the Father (John 14.10 - 11). The words of Jesus are explained: “...the works that I do he will do also, and greater works than these will he do” (“my father is a worker, even to this day”). I will cite a text published by Galkovsky under the code name “On the Inspiration of the Spirit into a Man”:( Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity,.., vol. II, p. 97-98.)

“One breathless, ageless breath is breathed by the all-dweller, who is the only immortal and undying creator. For he [man] breathed upon his face the spirit of life and became a man in the living soul. That is not your race, sitting in the air, a mosque on the ground, and in that heaps of children are born. And again angels (angels?) breathe out the soul or again from a person or from an angel God will betray the judgment. Sitsa bo netsii heretics speak from the books of the Srachinsky and from the damned Bulgarians. About such whore-talkers the prophet said: “Their heart has sung and the dust is worse than their hope and Their life was more dishonest, as if they did not understand their creator, who created them and breathed into them the spirit of life and put the soul into action. “Everyone has a creator, God, and not Rod.”

In light of all that we have learned about Rod from the “Word of Idols,” where his cult is declared a world religion, and from the “Word of Isaiah the Prophet,” in which Rod is equated with the mighty Baal “walking through the heavens,” this source has already cannot surprise: for the second time Rod turns out to be a rival of the biblical-Christian creator god, the almighty god. But there are also important clarifications here: firstly, an unknown commentator claims that, according to the pagans, Rod “sits in the air,” that is, is somewhere in heaven, in the divine sphere. This once again equates Rod with Baal, “riding on a cloud.”

Secondly, the pagans attribute the emergence of new life on earth to Rod. In order for children to be born, the pagan god must drop some “piles” from the sky to promote birth. From different meanings For some reason, researchers chose one word for this word: piles - heaps, blocks. ( Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity..., vol. II.) It is not clear how this was linked to the birth of children.

You should pay attention to another meaning: “chest” - drops, “dewy chest” - drops of dew, “hail piles” - pellets of hail.( Sreznevsky I.I. Materials..., vol. I, column. 599-600.) Most likely, the word “breast” without additional definition (dewy, hail) simply meant raindrops. This fits the context better - after all, dew is formed from fog; drops of dew do not fall from the sky, and the ancient commentator claims that it is from the sky (“sitting on the air”) that the Rod throws its fruitful drops. If we accept this interpretation, which harmonizes all parts of the text that interests us, then we will have at our disposal a huge number of ethnographic examples of belief in the universal fertilizing power of rain, both in relation to the earth and in relation to women. The commentary “On the inspiration of the spirit” is important for us in that it again puts Rod and christian god father, god of the creator of the world. First, the thesis of some pagan theologians is disputed (but, of course, not the Bogomils, who did not know the cult of the Family), who argued that the emergence of new life on earth is produced by the Family, irrigating the earth with heavenly drops, as a result of which children are born. Here Rod looks like Zeus, who descended to Danae as a golden shower, from which Danae became pregnant. At the end of the commentary, the author speaks even more broadly, defining Rod not only as the continuer of life, but also as the creator of the world: “For everyone, God is the creator, not Rod.”( What follows is the author’s reasoning, which I omitted, that a child in the womb, deprived of air, can live and grow only by God’s will.)

LE BES NBO....N. INTELLIGENCE...D ZDO...SHAKING THE AREA REYEB, THEN CLEAN. (Shchepkin V.N. Novgorod inscriptions - graffiti. Antiquities. - Tr. Moscow archaeological islands. M., 1902, vol. XIX, issue 3, table VII, no. 35, p. 32. Proposed by me reading differs from the one given by Shchepkin. See: Rybakov B. A. Russian epigraphy of the X - XIV centuries. M., 1963, p. 63.)

The inscription is poorly preserved, but even from the surviving fragments it is clear that we are talking about the relationship of the demon to the sky, to the bucket and to the thunderstorm shock of the clouds. It is also clear that the discussion about the capabilities of the demon is completed with a completely canonical ending: the author of the inscription, referring to someone’s authority (someone “speech”), asserts the primacy of God: “God do it.” There is no Rod in this debate; in its place there is a demon, and thus the second disputing side becomes clear - these are not pagans, but Bogomils, “calling the creator the devil man and all of God’s creation” and asserting “that God did not create the heavens, nor the earth, nor all these visible things.” ( Conversation on the newly emerged heresy of the Bogomil Kozma the Presbyter. See: Begunov Yu. K Kozma Presbyter..., p. 327 and 305.)

Novgorodian who wrote on his wall cathedral refutation of the omnipotence of the devil, perhaps, it was Kozma, the accuser of the Bogomils, who had in mind when he sealed his presentation with an unnamed (for us, due to poor preservation) “speech.” The commentary “On the Inspiration of the Spirit” fits well into Russian social thought of the 12th century, which dealt with the dangerous and significant question of the creator of the world. The Bogomils contrasted the Christian god with the devil, and the pagans opposed Rod.

Having received from three sources the idea of ​​Rod as a deity, which was opposed to Sabaoth and compared with Osiris and Baal, we must consider a branched complex of Old Russian words containing the root “rod”. This is primarily a group of words associated with the concept of kinship and birth:

Clan Relatives Nature People Homeland Give birth Relatives Give birth Harvest

O. N. Trubachev, in his study of the terms of kinship, writes that “A. Bruckner was quite close to the truth when he said that kin, birth first meant “success”, “prosperity”, “harvest”, “profit”, “ care".( Trubachev O. N. History of Slavic kinship terms. M., 1959, p. 153.)

Trubachev considers the Old Slavonic “ROD” to be a “purely Slavic innovation”, a new use of Indo-European morphemes, and notes the frequently encountered metathesis: genus - ard - art. This gives additional meanings: "origin", "genus" (German Art); “high”, “large” (Irish ard, Gaulish ardu).( Trubachev O. N. History of Slavic terms..., p. 152-153. In the meaning of “mountains” the word “clan” was also used in Old Russian. See: Sreznevsky I.I. Materials..., vol. III, p. 138.) Turning to Iranian languages, we see that in Scythian Ard is a cult term, a designation of a deity. V. I. Abaev believes that arta -ard is one of the most important religious concepts Iranian world - “deity”, “personification of light”; Ossetian "ard" - oath, originally "the deity by whom one swears."( Abaev V.I. Scythian language. - In the book: Ossetian language and folklore. M.; L., 1949, vol. 1, p. 154-155.)

Thus, the word “clan” and the metathesis “ard” in the meaning of “deity”, “clan”, “high” turn out to be much more widespread than only in the Slavic world, and to some extent explain to us the desire of the author of the “Tale of idols" show the geographical range of the cult of the Family. It is possible that the name Artemis is associated with this root.

In addition to the above meanings of words with the root “clan”, there are two more series of concepts in the designation of which the same root is involved: firstly, this is the designation of water, a water source - “birthplace”, a spring (krinitsa), as well as flowers, growing near water - lilies - "rhodium" ("krinov"). The second section is more extensive and requires special explanations:

Rhodia - lightning; Rhodium, rodiya - pomegranate fruit; Kin, kinship - fiery Gehenna; Dear, dear - red; Radritsya \ To blush / red, blush. Rdyany /

The combination of “rhodia” and lightning and the pomegranate fruit in one homonym is of great interest, since it allows one to understand exactly what type of lightning we are talking about - only ball lightning, visible up close, is similar to a red round pomegranate. In the Old Russian translation of Josephus Flavius's "Jewish War", when describing the symbolism of priestly clothing, it is said that the bells meant thunder, "and rhodia - lightning"; "rhodia" here is garnet. See: Meshchersky N.A. History of the Jewish War by Josephus Flavius ​​in the Old Russian translation. M.: L., 1958, p. 372 - 517.)

The connection of Rod with lightning and thunder explains to us the aphorism of Daniil Zatochnik: “Children run around Rod, but God is a drunken man.” The entire series of words given here is united by a semantic core: fiery, red flaming, lightning-like. They tried to explain the “fiery kinship” by the mistake of the translators, who, by consonance, mistook the Greek geenna (gehenna) for genea - genus. However, this is unlikely; how to explain that all translators in different cities and in different centuries were sure to make mistakes, and always in the same way? The abundance of Slavic words with the root “rodstvo” in the meaning of red and fiery (compare the Latin ardeo - to burn, ardor - heat, heat) allows us to consider the word “rodstvo” as a Slavic designation for hell, and not an error. It would be very good if the attention of linguists were directed to the analysis of the semantic bundle that is formed by various Indo-European words with the root genus - ard - art. Until such an analysis, it is difficult to imagine the entire range of connections and the entire versatility of this interesting issue. However, it is already clear that with the god Rod can be associated not only the birth of a living thing (clan, people, give birth), but also nature and water (birthplace, spring), and rain (breasts falling from the air), and even lightning - rhodium , and the fire was burning. Rod turns out to be the all-encompassing deity of the Universe with all its worlds: the upper, heavenly, from where it rains and lightning flies, the middle world of nature and birth, and the lower with its “fiery kinship.” Then the opposition of Rod to the Christian god of the Universe, Sabaoth, becomes clear. This view of the Family is reinforced by data obtained from early translations, where the book of Genesis, which tells about the creation of the world, is called “Kinship”, and God the creator is the “family maker.”( Sreznevsky I.I. Materials..., vol. III, column. 139 (Izbornik 1073); Dyachenko G. Complete Church Slavonic dictionary, p. 551.)

In connection with the data obtained about Rod, we can now pay attention to the most interesting place in the collection of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, described by architect. Varlaam. The collection was rewritten in 1476, and was compiled, presumably, at the end of the 14th century, since it contains many notes about Metropolitan Cyprian. The contents of the collection are very diverse; Theological and historical notes, riddles, extracts from travel descriptions, everyday questions in the spirit of “Kirikov’s Questioning” and much more are mixed here.

The note about “Native Visions” that will be discussed (fol. 271 vol.) did not attract the attention of any of the researchers. Even I. I. Sreznevsky himself, who knew this collection, did not include the dictionary material in his famous three-volume work. The note becomes understandable only in the light of what is said above about the “family” complex. I will quote it in its entirety:

"Written by Gregory of Sinaita. [In] eight native visions of the verb to be: The first is about God, waterless [formless], The second is the dispensation of the Intellectual Powers, The third is the composition of the Beings, The fourth is the Watchful words of the convergence, The fifth is the Cathedral Resurrection, The sixth is the second of Christ coming, the Seventh is eternal torment, the Eighth is the kingdom of heaven."

(Sreznevsky I. I. Description of the collection of the 15th century of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. B. m., b. g., s. 31. The capital letter of the word “eight” is written in the form of a rebus: in a large circle (letter O) the number 7 (z) is written, and everything should read: in O seven. The word "anhydrous" in our third line is misspelled (or typed). In the canonical translation of the Bible it says “formless,” i.e., that God is invisible, without form.)

The eight “native visions” represent, so to speak, a summary of the history of the Universe from the point of view of a Christian theologian of the 14th century. (Gregory of Sinaiti died in 1310).

1. God is invisible. 2. The creation of planets and the entire stellar world, driven by “smart forces” (the fourth day of creation). 3. The creation of all living things, “that exist” (the fifth and sixth days of creation). 4. The descent of Christ the Word, visible (“observant”) to people. Life of Jesus. 5. Resurrection from the dead. 6. The second coming of Christ (at the Last Judgment). 7. Condemnation of sinners to hellish torment. 8. The kingdom of heaven is for the saints and the righteous.

The first three "native visions" are based on "Kinship", on the biblical book of Genesis, the fourth - on the Gospel, and the last four reflect the Apocalypse.

We examined those sources that helped us reveal the essence of ideas about the god Rod. In addition to those discussed above, there are a number of references in sources in which the cult of Rod and women in labor is condemned, but nothing new is added to their characteristics. Two sources are interesting to us precisely because Rod is not there. One of them is “The Word of John Chrysostom...how the first abomination they believed in idols and laid demands on them...”. Here the Christian creator god is contrasted not with Rod, but with three pagan deities, which together make up the world whole:

Stribog is the deity of the sky, air, and wind. Dazhbog is the deity of the sun and life-giving force. Pereplut is the deity of the soil, plant roots, vegetative power. (Galkovsky N.M. The Struggle of Christianity..., vol. II, p. 60./I)

Three functionally limited deities in this relatively late (14th century?) source in their totality replaced Rod and made his mention unnecessary. The second source is the famous “Tale of the Creature and the Day of the Week,” dating back to the 12th - 13th centuries. We are talking about honoring the day of the seven days - Sunday, the “week”, as a day dedicated to the sun and daylight. This cult was materialized: “the infidels, who have described the world as a fool and bow to him”; at the same time, these pagans “blaspheme the creator.” (Galkovsky N, M. The Struggle of Christianity..., vol. II, p. 78.) In this teaching, women in labor are mentioned, but Rod is no longer there - he was replaced by Light, opposed to the Christian god-creator. The holiday of this Light is every first day of the seven-day week - Sunday, “Day of the Sun” for many nations. However, the pagans do not worship the sun (“the thing is the sun is the light”), but the “white light,” the Universe, “the creature written in the image of man.” This is obviously the same light that, according to ancient ideas, existed independently of the sun (for example, on a cloudy day), which is spoken of in the Bible when describing the first day of creation. Dostoevsky, as we remember, took advantage of this duality of light when describing the dispute between young Smerdyakov and the lackey Grigory. (“The Lord God created the light on the first day, and the sun, moon and stars on the fourth day. Where did the light shine from on the first day?”) Dostoevsky F. M. Complete. collection cit.: In 30 volumes. L., 1976, vol. 14, p. 114.)

It is this light, which has no visible source, “intangible and inscrutable,” as an emanation of the deity who creates the world, and was the object of worship of medieval pagans, and, consequently, the object of denunciation by churchmen. The churchmen contrasted the deity of the inscrutable light of Jesus Christ, using the gospel phrase: “Again Jesus spoke to the people and said to them: “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness" (Gospel of John, Chapter VIII, 12). In addition to teachings, even "polemical" objects of applied art were made: at the end of the 12th century in Vladimir-Suzdal Russia a copper, medallion decorated with enamel with the image of the Savior Emmanuel and the inscription IC.XC. AZ ESME LIGHT.( Voronin N. N. Archaeological notes. - KSIIMK.M., 1956, issue. 62, p. 27, fig. 14. The medallion was found in Suzdal.) The inscription on it is a direct response to the same infidel worshipers of “creature” and “light” who worshiped the light “by writing it.” The enamel image confirms the dating of the “Tale of the Creature” at the turn of the 12th - 13th centuries. Above, in the chapter on Slavic agricultural cults, I suggested that a certain symbol is associated with the cult of the supreme heavenly deity - the “wheel of Jupiter” with six spokes. It is appropriate here to re-mention this most common symbol. The circle with a six-petalled rosette inside, the “thunder sign,” was polysemantic: it expressed both the idea of ​​the sun (“the thing is the sun to the light”) and the idea of ​​“white light,” the entire Universe. The sun in folk art could be designated in different ways (a circle, a cross, a cross in a circle, a circle with an eight-petalled or six-petalled rosette), but the concept of “white light,” identical to the concept of Rod, was expressed only by a six-petalled rosette, only by a wheel with six spokes.

In Slavic wooden carvings, the supremacy of the Family is emphasized by placing its symbol on high places: on the roof gable, above the walls, and inside houses - on the ceiling mat. See, for example: Slovenske 1"udove umenie. Bratislava, 1953, tab. 21.) Sometimes, on wooden “towels” descending from the top of the roof, a complex composition of several suns, as if running across the sky, was placed, as on a spinning wheel, and the central place was occupied by the “wheel of Jupiter,” symbolizing white light.

Most accurately, the relationship between Light (the Universe) and the sun (the subject of light) is expressed on the Onega spinning wheel.( Sokolov S., Tomsky I. Folk art of the Russian North. M., 1924, fig. 19.) In the lower part of the spinning wheel blade the sun is shown in its four daily positions: rising, midday (the curved numerous rays emphasize the run of the luminary across the sky), setting and night, the underground sun.

Above this solar cycle rises the world tree, connecting all tiers of the world (see Chapter 2), and above it, at the very top of the spinning wheel, a carefully carved huge six-petalled “thunder sign” is placed across the entire width of the blade, dominating the entire composition, like the Rod dominated the universe ( From very early times, the idea of ​​universal “intangible” light began to be associated with mirrors or with their predecessors - flat vessels filled with water (Cyclades). The mirror doubled the world, constantly reflected the “white light”, being, as it were, its double. This is probably why ancient mirrors were given a regular round shape, reproducing the circle of the firmament. M.I. Rostovtsev analyzed in detail the sacred role of the mirror among the Scythians (Rostovtsev M.I. Symbols of royal power). The mirror was an attribute of the main goddess among both the Scythian nomads and the Scythian ploughmen (see above the plate from Sakhnovka on Ros). On Sarmatian mirrors of the 3rd - 2nd centuries. BC e. placed a sign with a six-petalled rosette (SA, 1979, No. 4, pp. 191 - 194, Fig. 1 and 3). We find exactly the same sign on the carved wooden frames of Russian mirrors of the 18th - 19th centuries. (Sobolev N.N. Russian folk wood carving. M. - L., 1934, p. 40, fig. 12). The role of the mirror in Russians is well known. New Year's fortune telling about fate.).

The above-mentioned transition of the “wheel of Jupiter” into the monogram of Jesus Christ reliably confirms the ancient, primordial meaning of the six-ray sign as a symbol of light in all the versatility of this concept. The new, Christian character, in competition with the ancient Svyatovit-Rod, was forced to say: “I am the light!”

In a number of previous cases, the later church or ethnographic calendar helped us in clarifying this or that image. Regarding Rod, we have the only, but precious, evidence: Rod was remembered on the second day of the Christmas holiday, December 26; This day was called the cathedral or “canopy” of the Virgin Mary, and women brought bread and pies to the church.( Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity..., vol. I, p. 168-169.)

In one manuscript of the Chetya Menaion there is an interesting postscript placed after all the articles of the September year under August 31: “And these are sins:

Wishing for Rod and women in labor on Christmas Day on Monday [Monday] - boil the flour of the Holy Mother of God, and keep Rod in silence."( Smirnov O. Old Russian confessor, p. 46, 331; Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity..., vol. I, p. 169.)

Here the pagan rite is timed not to the day following the Christian holiday (as was usually observed), but to the nearest Monday after Christmas. This was done, probably, in order to separate and disunite the church and pagan. The memory of women in labor, goddesses who give birth, is quite natural, since the holiday is dedicated to birth, and Mary the Mother of God can be recognized as one of the women in labor.

Who is Rod then? Obviously Jesus Christ. In the given brief description sinful rite in honor of the Family and women in labor there is one word, on the correct understanding of which the establishment of the direction of the entire rite depends. This word is "jelly", usually meaning "crying", "sorrow", "funeral lament". In this case, there is a sharp contradiction with the joyful church holiday of the birth of a deity (going back to the celebration of the winter solstice). However, the word “jelly”, “desire” has another meaning - “penalty”, “duty”, corresponding to the Latin “mulcta”, “multa”.( Sreznevsky I. I. Materials..., vol. I.) Then everything falls into place. We know that for pagan festivals, “bratchina”, “sharing”, “sprinkling” were organized, when each housewife had to bring her share of food for the common cauldron. An example of female “sprinkles” is “kuzminki” in honor of Makosha Pyatnitsa. Another women's holiday was the “canopy of the Virgin Mary,” during which they “cooked flour,” that is, they made some kind of dish like dumplings or noodles. It is extremely important to note that at this holiday the ancient Family was not forgotten - some spells or prayers were said in his honor: “The Family is silent.”

The only calendar mention of Rod connects it with the winter solstice (“sun for summer, winter for frost”), with the Christian holiday of the birth of Christ. Once again, sources lead us to a rapprochement between Rod and the most important character Christian religion and simultaneously with the cult of the sun, since Christ is very often equated by theologians with the sun. Let us summarize some preliminary results of the heterogeneous and, unfortunately, fragmentary material about Rod that was given above.

Rod is the creator of the Universe. Rod breathes life into people. Rod is the god of sky and rain. The genus is associated with earthly water (springs, birthplaces). The genus is associated with fire. The genus is associated with underground heat (fiery kinship). The genus is associated with the color red (red, red). Rod is associated with ball lightning (rhodia). Rod is compared: with Osiris, with Hosts, with Baal, with Jesus Christ (indirectly), with “Artemis”.

If we give side by side a selection of definitions and epithets of ancient Zeus made by A.F. Losev, we will see many similarities: Zeus - irrigating the earth, “rain”; Zeus - “a name meaning both fire and life”; Zeus is a flaming substance; Zeus alone is the creator of life for people, he is the creator of our lives. "[The word Zeus] means four: 1. God himself or the sky. 2. Poseidon. 3. The underground god. 4. The sun."( Losev A.F. Ancient mythology. M., 1957, p. 100-104.)

It is easy to notice that the last enumeration of the four gods merging into one Zeus is very close (with the exception of the god of the seas Poseidon, superfluous in the Slavic land pantheon) to those three Russian gods who are mentioned as if instead of one Rod:

Sky - Stribog Sun - Dazhbog Underground god- Twisted Poseidon -

The relationship of the all-encompassing Family with Light, the deity to whom idols are placed, is dedicated to the first day of the seven days, defending the right to cult the “week”, the day of the sun, seems very important. If we could act according to a simple mathematical rule (“when two quantities are separately equal to a third, then they are equal to each other”), then we would easily establish the identity of Genus and Light: each of them in one source or another is compared with the Christian creator god. Light is as comprehensive as Rod. This was preserved in Russian vocabulary until the 20th century: “to go around the whole wide world” - to go around the whole earth; “I hit the white light like it was a pretty penny” (about a bad shooter) - here the white light is understood as the vast sky.( It cannot be ruled out that the vague word “light” could have appeared as a legal replacement for the name Rod, which was banned and persecuted by the clergy.)

The proximity of Rod and Light forces us to pay attention to the most important god of the medieval Western Slavs - Svyatovit, who was revered in Arkona and other Baltic Slavs as the most powerful of the gods. His idol was four-headed and was in big temple. A white horse and weapons were dedicated to Svyatovit. Svyatovit was the patron saint of fertility and harvest; the annual holiday was held after harvesting grain, and the main ritual action was the making of a huge, human-sized pie. Determining the importance of Svyatovit, Helmold calls him “the god of gods” (Deus deorum). Elsewhere, when talking about minor Slavic demonology, Helmold again says that the Slavs have a main god, Deus deoruin, without naming him.

“Among the diverse deities to whom forests, fields, sorrows and joys are assigned, they recognize one god in heaven, commanding other gods, and believe that he, omnipotent, cares only about heavenly things...” ( Gilferding A. History of the Baltic Slavs. St. Petersburg, 1874, p. 160.)

For the Eastern Slavs, Rod was such a “single god in heaven”; he was probably worshiped under the name of Light. For the Western Slavs, the deity of the “white light” was Svyatovit, whose name consists of two parts: the first (SVYAT) meant both “holiness” and “light”, and the second (VIT), not sufficiently explained by linguists, sometimes comes close to the concepts of “joy”, "obesity".( Niederle L. Slovanske Starozitnosti, t. II, s. 142.)

The famous Zbruch idol, found in 1848 at the junction of four Slavic tribes: Volynians, White Croats, Tiverts and Buzhans, has long been compared with the four-faced Arkon Svyatovit of Helmold and Saxo Grammar.

I have already written before about the identity of Rod and Svyatovit;( Rybakov B. A. Svyatovit-Rod. - In: Liber lozepho Kostrzewski octogenario a venera-toribus dicatus. Wroclaw, 1968, s. 390 - 394.) and in this book I have already referred more than once to the images on the idol regarding this or that deity.

Let's consider the entire complex, dating back to the 9th - 10th centuries. n. e. generally. The fundamental work of G. Lenchik is dedicated to the Zbruch idol, but the author does not disclose the content of the images. The authenticity of Zbruch Svyatovit is currently beyond doubt.( Lenczyk G. Swiatowid Zbruczaiiski. - In: Materialy Archeologiczne. Krakow, 1964, t. V, s. 5 -59.)

However, the internal meaning of the Zbruch idol, its individual images and their entirety as a whole will probably still be for a long time subject of study and debate.

We must agree with G. Lenchik that the identification of the idol with Svyatovit is partly conditional - the description of Saxo Grammar is very far from the appearance of the Zbruch idol.( Lenczyk G. Swiatowid Zbruczanski, s. 15.) Svyatovit in Arkon is only the four-faced god of war, and not Deus deorum, as Helmold called him.

When considering the tetrahedral Zbruch idol, one is struck by the amazing combination of completeness, independence of each individual image with the subordination of each of them to the general plan, the unified composition of the monument as a whole. The key to deciphering may be the ancient idea of ​​​​dividing the Universe into three zones: heaven, earth and the underworld. Following A. S. Famintsyn ( Famintsyn A. S. Deities of the ancient Slavs, p. 138. Note: in the interpretation of a number of images I disagree with Famintsyn (V.R.).) I think that this is exactly what is reflected in the three-tiered sculpture of the Zbruch idol:

Upper Zone (Sky Gods)

- 1. The goddess of fertility (Makosh) with a cornucopia in her hand. On the front side of the idol. 2. Goddess with a ring (Lada). By right hand goddess with horn. 3. God of war (Perun) with a sword and horse. By left hand goddess with horn. 4. Nameless god without attributes. On the back side of the idol.

Middle zone (earth, people)

- Round dance of two men and two women holding hands. The gender corresponds to the gender of the deity in the upper tier. At the woman's shoulder on the front

Lower Zone (Underworld)

- God kneeling and supporting with his hands the plane of the earth with people on it (Whiteer?). The sculptor depicted this god not only on the front side, but also on two side ones, giving the body in profile and the head in front, which made it look like three gods or (“triglav”).

Of course, this complex scheme cannot in any way be compared with the description of Svyatovit of Arkona by Saxo Grammaticus. Here only one side face is dedicated to the warrior god. The Zbruch idol looks much more archaic and, if I may say so, more “theological” than Svyatovit, although they are separated by no more than three centuries. The tetrahedral nature of the Zbruch idol is undoubtedly associated with very ancient, still Neolithic, ideas about the need to protect oneself “from all four sides.” Tetrahedral and four-faced Slavic idols are known in these same places already in the 4th century. n. e. If the three tiers of an idol unite all three parts of the Universe, then its tetrahedral nature is also connected with its universal meaning - the power of the deity should spread to all four sides of the Universe. This is probably the same meaning of the four-faced Indian Varuna and the four-faced Brahma. What was the unifying idea of ​​the three zones and four faces of the multi-figure Zbruch idol? I think that the entire composition is subordinated to the image of the phallus (the idol was painted red at one time) as an exponent of the idea of ​​life, reproduction, fertility. Phallic idols are found among the Eastern Slavs in other places, and phallic rituals described in Russian sources of the 11th - 12th centuries. (immersion of an image of a phallus into a bucket), confirmed by finds in Poland.( Excavations by K. Jażdrzewski in Łęczyce. A wooden phallus was found along with a bucket. See: Hensel W. Polska przed tysacem lat. Wroclaw; Warszawa, 1960, s. 192, 204.) God of Nature, god of life - Rod could be depicted through such an archaic symbol. His versatility was expressed through five other deities, who in their totality seemed to form him, just as Poseidon, Hades and Helios formed one Zeus. The entire Zbruch composition can be deciphered as follows: the middle world (the world of the earth) is inhabited by people (men, women and children). It is possible that they are depicted here in a ritual round dance. The earth is supported by a mustachioed god kneeling. It is possible that this is Veles, the popular god of livestock and wealth, associated with land and harvests. The top tier is heavenly. There, on each face, a special deity is sculptured: on the main front face - Makosh with a cornucopia; on the right hand is the second female deity - Lada, the goddess of growth and patroness of weddings, with a ring in her hand. It is quite possible that this is how the ancient ideas about two women in labor were personified. On the left hand of the goddess Makoshi is the warrior god, corresponding to the Russian Perun or the Western Slavic Svyatovit. He is armed with a broadsword from the 9th century, and he is given a horse. The male deity on the back side is devoid of any attributes, and his name can only be given by fortune. Let’s compare Vladimir’s pantheon with my proposed decoding of the Zbruch images.

Kyiv Chronicle, 980 Zbruch idol

Perun Perun Horse | Dazhbog | ? Stribog | Semargl - Mokosh - Makosh - Lada - Veles

If we assume that the list of Kyiv gods must necessarily include the gods of the Zbruch composition (which is not confirmed by the least controversial Lada), then we should choose one of three: Khorsa, or Dazhbog, or Stribog. Simargl, as a deity of clearly canine appearance, disappears. In Khors and Dazhbog it is permissible to assume solar symbols; they are not on the back side of the deity. The only god who does not have any symbols is Stribog, the god associated with the winds. Perhaps he is depicted on back side tetrahedral idol?

To complete the review of gods and goddesses, ideas about which could have arisen back in pre-Slavic times, we need to consider the companions of the Rod - women in labor.

To understand women in labor, it is extremely important to determine their number. In most of the works that have come down to us in later copies (when there was no longer a dual number), women in labor are mentioned in the plural and, as an exception, woman in labor - in the singular. This applies to those teachings in which women in labor are not the center of attention of the authors, but are mentioned along with many gods and idols. But in that teaching, which is specifically devoted to the denunciation of Rod and women in labor, where there are no other gods, in the “Word of Isaiah the Prophet” we find in one of the lists a fairly consistent dual number (list of the Moscow Synodal Printing House). This list dates back to the 15th century. and is the earliest of all known to science. Here we see:

KOUMIROMIA TO THE SOVIETIA WOMEN IN CHILDRENIA, WOMEN IN BIRTH ( Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity..., vol. II, p. 90-91.)

By the time the Typographical List was created, the dual number had completely disappeared from grammatical use, and its presence in the oldest list can only indicate a copying of the original, which contained this archaic form. Since Bishop Nifont in the middle of the 12th century. in his answers, Kirik already quoted the “Word of Isaiah the Prophet”, then we must attribute the writing of the “Word” itself to an earlier time - to the end of the 11th century. or the beginning of the 12th century, i.e. by the time when the mandatory use of the dual number was a firm grammatical rule. Consequently, there were two women in labor. Establishing this fact is very important for us, as it allows us to compare the pair more reliably and with greater confidence Slavic goddesses with distant primitive myths.

We know two “birthing women” - elk (mother and daughter) from Siberian hunting myths, two goddesses (vessels with four female breasts) fill all Trypillian agricultural art, two goddesses, mother and daughter, we see in Greek mythology: Demeter and Persephone - the southern couple, Leto and Artemis - the northern couple, to which the Slavic couple of “birthing women” - Lada and Lelya, are close, which in turn is close to the Lithuanian Great Lada (Didis Lada).

Only the identification of this long chronological chain, leading to the Mesolithic of Oleniy Island, will help us in explaining the striking coincidence of two paired sculptural groups, one of which belongs to the Chalcolithic, and the other to the West Slavic Middle Ages. An Eneolithic clay figurine from Rasta represents two seemingly fused female figures, with only one pair of breasts and one pair of arms with two heads. ( See: p. 167 in Chapter IV.) Below the breasts there is an archaic meander-carpet pattern, symbolizing, as was explained above, fertility and prosperity. The duality of both goddesses is expressed here in a unique way, but very clearly.

The Slavic double-headed pair (Fischerinsel in New Brandenburg) is made of wood. The goddesses fused their bodies and heads together in the same way; they, like the Eneolithic figures, have one pair of breasts and one pair of arms.( Herrmann I. Zwischen Hradschin und Veneta. Leipzig; Iena; Berlin, 1976, fig. 59. Some kind of bandages (?) are visible on the necks and shoulders of the goddesses.) The similarity of the two paired compositions, despite the millennia separating them, is striking. Knowing that the oldest list of teachings against women in labor has preserved for us a dual number, we can easily identify our paired sculptures with ideas about women in labor, and specifically about two women in labor.

Clay women in labor in the Balkans open a long series of agricultural images of two goddesses, and a wooden likeness of them from the land of the Baltic Slavs completes this series already in Christian times. The cult of women in labor clearly demonstrates the law of preservation of the most archaic ideas: the great antiquity of the cult of two women - the Mistresses of the World, two Ancestresses (sometimes appearing in the form of a deer or elk) in comparison with the cult of the all-encompassing, objectless, almost abstract Rod, generated by conditions more late agricultural life. In the early monuments of the 11th - 12th centuries. n. e. there is both Rod and women in labor, and in later ones, dating back to the 12th - 14th centuries, the name of Rod sometimes disappears, but women in labor remain. Moreover, by the 14th century. women in labor moved to the most prominent place in the pagan selection of gods: “Behold the first idol of the woman in labor... And behold the second - fork and Mokoshe...”( Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity..., vol. I, p. 163 - 165.)

The cult of women in labor differed from other pagan rites primarily in its explicitness, openness, solemn feasts in honor of goddesses, partially disguised festivities of the Virgin Mary. These feasts are to a certain extent contrasted with the “laying of treasures” for other gods, which was carried out secretly by Christians. The sacrifice of animals and birds could be carried out in their own yards without much publicity. Meals for Rod and women in labor were arranged with tempting publicity. Russian people who converted to Christianity in the 11th - 12th centuries. still, according to the author of “The Tale of Idols,” “... and now throughout the Ukraine they pray to their cursed god Perun, Khors and Mokosha and the pitchforks, but they do it like otai. even to this day - the cursed table of contents of the second meal of the Family and women in labor for the delight of faithful Christians..." ( Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity..., vol. II, p. 25.)

In all teachings against paganism, all Slavic deities known to us from the chronicle are usually mentioned in a general list, but Rod and women in labor are especially highlighted; The authors of the teachings return to meals in honor of these deities again, which brings these pagan feasts to a prominent place. And one can hardly agree with E.V. Anichkov that our preachers were only interested in “home, and not public, cults and rituals...” ( Anichkov. E.V. Paganism and ancient Rus', m. 239.) It is enough to recall the above “Word of Isaiah the Prophet,” written specifically only against Rod and women in labor, in order to feel the significance of the meals at which “the ladle was filled with the demon” and “delight to the faithful” took place.

Until the 18th century. articles were rewritten listing prohibited pagan rituals and customs, among which there is this one: “Women cook porridge for a meeting for women in labor.”( Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity..., vol. II, p. 94.)

Here we directly talk about the public, public cult of women in labor, carried out at “meetings”. The social nature of birthing meals is revealed with even greater certainty in the “Tale of the Creature,” written in the 12th - 13th centuries. Its author made extensive use of the 1st letter of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians, in which, over the course of several chapters, the eating of “sacrifices to idols” and participation in feasts held in pagan temples are scourged. Our author placed the organization of feasts in honor of women in labor in a unique and strange at first glance environment:

"... the work of the devil is to sin, especially sins: idolatry, buying taverns, frivolous expenses [usury], drunkenness. The worst thing of all is serving a meal to women in labor and all the other services of the devil - requiring treasure forks and worship of the creature."( Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity..., vol. II, p. 181.)

The reproaches scattered in different places in the “Epistle to the Corinthians” are collected here in such a way that next to each other are: idolatry, taverns, drunkenness and “providing meals for women in labor.” The Russian author’s train of thought is such that it leads to the assumption: weren’t the taverns “filled with demons”?

No wonder Bishop Niphon answered Kirik: “Woe to those who drink to the woman in labor!” The social nature of these ritual feasts in the 14th century. there is no doubt:

"... arranging the meal with large glebs and cheeses and scooping up the filling with free wine... and serving it to each other - eating and drinking." ( Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity..., vol. I, p. 166.)

We are talking about a ritual circular bowl. This universal ancient custom is described for the Western Slavs by Helmoldrm: “The Slavs have an amazing delusion: at their feasts and drinking bouts they carry a cup and pronounce words over it (I won’t say a blessing, but rather a curse) in the name of the gods...” ( Helmold. Slavic Chronicle / Transl. L. V. Razumovsky. M., 1963.)

Rozhanichnye meals especially worried the clergy as the most noticeable and ineradicable manifestation of paganism. The author of “The Word of a Certain Lover of Christ,” having mentioned Rod and women in labor in the general list of pagan gods and condemned “the whole service of idols,” again returns to the “iniquities” of his time, but using the example of only the birthing meal, hypocritically added by the pagans to the “legitimate dinner” of the Orthodox holiday.( Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity..., vol. II, p. 43.)

For us, the calendar timing of the holiday of women in labor is of exceptional importance. Using the example of Beles and Mokosh, we have already seen how knowledge of the day of celebration helps us determine certain functions of the deity.

Fortunately, one of the earliest sources defines the date of the celebration very precisely, and subsequent sources confirm it many times.

The author of the “Tale of Idols” (or a scribe of the 14th century, but in this case it makes no difference to us) condemns the clergy for covering up the pagan feast with Christian chants: “Cherevu raboni [gluttonous] priests set the trepar to apply the Nativity of the Mother of God to the Rozhanichny meal , deposits are active."( Galkovsky N. L/."The Struggle of Christianity..., vol. II, p. 25. The above testimony about circular bowls also contains an indication of the feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God. See: Galkovsky N. M. The Struggle of Christianity..., t .I, p.166.)

The birth feast is always called the “second meal”; it is arranged “besides the kutinny meal and the lawful dinner,” that is, after the church celebration, in addition to the feasting permitted by the church in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, obviously the next day. It is impossible to agree with N.M. Galkovsky that in this case we are talking about “the remains of kutya, which, as a second meal, were left on the table overnight on the assumption that at night the Rod and women in labor [ancestors] would eat this food.” (Galkovsky N M. The Struggle of Christianity..., vol. II, p. 38.) If we were talking about such scraps, then it would be impossible to understand the anger of the preachers who for five hundred years scourged the “second meal”, wrote more and more writings against it and equated it with a sacrifice to Baal.

It would be impossible to understand the interest of the “womb of working priests” in the second meal, supposedly left on the table overnight - after all, it was not the remains of kutya that the priests raked out of the dishes at night in every house! This definition of the birthing meal by Galkovsky stems from his view of Rod and the birthing women as brownies living somewhere under the stove in every house. We have already seen the entire inconsistency of this view, which interfered with the understanding of the most important link in Slavic agricultural ideas.

The calendar place of the holiday of women in labor in the annual cycle explains to us its meaning, its indestructibility and the solemnity of birthing “meetings” with circular bowls. The Nativity of the Virgin Mary is celebrated by the church on September 8. For all East Slavic regions this is a harvest festival. Not the “first fruits,” not the first ears of corn from which the first bread can be baked (this was celebrated in early August at the beginning of the harvest), but a celebration of the completion of the most important cycle of agricultural work: the bread is harvested, the sheaves are brought down and threshed, the harvest is counted, the grain is in the bins. It was this fruitful, agricultural character of the holiday that determined the composition of the dishes mentioned by several sources: bread, porridge (obviously from different cereals), cottage cheese and honey or “good wine.” To this day, the Orthodox Church carries out the “blessing of the loaves” on the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.( Orthodox church calendar for 1975, p. 36.) The pagan essence of the harvest festival eventually entered church practice, despite the long protests of the medieval rigorists. And just as the priests of the 12th - 14th centuries did, adding the troparion of the Nativity of the Mother of God to the birth meal, so now they rely “on the blessing of the loaves - the troparion of the holiday three times.”( Orthodox church calendar..., p. 36.)

Ritual feasts in honor of the Family and women in labor (and subsequently only women in labor) should be imagined as follows: after harvesting and threshing, accompanied in a number of places by drying sheaves at the “Svarozhich” in the barn, a “meeting” was held (perhaps in a tavern or ovine), at which some songs were sung, condemned by the churchmen, food from agricultural products was eaten, and circular bowls of honey were passed around. The ethnographic data of the 19th century, given in the introductory chapter, complements our information and explains the use of two expressions by clergy in teachings against the “second meal”: “laying out the necessities” and “idol sacrifices.” The first fully corresponded to the bloodless requirements in the form of bread, porridge and cottage cheese. The second indicates some bloody sacrifices. Ethnographers have recorded remnants of the sacrifice of deer (archaic female deer giving birth), which was most often carried out on the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.( Shapovalova G. G. Northern Russian legend about the deer. - In the book: Folklore and ethnography of the Russian North. L., 1973.)

The ancient holiday of the Family and women in labor became the “second meal”, organized after church day, most likely the next day, September 9. The clergy, for the sake of “set asides” (share of offerings), agreed to sing a troparion to the Mother of God at the second meal, which especially outraged the most strict clergy:

“What kind of communion does Christ have with the demon, just as those who serve God have some kind of communion with those who serve the demon and create the devil’s pleasures?” “In love! Flee the sacrifices of idols and the demands of laying and all the services of idols... What we do not do for the salvation of our souls, but let us mix some honest prayers with the accursed prayer of idols, which is not allowed [except for] the meal of the kutinny and lawful dinner, which is called the lawless meal of the name Childbirth and women in labor?".( Galkovsky N. M. The struggle of Christianity..., vol. II, p. 42 - 43. "The Word of a Certain Lover of Christ." Option: “... let’s mix the Trisagion of the Mother of God with the women in labor into the idol’s meal, to anger God...” (p. 47).)

So, the main holiday of Rod and the two women in labor was a public autumn harvest festival, completely similar to the harvest festival in honor of the Western Slavic four-headed Svyatovit. For the second time, Rod and women in labor were honored at the Nativity of Christ (after December 25). Both associations with Christian holidays are explained not only by completely understandable and very archaic ideas about the need to thank the gods for the harvest and about the winter solstice as the turning point of winter, but also by the fact that in both cases in Christian mythology there are “birthing women” who give birth to goddesses. In the first case, this is Anna, who gave birth to Mary, and in the second, this is Mary, who gave birth to Jesus. Christian characters easily merged with archaic pagan women in labor, which made it possible to widely celebrate the ancient prayer of thanksgiving under the guise of church rites.

Did the women in labor have names? First of all, it is necessary to separate Makosh from women in labor: this goddess is very often mentioned in some texts with women in labor, but is never identified with them; Along with her, only pitchfork mermaids are mentioned. There is no evidence that Mokosha has any kind of couple - a daughter or a mother; Makosh is always individual.

The church heir of Mokosh, Paraskeva Friday, is just as single-minded and does not fit into any of the Christian related pairs. Most likely, the pair of women in labor should be related to the archaic and widespread divine couple: Leto and Artemis or Lada and Lelya - in both cases, mother and daughter. The only thing that warns against such a rapprochement is that none of our sources talking about women in labor call them by name; The authors use only the common name - “birthing girls”. But it should be noted that the pagan name book of Russian written sources is very different from the name book of later folklore. In folklore there is neither Khors, nor Dazhbog, nor Stribog, nor Simargl (all this is the “Scythian” layer), and in Russian sources of the 11th - 16th centuries. there is no Yarila, Lada, Kostroma, mermaids and much more.

In essence, Lada and her daughter, goddesses of spring regenerating nature, goddesses of marriage and reproduction, fully correspond to two women giving birth.

However, here the situation is not so simple. The early personification of women in labor in the form of Lada and Lelya did not prevent the parallel existence of ideas about women in labor in general, without specific names, without connection with that ritual folklore, which not only required names, but also necessarily in the vocative case. The general tendency towards the elimination of ancient duality also played a role: just as in ancient mythology Artemis-Diana became a completely independent goddess, whose cult was almost not associated with her mother Leto, so in ancient Russian mythology Lada came to the forefront. But the population of the most remote northern northern payons (namely, to Nemy, were laid out, the exposure of Kyalta of the Poozhans), the population of this goddess), it was still possible to believe in two -time, not only their namelessness, but also their close -ups with the ApchaI hunting myth of DVYKh Poli women -Half-moose. This was most fully revealed in such a first-class source as the folk visual art of the 18th - 20th centuries, which preserved many features of deep antiquity.

IN modern paganism It has long been accepted that the spinning goddesses, that is, the goddesses who weave the thread of human destiny, are two goddesses - Dolya and Nedolya (Srecha and Nesrecha), and the patron goddesses of birth - Rozhanitsy are three goddesses - Makosh Lada and Lelya. But is it? Is it possible that both statements are partially false? In this article I will not claim that all the assumptions below are facts. Rather, this is a version and food for thought.

Let's start in order. Let's look at it first who are Dolya and Nedolya and is it possible that there are not two spinning goddesses at all, and then we will try to deal with the Rozhanitsy.

Dolya and Nedolya, also called Srecha and Nesrecha, are considered goddesses who weave the thread of fate. Share weaves an even and happy life, and Nedolya weaves problems, suffering and the death of a person. Surprisingly, when mentioning Dolya and Nedolya, for some reason everyone forgets to point out, although Makosh, judging by the mythology of the Slavs, is the mistress of human destiny. If we cite similar beliefs of other ancient peoples, we will see the amazing fact that almost everywhere there are exactly three goddesses of fate.

1. The Romans have parkas: Nona pulls the yarn, creating fate; Decima winds the tow on the spindle, distributing the various paths of life; Morta - cuts the thread, ending a person's life.

2. The Greeks have moiras: Clotho - spins life, Lachesis - determines fate; Atropos - cuts the thread of life.

3. The Scandinavians have norns: Urd - creator of fate (past); Verdandi - the formation of fate or the path of fate (present); Skuld is the future.

4. The southern Slavs have sudzhenitsy. The names of the sudzhenits are unknown, but the fact that there were three of them is indicated by the fact that during the period of dual faith, the images of the sudzhenits were transferred to three Christian saints - the Mother of God, St. Petka (Paraskeva Friday) and Holy Week (St. Anastasia).

The fact that Slavic, German-Scandinavian, Roman and Greek paganism have the same origin, dating back to the Indo-Europeans, has long been proven. Naturally, over the millennia, many of these beliefs have been greatly distorted, however, as we see, some fundamental things have remained in place. Thus, it can be assumed that we unfairly call only two goddesses of fate Dolya and Nedolya, and Makosh only as their mistress, because, apparently, Makosh, Dolya and Nedolya are three spinners (and as you will find out a little later, spinning goddesses Only two goddesses can appear, they are also the birth goddesses Makosh and Dolya). Makosh creates the thread of life (here, by the way, we can see her status as a Rozhanitsa), Dolya weaves fate (possibly not only good, but also bad), and Nedolya cuts the thread of life.

Now it’s worth figuring out who Dolya and Nedolya are. If we go back a little to the ancient Roman parks, we will see that the third spinner goddess who cuts the thread of life is Morta. Morta is very in tune with our goddess. Of course, one can assume that this is just a consonance, but if we examine the image of Morana in more detail, this does not seem such an implausible version. Morana in Slavic mythology is the goddess of death, the goddess who takes life. Are two goddesses at once - Morana and Nedolya - involved in the death of a person? I am not trying to refute this option, but it seems doubtful to me that the ancient Slavs or the ancestral people from which the Slavs came had such a complex and not entirely logical pantheon. If we take into account the fact that Morana is the goddess of death, who cuts the thread of life, then it turns out that she is this very Nedolya, Nesrecha, Morta, Atropos, Skuld.

Let's look from the other side why Morana could be the third goddess of fate. Let's compare the related pantheon of gods. From the Roman pantheon we see that the goddess of the dead Proserpina, who corresponds to our Morana, is the daughter of Ceres, who, in turn, is the correspondence of our Mokosh. In the Greek pantheon, Persephone (Morana) is the daughter of Demeter (Makosh). Thus, it is quite possible to assume that Morana was the third spinner because she is the daughter of the main spinner, Mokosha. Therefore, it is Mara, Morana, Marena - the daughter of Mokosh and the goddess of death - who is the third goddess of fate, ending a person’s life.

The question is: who then is the goddess of fate - the Share who spins the fate of man? This can also be looked at from two sides - by family ties and by the type of activity of the goddess. Everyone who is familiar with paganism knows very well that the daughter of Mokosh (the main spinner) is. Who else should Dole be if not Lada - the daughter of Mokosh and the sister of Morana?! Moreover, Lada in Slavic mythology is the goddess of life, the goddess of love and marriage, the goddess of spring, the patroness of women in labor. It is she who best suits the “role” of that very Share that is engaged in weaving a person’s fate. Here we can assume that the three goddesses of fate in ancient times were Makosh and her daughters Lada and Morana. Dolya and Nedolya could appear later not as names of goddesses, but as a designation of their activities, that is, Lada weaves a share (the fate of other glory), and Makosh cuts the thread of life, that is, is Nedolya (the end of fate).

We've dealt with the three goddesses of fate, and now you can go to the goddesses Rozhanitsa. Today it is believed that there are also three goddesses of Rozhanitsa - Makosh, Lada and. Since we have not mentioned this name before, it is worth recalling that Lelya is the daughter of Lada - the patroness of spring and love. The goddesses of Rozhanitsa, judging by the research of Slavic historians, in particular, the works of Boris Rybakov, are one of the most ancient gods. Their images in the form of moose cows are found on the most ancient archaeological artifacts. It is interesting that there were two ancient mother moose cows, not three. Two Rozhanitsa are depicted both on dishes and in the form of various products, decorations and even idols. The third Rozhanitsa appeared after researchers of Slavic culture became interested in architecture, embroidery and various images, where for the most part three goddesses are represented - one in the center, often on a horse, in the form of a horse or elk, and two goddesses on the sides. It is believed that these are three birthing goddesses, but is this true? Perhaps this opinion is erroneous and in the form three goddesses did the ancient and medieval Slavs depict goddesses of fate, not Rozhanitsa?

Apparently, this may indeed be the case. Apparently there should be two birth goddesses - Makosh and her daughter Lada. The Slavs could not classify the goddess of death Mara among the Rozhanitsy! Of course, Lada’s daughter, Lelya, fits perfectly as the third Rozhanitsa, as she is the patroness of love and marriage, spring and youth, birth and women in labor. Such a beautiful goddess fits surprisingly conveniently into the belief about three Rozhanitsa, but the facts indicate that there were two of them initially, and under view of three depicted goddesses of fate, although, as you will learn later, there is no significant difference between them.

This is not the last puzzle when it comes to Rozhanits and goddesses of fate. Here it is also necessary to remember the belief in Rozhanits. Looking ahead, it’s worth saying right away that, most likely, Rozhanitsy and the goddesses of fate meant the same deities, and different names were necessary to indicate certain areas of activity of these deities, that is, for example, Makosh as a goddess the woman in labor and Makosh, as the goddess of fate, Lada the woman in labor and Lada the goddess of fate. For example, the Slavic historian I. I. Sreznevsky compared Rozhanits or Rozhanitsa with the Greek moiras - goddesses of fate. But according to the historian N.I. Zubov, it is more correct to say not “Rod and Rozhanitsy,” but Rozhanitsa and Rod. In his opinion, Rozhanitsa is the mother of the god Rod. It is not known whether Rod’s mother had a name or whether to understand her greatness it was enough to call her giving birth to Rod. According to other versions, Rozhanitsy are the same souls of ancestors, who were also called mermaids, beregins, and pitchforks. Therefore in ancient world they believed in the supreme god Rod and Rozhanits, that is, the countless spirits of ancestors who live in this world or between two worlds. It is also worth mentioning the version according to which Rod and Rozhanitsy are in a “marriage” relationship, that is, Rod (genus - to give birth, give birth) and Rozhanitsa (woman in labor), as male and female deities who protect fertility on earth, that is, who protect birth and prosperity all life on earth. However, all the above versions, except for Sreznevsky’s version, seem to me personally untenable.

Rod and Rozhanitsy patronize life. In the ideas of the ancient Slavs, the patrons of life were not only deities who give life, but also predetermine the fate of man. Some historians make the assumption that such a belief came from the fact that fate ancient man depended on the harvest this year, that is, on what Rozhanitsy would do. Subsequently, this belief led to the fact that the original goddesses of the birth of life and fertility also became goddesses of fate, who weave the fate of all living things.

And one more thing that can clear up the confusion between the Rozhanitsy and the goddesses of fate. Here it is worth remembering that historical fact that in ancient times the supreme deity was a female one - Makosh. Subsequently, when patriarchy came and mostly male gods began to be revered, Rod suddenly appears, which performs the same functions as Makosh. That is, we can say with a high degree of confidence that Rod is a male replacement for Mokosh, and then everything falls into place. Simply put, let's conclude:

In ancient times, there were goddesses of birth, that is, goddesses who give birth to all life on earth. Rybakov calls them two heavenly moose cows. For us they are Makosh and her daughter Lada. Subsequently, Makosh turns into Rod (genus - birth). Lada remains Rozhanitsa. Under the influence of the belief that the gods of birth control the destinies of people, Makosh and Lada become goddesses of fate. Here again there is seniority - the mistress Makosh, who creates a person (gives birth) and the goddess who spins the very fate of a person (Lada or Dolya). However, every person goes through birth, life and death. Therefore, to the spinning goddesses, a third goddess is added, who cuts the thread of life - Mara (Nedolya).

Rozhanitsa is one of the most ancient women's Slavic amulets. It was created in honor of those accompanying the god Rod (this is the supreme pagan god), who were called women in labor. They were directly involved in the creation of the world. Until now, historians have not come to a consensus about who they were.

According to one version, Rozhanitsa is a goddess. Her main purpose was to give birth to children. Another version says that several goddesses were called women in labor - Makosh, Lada and Leia. In fact, it doesn’t matter whether this amulet was created in honor of one goddess or in honor of several goddesses. For those who are going to wear it, only its meaning matters. The woman in labor is a symbol of fertility. This means that it gives a woman the opportunity to give birth to healthy children and raise them as worthy people. Thanks to this meaning, the birthing amulet is still popular today.

A woman in labor is a schematic representation of a woman. Outwardly, it resembles an interweaving of lines and geometric shapes, but if you look more closely, you can see the outlines of a woman. Her palms can face up or down. According to one theory, if a woman in labor has her palms raised up, then this is the goddess Makosh. A woman in labor with palms facing down is the goddess Lada.

Usually this symbol is embroidered on clothing or bedding. In this case, images of various birds or animals are drawn next to it to enhance the meaning of the symbol.

It is acceptable to apply other Slavic symbols to embroidery. They not only enhance the effect of the woman in labor itself, but also give the amulet additional properties.

Very rarely they wear an amulet in the form of a pendant, pendant or any other decoration. They say that it is embroidery that helps to experience the joy of motherhood. This is an unconfirmed theory. Many esotericists claim that magical properties Any image of a woman in labor has it and it doesn’t matter what it is made on.

The woman in labor is also made in the form of a doll. It is made from white natural fabric on the ninth or fourteenth day of the waxing moon. On top they put on a jacket and a skirt. The woman in labor doll is made without hands, since the Slavs believed that a woman should give birth and raise children, and not work. They didn’t even give her a face. A doll is placed under the hem of the skirt on the doll's belly. infant, made in the same style as the woman in labor. In this form, the amulet is used until the woman becomes pregnant. After birth, the baby is taken out and tied with red threads crosswise to the doll.

The meaning of the Rozhanitsa amulet

This Slavic amulet has a very specific meaning - it promotes procreation. He helps the girl realize her essence and understand her true purpose. When she wore it, she had the feeling that she should start a family, become the keeper of the family hearth and give birth to a child. Awareness of this changes the girl’s attitude towards life. She begins to help her mother around the house, learn to cook, and begins to babysit her younger brothers or sisters. The girl becomes more serious and responsible, but this does not mean that her childhood ends. She remains the same child who plays and has fun, she just devotes more and more time to business every day.

In former times, it was believed that a woman should give birth to at least 16 children. This was the only way she could succeed as a mother. For modern women Such numbers seem unrealistic, but they are true. Nowadays, the amulet also helps girls and young women realize that their true purpose is to procreate and create a family, but there is no longer a need to give birth to so many children.

The amulet is important not only for girls or girls. It is also important for married women. First of all, this applies to those ladies who suffer from infertility. The amulet helps you get pregnant even with such a terrible diagnosis. The woman in labor also alleviates the condition of a woman during pregnancy. It helps to cope with toxicosis, calms and relieves sudden changes in mood. A woman in labor drives away the fears that often plague a woman during pregnancy. It gives confidence that the birth will be successful and the baby will be born on time and healthy. When giving birth, a woman needs to wear a shirt with embroidered amulet. He will be able to ease her suffering during this difficult process.

A newborn baby should be wrapped in a swaddle with the embroidery of a woman in labor. In the old days, the Slavs believed that in this way he would immediately be protected by the gods from evil spirits and evil people. After giving birth, a woman should not stop wearing the amulet. A woman giving birth makes her wiser, gives her the strength to care for her husband, maintain comfort in the house, raise a child, that is, to be a full-fledged keeper of the family hearth. The amulet gives a woman patience and calm. Thanks to this, she more easily experiences all the difficulties associated with family life. A woman in labor helps a woman give birth to more children if she decides not to stop at just one baby.

The amulet has another meaning - it protects the expectant mother and her child. The amulet wards off evil spirits. The woman in labor also protects against damage and the evil eye. It drives away illnesses from both the expectant mother and the child.

How to use the Rozhanitsa amulet

This amulet is often used in the form of embroidery. It is done on clothes, bedding, baby diapers and towels. A woman cannot embroider this symbol for herself. It was not customary for the Slavs to make amulets for themselves personally. They were made only by relatives. The mother or grandmother had to embroider the woman in labor. You could also ask a friend or sister for help, that is, any woman close to you can make an amulet, but only one who already has children of her own. In our time, this tradition has not changed.

To create a strong amulet, several conditions must be met: you need to embroider in silence and think only about good things. Bad thoughts will negatively affect the amulet. Embroidery is performed only on white natural fabric. You can use linen or cotton. Synthetic threads cannot be used. When creating embroidery, use only red and blue threads.

Such a talisman is always kept in the family. It is not thrown away and requires careful handling. Embroidered items are passed down through the female line. Over the years, the properties of the amulet only intensify.

Rozhanitsa in the form of decoration is used less often than embroidery. It is difficult to make such a talisman yourself, and the one sold in specialized stores is not always suitable for use. It needs to be charged and special prayers read over it. Only after this does it become a real amulet with all the corresponding functions.

A woman in labor in the form of a doll is also made by close women who have their own children. If a girl or girl uses such a talisman, then it is made without a child under the hem. It is placed there only when a woman wants to become pregnant. Such a talisman is usually placed in the bed or placed next to it. Girls can constantly play with such a doll, but they need to explain to her that the amulet must be handled with care, not getting dirty or tearing it. The doll, like embroidery, is passed down from generation to generation through the female line.

Every woman is born to become a mother, but not everyone realizes this purpose. The woman in labor will help you understand him and give you the opportunity to become a real keeper of the family hearth.

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