Here is a list of (almost) all Slavic mythical creatures. Most Slavic people worshipped in natural circles and groves; and it plays a large part in all kinds of magic. 024-657-834 (CC0), Pixabay. [63] The term was originally also applied to the modern Pagan religions of non-Slavic groupsfor instance, in the Polish language Lithuanian Romuva has been referred to as Rodzimowierstwo litewskie ("Lithuanian Native Faith") and Celtic Paganism has been referred to as Rodzimowierstwo celtyckie ("Celtic Native Faith"),[63] however, "now, especially if you write [it] with the capital letter, the term is understood, first of all, as a designation of the Slavic Native Faith". The religion is patriarchal, and attitudes towards sex and gender are generally conservative. [249], According to Rodover cosmology: the top of the staff of the volkhv represents the overworld, Prav, and is either carved as an anthropomorphic face representing the patron deity of the volkhv, or as the symbol of Rod, and is associated with Rod itself, the "God of the gods", representing the unity of the generated gods in the universal Rod, or with his visible manifestation, Svarog; the middle part of the staff represents Yav and Perun, and is carved with the symbols of the powers that the volkhv "commands" in the real world; the bottom of the staff represents Nav and Veles, and is burnt in fire to symbolise the infernal forces of the underworld. [290] An intellectual circle that cultivated themes of Slavic indigenous religion formed as a wing of the predominantly Orthodox Christian samizdat nationalist journal Veche (19711974). Vishnu, and Intra, i.e. The contemporary organised Rodnovery movement arose from a multiplicity of sources and charismatic leaders just on the brink of the collapse of the Soviet Union and it spread rapidly during the mid-1990s and 2000s. He was associated with blacksmiths and the forging of iron. Yakutovsky is critical of the Soviet type of communism, and rather proposes "social communism" as the ideal form of government. Other symbols such as animals, geometric shapes, and ancient Slavic runic writing, are considered to be associated to specific gods, and the prayer to their image is considered to intercede with these gods. Semargl represents good fortune, drinking, and abundance. Nevertheless, according to Aitamurto, on the basis of the amount of literature that Ynglists publish and the presence of their representatives at various Rodnover conferences, is clear that Ynglism has a "substantial number of followers". [192] Such morphology of time is otherwise describable as "spiral". [202] They consider the Abrahamic religions and their later secular ideological productionsMarxism, capitalism, the general Western rationalism begotten by the Age of Enlightenment,[203] and ultimately the technocratic civilisation based on the idea of possession, exploitation and consumption of the environment[119]as "mono-ideologies", that is to say ideologies which promote "universal and one-dimensional truths", unable to grasp the complexity of reality and therefore doomed to failure one after the other. In 2013, Simpson noted that Slavic Native Faith remains a "very small religion" in Poland, which is otherwise dominated by Roman Catholicism. [38] Halyna Lozko of the Federation of Ukrainian Rodnovers, which directly inherits Volodymyr Shaian's orthodox doctrine, advanced vehement critiques of Sylenkoism, deeming Lev Sylenko a "false prophet" and accusing him of having tried to lead Ukrainians in the Abrahamic religions' "quagmire of cosmopolitan monotheism". [54] It means "Native Faith" and it is the name used by the majority of the movement's adherents. [98] Already the pioneering Ukrainian leader Shaian argued that God manifests as a variety of different deities. [285] In 1979 he published the Maha Vira ("Great Faith"), a book which he claimed chronicled the ancient history of the Ukrainian people. [173], According to sociologist and political scientist Marlne Laruelle, the general public is often unable to see the ideological background of the Aryan myth and its historical links with Nazism. [7] The interplay with the gods and the cycle of nature which they represent is displayed through large-scale ceremonies which Aitamurto defines as "aesthetically lavish", vectors of a great deal of creativity. [118] Rodnover ethics have been defined as a "safety technique"[118] and as "ecoethics", at the same time environmentalist and humanistic, stemming from the awareness that all existence belongs to the same universal, cosmic God. The Slavic mythology personified many aspects of the world, with worshipers believing that waters, forests, households and even illnesses were represented or governed by spirits. [146] A number of youth subcultures have been identified as introducing people to Rodnovery, among them heavy metal, historical re-enactment, and the admirers of J. R. R. [269] The Ukrainian literary magazine Dazhboh, published in 19311935, was imbued with Neopagan ideas (Bohdan Ihor Antonych and others). [279], Wadysaw Koodziej (18971978) later claimed to have established, before the Second World War, the Holy Circle of the Worshippers of Svetovid (wite Koo Czcicieli wiatowida), although there is no evidence that they conducted regular meetings until many years later. He ensures that the hunt is successful and that fishermen catch many fish. [30] Other Rodnovers are conscious that the movement represents a synthesis of different sources, that what is known about ancient Slavic religion is very fragmented, and therefore the reconstruction requires innovation. [275] Continuing on from Doga-Chodakowski, Stachniuk's own work criticised Catholicism in Poland, arguing that it had had a negative effect on the country's national character. For instance, the Russian Circle of Pagan Tradition characterises itself as "patriotic" rather than "nationalist", avoids ethnic nationalist ideas, and recognises Russia as a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural state. [223] Slavic Native Faith has been described as following "the cycles of nature",[85] of the seasons of the year. Aitmurto notes that festivals are usually set in the evenings, the weekends and on public holidays, in order to allow everyone's participation. [199] One of the native faith leaders, Dobrovolsky (Dobroslav), like Hitler, was proud of his lack of higher education and believed that "education cripples a person. [266] This organisation was a government-recognised entity until 2010, when it was unregistered and became an informal association due to disagreements between the Castists and other subgroups about whether Slavic religion was Indo-European hierarchic worship (supported by the Castists), Neolithic mother goddess worship, or neither. [449] In Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, within the Ukrainian diaspora, there are various congregations of the Native Ukrainian National Faith (RUNVira).[286]. Following the Second World War and the establishment of communist states throughout the Eastern Bloc, new variants of Rodnovery were established by Slavic emigrants who lived in Western countries, later, especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union, they were introduced into Central and Eastern European countries. [175] Western liberal ideas of freedom and democracy are traditionally perceived by Russian eyes as "outer" freedom, contrasting with Slavic "inner" freedom of the mind; in Rodnovers' view, Western liberal democracy is "destined to execute the primitive desires of the masses or to work as a tool in the hands of a ruthless elite", being therefore a mean-spirited "rule of demons". Ivanov, who declared himself a Zoroastrian and subscribed to "Arism" or "Slavism", published a fervently anti-Christian pamphlet entitled "The Christian Plague" (Khristianskaya chuma). [119], Rodnovers express their anti-Christian views in various ways. She offers protection to women during childbirth. [290] The journal attracted various personalities, including Anatoly Ivanov, the artist Konstantin Vasilyev (19421974), and Nikolay Bogdanov, among others. These ceremonies typically entail the invocation of gods, the offering of sacrifices and the pouring of libations, dances and communal meals. [297] In 1986, Viktor Bezverkhy (19302000) established the Saint Petersburg-based Society of the Mages (Obshchestvo Volkhvov), an explicitly white supremacist and anti-Semitic organisation; it was followed by the Union of the Veneds, founded in 1990. [103] Such dualism does not represent absolute good and evil, but the black gods become evil when acting out of agreement with older and stronger white gods. Many Rodnover groups organise formal ceremonies of renunciation of Christianity (raskrestitsia, literally "de-Christianisation"), and initiation into Rodnovery with the adoption of a Slavic name. [72] Some Russian and Ukrainian Rodnovers employ, respectively, Yazychestvo and Yazychnytstvo (i.e. [323] The group is associated with the movement of Praskozorje. 4000+ Symbols - PDF - Ready to print. [437] In Poland, the Slavic Native Faith outnumbers other Pagan religions, although both are represented in the Pagan Federation International's Polish branch. Russians in Estonia have established their own religious organisation, the Fellowship of the Russian People's Faith in Estonia registered in Tartu in 2010. [11] In 2003, the Russian Ministry of Justice had forty registered Rodnover organisations, while there were "probably several hundred of them in existence". [81], Prior to their Christianisation, the Slavic peoples were polytheists, worshipping multiple deities who were regarded as the emanations of a supreme God. [8] The historian Marlne Laruelle has described Rodnovery as "more inclusive than just adherence to a pantheon of pre-Christian gods". Boris Rybakov emphasised the continuity and complexification of Slavic religion through the centuries. In this article he divides scholars between those who say that Russian Orthodoxy adapted to entrenched indigenous faith, continuing the Soviet idea of an "undefeated paganism", and those who say that Russian Orthodoxy is an out-and-out syncretic religion. [222] Some Sylenkoite organisations commemorate Ukrainian national heroes such as Taras Shevchenko, Ivan Franko, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, and Hryhory Skovoroda. [426] It is popular among some intellectuals of the pro-Russian cultural factions (for instance, Uladzimir Sacevi),[427] that is to say those who consider the Belarusians as a branch of the Russians, while other Rodnovers are pan-Slavist, considering the Belarusians a branch of the Slavs on par with the Russians. Air is associated with the colors yellow and white. [374] In his writings, Megre identifies the ideal society which the Anastasians aim at establishing, based on its spiritual ideas, as an ancient Slavic and Russian "Vedism" and "Paganism", and many of his teachings are identical to those of other movements of Rodnovery. [70] In adopting such a conservative stance to sexual ethics, practitioners of Rodnovery can adopt misogynistic and homophobic attitudes. Speransky has adopted the concept of Darna from Lithuanian Romuva, explaining it as ordered life "in accordance with the Earth and with the ancestors". [364] Today, there are at least four Sylenkoite churches: the Association of Sons and Daughters of Ukraine of the Native Ukrainian National Faith (OSIDU RUNVira), the Association of Sons and Daughters of the Native Ukrainian National Faith (OSID RUNVira), Volodymyr Chornyi's western branch of OSIDU RUNVira centred in Lviv, and the more independent Union of the Native Ukrainian Faith (SRUV). [234] Some Rodnover groups incorporate practices which are not Slavic in origin. [266] In 1995, one of the future founders of the organisation, Radek Mikula (Ratko), had established contacts with Vadim Kazakov, leader of the Russian Union of Slavic Native Belief Communities; the relationship continued in the 2000s and led to Rodn Vra becoming an official subgroup of the Russian organisation until 2002,[320] while it nurtured ties with Polish and Slovak Rodnovers too. [27] Other influences include documents like the Book of Veles, which claim to be genuine accounts of historical Slavic religion but which academics recognise as later compositions. [165] Schnirelmann similarly noted that there is a loose boundary between the explicitly politicised and less politicised wings of the Russian movement,[144] and that ethnic nationalist and racist views were present even in those Rodnovers who did not identify with precise political ideologies. [181] Aitamurto observed that early Russian Rodnovery was characterised by "imaginative and exaggerated" narratives about history. The Slavic Kremlin Vitaly Sundakov is one of such centres, located in the Podolsky District of Moscow Oblast. Between life, death and rebirth. [84] Similarly to the ancient Slavic religion, a common theological stance among Rodnovers is that of monism, by which the many different gods (polytheism) are seen as manifestations of the single, universal impersonal Godgenerally identified by the concept of Rod,[86] also known as Sud ("Judge") and Prabog ("Pre-God", "First God") among South Slavs. He is representative of the destructive, masculine force of nature. [316], Modern Rodnovery in the Czech Republic emerged in 19951996. pertaining "to the gens", "to the kin"), which in turn it itself renders in Slavic translations of the Bible. [334], The early 2010s saw a strengthening of relations between Rodnover groups. Having colored animals on colored backgrounds that wouldn't have been "ok" by the Western rules. [190] Temple buildings (, khram) may be present. [9], The scholar of religion Alexey Gaidukov has described "Slavic Neopaganism" as a term pertaining to "all quasi-religious, political, ideological and philosophical systems which are based on the reconstruction and construction of pre-Christian Slavic traditions". [42], In Ukraine, the first practitioners of Slavic Native Faith appeared in the 1930s. Truth is sometimes personified as a god, Prov, who is the guardian of the law, lawfulness and righteousness. The name "Ringing Cedars" derives from the beliefs held by Anastasians about the spiritual qualities of the Siberian cedar. It is Bog Hors who ensures that the harvest is plentiful and the cattle are healthy. [128] Laruelle similarly found an emphasis on patriarchy, heterosexuality, traditional family, fidelity and procreation. For some Rodnovers, the Orthodox cross is another Slavic version of the swastika. [43] Slavic Native Faith adherents, as far as they are concerned, believe that they can take traditional folk culture, remove the obviously Christian elements, and be left with something that authentically reflects the historical beliefs of the Slavic peoples. He says that Meryan Native Faith is mostly Slavic Native Faith whose concepts, names and iconoraphy are Finnicised. [384], Besides their Vedas, the Ynglists instruct their disciples about "Aryan mathematics" and grammar, and techniques for a "healthy way of life", including forms of eugenics. [236] The Ukrainian organisation Ancestral Fire of the Native Orthodox Faith promotes a healing technique called zhyva that has close similarities to the Japanese practice of reiki. [139] Aitamurto observed that the different wings of the Rodnover movement "attract different kinds of people approaching the religion from quite diverging points of departure". Rodnovery is attractive because of its "paradoxical conjunction" of tradition and modernity, recovery of the past through innovative syntheses, and its values calling for a rediscovery of the true relationship between mankind, nature and the ancestors. Vladimir Avdeyev (later the creator of the doctrine of "racology" which espoused the superiority of the "Nordic race" over others; a member of Alexander Belov's "Moscow Slavic Pagan Community") wrote in the book "Overcoming Christianity" (1994) about the inferiority of the era of Pisces, associated with the domination of monotheistic religions, and future blessed cosmic age of Aquarius, designed to return humanity to the original primordial prosperity. [271] The adherents believe that the class of the warriors should have the superior and leading role in society (espousing the idea of a military state and rejecting communism and democracy), and should be always ready to sacrifice themselves for the community. [301] That same year, a group called Ancestral Fire of the Native Orthodox Faith was established; in contrast to the anti-Russian slant taken by Sylenkoism, it embraced a pan-Slavic perspective. [273], In Poland, Jan Stachniuk (19051963) established the Zadruga magazine in 1937, which gave rise to the movement of Zadrugism. The Slavs believed in three planes of existence: the heavens, governed by Perun, Dazhbog, Mokosh and Lada, symbolized by the sun and the moon; the earthly plane, occupied by humanity; and the underworld, symbolized by snakes and darkness, ruled over by Veles. [246] Though the majority of Rodnover priests are males, Rodnover groups do not exclude women from the priesthood, so that a parallel female priesthood is constituted by the two ranks of zhritsa and vedunya ("seeresses"). [59] Rodna or rodnaya is itself a concept which can denote the "nearest and dearest", and such impersonal community as one's native home or land. [215], The Rodnover priesthood is characterised by a number of attributes, sacred objects which mark their role. [253] The movement also involved a significant number of people who had a background in the Soviet or Russian Army,[409] or in policing and security. Black magic spells were also used for revenge, protection, and power. [229] Circle-dances may be clockwise (posolon, i.e. [299], Anastasianism (Russian: , , ) or the Ringing Cedars ( ) is a spiritual movement that overlaps with Rodnovery. Morok, which translates literally as darkness in modern Russian, is the Slavic god of ignorance, error, deceit and lies. It is likely that the English word calendar is derived from this symbol name. [63] The spread of the term reflected the degree of solidarity in establishing a broader brand and a sense of international movement despite the disagreements and power struggles that permeated the groups. He is the guardian and protector of the Isle of Rgen in the Baltic Sea. But there's little reason to believe it is a universal Slavic symbol, or that it was particular to Slavic Pagans. "Slavic Traditions & Mythology" is the fourth book by Stefan Cvetkovi which sums up his research in the field of Slavic mythology. These accoutrements represent four elements: water, earth, sun and air. Their settlements are known as "kinship homesteads" ( , rodovoye pomest'ye), and are usually grouped in broader "ancestral villages" ( , rodovoye poseleniye),[373] where an extended faily, a kin, may conduct a harmonious autonomous life in at least one hectare of land of their property. [4] They also characterise it as a new religious movement. They propose a political system in which decisional power is entrusted to assemblies of consensually-acknowledged wise men, or to a single wise individual. Marija Gimbutas, instead, found Slavic religion to be a clear result of the overlap of Indo-European patriarchism and pre-Indo-European matrifocal beliefs. [11], Some involved in the movement avoid calling their belief system either "paganism" or "religion". It is protective and some use it as a symbol of the goddess. Rodnover organisations often characterise themselves as ethnic religions, emphasising their belief that the religion is bound to Slavic ethnicity.