#esoterist

[reprisearchive]

Phenakistoscope by Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau, 1887; art printed or painted on a spinning plate and seen in a slit.

[poetry-pastry]

[rosieandthemoon]

book of stars

[blessedpoisonivy]

[semilladedios]

[esokamidzy]

MASLENITSA

Very soon (February 16 - 22), Maslenitsa will be celebrated in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and some other Slavic countries!

Maslenitsa is one of the most vibrant and archaic holidays in Russian folk tradition, deeply rooted in pre-Christian symbolism that was later reinterpreted within the Orthodox calendar. It is much more than just a "pancake week"; it's a complex ritual cycle connected to seeing off winter, welcoming spring, commemorating ancestors, and ensuring a future harvest.

This was not just a dressed-up doll but an anthropomorphic image of the holiday, Winter, and death itself. It was created, honored (paraded, "fed" blini), and then ritually killed—burned, drowned, torn apart. This rite aimed not just to "see off winter" but to ensure the rebirth of life through sacrifice, echoing ancient rituals of a dying and resurrecting deity.

Each day of Maslenitsa week had a specific name and strict ritual purpose:

· Monday – "Meeting" (Vstrecha): People built snow hills and forts, dressed up a Maslenitsa effigy (the embodiment of Winter/the holiday itself), and paraded it on a sleigh around the village. Baking of blini began.

· Tuesday – "Flirting" (Zaigrysh): Festivities started in earnest. Young people went sledding, men flirted with girls looking for brides, and merry play-acting took place.

· Wednesday – "Sweet Tooth" (Lakomka): Sons-in-law visited their mothers-in-law for blini. The mother-in-law's pancakes were a folklore symbol of special feast and hospitality.

· Thursday – "Revelry" (Razgul, "Wide Thursday"): The peak of public festivities. This included the "Capture of the Snow Fortress" (a symbolic battle of Winter vs. Spring), fistfights "wall against wall" (a ritual fight to "awaken" the earth's force), and horse-drawn sleigh rides ("combing" the earth to make it fertile). All restrictions were lifted; ritual chaos reigned.

· Friday – "Mother-in-Law's Evening" (Tёshchiny vecherki): Now the son-in-law had to invite his mother-in-law to his home, demonstrating reciprocal respect.

· Saturday – "Sister-in-Law's Gatherings" (Zolovkiny posidelki): The young wife invited her husband's relatives, especially his sisters, strengthening family bonds.

· Sunday – "Forgiveness Sunday" (Proshchenoe Voskresen'e), the Farewell to Maslenitsa: The most important day in terms of folk magic. People asked each other for forgiveness to enter Lent with a pure heart. The climax: The burning (or sometimes tearing apart and scattering across fields) of the Maslenitsa effigy. Its ashes were often spread on fields—a classic ritual of "returning" the symbol's power to the earth for fertility. Old junk was sometimes burned too, symbolizing the disposal of the old.

Maslenitsa doll.

This was not just a dressed-up doll but an anthropomorphic image of the holiday, Winter, and death itself. It was created, honored (paraded, "fed" blini), and then ritually killed—burned, drowned, torn apart. This rite aimed not just to "see off winter" but to ensure the rebirth of life through sacrifice, echoing ancient rituals of a dying and resurrecting deity.

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

[pulgaredgardo91]