Perendi
Perendi is one of the gods in Illyrian polytheism and Prende's husband. Perendi is also called Zojz, Zot and Shurdi.
God of: thunder, lightning, rain, sky, weather, hailstorms
Identified with: Zeus (Greek), Perun (Slavic)
Symbols: lightning bolts, rain, thunder-stones, clouds
Offerings: prayers*, swearing an oath upon a thunder-stone (I couldn't find any texts that mention what specific food was offered to Perendi but I'm sure everything is okay as long as you do it respectfully)
*Prayers to Perendi were common when asking the gods for rain. This is a prayer to him on Spring Day asking for rain and protection of plants and cattle:
Oh Perendi,
Give us rain on winter pastures!
So that corn may be made,
And lamb grow horns!
Original text: O Perëndi, nepna shi në vërri! Të bëhet misri dhe shelegu me bri!
Thunder-stones: Illyrians believed that lightning is the "fire of the sky" and that Perendi uses lightning as his weapon. Whatever his weapon hits becomes a thunder-stone. Thunder-stones were also believed to have fallen from the sky during storms. These stones were kept in homes and gave good luck, prosperity, health and progress to the families. The heaviest type of oath was sworn upon these stones. This is an example of a man absolving himself of allegation of theft:
The thunder-stone is taken in the left hand and touched by the right one saying; "I swear by this thunder-stone that I have not stolen it, nor anyone of my house and I don't know who stole it! If I lied to you, cloud strike me!"
Swearing upon a thunder-stone can be performed today. Simply going outside and taking a rock that was out in the rain, cleansing it and offering it to Perendi will do. The oath begins with "I swear by this thunder-stone that ___" and ends with "If I lie to you, Perendi strike me." This oath was and very serious and shouldn't be taken lightly.
Colours: purple, dark purple, dark blue, gold, white
Incense: sage, white-sage, lavander, frankincense, anything rain related
Devotional acts:
collect rain and use it in your craft or as mist or keep it in your home/altar, collect pebbles, remember and thank him for the rain, listen to thunder sounds, wear colours that remind you of him, appreciate your strength (Perendi was described as a warrior), stand up for yourself
Disclaimer: Some of the things I’ve mentioned here, especially devotional acts and offerings are UPG. The reason for that is that the illyrian religion doesn’t have many texts (if any), oral tradition and UPG is the only way to collect information about these gods if we exclude a wikipedia article. I will try my best to learn and educate myself so I can spread awareness about these beautiful gods of old. If you have any more informarion feel free to share it or message me.
