We need to normalize fear of the Gods. It is a fact that historically, people offered and sacrificed to the gods not only for favors and good things-- but for protection... from their power. The Gods were and are still forces of nature. They ARE nature. Nature is scary! It's terrifying and dangerous to us! The Gods are not wrathful or malevolent, but they can destroy just as they create. Apollon was not just a god of song, poetry and healing-- he was a god of plague. A god of pestilence. A god of disease. That's something not a lot of people address or touch on and I think we're doing ourselves a disservice by not doing so. Fear of the Gods is not a bad thing or something we're not allowed to enagage in. We don't fear them out of some worry that we'll end up burning in hellfire for NOT doing so, but because they are literally nature itself.
and by brief i mean BRIEF. the term "slavic paganism" unites around thirteen different countries which all have distinct historical backgrounds, cultural beliefs, and languages. thus, a lot of modern practices combine folk traditions and practices from hundreds of different tribes, and experiences can differ greatly from one person to the next. a lot of reconstruction is done from post-Christianization sources, and is often coming to us from a lens of hatred and suppression.
this post in no way is trying to represent any one group in its entirety, nor will it represent all cultures present. also some of the gods have different names, but i just chose what seems to be the most popular one.
also! the use of crystals is not historically attested, so I would just call their inclusion in this SPG at most.
THE GODS
PERUN: god of thunder and lightning, war, protection, justice, righteousness, honor, and integrity. mentioned the most in historical sources
OBJECTS: meat and game, ritual bread, honey, mead, stone idols, axe of perun imagery
COLORS: gold and blue
ANIMALS: eagles, falcons, hawks, cuckoos
VELES: domestic animals including cattle, forests and the wilderness, trade and money, the Nav (underworld), thieves, the dead, crossroads. also considered a psychopomp
CRYSTALS: morganite, moonstone, onyx, serpentine, malachite, red selenite, shungite
ANIMALS: cows and aurochs, bears, snakes, lizards, moose, elk, wolves
MOKOSH: water and the earth, fertility, women, fiber arts and crafts (art forms that are often "for women"), fate, life and birth, autumn, and the moon phases. sometimes considered a consort of perun
ANIMALS: pure white or black cats, palomino horses, swans, hares, black dogs, crows
SVETOVIT: abundance, war, heroes. he had four heads
OBJECTS: horn, sword, saddle, flags
ANIMALS: horses, eagles
TRIGLAV: had domain in heaven, earth, and the underworld. had three heads and blindfolds over his eyes so as to not see the evils of man
SYMBOLS: oak, black horses, saddles
I am aware there are more gods that are historically attested, but if I couldn't parse out what their exact domain was, I didn't include them.
ANCESTOR VENERATION:
Ancestor veneration, or Dziady in some languages, is an important aspect of slavic paganism. Nowadays Dziady is celebrated from October 31st to November 1st, with a somber meal and invitation to ancestors to join the living family. Offerings of honey, barley, kutia, eggs, and vodka would be left out in a house with all the windows open, or taken directly to a gravesite.
NATURE SPIRITS:
This section would honestly need its own post, but nature spirits are a major part of surviving oral tradition and folklore in the slavic region. Here you'll find recognizable names like Baba Yaga, Leshy, Kikimora, Rusalka, and Vila that are widely used in popular media. I just wanted to make this section to point out its importance to the practice, but I'd be severely out of my depth to try to explain all of the traditions surrounding spirits. You can find a loose list of spirits and entities online, and I'm sure there are some good books out there too.
The whole normalization of monotheism never doesn’t piss me off. Honestly I’m no better myself, I always say “good lord” or “Jesus Christ” when I’m surprised, and I’m trying to work on it, but the whole idea of the English language (and many others) being centered on monotheism, or more specifically, Christianity, always makes me a little mad.
There are so many more religions out there than just the big three, and so many of them are polytheistic! The currently oldest known religion was polytheistic! Please actually take a history class yall
This is not anti-religion.
Honestly, I think this is just a byproduct of how monotheism shaped culture over the years. I don't it's anti-religion, just history.
But I will say that it is definitely a valid pet peeve. I've gotten into the habit of saying "oh my gods" or "by the gods" or "gods above" or even "hells below". I DO still say Jesus Christ sometimes though. 😭
