#sventovit

[surfingkaliyuga]

“Свентовит / Sventovit” Konstantin Vasilyev 1971

[zarya-zaryanitsa]

Hi, Zarya! Hope your day and health is all well, and apologies if this is a question you've answered already. I was curious though, are there any slavic deities in particular that had aspects of them tied to sexuality, or love? Or if any had a history of being worshipped or associated with/for such things? Sorry if these concepts are too broad to ask about, as I know information about these things can be scarce, but perhaps you know anything about this! Or parts of slavic pagan practices regarding sexuality, love etc like kupala would be interesting to hear you talk more about! Thanks!

Hello!

I have answered a similar question already, although I mostly spoke about female divinities so this is my chance to expand the list with some male gods:

Yarilo/Yarovit

Pretty obvious, he’s a fertility god, definitely associated with sexuality:

„Yarilo wandered all over the world / Rye grew high in the fields, he gave women children / And where he set his foot/ There a stack of rye / Where he’s in the grain/ There the stalks grow tall” *

* A folk song, found in Mitologia Słowian by Aleksander Gieysztor, translated into english by me.

At the same time nothing stands in the way of associating him with love especially if you agree with the hypothesis that Kupala rites represent the time of his wedding (hieros gamos) with Mara, the sacred union of fire and water that allows all things to live and grow.

Veles

Another deity with a fertility aspect, that you can associate with your sexuality. There exists a theory, put forward by Ivanov and Toporov, that he seduced Perun’s wife Mokosh, and therefore the role that Mokosh plays in the mythology is that of the punished wife of supreme thunder god, penalized for her infidelity by being expelled from heaven and sent to earth, the idea stemming from the fact that in moscovian slang „mokosia” means „a woman of easy virtue”**.

** From Religia Słowian by Andrzej Szyjewski.

Because of that particular theory as well as Veles’s general sphere of influence I think you could also see him as someone associated with love that is viewed as transgressive in some way. That’s just my modern interpretation of him though.

Perun

A deity associated with fertility and war. The guy that makes the rain fall. There’s a metaphor for you there, if you want to take it.

Also seems like a family man. Slavists tend to assign him a wife and some children relatively often.

Sventovit

A deity associated with fertility and war. His name denotes him as the posessor of sacred, creative powers. We don’t know for certain if he was associated with sexuality but seeing what his role seems to have been I’m gonna vote „yeah, probably”.

Have a good day!

[zarya-zaryanitsa]

On the subject of Sventovit

A little bit of much needed linguistic update: the more correct way to address the four-headed god of the Rani slavs is Sventovit (Świętowit) - not Svetovid (Światowid). The latter version became very popular in 19th century and that’s why it’s still present in a lot of older publications as well as older works of slavic culture. However you might notice younger publications (younger as in most of 20th century really) consequently leaning towards the use of Sventovit since all the sources express the first part of this name with the nasal vowel свѧтъ—“holy”—and not свѣтъ—“world.”

„Svęt”/„svent” signifies someone magical, holy, someone who is in posession of supernatural powers of more positive, creative sort, or simply someone of great might and power. Over the course of the time, under Christian influence, the term changed its meaning and became synonymous with the noun “saint”.

„Vit” has been reconstructed from a large body of slavic names to mean „lord”. The same ending can be found in the name Jarowit (Yarovit/Gerovit/Herovith), believed to mean „Strong Lord”(Aleksander Gieysztor and Andrzej Szyjewski go as far as to speculate both Sventovit and Yarovit are simply alternate names/titles of Perun). „Vit” also seems to be closely connected to the word „vitez” (wiciądz/witiaz/witing ), a borrowing from one of the germanic languages (likely Old East Germanic) signifying a warrior, a victor, a hero or a ruler (related words can be found in almost all slavic languages).

The older translation „Svetovid” despite sounding quite similar holds quite a different meaning: „the image of the world”.

Sources: Rugian Slavic God Sventovit – One More Time by Roman Zaroff Mitologia Słowian by Aleksander Gieysztor Religia Słowian by Andrzej Szyjewski Art: https://www.deviantart.com/narholt/art/Project-Rewind-Svetovid-shrine-549036561

[rodnoverworld]

#Sventovit thenorsewayshop.etsy.com https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs2lfu3HflJ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=hzo3rqr8q0kx

[lugvelesasrz]

"Świętowit, Swaróg & Trzygłów", "Utopiec", "Borowy" - Patrycja Podkościelny

http://podkoscielny.com/work/slavic-gods-demons/ https://www.behance.net/gallery/17764625/Slavic-Gods-Demons-Lithography

[wszechwieczna-cebula]

We mgle

Świętowit/Svetovid/Sventovit.

Autor modelu 3D/3D model create by Sasha Krieger Ristich: 

https://kriegerman.deviantart.com

Na organach Anna von Hausswolff - Deathbed Live at Orgelkraft Festival:

https://youtu.be/dW2_ZMLyK_o

[wiedzma]

It’s far from finished, but I moved in my new flat two days ago and had to set up an altar - even a temporary one. Talking to Veles through my wardrobe’s door was a no-no after all. 

[lugvelesasrz]

Kazimierz Perkowski - Świętowit/Piorun http://www.bogowiepolscy.net/