Mara goddess of love. Goddess Morana in Slavic mythology. The goddess Morena reminds the Slavs of changes in life

A powerful and formidable deity, patron of death and winter - this is how the ancient Slavs imagined her. Madder in the mythology of our ancestors was originally a good essence. Then she became the force that brings decay. The image of Mary is complex and ambiguous. She is the personification of peace and the transition of the human soul from one world to another.

Sister of the Light Goddesses

The Lady of Winter appears in Slavic legends under different names: Morana, Mara, Marzhana. She was described as a tall, stately woman with snow-white skin, dark, stern eyes and curls as black as night. Sometimes Morana was depicted as a hunched old woman with long gray hair and a predatory gaze.

She brought death and at the same time reminded a person of the need to value life. The patroness of “trouble” and cold was born among the light deities. Her father was Svarog, and her mother was Lada.

Marzhana had 2 sisters and one brother.

1. Lelya, patroness of spring, love, girlish honesty.
2. Zhiva in the Slavic mythological tradition personified summer, fertility and joy.
3. The brother of the divine beauties was the god of justice Perun.

Dark transformation

The Forces of Darkness were jealous of the well-being of the light deities. The skipper-beast, the ruler of the above-ground Inferno, attacked Perun and locked him in the cellar. The goddesses Morana, Lelya and Zhiva were captured by this half-man, half-scorpion. The Messenger of Chaos cast a spell on the goddesses, and they turned into monsters.

It wasn't just Morana's appearance that changed. The character of Svarog's daughter underwent radical transformations.

How Morana's new essence was revealed:

• the bright deity forgot about his origin;
• Svarog's daughter became cruel and learned the secrets of black magic;
• Like her sisters, Marjana commanded the Skipper Beast's forces.

Now she wanted to subjugate the world of Reveal. Perun, freed from captivity, defeated the Skipper-beast in a duel. Then he disenchanted his relatives. Lelya and Zhiva again became good deities. Morana returned to the appearance of a beautiful maiden, but she did not want to give up dark magic. Having left for Nav, Morana became the patroness of withering, winter and death.

The role of Mara in the pantheon of gods

New responsibilities of Madder, the “winter” goddess:

• take away women's ability to conceive;
• destroy people;
• plunge the world of Reveal into cold;
• freeze crops;
• bring pestilence to livestock;
• starve and kill people.

Unlike Yarila and Zhiva, who personify the solar energy of life, Morana represents the triumph of Dead Water, nothingness or Mari. Marzhany's possessions extend beyond the black Smorodina River. This river separates the worlds of Yav and Nav. In some myths, she was depicted in black and white clothing as a symbol of the continuity of beginning and end. The mistress of withering and cold is identical to the Greek goddess Hecate.

Her character traits:

• pride;
• thirst for power;
• craving for magical knowledge;
• respect for strength and valor: the Slavic “Snow Queen” is distinguished by an insidious disposition, she plays with people’s destinies and does not feel affection for anyone, but an inventive magician who is not afraid of Morana’s mysteries can gain her patronage;
• unceremoniousness;
• insight;
• dark sexuality - the expression “to love to death” suits this essence very well; if Morana kisses an earthly man, his heart will freeze;
• dislike of fun, joy and bloom.

The patroness of the cold is offended that people are not waiting for her impatiently, as they are waiting for her sister Lelya. Her favorite pastime is to cover the earth with blizzards. Wanting to punish people, Marzhana could cause the death of livestock in the village.

The Slavs have many legends about how the proud beauty tried to seize power over the world, but the bright deities, Yarila and Lelya, restrained the unbridled impulses of Morana.

Morana's husband

Kashchei, the patron saint of evil and death, became a companion of the mystical entity. His middle name is Chernobog.

According to the ancient legend, Kashchei competed with Dazhdbog for Morana’s love. For a long time, the cold beauty could not make the final choice between her admirers. Unable to resist Dazhdbog's assertiveness, Morana married him, but soon the offended Kashchei stole his beloved and took her to his domain.

Lord Navi, together with his wife, often carried out intrigues against their opponents - good deities. Morena tried many times to steal the sun from the sky. The great power of life contained in Yaril did not allow the mistress of the cold to approach him.

Children and helpers

Speaking about the “continuation of the family line” of Kashchei and his wife, legends convey different information to us. The most common version of the myth: the Slavic goddess Marena could not have offspring. Having abandoned family ties, this entity wanders the world with one goal: to bring misfortune and death to people.

In later sources, Morana was credited with 13 daughters - the Fevers. Their second name is the Shaking Sisters. During the warm season, these spirits live in the dungeons of the Dark World. In January they come into our world and send diseases to people.

The Slavs associated with Marzhana not only death, morovitsa, but also “trouble”, “mischief” (deception, obsession). Even in the summer, when her power over the world is minimal, Morana can steal a person’s health and sanity. Mara spirits (servants of the goddess) live among people. Every night they walk under the windows and whisper the names of their household members. As soon as a gullible villager responds to the voice of the entity, he will get sick and die.

Another meaning of Marena’s image is fate, fate. A guest from the world of the dead sometimes appeared in homes like a ghost. A person who saw Morana died within a year. She could make a happy marriage unhappy by causing infertility in her young wife. When livestock deaths began in the village, people consulted among themselves on how to appease Marzhana.

The Slavs rarely mentioned the names of Chernobog and Morana without a particular reason, but their attitude towards the dark deities was very respectful. The Lady of Blizzards was perceived by our ancestors as a dark hypostasis of her good sister Zhiva.

Attributes and holidays in honor of Morana

Madder had gloomy attributes: a black moon, a sickle and skulls. According to myths, the gloomy deity cuts the threads of life with a sickle. The time of the undivided reign of the goddess is winter. One of the symbols of Marzhana was the black swan.

Our ancestors wanted to appease Morana in order to ward off misfortunes. Sacrifices were made to her - red wine and honey. In the ancient magical tradition, the ritual of sacrificing poultry to Morana was popular: a white chicken or a duck. Only an experienced healer could perform the sacrifice ritual.

Holidays dedicated to the queen of cold:

• Since ancient times, the days from November 22 to 25 were considered the days of Morena, the goddess of death, at this time people welcomed winter: it was impossible to have fun and rejoice so as not to incur the wrath of the stern deity;
• On January 13, the winter mistress comes into full force: if you believe the legends, on this day Morana’s daughters, Shakers, emerge from the dungeon;
• March 1 in the Slavic tradition is a significant day: people honor Marzhana before her imminent departure to the Dark World;
• spring equinox: March 20-22 are magical days, at this time the patroness of illness and cold finally loses her power over the world of Reveal.

During the spring ritual holidays, it was customary to make Madder - a straw doll. The stuffed animal was dressed in women's clothing and taken around the village. The ritual performance was accompanied by songs and dances. The doll then had to be burned, drowned, or torn into small pieces. The first option of destroying a scarecrow was practiced more often. The fire was lit outside the village. When the symbol of winter burned, boys and girls jumped over the fire. People believed that these ritual actions would scare away trouble from them and attract a good harvest. A similar ritual was carried out on Kupala night.

The symbolic “victory over death” was an important event in the life of our ancestors. All residents of the village tried to participate in the ritual of burning the effigy. Being late for a holiday or not getting to it at all was considered a bad sign.

The attitude of the ancient Slavs towards the winter queen was ambiguous. In winter, no one encroached on her authority, but as spring approached, people were not so afraid of Marzhana. Being the patroness of sterility and death, Morana could not avoid dying every year. She allowed Spring to defeat her, and with the onset of cold weather she returned to the human world again.

Legends of different peoples

In the legends of different nations you can find references to an evil spirit, deity or fairy with the name “Mar”, “Moran” or “Mora”. These and other names go back to the common Indo-European root “mor” (or “mar”), meaning death, destruction.

In ancient Germanic mythology, a dark elf was called a mar. Maruta spirits are mentioned in German folklore. These are the souls of warriors who died in battle. They can raise a storm or drive thunderclouds into the sky.

In English and Welsh legends, the evil entity, the avenging maiden, was called Fairy Morgana. This witchcraft person was the sister of the legendary King Arthur and harmed him.

Bulgarian version: the souls of babies who die without being baptized become maras. Sometimes the evil entity took the form of an earthly child. If people picked up such a “baby” and brought it home, the whole family could be wiped out by pestilence.

In the minds of our ancestors, Marena was an otherworldly “orderly”, removing everything sick, weak, and decrepit from the planet. Marzhana could take away a person’s body, but his soul remained immortal, so experienced people did not experience panic fear or hatred of her.

Patroness of magicians

Death cannot be defeated or ignored when it comes, but Morana can be begged to abandon her victim while she is still alive. This is what our ancestors thought. Wanting to help the seriously ill, healers of the Slavic tribes created texts of conspiracies addressed to Morena. In Slavic mythology, she was considered the personification of fate, so a prayer to Chernobog’s wife was the only way to prolong someone’s life.

A deity from the world of Navi demands respect. It was believed that Marzhana despises cowards and perjurers. A few brave souls were destined to gain the patronage of the Dark Lady. Basically, these were magicians eager to gain unlimited power over the destinies of people. Some astrologers are sure: Marzhana herself chooses “her” people and helps them. If you were born between November 21st and November 30th, you could be called a "Winter person."

What qualities does the queen of cold and death endow with her charges:

• love of freedom;
• resourcefulness of the mind;
• colossal physical strength;
• patience.

If you consider yourself Marzhana’s “pupil”, you can ask her for help in a critical situation. Cases when an earthly person can turn to Morana: serious illness of a spouse or children, threats from an evil enemy, sudden madness of a relative.

No one knows what payment Marena will require from you for her help (mythology does not answer this question). However, the continued interest of magicians and astrologers in Marzhana speaks of one thing: the patroness of the cold is fraught with enormous power.

Good health, friends and relatives! Today I would like to talk about Mara - the beautiful Slavic Goddess. Days of Mary (Winter Matryona) in the folk calendar - November 9 (20). In modern neo-paganism and Slavism, the image of Mara is often painted in certain black, dark tones and faces, associating her either with death, or with some kind of deception, darkness.. Perhaps this is how these people see her, but the image of Mara is close to me, as a bright Goddess, Mother Goddess giving birth.

Mara was revered among the Belarusians and Balts. Pagans in the Baltic states also see Mara as the great Mother, the Parent, the giver of blessings and life!

“The ancient Latvians believed that the entire material world was under the jurisdiction of Mara, including bread, fire and its preservation. Maybe this is why the cross of crosses was depicted on a loaf of bread and in the evening drawn in the ashes of the hearth it was called the cross of Mary. Crossing out the ends of the cross, we get a sign that contains both isolation, perfection, and death. The sign is directly related to fire, home, fertility.

The thing on which the cross is depicted symbolizes the sacrifice to Mara, receiving in return her blessing and supervision (more like looking after, keeping an eye on). Sometimes the cross of crosses is also called the cross of Lyme.”

About Mara Baltic pagans (in Latvian) - read

“Supporters of the Latvian neo-pagan movement “Dievturiba” believe that Mara is hierarchically subordinate to Dievs (God) or, according to another version, is his opposite. According to E. Brastins, the founder of “Dievturiba”: “Mara is the Earth or Matter, with all its various forces and types, which is why the earth in our folk writings is called the land of Mara.”

Mara - Mother, giver of life and its “nurturer” (Latvian aukletaja). She is associated with all objects, especially livestock, wealth, protects women and bestows fertility. “However, at times Mara, like Laime, can turn out to be evil towards people, especially before death, because Mara demands the body given to her from the soul.” According to Dievturib, Mara can be seen and heard: everything that a person perceives with the help of the senses has the essence of Mara.

Probably, the modern image of Mary was formed from the combination of several pagan cults with the Christian cult of the Virgin Mary against the background of the coincidence of the roots of proper names...”

“Mara represents the material part of the world, the protector of women, the giver of fertility, as well as the mistress of the earthly and underground kingdoms. The mother goddess occupies a significant place in Latvian mythology. After death, a person passes into the kingdom of mother Earth, and this deity, in turn, manages many other mothers - Forest, Wind, Sea, Milk, Cows, Linen and other mothers - also holding the underworld under her jurisdiction and again uniting in the image of Mara.

The sign of Mara is usually depicted as an equilateral triangle, a hook, a semicircle, with the apex down. Depicting this sign in a horizontal plane, its top looks towards the North-West and North-East, these are the directions where the Sun sets on the Latvian summer at the Solstice and rises on Jan's morning. The sign has a deep symbolic meaning and a force opposite to the triangle of God, therefore, by combining them, balance and consonance are obtained. Both of these signs, passed through one another, create a hexagonal cross, this is a sign against evil force. The Triangle of Mara can branch out and become richer.

Many types of Mara are depicted in the signs of Mara - this is most noticeable in - the triangle of Mara, the water of Mara, the earth of Mara, the cross of Mara or the cross of crosses. These signs give solidity, security (protection), connection with the forces of nature and earth.”

“Speaking about the zigzag, it should be noted that both Latvians and other peoples use it as a symbolic representation of water. Perhaps this is why it was generally accepted that the zigzag sign symbolizes Mara as the Mother of the Sea and the Mother of Water. It is also generally accepted that a simple horizontal line symbolizes Mara as Mother of the Earth and this sign is called the land of Mara.

Zigzag is one of the main elements of geometric writing, which were used already in the Paleolithic. In general, the share of the zigzag as a decorative element grew in the late Iron Age.

In artistic samples of folk art there are many spreading images of the zigzag of Mary. Often the zigzag is also shown as the main ornament. Zigzag is quite often used as a basis for combining other patterns. There is also a zigzag with broken off tops, including a terminated zigzag.”

The image of Mara can be compared with the image of the Virgin Mary in Christianity. Maria Mara is the birthing, creative and bright power of life, the power of holiness, purity and moral Light.

I can compare the essence of the rituals that pagans perform in November and which are dedicated to Mara with the time when all of nature and Mother Earth herself go to sleep. During these hours, a program is laid, interaction between the invisible (nav) side of the human spiritual body occurs, with the forces of invisible nature, and a powerful Amulet is placed for the time of winter, the time of cold weather, for the person himself, his Family and relatives!

Mara lay in the form of a lady, who could live for hours in a variety of different ways.

Yashche ў pachatku nashaga stagodzya ў Gomel pavetse moladz u Kupala night worked with lard pudzila M. and with songs carried the berries for the egg, laid out the loin there, on which they slept M. Kali pudzila dagaral, mercurial gallops once the fire and the songs sang. U b. Pakalyubichskaya Volastsa near Gomel Pudzila M. or Baths dipped on high mountains and carried waters, then dumped there. At the Western Palessia on Kupala, green horses and caravans were chewed, which were then slept or thrown into water. This means that in this case M. acted as an amorphous object.

Z M., vіdavochna, genetically related Mary’s Kupala songs. Some songs feature the pair Mary/Kupala - Ivan/Illya: “Marya called Ivan for a walk...”, “Kupala called Ivan to the volcano // Ivan - Ivanishcha, hadzi for a game, something like that: // - Hadzi Illishcha for me to play.” Kupala ballads feature flowers of Ivan-dy-Marya. Pakhodzhanne hetay kvetki ў ballads tlumachytstsa incest, parushennye love barons pamіzh sister and brothers. To Vyach's thought. Us. Ivanova and U. M. Taparov, Mary Kupala songs have adlustravanized prototypes, associated with death (and water - pestilence) and show an adversarial form (*mer -/*mor -), and ў Ivana - the prototype of a blizzard, associated with life and fire. The names of snakes have such names as Maryna, Maryya, Marey, Markhva, which can be supplanted with Maryy - Mara. Zhanochy character Markhva (yurl, sardzita kabeta) is explained in the poem by V. Dunin - Martsinkevich “Vecharnitsy”, where this heroine is connected with the names of Panenskaya Gara in Lagoisk. The iconic hillocks called Mar’ina Gorka are found near Smilavich and near Pukhavych. On the first of them lies a stone - a follower, and not a great flock of stones far away from the hill. Once upon a time, on the Marinay mountaineers near Pukhavich, there is a rocky stone, like the soul of the Pagans. At the tsarkve, which was the problem of pabudavali, it was necessary to spray the skin maladzic nyadzel. Near in. The cult boulders of Mar’ya and Dzyam’yan formerly lay in the area of ​​the Pukhavitskaya district. At the boulder Mar'ya prayed for relief from the hell of the disease, yes, yes, good luck, good luck. The most frequent pilgrimage to the stone was the period of Maladzia, and the day of the Savior and the Holy Day.

The name Mara may have long-standing connections. Pa - angelic mare - “witch” and “mare” (let’s guess the horse’s scratch, like at the Western Palessi on Kupala they slept or threw in the water). The nastratychna *mara meant “vulgat”, and *mara- - “kvarets, pamirats”. In Lithuanian language marti means “daughter-in-law.” In Latvian mythology, Mara is the wife of God Navalnica, Malanak and even Pērkansa, associated with the elders (who are associated with Marina Gorka). Mara was treated as if she was waiting for her, and she answered with requests for malak, cheese, tselyata, land. The Holy Day was the 14th day (on the Savior) and the 8th anniversary (on the Holy Day). Naryadka Latvian M. in myths is evil with images of the goddess Laime. In Latgale M. ears were like the apakunka of the lover, hanging out, and often walking during the summer nap. From the famous Latvian M. as the wife of Perkanas, the legend recorded in Białastoččina is related to the great Kabet Martu, who had 12 sons, whom God created for the whole world, and the Kabes cast a spell in the oven for the whole day.

Like soft A. Golan, mythalagic characters with names starting with *mar are relics of the image of the great old Vyalikaya Bagina.

The great wide geography parallels the mythologies of other peoples and these malagic karanas represent the merkavat that the image of M. prisoner of the Yashche in the Stone Age, Magchym, Navat in the Upper Paleale, and even in the past In other words, the warehouse of the pantheon is bad and degrading and the characters have the lowest mythology.

Goddess MARA, guardian of eternal life.

The goddess of bright death, popularly called the Goddess of winter. The goddess MARA does not kill anyone, she comes when the time comes and only to those who deserve it.

Lately, more and more articles and books have been published that distort the very essence of the Goddess MARA, which is unacceptable to me. That's why I decided to talk a little about the Goddess MARA.

Some artists are more sensitive, and maybe they were given a blessing from above that they were able to express their feelings on the canvas of their painting:

This painting by the artist Klimenko A.

I don’t know what goal is pursued by those who distort the very essence of the Gods and Goddesses, but because of this distortion, those who wake up begin to wander. Perhaps this little article can help some people understand correctly.

Not long ago I saw a book on sale, it was called “The Dark Book of the Goddess MARA.” Why is the author of the book trying to convince that Goddess MARA is from the dark world? For what reason or why does he need this?

I remember how my Ancestors told me: - Look, granddaughters, you will live according to your conscience, honestly, the bright-eyed Goddess MARA will come for you, but if you live like a penny-pincher, by untruth, death without a name, without a face with a scythe, will come for you. Briefly said, but clearly and clearly. Why do some people try to present the Goddess MARU as a representative of the dark world? After all, she is popularly called the Goddess of Winter:

This is a painting by the artist Olshansky B.

The snow as we see it is white (light), not black. Many say her full name: Marena Svarogovna, that is, she is the daughter of God SVAROG. Question: - how can the daughter of God SVAROG belong to the dark world? The question is different: how can the Goddess MARA belong to the dark world if she is the guardian of the world of eternal life? The answers to these questions are probably clear even to the least knowledgeable. Those who engage in distortion and slander do not consider the Generic connection. The ancestral connection does not allow one to distort and fool one’s brains.

Sincerely, Polar BEAR

“Belarusians have Mara as their middle name for Kupalinka. She appears in the memory of the people as a beautiful young woman with a blindfold. The bandage is a purely symbolic attribute. He tells about the Goddess that she does not look, but knows the essence of each person. It also indicates that the kingdom of Mary is located in Navi. She also has similar features to the Roman Fortune. He loves to come to the Kupala fire and dance in circles with the girls. She patronizes travelers, disadvantaged and crippled people.

Mara is a great Goddess. She stands on the edge of Reveal and Navi and escorts souls to the palaces of Veles, the lord of the bins of the World. Mara is not death, she is between life and death, like a dream (kiMarit - sleep). The power of Mara illuminates a person with his cherished goal - his dream. After all, Mara is a dream (in white). Seventy percent of the time our mind imagines an ideal world, ideal events and circumstances, i.e. dreams. Seventy percent of our time we turn to the power of Mara. Mara is a starry, unrealizable light in the night that does not illuminate the entire path, but illuminates its goal. And this road is accessible to people with a strong spirit, sincere and pure in their thoughts, with an unbending will. Otherwise, a person is forgotten by his own fantasies and plunges into a waking dream, withdrawing from reality when he encounters obstacles along the way. Or he renounces his dream, finding emptiness in return. People - creators and creators - embody the light of Mara, the light of Dreams in Reveal.

Mara gives people with pure thoughts the strength to move forward, illuminating their cherished goal, maintaining the flame of the spirit, strengthening the will. Realizing the essence of Mara, you understand how significant she is in life. This is our invisible, navy side of existence. We live there in our thoughts, we go there in our dreams. And Mara protects us during such travels. It endows a person with one of his main powers - the power of thought, the power of an image in which the whole world fits. The kingdom of Mary - the edge between Navy and Reality - is woven from our dreams and aspirations, images and... fears. Therefore, you can go through the kingdom of Mara only with a pure, fearless heart.

In the afterlife, when a person goes through a short sleep between life in this world and the next, Mara guides him through all his dreams, hopes, fears and disappointments. I would even compare her to a small extent with a Valkyrie, but only on a larger scale) "

Finist Yasny

The border between autumn and winter is simply called pre-winter,
The showers will turn into snow, the Earth will go to rest,
And like the Queen, slowly, Mara comes from Heaven to our world,
It has become a door between worlds, and Her Soul feels it.
And he speaks to her under the stars, and remembers all those who have passed away,
And the fallen angels and the Prophets, and around her there is Peace and Peace...
She, the Lady of the Nights, will look sternly through the eyes of the stars,
And the conversation between the Soul and God is like a stream in the interworld...
But, like Mother is kind, she warms us with her dreams,
And keeps the Souls that fly in dreams from sunset until morning...

http://rusalo.ru/

Clear sight, dark night!
Let us pass,
The moon is shining in the sky,
Yes, we are welcome
Rest well.

Clear Mara, Svarozha's daughter!
Come to Soneik
Young pronuncier,
Come to Soneik
Try to carry away.

Clear Mara, Svarozha's daughter!
Sonya moets
Shine in the air,
Sonya sing
They're in the mood for divorce!

Clear Mara, Svarozha's daughter!
Sonya vyvodzits
Take me to the sky,
Sonya vyvodzits
Rejoice at us for your delivery!

(Finist Yasny)

Bringing

Hello Mara - Hello! — 2 r
Bow to you Mara and Glory! — 2 r
Shine in Svarga Mara with the light of the Family! — 2 r
Good luck to you Mara and bright eternity! - 2р

Starlight, your face is wonderful
The flames of the ardent sun-halls
Svarga is your throne and throne
Mara - radiance of bright souls

Your strength is now increasing. Your light shines in our souls. Keep the souls of the Russians - the mistress of dreams. Preserve the soul of Rus' with your cool breath! (2p)

On Kolyada and the winter solstice

Pour your light into our souls and accept our bow
You give birth to Yar-Yarilo, in this magical, wondrous hour
Hail - eternity's radiance
Mara is the palace of bright souls,
Your light is a spring in the universe,
He is our ancestral source!

Fair-faced Mara - Glory!
Fair-faced Mara - Glory!
Fair-faced Mara - Glory!
Goy! Glory!

(Vesemar)
http://vezemar.org/?p=294

Outside the window a blizzard is raging. The cold penetrates to the bones, and the one who does not find a warm hearth at such a late hour is unhappy. Winter will not spare anyone who falls into its clutches, both the old man and the young man will fall into a deep sleep. Apparently, Dark Mara is angry in her crystal palace, and her anger whistles with all the northern winds in the cracks of the walls of wooden huts. Frightened children huddle close to their mothers in the dark, as if this could save them. The men sharpen their knives and axes, and frown. Everyone is afraid, because no one can resist the mistress of winter, since she decided to remove someone from the white light. Mortals only remain silent, but in their souls they pray to all the gods so that they will calm down Mara’s anger and protect people from her cold. And Mara, know that she is sitting in her palace, transparent as ice, and smiling at her heavy thoughts. Mortals do not know that now there is a blizzard and blizzard, that inseparable friends walk across the open spaces without her knowledge. Kohl

fate has destined someone to perish in the white snows, even her will will not save the poor fellow, for death is inexorable in its right, like life. And people call her dark and evil, and in the spring they drive her away, like an uninvited guest, and burn her in effigy. And the fools do not know that Mara carefully covers Mother Earth with her white blanket, like a little child, until spring, so that she and everything that grows in her do not perish. Many people do not know that the blizzard is the cradle of Mary, so that forests and mountains sleep in a serene sleep. People do not know that death, which they impose on Mara as an eternal friend, is not the end, but the beginning, and in the spring, instead of one hunter frozen in the forest, two or even three strong boys will be born in the village. They don’t know, they don’t love, they scold in vain, and they don’t see how the goddess cries in secret. Mary has only one joy - her children grow up to be different from others. They see and know what is hidden from others, they smile at her, as soon as they see her through the fluffy spruce branches. And these children grow up to her joy, they love her and are not afraid, they themselves are drawn to her with their souls. And some of them will grow up to be a great commander, some a healer, and some a witch. And the paths of all children are blessed by Mara herself, and not a single illness takes them, and winter does not get cold, because they are warmed by the love of the goddess. And whoever loves her in return will not be betrayed by her forever.

The ancient Slavs called Mara a dark goddess. Why did it happen?! Let's take it in order. Let's start with the pedigree. According to the first belief, the goddess Mara was the daughter of the god Koshchei. There is a second statement that Mara, together with Zhivaya and Lada, was the goddess of the first generation of Yasunya, born from sparks carved by Svarog on the Alatyr stone. In essence, the power and responsibilities of all three goddesses are equal to each other.
The time of Mary was considered to be winter. At this time, Mara reigned supreme over the world of reality, and with her coldness she shackled Mother Earth until spring. Therefore, it is no wonder that the goddess was identified with death itself. Nothing pleasant, you agree, but it’s worth remembering that it was unusual for the ancient Slavs to clearly divide the world into good and evil. Everything was interconnected in the Slavic view. Winter was perceived as death, but it was always followed by spring, that is, rebirth. Therefore, death in this aspect was considered only as the next step in the cycle of existence. Therefore, considering the goddess Mara to be an exclusively negative character in the Slavic pantheon of gods is a fundamentally wrong position.

The image of the goddess Mara and the etymology of the name.

Goddess Mara is known by many names. She is called both Morana and Madder. In Polish mythology, this goddess is called Morzany, in Slovak the name of the goddess is pronounced approximately like Marmurien, but in Czech this goddess is often called Smertka, although without vowels, something like “Smrtka” from the word death. There are so many different variations of the name of one goddess, sheer diversity, but it’s very interesting where the root itself came from, from which all this worship of this goddess later grew?!


The platform for the formation of the name of the goddess is the root “Mǒr”, which by the way is of Proto-Slavic origin. Related to this root are the Old Russian “sea”, the Ukrainian “more”, the Bulgarian “mor’t” and so on. All this together means withering, killing, and from here it becomes clear why the name of the goddess, pardon the pun, is tightly connected with death itself. The original root undergoes frequent alternation over time with the root “merti”, which means to die. Related words with the second root are the words “mãras”, which in Lithuanian means “pestilence and plague”, and “marakas”, which means “death” from ancient Indian. To be honest, this is not a particularly positive selection, but what can you do, as it is.
So, the name of the goddess Mara is inextricably linked with death, pestilence, and plague. From her name also come such words as morok, haze, gloomy, fool, marit, drizzle, marakosit. These words conceal two main semantic directions, which are characteristic of the image of the goddess “to starve,” that is, to torture, torment, and “to fool,” that is, to mislead. By the way, there is a claim that the goddess is subordinate to evil little spirits - maras, who, unlike brownies who help with the housework, on the contrary, spoil things, steal and create complete bedlam in the house. It is these maras that act as obsessions, which very often make people see nightmares. In a word, they are fooling their heads.
One way or another, our ancestors imagined Mara as a dark goddess. In accordance with her divine profile, this goddess appeared to the ancient Slavs in a very exotic image: a black-eyed beauty, with jet-black hair, tall and with surprisingly pale skin. They believed that she wore azure dresses with snow-white lace and painting. This beauty lived in huge, icy palaces. Something smells very much like the Snow Queen, don’t you think?! So, according to the ancient Slavs, the goddess Mara was so beautiful in the fall, since winter was just coming into its own and gaining full power. With the approach of spring, the beautiful Mara turned into a terrible and grumpy old woman in rags, who did not want to give up her place to the bright goddesses Lada, Lele and Zhiva.

Holiday in honor of the goddess Mara.

With the arrival of spring, the powers of the goddess Mara are waning, for the time of birth and life is coming, where there is no place for either her minion death or her cold. Therefore, the ancient Slavs solemnly drove away the goddess Mara, who had turned into an ugly old woman, by burning her effigy, which meant the change of season. This holiday was usually celebrated on the first of March.
By the way, the common people called the beautiful goddess the one-eyed kikimora. Of course, this is not a very flattering nickname, but most likely it means that the forces of winter have dried up and it’s time for it to leave the earth. The belief persists that Mara became one-eyed in the spring because the god Yarilo lifted her up with his pitchfork. This sounds, however, rather ambiguous given the fiery temperament of the solar god. Who knows, maybe in this seemingly simple folk saying, hidden is the great mystery of the change of seasons, like the intercourse of winter cold and the fiery sun, giving birth to new life. Purification with ice and fire, so to speak.
On the day of the goddess Mary, the ancient Slavs believed that the goddess would lead them across the Kalinov Bridge, which connects the worlds of Yavi and Navi, and the Smorodina River runs between the two banks. And crossing this bridge marked the transition from winter to spring, from death to life.
There were also popular beliefs in connection with the holiday of the goddess. If the sun came out at noon, it means spring will be early, and if there was a snowstorm on that day, then the first half of March did not promise warming. People rejoiced at the heavy snowfall, because they believed that the more snow that fell in the spring, the greater the harvest they would have in the fall. And if the windows sweated in the spring frost, then this meant a quick
warming.

With the advent of Orthodoxy on Russian soil, the celebration in honor of the goddess Mary was called Maslenitsa. Many argue that the straw effigy that was burned on the day of the goddess was not the personification of Mara herself, but only winter, which was supposed to take away all the worst things. When the effigy was burned, the ashes were scattered over the fields, orchards and vegetable gardens. They believed that this would make the land fertile. And Mara Svarogovna herself retired to her icy palaces and indulged in sleep, until the next winter.

Genealogy of the goddess Mara and her husbands.

Understanding the intricacies of the family ties of the Slavic gods generally seems unrealistic. But still, let's try to clear away a little of the rubble from arguments and beliefs.
So, the first myth is Mara, the daughter of Koshchei the immortal. Well, it’s not scary, you’ll think that dad is a necromancer and generally a very dark type, and the daughter is not bad at all, she’s actually become the goddess of death. Continues the family business, so to speak. And if we take into account that Koshchei is more often identified with Chernobog, then Mara goes by Father Chernobog.
So, the second myth is that the goddess Mara is the daughter of Svarog and is the beloved sister of the thunderer Perun. Well, in any case, the fact that Mara belongs to the first generation of Yasun is indisputable. And Mara Svarogovna somehow sounds more respectable than Mara Koscheevna.

Only then does it become incomprehensible with what joy it was that the daughter of the brightest god suddenly chose a dark path for herself. I doubt she was encouraged by Darth Vadar to turn to the dark side, but oh well. By the way, this myth has two variations. In one, Mara is the daughter of not only Svarog, but also Lada. According to the second option, the goddess Mara is Lada’s sister, and like her, was born from the first sparks that flew from the Alatyr stone after the blows of Svarozhy’s hammer.
So, the third myth - no one gave birth to Mara, for she is darkness, and the darkness is eternal and the universe was born from her. Here we are dealing with the hen of the Golden Egg of the universe, from which the Great Family emerged. So, Mara is our mother of all that exists and bears, for she gave birth to Rod himself. We ask a very important question: what is the connection then between the goddess Mara and the god Vyshen, who seems to be the primary source of everything. Here either Mara is the female hypostasis of this primal god, or she is a goddess existing on her own, without any beginning and equal to the Highest. In favor of this theory, some give the following interpretation of the name of the goddess. They say Ma-Ra is the mother of the primordial fire, that is, Ra. Judge for yourself.
Further discussion goes beyond the boundaries of the earth’s orbit, so at this point we, perhaps, will pause and move on to the personal life of the goddess Mara. Here we have plenty of candidates for the hand, heart and all other limbs and organs of the goddess.
The first candidate for husband to the goddess Mara is the well-known Koshchei. Either it smacks of incest, or the dark lord wooed Svarog himself. In a word, it doesn't matter. There is even a legend about how the cunning Mara defeated Koshchei and bound him with enchanted chains in the Navem world. According to legend, it was like this: one day Koschey the Immortal kidnapped three beautiful princesses (well, apparently he was bored in his dark kingdom). So, at that very hour, three brave young heroes rushed to save the beautiful maidens: Zorka, Vechorka and Polunochka. And the terrible Goryn and his brother Koschey came out to fight them. The heroes fought bravely, but their forces were unequal. And then the bright Dazhdbog decided to intervene and he rushed into the Irian gardens to ask for help from Mary, who was a great witch. God promised the beautiful goddess to fulfill any desire if she helped her defeat the accursed enemy. Mara remained silent in response and walked away from the blooming gardens. She descended into the world of Reveal and entered the dense forest to visit her dear friend, Yagina. And no one knew that two witch goddesses were friends. In Yagini's house there was a secret passage to the Navi world, which the goddess Mara took advantage of. She descended into the underground world and stopped the massacre. She offered herself to Koshchei instead of the imprisoned princesses and exhausted heroes. Koschey the Immortal agreed, the dark daughter of Svarog turned out to be too fond of him. And so the heroes and princesses left, and Mara told Koshchei that she knew the secret of his death, that it was hidden in the egg. Koschey begged not to tell this secret to anyone, and Mara, you know, squinted her eyes cunningly. Then take me as your wife, she said to Koshchei, and he decided that it was better for him not to find a queen for his kingdom. He brought two charms filled to the brim with wine, but only Mara secretly added intoxicating herbs to the wine. Koschey drank the enchanted wine and became numb, and Mara dragged him into prison and bound him with twelve chains.
Mara got out of the Navya world and forced Dazhdbog to marry herself, but the family happiness did not last long. The gods fled to different corners. There is a statement that at first Mara was the wife of Dazhdbog, and then she fled with Koshchei to the world of Navi. In one word, everything is complicated and confusing. Ultimately, the goddess Mara was left alone, although there are also those who attribute to her a relationship with Chernobog himself. So, to hell with this whole story, he already broke his leg and still has a limp.
The goddess Mara is credited with the motherhood of thirteen ugly daughters at once and these are: Lomeya, Pukhneya, Sukheyya, Glukheyya, Zhelteya, Ogneya, Ledey, Shaking, Grynusha, Gneteya, Korkusha, Neveya-Plyasavitsa and Glyadeya. It looks like an extract from a medical reference book of diseases. Allegedly, the goddesses gave birth to her “beauties” from a secret relationship with the Serpent, apparently we are talking about Chernobog, for he was known as the Great Serpent.

Temples and services for the goddess Mara.

Someone claims that the temples of the goddess Mara were not built separately, she was remembered and simply feared. If they wanted to pray to her, they placed a statue of the goddess on the ground in a spacious place and performed the service. Quite crumpled data for a full disclosure of the question itself, how our ancestors used to worship this goddess. But on the vastness of the World Wide Web you can find quite colorful descriptions of how neo-pagans worship the goddess Mara today. I apologize in advance to overly impressionable readers. You can simply skip this section.
So, the basic description is taken from a book called the Black Book of Mara. The authorship of this book belongs to a certain sorcerer Veleslav, who, however, was not alone in poring over this treatise, but in collaboration with six other founders of the new direction. The book is based on the division of the Rodnovers into followers of the Shuyny path and the path of the Hand. The path of the Right Hand is the path of the right and righteous hand, that is, those who follow this path worship the light gods: Svarog, Lada, Zhiva, and so on. The noisy path is the path of the left hand (and we all know that the left hand is a harlot). So, the followers of this very left-handed prodigal path worship exclusively dark gods, such as Chernobog, Veles and Mara. Basically, these two deities receive all the attention.
The followers of the goddess Mara are now commonly called the radars of Mara - these are those who fulfill the zeal of the goddess. They are mainly concerned with afterlife matters, in the sense of holding funeral services for the deceased among the native believers, because they wouldn’t entrust such an important matter to Orthodox priests?! So, if in ancient times the funeral was marked by the right hand of the goddess Kara and her sister Zheli, then today, apparently, the goddess Mara decided to displace them.
So, the radars begin worshiping their beloved goddess with intercourse, and not with anyone, but with the goddess herself (how they do this in general is a secret behind seven seals, don’t ask the author, he himself is perplexed). Before ritual intercourse one should cleanse oneself. It is necessary to abstain from food for 24 hours, it is advised to avoid showers and basic hygiene standards for at least three days. And apparently the followers of this newfound cult decided that their goddess has a fetish for unkempt hair, so you shouldn’t comb your hair for three days either, if you still hope to get along with the goddess. By the way, in this book, it is indicated that a follower can take with him a woman who agrees to go through the path of purification (yeah, an unkempt, unwashed and hungry woman is generally a hot thing) and can copulate with her. Then this woman becomes like the goddess Mara. The book also contains detailed descriptions of what pose is intended for what. Everything is as simple as the stool itself, because this is not the Kama Sutra.
I don’t know how you, my dear readers, imagine this process of worshiping the goddess, but all these uncensored descriptions evoke in the author of this article a desire to remember what he ate for lunch throughout the last week.

Symbolism of the goddess Mara.

The first and most important attribute of the goddess of death Mara is the sickle. With this sickle she cuts the threads of human lives, as if mowing grass in a field. The mortal gathers his harvest. By the way, it was precisely in connection with such a description of the goddess’s harvest that it was mentioned more than once that Mara loved to walk along the battlefields and take the souls of the bravest warriors. They believed that Mara herself escorted such souls across the golden bridge. How true this is is unknown, because Zhelya and Kara were the messengers of death among the Slavs in ancient times. By the way, a parallel is drawn between Mara and the Roman god of war Mars, who originally had agricultural functions. Mara is the goddess of war?! It sounds tempting, but there is no direct evidence of this, nor is there any refuting evidence.
Broken skulls, a black swan or a raven are also called symbols of the goddess Mara. This is not a positive set today, but what can you do, the dark goddess is dark to frighten with gloominess.

The symbol of the goddess Mara is also the wave sign, which indicates that the element of water is subject to this goddess. It is generally accepted that the possessions of the goddess Mary were located beyond the black waters of the Smorodina River (by the way, S-mor-odin, the very name of the river makes one think about its relationship with the name of the goddess). So, the wavy-shaped line is the symbol of the kingdom of the goddess Mara. This sign is also called the waters of Mary and it is also a symbol of frozen water, ice, if you like.
The sign of the goddess Mara is also called the sign of Winter. It is also called Mara-Viy, and it consists of two triangles whose vertices tend to each other. This sign was considered extremely negative, as it carried destruction for everything.
There is also a talisman of the goddess Mara. It is very unique in appearance and is based on a cross. Each branch of the cross is two connected arcs. This speaks of two principles that have one end and this is a symbol of the balance that the goddess Mara maintains. This amulet is designed to protect a person from the influence of extraneous, negative factors and help in maintaining internal balance.

Madder (Polish Marzan(n)a, Śmiertka, Slovak Morena, Marmuriena, Czech Morana, Smrtka, Ukrainian Marena) - in the Western and to a lesser extent Eastern Slavic tradition, a female mythological character associated with seasonal rites of dying and resurrection of nature. The name of Madder or Mara is borne by a stuffed animal, a doll or a tree in the rituals of seeing off winter and welcoming spring.

Functions and origin

The name Maren is mentioned in birch bark documents No. 794, 798, 849, 955 found in Veliky Novgorod in 1997–2005, dated to the second–third quarter of the 12th century. Before the discovery of these birch bark letters, the earliest mention of Madder was the Polish History by Jan Dlugosz (1455).

The image of Madder, by initial etymological relationship or secondary sound likeness, is associated with death and seasonal agrarian rituals of the dying and resurrection of nature. The 15th-century Polish chronicler J. Dlugosh identifies Marzyana with the Roman Ceres. The Czech Morana (Old Czech Morana) in the false glosses from the “Mater Verborum” is identified with Hecate and Proserpina-Persephone (“Ecate, trivia vel nocticula, Proserpina”). Vyach. Sun. Ivanov and V.N. Toporov connect the name of Madder with the name of the Roman god of war Mars, who initially also had agricultural functions, restoring the general ancestral form *Mǒr- (while admitting that later, perhaps, there was a mixture - in the spirit of folk etymology - of the roots * Mǒr- and *mer-, “death”, as a result of which the fertility deity also became associated with death). In popular publications, Marena is often described solely as a goddess of death; This is exactly how her image is often interpreted in the neo-pagan sphere.

What does it look like?

The Slavic goddess of death Morana is depicted in different ways. This could be a girl with black hair that is scattered over her shoulders, wearing a velvet dress embroidered with jewels. This could be a majestic queen in a white robe (Snow Queen). Sometimes she is depicted as a gray-haired old woman dressed in black beggar's robes. Such different images are associated with the changing seasons. In late autumn or early winter, when the dark goddess comes into the world and calls winter with her, she is still young and full of strength, but on Maslenitsa (Komoyeditsa) Mara is already old and helpless, and gives way to the young Yaril, who brings into the world spring. A sickle or scythe is often depicted in her hands. She gives life in the waking world and, after time, takes the soul to Nav, so the idol (idol) of Mare was placed near funeral mounds and on temples with a krada (altar).

With the face of Madder or her idol, the pagan Slavs walked around the village when livestock or people fell ill. They did the same when an enemy attack or war was expected. During this circumambulation, they asked Mara to allow the spirits of ancestors to be present on the battlefield, who could help and assist their descendants.

Place in the pantheon

Lelya, Zhiva and Marena are the three daughters of Svarog and Lada. And they also had three twin brothers, one of whom we know well - this is Perun, and we can only guess about the rest (at least by analogy with Egyptian myths).

Marena was initially the wife of Dazhdbog, the son of Perun and the mermaid Ros, but later became known as Vasilisa the Beautiful, the wife of Koshchei (analogous to the trickster god Lokki in Irish and Scandinavian myths). And Zhiva (Tara) became Dazhdbog’s wife. It is Dazhdbog who is most often associated in fairy tales as Ivanushka Tsarevich. This is what is written in the ancient Slavic myth about the union of Dazhdbog and Mary:

Dazhdbog's first wife Maya Zlatogorka went to Nav after her death, where her spirit merged with the spirit of the goddess of Death - Marena, after which, apparently, Marena liked Dazhdbog. Then Marena bewitched Dazhdbog and longing for love settled in his heart.

At that time, Kashchei was wooing Marena, but Dazhbog was so inflamed with passion that he decided to take the charming woman away from his rival. However, Marena did not intend to become Dazhbog’s wife. She only wanted to marry Kashchei, for he was of a noble family - no joke, the son of Viy and the Mother of the Damp Earth, the grandson of the Black Snake himself. And Tarkh Dazhbog is just the son of a mermaid. When Tarkh began to pester her too much, she invited him to drink the charmed honey. As soon as Dazhbog drank it, horns branched out on his head - and Dazhbog turned into the Golden-horned Deer (people remember this event in mid-summer, on the day of the Honey Savior).

Maren again turned the Golden-Horned Deer into Tarkh Dazhbog only after Perun threatened to incinerate her with lightning. Marena could not resist the lover Dazhbog and married him. But after the wedding, Marena was kidnapped from Dazhbog by his offended rival Kashchei. Dazhbog set off in pursuit of the kidnapper, but Marena and Kashchei deceived him every time - they threw him into the Peklo, turned him into a Stone, and in the end crucified him on Mount Alatyr (Elbrus), Alatyr, “the father of all stones,” “the navel of the earth” in Slavic Traditions, stands on Buyan Island. The sources of all rivers and the beginnings of all roads are hidden under Alatyr. Alatyr serves as an altar and throne to the supreme gods, and therefore any throne and any altar in the Middle World is only a reflection of the Alatyr-stone. The magical altar - the stone on which the sacrifice is performed - is a reflection of the World Mountain, or the Alatyr stone.

Folk beliefs

The symbols of the goddess Morana are: Black Moon, broken skulls, sickle, black swan, vulture, raven. With the help of a sickle, she cuts the threads of life, as a result of which the person dies. It is believed that Morana is capable of sending bad dreams and nightmares, and the interpretation of dreams helped the Slavs decipher the message that the goddess of the underworld was sending them. Her sacred things are goat, juniper, aspen, spruce and pine. Her possessions are located beyond the Smorodina River, to reach them, you need to cross the Kalinov Bridge, which connects Yav and Nav (the world of the living and the dead).

Mary is Dead Water, that is, the opposite of life-giving light or the Solar Yari. However, without Mara, as well as without Chernobog, life on earth would be impossible, and she also participates in maintaining balance. The ancient Slavs believed that without death there can be no life, and death is not the end of everything, but only the beginning, a transition to another life. Taking souls from Reveal, Mara gives the soul a new existence. In addition, Morana is the goddess of death and disease in the world of Yavi, and the goddess of eternal youth in the world of Navi.

On the day of the spring equinox (the modern name is Maslenitsa, the pagan name of the holiday is Komoeditsa), the Slavs traditionally burn an effigy of Morana, a straw woman, at the stake. During the spring and summer, Marena leaves, but her faithful servants, the Marys, always remain with people. Maras are the spirits of disease and death. According to legend, Marys carry their heads under their arms and whisper the names of people, standing under the windows of houses; if anyone responds, they will certainly get sick and may even die. The most famous spirit from the maras is Kikimora. Marys exist in many beliefs of different peoples. The Germans believed that these were the Maruts - the spirits of evil warriors, the Swedes and Danes - the souls of the dead, the Bulgarians - the souls of dead babies. Mara, in the form of the girl Marinka, tempted the hero Dobrynya in Russian fairy tales. Mara exists in Buddhist beliefs as an evil deity. In the legends of King Arthur there is a mention of the fairy Morgan. The ancient Celts believed that Morrigan took the souls of warriors from the battlefield.

In Ukraine, a ritual-amulet against this evil force has been preserved. On the eve of Midsummer's Day, a straw idol of Kupalg is made - sometimes the size of a child, and sometimes the real height of a person. He is dressed in a woman's chemise, monista and flower wreaths. Then the tree is cut down, hung with ribbons and wreaths, and installed in the place chosen for the game. This tree is called Morena; A dressed up doll is placed under it, and next to it is a table with various snacks and drinks. Then they light a big fire and start jumping over it in pairs (well done with the girls), holding a Kupala doll in their hands. Games and songs continue until dawn. The next day they bring the doll and Morena to the river, tear off their decorations and throw them both into the water, in the hope of ridding themselves in the near future from illness, and from death, and, of course, from others everyday troubles

In neopaganism

Madder was supplied with many children who are responsible for disasters, epidemics and other troubles - navi. She is endowed with the following symbols - the Black Moon, piles of broken skulls and a sickle with which she cuts the Threads of Life. Madder embodies the triumph of Marie - “Dead Water” (Will to Death), that is, the Force opposite to the Life-giving Solar Yari. But Death, bestowed by Madder, is not a complete interruption of the Currents of Life as such, but is only a transition to Another Life, to a new Beginning, for it is so ordained by the Almighty Family that after Winter, which takes with it everything that has become obsolete, a new Spring always comes... But even after the departure of Winter-Death, her numerous servants, the maras, remained with the people.

According to the legends of the ancient Slavs, these are evil spirits of disease, they carry their heads under their arms, wander at night under the windows of houses and whisper the names of household members: whoever responds to the voice of the mara will die. The Germans are sure that the Maruts are the spirits of frantic warriors. The Swedes and Danes consider them to be the souls of the dead, the Bulgarians are sure that mary are the souls of babies who died unbaptized. Belarusians believed that Morana handed over the dead to Baba Yaga, who fed on the souls of the dead. In Sanskrit the word "ahi" means serpent, serpent.

The straw effigy, which to this day is still burned in some places during the festival of ancient Maslenitsa at the time of the spring equinox, belongs to Morena, the Goddess of death and cold. And every winter she takes power. And in order to somehow protect themselves from Marena and show her that they were not afraid of her, to intimidate her, to drive her away, the Slavs gathered as a whole and went to the most disastrous place - to the forest swamp. After all, it was also believed that it was in the forest swamps that all evil spirits (Mora-Kikimora) nesting, belonging to the retinue of the dark deity.

Temple of Madder

Flaming brands were brought to this swamp and extinguished in elani (an unfrozen bog) in order to symbolically “repel” the goddess of winter cold and death. After all, there were long nights and short days ahead without the sun, which since time immemorial had been considered the enemy of all dark forces and the friend of people.

Madder Day

Madder Day is March 1st. Replaced by the day of Saint Mariamne the Righteous. In the folk calendar she was called Maremyana-Kikimora “one-eyed”, equivalent to the pagan Marena-Marmora-Mara-Kikimora. A proverb, remembered on this day, has been preserved: “Yarilo took the winter with a pitchfork” (winter, i.e. Morena).

The ancient Slavs were not afraid of death, and winter did not frighten them with cold and dying nature. On the contrary, they knew and believed that after the sleep into which Nature plunges during winter, spring would come, which would bring flowering, fertility and renewal. It is not for nothing that on the holiday of Farewell Sunday, people ask each other for forgiveness, leaving behind grievances and mistakes of the past year.

Death also meant the arrival of new life. Although this is a sad event, it is inevitable and, in fact, there is no point in grieving especially about this, because, according to ancient legends, death is not the end, but a transition to another world. And there is no reason to be afraid of this.

The Russian people have always been very closely connected with nature and faith, and felt that they were protected by higher powers. The strength of the Slavic people undoubtedly lies in the purity of the soul.

Slavic horoscope: Morana October 16 – November 1

People born at this time of year receive the protection of Morana. The name of this Slavic goddess has a clear connection with the word “pestilence,” which means sudden death that overtakes almost everyone. The pestilence could destroy both a tiny village and a huge state. Morena is the goddess of painful, barren decrepitude, withering of life processes, death. And the appropriate sacrifices were made to this creature - withered flowers, fallen leaves, spoiled, rotten fruits. It was also believed that she liked to accept extinct human lives.

People under her protection are destined to be born in a dull, frightening time, when they can count and rely solely on themselves. Of all the other signs, this one is considered the most powerful, and this power has properties bordering on magical. Morena's patient and persistent children are steadily moving towards their goal and are not the least bit nervous: they already know that everything will work out. When they find themselves in the most difficult, hopeless everyday situations, they don’t even think of giving up, but on the contrary, they gather all their will into a fist. In addition, in difficult situations they are under the protection of Fate itself.

Representatives of this sign do not avoid or are not afraid of struggle. Moreover, they are always determined to win and are not afraid to look death itself in the face. It is no coincidence that Morena people can become excellent doctors, in particular those working in intensive care and surgery: they are capable of pulling almost anyone out of the other world. Without confrontation, without competition, neither love nor friendship seems interesting to them. Those born during this period are characterized not only by perseverance, but also by unusually developed self-discipline. They do not know how to compromise and can often be vindictive.

At the same time, these people often have to fluctuate between two attachments. They do not allow their feelings to take full control of them. They do not like responsibility and therefore try to avoid it, although they always perform the work at a high level. Children of Morana are simultaneously characterized by benevolence, tenderness, dreaminess, prudence, elegance, subtle eroticism - and aggressiveness, gloominess, gloominess, irascibility, stubbornness, frenzy, and jealousy. Most of the fair sex, born under the auspices of Morana, are notorious femme fatales. However, most often the energy and power of the children of this goddess is aimed at defense and much less often at attack.

Moraine people are extremely strong, but even they need extra energy. For them, its source is dead water. It can be collected in any body of water when the water in it is half frozen. Like a fairy tale, it acts as a protection for representatives of this sign from all sorts of problems and resurrects them to life, giving them new strength. People born at this time maintain excellent physical shape until old age and are long-lived.

The children of Morena, who have a truly demonic nature, are distinguished by a detached view of the world, cravings, and a pronounced interest in everything otherworldly. They have the ability to control people’s feelings, so they sometimes decide to do things that are taboo for others.

In addition, Veles was also considered the patron saint of people born at this time, who was responsible for the relationship between the two worlds - the living and the dead, and for the continuity of the cycle of births and deaths. His people understand well that a new birth is simply impossible without death, as well as the acquisition of something without sacrifice. The best representatives of this sign know how to renounce what belongs to them. It often turns out that the children of Veles, having nothing, essentially gain a lot, if not everything. People born at this time become worthy representatives of power and skillful managers.

Conclusion

• The name Moran is related to such words as “pestilence”, “haze”, “gloom”, “haze”, “fool”, “death”.
• The image of Mary in Russian beliefs, in accordance with her meaning, is ghostly. This is fog and haze, influencing the destinies of people, appearing only at a certain time - at noon or midnight of a day or year. Temporary changes, thus, personify changes in the destinies of people. The image of Mara reflects the ancient archetype associated with the sea and death. The image of Morena is seen as a combination of birth, fertility and death. Mara is also soul and share, the source and end of existence.
• Her symbols: the black Moon symbolizes darkness, dying and melancholy. However, the Moon also has the ability to be reborn, and Winter in the person of Mara eventually gives way to a new Spring.
• Piles of broken skulls are a gloomy and threatening symbol of death and the frailty of existence, causing involuntary trepidation. It seems that in the deep hollows of empty eye sockets, in the deathly yellowness, in the eerie motionless grin, Death itself is hidden.
• The sickle with which Morena cuts the Threads of Life symbolizes mortality. At the same time, the sickle carries the meaning of fertility and productivity.
• A woman in black torn clothes represents melancholy, illness and mourning, while a girl in light clothes represents youth, beauty, life and joy.

(Mara, Marena, Morzhana, Morana) - Slavic Goddess of Winter and Death. Many terrible words “pestilence”, “darkness”, “darkness” and even “death” are consonant with the name Morena. The goddess Morena was feared, but respected. Especially in the North, where the power of the long winter is strong, they remembered the importance of appealing to the Goddess Morena.

We find mentions of the name Morena in the texts of northern conspiracies. Persuasions addressed to the Goddess of Death are most often read for a good deed, for example, healing from illnesses. It is believed that it is the Goddess of Winter who is able to drive away diseases that come with the cold. And in the texts of ancient letters there are even appeals to the Goddess Morena to secure a promise. Then they write that Morena will be a witness to the one who undertook to fulfill the vow:

Greetings from Peter to Demsha. Give Mikula Kishka six hryvnias, taking from Marena. Bring it yourself, give it in the presence of Marena. And if Yarko asks, then don’t give it to him. Greetings. Do yourself a favor and do it yourself.

Holidays where Morena, the Goddess of the Slavs is honored

Morena-Winter is remembered for the last time on the Spring Equinox March 20-22, on this day Lelya, the Goddess of Spring, comes to people, and Morena-Winter finally leaves the world of Reveal.