Fun lovers around the world, unite!

Today is a joyful day for all the children and those young at heart. The costumes, the trick-or-treating, the Jack-o’-lanterns, and gorgeous Halloween cookies; even the darkest and the bluest of the hearts can’t help but have fun today.

This year, Halloween coincides with an important Slavic holiday, the holiday of Mokosh, perhaps the most important and the most powerful of all Slavic goddesses. Mokosh is the protector of women and her holiday is celebrated on the Friday between October 25 and November 1. On this day, no work should be done (hmmm, doesn’t that rhyme with fun?). In ancient times, Slavs would celebrate this holiday by visiting a lime tree and making offerings consisting of herbs and vegetables. It wasn’t, and still isn’t unusual for the Slavs to break into song and dance, especially on holidays, as it often happened on the day of Mokosh.

Nowadays, Halloween has become a sort of a global holiday, and is celebrated by the Slavs as well. So, whatever your reason for celebrating today might be, let the fun begin! 

images retrieved from anakarniolska.deviantart.com and www.wallpapersandimages.comrespectively)

A Brief Overview of the Holy History of Beer - Slavic Edition

Beer is one of the world’s favorite beverages, and it has been for quite some time. It had even made its way into a vast number of religions. Here is a list of Slavic deities that were in one way or another associated with either brewing or consuming this popular drink.

* Mati Syra Zemlya: Slavic Goddess of the Earth

In English, her name would be Moist Mother Earth and she is considered to be the oldest known Slavic deity.Due to her immense power and control over the Earth, the Slavs prayed that she would bring peace in the nature and save them from harm. They believed they could propitiate her by burying bread and pouring beer into the ground. If one was to stumble upon a hole in the ground, they believed it was Mati Syra Zemlya’s sign they should offer beer in order to appease her. 

 Pereplut: Slavic Goddess of Drinking and Changing Fortune

Some sacrifices are really not hard to make. If you’re a Slav and your luck has recently changed for worse, you know what to do. To get on this goddess’s good side, you should drink from a ram’s horn. No wonder so many sports fans drink beer during a match. Keep this in mind in case your favorite team is on a losing streak. 

* Perun: Slavic God of Thunder

Appeasing this mighty god was believed to require animal sacrifice. The Slavs used to kill animals in his honor, in hopes of good weather in the future and the end of a drought season. Afterwards, they would gather around the fire and eat and drink together, venerating Perun by pouring him beer and spilling it in the fire, praying that he would give them rain in return.

* Radegast: Slavic God of Hospitality

In case you had the need to thank someone for the invention of beer, you could thank Radegast, since the Slavs believed he was the one to create this beverage.

* Ragutiene: Slavic/Baltic Goddess of Beer

This goddess is a part of the holy trinity of beer making. She is the partner of the god of fermentation, Raugupatis and the spouse of Ragutis, the god of beer. She is said to be a goddess with a truly intoxicating personality.

* Ragutis: Slavic/Baltic God of Beer

Also a part of the trinity and the god of beer, Ragutis was celebrated together with his wife and Raugupatis for letting humans in on the secrets of food preservation and inebriation. 

* Raugupatis: Slavic/Baltic God of Fermentation

Raugupatis or Raugo-Zemepatis was thought to be the spirit responsible for making dough rise and turning grain into beer. Today, with magic long gone from our everyday lives, we believe it’s just yeast. 

 Semargl: Slavic God of Barley

There are many different beliefs about this god. Some thought him to be a griffin with dog’s body, some believed he had seven heads, and there is also a story of two gods of barley, Sem and Argl, who eventually grew to become one god. 





(Images retrieved from journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com, goddesses-and-gods.blogspot.com, meettheslavs.com, holistix.org, livingthepath.blogspot.com, rugutis.wordpress.com, pinterest.com, and artnow.ru respectively. For more beer gods and goddesses, visit brookstonbeerbulletin.com)

Day of the Ancients

October 26 is an important date in Slavic tradition. On this day, the Slavic tribes celebrated the Day of the Ancients, the fourth such day in a year. It was the time when the living ones remembered their deceased relatives and went to the graveyards in order to take care of the graves and bring ritual food prepared for the occasion. A plate of food and a glass of beverage were left on every grave for the deceased, and the rest of the food and drink was consumed by the living in honor of the dead. It was a day for people to remember those who were no longer with them, not only with sadness, but also with smiles on their faces, sharing the memories of their loved ones, grateful for the light they used to bring into their lives. This kind of celebration survived even after the Christianization of the Slavs, with the dates and customs varying across nations.

(image retrieved from culture.pl)

Cold, cold heart

(image retrieved from Pinterest)

Every Ice Queen was once a woman who loved and had her heart broken. Such is the story of Morana, Slavic goddess of winter and death.

Once upon a time, Morana was born as a daughter of the Sun, child of the supreme god Perun. She grew up to become a lovely maiden of glorious beauty. And as it usually happens, she fell in love with a strapping young man, son of the Moon, Jarilo, god of spring and war. Their love was great and at the beginning of summer, on the festival of Ivan Kupala, they joined their holy hands in marriage. Thus began a time of happiness and joy, and both the gods and the humans rejoiced, enjoying the glorious effect this union had on both the Earth and the Sky. With Jarilo being the son of Veles, god of the underworld, and Morana the daughter of Perun, the supreme god, their marriage brought peace between the two great deities and harmony between the two worlds. The nature on Earth flourished and soon the people celebrated their gods, grateful for the rich harvest that ensued.

But this golden age did not last for long. Shortly after the harvest, Jarilo found out that Morana was keeping a secret from him. Terrified that he would leave her had he known the truth, she did all she could to prevent him from finding out that they were siblings, and that he was, in fact, a son of Perun, stolen by Veles when he was still an infant. Overcome with pain, disgust, and a whirlwind of dark thoughts, he decided to leave her, never to return again. Morana was crushed. Her immortal, yet fragile heart could not stand the pain, and it grew dark and cold. She wanted revenge. She wanted him to pay for abandoning her. And so she killed him, in the cruelest way imaginable, and became the goddess of winter and death, feared by all the Slavs for bringing cold, disease, and famine among them throughout the freezing months of winter. 

Humans began to see her as a hideous hag, with her dark soul reflecting on the outside. But human eye is imperfect and subjective. In the eyes of those who could see beyond the mortal bounds, Morana was still beautiful, but forever changed. Her fair dark hair, pale skin, and slender figure, although appealing to the eye, made her a personification of what she represented: death. 

For the attentive readers of this tale, it is probably clear that the events described match the yearly cycle on Earth. This means that the story told here takes place every year, from the beginning to the end, with Morana’s heart being broken again and again, forever and beyond.

Fun Fact Monday

(image retrieved from www.littlemakeupface.com)

Monday is commonly considered to be the most depressing day of the week. Although watching funny cat videos is a perfectly acceptable way of fighting off the Monday blues, I have decided to make my modest contribution to the cause and introduce: Fun Fact Monday!

In the spirit of my desire to bring Slavic mythology closer to the public, in my own particular way, at the beginning of each week, I will post exciting facts about Slavic gods, creatures, and more, in hope that their magic will make everybody's Mondays more bearable. Stay tuned!

WOO HOO!!

 Here is a fresh trailer for my book! Hope you like it! 

Great Book Event in Sun-kissed Belgrade

As belated summer with its glorious sunny days awakens the Nature all across the Balkans, I feel invigorated and enjoy following my characters on their journey from the cliffhanger (in both literary and literal sense of the word) of the first part of the trilogy, through the plots and twists of the sequel.

However, with the second part coming out no sooner than next spring, and many events in store until then, I’d like to invite all book lovers to the 59th International Belgrade Book Fair (October 26 - November 2). It should be a wonderful event, many great authors will be there, and I will be joining them, available to sign your copies of The Scent of Legacy, answer any questions you may have about the book, and more. Hope to see you there!