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.