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The Woman Who Ate Fire
whisperer 01.11.19 1:26
There comes a time in every woman's life when she embarks on an Underworld journey. Indeed, she will visit the Underworld more than once during the course of her lifetime. This journey may be precipitated by the loss of someone she loves, or by a life-threatening illness, or a grave disappointment in career or craft. When it happens, she feels that all is lost. She is separated from everything she holds dear. She is in shock. She despairs. She grieves.
She descends to the realm of the Old One, the Crone, the Cailleach, the Grandmother, Lady Death, Hecate, Baba Yaga, Erishkegal, La Santa de Muerte. The Old One has a thousand names.
Our Hallowmas Woman might find herself in a darkened wood, on a night when no moon lights the sky, not even a thin crescent. She sits cross-legged in the dirt at a place where three roads meet, a basket of offerings at her side. She shivers as she hears the mournful howl of a black dog, its red eyes glaring at her out of the thicket. She watches the silver-thin filament of spiderweb twist and turn in the starlight. She feels the rush of cold, quick air as a hoot owl flies overhead, flapping its enormous wings.
She waits.
She sits silently at the crossroads, knowing that the comfortable, familiar terrain of her life has crumbled away and is no more. But it is not yet clear where she will go next, or what shape her days might take.
She waits for the counsel of the Old One.
And while she waits, she reflects. She begins to dream. She sorts through her emotions. Yes! I want that. No! I don't want that. This is the life I want. Not that. She begins to have glimmers of ideas, a dream barely caught upon waking. What was that? An image, a scent, a feeling . . . it is shapeless, taking form, then shapeless again.
Even though she is heartbroken, she begins to find comfort in this liminal space, between here and there, past and future, now and then. She is poised on the threshold between her ancestors and her descendants, the Dark Moon and the New. She begins to sense that she is broken open, and her heart expands, light streaming out through the cracks. The veils between this world and the next are thin indeed.
We see the Hallowmas Woman in the stark November landscape, with its muted tones of olive, ochre, sienna brown. We find her in a cold statue in a graveyard, garlanded with dead roses, thorns, and blood-red rosehips. We see her in fogbound mornings when there is no distinction between sea, stones, and sky, and the Otherworld is just a step away. She lives within the brief days and long nights that draw us toward withdrawal and cocooning. The Hallowmas woman rests. She withdraws into herself. It is not a time of connection. She prefers her own company, turning down invitations to gather with others. The midwinter holidays will be here soon enough.
Perhaps, if she should be so lucky, a woman will live long enough in human years to embody the Old One literally. At 70 or 80 years old, she has walked the Great Round of life/death/renewal more than once. She knows how the story ends. Age does not automatically confer wisdom (there's no fool like an old fool) — but by 70 years old, our Hallowmas woman has learned a thing or two about her soul's purpose. She is well aware of the legacy that she will leave behind when she crosses the threshold.
Her body may be ravaged by disease or aging. Then again, she may be as flexible and strong as her 90-year-old neighbor who practices yoga and walks a mile or two every day. Keeping the physical body supple and healthy has never been as important as it is now, with a whole Underworld to explore. The Hallowmas woman has not had her moonflow in many years, and to be honest, she doesn't really miss it. She's content to be on the other side of the hormonal veil, and to leave the cycle of fertility and release to younger women.
When the time of All Hallows comes to a woman's soul, she begins to make her peace with Lady Death, and with endings of all kinds. She knows, as the Fates do, that all things must pass. She knows herself as Atropos, She Who Cuts the Thread of Life; as the Queen of Swords, who slices away negativity, confusion, and doubt; as the Blue Dakini, who severs ties. She makes choices: this, she will keep. That, she will let go.
She begins to live as if Lady Death is peeking over her shoulder. Life is stripped down to its essentials. What is really important? In the end, what really matters?
She sorts through the possessions left by her parents and grandparents, after purging and giveaways and purging again. What remains are photographs, wedding rings, a Welsh Bible, a fraying crazy quilt, a fishing hat, a cherished wooden chair. ...
When we suspect our time might be short, our priorities become quite simple. Finish that painting, that poem, that song; forgive him, and her, and that one too. Spend time with the ones we love; visit the edge of salt water and stones every day. While we're there, be sure to pick up beach glass, then give it away. Sing to the Blessed Mother. Light a candle and breathe a prayer for the wild and holy earth, for the benefit of all beings. Be present to the beauty that surrounds us. Every day is a gift of grace.
The Hallowmas woman has been sitting long enough at the crossroads. The Ancient One emerges from the thicket of thorns, the black hound at her side, a green snake wrapped around her arm. She offers the woman a sliced-open pomegranate, its ruby seeds spilling out. With her inner ear, the woman hears the ritual words: 'Take, eat: the fruit of death, which is life.' She swallows nine pomegranate seeds, savoring the tart, bittersweet flavor on her tongue. The Crone points a bony finger toward one of three paths, and the Hallowmas woman moves on. She casts one last look over her shoulder as she leaves the Underworld, then turns to search for a first glimpse of the New Moon.
On our deathbeds, when we've run out of time, and no more books will be written, no more songs will be sung, and no more canvases will be painted — when that time comes, and we are poised to cross the threshold into the Great Unknown — all that matters is love. The fierce love we've had for the sacred earth, for our friends and family and lovers, and the love that has flowed back to us in return. Our overflowing hearts have been cracked open, mended and broken open again.
All that matters is love.
Joanna Powell Colbert, from her essay, "The Hallowmas Woman: On the Threshold," published on Witches & Pagans, October 2013, image by Gina Litherland
She descends to the realm of the Old One, the Crone, the Cailleach, the Grandmother, Lady Death, Hecate, Baba Yaga, Erishkegal, La Santa de Muerte. The Old One has a thousand names.
Our Hallowmas Woman might find herself in a darkened wood, on a night when no moon lights the sky, not even a thin crescent. She sits cross-legged in the dirt at a place where three roads meet, a basket of offerings at her side. She shivers as she hears the mournful howl of a black dog, its red eyes glaring at her out of the thicket. She watches the silver-thin filament of spiderweb twist and turn in the starlight. She feels the rush of cold, quick air as a hoot owl flies overhead, flapping its enormous wings.
She waits.
She sits silently at the crossroads, knowing that the comfortable, familiar terrain of her life has crumbled away and is no more. But it is not yet clear where she will go next, or what shape her days might take.
She waits for the counsel of the Old One.
And while she waits, she reflects. She begins to dream. She sorts through her emotions. Yes! I want that. No! I don't want that. This is the life I want. Not that. She begins to have glimmers of ideas, a dream barely caught upon waking. What was that? An image, a scent, a feeling . . . it is shapeless, taking form, then shapeless again.
Even though she is heartbroken, she begins to find comfort in this liminal space, between here and there, past and future, now and then. She is poised on the threshold between her ancestors and her descendants, the Dark Moon and the New. She begins to sense that she is broken open, and her heart expands, light streaming out through the cracks. The veils between this world and the next are thin indeed.
We see the Hallowmas Woman in the stark November landscape, with its muted tones of olive, ochre, sienna brown. We find her in a cold statue in a graveyard, garlanded with dead roses, thorns, and blood-red rosehips. We see her in fogbound mornings when there is no distinction between sea, stones, and sky, and the Otherworld is just a step away. She lives within the brief days and long nights that draw us toward withdrawal and cocooning. The Hallowmas woman rests. She withdraws into herself. It is not a time of connection. She prefers her own company, turning down invitations to gather with others. The midwinter holidays will be here soon enough.
Perhaps, if she should be so lucky, a woman will live long enough in human years to embody the Old One literally. At 70 or 80 years old, she has walked the Great Round of life/death/renewal more than once. She knows how the story ends. Age does not automatically confer wisdom (there's no fool like an old fool) — but by 70 years old, our Hallowmas woman has learned a thing or two about her soul's purpose. She is well aware of the legacy that she will leave behind when she crosses the threshold.
Her body may be ravaged by disease or aging. Then again, she may be as flexible and strong as her 90-year-old neighbor who practices yoga and walks a mile or two every day. Keeping the physical body supple and healthy has never been as important as it is now, with a whole Underworld to explore. The Hallowmas woman has not had her moonflow in many years, and to be honest, she doesn't really miss it. She's content to be on the other side of the hormonal veil, and to leave the cycle of fertility and release to younger women.
When the time of All Hallows comes to a woman's soul, she begins to make her peace with Lady Death, and with endings of all kinds. She knows, as the Fates do, that all things must pass. She knows herself as Atropos, She Who Cuts the Thread of Life; as the Queen of Swords, who slices away negativity, confusion, and doubt; as the Blue Dakini, who severs ties. She makes choices: this, she will keep. That, she will let go.
She begins to live as if Lady Death is peeking over her shoulder. Life is stripped down to its essentials. What is really important? In the end, what really matters?
She sorts through the possessions left by her parents and grandparents, after purging and giveaways and purging again. What remains are photographs, wedding rings, a Welsh Bible, a fraying crazy quilt, a fishing hat, a cherished wooden chair. ...
When we suspect our time might be short, our priorities become quite simple. Finish that painting, that poem, that song; forgive him, and her, and that one too. Spend time with the ones we love; visit the edge of salt water and stones every day. While we're there, be sure to pick up beach glass, then give it away. Sing to the Blessed Mother. Light a candle and breathe a prayer for the wild and holy earth, for the benefit of all beings. Be present to the beauty that surrounds us. Every day is a gift of grace.
The Hallowmas woman has been sitting long enough at the crossroads. The Ancient One emerges from the thicket of thorns, the black hound at her side, a green snake wrapped around her arm. She offers the woman a sliced-open pomegranate, its ruby seeds spilling out. With her inner ear, the woman hears the ritual words: 'Take, eat: the fruit of death, which is life.' She swallows nine pomegranate seeds, savoring the tart, bittersweet flavor on her tongue. The Crone points a bony finger toward one of three paths, and the Hallowmas woman moves on. She casts one last look over her shoulder as she leaves the Underworld, then turns to search for a first glimpse of the New Moon.
On our deathbeds, when we've run out of time, and no more books will be written, no more songs will be sung, and no more canvases will be painted — when that time comes, and we are poised to cross the threshold into the Great Unknown — all that matters is love. The fierce love we've had for the sacred earth, for our friends and family and lovers, and the love that has flowed back to us in return. Our overflowing hearts have been cracked open, mended and broken open again.
All that matters is love.
Joanna Powell Colbert, from her essay, "The Hallowmas Woman: On the Threshold," published on Witches & Pagans, October 2013, image by Gina Litherland
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Re: The Woman Who Ate Fire
Gost 01.11.19 20:45
Slavic Ritual Tools: Spindle
An item associated predominantly with peasant women, a spindle, often more than one, used to be present in almost every country home. Women grew their own flax and hemp, sheared sheep and goats, and, since spinning wheels were not very common in Eastern Slavic countries, spun their yarn and thread with the help of distaff and a relatively primitive spindle. In Slavic lore, spindle is the magical instrument of Makosh, and while spinning, the woman connects with and represents this ancient Slavic Deity. It is not surprising that Slavic women used this tool not just for mundane spinning, but for creation of magical thread, as well – threads that later became enchanted shirts and magically charged garments, sometimes even changing human fate.
When speaking of spindles, it is impossible not to mention thread. Thread – this ancient representation of fate was known and used by people for millennia. Consistency of thread was associated with the course of life; thus, smooth thread with no knots on it symbolized smooth, peaceful, but somewhat boring and uneventful life, while uneven tangled and knotted thread represented an eventful life that brought a lot of lessons along; a very thin, fragile, and almost ready to tear thread symbolized poverty and poor health, while a thick one foretold of riches and good health. In spinning as a craft, a thin strong thread was considered the most valuable, for such thread could be used to make the undergarments – the ones that would directly touch the body, so clothing made with such threads would not be too rough on the skin of its wearer.
I have to mention that Christian Church took this ancient craft of Makosh very negatively – a spindle was considered an unholy object (just like the oven – the hearth and the source of warmth in Slavic homes), spinning was declared an unholy activity, and a woman who dared to bring her spindle into the church was labeled as a witch who “opened up a path for the demons, so that they could enter the church”. Still, I also have to point out that I don’t know of a single clergyman who also happened to be a nudist and refused to wear clothing, creation of which started with this “very unholy” process.
The reason for such avid “rejection” of spinning and an outward fear of a woman with a spindle may be the deep pre-Christian beliefs associated with this craft. Indeed, in folk tradition, spinning is restricted with many taboos and superstitions. Spinning is a strictly women’s craft – women even avoided giving spindles to little boys out of fear that the boy who held a spindle in his hand would gain on some feminine traits and prefer men to women in the future. No woman could spin on Friday, unless she employed spinning as a part of her magic ritual. Friday was a day sacred to Makosh or Paraskeva-Friday, and it was believed that the Goddess Herself spins human fates on Friday, so unless a woman desired to intervene, she was supposed to avoid spinning on this day. Pregnant women were strongly not recommended to spin, so that the baby would not get tangled in its umbilical cord and die. Generally, spinning was most commonly practiced among young girls who prepared their dowry (they would use these threads to weave cloths once they are married) and old women who were no longer able to become pregnant and thus, endanger the future child by spinning. Spinning was tabooed at Christmas-time (Svyatki – the 12 magical days after Christmas), and if this was necessary, the spindle that was used at this time had to be burned and never kept or thrown away, for all spindles that were used to spin on Svyatki were believed to turn into snakes in summer. Because of the association between spindles and snakes, spindles were taken outside during a thunderstorm, so that Father Perun would not confuse a spindle for a snake (as demons could easily disguise themselves as snakes) and cast His arrow – the lightning at the house. In this custom, we can see a cult of Makosh intertwine with cult of Veles (who was called Mokos in some cutures) – the Lord of Snakes and Perun’s archnemesis.
Spinning was most commonly practiced at night, after all the daily chores were complete. A skein of fiber could not be spun halfway and left until the morning out of fear of Kikimora – a primarily malevolent house spirit that enjoys spinning, too, but leaves a terrible mess after She is done. All the threads would be torn and tangled in the morning, if a woman was too tired and decided to finish spinning the next day.
Traditional folk witchcraft knows many examples of spindle’s use, both in benevolent and malicious magic. Ritual spinning was believed to correct someone’s fate, but it could also turn it for worse and “twist” it, depending on the intent of the spinner. A special type of witchcraft “veretnichestvo” (from “vereteno” – spindle) exists among Eastern Slavs. Veretnik (male) or veretnitsa (female) offers his or her body for possession by a demon in exchange for magical powers. In order to make such a contract, they perform a satanic ritual at the crossroads, and bind their contract by using a spindle. Even nowadays some modern witches tell of a hex that could be cast on a baby, if a witch carries a spindle around the crib three times (thus “connecting” her spindle to the baby), steals a thread from the baby’s blanket or clothing, and then starts spinning the thread on a spindle one evening. Such ritual would cause the baby to become restless (“spin like the spindle in witch’s hands”) and make parents exhausted – some particularly mean witches use this method to take revenge on the baby’s parents and ultimately cause the poor child to die from exhaustion. Others brag they could use a spindle to twist the umbilical cord inside a woman’s womb, so that the fetus would become entangled and die. Thirds cast a spell upon married men using a spindle. A man hexed with the help of a spindle becomes restless and cannot satisfy his sexual desires with just his wife, so he starts looking at other women, thus ultimately causing a couple to break up.
However, by reading all these horrible examples, one should not think that spindle is an instrument of wicked witches and could only be used in dark (harmful) magic. Slavic cunning women widely use spindle to correct and untwist people’s “fate”, foretell the future, cure illness, remove a hex, attract love, and even summon rain (for this, a spindle was dipped in water). Carrying a spindle around an ailing person was incorporated into healing rituals. Ritually spun thread could be used to make magical amulets or to tie magical knots – nauzy; art of nauzy was and still is very popular in Russia, where ritually tied knots could be used to control the weather (“tying and untying the wind”), help cure illness, infertility, remove hexes and jinxes, and promote overall well-being. Loving mothers placed a spindle and a skein of fiber under a child’s cradle when a baby was restless, so that Polunochnitsa or Kriksa – a malevolent spirit that causes the baby to become restless at night and the older child to have nightmares, would occupy Herself with spinning rather than tormenting the child.
A newborn girl had her umbilical cord cut on a spindle or a carding comb, so that she would be a good spinner. This very spindle was also placed in a baby girl’s cradle afterwards for the same reason.
A good mistress usually had many spindles, but one was her favorite – this spindle she most commonly used when spinning for herself and her family. Spindles could be made of different woods, with birch being the most common (“I sit on quaking aspen, facing the maple and shaking the birch” – this is an old Russian riddle describing a spinner and materials that were used to make a distaff and a spindle). Other woods included ash, linden, and pear. Quaking aspen was considered good material for ridding of hexes, jinxes, illness, and other evil; however, spindles were rarely made out of its wood, because it is too soft. Modern Slavic stores offer spindles out of pine, ash, rowan, birch, bass (linden), alder, beech, oak, and spruce woods. In some cases, cunning women and modern-day witches have their spindles made of quaking aspen for them, by a special order only.
Some women believe that a magical spindle cannot be purchased but only inherited from a relative: a mother or a grandmother; others disagree and say that this relative had to be very happy in her own life, so that the new owner would not gain the problems of the previous owner along with the spindle. After all, Ukrainians consider an old spindle an object most likely to carry a curse. This may explain why a lot of Slavic women nowadays buy their own new spindles and learn how spin in the hope of becoming closer to their ancestors, learning the secrets of the past, and discovering wisdom they could not find in any other way. Many women say spinning is a very relaxing activity and may induce a state of trance upon the spinner – singing slow stretchy songs while spinning intensifies this effect. It is no surprise that spindle was and is an important tool, rituals with which may be incorporated in Slavic practice. Wise women of the Russian North recommend casting ritual circles with a spindle– a spindle has to be rotated during this.
So, what is the secret? How can such a small “primitive” object have such a great effect on people? According to specialists in biological energy, a spindle is a woman’s “magic wand” rotation of which activates energy fields around the person that is using it or the one it is being used upon. Clockwise rotation comes in touch with the “descending current” and the energy we receive “from above”, while counterclockwise rotation involves activation of “ascending current” and the energy we receive from the earth. By working with these fields, certain programs outside or within the body may be changed. Our female ancestors knew this very well, therefore certain kinds of ritual spinning were performed counterclockwise (“naopak”) only.
“A spindle should never go “hungry” – Eastern Slavic cunning women say, so when working with a spindle, make sure there is a little skein of fiber or a thread wound upon it when you’re using it in magical practice. Sometimes, spinning or winding a thread around a spindle is a part of a magical ritual, but when it isn’t, a small length of thread (enough to go 9 times around the spindle) is wound around it nevertheless.
Simple practices with a spindle:
Note 1: In traditional Eastern Slavic witchcraft, we are using “Russian-style” spindles (used not just in Russia, but in other Slavic countries, as well, such as Ukraine, Slovakia, and Bulgaria) – long and thin, or perhaps a little thicker, with the whorl (the heavier bottom part of the spindle) being a solid unmovable part of the spindle. Such spindle may be painted or not; however, it has to be made of solid piece of wood.
Note 2:
When performing any of these, it is assumed that you have already tried spinning the spindle in your hands or on a special stand and know what it feels like to have it spinning in front of you.
Let’s begin!
Practice 1
This exercise is really nice to be done outside on a sunny Sunday morning, so that the sun shines on you. Stand holding a spindle at your stomach level (the center of the spindle needs to be level with the area just above the belly button). The whorl should be facing down, towards the ground. Using both hands or just one hand, start spinning the spindle counterclockwise. Once you get used to the feeling, begin rotating your body in a counterclockwise motion, as well. Make three complete turns (you turning around on the spot, while the spindle spins in your hands). Stop and take a deep breath. Feel the energy vortex ascending from the Earth and whirling around you all the way to the top of your head. You may envision it as a dark “earthy” current, although envisioning here is not really necessary – all you have to do is feel it. Remember this feeling. Wait until the spinning sensation around you stops.
Now, flip that spindle upside down (so that the whorl would be facing up) and still holding the spindle at the stomach level, begin spinning it in a clockwise direction. Once you get used to the feeling, turn on the spot three times clockwise (the spindle still spinning in your hands). Stop and take a deep breath. Feel the energy vortex descending upon you from the sky, whirling all around your body, and reaching all the way to your feet. You may envision it as a current of white or golden light going all around you, becoming a part of you. Remember the feeling. Wait until the spinning sensation around you stops.
Practice 2 – A Protection Spell
When you are about to go in public, where there will be many people looking at you, it helps to set up a “protective shield” around yourself, just so that no one and nothing could “trip” you on your way (same could be done if you have to face a person that openly dislikes you). A spindle could become an excellent helper here.
For this, stand up straight while holding the spindle upside-down (with the whorl facing upwards) as low as you hand can reach (no leaning down!) and as vertically as you can master. Start spinning the spindle in your hands clockwise. Turn on the spot 3 times clockwise. Stop and take deep breaths until the spinning around you stops, then turn the spindle with the pointy end up (still at the hip level or lower) and spin it counterclockwise. Turn on the spot 3 times counterclockwise. Stop and take deep breaths until the spinning around you stops.
Raise the spindle to the stomach level and flip it upside-down again. Repeat the procedure (3 turns clockwise, 3 – counterclockwise).
Raise the spindle above your head (but not directly overhead – you should be able to see the spindle if you look up at about 45-degree angle). Repeat the procedure one more time (3 turns clockwise, 3 – counterclockwise). Feel the ascending and descending currents envelop you in a cocoon that nothing in the world can break through. Breathe calmly and go to your meeting.
Practice 3
This practice is often incorporated into magical rituals. You would need two spindles: one made of wood from a donor tree (birch, linden, oak, rowan, pine, cherry, or apple), another one made of wood from an acceptor tree (spruce, chokecherry, alder, quaking aspen, or elder). The donor one would have to go in your power (dominant hand) facing upside-down, the acceptor one would be in the other hand facing straight up.
First, envision the two thick cords connecting you to the earth and sky at the same time: one is reaching down from the sky to the top of your head another one reaching up from earth to the base of your spine. You’re nothing but a bead on the “thread” of the Universe. Try to keep this feeling the whole time, while you do this exercise.
Now, holding both hands at stomach level, begin rotating the spindles: donor one clockwise, acceptor one – counterclockwise. This may take some practice for some women but give it a try. Once you feel comfortable spinning both spindles in your hands, stop and lower the acceptor spindle down to hip level (the tip still facing up); at the same time lift the donor spindle so that it would rise above your head (but not directly overhead!) – do not be tempted to spin the spindles while you do it. Then, you start spinning the spindles while simultaneously lowering the donor spindle to your stomach level while raising the acceptor spindle to the stomach level, as well. This sounds a bit tricky, but with a good hand coordination, you can do it. Once the spindles are level with each other and the stomach, stop spinning them and repeat (donor one – above the head, acceptor one – at the hip level). Repeat this exercise three times. (I manage to do this while also reciting an incantation – a Greeting to Mother Earth and Father Sky). Then relax and “remove” the cords connecting you to the Earth and Sky.
This practice comes in handy when you are performing a ritual without a set up altar, i.e. a ritual where you would have to move around a lot (for example, cleansing a house or performing a healing practice, or doing a ritual dance, or even when out in nature wishing to “connect with the Universe” and meditate). Setting up the “cords” at the beginning of the ritual and removing them once the ritual is over is a standard practice of any effective ritual. Spindles in this case help us feel the Currents and connect with them accordingly, thus improving the outcome of your spiritual practice.
Practicing these simple exercises would help you connect with the Universe and its currents, experiencing them on a level necessary for a successful outcome of your magic.
But what about men, you would say? Men cannot use a spindle, so what should they do? As I already said, a spindle is a wand. Slavic wise men use wands instead of spindles, and they never spin, but perform slightly different actions with such wands, but this is whole different story.
May your Fate be kind to you!
(via MagPie)
An item associated predominantly with peasant women, a spindle, often more than one, used to be present in almost every country home. Women grew their own flax and hemp, sheared sheep and goats, and, since spinning wheels were not very common in Eastern Slavic countries, spun their yarn and thread with the help of distaff and a relatively primitive spindle. In Slavic lore, spindle is the magical instrument of Makosh, and while spinning, the woman connects with and represents this ancient Slavic Deity. It is not surprising that Slavic women used this tool not just for mundane spinning, but for creation of magical thread, as well – threads that later became enchanted shirts and magically charged garments, sometimes even changing human fate.
When speaking of spindles, it is impossible not to mention thread. Thread – this ancient representation of fate was known and used by people for millennia. Consistency of thread was associated with the course of life; thus, smooth thread with no knots on it symbolized smooth, peaceful, but somewhat boring and uneventful life, while uneven tangled and knotted thread represented an eventful life that brought a lot of lessons along; a very thin, fragile, and almost ready to tear thread symbolized poverty and poor health, while a thick one foretold of riches and good health. In spinning as a craft, a thin strong thread was considered the most valuable, for such thread could be used to make the undergarments – the ones that would directly touch the body, so clothing made with such threads would not be too rough on the skin of its wearer.
I have to mention that Christian Church took this ancient craft of Makosh very negatively – a spindle was considered an unholy object (just like the oven – the hearth and the source of warmth in Slavic homes), spinning was declared an unholy activity, and a woman who dared to bring her spindle into the church was labeled as a witch who “opened up a path for the demons, so that they could enter the church”. Still, I also have to point out that I don’t know of a single clergyman who also happened to be a nudist and refused to wear clothing, creation of which started with this “very unholy” process.
The reason for such avid “rejection” of spinning and an outward fear of a woman with a spindle may be the deep pre-Christian beliefs associated with this craft. Indeed, in folk tradition, spinning is restricted with many taboos and superstitions. Spinning is a strictly women’s craft – women even avoided giving spindles to little boys out of fear that the boy who held a spindle in his hand would gain on some feminine traits and prefer men to women in the future. No woman could spin on Friday, unless she employed spinning as a part of her magic ritual. Friday was a day sacred to Makosh or Paraskeva-Friday, and it was believed that the Goddess Herself spins human fates on Friday, so unless a woman desired to intervene, she was supposed to avoid spinning on this day. Pregnant women were strongly not recommended to spin, so that the baby would not get tangled in its umbilical cord and die. Generally, spinning was most commonly practiced among young girls who prepared their dowry (they would use these threads to weave cloths once they are married) and old women who were no longer able to become pregnant and thus, endanger the future child by spinning. Spinning was tabooed at Christmas-time (Svyatki – the 12 magical days after Christmas), and if this was necessary, the spindle that was used at this time had to be burned and never kept or thrown away, for all spindles that were used to spin on Svyatki were believed to turn into snakes in summer. Because of the association between spindles and snakes, spindles were taken outside during a thunderstorm, so that Father Perun would not confuse a spindle for a snake (as demons could easily disguise themselves as snakes) and cast His arrow – the lightning at the house. In this custom, we can see a cult of Makosh intertwine with cult of Veles (who was called Mokos in some cutures) – the Lord of Snakes and Perun’s archnemesis.
Spinning was most commonly practiced at night, after all the daily chores were complete. A skein of fiber could not be spun halfway and left until the morning out of fear of Kikimora – a primarily malevolent house spirit that enjoys spinning, too, but leaves a terrible mess after She is done. All the threads would be torn and tangled in the morning, if a woman was too tired and decided to finish spinning the next day.
Traditional folk witchcraft knows many examples of spindle’s use, both in benevolent and malicious magic. Ritual spinning was believed to correct someone’s fate, but it could also turn it for worse and “twist” it, depending on the intent of the spinner. A special type of witchcraft “veretnichestvo” (from “vereteno” – spindle) exists among Eastern Slavs. Veretnik (male) or veretnitsa (female) offers his or her body for possession by a demon in exchange for magical powers. In order to make such a contract, they perform a satanic ritual at the crossroads, and bind their contract by using a spindle. Even nowadays some modern witches tell of a hex that could be cast on a baby, if a witch carries a spindle around the crib three times (thus “connecting” her spindle to the baby), steals a thread from the baby’s blanket or clothing, and then starts spinning the thread on a spindle one evening. Such ritual would cause the baby to become restless (“spin like the spindle in witch’s hands”) and make parents exhausted – some particularly mean witches use this method to take revenge on the baby’s parents and ultimately cause the poor child to die from exhaustion. Others brag they could use a spindle to twist the umbilical cord inside a woman’s womb, so that the fetus would become entangled and die. Thirds cast a spell upon married men using a spindle. A man hexed with the help of a spindle becomes restless and cannot satisfy his sexual desires with just his wife, so he starts looking at other women, thus ultimately causing a couple to break up.
However, by reading all these horrible examples, one should not think that spindle is an instrument of wicked witches and could only be used in dark (harmful) magic. Slavic cunning women widely use spindle to correct and untwist people’s “fate”, foretell the future, cure illness, remove a hex, attract love, and even summon rain (for this, a spindle was dipped in water). Carrying a spindle around an ailing person was incorporated into healing rituals. Ritually spun thread could be used to make magical amulets or to tie magical knots – nauzy; art of nauzy was and still is very popular in Russia, where ritually tied knots could be used to control the weather (“tying and untying the wind”), help cure illness, infertility, remove hexes and jinxes, and promote overall well-being. Loving mothers placed a spindle and a skein of fiber under a child’s cradle when a baby was restless, so that Polunochnitsa or Kriksa – a malevolent spirit that causes the baby to become restless at night and the older child to have nightmares, would occupy Herself with spinning rather than tormenting the child.
A newborn girl had her umbilical cord cut on a spindle or a carding comb, so that she would be a good spinner. This very spindle was also placed in a baby girl’s cradle afterwards for the same reason.
A good mistress usually had many spindles, but one was her favorite – this spindle she most commonly used when spinning for herself and her family. Spindles could be made of different woods, with birch being the most common (“I sit on quaking aspen, facing the maple and shaking the birch” – this is an old Russian riddle describing a spinner and materials that were used to make a distaff and a spindle). Other woods included ash, linden, and pear. Quaking aspen was considered good material for ridding of hexes, jinxes, illness, and other evil; however, spindles were rarely made out of its wood, because it is too soft. Modern Slavic stores offer spindles out of pine, ash, rowan, birch, bass (linden), alder, beech, oak, and spruce woods. In some cases, cunning women and modern-day witches have their spindles made of quaking aspen for them, by a special order only.
Some women believe that a magical spindle cannot be purchased but only inherited from a relative: a mother or a grandmother; others disagree and say that this relative had to be very happy in her own life, so that the new owner would not gain the problems of the previous owner along with the spindle. After all, Ukrainians consider an old spindle an object most likely to carry a curse. This may explain why a lot of Slavic women nowadays buy their own new spindles and learn how spin in the hope of becoming closer to their ancestors, learning the secrets of the past, and discovering wisdom they could not find in any other way. Many women say spinning is a very relaxing activity and may induce a state of trance upon the spinner – singing slow stretchy songs while spinning intensifies this effect. It is no surprise that spindle was and is an important tool, rituals with which may be incorporated in Slavic practice. Wise women of the Russian North recommend casting ritual circles with a spindle– a spindle has to be rotated during this.
So, what is the secret? How can such a small “primitive” object have such a great effect on people? According to specialists in biological energy, a spindle is a woman’s “magic wand” rotation of which activates energy fields around the person that is using it or the one it is being used upon. Clockwise rotation comes in touch with the “descending current” and the energy we receive “from above”, while counterclockwise rotation involves activation of “ascending current” and the energy we receive from the earth. By working with these fields, certain programs outside or within the body may be changed. Our female ancestors knew this very well, therefore certain kinds of ritual spinning were performed counterclockwise (“naopak”) only.
“A spindle should never go “hungry” – Eastern Slavic cunning women say, so when working with a spindle, make sure there is a little skein of fiber or a thread wound upon it when you’re using it in magical practice. Sometimes, spinning or winding a thread around a spindle is a part of a magical ritual, but when it isn’t, a small length of thread (enough to go 9 times around the spindle) is wound around it nevertheless.
Simple practices with a spindle:
Note 1: In traditional Eastern Slavic witchcraft, we are using “Russian-style” spindles (used not just in Russia, but in other Slavic countries, as well, such as Ukraine, Slovakia, and Bulgaria) – long and thin, or perhaps a little thicker, with the whorl (the heavier bottom part of the spindle) being a solid unmovable part of the spindle. Such spindle may be painted or not; however, it has to be made of solid piece of wood.
Note 2:
When performing any of these, it is assumed that you have already tried spinning the spindle in your hands or on a special stand and know what it feels like to have it spinning in front of you.
Let’s begin!
Practice 1
This exercise is really nice to be done outside on a sunny Sunday morning, so that the sun shines on you. Stand holding a spindle at your stomach level (the center of the spindle needs to be level with the area just above the belly button). The whorl should be facing down, towards the ground. Using both hands or just one hand, start spinning the spindle counterclockwise. Once you get used to the feeling, begin rotating your body in a counterclockwise motion, as well. Make three complete turns (you turning around on the spot, while the spindle spins in your hands). Stop and take a deep breath. Feel the energy vortex ascending from the Earth and whirling around you all the way to the top of your head. You may envision it as a dark “earthy” current, although envisioning here is not really necessary – all you have to do is feel it. Remember this feeling. Wait until the spinning sensation around you stops.
Now, flip that spindle upside down (so that the whorl would be facing up) and still holding the spindle at the stomach level, begin spinning it in a clockwise direction. Once you get used to the feeling, turn on the spot three times clockwise (the spindle still spinning in your hands). Stop and take a deep breath. Feel the energy vortex descending upon you from the sky, whirling all around your body, and reaching all the way to your feet. You may envision it as a current of white or golden light going all around you, becoming a part of you. Remember the feeling. Wait until the spinning sensation around you stops.
Practice 2 – A Protection Spell
When you are about to go in public, where there will be many people looking at you, it helps to set up a “protective shield” around yourself, just so that no one and nothing could “trip” you on your way (same could be done if you have to face a person that openly dislikes you). A spindle could become an excellent helper here.
For this, stand up straight while holding the spindle upside-down (with the whorl facing upwards) as low as you hand can reach (no leaning down!) and as vertically as you can master. Start spinning the spindle in your hands clockwise. Turn on the spot 3 times clockwise. Stop and take deep breaths until the spinning around you stops, then turn the spindle with the pointy end up (still at the hip level or lower) and spin it counterclockwise. Turn on the spot 3 times counterclockwise. Stop and take deep breaths until the spinning around you stops.
Raise the spindle to the stomach level and flip it upside-down again. Repeat the procedure (3 turns clockwise, 3 – counterclockwise).
Raise the spindle above your head (but not directly overhead – you should be able to see the spindle if you look up at about 45-degree angle). Repeat the procedure one more time (3 turns clockwise, 3 – counterclockwise). Feel the ascending and descending currents envelop you in a cocoon that nothing in the world can break through. Breathe calmly and go to your meeting.
Practice 3
This practice is often incorporated into magical rituals. You would need two spindles: one made of wood from a donor tree (birch, linden, oak, rowan, pine, cherry, or apple), another one made of wood from an acceptor tree (spruce, chokecherry, alder, quaking aspen, or elder). The donor one would have to go in your power (dominant hand) facing upside-down, the acceptor one would be in the other hand facing straight up.
First, envision the two thick cords connecting you to the earth and sky at the same time: one is reaching down from the sky to the top of your head another one reaching up from earth to the base of your spine. You’re nothing but a bead on the “thread” of the Universe. Try to keep this feeling the whole time, while you do this exercise.
Now, holding both hands at stomach level, begin rotating the spindles: donor one clockwise, acceptor one – counterclockwise. This may take some practice for some women but give it a try. Once you feel comfortable spinning both spindles in your hands, stop and lower the acceptor spindle down to hip level (the tip still facing up); at the same time lift the donor spindle so that it would rise above your head (but not directly overhead!) – do not be tempted to spin the spindles while you do it. Then, you start spinning the spindles while simultaneously lowering the donor spindle to your stomach level while raising the acceptor spindle to the stomach level, as well. This sounds a bit tricky, but with a good hand coordination, you can do it. Once the spindles are level with each other and the stomach, stop spinning them and repeat (donor one – above the head, acceptor one – at the hip level). Repeat this exercise three times. (I manage to do this while also reciting an incantation – a Greeting to Mother Earth and Father Sky). Then relax and “remove” the cords connecting you to the Earth and Sky.
This practice comes in handy when you are performing a ritual without a set up altar, i.e. a ritual where you would have to move around a lot (for example, cleansing a house or performing a healing practice, or doing a ritual dance, or even when out in nature wishing to “connect with the Universe” and meditate). Setting up the “cords” at the beginning of the ritual and removing them once the ritual is over is a standard practice of any effective ritual. Spindles in this case help us feel the Currents and connect with them accordingly, thus improving the outcome of your spiritual practice.
Practicing these simple exercises would help you connect with the Universe and its currents, experiencing them on a level necessary for a successful outcome of your magic.
But what about men, you would say? Men cannot use a spindle, so what should they do? As I already said, a spindle is a wand. Slavic wise men use wands instead of spindles, and they never spin, but perform slightly different actions with such wands, but this is whole different story.
May your Fate be kind to you!
(via MagPie)
Gost- Gost
Re: The Woman Who Ate Fire
Gost 01.11.19 21:00
Slavic Deity: Makosh
Makosh, Mokosh, Mokos, Moksha, Makusha, Mokusha – all these are names for one of the chief and most famous Slavic Goddesses. Her name is commonly mentioned in historical sources, as well as folklore (if an unsheared sheep rubs some of its fleece off, they say “Mokusha cut it off”, Mokusha is also another name for a domestic spirit Kikimora). Her idol was the only female idol that was mentioned standing on top of the hill along with idols dedicated to Perun, Hors, and other Slavic Deities near Kiev after Vladimir’s forced Christianization of Ancient Rus.
Multiple historical sources mention worship of Makosh. One of them is the Tale of Bygone Years (aka Rus’ Primary Chronicle); Makosh there stands at the end of the list of Slavic Deities starting with Perun (Vladimir’s Pantheon). Many teachings against Paganism (and according to B.A. Rybakov, almost all of them) mention Makosh as one of the Pagan Deities they called Christians to fight against: XVI-century “Word about Taxes” and “Word about Redemption” are some of them.
“And Vladimir began ruling in Kiev alone. And he set the idols on a hill inside the castle yard: Perun made of wood, with silver head and golden moustache, and Hors, and Dazhbog, and Stribog, and Semargl, and Mokosh”. (Nestor, “Tale of Bygone Years”, 980)
“Mamai tsar… began calling on his gods: Perun, Salmanat, Mokosh, Raklii, Rus, and his great helper Akhmet.” (“Tale of the Battle between Dmitriy Ivanovich Donskoi and khan Mamai”, retold by I. Sreznevski).
“They lay an offering and serve… Mokosh and diva… anoint Hecate goddess… [a Greek Goddess that some contemporary and ancient authors associated with Makosh, translator’s note] and honor Mokosh.” (“Word about Idols”, XV century).
In writings of Zlatoust (Goldenmouth), Christian author reproaches those who “begin worshipping Wily and Mokosh, Upyri and Beregini…”
Historians believe that image of Makosh is portrayed on the Zbruch Idol as a chief Deity – a Goddess with a cornucopia in Her hand is carved on the front part of the idol.
Ethnographers report that cult of Makosh survived in the Russian North all the way until mid-XIX century. Only recently, places that were originally sacred to Makosh (such as the famous Pyatnitsa Springs and Urochishche Kurtyayevo) became associated with Christian Saints.
Speaking of Saints, in Slavic lands, some form of Makosh’s worship became adopted by the Christians who called her from then on Paraskeva Pyatnitsa (Paraskeva Friday), Pyatnitsa, or Petka. In Christian viewpoint, She was seen as a loose haired woman dressed in rags and covered with many wounds from spindles and needles used by women working on a Friday (Her day) that appears to women who work on Her day to scold them for sinning. In XIX-century, a loose-haired woman representing Pyatnitsa was ritually led through Ukrainian villages. Pyatnitsa received offerings of yarn and fiber thrown in a well ( it is of interest that typically, Makosh’s wells were the dry wells, not the ones that produced water) on summer Mokridy (a holiday of moisture during which rain was summoned).
Other Christianized images of Makosh included Sereda (or Sreda, Wednesday) and Nedelya (Nedilya, Niedziela, or St. Anastasia, all translated as Sunday). All or some of the women’s work, particularly women’s crafts, such as weaving, spinning, or sewing (as well, as any activity associated with cloth, thread, or fiber, such as bleaching cloth), were tabooed on these days.
From my personal research, functions of Makosh seem to vary depending on the region. For instance, in the Russian North, She is honored as the Goddess of Fate and Patroness of Female Magic. Farther south, in Slovakia, for example, She is more viewed as the Goddess of Fertility (similar to Mother Earth). Historians point out Her connection to divination and prophetic dreams (as the Goddess of Fate, She sends signs to those who know how to access Her Divine power). Ethnographic data mentions that Eastern Slavic peasants considered Her patroness of women, women’s crafts, and fate. In a novel by a classic Ukrainian writer I. Nechuy-Levitski, the main character fasts and prays to Pyatnitsa each Friday hoping that this would save him from his destined death by drowning. She also presides over wells and springs (all ground waters) and historical sources hint at Her connection to Rusalki and Wily – Slavic female spirits of moisture.
In folklore, Makosh is often accompanied by Dolya (Good Fate) and Nedolya (Ill Fate) – the two mythical maidens that grant good or bad luck to all people. It is curious that Dolya was typically imagined as a hard-working young woman, well-dressed and tidy, while Nedolya was seen as a lazy girl, sloppy worker, poorly dressed and untidy – directly hinting at the connection between a woman’s diligence and good fate.
In Russian embroidery, She is commonly portrayed surrounded by two deer (Rozhanitsy) or two horsemen representing seasonal change. Many researchers think that Makosh is an Eastern Slavic name for the Great Mother, a pre-historic Deity, a Goddess that created everything living, Mother Earth.
In folk belief, image of Makosh in some places became mixed up with the image of Kikimora – a household spirit that was known to spin fiber left unfinished on a distaff overnight: “Don’t leave you skein of fiber on a distaff overnight – or Mokusha will spin it for you.” Russian mothers taught their daughters, and if one of those daughters didn’t believe and disobeyed, she would find her fiber all tangled in the morning.
In folk art, Makosh is often shown with horns or wearing a horned headdress, and Russian married women copied that hairstyle by wearing horned headdresses (a typical example of such headdress is kika or kichka, from Ancient Slavic “kika” meaning “duck) or braiding their hair in two plaits arranged on the head as “horns” and covering it with a kerchief, “soroka” (“magpie”), or another “hornless” headdress. This horned headdress makes many believe that Makosh is also the ancient Goddess of the Moon, wearing a crescent Moon upon Her head.
A spindle and a distaff are some of the most famous attributes of the Great Mokosh. With these instruments, the Goddess spins fate, turns time forward, and measures how much time each of us gets to spend living. By tying knots on the Thread of Life, the Great Makosh marks the important events in people’s lives; tying two threads together signifies a union between the two people, and so forth. It would be no surprise that the art of “nauznichestvo” (tying of magical knots) still popular in Northern Russian villages is considered the sacred craft of Makosh, and any kind of rituals performed with a spindle are also dedicated to this Goddess.
As the Great Mother, Makosh is a chthonic Deity: not precisely good or evil (to each their own fate), existing since the beginning of time, and… primarily residing underground (remember the offerings of fiber thrown in a well), just like snakes that She is sometimes associated with (a spindle that a woman used to spin on Svyatki was believed to turn into a snake in summer).
However, it is not snakes that are considered Makosh’s sacred animals – it is cats. “A woman and a cat and stay in the house – a man and a dog stay outside.” A Russian saying states. Just like the “khatnya bogynya” (household Goddess), cats prefer warmth and coziness of human homes to the whims of weather outdoors. In Northern Russian spiritual tradition, striped (tabby) cats are considered Makosh’s messengers, as their skin reminds of life – the interchanging light and dark stripes. Some researchers see the common root in Russian word for cat “koshka” and Makosh… Other animals sometimes attributed to Makosh are spiders – the eternal weavers, and on some images Makosh Herself is portrayed with six arms – a hard-working woman for whom one set of arms is simply not enough.
Spruce and yew are considered some trees associated with the Goddess of Fate – in absence of dry wells or special “Makosh’s springs”, offerings to Makosh were tied to a spruce tree. Silver is a metal of Makosh, and crystal quartz and moonstone are Her sacred stones. Makosh is believed to preside over fall season, and as Her main holiday occurs in the fall.
In his book, “Paganism of Ancient Slavs”, academic B.A. Rybakov states that Makosh was honored every week (on Friday, and also possibly on Wednesday and Sunday), every month (the 12 Fridays of Makosh), and particularly in the fall, once summer officially ends and winter only just begins. Folklore indeed tells us that there are 12 special Fridays in a year, 12 sisters, and the 10th Friday is the most important and the leading one. This 10th Friday normally comes in the end of October (early November by the new calendar), the main holiday of Makosh. At this time, Slavic women finished all their work in the fields and gardens and focused on processing flax: soaking it, beating it to soften it up, separating the fibers, combing them, and finally spinning. For the first time that year, women would gather for a bee, with songs and tales, and laughter and dreams of better future. Soon after this, a wedding season would begin, and again the goddess of Fates would be tying the two sacred threads together joining the couples not for once, but for life.
Goddess of Fate, or Mother Earth, wise and merciful or strict and unkind, patroness of women and their work, “khatnya bogynya” Makosh was never completely erased from people’s minds, and the end of October-early November, even though marked in calendars with the names of Christian Saints, still remained dedicated to this Goddess, with its “Viewing of Flax” and Paraskeva Friday, spinning bees, and a long white thread spun in the evening by the window.
May your Fate be merciful to you!
/via MagPie (aka Olga Stanton)/
Makosh, Mokosh, Mokos, Moksha, Makusha, Mokusha – all these are names for one of the chief and most famous Slavic Goddesses. Her name is commonly mentioned in historical sources, as well as folklore (if an unsheared sheep rubs some of its fleece off, they say “Mokusha cut it off”, Mokusha is also another name for a domestic spirit Kikimora). Her idol was the only female idol that was mentioned standing on top of the hill along with idols dedicated to Perun, Hors, and other Slavic Deities near Kiev after Vladimir’s forced Christianization of Ancient Rus.
Multiple historical sources mention worship of Makosh. One of them is the Tale of Bygone Years (aka Rus’ Primary Chronicle); Makosh there stands at the end of the list of Slavic Deities starting with Perun (Vladimir’s Pantheon). Many teachings against Paganism (and according to B.A. Rybakov, almost all of them) mention Makosh as one of the Pagan Deities they called Christians to fight against: XVI-century “Word about Taxes” and “Word about Redemption” are some of them.
“And Vladimir began ruling in Kiev alone. And he set the idols on a hill inside the castle yard: Perun made of wood, with silver head and golden moustache, and Hors, and Dazhbog, and Stribog, and Semargl, and Mokosh”. (Nestor, “Tale of Bygone Years”, 980)
“Mamai tsar… began calling on his gods: Perun, Salmanat, Mokosh, Raklii, Rus, and his great helper Akhmet.” (“Tale of the Battle between Dmitriy Ivanovich Donskoi and khan Mamai”, retold by I. Sreznevski).
“They lay an offering and serve… Mokosh and diva… anoint Hecate goddess… [a Greek Goddess that some contemporary and ancient authors associated with Makosh, translator’s note] and honor Mokosh.” (“Word about Idols”, XV century).
In writings of Zlatoust (Goldenmouth), Christian author reproaches those who “begin worshipping Wily and Mokosh, Upyri and Beregini…”
Historians believe that image of Makosh is portrayed on the Zbruch Idol as a chief Deity – a Goddess with a cornucopia in Her hand is carved on the front part of the idol.
Ethnographers report that cult of Makosh survived in the Russian North all the way until mid-XIX century. Only recently, places that were originally sacred to Makosh (such as the famous Pyatnitsa Springs and Urochishche Kurtyayevo) became associated with Christian Saints.
Speaking of Saints, in Slavic lands, some form of Makosh’s worship became adopted by the Christians who called her from then on Paraskeva Pyatnitsa (Paraskeva Friday), Pyatnitsa, or Petka. In Christian viewpoint, She was seen as a loose haired woman dressed in rags and covered with many wounds from spindles and needles used by women working on a Friday (Her day) that appears to women who work on Her day to scold them for sinning. In XIX-century, a loose-haired woman representing Pyatnitsa was ritually led through Ukrainian villages. Pyatnitsa received offerings of yarn and fiber thrown in a well ( it is of interest that typically, Makosh’s wells were the dry wells, not the ones that produced water) on summer Mokridy (a holiday of moisture during which rain was summoned).
Other Christianized images of Makosh included Sereda (or Sreda, Wednesday) and Nedelya (Nedilya, Niedziela, or St. Anastasia, all translated as Sunday). All or some of the women’s work, particularly women’s crafts, such as weaving, spinning, or sewing (as well, as any activity associated with cloth, thread, or fiber, such as bleaching cloth), were tabooed on these days.
From my personal research, functions of Makosh seem to vary depending on the region. For instance, in the Russian North, She is honored as the Goddess of Fate and Patroness of Female Magic. Farther south, in Slovakia, for example, She is more viewed as the Goddess of Fertility (similar to Mother Earth). Historians point out Her connection to divination and prophetic dreams (as the Goddess of Fate, She sends signs to those who know how to access Her Divine power). Ethnographic data mentions that Eastern Slavic peasants considered Her patroness of women, women’s crafts, and fate. In a novel by a classic Ukrainian writer I. Nechuy-Levitski, the main character fasts and prays to Pyatnitsa each Friday hoping that this would save him from his destined death by drowning. She also presides over wells and springs (all ground waters) and historical sources hint at Her connection to Rusalki and Wily – Slavic female spirits of moisture.
In folklore, Makosh is often accompanied by Dolya (Good Fate) and Nedolya (Ill Fate) – the two mythical maidens that grant good or bad luck to all people. It is curious that Dolya was typically imagined as a hard-working young woman, well-dressed and tidy, while Nedolya was seen as a lazy girl, sloppy worker, poorly dressed and untidy – directly hinting at the connection between a woman’s diligence and good fate.
In Russian embroidery, She is commonly portrayed surrounded by two deer (Rozhanitsy) or two horsemen representing seasonal change. Many researchers think that Makosh is an Eastern Slavic name for the Great Mother, a pre-historic Deity, a Goddess that created everything living, Mother Earth.
In folk belief, image of Makosh in some places became mixed up with the image of Kikimora – a household spirit that was known to spin fiber left unfinished on a distaff overnight: “Don’t leave you skein of fiber on a distaff overnight – or Mokusha will spin it for you.” Russian mothers taught their daughters, and if one of those daughters didn’t believe and disobeyed, she would find her fiber all tangled in the morning.
In folk art, Makosh is often shown with horns or wearing a horned headdress, and Russian married women copied that hairstyle by wearing horned headdresses (a typical example of such headdress is kika or kichka, from Ancient Slavic “kika” meaning “duck) or braiding their hair in two plaits arranged on the head as “horns” and covering it with a kerchief, “soroka” (“magpie”), or another “hornless” headdress. This horned headdress makes many believe that Makosh is also the ancient Goddess of the Moon, wearing a crescent Moon upon Her head.
A spindle and a distaff are some of the most famous attributes of the Great Mokosh. With these instruments, the Goddess spins fate, turns time forward, and measures how much time each of us gets to spend living. By tying knots on the Thread of Life, the Great Makosh marks the important events in people’s lives; tying two threads together signifies a union between the two people, and so forth. It would be no surprise that the art of “nauznichestvo” (tying of magical knots) still popular in Northern Russian villages is considered the sacred craft of Makosh, and any kind of rituals performed with a spindle are also dedicated to this Goddess.
As the Great Mother, Makosh is a chthonic Deity: not precisely good or evil (to each their own fate), existing since the beginning of time, and… primarily residing underground (remember the offerings of fiber thrown in a well), just like snakes that She is sometimes associated with (a spindle that a woman used to spin on Svyatki was believed to turn into a snake in summer).
However, it is not snakes that are considered Makosh’s sacred animals – it is cats. “A woman and a cat and stay in the house – a man and a dog stay outside.” A Russian saying states. Just like the “khatnya bogynya” (household Goddess), cats prefer warmth and coziness of human homes to the whims of weather outdoors. In Northern Russian spiritual tradition, striped (tabby) cats are considered Makosh’s messengers, as their skin reminds of life – the interchanging light and dark stripes. Some researchers see the common root in Russian word for cat “koshka” and Makosh… Other animals sometimes attributed to Makosh are spiders – the eternal weavers, and on some images Makosh Herself is portrayed with six arms – a hard-working woman for whom one set of arms is simply not enough.
Spruce and yew are considered some trees associated with the Goddess of Fate – in absence of dry wells or special “Makosh’s springs”, offerings to Makosh were tied to a spruce tree. Silver is a metal of Makosh, and crystal quartz and moonstone are Her sacred stones. Makosh is believed to preside over fall season, and as Her main holiday occurs in the fall.
In his book, “Paganism of Ancient Slavs”, academic B.A. Rybakov states that Makosh was honored every week (on Friday, and also possibly on Wednesday and Sunday), every month (the 12 Fridays of Makosh), and particularly in the fall, once summer officially ends and winter only just begins. Folklore indeed tells us that there are 12 special Fridays in a year, 12 sisters, and the 10th Friday is the most important and the leading one. This 10th Friday normally comes in the end of October (early November by the new calendar), the main holiday of Makosh. At this time, Slavic women finished all their work in the fields and gardens and focused on processing flax: soaking it, beating it to soften it up, separating the fibers, combing them, and finally spinning. For the first time that year, women would gather for a bee, with songs and tales, and laughter and dreams of better future. Soon after this, a wedding season would begin, and again the goddess of Fates would be tying the two sacred threads together joining the couples not for once, but for life.
Goddess of Fate, or Mother Earth, wise and merciful or strict and unkind, patroness of women and their work, “khatnya bogynya” Makosh was never completely erased from people’s minds, and the end of October-early November, even though marked in calendars with the names of Christian Saints, still remained dedicated to this Goddess, with its “Viewing of Flax” and Paraskeva Friday, spinning bees, and a long white thread spun in the evening by the window.
May your Fate be merciful to you!
/via MagPie (aka Olga Stanton)/
Gost- Gost
Re: The Woman Who Ate Fire
whisperer 01.12.19 16:08
… for you to see beauty here
does not mean
there is beauty in me
it means there is beauty rooted
so deep within you
you can't help but
see it everywhere”
― Rupi Kaur, Milk and Honey
does not mean
there is beauty in me
it means there is beauty rooted
so deep within you
you can't help but
see it everywhere”
― Rupi Kaur, Milk and Honey
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Re: The Woman Who Ate Fire
whisperer 03.12.19 1:09
"What if our religion was each other?
If our practice was our life?
If prayer, our words?
What if the temple was the earth?
If forests were our church?
If holy water - the rivers, lakes, and oceans?
What if meditation was our relationships?
If the Teacher was self-knowledge?
If love was the center of our being?"
~Ganga White~
If our practice was our life?
If prayer, our words?
What if the temple was the earth?
If forests were our church?
If holy water - the rivers, lakes, and oceans?
What if meditation was our relationships?
If the Teacher was self-knowledge?
If love was the center of our being?"
~Ganga White~
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Re: The Woman Who Ate Fire
besposlenpop 03.12.19 9:31
Ja znam:Tomica je napisao/la:Slavic Deity: Makosh
Makosh, Mokosh, Mokos, Moksha, Makusha, Mokusha – all these are names for one of the chief and most famous Slavic Goddesses. ...
Okoš bokoš
prdne kokoš
pita baja
kolko kume
tebi treba jaja?
_________________
Слава Україні!
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Re: The Woman Who Ate Fire
Gost 04.12.19 5:42
Razumijem ljude koji su kao djeca otishli vani iz svoga okruzenja i tamo se formirali kroz odredjenu kulturu ..Ali ne razumijem ljude koji na svaki nachin zele da budu neshto drugo i to izrazavaju na svome maternjem jeziku,,Chemu ove glupe fiksacije engleskom knjizevnoshcu i feministichkim sranjima osim ako netko ne zeli da lijechi svoje komplekse manje vrijednosti.Zivim u sredini koja nije moja ali poshtujem zakone drzave u kojoj zivim,,,prvobitni kulturoloshki shk koji sam dozivio josh nisam prevazishao pa mi valjda zato idu na kurac ta anglosaksonska proseravanja o tome kako smo eto sve shto postoji na ovome svijetu izmislili mi kolonijalisti i najveci ugnjetachi malih naroda,,Od germana ..frankofona i ostalih se pishe povijest..njihovi muzeji su puni ukradenih eksponata iz moje pradomovine jer iako su ti narodi stvorili temelje zapadne civilizacije su nesposobni to sachuvati pa smo zato to donijeli u nashe muzeje da sachuvamo od "barbara" kulturu koju su sami stvorili,,Zena koja guta kurac je deset puta ljepsha i iskrenija nego da guta vatru i ogarke zbog toga da bi ispala jacha i sigurnija u sebe,,I to je najveci problem danashnjih zena koje zbog svoji mentalnih sranja imaju probleme sa mushkarcima pa to prenose kroz anglosaksonsku "kulturu" na virtualni prostor.Tvrde da su vrednije od ocheva samim tim shto su nosile dijete devet mjeseci u stomaku,,a ne pitaju se sto su uchinile da to dijete postane danas sutra pravi chovjek u stvarnom zivotu..Ma ...i ja sam kreten shto uopce odgovaram na ovakve gluposti mjesto da izbrishem nadimak i odem svojim putem..Samo vi nastavite zivjeti na takav nachin,,vjerujte mi,,samoca i samosazaljevanje vam ne gine cijeli ostatak vasheg zivota,,Shto bi reko Pizda,,,BUJRUM :
Gost- Gost
Re: The Woman Who Ate Fire
Gost 04.12.19 11:34
„Which doesn‘t mean, of course, that I‘d stopped loving her, that I‘d forgotten her. On the contrary. In the form of a quiet nostalgia she remained constantly within me. I longed for her as one longs for something definitively lost.“
Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera
Gost- Gost
Re: The Woman Who Ate Fire
whisperer 04.12.19 23:45
zingaro je napisao/la:Razumijem ljude koji su kao djeca otishli vani iz svoga okruzenja i tamo se formirali kroz odredjenu kulturu ..Ali ne razumijem ljude koji na svaki nachin zele da budu neshto drugo i to izrazavaju na svome maternjem jeziku,,Chemu ove glupe fiksacije engleskom knjizevnoshcu i feministichkim sranjima osim ako netko ne zeli da lijechi svoje komplekse manje vrijednosti.Zivim u sredini koja nije moja ali poshtujem zakone drzave u kojoj zivim,,,prvobitni kulturoloshki shk koji sam dozivio josh nisam prevazishao pa mi valjda zato idu na kurac ta anglosaksonska proseravanja o tome kako smo eto sve shto postoji na ovome svijetu izmislili mi kolonijalisti i najveci ugnjetachi malih naroda,,Od germana ..frankofona i ostalih se pishe povijest..njihovi muzeji su puni ukradenih eksponata iz moje pradomovine jer iako su ti narodi stvorili temelje zapadne civilizacije su nesposobni to sachuvati pa smo zato to donijeli u nashe muzeje da sachuvamo od "barbara" kulturu koju su sami stvorili,,Zena koja guta kurac je deset puta ljepsha i iskrenija nego da guta vatru i ogarke zbog toga da bi ispala jacha i sigurnija u sebe,,I to je najveci problem danashnjih zena koje zbog svoji mentalnih sranja imaju probleme sa mushkarcima pa to prenose kroz anglosaksonsku "kulturu" na virtualni prostor.Tvrde da su vrednije od ocheva samim tim shto su nosile dijete devet mjeseci u stomaku,,a ne pitaju se sto su uchinile da to dijete postane danas sutra pravi chovjek u stvarnom zivotu..Ma ...i ja sam kreten shto uopce odgovaram na ovakve gluposti mjesto da izbrishem nadimak i odem svojim putem..Samo vi nastavite zivjeti na takav nachin,,vjerujte mi,,samoca i samosazaljevanje vam ne gine cijeli ostatak vasheg zivota,,Shto bi reko Pizda,,,BUJRUM :
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Re: The Woman Who Ate Fire
whisperer 04.12.19 23:48
cat_claw je napisao/la:„Which doesn‘t mean, of course, that I‘d stopped loving her, that I‘d forgotten her. On the contrary. In the form of a quiet nostalgia she remained constantly within me. I longed for her as one longs for something definitively lost.“
Milan Kundera
Sava Manojlović
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pizda- Murderator
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Re: The Woman Who Ate Fire
Gost 20.12.19 10:52
„Odlucio sam se za ljubav.
Manje je istinito i manje je vjerovatno, ali je plemenitije.
I ljepse.
Tako sve ima vise smisla. I smrt. I zivot.“
M. Selimovic
Tvrdjava
Manje je istinito i manje je vjerovatno, ali je plemenitije.
I ljepse.
Tako sve ima vise smisla. I smrt. I zivot.“
M. Selimovic
Tvrdjava
Gost- Gost
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Re: The Woman Who Ate Fire
whisperer 21.12.19 0:47
“Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.” ― Mary Oliver
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Re: The Woman Who Ate Fire
whisperer 24.12.19 2:44
“Maybe the world, without us, is the real poem.”
— Mary Oliver
— Mary Oliver
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Re: The Woman Who Ate Fire
whisperer 27.12.19 19:02
“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”
― M. T.
― M. T.
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Re: The Woman Who Ate Fire
Gost 28.12.19 12:46
Tomice, tebi poseban zagrljaj...Prvi Bozic i prva Nova godina bez tate...
„Malo mi je bilo.
Ali ipak, kad pogledas: dosta je sve ono sto smo rekli i precutali.“
Mika Antic. Tako mi prija. Sentimentalan, nezan, jednostavan i neustrasiv.
„Malo mi je bilo.
Ali ipak, kad pogledas: dosta je sve ono sto smo rekli i precutali.“
Mika Antic. Tako mi prija. Sentimentalan, nezan, jednostavan i neustrasiv.
Gost- Gost
Re: The Woman Who Ate Fire
whisperer 28.12.19 14:06
cat_claw je napisao/la:Tomice, tebi poseban zagrljaj...Prvi Bozic i prva Nova godina bez tate...
Da... :*
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