[104], Pantheons of deities are not unified among practitioners of Slavic Native Faith. [262] In 1818, the Polish ethnographer Zorian Doga-Chodakowski (Adam Czarnocki; 17841825) in the work O Sawiaszczynie przed chrzecijastwem ("About the Slavs before Christianity") declared himself a "pagan" and stated that the Christianisation of the Slavic peoples had been a mistake. [264] Similarly, the Polish philosopher Bronisaw Trentowski (18081869) saw the historical religion of the Slavs as a true path to understanding the divine creator, arguing that Christianity failed to do so. Vedic ta, "Right"), was usurped by the Christians. [190] Temple buildings (, khram) may be present. TScottFitzgerald 1 yr. ago. [119] Christianity is also considered as a system that destroys morality by casting human responsibility away from the present world and into a transcendent future,[121] its theology also enforcing a separation of the supreme God from the world. [428] There are groups which focus on the traditions of the Kriviches, an early East Slavic tribe, and mix Slavic and Baltic practices. In doing so, pre-Christian belief systems underwent a rehabilitation. [81], Prior to their Christianisation, the Slavic peoples were polytheists, worshipping multiple deities who were regarded as the emanations of a supreme God. [79] Some practitioners dislike it because it minimises the continuity of indigenous pre-Christian beliefs. [323] The group is associated with the movement of Praskozorje. [313] The 1940s Zadrugist movement inspired the establishment in 1996 of the Association of Native Faith (Zrzeszenie Rodzimej Wiary; now simply called Rodzima Wiara, "Native Faith"),[314] whose founder Stanisaw Potrzebowski wrote his doctoral thesis on the pre-war Zadrugism in German. [284] Sylenko presented himself as a prophet of Dazhbog who had been sent to the Ukrainian people. [415] A number of popular celebrities, including the singer Maria Arkhipova, the professional boxer Aleksandr Povetkin,[215] and the comedian Mikhail Nikolayevich Zadornov (19482017),[416] have publicly embraced Rodnovery. [316], Modern Rodnovery in the Czech Republic emerged in 19951996. The Way of Great Perfection is actually conceptualised as an overcoming of both the right-hand and the left-hand paths. [10] In 2005, Ivakhiv noted that there were likely between 5000 and 10,000 practitioners in Ukraine. [141] Kosnik and Hornowska observed that despite being young, Polish Rodnovers were spiritually mature and had joined the religion as it satisfied deep personal needs. It is present in Russia and Ukraine, especially, but not exclusively, among Cossacks who claim a Scythian identity to distinguish themselves from Slavs. Rodnover ethical thinking emphasises the good of the collective over the rights of the individual. [430] The worship of Svyatogor is central to the religion of many Belarusian Rodnovers.[211]. [143] Some Rodnovers espouse ideas similar to those of Jewish Kabbalah, namely the discipline of Vseyasvetnaya Gramota ("Universal Script"), which holds that there is a connection between language, script and the cosmos (corroborated by the etymological connection between the word yazychnik, "pagan", and yazyk, "language", which share the same root): the Cyrillic and Glagolitic scripts, and their alleged ancestor, are considered to have magical usefulness to cooperate with the universe and communicate with God, and to see past events and foresee future ones. According to him, the "races" should be ready for this, so they need to study "the heroism of Emperor Titus, who destroyed Jerusalem." [267] It was this Romantic rediscovery and revaluing of indigneous pre-Christian religion that prepared the way for the later emergence of Rodnovery. Wojdart From shop Wojdart. [46], The most commonly used religious symbol within Rodnovery is the kolovrat ("spinning wheel", e.g. Gods may be subject to functional changes among modern Rodnovers; for instance, the traditional god of livestock and poetry Veles is called upon as the god of literature and communication. [51], The Anglicised term "Rodnovery", and its adjective "Rodnover(s)", have gained widespread usage in English and have been given an entry in the second edition (2019) of the academic Historical Dictionary of the Russian Federation. Meryan Rodnovers also rely upon the uninterrupted traditions of the Mari Native Faith; on 27 September 2015, they organised a joint Mari-Merya prayer in the Moscow region. Ruling over the Slavic pantheon was Perun, the god of thunder and lightning, associated with fire and mountains and more. Today, the swastika is officially used by Baltic neo-pagan organizations such as Romuva and Dievturiba. The latter, which is a derivation of the near-homophonous yazyk, "tongue", is prevalent and has a less negative acceptation, literally meaning "pertaining to (our own) language". [437] In Poland, the Slavic Native Faith outnumbers other Pagan religions, although both are represented in the Pagan Federation International's Polish branch. [222] Ceremonial accuracy is often considered essential for the efficacy of a ritual, but at the same time Rodnover rituals have been regarded as flexible frameworks, wherein there is room for elaboration and experimentation. Volkhvs are the higher rank of the sacerdotal hierarchy, while zhrets are of a lower authority. Concerted efforts by the communities of Moscow and Kaluga led to the establishment of the Union of Slavic Native Belief Communities in 1997, characterised by nationalist views. [238] Veche is used as the name of some Rodnover overarching organisations, as well as international councils. [186] Some Rodnovers take their cosmology, ethical system, and ritual practices from the Book. [109] Conversely, Sylenko's Native Ukrainian National Faith (RUNVira; also called "Sylenkoism") regards itself as monotheistic and focuses its worship upon a single God whom the movement identifies with the name Dazhbog, regarded as the life-giving energy of the cosmos. [253] A questionnaire distributed at the Kupala festival in Maloyaroslavets suggested that Rodnovers typically had above-average levels of education, with a substantial portion working as business owners or managers. As with the sun in the sky, he is symbolic of the triumph of light over darkness. [422] Alternately, the Ukrainian organisation Ancestral Fire of the Native Orthodox Faith has expanded in both Moldova and Germany. [57], Sometimes the term "Rodnovery" has also been interpreted as meaning "faith of Rod", a reference to an eponymous concept of supreme God, Rod, found in ancient Russian and Ukrainian sources. Paperback - April 17, 2021. [11], Some involved in the movement avoid calling their belief system either "paganism" or "religion". [417] The religion's "main base" consisted of ethnic Ukrainians who were "nationally oriented" and who displayed higher than average levels of education. [350] Yet, they espouse Russian nationalism, ancestrality and ecology, and oppose Christianity (but not folk Orthodoxy, which is regarded as a continuation of Russian indigenous religion) and the Western "technocratic civilisation". [67], In Ukraine and Russia many important Rodnover groups advocate the designation of "Orthodoxy" (Russian: Pravoslaviye, Serbian: Pravoslavlje, Ukrainian: Pravoslavya) for themselves. [7] The interplay with the gods and the cycle of nature which they represent is displayed through large-scale ceremonies which Aitamurto defines as "aesthetically lavish", vectors of a great deal of creativity. Some strains of Rodnovery have become close supporters and components of Eurasianism, the dominant ideology of the Russian central state under Vladimir Putin, whose most prominent contemporary theorist is the philosopher Alexander Dugin. [258] Rodnover rituals and festivals often include martial arts displays; these sometimes symbolise seasonal change, such as the victory of spring over winter, or can be regarded as manifestations of bravery, strength, and honesty. ThoughtCo. In one gruesome instance near the Ukrainian border in 1997, a man and his nephew attacked a woman who they claimed used black magic to cast a spell on them. [138], Laruelle observed that Rodnovery is in principle a decentralised movement, with hundreds of groups coexisting without submission to a central authority. They propose a political system in which decisional power is entrusted to assemblies of consensually-acknowledged wise men, or to a single wise individual. In some cultures, an effigy of Mara is drowned (sometimes burned) to more quickly bring about the end of winter and the beginning of spring. The Slavic mythology personified many aspects of the world, with worshipers believing that waters, forests, households and even illnesses were represented or governed by spirits. [215], The Rodnover priesthood is characterised by a number of attributes, sacred objects which mark their role. [290] From 1985 onwards, Pamyat became affiliated with Orthodox Christianity and the Rodnover component eventually left the movement. [71] When using English language terms to describe their religion, some Rodnovers favour "Heathen", in part due to a perceived affinity with the contemporary Germanic Heathens who also commonly use that term. "our own language craft", "Gentility"), but it is infrequent. [175] Western liberal ideas of freedom and democracy are traditionally perceived by Russian eyes as "outer" freedom, contrasting with Slavic "inner" freedom of the mind; in Rodnovers' view, Western liberal democracy is "destined to execute the primitive desires of the masses or to work as a tool in the hands of a ruthless elite", being therefore a mean-spirited "rule of demons". [390], Slavic-Hill Rodnovery (Russian: - ) is one of the earliest branches of the Slavic Native Faith that emerged in Russia in the 1980s, and one of the largest in terms of number of practitioners, counted in the many tens of thousands. [397] The movement abhors moral decay, while emphasising discipline and conservative values, and even though Belov's early works do not have a radical right-wing posture, many adherents espouse such position. The Belobog symbol represents light, goodness, well-being and happiness (the white god). [63] The term was originally also applied to the modern Pagan religions of non-Slavic groupsfor instance, in the Polish language Lithuanian Romuva has been referred to as Rodzimowierstwo litewskie ("Lithuanian Native Faith") and Celtic Paganism has been referred to as Rodzimowierstwo celtyckie ("Celtic Native Faith"),[63] however, "now, especially if you write [it] with the capital letter, the term is understood, first of all, as a designation of the Slavic Native Faith". Nevertheless, according to Aitamurto, on the basis of the amount of literature that Ynglists publish and the presence of their representatives at various Rodnover conferences, is clear that Ynglism has a "substantial number of followers". [107] Rodnovers also worship tutelary deities of specific elements, lands and environments,[108] such as waters, forests and the household. [404] In 2016, Aitamurto noted that there was no reliable information on the number of Rodnovers in Russia, but that it was plausible that there were several tens of thousands of practitioners active in the country. [70] In adopting such a conservative stance to sexual ethics, practitioners of Rodnovery can adopt misogynistic and homophobic attitudes. The symbols in this category predominantly originate from the pre-Christian period and are related to the gods (bogs) of the Pagan Slavic mythology. The Slavs, who were their creators, are an ethnic group that has existed in Europe since at least the time of the Romans. [149] According to them, the Slavs are the directest descendants of an ancient Aryan race, whom they equate with the Proto-Indo-Europeans. Slavic mythology has its roots in the human Neolithic Period, when various tribes of Slavic people, geographically designated as North, South, East, and West, worshiped pagan deities according to . [279], Wadysaw Koodziej (18971978) later claimed to have established, before the Second World War, the Holy Circle of the Worshippers of Svetovid (wite Koo Czcicieli wiatowida), although there is no evidence that they conducted regular meetings until many years later. [38], According to Ivakhiv, despite the intense efforts of Christian authorities, the Christianisation of the Slavs, and especially of Russians, was very slow and resulted in a "thorough synthesis of Pagan and Christian elements", reflected for instance in the refashioning of gods as Christian saints (Perun as Saint Elias, Veles as Saint Blasius and Yarilo as Saint George) and in the overlapping of Christian festivals on Pagan ones. [88] According to the publication Izvednik, a compilation of views on theology and cosmology of various Rodnover organisations, "the rest of the gods are only his faces, noumena, incarnations, hypostases", it is a God similar to the cosmos of ancient Greek philosophy in that it is "not the master of the universe, but it itself the universe". [405] This was partly because there were several Rodnover groups active on the social network VK which had over 10,000 members. [391] The movement is characterised by a military orientation, combining Rodnover worldview with the practice of a martial arts style known as Slavic-hill wrestling (- , Slavyano-goritskaya bor'ba). In 1999, the communities of Moscow and Obninsk left it as they refuted nationalism, and established another umbrella organisation, the Circle of Veles led by Ilya Cherkasov (volkhv Veleslav), which is one of the largest and administers communities also located in the territory of Ukraine. The Rarg, in Slavic mythology and legend, is a fire demon. [375], Roerichism (Russian: , ) and Ivanovism () are spiritual movements linked with Russian cosmism, a holistic philosophy emphasising the centrality of the human being within a living environment, in turn related to the God-Building movement. In recent times, the movement has been increasingly studied by academic scholars. Vladimir Istarkhov, in the book "The Strike of the Russian Gods", predicts that in the era of Aquarius there will be a revival of the pagan gods, and the "Aryan power" will triumph over the "Jewish devil. [198], Like many other supporters of pseudoscientific ideas, Rodnovers often consider their teachings to be "true science" (or "Russian science"), in contrast to "Jewish" "academic" science ("Judeo-materialistic science"), which is allegedly written with the aim of hiding from the Slavs the "truth" about their great past and superiority over other peoples. She offers protection to women during childbirth. [111] A Sylenkoite centre, the Temple of Mother Ukraine, was established in Spring Glen, New York. [302], After the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine became an independent republic, with many Ukrainians turning to strongly nationalistic agendas; among those to have done so are pseudo-archaeologists like Yury Shylov, who posits Ukraine as the "cradle of civilisation". Perun - The Slavic god of thunder and war Probably the most famous Slavic deity, Perun is the chief deity in most Slavic pantheons. In Witcher 3, his rune will cause burning. sfnm error: no target: CITEREFLesiv2013 (, sfnm error: no target: CITEREFIvakhiv2005 (, Union of Slavic Native Belief Communities, the mental constraints which were imposed by feudalism and by what they call "mono-ideologies", Slavic Native Faith's theology and cosmology, Slavic Native Faith's identity and political philosophy, the rights of the collective over the rights of the individual, Slavic Native Faith's calendars and holidays, List of Slavic Native Faith's organisations, " / Translation from French by Dmitry Bayuk. The Slavs believed in three planes of existence: the heavens, governed by Perun, Dazhbog, Mokosh and Lada, symbolized by the sun and the moon; the earthly plane, occupied by humanity; and the underworld, symbolized by snakes and darkness, ruled over by Veles. Over time, however, tribes were consolidated and, not long after, most converted to Christianity. [92] The BelobogChernobog duality is also represented on the human plane as the PerunVeles duality, where the former is the principle of martiality and the latter is the principle of mystical philosophy. Slavic Spells The folklore of ancient Slavs contains a rich treasury of spells, including spells for domestic prosperity, wisdom, and knowledge. [361], In Ukraine, there are currents of Rodnovery which are peculiar to the Ukrainians. [93] Mathieu-Colas defines Rod as the "primordial God", but the term also literally means the generative power of family and "kin", "birth", "origin" and "fate" as well. It is likely that the English word calendar is derived from this symbol name. [372], Anastasians have established networks of ecovillages throughout Russia and in other countries. The Ynglist Church too was formally established in the early 1990s, and it is considered one of the most sectarian and authoritarian denominations of Rodnovery. Alkonost, who gets her name from the Greek demigod Alyclone, is a creature with the body of a bird and the head of a woman. [448], In Australia there is Southern Cross Rodnovery, a Rodnover organisation that caters to Australians of Slavic ethnicity. [50] The contemporary design of the kolovrat as an eight-spoked wheel was already present in woodcuts produced in the 1920s by the Polish artist Stanisaw Jakubowski, under the name soneczko ("little sun"). [231], There is much variation between major currents and organisations of Rodnovery. Air is associated with the colors yellow and white. Check out our slavic pagan symbols selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our figurines shops. [248] In Rodnovery, the priestly staff represents the axis mundi, the world tree, the invisible "pillar of strength", of the spiritual power of creation, and it is considered the vessel of one of the two parts of the soul of the volkhv or the representation of their own self. The Proto-Slavic reconstruction is *dadjbog, and is composed of *dadj, imperative of the verb *dati "to give", and the noun *bog "god". Nemiza is the Slavic god of death, in that he or she would cut the thread of life. The god was depicted, at different times, as both male and female. [53] Rodnovers generally present their symbols in high-contrast colour combinations, usually red and black or red and yellow. [182], In the 1970s, explicitly religious Rodnover groups had still to operate in secret, although a few small groups were known to exist in Moscow and Leningrad (Saint Petersburg), closely linked to the nationalist intellectual circles. Stribog translates to mean wealth spreader, and he was said to connect the earth to the heavens. [78] It was adopted among Rodnovers in the 1990swhen it appeared in such forms as the Russian Neoyazychestvo and the Polish Neopogastwobut had been eclipsed by "Slavic Native Faith" in the 2000s. Scholars of religion regard Slavic Native Faith as a modern Pagan religion. Perhaps surprisingly, he is also a guardian of truth, hiding truthfulness from the vain and the selfish. [72] Some Russian and Ukrainian Rodnovers employ, respectively, Yazychestvo and Yazychnytstvo (i.e. [130] Other Rodnovers are openly anti-Semite,[156] a category which for them means not only anti-Jewish but more broadly anti-Asian, anti-Christian and anti-Islamic, and anti-Byzantinist sentiment,[157] and espouse conspiracy theories claiming that Jews and Asians control the economic and political elite. 3. : Monotheism and Polytheism in Contemporary Ukrainian Paganism", "The Rerikh Movement: A Homegrown Russian 'New Religious Movement', " ' ' ", " 19982005 : ? [91] Rod is also "Time" (Kolo), scanned by the cycle of the Sun, ad reflected in the turning of the hours, the days, the months, the seasons, and the year. [223] The Anastasians also celebrate the Day of the Earth on July 23 with characteristic rituals prescribed in their movement's books. The cultural center "Vyatichi" in the "Russian Pagan Manifesto" of 1997 (Nikolai Speransky - Velimir and others) on the threshold of the third millennium announced the end of the "night of Svarog" and "the morning of the new great day of the gods. [17] This is often right-wing ethnic nationalism. Another term for a community, though not frequently used, is artel. [380], The Way of Troyan ( , Tropa Troyanova; where "Troyan" is another name of the god Triglav, regarded as the patron god of Russia), incorporated as the Academy of Self-Knowledge ( ) and the All-Russian Association of Russian Folk Culture ( ), is a Rodnover psychological movement founded in 1991 by the historian and psychologist Aleksey Andreev (pseudonym of Aleksandr Shevtsov) relying upon a thorough ethnographic fieldwork, especially focused on the Ofeni tribe of Vladimir Oblast. [212] He reported that there were under 900 regularly active members of the main four registered Polish Native Faith organisations,[433] and around as many adherents belonging to smaller, unregistered groups. [83] Some practitioners describe themselves as atheists,[84] believing that gods are not real entities but rather ideal symbols.