has existed for many centuries not only among the Slavic peoples, but also among many others. On the sheets of the bestiary, creatures in whom people believed and feared came to life. It is important to note that in the bestiary of the Eastern Slavs there are both evil beings and good beings who were the otherworldly help of people. Many people still believe in some of them.

Bestiary

Ivvvdeas about the afterlife arise at the dawn of human society and over time develop into extensive mythological systems. According to religious scholars, the first ideas about afterlife were expressed in beliefs in posthumous rebirth (reincarnation). Ancient people believed that after death comes a second birth, so the dead were buried crouched, in fetus position in the mother's womb. Later, when representation about the soul appeared, the deceased is buried in an extended position, as if he was sleeping (hence the word deceased in Russian - “a person who fell asleep”). His soul left the body for a while, but it can return, and then the departed will resuscitate. The fact that such concepts existed among our ancestors is evidenced by Slavic folklore. It is abounded with legends about the "living dead/revived corpse" who overwhelm people either as punishment for the evil, or out of their own sinister demeanor. Lores about ghouls-vampires and the cult of the pledged dead - these are the forms in which the ideas of the Slavs about the "living dead" have reached the beginning of our century. Just as primitive people mutilated the corpses of their enemies, Russian peasants back in the 19th century. They pierced the pledged dead with aspen stakes to protect themselves from them.

The underworld in various mythological systems was described in different ways: it could be gloomy and painful, or, conversely, bright and fertile; could be located somewhere in distant lands on earth, but could be underground or in heaven. Presumably, the Slavs at the end of the 1st millennium AD. e. they believed that the afterlife is in heaven, because it was then that such a form of burial as cremation was widespread among them.

In order to get to the pagan paradise of the Slavs, there was no need for any redemption of sins and a reserve of

good deeds. Everyone got there, regardless of lifestyle and social status. Slavic paradise is the afterlife in general. However, the Slavs did not have a heaven - hell opposition (the place where the souls of the good live, the place of bliss - the place where the souls of the evil, sinners, the place of torment). The idea of ​​post-mortem retribution among the pagan Slavs, apparently, was not yet developed. The only obstacle, because of which a soul of the deceased could not get to heaven, was a non-fulfillment by relatives or tribesmen of the deceased to perform proper funeral rites, and in this case his soul wandered the earth.

As for the perception of death, normal death (about “abnormal” we will talk later sometime), the Eastern Slavs considered it the return of the soul “home” from the world of the living, where it “stayed”.Hence the perception of a coffin as a home for the deceased and the tradition of putting in a coffin what the deceased did not part with during his lifetime. And if a child died, then a thread was applied to him, with which a father's height was previously measured, so that the child would know how tall he needed to grow up in the next world. There were other similar customs.

The afterlife or the other world is the opposite of the world of the living. The world of the living is located on the right, in the east or south, order reigns in it. The underworld is located on the left, in the west or north, there is no time and life, there is darkness and eternal night.

Adddis for contact with the other world, here are just a few examples. Belarusians believed that a howling wind in a chimney was a request from a soul of a deceased relative for commemoration. A butterfly in some Russian dialects is called a darling, since there was an idea of ​​ an incarnation of a soul in a night butterfly or moth. And among Ukrainians it is forbidden to drive away a fly flying around a dead person - this is his soul. And it's the same story with birds. From here comes, for example, the custom to scatter grain on the graves in the first 40 days after the death of a person.

There are also such beliefs that tell about a transformation of souls of dead into snakes. It was said that during one wedding, when the guests started dancing, a grass-snake crawled into the center - the "soul" of the groom's father.

If a person dies young, his soul will sprout on a grave in the form of a tree, flowers or grass. Therefore, it was believed that it was impossible to pick flowers and cut down trees in cemeteries. And in one Russian lamentation, they addressed the deceased in this way: “Will you grow on grasses, will you fade on flowers?” In general, the Eastern Slavs have many legends about trees that grew on a grave or from the blood of a murdered person.

The idea of ​​birds as incarnated souls, as well as ideas about the other world, are reflected in legends about Iria. Iriy is an underground, sometimes overseas country, to which souls of the dead are sent. Birds fly there and snakes crawl away in Autumn and return from there in Spring.

Moreover, the relations between the two worlds determined among the Eastern Slavs after Christianization various calendar and family rituals, the meaning of which was to receive benefit and reduce harm from dead ancestors.

Ideas about the afterlife exist absolutely among all people of the Earth. And the Eastern Slavs are no exception. Furthermore, these ideas are connected not only with the question "what will happen to me after death", but also with the fact that a person with a mythological consciousness comes into contact with the other world every day: the worlds of the living and the dead are connected in his mind, and the boundaries between them sometimes open.

The entire universe of the ancient Slavs is divided into three parts: Yav’, Nav’ and Prav'.

Nav’ in various sources is deciphered relatively differently. For example, in the explanatory dictionary of Efremova T.F. - this is a dead man who has risen from a grave or an inhabitant of the underworld. In the explanatory dictionary of Ushakov D.N. is the ghost of a dead man. In the encyclopedic dictionary of Guskova and Sotina, this is the embodiment of death, etc.

The owners of Nav’ are Koschey (Chernobog, Lizard), Morana (Mara), and sometimes Veles and some other gods are also called as owners. Among the Slavs, death was, is and will be, not at all an evil old woman who should be afraid, but only the beginning of a new life in the world of Navi.

Nav’ Day is celebrated by the Slavs on March 1st. On this day, pagan Slavs visit the graves of their ancestors, perform a feast, bring gifts

Mara

Maffara ara is the goddess of death, the daughter of Lada. Outwardly, Mara looks like a tall beautiful girl with black hair and in red clothes. Mara can not be called either an evil or a good goddess. On the one hand, it bestows death, but at the same time life.

One of Mara's favorite activities is needlework: she loves to spin and weave. At the same time, like the Greek Moira, she uses the threads of the fate of living beings for needlework, leading them to breaking points in life, and afterall, cutting off the thread of existence.

Most of the time, Mara dwells in Nav’, but, unlike Chernobog, she is not a captive of this world, and can freely cross the border - the Smorodina River, although she often prefers to send her envoys. Mara's influence extends to all three worlds, but the goddess is especially strong in Nav’.

Chernobog

Rrrreepresentatives of the Slavic peoples since ancient times believed that the forces of good cannot exist without the forces of evil. Such a balance is the key to harmony and peace. Therefore, the origins of the cult, glorifying the god of misfortune and destruction, cannot be traced. One of the first detailed mentions of Chernobog is considered to be a notation in the Slavic Chronicles.

It is not surprising that the place of worship for such a frightening character was made of black stone. And the rites dedicated to Chernobog did not take place without bloodshed. Most often, the glorification of the evil god took place once a decade. The Slavs gathered at night, read specific prayers in front of the idol and wept. Later, live sacrifices were replaced with wooden dolls, which were buried in the ground.

The Slavic god in the minds of the inhabitants of Ancient Russia took on several hypostases. In stories dedicated to Chernobog, a man appeared as an old man with a gray mustache or a strong man dressed in heavy armor. In both cases, the deity is accompanied by a black horse and a hawk, sometimes the patron of the dead holds a skull in his hands.

Under the command of Chernobog were Leshy, Lamia snakes, demons and sorcerers. The army of the undead is led by the brother of the sky god Viy, and the goddess Morena serves the great lord of the dead. Koschey and Zmey Gorynych help the man with advice.

The rune of Chernobog is considered to be the strongest amulet against stranger influence and overpast problems. Despite the negative image of the character, the amulet dedicated to God does not carry a negative meaning.

One-Eyed Likho

In 'n East Slavic mythology, the personified embodiment of an evil fate (a hard, unlucky fate).

Portrayed with various physical disabilities. In folk tales, the image of a Likho is often associated with the image of Grief. When there is a Likho next to a person, a variety of misfortunes begin to haunt him.

In the Russian folk tale, the "One -Eyed Likho" appears in the image of a thin one-eyed ogress. According to one of the assumptions, the image came from world folklore from the myth of the cyclops Polyphemus and Odysseus.

Upyri /Ghouls

A cdii common Slavic mythological character, a pawned dead man, rising from the grave at night; he harms people and cattle, drinks their blood, and damages the household.

It was considered that ghouls were people who were werewolves, sorcerers during their lifetime, or those who were excommunicated and anathematized (heretic, apostate, some criminals, such as maniacs), unbaptized children. Also, a ghoul could become a victim of violent death, who committed suicide, was attacked by a ghoul, one whose body was defiled by an animal.

The belief in ghouls was most widespread in the territory of Southern Russia (modern Ukraine). It was believed that they could cause famine, pestilence, drought. A ghoul roughly corresponds to a vampire in Western European mythology and has much in common with a ghoul in the East Slavic tradition. The belief in ghouls is associated with the idea of the existence of two kinds of the dead: those whose soul after death found peace in the "other world", and those who continue their posthumous existence on the border of two worlds.

According to legend, ghouls get up from their graves at night and walk on the ground, due to their humanoid appearance, they easily enter houses and suck the blood of sleeping people, then, before the third roosters crow, they return to their graves. It was possible to kill a ghoul by piercing his corpse with an aspen stake. If this did not help, then the corpse was usually burned. Ghouls cause pestilence, crop failures, droughts.

A ghoul looks like an ordinary person. But his skin can be either too pale, like a dead man's, or red, from drinking blood. He can also be recognized by the color of the eyes, they are usually bright red. The bodies of ghouls do not rot, and therefore it is impossible to distinguish them from people who are alive or have died recently.

MALICIOUS SPIRITS

The saying “Не буди лихо, пока оно тихо” has come down to our days, which perfectly reflects the entire sacred essence of this image. English equivalents of the saying: Harm watch, harm catch; Don't trouble trouble till trouble troubles you; Let sleeping dogs lie. A Likho is the spirit of evil, which is activated only when the person himself does not do the right thing, says too much or does something contrary to established traditions. This being is a metaphor for Universal justice, which determines that every person is obliged to be responsible for his actions, both for good and for bad. After all, according to legends, a Likho by itself will never attack, he only responds to outside influences. And it is not for nothing that our ancestors identified the swamp as the habitat of a Likho. Eventually, the swamp was considered by the Slavs to be an unclean, dangerous place, having the maximum concentration of negative energy. And if we consider that a swamp is usually formed in a lowland, which can easily be the result of karst voids, then the negative specificity of this place becomes absolutely obvious. A person has nothing to do in such a place. That is, a swamp is a forbidden place where a person should not be, and if he violates the established rules, then sooner or later a reckoning comes to him, concentrated in the image of that Likho.

Physically, different legends depict a Likho in different ways. Some say that it is a giant of enormous size, whose height exceeds the height of the tallest trees. This is a very strong, ferocious and vindictive creature, a meeting with which almost always means imminent death. In addition, a Likho is capable of cursing a person, sending him a series of failures, which can also eventually lead to death. More than that, this monster has magical abilities. According to other legends, a Likho – an ugly, tall, stooped, but very strong undead woman, who, along with superhuman strength and reaction, has an overly developed sense of smell. Due to the constant life in the swamp or in the immediate vicinity of it, the color of the skin and hair of a Likho has a dirty green hue. At the same time, all the legends agree on one thing – a Likho has only one eye. Therefore, it is obvious that the vision of this creature leaves much to be desired than the heroes of legends used to defeat this monster.

Although no one has ever managed to defeat a Likho, only a few were able to hide from him. This creature is probably invulnerable to terrestrial weapons. One way or another, a person is always to blame for the appearance of a Likho. Most often, the reason lies in his weakness, laziness, and unwillingness to change something. That is, for people who are strong-willed, the probability of meeting with a Likho is minimized.

Rusalki

It i|t was believed that rusalki (plural) took care of fields, forests and waters. In the English—language bestiary, the word rusalka is used for Slavic mermaids, and for sea maidens - mermaid. Slavs believed that mermaids live in rivers, lakes, fields and forests and comb their long green hair at night. According to the version of the academic dictionary "Slavic Antiquities" (L. N. Vinogradov), a rusalka is a malicious spirit that appears in summertime in the form of a long—haired woman in a cereal field, in the forest, by the water, capable of tickling a person to death or drowning in water.

The origin of rusalki was associated with the premature death of girls before marriage, with drowned women, children cursed by their parents could become them. They were presented as attractive girls or ugly old women with pale skin and burning eyes. The images of rusalka differed in different regions: for example, in Siberia, because of the cold climate, they were described as shaggy and dressed in rags, and in the south as very young girls in light clothes.

Ideas about rusalki have differed over the centuries: from the keepers of fields and forests to devils in female form. Initially, the image of a rusalka was close to a forest nymph, the spirit of nature: unlike European sea maidens, they did not have a fish tail. Later, they were increasingly identified with evil spirits. They also help the land to bear fruit and return the missing cattle. In the North of Russia, it was believed that rusalki, like werewolf witches, could transform into different animals: squirrels, cows, rats, frogs and other animals.

There was an idea among the population of the Urals that rusalki were cursed wives and virgins. They live in the flesh, invisible from people, and will live like this until the coming of Christ. They live constantly under water, in the company of devils. Peasants assumed that there were several ways to make a rusalka leave a person alone: to look at the ground and not look her in the eyes. It was believed that people who do not remove the cross are protected from the influence of a rusalka. If this did not stop a rusalka, then the peasant had to prick her with a pin.

In most folk stories, rusalki are depicted naked and without a headdress. Dressed rusalki are most often represented in torn sundresses.

Shulikuns

ThesIhese are seasonal demons that are associated with the element of water. According to beliefs, shulikuns appear at the Nativity of Christ (The Nativity of Christ is a Christian holiday associated with the memory of the birth of Jesus Christ, approved according to the dating of the celebration that was accepted in the Russian Orthodox Church. It is celebrated in Russia on January 7 according to the Gregorian calendar, which corresponds to December 25 according to the Julian calendar). They are small the size of a fist, they have horse hooves instead of legs, breathe fire, wear belts, and in peaked hats. On Christmas nights, they run through streets carrying hot coals in hot frying pans or iron hooks that can hook a person; gather in groups at road intersections, near ice holes, on the edges; tease drunkards, drive them, push them into a swamp, not really harming, but making fun. However, they can lure you into an ice hole and drown you.

There are legends that shulikuns ride on a horseback or on a sleigh drawn by three horses; they fly over the ground in a mortar or rush on baked ovens. In order to prevent shulikuns from entering the premises, the housewives baked crosses out of bread, because if they get in, it will be hard to kick them out.

It was believed that babies cursed or ruined by mothers became shulikuns. They live in abandoned empty sheds, but they can also get into the house and cause trouble. On Epiphany, the shulikuns disappear – they go under the water.

Domovoy

In 'n East Slavic mythology, the spirit of the house. Commonly, it is a small old man with a face covered with hair. He may also look like the owner of the house. His activity is rather useful to the inhabitants of the house and is associated with maintaining well-being in the household. Mainly domovye (plural) were cajoled with small "sacrifices" — people put some food behind the stove, where, according to beliefs, domovye live. When moving to a new place, it was necessary to persuade a domovoy to move with the owners with a special ritual. Otherwise, all sorts of troubles awaited people. In addition, if the owners of the house were somehow unpleasant to domovoy or did not treat him with due respect, he could take revenge on people by harming their household. Although it is believed that domovoy lives directly in the house, where, as a rule, icons or a crucifix are hanging (which none of the representatives of evil spirits can stand), and even likes to eat salt (which is also unacceptable even for witches), nevertheless,domovoy is just an evil force, just not so harmful, as its typical representatives.

Domestic Snake

Myths t'yths hat the soul of a deceased ancestor can incarnate into a snake existed among all Slavs. However, in Eastern Slavic beliefs, this role was more often assigned to domovye, and only in Western Russian regions believed that the domestic snake was the soul of the deceased owner of the house. This motif is manifested in the beliefs that during the day a domovoy looks like a snake with a rooster's crest on its head, and at night — like the owner of the house. A snake located in the yard or in a stable cannot be killed — otherwise the owner or mistress will die. Usually a domestic snake is thick and short, red, white or gray in color. According to other ideas, the snake is already as thick as an arm and short, as if chopped off, like a log, with a large, round, child—like head. The favorite places of a domestic snake are the same as those of a domovoy: the threshold, underground, near the hearth or stove, under the foundation of the house. She also lives in the yard, in the stable, closer to the cattle. Usually a domestic snake is invisible, and it is shown only in special cases. The appearance of a domestic snake is a sure sign of the imminent death of the owner of the house or one of the family members to whom it appeared. The snake also predicts other important events: if it laughs, it portends good to the house. If the household sees a snake crawling from the yard, it is a sign of imminent poverty and other misfortunes, if it crawls into the yard, it is to happiness and wealth.

A domestic snake, like a domovoy, is considered the keeper of both the house and the family, it is in every house and without it there can be no well-being, prosperity and happiness. If there is no snake in the house, then something is wrong.

PATRONS OF A HOUSE

Laska /Weasel

A sma small predatory animal from the marten family is a significant mythological character among the Slavs. In the folk tradition, a laska often acts as a domestic patron and a guard of livestock.

In East Slavic mythology, a laska is mostly associated not with a house, but with cattle. A laska usually lives in a stable or cowshed. As well as about a domovoy, it was said about a laska that it should be in every household. If a laska loves cattle, then there will be good cattle in such a farm, cows will give offspring and a lot of milk.

Among the people believed that every cow has its own laska-patroness of the same kind. A laska strokes the beloved animal, cleans and scratches its fur, braids the mane of the beloved horse. A mane braided with a laska cannot be unwound, so as not to anger her and not to bring misfortune to the cattle.

But if the cattle are not the same kind, a laska will torment the animals, drive them around a cowshed, tear out wool, tangle a mane, bite and scratch until it takes a cattle out.

Since a laska takes care of a cattle and even protects it from witches and sorcerers, it was forbidden to kill it, otherwise there would be no cattle in this household, and the beloved cow of a laska would also die.

Leshy /wood goblin

Les''eshy is the owner of the forest, called upon to protect it and its inhabitants at any cost and maintain order in it. In the forest, he is the rightful owner: all birds and animals, especially hares, squirrels, small animals, are subordinate to him and obey him unrequitedly.

Vodyanoy /Aquatic

Th''he Slavs believed that any reservoir, like a forest, has an owner - Vodyanoy.

Baba Yaga

Baba aba Yaga - in Slavic mythology, an old forest sorceress, a witch.

Baba Yaga is usually depicted as a large hunchbacked old woman with a large, long, humped and hooked nose.

In Slavic mythology, a character who lives in a certain space (house, forest, pond) and has the function of an owner, guardian or defender of his sphere of habitation. The spirit of the place punishes the violator of the rules of ritual and everyday behavior in the space under their control and helps those who honor him.

People represented Leshy in different ways. Like an old man of enormous stature with a face as white as birch bark, with huge eyes, in an animal skin. In some cases, Leshy was represented in an "animal" form – with horns on his head and hooves on his feet.

A characteristic feature of Leshy is its ability to change its height: it can be either a short, decrepit old man on a level with the grass, or grow up to the very tops of trees. Also, he has no shadow.

In the forest, Leshy can be seen sitting on an aspen stump or on a tree overturned by a storm.

The forest, unlike the house, was considered by the Slavs to be a completely alien territory, almost another dimension, where evil spirits feel in their element, therefore, a very dangerous place.

According to beliefs, Leshy does not harm people as much as they frolic, joke, and in this he is very similar to his relatives — domovoy. Making fun of lost people, Leshy laughs, whistles and claps his hands. The most common leprosies and jokes of Leshy are that he "bypass" a person who has gone deep into the thicket to pick mushrooms or berries, and either lead him to a place from which there is no way out, or he will let such a fog into his eyes that they will completely confuse him, and the lost one will circle around the forest for a long time, returning each time to the same place.

Leshy was not so eager to destroy a person.But the probability of becoming his victim was great, because people went to the forest regularly, and even from a very early age. Berries, mushrooms, nuts, as well as hunting - all this took people far, very far from home, and the risk of getting lost was always high. “Леший попутал!” (“Leshy tripped me up!”) - ​​said the man in this case. To escape, it was necessary to become like a forest owner: wrap clothes from right to left or turn them inside out, swap shoes - the left lapot (pl. lapti - bast shoes) is worn on the right lapot, and the right on the left.

If a person enters the forest without malicious intentions, does not violate the rules established by Leshy, asks for permission and blessings from him, then Leshy not only does not touch the person and does not harm him, but can even help: provide good prey on the hunt, show field full of mushrooms and show the right way to a lost traveler.

In East Slavic mythology, Vodyanoy is an evil spirit that lives in water; the embodiment of water as a dangerous element for a person.

The appearance of Vodyanoy in the beliefs of the Eastern Slavs was presented differently. In some cases, he was described as an old man of enormous stature with green or black hair, with eyes as red as coals, with a beard of algae and with a body covered with mud. Vodyanoy could look like a gray-haired old man in a red shirt or a thin old man with blue skin. In other cases, he was represented as a person with signs of a fish or an animal: he has a fish tail, webs on his legs and hands, like a frog or duck; he has a large tail and thick fur all over his body, horns on his head. Vodyanoy, as they believed, can be any fish, but most often – catfish or pike.

The favorite habitats of this mythological creature were pools, whirlpools, deep pits in rivers and lakes under steep banks; places in rivers and lakes that do not freeze in winter. And also Vodyanoy dwells near watermills.

No wonder people say - “Still waters run deep!”.

Vodyanoy one is most likely a drowned man who continues to live after death until his time runs out.

Vodyanoy reveals himself by characteristic sounds – loud laughter, screaming, screeching, howling, moaning, whistling, bleating, quacking, clapping his hands, slapping on the water. This mythological creature can refer by name to a person who is going to drown; talks to himself or speaks in a strange, incomprehensible language, reinterprets ordinary words, mimics people.

Vodyanoy, of course, the enemy of people, he is dangerous and is often mistaken for the devil himself, largely because of the cunning with which he lures his victims to the bottom, for example, pretending to be a drowning child who cries and asks for help.

According to beliefs, Vodyanoy can help fishermen by driving fish into their nets, or help millers to turn the wheel of a watermill smoothly so that dams do not collapse.

The danger of Vodyanoy is that it drowns people, especially those who enter the water without a cross or without crossing themselves; who swims at dangerous times – at noon or midnight, as well as at Kupala (July 7) and on St. Elijah’s day (August 2); who swims over his dwelling and muddying the waters is those who do not observe fasts and work on Sunday. Vodyanoy lies in wait for his victim near a pool or whirlpool, arouses an irresistible craving for water in a person, and after drowning, drags his victim to the bottom. People drowning in a water reservoir become his property, he does not allow them to swim to the surface and does not allow anyone to help him.

Yaga was endowed with magical power, which possessed magical signs. Yaga can communicate with animals, transform into them and control the elements.

The irreplaceable attributes of Baba Yaga are a flying stupa (mortar) (vehicle) and a pomelo (broom, she covers her tracks with them). This subject is directly related to the feminine principle, as well as to the magic of purifying power in the view of the ancients.

Baba Yaga also has magical items: a ball of thread (with its help you can find your way anywhere) and a dish with an apple (she needs it to look into the future). But the main symbol of the forest witch is a hut on chicken legs.

According to the tales of the Eastern Slavs, the main symbol of the forest witch is a hut on chicken legs; the fence around the hut is made of human bones, there are skulls on the fence, a human leg instead of a bolt, hands instead of a latch, instead of a lock - a mouth with sharp teeth.

The image of Baba Yaga is composed in different details.

Firstly, Yaga is the giver to whom the hero comes. She asks the hero (or heroine), hands over a horse, rich gifts.

Secondly, Yaga is a kidnapper, carrying off the children she is trying to roast.

Thirdly, Yaga is a warrior who flies to the heroes in the hut, fights with them, and sometimes punishes them.

In some fairy tales, Yaga is called "Baba Yaga kostyanaya noga" (bony-leg). Baba Yaga needs a "kostyanaya noga" in order to stand with this foot in the afterlife, while standing with a real foot in the world of the living.

In n addition to mythological creatures and gods, the Slavs believed in the existence of magic and quite often performed magical rites and rituals in their lives. These rites and rituals included: spells, prayers; wearing amulets, talismans.

Magic is a set of ideas and rituals based on the belief in mysterious forces, with the help of which it is possible to influence people, objects and the course of events in the direction necessary for a person. Magic occupied a significant place in the life of pagan Slavs, because it reflected the ability of a person to change the present and future in the right direction by the power of his will, thoughts and desires. Magic was often practised by people endowed with certain supernatural abilities.

Ved’ma /a witch

A wi' witch was considered a real woman endowed with supernatural abilities and associated with evil spirits. The word witch correlates with a number of words that combine the meaning of “know", “knowledge". Witches were originally called women with secret, sacred knowledge, the gift of foresight and possessing mysterious magical abilities. The main feature of witches is their dual nature, which consists in their connection with both people and the sphere of evil spirits.

Most often, the witch was represented as an old untidily dressed woman with grey dishevelled hair, with a hooked nose, with bony hands, sometimes with bodily defects (humpback, lameness). A witch was often considered a lonely woman, unfriendly, with oddities. Less often, the witch was described as a beautiful girl or a young woman.

A witch acquires her abilities through a connection with evil spirits, and the nature of this connection may be different. Firstly, witches are distinguished "by birth", or natural witches. It was believed, for example, that witches become girls born in the third generation out of wedlock. Secondly, it was believed that an ordinary girl or woman could acquire magical abilities, to whom a dying witch managed to transfer her sacred knowledge and abilities through some object (ring, comb, handkerchief, etc.). Thirdly, it was believed that a woman cohabiting with a devil could become a witch. In addition, according to popular beliefs, a woman can turn into a witch, into whom (at her will or against her will) evil spirits enter.

Witches become especially dangerous during big annual holidays, during periods of full moon or new moon, as well as on stormy nights. Witches are attributed to epidemics, droughts, crop failures. They can predict the future, make poisons and love potions, but they can also separate the bride and groom, husband and wife. The hostility of witches towards people is also manifested in the fact that they can send damage to people and pets, as a result of which people and animals get sick and die, and newborns do not sleep at night and cry; in this case, the household quarrels, food goes bad, work does not go well. Various amulets were used to protect against witches.

There is a fairly widespread belief that a witch is punished with a hard and painful death for her connection with evil spirits: she cannot die until she passes on her knowledge to someone. During the witch's agony, a storm rises, and a black dog appears in the yard, which does not disappear until the witch's death.

Koldun /a sorcerer

In n East Slavic mythology, a sorcerer is a person associated with evil spirits, engaged in witchcraft. Like a witch, a sorcerer is a real person with demonic abilities. It was believed that a sorcerer is the person who sends a spell.

A sorcerer can cause damage by placing under the threshold or under the stove, burying the spellen objects under the corner of the house – hair, bones, tangled threads, eggshells, dead animals, etc. As a result, diseases, misfortunes begin in the house where the damage was arranged, people disappear or die. The sorcerer sends demons on people, as a result of which people become possessed; turning people into animals for a while or for life. A sorcerer can jinx a hunter or angler, as a result of which they will not come across game and fish will not be caught. Like witches, sorcerers can unsettle relationships between people and deprive the field of fertility.

Outwardly, a sorcerer differs from other people by a frown, a cloudy, evil look from under his brows, a grey, sallow complexion, fused eyebrows, stooping; a sorcerer can be red, long-haired and long-bearded; he is laconic and often mutters something to himself, never looks into the eyes of the interlocutor, does not refuse to drink.

By their origin, sorcerers are divided into natural, hereditary and professional. Natural sorcerers, sorcerers "by conviction" are ordinary people who voluntarily collude with evil spirits. Hereditary sorcerers were believed to include children born of a sorcerer, or illegitimate children in the third generation (the latter, according to popular belief, are born with a small tail). A person can receive the appropriate abilities and "legacy" from a dying sorcerer. There is a belief that a sorcerer, like a witch, dies in severe agony until he transfers his abilities to another. Professional sorcerers – carpenters, millers, blacksmiths, shepherds, beekeepers – could harm people for any reason, usually because of bad food or disrespect expressed towards them.

According to East Slavic beliefs, sorcerers have their own hierarchy. Powerful sorcerers with unlimited abilities can do evil and correct what they have done. Weak sorcerers manifest themselves only in certain areas of witchcraft (for example, they can enchant a guy to a girl or send damage to cattle) and cannot correct the evil caused.

To prevent the sorcerer from harming people after his death, various precautions were observed: the deceased sorcerer was carried out of the house headfirst, turned face down in the coffin, his hands and feet were tied with blackberry branches, a knife, consecrated poppy, aspen shavings were placed in the coffin; the coffin was upholstered with iron hoops. The grave of the sorcerer was showered with consecrated or self-seeded poppy, and an aspen stake was driven into the grave.

Znakhar’ /
a faith healer

A wi'' faith healer is a self-taught healer who deals with his own methods of treatment with the help of herbs, spells and various magical actions. In the popular consciousness, a faith healer (a person with secret knowledge) is fundamentally different from witches and sorcerers by his benevolent attitude towards people.

The special status of a faith healer was also determined by the peculiarities of his acquisition of magical abilities. Unlike witches and sorcerers, whose knowledge can be either innate or acquired, the skill of a faith healer is always acquired. Usually an experienced healer teaches a beginner, and in this tradition healing is close to the craft.

As magical items that enhance the impact of the spell, healers use various objects: earth from several crossroads, ashes from several furnaces, slivers from a tree broken by lightning, etc. Various spells are pronounced by healers at a strictly defined time of day: at midnight, at morning or evening dawn. No less important is the place of a faith healer's treatment: at the edge of the forest, on the threshold of the house, on the river bank, in the bathhouse, at the fruit tree in the garden, at the crossroads, etc. Healers treat various diseases of people (toothache, bleeding, insomnia, snake bite), but often their activities are aimed at diseases resulting from witchcraft – damage, the evil eye, fright, etc.

The healer, in addition, could show other abilities demanded by people: to find missing or stolen things, lost or stolen cattle, as well as to point out the thief; to protect cattle from damage for the entire pasture season, to stop the death of livestock; to predict the future by guessing on divination cards or on water; to destroy harmful insects and mice in the house, protect crops from pests, provide good luck to fishermen and hunters.