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I am a Greek Orthodox Christian who loves to learn about religion and wants to keep our ancient traditions alive in the present day. I am trying to learn about neopaganism as I want to work with you guys to help spread your culture in this ever so increasingly diverse world.

If you guys aren't comfortable with me being here I completely understand, but if you are ok with me being here do you mind if I ask any follow up questions?

Veles.

Hi all, My fiancé is Polish and is learning now about his ancestral roots. We wanted to incorporate Polish Rodnovery tradition into our wedding (I’m Hindu). Obviously with the price of weddings, there’s no way we’re going to be able to do two ceremonies lol but we wanted to fuse some of the tradition of the Polish side into the Hindu ceremony. We were thinking about doing a hand fasting immediately after the shortened Hindu ceremony but I don’t know if this is the proper Slavic ceremony/if it is accurate? If not, what is the more accurate form of the Rodnovery ceremony?

I've been thinking recently about the pros and cons of organizing our faith and I'm curious about your opinions

Do you think it would help encourage more followers or maybe it would be better to continue to follow the motto "there is no one way to be a pagan"?

Heil Perun! Can someone tell me or where to read the story of the Gods. Like the bible for the Christians

I’m Slovak, and have been a practicing witch for about 6 years, and have really wanted to get into slavic paganism. However it seems incredibly difficult to find much information on slavic paganism and folk magic, and any time I do I usually only see Russia mentioned (sometimes Ukraine too, but mostly Russia). I’m curious if anyone has any specific information from Slovak region? My family was never religious or spiritual and don’t have anything to pass down to me. Also do these practices apply to other slavic countries as well or is it just Russia? Thank you for any help you can offer.

Hey, everyone!

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An unsure but intrigued fella from Bosnia here. Specifically, the FBiH.

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Would anyone be kind enough to, according to their ability and/or knowledge, give me some sources or recommendations for Bosnia-based Rodnovery groups? Last I checked, Praskozorje fell apart. I've been unable to find ANY alternatives/counterparts to them.

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Many thanks in advance for any and all help!

I'm more familiar with Norse reconstructionism but have recently wanted to better educate myself on Slavic paganism too. In doing so I found this article which attempts to break down credible historical usages of sun wheels. I felt it did a pretty good job, but was curious what others already knowledgeable might think about it.

I would also love if anybody could link me examples of Slavic symbols with real archeological support in their usage.

Link: https://sagy.vikingove.cz/en/origins-of-kolovrat-symbol/

Hello! I recently moved to the southern hemisphere, and as the seasons are the opposite as the northern hemisphere, I am unsure if I should still drown the effigy of Morana March 21st, as it’s coming into Autumn, not spring. It also doesn’t feel right to drown the effigy in September, but that aligns better with the seasons. I was wondering if anyone here has had this experience who could let me know what to do, thank you!

Maslenitsa a holiday on the 24th of March is coming up but I have no Idea how to celebrate it any ideas or suggestions?

I wonder because it is known that Mieszko (the last pagan ruler of Poland) had 4 wives before he was baptized

so how many wives can one man have?
does it depend on the man's wealth? and what is the limit, can you have a maximum of 4 wives?
and can women have multiple husbands? and if so, how does it work?

I'm just curious

It's been a long road getting from there to here...

My journey has been insane so far and it changed me to the point I cannot even mimic being like that naive kid. From entering a decade-long suicidal episode to desperately desiring the Divine in my atheistic life, then becoming a fervent Hekate devotee, then experiencing my polytheism being disintegrated in my burning passion for the Sun alone, then becoming an Orthodox Christian catechumen in my all-encompassing ecstatic mania for the Sun, God as I saw it, to then finally experiencing a sudden turn of fate that led me through this recent path of acceptance, instrospection, agony, self-reintegration and rebirth as a Slav. Sounds ridiculously overly dramatic. Well, this is because that's how things have been.

Throughout my entire conscious life I lived with a deep, raging hatred for my country. Because it did a lot of terrible things to far too many good people. It killed hopes of even more of those. I've been struggling here as a gay kid and now gay man with a previously overlooked mental condition. I wanted to be free from all the things I went through as a child and all that this place represents to this day because of how incredibly exhausted I was after years of consuming that. Now I'm writing this sitting next to my homemade shrine for Mara and Yar (the name I attribute to Rod under his solar guise, his main one in my practice) after this recent streak of months spent in daily prayers and hymn-writing and on its left sits my collection of books and personal notes I collected while moving through traditions in the search of my spiritual home. New Age stuff, then Hellenic polytheism, then Christian Orthodoxy, then a weird Christopagan phase and now this, as seen in the shrine.

All that journey makes so much sense now. Hellenism got me closer to Orthodox Christianity (arguably an inherently very Greek teaching), Orthodox Christianity became my crossroad between the Greek and the Slavic ethnos. Things consecutively flowing into one another. My beliefs growing, deconstructing, morphing, moving. Skin peeling off layers by layers until I couldn't ignore my past any longer and remained alone with it, face-to-face. And then this internal fight and the ongoing resolution.

Pain doesn't go away. Attrocities, the abuse, my own wrongdoings and broken past are all integral parts of my narrative. What changes is we, people, get in control over it. Own the darkness, just like the Moon rises above it, illuminating the obscure, dim world. My country is a troubled, cursed place. But what this rotten government does doesn't change the fact that this land has a living, beating heart inside of it, full of spirits, magic, fables and images. And I'm inherently connected to it. My heart, for what it's worth, is inevitably attuned to it, because however bad my life had been, I'm virtually formed out of those many-many minor and major national quirks and nuances. I'm Slavic and that is both my blessing and my curse.

I think I'm proud to admit it out loud now — I'm a Rodnover. Yeah, my faith might be unconventional and some of my theological views might be abnormal, but in my own opinion, they have their place in the Rodnovery story. I found my voice in my own language which power I got used to ignore. I found freedom in my ethnic background that I got used to suppress out of guilt and pain — both valid, but still.

Glory to the Great Ancestor. Glory to the World Mother, his messenger, who once arrived to me under her guise as Greek Hekate and now continues the journey as Mara, the Fate-Spinner. My heart sings in joy for people like me and people who came to the complexity of the Slavic paganism from abroad. May it help them on their journey onward, just like the spirits of Ancient Greece once helped me to find my way home. And if they find their very home itself here, then may we all be one in this united song of ours.

The forest is considered a natural temple by our ancestors, that's why i want to pray and make offerings there

hence my question: can I just leave the offerings in the forest or does it have to be thrown into the bonfire? and if I can leave an offering in the forest, does it have to be deep inside the forest or can it be near the path?

When I first joined this group as a polish person I was really surprised that everyone here uses english. Is there an interest with rodnovery outside of slavic countries or are we all just slavic people using english to communicate easier? Also what are your thoughts on importance of ancestry in rodnovery. Do you think it should be practiced only by slavic people/people living in slavic countries?

Hello! Does anyone here devote themselves to Morena/Marzanna? If so, what ways that you show your devotion to her? I am also curious of what are some of the reasons why you wanted to devote yourself to her? How does she present herself to you even through various signs, symbols, and associations? What are your upgs and are there any personal signs and symbols that she uses to reach out to you? Also, how did you verify that it was her presence that was reaching out to you in the beginning?

I know I have ranted and raved about "Bogowie" by T.D. Kokoszka. One of the more strange-sounding claims in this English language book is that Katicic and Belaj conflated Morana with the Dawn Goddess, or the Morning Star Goddess. For instance, he talks quite a bit about the brother/sister marriage that shows up in Slavic Summer Solstice traditions. Katicic and Belaj linked these with Jarilo and Morana. But there are traditions that appear to link this myth with the sun and his sister, the dawn or morning star. On top of this, he shows that there was a Balto-Slavic tradition of referring to the morning star as "Maria" or "Mariu Pana" (Lithuanian for Sea Maiden).

And this is all very controversial coming from someone who has no formal academic background other than a random B.S. in Microbiology. So you might be tempted to write it off. Well, apparently another book with a similar claim was published in Polish about a year earlier (2022). This was Mity Słowian by Michał Łuczyński. (Image attached)

Has anyone read this book? Apparently on page 144 of Mity Słowian, a very similar argument is laid out. The section is titled "Wesele Jutrzenki." (The marriage of the dawn) The arguments are not quite identical, from what I can gather. The author of Bogowie: A Study of Eastern Europe's Ancient Gods (T.D. Kokoszka) claims that the words for "death" and "sea" were both used to describe two different goddesses who represented opposite concepts (death vs. renewal). But the argument is basically the same; The sea maiden is the dawn goddess, who is functionally opposite to "death" (Marzanna). The book by Kokoszka shows no awareness of Łuczyński's work. Even though it cites hundreds of sources, I think only a couple of them are in Polish.

Is there anyone else here who can compare the arguments in these two books? One is in Polish, and the other is in English. They both seem to present different pieces of the same puzzle.

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Mity Słowian. Śladami świętych opowieści przodków ( Michał Łuczyński 2022)

Bogowie: A Study of Eastern Europe's Ancient Gods (T.D. Kokoszka 2023)

Hello,

I was curious to know if anyone has any source material or knew of any rituals or practices surrounding the death of a loved one? Not necessarily for the body and burial, but for myself as a practitioner.

I’ve found loose sources that state one cuts their hair, as well as some Slavic pagan practices have widows and immediate family wear black for a season, sometimes a widow for life.

Any guidance or insight is appreciated. Thank you.

Hello,

I'm very interested in learning more about Slavic faith pre-Christianization. Curious about mythology, rituals, folklore, daily life, philosophies, history of origins/influences (ex. Connections to Hinduism, Greek myth, so on), etc. I speak and (slowly) read Polish; since I am not immersed in the Polish internet and spaces as much, I find it difficult to find information concerning niche topics. My ability to judge if something is fakelore is pretty poor in this context, too. However, I understand a lot of great resources are written and published in Polish only.

Is there a list of recommended Polish reads? I don't mind websites, podcasts, etc, but I do prefer books. If I can purchase internationally, it's preferred. If not, I do have family in Poland who will forward it. It would just be a pain for me, because they are pretty hardcore Christians suspicious of everything, so I would like to avoid stirring the pot.

Also, are [1, 2, 3] these books reliable? I have them, but haven't started yet.

Other publications I currently own are:
"Mitologia Slowian" by Aleksander Gieysztor (2006)
"Mitologia Słowiańska" by Jakub Bobrowski, Mateusz Wrona (2020)

Thank you

I am a Polish Rodnovery beginner, I looked in many Rodnovery articles and websites, but nowhere could I find specific information on how to worship our Gods, and since I do not have access to any Żerca, I decided that maybe I will find the answer here.

I also want to point out that because I live in the city, I don't have easy access to forests, I only have medium and small-sized parks

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https://preview.redd.it/7ku5yj01engc1.jpg?width=434&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ca2817b082bd09c2b2558cd9fe048636b2e184d3

I'm considering buying a necklace with a Slavic symbol, can't find much info on this one. Was this actually used by ancient Slavs in any capacity or is it just 20th century made-up nonsense? I know that the kolovrat is pretty much bs.

Hey all, I've been trying to do some research on Polish Paganism for myself, and for some potential tattoos. Does anyone here have any resources they could share, or that could point me in the direction of? Scholarly sources would be amazing.

I just wonder how my fellow Slavs dispose when they ever so give a meaningful offering to a god in prayer. I ask this because practices may be different from person to person...

I’m trying to find out when the holidays are and how one goes about celebrating. I found this calendar https://slavicpolytheist.wordpress.com/calendar/. But does anyone know of some important holidays, especially in the Croatian area? Or some resources I could use to find out more information? Thank you for any help and taking the time to read this :)

i read on some website that he was related to a ukrainian king or monarch, but i don't remember what the website was

Svarog is Dazbog's dad, but who is his mum?

Were east Slavic cultures really as primitive compared to there western counterparts as often implicitly stated citing the ostensible lack to wooden temples and supposed lack of formalized priesthood, could this gap be easily explained by the northern crusades leading to the documentation of pre Christian west Slavic people as opposed to east slavic pagns whose study is predicated mainly upon archeology and some limited sources from post Christianization. It seems the divide between east and west Slavic is like much of history a abstraction and estimation based on limited information that belies a more complicated truth. Is there any evidence of similar cult sites as found in Rugen as well as a class of zhrets in east slavic lands considering supposed continuity with pre Christian hip roofed temples with that of orthodox churches and the presence of the word zhret in both polish and Russian?

Yeah.. What you think of taking help of Hindus?

For now Paganism is not very popular and is yet to establish it's roots. Prior to Christianity and Abrahamic faith Paganism was popular with worshipping of Jupiter or Saturn or other gods.

Now wee know that when one pray certain process must be followed same for building the temple or altar or whatever. problem is that knowledge related to it has been lost. for centuries or what we may have is corrupted knowledge.

And if prayed with that knowledge then desired result might not be achieved.

Now there is Hinduism which has organised structure and preserved knowledge. Hindu also pray to moon Sun Jupiter Saturn Earth etc etc.

So why not take their help?

Now one may argue that even deity r same but there is still some difference.

0k...agreed to that. but before that let me tell you about communism-

Chinese communism and USSR communism were totally different but during initial level China took help from USSR

Christianity and Judaism is totally different but again initially Christianity took help of Judaism while establishing itself!!

So should paganism take help of hinduism...what you think of this?