For those who don’t remember which story I’m taking about here’s a billet point summary of the story.

1. Perun finds himself on a boat and commands the fiery sky to become his axe

2. He sees his reflection in the water and pulls his reflection out. His reflection declares himself Volos, Perun’s brother. Perun declares himself the first god.

3. Volos is told to command land to rise in Perun’s name. He tries twice to command it in his own name and fails— the sand slips through his hand. On the third try he commands in Perun’s name and it works, but there is one blue stone that he can pick up and he hides it in his mouth as he brings up the land.

Every version of the story ends without the azure stone playing any seemingly significant role in the story and yet it’s mentioned in every version so it must be important right?

For those who want the more elegant re-telling here’s a link to the story

https://sebastianhetman.com/slavic-mythology-pt-2-land/

And here’s a link to where I got the image used from

https://www.tuhin.world/veles-the-slavic-god-of-the-underworld-and-the-sea

The holiday on November 30 (Or at night on November 29/30) is called Kalita in Ukraine and Polesia, Mečkin dan, Zverovni dan, or Mečkodava in Serbia/Bulgaria. It survived today as the divination rituals on Christianised St. Andrews Day (Andrzejki in Poland), because this day was believed to be suitable for magic.

I wonder if y'all celebrate it, and if so, then how?

Veles:
Beeswax candles, braided round bread with salt in the middle, milk libation, beer libation, offering of livestock other than cattle (this can be replaced by bread baked in the shape of the animal), rushnyks, washing of the statue or icon with water from a river as he is the protector of rivers, horns from cattle

Perun:
Beeswax candles, braided round bread with salt in the middle, liquor libation, beer libation, offering of livestock, oak leaves, rushnyks

Dazhboh and Khors:
Beeswax Candles, Sun or Moon charms, mead libation, grain libation

Mokosh:
Beeswax candles, traditional red beaded necklaces, rushnyks and vyshyvankas, spindle, tying some ribbons to willow trees, herbs for medicine, sheaves, wool, libations of wine and mead, cattle

Yarilo:
Beeswax candles, herbs, grain libation, libations of liquor, libations of beer and mead, bread

Simargl:
Candles, Swords, Hard Liquor Libations

Striboh:
Candles, resin incense made of different native resins such as pine, cedar, juniper, etc, libation of liquor

Svarog:
Iron tools, large fires (I usually give fire offerings for all the major ones, like Perun, Mokosh, Veles, and Svarog), offerings of hard liquor into that fire

Ancestors:
Kutya, Braided Round Bread w Salt, Rushnyks, Candles

Rusalky and Vodyanyk:
Parsley, Different colored ribbons on willow trees or really any tree by the river, libations of wine for rusalky, offerings on butter for the vodyanoy, rushnyks and red beaded necklaces for rusalky, hard liquor libations for vodyanoy, vinok (wreath) of flowers for the Rusalky, candles at the riverbank

Leshy:
Offerings of bread and salt at the entrance of a forest, a portion of the harvest from hunting, an offering of herbs or mushrooms picked in the forest once leaving, hard liquor libations, beer and mead libations, first easter egg

Rid:
Eggs, grains, libations of any liquid, honey, cheese, kutia, uzvar

Domovoy, Bannyk, Kikimora, and other house/occupational spirits:
A candle at each place, a piece of bread, some salt, some liquor, and grains. For bannyks, soap and fir branches after a bath are appreciated. Ovinnik likes roosters and bliny, which are kinda like crepes. For domovoys and kikimoras, offer a chicken when first arriving to a new house and offer the first portion of a meal for them, disposing of it the next day. Uzvar, a traditional drink, can also be given

Mara:
Sacrifices of blood, bread, grains, liquor, kutya, and other items to ask her to not let her wrath be strong for you

As you can see, most of them are quite similar, but this is what I offer and also based on how their energy feels. I try to keep it as traditional as possible, but I also practice dvoyistvira, or syncretic paganism where I use icons instead of pagan statues, but I make the same prayers and offerings :)

I hope this not only helps beginners for ideas but also for any practitioner now incase they want to add on to the list or take from what I do :)

Hello again! Like the title asks, is there a Slavic...particularly Western Slavic equivalent of the Wild Hunt? I would assume since it has Germanic origin, something must have sneaked in over the years to Western Slavs. Does anyone have any knowledge from family folk tales or traditions?

I've researched online but nothing really strikes a chord. I assume it would be Perun leading it but Veles is mentioned.

Just asking for your thoughts community!

Hello, Ive been researching on that subject and came up with a few articles. One of articles says that they believed that clothes are only a byproduct of civilization and that nudity is closely related with magic and their ability to be one with nature. It was, therefore, a part of various rituals and public nudity was a normal occurrence for our ancestors. It talked more about sexuality as well but I want to stop just here and hear your thoughts on it based on your knowledge.

Thank you

So this hasn't really come up too much but I wanted to know if there was a source I was missing or someone could explain. Perun is viewed as the most prominent diety but Rod plays a huge roll as well but doesn't get mentioned as much. Rod is the diety of family, ancestors, and creation.
Seeing as he could even be viewed as "the creator," do you view Rod as the supreme architect who stepped away to align with other dieties and Perun took on "the face" roll?

Thank you in advance to the kind replies haha.

Yes I'm aware that most Slavic countries are Christian of some sorts, I wasn't told any story's from my cultures or heritage growing up so I don't know what's the normal amount to know (I have partial Slavic heritage about a quarter Belarusian) What kind of storys about our gods and folklore did or does the average slavic person learn about as a child

Hi! I'm new to Slavic paganism and my biggest source has been my country's Rodnovery group (I'm Czech). However, they're trying their best to recreate the original rituals. I'm unfortunately unable to attend those nor recreate them on my own.

I've seen a few posts where people talked and briefly explained what seems to me as a bit more 'modern' and closeted version of Rodnovery. I haven't been able to find any sources about it so I'd appreciate if someone could explain it to me or recommend any sorces because I'd love to learn about it!

Thank you in advance

Hi everyone! We're working on creating a crowdsourced list of resources for Slavic Native Faiths and Rodnovery to pin as a sticky. This topic comes up almost daily, and while we've had stickies in the past, we want to revisit it and organize it into a better, more useful format.

What We're Looking For

We want to gather books, websites, and other resources that provide useful and reliable information about Slavic Native Faiths. Here’s how we’re breaking it down:

1. Primary Sources

Primary sources are essential for understanding the roots of Slavic spirituality. These are texts that directly document or preserve pre-Christian Slavic beliefs and practices. Examples include: The Primary Chronicle, Ibn Fadlan’s Travel Account, Chronicles of Thietmar of Merseburg, Alexander Afanasyev’s Russian Fairy Tales

These types of sources are vital for reconstructing ancient practices and understanding the spiritual worldview of the Slavs.

2. Modern Pagan and Rodnovery Books

We’re also looking for modern books written by authors who base their work on primary sources like folklore, archaeological findings, historical texts, and linguistic studies. These books should aim to bridge historical research with contemporary practices.

We’re open to including:

• Works grounded in authentic traditions.
• Individual or reconstructed practices as long as they are rooted in primary sources.
• Books that help interpret Slavic spirituality for today’s practitioners while respecting its historical foundations.

These resources are key for practitioners seeking insight into Rodnovery and Slavic Native Faiths.

Organized by Slavic Traditions

To keep things organized, we’ll break down resources into the three main Slavic regions:

Western Slavs

• Modern Countries: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, eastern Germany (Lusatia).
• Languages: Polish, Czech, Slovak, Sorbian, German.

Eastern Slavs

• Modern Countries: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus.
• Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian.

Southern Slavs

• Modern Countries: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Slovenia.
• Languages: Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Montenegrin, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Slovenian.

For each tradition, we’ll include books, folklore collections, and scholarly works that focus on the practices, deities, and worldviews specific to that region.

English or original-language works.

How You Can Help

If you know of any resources that fit these categories, drop a comment with:

• The title of the book or website.
• A brief description of what it covers.
• The region or tradition it fits into (Western, Eastern, or Southern Slavs) and language.
• Link to the text if its public domain, or link to the publisher.

We’ll keep this up for several weeks. During that time, we’ll gather all the suggestions and input you share to compile a comprehensive and permanent sticky. While we’ll incorporate some materials from past lists, this is your chance to help shape the resource by sharing your favorite or important texts in your language or others.

You can contribute by dropping a comment here or by directly messaging the mod u/ArgonNights.(preferred) Let us know about books, websites, or other resources that you think are essential for this list. Your input will help make this a valuable resource for the entire community, so don’t hesitate to share!

Edit: gonna start with ancestor worship & more research on Slavic beliefs and traditions. Any advice on that would be greatly appreciated, as I jumped the gun a bit with Slavic paganism thinking it would function the same as my main pantheons and how deity worship and work functions with them and likely misinterpreted stuff as such.

(My original post for context.) I'm an eclectic pagan, I've been practicing for almost 5 years and doing deity work for about 3. My partner is newer to it and had Czernobog reach out to him, I have very little experience with the Slavic deities and my partner has yet to try deity work. I figured I'd start researching and getting stuff figured out for him, so he can have someone with experience walk him through parts of it. From the brief pendulum readings I've done with him he's alright with me talking to him and doing stuff on behalf of my partner, but I know very little about him and basic Google searches said he's the Slavic version of Lord Satan, but just a quick search through stuff mentioning him here it seems that's Christianity affecting the actual mythos? Any advice on working with him or good sources of information would be appreciated.

Maybe I'm completely wrong here, but isn't it true that we don't exactly have myths about the gods specifically in our paganism? At least not like in Greek or Norse paganism, where gods are the main characters of a certain story. Is there evidence that we had these kinds of myths, but they simply didn't survive? Or did we not have them altogether?

Hello, I am relatively new to Rodnovery but would really like to learn more about slavic traditions - gods and goddesses, rituals, beliefs, overall history - as much as I can so that I can actively practice it. I am from Croatia so there is not a lot of resources and information available. I am motivated to learn as much as I can but don't know where to start. I would be really grateful if someone have some tips on where to start. Thank you :))

I have been a practicing pagan for awhile now and been getting more in touch with my Slavic ancestors.

My question is; as modern pagans what can we do to give offerings to our house spirits? I know food is traditionally left out but do they like anything else like incense, tokens, etc left at the altar?

Besides offerings what else can we do to gain a good relationship with our Domovoy and conversely what should we not do to upset them?

So there is apparently a South/East Slavic (?) tradition that the week from November 14 are the so called "Wolf holidays", probably associated with, well, wolves. But I would like to know if there is any more information about it.

I am only at the beginning of learning and reading about Rodnovery. From what I understand there are currently 5 Slavic Rodnovery associations registered as religious associations in Poland (PDF link: https://www.gov.pl/attachment/fc45db46-cc75-4a54-8e70-ac76fa1f2352)

• Rodzimy Kościół Polski - est. March 1995 • Polski Kościół Słowiański - est. July 1995 • Rodzima Wiara - est. March 1996 • Zachodniosłowiański Związek Wyznaniowy „Słowiańska Wiara” - est. October 2009 • Związek Wyznaniowy Rodzimowierców Polskich Ród - est. January 2024

I would be very curious to know more about the differences between these 5 associations. I intend to reach out to probably some of them once I feel like I have gained a bit more knowledge on Rodnovery. But is there someone who could share some insights on the differences and similarities between these associations? The relationship between them? Number of members? Why the most recent one Ród was founded when they could have also joined one of the existing ones, etc. etc.?

I would be very grateful for any info.

Hello! Guys, experts, please tell me, can a person of partially non-Slavic origin (but Indo-European) be a Rodnover?

Hey, I've been interested in both witchcraft and Slavic mythology for some time, but I never did any deity work.

I know that many people experience a feeling or signs that a certain god/deity is reaching out to them or wants to work with them. Unfortunately that hasn't happened to me yet so I'm not really sure where to start. Is it okay if I start to reach out to them? Will they ignore me? And what can i do when working with them? Set up an altar?

I don't really know, I'm kinda lost here. I'd like to hear your experiences working with the Slavic gods. Which ones do you work with and how is it? I'd really appreciate some help with this.

Id really like to learn new slavic words for topics that relate to those which are above in the title as well as magick, spirituality, love, etc. anything that relates to the spiritual realm and the expression of it and how we experience its presence.

Spasibo Bolshoye

Historical sources

None I can really mention. I may have been inspired by hinduism and the notion of one supreme god from the Chronica Slavorum

"However, among all the differently shaped Gods to whom they offer their fields, forests, sadness, and happiness, they believe too that there is one God, who in the heavens rules other Gods, that He exceeds the Others with his might, that he troubles Himself only with heavenly matters, that the Others fulfill only the tasks appointed by Him, that they come from His blood, and that each is the greater the close He is to that God of Gods.” Chronica Slavorum

Introduction

The Rodnovery faith is a very diverse one, with many nations and branches. The Rodnovery venerates many gods and ancestors, one of the most unique ones being Rod, whom some consider the creator. This post will be regarding Rod and how he works, in my opinion.

Just to define some assumptions made,

1. The world is split between realms of the gods, the physical realm and the underworld. The underworld and the god realm could be interpreted as the same thing in some cases.
2. Svarog does not live within the realm of the gods, rather in his own land, which I will call Svarozem

Most importantly, this is my idea; I do not want you to believe every word I said here.

1. Rod

I would like to define Rod not as a personal being but as an essence, which I will still refer to as Rod or Síla božská. This essence is interesting since I'd say it contains the power of creation and perfection. Rod is within everything, everyone, what was, is and will be. I would call Rod a life force, keeping everything in existence. However, Rod as the essence is useless itself since it does not think and cannot act. It is not personal and therefore does not have this kind of power. Which brings us to the next section.

2. Svarog

I interpret him the first god, Svarog is mentioned in only one source (the primary chronicle). But due to the fact that he is mentioned, I will define him as the chief god of the pantheon, but it could be others too. Now Svarog has no father; he is sometimes deemed the creator (a blacksmith of sorts) who created the universe. Now, before I said that Rod cannot act due to it's impersonal presence. How to fix it? Make a personal form. Svarog, by me, is the incarnation of the essence in it's complete form. That is why I propose the epiteth of „the form of the unformed“ as in the image of the formless.

He does not have any material needs and is the perfect being; however, I would now consider him as the deus otiosus due to the fact that he does not act on the world, leaving it in the hands of his sons and their generations.However, Svarog cannot exist without Rod; in my opinion, Svarog without Rod is lifeless, and Rod without Svarog is pointless. You can imagine it as a heart and a human. Humans cannot live without their hearts, and the heart serves no purpose when removed.

3. Generations and “Sestupitelství“

To define generations first, the definition would be a lineage of both Gods and humans. With each generation created/born, it goes further from Rod’s essence. As such, the beings are imperfect and start to be jelous, greedy and wrathful. Most of the gods are right below the level of Svarog and thus a bit imperfect, often fighting over things but never truly evil. If we go further below, we get humans. Now humans are below the gods and their divinity is small; they cannot use any supernatural abilities like the gods, nor can they create and destroy with a snap of their fingers. This issue showcases itself with wars, criminality and more. It seems when many human generations have passed, they become more and more wrathful, I would assume it’s because Rod’s essence diminishes over the generations [my opinion and should not really be taken as part of the text]. Animals are different in that they are imperfect on first sight, they act on impulse and they do not care for the wellbeing of others. I can only assume why that is so I am not going to talk about it.

Sestupitelství refers to the power of the gods to create an incarnation (known as a Sestupitel) in the physical realm in any form they desire. This process is not limited to a single Sestupitel at a time; multiple incarnations can coexist. However, it’s important to note that each Sestupitel represents a much weaker version of the god it embodies. For instance, Leshy, the protector of the forest, can be viewed as a manifestation of Veles, the god of the underworld and livestock. In this way, Leshy serves as a localized and diminished expression of Veles’s power and authority.

4. The goal

The goal of Slavic mysticism is to “expand” the energy of Rod within you. By doing virtues like being honest, giving to others while not expecting back, and helping others unconditionally. Worshiping the gods is not necessary for this as they do not choose where you go, but it’s a nice bonus! In this way you can “expand” the energy to high amounts, the highest being absolute Rod energy, which grants you spiritual progress. The ultimate goal for a mystic is to achieve Svarozem, a land of bliss and peace. Unlike Prawia, Svarozem is a land of no material need and the ultimate realm.

Closing statements

I don't have too much else to say, and as always, please correct me if I wrote something wrong. Thank you all for taking the time to read this!

Дорогие друзья! Пожалуйста, подскажите достойные материалы для изучения наших мифов наших Предков, а также для изучения практической составляющей. Заранее благодарен за ответ!

So one of the hardest parts of my practice is family and veneration of ancestors. In short, my great grandfather was not a good person, SA'd family members which basically all females in my family still deal with this trauma. I find it hard to do any dziady holiday or ancestor work. To a degree for other ancestors I put them into the context of cultural/social normality, and what was bad today is not the same as back then. However, with this man, I hate the feeling of the slight possibility of accidentally giving any positivity to him

Has anyone else have this problem, and help overcoming it. I doubt but is there any rituals to maybe cut him off from the family? Thank you.

Title, I'm just curious since I can't really find a definitive answer.

Thanks for your responses!

Disclaimer: This is solely my idea and does not have any backing of any historical documents

I would like to point out that I started learning about slavic paganism for only a short time, so my information may not be accurate.

My idea is that Rod and Svarog are the same being. I would say that both are, in a sense, uncreated creators. The difference between them, I think, is that Rod is sort of an impersonal essence of divinity, and Svarog is the personal deity and an embodiment of Rod.

Please correct me if my understanding is not correct; I always appreciate criticism.

Thanks for reading!

https://preview.redd.it/a8mv2877f4yd1.jpg?width=1846&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ace930270b7c4e4f67b42f934beb34564696a985

My first ever Dziady/Forefather's Eve that I decided to celebrate and make this humble altar and give an offering to our ancestors. (Food is being prepared)
Thank you u/Farkaniy for the help!

Hello everybody,

I'm thinking to honor my forefathers in the upcoming Dziady but I'm unsure what is best to do(since I haven't done it before), how and if it's a good idea in my personal case at all. So I will be glad and grateful to hear your advices/suggestions/opinions about it.

I'm a newbie so I might be mistaken in some things I'm writing here(apologies for that in advance) and my knowledges based more on culture than faith/religion.

Since I'm unable to come back to my country/place of origin(currently are in western Europe) and perhaps there won't be ever such a chance in the future, I can't visit my ancestors at their burial places. Neither can I go to any place they had been during their lifetime.
So I was thinking to do it simply at my current living place. To prepare some food, lit some candles, open the window and spend the evening like that. And here the questions come:

1. People might probably celebrate halloween here. With possible loud music/noises/singing which might be heard through the walls. Is it a problem if they are outside or they are my neighbours(but they are not in my room/living space)?

2. What should/can I do with food which was left to stay over night? Eat it? Throw it away?

3. For how long should the window remain opened? And for how long candles remain lit?

4. Is there any particular amount of time essential to spend with the souls of my family(till midnight/till morning/any time else)? At what time it's better to go to sleep?

5. I'm completely alone here so here will be nobody from my family(alive) to talk with. What should I do? I thought to eat a little bit and then just to sit in silence. It would be fine for me but what about the souls? I don't really know what to say and I'm not a talkative person so it's kinda complicated : |

6. Will the souls of my family be able to visit me here, at completely different peace of our world?

7. The whole my kin from my mother's line are strong zealous christians at least in 6 generations(I don't know further) and so was I raised. My father's parents were atheists and that's all I know(since my father doesn't know his grandparents himself). And here I have some doubts. I don't really have any problems with people having different opinion about paganism or christianity but I do care about my family. And least of all I want to anger, disrespect, upset or disappoint them (since many of them would expect from me a different approach). And I also don't want to cause any possible harm to them. On the other hand christians do quite same things which was probably directly adopted from slavic native faith(I think?). (The difference is only in praying for dead, eating food instead of letting it to stay over night and doing it during daytime).

- Is there any sense to do it in christianized way(I mean praying) in order to honor my kin?

- Or it is all a bad idea and it's better to just not participate in Dziady at all and join only those events which are not about the dead?

8. Who else can possibly join me this night besides my family's souls? Can it be souls of ancestors I don't know? Or anyone else?

9. Does my emotional state matter? Should I be cautious about anything else?

Thank you in advance!