Characters of Slavic mythology: Witch. Slavic witch: who is it and what did she know how to do

IN EDMA - in the pre-Christian, pagan period - these are, most likely, female witches, "knowing" (after all - knowledge, know - know), who during their lifetime played the role of the coastline of the clan, village; women who knew herbs and their medicinal properties, who knew conspiracies and healed people, who communicated, as it was believed, with spirits. How the characters of pagan mythology were images with dominant positive features.

Witch - in Slavic beliefs - a woman endowed with witchcraft abilities by nature or who has learned to conjure. In essence, the very name of a witch characterizes her as “a person who knows, has special knowledge” (“to witch, to witch” means “to conjure, to tell fortunes”).

Christianity in the fight against paganism turned the witch into a witch, endowed with only negative features. She began to be depicted as an old, gray-haired, disheveled woman with a hooked nose, wild eyes, bony hands and a small ponytail, living with the devil or making a deal with him. Witchcraft was declared a crime.

Witch has properties. She can turn into a crow, an owl, a cat, a dog, a pig, or she can appear as a beautiful young woman. A witch flies on a broom, shovel, poker or on a goat, flying out of the chimney at home.

"They say about witches that they have a tail, they can fly through the air, turn into forty, turn into pigs and other animals, throwing themselves over twelve knives."

“The king himself went out to the square and ordered all the witches to be covered with straw. When straw was brought in and surrounded, he ordered to set it on fire from all sides in order to destroy all witchcraft in Rus', before his own eyes. The frying pan of the witches engulfed them - and they raised a screech, scream and meow. A thick black column of smoke rose, and magpies flew out of it, one after another - apparently-invisibly ... So, all the witches-crossdressers turned into forty and flew away and deceived the king in the eyes.

With their witchcraft charms, witches send damage to plants, animals and people. If a witch in the field binds several bunches of cereal plants or cuts a narrow path of ears of corn, then the entire crop dies - she takes it to herself. She can spoil any cattle, she can milk cows, no matter how far away, she can deprive them of milk: if she only draws a circle on the ground and sticks a knife into its center with a conspiracy, then the milk from the cow she has conceived will flow by itself.

Witches are to blame for the illnesses of people, especially if it is not known what and why this or that person is ill. Drought, hurricanes, heavy, damaging downpours, hail, epidemics, crop failures, etc. began to be explained by their insidiousness. But, knowing certain methods of action, the witch can be disarmed, made peaceful.

“They say, in order to frighten a witch and disarm her actions, you need to in the hut where she is located, in the cross of the window frame, in the door jamb that serves as a crossbar, or in the garden under the table, stick a knife, and the sorceress will be submissive.”

“If a sorcerer or sorceress ties a doll in bread, then you need to remove it with a poker and take it out of the corral, looking around or burn it right away, do not pull it out. They also do this: they take an aspen peg, split it, grab the doll into the split and pull it out. From this remedy, they say, the culprit of the doll suffers greatly - he gets severe pain in the lower back.

Dying, the witch suffers terribly. Both the witch and the witcher cannot die without passing on their sorcerous knowledge to some kind of successor. This is strictly followed by evil spirits, but they want to lose their influence on people. If there are no people willing to voluntarily take on this burden, then sorcerers transfer their abilities by deceit. Dying, they can take someone by the hand, give him any thing, while saying "on you." That person, without knowing it, becomes a sorcerer. Or they can even throw a stick - the one who picks it up will be given unclean witchcraft power.

In order for the soul of a dying witch to leave her body faster, it was usually supposed to break the floorboard - apparently, it was believed that such and such a soul could only go straight underground. In other places, it was believed that it was necessary to raise the mother or make a hole in the roof - evil spirits could not come for the witch in the usual way.

Such a transformation of ideas, characteristic of many images of pagan mythology, is largely due to the desire of Christianity to establish its undivided dominance in the minds of people, for which all the deities that were previously worshiped had to be presented as servants of the Antichrist. In addition, the image of a witch embodied the Christian idea of ​​a woman as a vessel of sin.

In Slavic mythology, these are sorceresses who have entered into an alliance with the devil or other evil spirits in order to gain supernatural abilities. In different Slavic countries, witches were given different guises. In Rus', witches were represented as old women with disheveled gray hair, bony hands, and huge blue noses.
Peasant girls confided their secrets to village witches-witches, and they offered their services to them.

One girl, who served with a rich merchant, complained: "He promised to marry, but he deceived." “And you bring me only a piece of his shirt. I will give it to the church watchman to tie a rope on this tuft, then the merchant will not know where to go from longing, ”such was the witch’s recipe. Another girl wanted to marry a peasant who did not like her. “Get me the stockings off his legs. I will wash them, I will say water at night and I will give you three grains. Give him that water to drink, throw grain under his feet when he rides, and everything will be fulfilled.

Village witches were simply inexhaustible in inventing various recipes, especially in love affairs. There is also a mysterious talisman, which is extracted from a black cat or from frogs. From the first, boiled to the last degree, an “invisible bone” is obtained. A bone is equivalent to walking boots, a flying carpet, a hospitable bag and an invisibility cap. Two “lucky bones” are taken out of the frog, serving with equal success for both love spells and lapels, that is, causing love or disgust
In Moscow, according to researchers, in the 17th century, on different sides, there lived witches or sorceresses, to whom even boyar wives came to ask for help against the jealousy of their husbands and consult about their love affairs and about means of how to moderate someone else's anger or harass enemies. In 1635, one “golden” craftswoman dropped a scarf in the palace, in which the root was wrapped. On this occasion, a search was appointed. When asked where she took the root and why she went to the sovereign with it, the craftswoman answered that the root was not dashing, but carried it with her from “heartache, that her heart was sick”, she complained to one wife that her husband was dashing before her, and she gave her a reversible root, and ordered to put it on a mirror and look into the glass: then her husband would be affectionate to her, and in the royal court she did not want to spoil anyone and did not know other homies. The defendant and the wife to whom she referred were exiled to distant cities.

According to popular beliefs, witches "born" are kinder than "scientists" and can even help people, correcting the harm caused by "scientific" witches. In the Oryol province, it was believed that a "born" witch was born the thirteenth girl out of twelve girls in a row of the same generation (or, respectively, the tenth out of nine). Such a witch has a small tail (from half an inch to five inches). Sometimes witchcraft skills passed from mothers to daughters “by inheritance”, and whole families of witches arose. According to popular beliefs, witches cannot die and suffer terribly until they pass it on to someone - either their knowledge; therefore, people endowed with witchcraft abilities, dying, could pass them on to unsuspecting relatives, acquaintances - through a cup, a broom, and other objects at hand. One of the residents of the Murmansk region told how an old sorcerer offered to “write off witchcraft from him” as a sign of his disposition, but she was frightened and refused. The witch could get witchcraft abilities even after concluding an agreement with evil spirits: the devils began to serve the witch, fulfilling all her orders, even those not related to witchcraft. For example, for the sorceress Kostikha, devils regularly worked in the hayfield (Murm.). Another witch was taught to conjure by the devil in the form of a cat, whom she picked up in the forest, and he eventually tortured her (Tulsk.). According to beliefs, evil spirits could also move inside witches, who began to "live with an unclean spirit." Narratives about about how toads, snakes and other evil spirits crawl out of the body of a dead witch. In the Tula province they said: snakes, lizards, frogs gather on the chest of the deceased witch, and when her hut is burned “by the verdict of the rural community”, barking, screaming, voices are heard from there; in the ravine, where coal is poured, a pit with poisonous snakes is formed. However, the witch does not always resort to the help of devils, limiting herself to her own skills and powers.

In one village there could be several witches, sorceresses. On the Tersky Coast of the White Sea, until recently, residents called villages where there was traditionally "a lot of blackness", and, accordingly, there were many sorcerers and sorceresses. Sometimes witches were considered subordinates of an older, "strong" sorcerer. There are also references to the eldest, chief witch. From sorceresses (mostly grandmothers involved in healing), witches are distinguished by an unkind character and more diverse abilities and skills. The traditional appearance of a conjuring witch is a woman in a white shirt, with long flowing hair, sometimes with a kuban (pot) over her shoulders, with a pail or basket on the head, in the hands. She knows how to move quickly (fly) on a lutoshka (linden stick without bark), on a broomstick, a bread shovel, and other household utensils. All these magic tools of the witch indicate her special connection with the hearth, the stove - in the house the witch usually conjures at the stove. If you overturn the grip at the stove, then the witch will lose the ability to conjure (Vlad.), But if you turn the stove damper with the bow inward, then the witch will leave the house and will not be able to return to it (Vol.). The witch flies (flies out of the chimney) with smoke, a whirlwind, bird. In general, the chimney is a favorite way of witches from house to house, and the smoke, curling in especially bizarre rings, is one of the evidence of the presence of a witch in the hut: she has “the first smoke from the chimney never comes out calmly and quietly, but always twirls and twists it in clubs in all directions, whatever the weather” (Vol.).

The witch turns into a needle, a ball, a sack, a rolling barrel, a haystack. However, most often it takes the form birds (magpies), snakes, pigs, horses, cats, dogs, rolling wheels . In some regions of Russia, it was believed that there were twelve possible forms of a witch. The ability to quickly transform and the variety of forms taken on distinguish the witch from other mythological characters. Turning around, the witch somersaults on the stove hearth (or underground, on the threshing floor) through the fire, through knives and forks, through twelve knives, through a rope, etc. There are also more well-known (according to fairy tales) ways of wrapping - for example, rubbing with magic ointment. A witch casts spells, turns around and flies or runs in the form of animals most often at dusk, in the evening, at night. A witch, a sorceress is a creature and a real one (in everyday life she an ordinary peasant woman), and endowed with supernatural powers and abilities. According to Russian beliefs, a witch has power over various manifestations of the existence of nature and man. From witches and witchers "depends on harvest and crop failure, illness and recovery, the welfare of livestock, and often even a change in the weather."

In the records of the XIX-XX centuries. such a skill of the witch as damage and theft of the moon is also mentioned. In the Tomsk province, it was believed that witches first learn to “spoil” a radish and a month, and then a person. The month is "spoiled" as follows. Baba, becoming "okarach" (on all fours), looks at him through the bath trough and conjures. From this, the edge of the month should turn black as coal. In the Astrakhan province, a story is recorded about how a witch “stole” a month during a wedding, and the trainees (participants in the wedding) did not find the way. And in the archive of the Kursk Znamensky Monastery there is a record of the 18th century, which tells how a witch removed stars from the sky. The connection with the Moon, characteristic of the most ancient deities, supernatural beings, testifies to the antiquity of the origin of the image of a witch. However, in Russia XIX-XX centuries. such beliefs (and even more so stories about a witch flying, eating, sweeping the moon and stars with a broomstick) are not as common as, for example, in Ukraine, among Western and southern Slavs. In Russian materials, a witch, conjuring over the Moon and stars, usually retains her human appearance, although she can be compared with an eclipse, a cloud. This does not allow us to see in the image of a witch only animation, a personification of natural phenomena. The witch sometimes imitates the elements, then subordinates them to herself, then, as it were, dissolves in them, merging with the elements, acting through them.

The image of a witch arose at the crossroads of ideas about “living” elements, about a woman endowed with supernatural abilities, as well as about animals and birds with special properties and abilities. In order to fly, a witch turns into a bird, a horse or becomes a woman rider. The "occupations" of flying witches are varied. In the guise of a magpie, a witch-thing harms pregnant women (see, less often - flies to the Sabbath (Tulsk., Vyatsk.) Or steals the Moon (Tom.). In Russia of the 19th-20th centuries, stories about magical flights or trips of witches on a person are popular , wrapped by her in a horse (or, conversely, a person endowed with special powers on a witch-horse - Orel., Kaluga., Vyatsk.) The long-standing distribution of this plot is evidenced in the Nomocanon, which mentions the healing of the “wife turned into a mare” by Archbishop Macarius To wrap a sleeping or gaping person with a horse, it is enough for a witch to throw a bridle over him. The bridle and collar are traditionally one of the most "witchcraft" items. Russians believed so much in the transmission of witchcraft through everything "belonging to horse harness and in general to riding" that to for example, outsiders were categorically not allowed to royal horses, and in Eastern Siberia, damage by witches to people, livestock and objects is still called “putting on a collar”.

In the stories of the XIX-XX centuries. flights and trips of horse witches (witch riders) are aimless or end in the marriage (sometimes death) of a witch tamed in the form of a horse. Narratives about the flights and trips of witches to the Sabbath (as well as about the Sabbaths themselves) in the Great Russian provinces did not become widespread. In a story from the Vyatka province, for example, it is not so much about the Sabbath as about the fate of a person who accidentally fell into it: a magpie witch (and after her the witch's husband who turned into a magpie) arrives at a gathering of sorceresses. The husband is immediately forced to leave him (“until the witches have eaten him”) and flies away on a horse drawn and animated by his wife. Having jumped off his horse at the wrong time, he then gets home for half a year. Witches also have power over the weather, especially over moisture and rain. In the Voronezh province, it was believed that a witch could drive away the clouds by waving her apron.

According to beliefs (albeit more characteristic of the southern and southwestern regions of Russia), a witch hides and stores rain, hail, and a storm in a bag or pot. into a river, a lake, and those who did not drown were considered witches (apparently suspected of being able to influence water). This custom can be regarded both as an execution, and as a purification, a sacrifice. During severe droughts, witches were usually sought out who had conjured a drought (perhaps even holding rain somewhere in or "in themselves"). Belief that a witch can somehow attract (or "draw" into herself) moisture - to hold back the rain, to rake in the dew, to milk the cows - is especially common in Russia. One of the most traditional occupations of a witch is milking other people's cows. Usually at dusk, at night, turning into a snake, a pig, a cat and secretly sneaking up to a cow, the witch milks her, while she can do without a milker, pulling the udder with invisible hairs (Raven.).

In a story from the Tula province, a rich peasant's cows do not give milk. He is advised to guard with an ax, sitting under a chicken perch. At night, a cat comes into the yard and, turning into a simple-haired woman, milks a cow in a leather bag. A man cuts off a woman's hand with an ax, and she disappears. In the morning it is discovered that he cut off the hand of his mother, who turned out to be a witch. The gathering decides not to let her out of the yard. A cow milked by a witch dries up the udder, she withers and dies. They also talk about more complex methods of witch milking: without touching the cows, the witch milks them by sticking a knife into the plow (which causes milk to flow out of the knife), or calls, calls out to the cows, listing their names. According to the word of the witch, milk fills the dishes prepared by her at home.

The actions of witches are also connected with the annual cycle of nature. They are especially significant and dangerous in the middle of winter and on the days of the summer solstice. In the southern regions of Russia, there are stories that on January 16, hungry witches kill cows, and during the summer solstice (on Ivanov, Petrov days, July 7 and 12) they try to get into the stables and get close to the cattle. The days of the solstice and major calendar holidays (for example, Easter) are peculiar festivities of witches, accompanied, according to Russian beliefs, not so much by sabbaths, but by the activation of all the forces and creatures inhabiting the world: “witches and sorcerers fly out of their caves to guard treasures, spoil cattle, destroy spores in bread, make creases so that the reapers writhe, make gaps so that they are not threshed, ”etc. (Psk.). Fearing witches, on such days they tried to leave the cows together with the calves in the barn, so that the sucking calf would prevent the witch from taking milk, thistles were hung on the door of the barn, a young aspen tree was placed in the door of the barnyard, they propped up the door of the barn with aspen logs, sprinkled with flaxseed. Stinging nettles were placed on the windows of the hut, and in general they tried not to sleep on the night of The day of Ivan so as not to become a victim of witchcraft tricks. In the Smolensk province, before Ivan's Day, a Passion candle and an image were placed on the gates of the barnyard (a day later, the candle could turn out to be bitten by a witch, whom she prevented from entering the barnyard). In some regions of Russia (especially southern and southwestern), on the night of Ivanov's day, a symbolic burning of a horse's skull or an effigy depicting a witch took place. Calling cows driven out to the healing dew of Ivanovo, they simultaneously take away the dewy moisture that gives health, fertility, and milk.

According to customs, peasant women also "scoop dew" in the morning of Ivan's Day, "carrying a clean tablecloth over the grass and squeezing it into beetroot" (Volog.), or ride in the dew, trying to draw health and strength from it (Olon.). “Dew scooping” by peasant women is aimed at acquiring health and well-being; “raking in” the dew by a witch means “raking in milk” and spoiling health, spoiling a cow. Apparently, in some of their qualities, dew, milk, rain seemed to the peasants a single substance, the embodiment and guarantee of the fruitfulness of the land, livestock, people. Witches, on the other hand, had the ability to take away or “absorb” this fertility into themselves. The milk that is given out retains a connection with the witch who took it away: if such milk is boiled, then the witch will experience terrible torment (Perm., Sarat.) Or “everything inside will boil” ( South). If you stick a knife into the butter made from this milk, blood will come out (Novg.).

Milk seems to be inside the witch, in which there is some resemblance to a yard snake or noon snake ( cm. ) It is difficult to say whether the witch "imitates" a snake or the image of a supernatural snake is one of the components of the image of a witch. One way or another, but the idea that witches can keep fertility, harvest ("abundance") in themselves, was noted even in Ancient Rus'.

During the famine in the Rostov land, the skin behind the shoulders of women suspected of witchcraft was cut, releasing the “abundance” drawn into them. In the beliefs of the XIX-XX centuries. a milking bowl, a pot, a basket on the head and behind the shoulders of the witch, obviously, are also considered as vessels intended for “taken away” milk, dew, rain, harvest. The witch, thus, turns out to be associated with the most diverse elements and forces of the world: she and the snake , and a bird, and a horse, and wind, and smoke; she and a woman endowed with supernatural abilities - perhaps once a servant of various snake-like, bird-like, and other deities, an intermediary between them and people.

In Eastern Siberia, there is still an idea that a witch can command snakes, frogs, evil spirits (devils). A witch, endowed with the ability to influence almost all essential aspects of life (especially moisture, water, fertility), may have been It is also associated with the highest female deity of the East Slavic pantheon - (Old Russian “moksh” means “conjure”, and “mokosha” means “bewitching woman”). The role of a witch commanding diverse forces and creatures could be not only harmful, but also necessary. Many researchers of the customs of the Eastern Slavs note the special vocation of women in the matter of witchcraft, keeping witch secrets and ancient beliefs. E. Anichkov believed that in Rus' (beginning from the 11th-12th centuries) “with the decline of the role of the Magi”, a “primordial bearer of secret knowledge” - a woman, was put forward, “witchcraft becomes family, domestic” [Anichkov, 1914].

Indeed, even in the XIX-XX centuries. in especially important or critical cases (during epidemics, deaths of livestock) they tell fortunes, conjure ordinary peasant women. At the same time, their appearance, actions often repeat the appearance and actions of witches: women in shirts, without belts, with loose hair, go around on pokers and brooms, plow the village during epidemics, blocking the path of the disease; or they run around the house on Maundy Thursday, driving away evil spirits, trying to “protect”, keep prosperity and well-being in the house. Women’s divination (like the woman herself, especially connected with nature and elemental forces) primordially seemed as necessary as dangerous. In the village of the XIX-XX centuries. a witch is almost always a negative phenomenon, a source of various troubles: “Whatever happens in a peasant family, the witch turns out to be guilty.”

In addition to damage to the weather and livestock, damage to fields, health, people can be attributed to the witch. Usually the witch "spoils" the field, making "creases and twists": wringing and tying, twisting the stems, pressing the ears to the ground, she "binds fertility", prevents the ripening of cereals and destroys the harvest. According to popular beliefs, if a witch makes a hall or a gap in the field, a gap (lives through a strip), then the evil spirit begins to drag the grain from this field to the witch's bins (Yarosl., Tulsk., Orl.). In the hall, the twist cannot only be pulled out, but even touched without the risk of becoming fatally ill, therefore, in the Tula and Oryol provinces, for example, they were removed with a poker or a split aspen stake. The hall could be destroyed by a sorcerer who burned it or drowned it. For this purpose, they also invited priests who served in the prayer field. The antiquity of all these performances is evidenced by the monuments of ancient Russian and medieval literature. In the collection of the XV century. among confessional questions addressed to women we read: ... did you spoil the field with someone or something else, a person or cattle?

A witch can “spoil” people in many ways, chasing them in the form of animals (scaring, biting and even seizing, eating, “driving” in the form of a horse), slandering, spreading diseases through wind, water, various objects (and even through touch or glance ).The fear of witchcraft and witches, especially in medieval Rus', was strong; in many cases, even the clergy, like the highest secular authorities, "blindly believed in magic." The charter of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich mentions a sorceress woman who slandered about hops in order to bring a “plague plague” to Rus' [Krainsky, 1900]. Witches were especially feared during weddings, to which they tried to invite a “strong” guardian sorcerer (see). Witches, witches, “blameless women” were tried and persecuted in Rus' until the 19th century, also marked by litigation between “spoiled and spoiled”.

Numerous were extrajudicial reprisals against those suspected of witchcraft: testing, witches were drowned, and wanting to neutralize, they beat and maimed. It was believed that if you hit the witch with all your might, then she would lose her witchcraft abilities (or at least part of them). Less cruel ways: hit the witch with Trinity greenery or “nail” her shadow with nails, hit the shadow with an aspen stake, turn the damper at the stove, grip, etc. It was possible to find out who the witch was in the village mainly during big holidays. The peasants believed that by the beginning of the festive Easter service, witches would definitely come to church and even try to touch the priest (probably in order to receive sacred, magical powers emanating from him). Therefore, if during Easter matins you look at those present in the church through a piece of wood from the coffin of the dead, you can see witches with jugs of milk on their heads (South).

They looked out for witches at Easter and held a piece of cheese saved from Maundy Thursday behind their cheek. “When the priest says:“ Christ is Risen! ”, All witches (with milkers on their heads) will turn their backs to the icons” (Sarat.). Witches could also be seen in the house, in the yard: if on Thursdays of Great Lent you make a harrow from aspen, and on Good Saturday hide behind this harrow with a lit candle and wait, you will see a witch (South).

In the Surgut Territory, they knew this way to catch witches: it was necessary to leave the entire post on a log from the morning firebox, and during Easter morning, flood the stove with these logs. Witches will flock to ask for fire, and if a floorboard is pulled out between them and the door, they will not be able to get out of the hut. However, the peasants were still afraid to annoy the witches and tried not to do this unless absolutely necessary. Dangerous during life, witches are restless, harmful even after death, continuing to frighten their fellow villagers and relatives with their visits, and also persecute the victims they have chosen. The deceased witch often “bites”, “bites” people, personifying death, destruction. The dead witches take revenge on the priests who tried to expose them during their lifetime, they persecute both the guys who inadvertently rejected their love, and their suitors: “One guy in a strange village had a fiancee who died, and she was a witch. So that she would not torture the guy, the people advised him to go to her cemetery and sit on the cross of her grave for three nights, then she would leave him alone and do nothing to him. The guy went to the witch's grave for three nights and every night he saw her until the first roosters. All three nights she came out of the grave and looked for him. On the first night, she was looking for him alone, on the second night with her friends, and on the third, in order to find him, on the advice of the old witch, they brought with them a baby with a tail, who showed them where the guy was sitting. But, fortunately, at the time when the baby with the tail pointed to the cross where the guy was, the roosters crowed - and the witches failed. The baby was left with outstretched hand, and his parents were found by him; and this is important, because these people are treated with caution and they are watched so that they don’t do anything bad to the Orthodox.”(Tulsk).

In order to get rid of the persecution of the dead witch once and for all, her coffin and grave were "guarded" with special precautions. If the witch continued to “get up” and cause harm, the grave was torn apart, and the body was pierced with an aspen stake - aspen was traditionally revered as a tree that protects against witches. In general, after death, witches do not “get up” as often as the deceased sorcerers, and mostly only the first time after the funeral. In Russian beliefs, stories about witches of the 20th century. sorcery transformations, flights, trips of witches are described less frequently than in the 19th century, but ideas about the ability of witches to spoil cattle and people are still widespread. Witch, sorceress in the village XIX-XX centuries. as if personifies the troubles, dangers and accidents that lie in wait and pursue the peasants. It is an almost universal explanation of misfortunes, and in this capacity it is even necessary for the life of the peasant community.

In a spiritual verse written (by A. V. Valov) in Poshekhonye, ​​Yaroslavl province, the soul of a witch, who has already completed her earthly existence, repents of her sins as follows:

“She gave milk from the cows, She lived a strip between the borders, Laundered the ergot from the bread.” This verse gives a full characterization of the witch's evil activities, since these three acts constitute the special occupations of women who have decided to sell their souls. However, if you carefully look at the appearance of the witch in the form in which it is drawn to the imagination of the inhabitants of the northern forest half of Russia, then a significant difference between the Great Russian witch and her ancestor, the Little Russian one, involuntarily catches the eye. In general, in the Little Russian steppes, young widows are very common among witches, and, moreover, according to the expression of our great poet, such that “it’s not a pity to give their souls for the look of a black-browed beauty,” then in harsh coniferous forests, which themselves sing only in a minor tone, playful and beautiful Little Russian witches turned into ugly old women. They were equated here with the fabulous Baba-Yagas living in huts on chicken legs, they, according to the Olonets legend, always spin a tow and at the same time “graze geese with their eyes in the field, and cook with a nomsom (instead of a poker and tongs) in the oven”, Great Russian witches are usually confused with sorceresses and are imagined only in the form of old, sometimes fat as a tub, women with disheveled gray hair, bony hands and huge blue noses. (Because of these fundamental features, in many places the very name of a witch has become a dirty word.)

Witches, according to the general opinion, differ from all other women in that they have a tail (small) and have the ability to fly through the air on broomsticks, pokers, mortars, etc. They go to dark deeds from their homes without fail through chimneys and , like all sorcerers, can turn into different animals, most often magpies, pigs, dogs and yellow cats. One such pig (in the Bryansk places) was beaten with anything, but the pokers and grips bounced off it like a ball until the roosters crowed. In cases of other Transformations, beatings are also considered a useful measure, only it is advised to beat with a cart axle and not otherwise than repeating the word “one” with each blow (saying “two” means ruining yourself, since the witch will break that person). This beating ritual, which determines how and with what to beat, shows that the massacres of witches are practiced quite widely. And it is true, they are beaten to this day, and the modern village does not cease to supply material for criminal chronicles. Most often, witches are tortured for milking other people's cows. Knowing the widespread village custom of naming cows according to the days of the week when they were born, as well as their habit of turning around at the call, witches easily use all this. Enticing "authors" and "subbotoks", they milk them to the last drop, so that after that the cows come from the field as if they had completely lost their milk. Offended peasants console themselves with the opportunity to catch the villainess at the scene of the crime and mutilate her by cutting off her ear, nose, or breaking her leg. (After that, a woman with a bandaged cheek, or limping on one or the other leg, usually does not take long to show up in the village.)

Numerous experiments of this kind are carried out everywhere, since the peasants still retain the confidence that their cows are not milked by hungry neighbors who do not know how to feed the children, but by witches. Moreover, the peasants, apparently, do not admit the thought that cows can lose milk from painful causes, or that this milk can be sucked out by alien-eating animals.
Witches have a lot in common with, and if you select outstanding features in the manner of action of both, you will have to repeat. They are also in constant communication and strike among themselves (it is for these meetings that “bald” mountains and noisy games of playful widows with cheerful and passionate ones were invented) - , in the same way, they die hard, tormented by terrible convulsions caused by the desire to pass on their science to someone, and in the same way, after death, their tongue sticks out of their mouths, unusually long and very similar to a horse's. But the similarity is not limited to this, since then restless night walks from fresh graves to the old ashes begin for the best case - to taste the pancakes put out of the window before the legal fortieth day, for the worst - to take out the belated and uncooled malice and reduce the unfinished calculations during life with the unloved neighbors). Finally, the aspen stake driven into the grave calms them in the same way. In a word, it is useless to look for sharp boundaries separating from sorcerers, as precisely as witches from sorceresses. Even the history of both has much in common: its bloody pages go back centuries, and it seems that they have lost their beginning - the custom of cruel reprisal against sorcerers and witches has taken root in the people to such an extent. True, even in the Middle Ages, the most enlightened church fathers opposed this custom, but in that harsh era, the preaching of meekness and gentleness had little success. So, in the first half of the 15th century, at the same time as in Pskov, during a pestilence, twelve witches were burned alive, in Suzdal, Bishop Serapion was already arming himself against the habit of attributing social disasters to witches and destroying them for this “You still cling to the filthy the custom of sorcery, said St. father, you believe and burn innocent people. In what books, in what scriptures have you heard that there are famines on earth from sorcery? If you believe this, then why do you burn the Magi? Do you beg, honor them, bring gifts to them, so that they don’t make pestilence, let down rain, bring heat, tell the earth to be fruitful? Sorcerers and sorceresses act with demonic power over those who are afraid of them, and whoever holds firm faith in God, they have no power over those. I mourn your madness, I beg you, step aside from the deeds of the filthy. Divine rules "order a person to be condemned to death after hearing many witnesses, and you put water as witnesses, say:" If she starts to sink, she is innocent, but if she swims, then she is a witch. so as not to drown, and thereby lead you into murder?

However, these words of conviction sounded in the desert, filled with the highest feelings of Christian mercy: 200 years later, under Tsar Alexei, the old woman Olena was burned in a log house as a heretic, with magic papers and roots after she herself admitted that she spoiled people and some of taught them witchcraft. In Perm, the peasant Talev was burned with fire and, under torture, they gave him three shakes according to a slander that he was letting people hiccup. In Tot'ev 1674. the woman Fedosya was burned in a log house, with numerous witnesses, according to a slander "damage, etc. When (in 1632) news came from Lithuania that some woman was slandering about hops to bring pestilence, then immediately, under pain of death, those hops were forbidden to buy. A whole century later (in 1730), the Senate considered it necessary to recall by decree that the law defines burning as magic, and forty years after that (1779) the Bishop of Ustyug reported the appearance of sorcerers and wizards from male and female peasants who did not they only turn others away from orthodoxy, but also infect many with various diseases through worms. The sorcerers were sent to the senate as having confessed that they had renounced the faith and had an appointment with the devil who brought them worms. The same Senate, having learned from the questions of the sorcerers that they had been beaten mercilessly more than once and forced by these beatings to blame for what they were not at all guilty of, ordered the governor and his comrade to be removed from office, to release and release the imaginary sorcerers, and to bishops and others to forbid spiritual persons to enter into investigative cases on sorcery and sorcery, for these cases are considered subject to civil court.

And now, since the life-giving ray of light flashed for the first time in impenetrable darkness, on the eve of the 20th century we receive the following news, all because of the sorcery question about witches:

“Recently (our correspondent writes from Orel), at the beginning of 1899, a woman (named Tatyana), whom everyone considers a witch, was almost killed. Tatyana had a fight with another woman and threatened her that she would spoil her. And this is what happened later because of the women's street squabble: when the peasants came together to shout and turned to Tatyana with a strict request, she promised them to turn everyone into dogs. One of the men approached her with a fist and said: “You are a witch, but speak my fist so that it does not hit you.” And hit her on the back of the head. Tatyana fell; as if on cue, the rest of the men attacked her and started beating her. It was decided to examine the woman, find her tail and tear it off. Baba screamed with a good obscenity and defended herself so desperately that many had their faces scratched, others had their hands bitten. The tail, however, was not found. Her husband ran to Tatyana's cry and began to defend, but the peasants began to beat him too. Finally, badly beaten, but not ceasing to threaten, the woman was tied up, taken to the volost (Ryabinsk) and put in a cold one. In the volost they were told that for such deeds all peasants would be punished by the zemstvo chief, since now they are not ordered to believe in sorcerers and witches. Returning home, the peasants announced to Tatyana's husband, Antipas, that they would probably decide to send his wife to Siberia, and that they would agree to give their sentence if he did not put out a bucket of vodka to the whole society. While drinking, Antip swore and swore that not only did he not see, but never even noticed any tail on Tatiana in his life. At the same time, however, he did not hide the fact that his wife threatened to turn him into a stallion whenever he wanted to beat her. The next day, Tatyana came from the volost, and all the peasants came to her to agree that she would not conjure in her village, spoil no one, and not steal milk from the cows. For yesterday's beatings, they generously asked for forgiveness. - She swore that she would fulfill the request, and a week later an order was received from the volost, in which it was said that there should be no such nonsense in the future, and if something like this happens again, then those responsible for this will be punished by law, and, moreover, about this will be brought to the attention of the zemstvo chief. The peasants listened to the order and decided by all means that the witch must have bewitched the authorities, and that therefore, henceforth, one should not reach him, but should be dealt with by his own court.

Note - a story about a witch

In the village of Terebenevo (Zhizdrinsky district, Kaluga province), the seven-year-old girl Sasha told her mother that she and her aunt Marya, with whom she lived as a nanny, flew every night to the bald mountain.
- When everyone falls asleep, the lights go out, Aunt Marya will fly in as a magpie and chirp. I will jump out, and she will throw me a magpie skin, I will put it on - and we will fly. On the mountain we will throw off the skin, make fires, brew a potion to give people water. A lot of women flock: both old and young. Marya has fun - she whistles and dances with everyone, but I'm bored on the sidelines, because everyone is big, and I'm the only one small.
Sasha told the same thing to her father, and this one rushed straight to Marya:
- Atheist, why did you spoil my daughter? Marin's husband interceded: he pushed the fool out the threshold and closed the door behind him. But he did not let up - and to the headman.
The headman thought, thought, and said:
- No, I can't act here - go to the priest and the parish.
He thought, thought the father and decided to take his daughter to church, confess her, take communion and try to see if the priest would undertake to reprimand her. However, the girl herself refused confession.
- Witches do not pray and do not confess! And in the church she turned her back to the iconostasis. The priest refused to chastise and advised the girl to be thoroughly flogged.
- What kind of magpie did she throw off, where did she fly? And you, fool, believe the chatter of a child?
Meanwhile, at the hut of the alarmed father, the crowd of men and women does not disperse, and the girl continues to chatter her nonsense.
In the volost, the complainant was believed and Marya was recognized as a sorceress. The clerk rummaged through the laws and announced:
- No, brother, nothing can be done against the devil: I did not find any article against her.
Suspicion fell on Marya, and the fame of the witch began to grow. The neighbors began to follow her every step, remember and notice all sorts of little things. One told me that she saw Marya washing herself, leaning over the threshold into the street; the other - that Marya drew water for days, the third - that Marya collected herbs on the night of Ivan Kupala, etc. Every step of the unfortunate woman began to be interpreted in a bad way. The boys around the corner began to throw stones at her. Neither she nor her husband could show themselves on the street - they almost spit in the eyes.
“If only you, father, would stand up for us!” the priest’s husband begged Maryin. The priest tried to convince the crowd and calm Marya, but nothing helped, and, in the end, the innocent and meek Marya died in consumption.
15 years have passed since that time. Sasha has grown up a long time ago, she assures me for a long time; that her story was pure fiction, but now no one believes her anymore: the girl entered in full sense and realized that this should not be told. She is a good girl, but not a single suitor will marry her: no one wants to marry a witch.
Probably, she, sitting in the old girls, will have to turn to the fortune-telling business, especially since such activities are almost not dangerous and very profitable. Neither daring fellows, nor red-haired girls, nor deceived husbands, nor jealous wives will pass by the fortune tellers, because even today, as in the old days, faith in “dryness” lives in people. There is no need for bald mountains or roadside uprisings, there are enough village rubbles so that, learning the innermost secrets, diligently engage in love spells and lapels of loving and cold hearts: both to your advantage and to help outsiders. In such cases, there is still a lot of room for clever people, no matter how this tricksters are called: witches or soothsayers, fortune-tellers or healers, grandmothers or whisperers.

Here are some examples from the practice of modern witches and fortune tellers

One peasant of the Oryol province was gravely guilty before his newlywed wife and, in order to somehow rectify the matter, he turned for advice to the vaunted old woman healer, who was rumored to be a notorious witch. The sorceress advised her patient to go to the meadows and find among the stakes (pegs on which haystacks are attached) three pieces of such that stood driven into the ground for at least three years; then scrape shavings from each hundred heat, brew them in a pot and drink.
And here is another case from the practice of soothsayers.
“I don’t have washed water from my neighbors,” one girl who served with a rich merchant also complained to the well-known Kaluga witch, “he promised to marry and deceived. Everyone laughs, even the little guys.
“Just bring me a piece of his shirt,” the witch reassured her, “I’ll give it to the church watchman, so that when he rings, he will tie this piece on the rope, then the merchant will not know where to go from longing, and he will come to you.” , and you laugh at him: I, they say, did not call you, why did you come? ..
Another poor girl also complained, wishing to marry a rich peasant who did not like her.
- You, if possible, get his stockings off his feet, - the witch advised. - I'll wash them and spit the water at night. And I will give you three grains: one you will throw in front of his house, and the other under his feet when he goes, the third when he comes ...
There are an infinite number of such cases in the practice of village witches, but it is remarkable that healers and witches are truly inexhaustible in the variety of their recipes. Here are a few more samples.
A man loves someone else's woman. The wife asks for advice.
“Look at the yard where the roosters are fighting,” the witch recommends, “take a handful of earth in that place and sprinkle it on the bed of your lovebird. She will quarrel with your husband - and again he will fall in love with his "law" (that is, his wife).
For dryness, girls are advised to carry bagels or gingerbread and apples under their left arm for several days, of course, primarily equipped with slander, in which lies the main, secretly acting force.
Only knowledgeable and chosen witches do not talk conspiracy words to the wind, but lay in things they say, exactly what will then heal, soothe and comfort, at will. It is as if a sore heart is filled with the most healing potion when they hear ears about the wish that the melancholy that has been pressing so far will go away “neither in singing, nor in roots, nor in trampling mud, nor in boiling springs”, namely, in that person, who offended, fell out of love or deceived with promises, etc. For lovers, witches know such words that, it seems, are better and sweeter than them and no one can come up with. They send dryness “to zealous hearts, to a white body, to a black liver, to a hot chest, to a violent head, to the middle vein and to all 70 veins, to all 70 joints, to the very love bone. Let this very dryness set fire to a zealous heart and boil hot blood, so much so that it would be impossible to drink it down or eat it in food, not to fall asleep, not to wash it off with water, not to go on a spree, not to cry with tears, etc. .
Only proceeding from the lips of witches, these words have the power to “print” someone else’s heart and lock it up, but even then only when there are slanderous roots in the hands, the hair of a loved one, a piece of his clothes, etc. They believe every promise and fulfill every order: they put a golik under the sled for young guys, if they wish that one of them would not marry this year, they burn his hair so that he walks like a lost one for a whole year. If you stain his undershirt or fur coat with sheep's blood, then no one will love him at all.
But the most real tool in love affairs is a mysterious talisman, which is obtained from a black cat or from frogs. From the first, boiled to the last degree, an “invisible bone” is obtained, making the person who owns it invisible. A bone is equivalent to self-propelled boots, a flying carpet, a hospitable bag and an invisibility cap. From the frog, two “lucky bones” are taken out, with equal success serving both for love spells and lapels, arousing love or disgust. These cat and frog bones are also mentioned in fairy tales with complete faith in their sorcery. These bones are obtained very easily; it is worth boiling a completely black cat in a pot - and you get a “hook and fork”, or you should put two frogs in an anthill to get a “hook and spatula”. They hook the one they want to attract to themselves (or imperceptibly attach it to a scarf). With a fork or spatula, they push her away from themselves when she has time to eat up or is completely disgusted. Few rituals are required and the preparation is not particularly difficult. From the ant heap it is necessary to lead backwards so that he cannot catch up when he goes to look for traces; then both tracks will lead into the forest, and there will be no trace out of the forest. In other cases, it is advised to go to that anthill for 12 nights in a row and go around it silently three times, only on the thirteenth night such a treasure is given into the hands. However, you can do without these approaches. Failure occurs only when the marked girl, fastened to the dress, does not carry the hook on herself for three weeks in a row, etc. , now closes within the woman's kingdom. In this, of course, one must see great happiness and the undoubted success of enlightenment. Already from many places, and, moreover, famous for their superstition, one hears, for example, such encouraging news:
- In the old days there were a lot of witches, but now you don’t hear something.
- The current witch is most often a bawd. So. witches not only die, according to the old custom, on Sila and Siluyan (July 30), drunk on stolen milk from other people's cows, but, by many undoubted signs, under the new order, they completely prepared for real death.

Due to remoteness or directly due to the lack of “bald” mountains, closets and especially baths are recognized as quite convenient for dates, and there is a “witcher” to supervise them. Throughout the south of Great Russia, this is either, or, which, according to the belief common to all Slavic peoples, walks after death and kills people.

The book "Secrets of the Slavic Witches" Let's start with the fact that the witch is a purely Russian word, comes from the word "know". In this word, the root is "Ved". Previously, before the Greek monks came to Rus' with a new religion, they called us “Vedi” and said: “Let's go to the Vedas”, “Learn from the After all”. Such women said to themselves: “We lead.” The Greeks renamed us, so the word "Witches" appeared. Do not believe those who say that witches worship the Devil, Satan, etc. No! A thousand times no! We are not Christians! We believe in God in the form of Jesus or the Holy Spirit, we also believe in Satan and his "hooks". We are indifferent to them. We just have a different faith! Therefore, it is very unpleasant for us when someone with a smart look talks about the evil that comes from witches. We are as connected to Satan as Allah is to Buddha! So, we Witches have our own religious ideas. Witches all over the world believe in the Great Goddess - Mother. She has many faces and is known all over the world under different names: in Egypt they worshiped Isis, in Haiti her name was Erzula, Vendis in Thrace, in Phoenicia - Astara, in Crete - Rhea, in Scandinavia - Freya. And rightly so, since everyone speaks different languages. After all, even the word "bread" is pronounced differently among all peoples. Here, in Rus', such a religion is called "Vedic" - hence Vedi. It includes the worship of all the gods of pre-Christian Rus'. The basis of faith is the deification of the elements, the forces of nature, the cult of the spirits of ancestors, the cult of individual deities with the most complex rituals, with their own calendar, numerous rituals and the strictest etiquette. According to religious legend, the Great Mother of the whole world created the world and the son of Svarog, who became the head of a whole family of gods. There are 28 of them in total! In honor of individual gods, temples were once erected - Kapitsa and places of worship - Temples, located in the most beautiful places. Animals, weapons, flowers, fruits and vegetables, beads and milk, ribbons and tree branches are sacrificed. Like any other religion, ours also has basic provisions. Life is a duty to children, honoring parents, respect for elders, admiration for one's ancestors (cult of ancestors). There are many gods. The gods, like people, are mortal, except for the Great Mother of Time (she is the beginning of everything). Life is a struggle. The real life of people depends only on the people themselves, because the gods only guide, the choice is made by people. Prosperity and success is the praise of heaven. Everything in the world is in constant motion and change. Everything is material, the whole world visible and invisible. Man, not separated from the elements, man and nature constitute a great, unified whole, for life is a great gift of happiness. There is a cruel centralization and hierarchy in faith. The main cell is Kolgan, which includes 13 people, one of whom - the priest, the priestess - heads the Kolgan (circle). The circle can be either purely male or purely female, but most often mixed. Circles can be in different cities. There may be several in large cities. Above the Colgans stands the Coven, the Council of Nine. He decides on the appointments of leaders in new circles, as well as where the holidays will be held, when, by whom. The council is ruled by an eye - consisting of three people: a gift (amulet) - 1 priestess - is, as they would say now, legislative power. Scepter (staff) - 2 priests - executive power. Rauer (sword) - 1 priest - judiciary. All witches and witchers have a hierarchy of seven levels. Each step implies certain knowledge, dedication, and continuous practice. All priests and priestesses of the coven occupy the seventh level. In addition, the entire Vedic hierarchy is divided into seven steps. Ordinary worshipers of the gods (flock). The disciples are disciples. Witches, witches. Dodols are priestesses and priests of kolgans (circles). The coven is the council of nine. Arrows (7 people connecting the coven with kolgans - circles and with the Eye). Eye. The source of education is the holy book "Phoenix", which is divided into 3 degrees. The first contains material about the Vedic religion, about the school, ancient religious myths about the creation of the world, basic dogmas, tales about the gods, a collection of holidays, a calendar, deciphering amulets and signs. Spells used in sacrifices and ritual ceremonies. The second is a herbal medicine (greenery), oils, extracts, incense. Astrology, divination: pyromancy (fortune telling by fire), palmistry (by hand), rhapsodomancy (by poetry), haruspicy (by animal entrails), by bones, cards, coins, flowers, coffee, dreams, etc. The third is magic - a collection of magic spells and conspiracies. So, witchcraft has its own laws and rules, its own canons, its own hierarchy, but at the same time in the Circle everyone is equal and only respect is required from each other. We do not pray to our gods, we do not have slavish worship and servility, but only respect! We bow only to each other and to Mother Earth. Our ancestors said: "The bent one can still be straightened, the creeping one - never." Therefore, it is impossible to see a witch or a witcher "on his knees". We are connected with nature, we welcome the birth of life on Earth in all its forms. For us, the world is full of beauty. We do not believe in sin, according to our concepts, there is no sin. We don't care about the Christian "all-seeing" God. We do not believe that someone in heaven is watching our sex life, whether you drank or not, laughed or did not laugh, ate or did not eat meat during fasting. We think of the soul in a different way. Witches believe that the most important thing is to live in peace with your conscience. This is the most important condition. If a person does something and considers it right, then it should be so. If in doubt, it is better not to do what you have planned! But, thinking about the soul, we do not forget about the body. Poor body! If the soul, according to our concepts, lives forever, then the body does not last long. And the body should enjoy life, should feel the freshness of the dew, the strength of the summer night breeze, the tenderness of the first rays of the sun. Soak in the intoxicating beauty of festive fires that we make on summer nights on the banks of rivers and lakes. And maybe we should think that our faith is still strong, despite the persecution, it has been living for 1000 years already. And the one who is presented as a representative of Satan at our holidays is a disguised person. He dresses up in the skin of either a wolf or a bear, and the horns of a goat are just an image of the god Veles. But after all, icons with the image of God are used in churches, this is not God himself, but only his man-made image. And besides, mummers were always present at Russian holidays, remember Kolyada, Shrovetide, etc. People, do not be afraid of us, the priests have all pagan gods - demons and demons. For example, Lucifer among the ancient Babylonians (at home) was the god of light of the morning and evening star - Venus, and among Christians he became a demon from a god, brought down, so to speak. From time immemorial in Rus' there were healers, witches, sorcerers, sorcerers, etc. And only an experienced person could understand these names. So what is the difference between one and the other? Grandmother-whisperer. The word speaks for itself. This is an elderly woman who was given the words of conspiracies by relatives or for treatment - healers, witches, sorcerers. Leaving these conspiracies in their family, and then, using them, they themselves get sick after treatment. Where these conspiracies came from - the grandmother-whisperer has no idea. Often these grandmothers can only treat one disease, such as a hernia. Witch doctors. They can be both young and old. Most often self-taught or self-taught children. They know how to determine the weather by signs, they know prayers (Christian, Catholic). They use our conspiracies, however, before the beginning they put the words: “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit”, and at the end of the conspiracies - “Amen”. For treatment, they use water, salt, ash, candles, but this is a rather cunning people, we, witches, are blamed for all failures in treatment. They say they messed up. Sometimes they carry such nonsense and nonsense that it becomes ridiculous. One student wrote in his book that we are 9 meters tall, that we have tails almost to the floor, that we wear shoulder straps with skulls, and that it’s time to put us back in a bag with cats, and into the fire. Fire! Fire! And ask him why, in fact, into the fire, he will not answer. It’s just more convenient to burn in a crowd, and it’s more convenient to drown. And where is the famous: “Judge not, lest you be judged”? Some healers advise us to stick knives in the door, draw crosses with chalk, smoke the corners with a candle. Say, the witch gets scared and runs away. Don't believe! All this is nonsense. I won't run away. We are not afraid of crosses! Healers also often confuse black and white magic, saying that there is no significant difference. They came up with some more gray, pink, etc. magic. There is only black and white magic. There are no gaps. There are two poles, like day and night, the visible and invisible sides of the moon, a clear line between them is conscience! The one who says that there is no difference is lying. It exists, as there is an exact definition of black magic: "Everything that is done against the will of a person with his soul and body, regardless of what motives, is black magic." Healers have no idea about the ins and outs of conspiracies, but they undertake to talk about them. Sometimes they call themselves sorcerers, that is, they don’t sit in their sleigh! Sorcerers. They are sorcerers. They know astronomy, astrology, alchemy, they have their own patron in the world of spirits, the sacred signs of Kabbalah with the ensuing consequences are revealed to them. They believe in God (usually of the country in which they live). Sorcerers are black ("Satanists", "Black Brothers" or "Order of Lucifer") and white. Each country has its own orders of sorcerers, but sorcerers usually work alone. Very ambitious and touchy. They work for money, they believe that all people learn in order to sell their knowledge at a higher price. Some - at work: in firms, factories, and sorcerers, helping people. Previously, there were 4 schools of sorcerers in Russia. The training lasted 13 years. Schools were in Chernigov, Kyiv, Suzdal and Novgorod. They tried to stay away from Moscow. Now the situation has changed. Witches. As already mentioned, the root in the words "Vedun" and "Witch" is the same - "Ved". Vedun - a knowing man. Vedun is a priest of male pagan gods: Veles, Perun, Rod, etc. Veduns have their own rituals, their own laws, their own hierarchy. There, the breakdown goes into threes (instead of a circle). The sacred book is called Velesova. The sorcerers do not guess, the sorcerer will never touch the cards in his life. Veduns know prayers, conspiracies, work with a talisman and a sword. The sage will never call himself a healer, for them it is like an insult (slap in the face). Knowledge is passed from father to son, from grandfather to grandson. They do not selflessly treat, since "good workmanship should be rewarded." Very rarely, almost an exception, you can meet a woman witch. This happens only when the male line of the family is interrupted, and the knowledge had to be passed on to the woman. She is the bearer of this knowledge, due to her exceptional position, she becomes a witch - a priestess of male gods. Witches and Christianity are incompatible! Therefore impostors are those who go to church but call themselves a sorcerer, it is because of ignorance. Recently, witches and sorcerers often gather together on certain holidays. Magi. This is a kind of astrologers, predictors. Previously, they were in every temple and, of course, in the temples of Perun, Rod, Yarila, Mokosh, Rodunia. Their services were used by the priests of all the gods. They passed on their knowledge selectively, to a certain person - the student. The Magi could move from one place to another, live in solitude, they did not have children. Witches. They are hereditary and non-hereditary. Hereditary witches received their knowledge from grandmothers, mothers, and from birth they get to Kolgan, taking their step. Non-hereditary - those who learned at the school of witches, received initiation from their teacher, passed the exams from the Coven. True, there are still self-taught people who have read all sorts of things, they are very dangerous, since they do not have systematic knowledge. Real witches do not consider them witches. Recently, one such “witch” came to the Circle and showed documents certifying that she had studied Voodoo in Moscow and now she should be considered a witch. Voodoo is Voodoo. This is a mixture of shamanism and witchcraft, but not witchcraft! Just as in the case of the Witches, there are Witchers. These are men who worship the Goddess. All Witches and Veduns are proud of their ancestors, and there is something to be proud of. We believe in the gods of our ancestors! So isn't it time to find out what gods are we talking about? The witches say that our ancestors came from the Red Planet, and not molded from clay and not descended from monkeys. However, it is not known from which Red Planet, and there is no consensus among the witches on this matter. Some think it's from Mars, while others think it's from Sirius. It is time for the bearers of secret, ancient knowledge to emerge from the millennial “underground”, otherwise a whole layer of truth hidden by our ancestors from the fires lit by Vladimir the Besputny (this is how the witches and sorcerers called Vladimir Svyatoslavich, who baptized Rus' and rejected the faith of his fathers and children for the sake of profit) will go into oblivion and authorities). So here's the truth about our gods! Our ancestors had 28 main gods: Sva, Svarog, Dazhdbog, Dennitsa, Diva, Perun, Morning Dawn, Evening Dawn, Zarnitsa, Kolyada, Lada, Lelya, Yarilo, Kupalo, Ovsen, Stribog, Khors, Mokosh, Veles, Moarena and Simargl is the main ancestor and patron of the Slavs, he is also the god Rod and his 7 wives - 7 Beregin. Each god and goddess has its own year in the calendar, since the solar period in the Vedic calendar includes 28 years.

BABA-YAGA-BONE FOOT (Ide)- in Slavic mythology, a forest old woman-sorceress, a witch, a witch, who controls whirlwinds and blizzards and, by her very name, is related to a snake. Baba Yaga is originally a progenitor, a very ancient positive deity of the Slavic pantheon, a guardian (if necessary, militant) of the clan and traditions, children and the near-home (often forest space). Baba Yaga plays a very important role in the folk epic and legends of the Slavic tribe. She lives near a dense forest in a hut on chicken legs, which turns its back to the forest, and to the stranger in front; her hut stands on the border of two worlds: Reveal and Navi. You can find out your fate from her (path-road), improve your health in a special bath. Baba Yaga heals children from ailments in the furnace, with holy fire, putting them on a wooden shovel, she sends them to the furnace and returns healthy after the cleansing fire. In the Christian period, negative qualities were attributed to her: the fence around the hut was made of human bones, on the fence of the skull, instead of a bolt - a human leg, instead of constipation - hands, instead of a lock - a mouth with sharp teeth. She flies through the air and rides to the witches' sabbath in an iron mortar, driving with a pusher or stick, and covering her trail with a broomstick. Baba Yaga possesses magical, fire-breathing horses, walking boots, a flying carpet, a self-made harp, and a self-cutting sword. Pursuing fairy-tale heroes who run away from her malice and vengeance, she chases after them like a black cloud. Like a snake, Baba Yaga loves to suck on the white breasts of beauties and, like him, jealously guards the springs of living water and carefully hides copper, silver and gold in her pantries. Finally, like a snake, Baba Yaga devours human flesh. Through the efforts of later "storytellers" and their unbridled fantasy, she is presented as an evil, ugly, with a long nose, disheveled hair, an old woman of great stature. Baba Yaga has one leg - bone, she is blind, she is an old woman with huge breasts. The connection with wild animals and the forest allows her image to be derived from the ancient image of the mistress of animals and the world of the dead. At the same time, such attributes of her as a shovel, with which she throws children into the oven, are consistent with the interpretation of fairy tales about her as a priestess. She is the antagonist of the hero of a fairy tale, a warrior and a kidnapper, but much more often a folk tale knows Baba Yaga in the form of a giver and assistant to the hero.

WOMAN-ROLLING- twisted by their own will. “And in the darkness, the whites languished across the meadow, empty-haired girls and cigarette-rolling women, watered the grass.”(A. M. Remizov. "Tales").

VAKODLAKI- dead men who come to suck the blood of babies.

A VAMPIRE(feasts on you) - a dead man who, during his lifetime, was a villain, a robber and, in general, a person with vicious inclinations, whose body was inhabited by unclean spirits. They also assure that if a cat jumps over a dead man when he lies in a hut, then the deceased will certainly become a vampire. The bared teeth of the dead man and the blush on his cheeks indicate a vampire in him. Forty days after the death of such a person, the evil spirit that has settled in his corpse begins to come out of the grave, wanders around the houses and sucks blood from the ears of babies and adults. In order to get rid of the vampire, he is conjured to enter the jug, after the spell, the throat of the jug is plugged with a cork, and then they go to the chosen place, there they light several wagons of firewood and sod and throw the jug into the middle of the flame: when the vessel heats up and bursts with a strong crack, "People console themselves with the thought that the vampire has already been burned."

VARKOLAK- an evil dead man, rushes at women and enters into a fornication with them; birth from him, children are without cartilage in the nose and have the ability to see spirits.

VEDUN AND VEDUNIA- see sorcerer, sorcerer, magician, sorcerer, prophetic wife, sorceress, enchantress, woman-sorceress, sorcerer.

WITCH- initially - a knowing mother, the eldest woman in the family, see "sorcerer and sorceress". Through the efforts of Christian "correctors": a woman who decided to sell her soul to the devil; differs from all other women in that it has a tail (small) and has the ability to fly through the air on a broom, poker, mortar, etc. Russian witches and Baba Yaga rush through the air in an iron mortar, chasing with a pestle or stick and covering the trail with a broomstick, while the earth groans, the winds whistle, and unclean spirits utter wild cries. They have much in common with sorcerers: witches are in constant communication (for which the “bald” mountains serve, where playful widows play noisy games with cheerful and passionate devils); in the same way, they die hard, tormented by terrible convulsions caused by the desire to pass on their science to someone, and in the same way, after death, they protrude from their mouths a tongue that is unusually long and quite similar to a horse's. But the resemblance does not stop there, for then restless pacing from the fresh graves begins; they calm down in the same way with an aspen stake driven into the grave. In the Little Russian steppes, young widows are very common among witches, and, moreover, such that "not it is a pity to give souls for the look of a black-browed beauty”; in the harsh coniferous forests, witches turn into ugly old women like Baba Yaga. Witches can shapeshift into a variety of animals, most commonly sinister, dark-feathered, and nocturnal birds, pigs, dogs, and yellow cats. ("striga" - night bird, among Czechs and Slovaks, this is how witches are called; Croats strigone name is ghoul). Very often, witches are tortured for milking other people's cows. Witches are diligently engaged in love spells and lapels of loving and cold hearts. By their elemental properties, witches can freely rush about in the midst of cloudy sources, and therefore the people were convinced that they walk on the surface of rivers and lakes and do not drown in the depths of the waters. Therefore, those accused of witchcraft were thrown into deep pools: the innocent immediately sank to the bottom, and the real witch floated on top of the water along with the stone. The first were pulled out with the help of ropes and set free, those who were recognized as witches were nailed to death and drowned by force. In addition to the indispensable little tail, they also say that witches, instead of two, have three nipples. “The witch herself felt that it was cold, despite the fact that she was warmly dressed; and therefore, raising her hands up, she put her foot aside and, having brought herself into such a position as a man flying on skates, without moving a single joint, she descended through the air, as if along an icy sloping mountain, and straight into the chimney ... climbed out of the stove , threw off a warm casing, recovered, and no one could have known that she was a minute ago went to broom"(N.V. Gogol. "The Night Before Christmas").

THE WITCHER- a sorcerer or ghoul-bloodsucker, who, according to legend, walks after death and kills people. All in all, most often the witcher is a good creature, not only doing nothing evil, but even trying to be useful: he prevents witches from doing evil, forbids the dead to walk, disperses clouds, etc. He does not lose his strength even after death. They say that they have seen him more than once, how he fights with the dead on the graves and always wins.

VLHVA- a sorceress, a prophetess, in one of the Slavic dialects, in later times singled out as a separate type of witches.

VOLKODLAK(Wolf skin, werewolf, vovkulak, vovkun, vavkalak, vukodlak) - a werewolf man, a sorcerer and a warrior with the ability to turn into a wolf. According to Russian beliefs, vovkulaks are of two kinds: they are either warrior-sorcerers who take on an animal form, or ordinary people turned into wolves by the spell of witchcraft. It was also believed that sorcerers could turn entire wedding trains into wolves. A Vovkulak Human is easily recognizable by the fur that grows under his tongue. According to the legends of the southern Slavs, a sign of a wolfdog is a noticeable, from birth, "wolf hair" on the head. In the Christian period, the idea appears that wolves eat the moon or the sun during an eclipse. It was believed that the wolfdog becomes a ghoul, so his mouth was clamped with a coin after death.

VOLKH- guesser, soothsayer, sorcerer; children were brought to him to impose on them nauzes (knots, bindings).

VOLKHATKA (Volkhvitka)- soothsayer, soothsayer.

VOLKHV (magician, magician)- a sorcerer, guesser, soothsayer (Nestor has the words "sorcerer" and "magician" are used as unambiguous). Prince Oleg turned to the Magi with the question: what death was destined for him. Having told about how this prediction came true, the chronicler adds: “But it’s wonderful to eat, as if from sorcery it comes true by sorcery.” In addition to the gift of divination, the magicians are also credited with the art of medicine. According to the "Words about Evil Spirits", “when (people) find some kind of execution, or robbery from the prince, or dirty tricks in the house, or illness, or destruction of their livestock, then they flow to the Magi, to seek help in those for themselves.” “... Magi are not afraid of mighty lords, / And they do not need a princely gift; / Truthful and free is their prophetic language / And friendly with the will of heaven - / The coming years lurk in the mist: / But I see your lot on a bright forehead "(A.S. Pushkin. “The Song of the Prophetic Oleg”).

VOLHOV- according to the old chronograph, a fierce sorcerer (magus - a sorcerer, magician). In the form of a crocodile, he settled in the river, which also received its nickname from him, and a waterway lay in it; all who did not worship him, the sorcerer drowned and devoured.

VOROG- an evil sorcerer, an enemy to man, an adversary.

CHARACTERISTICS- sorcerer.

VUKODLAK- a man in whom, forty days after his death, the devilish spirit enters and revives his insensible body. Rising from the grave, he wanders at night, dressed in a shroud, sneaks into the huts, crushes sleeping people and drinks blood from them, which is why these unfortunate people not only die, but also become vampires (bloodsuckers) themselves.

ZHABALAKA- a werewolf who appears in the form of a toad.

ZDUHACH- among the southern Slavs, a person (less often an animal) possessing supernatural power, which manifests itself only when he sleeps. During sleep, a spirit comes out of it, which leads the winds, drives clouds, drives and drives away hail, fights with other spirits. Zduhach protects the fields and lands of his village, clan from natural disasters. Most often this is an adult male, but it can also be a child (especially those born in "shirt") a woman and even a shepherd dog, an ox, a cow, a horse, a ram, a goat and other animals. Zduhach-animal protects only herds and animals. “According to popular belief, famous historical figures were also zdukhachs. Fights between zduhachi occur most often in spring, when strong winds blow, and on long autumn nights. Eduhachi are armed with charred torches, spindles, but often in a fight they use stones and tree trunks uprooted. After death, zduhachi become volkulaks"(N.I. Tolstoy).

HAG- a crow, as well as a swearing name for an evil woman or witch.

KARKUN- means both a crow and an envious person who can jinx (croak) and stigmatize.

KLIKUSHI- these are unfortunate people suffering from epilepsy or other serious illnesses, combined with delirium, foam at the mouth and writhing; they utter wild cries and, under the influence of the superstition prevailing among the people, claim that evil enemies have planted demons in them, which gnaw at their insides. This disease manifests itself in the form of seizures, more noisy than dangerous, and strikes with the monotony of the occasions and the choice of places for its temporary manifestation (the liturgy of the faithful, which precedes the singing of the Cherubim). An evil spirit that has inhabited a person violates church order and introduces into temptation: screams rush to the voices of all domestic animals - dog barking and cat meowing are replaced by cock singing, horse neighing, etc. They treat hysterics in home life with care and affection, considering them to be sick people, they free them from hard work even in times of trouble. When, after successful experiments at home healing, the patient completely calms down, they don’t let her work for a whole week, they feed her with the best food, try not to get angry, so as not to give her the opportunity to swear with a “black word” and thus start again to hysteria.

THE WIZARD AND THE WITCH(kolodavanets-kaldovanets, kaldovanets) - initially, the one who makes bloodless sacrificial offerings and monitors the movement of Kolo has great magical (witchcraft) power. Sorcerers were divided into white and black. Sorcerers are natural and voluntary, the latter are more difficult to recognize in the crowd and not so easy to protect yourself from them. The natural sorcerer, according to the views of the people, has his own genealogy: a girl will give birth to a girl, this second will bring a third, and a boy born from a third will become a sorcerer at an age, and a girl a witch. There are, although very rarely, unwitting sorcerers. The fact is that every sorcerer before his death tries to impose his magical power on someone, otherwise he will have to suffer for a long time, and even Mother Earth will not accept him. Therefore, knowledgeable people avoid taking any thing from his hands and generally touching his hand. For "involuntary" a sorcerer, repentance and salvation are possible. Wizards are mostly old people, with long gray hair and unkempt beards, with long, uncut nails. In most cases, they are rootless people and always single, having enlisted, however, mistresses. In appearance they are always impressive and severe; they refrain from being talkative, they do not make friends with anyone, and even always walk around with a frown, without raising their eyes and intimidating with that look from under their brows, which is called "wolf's look". To use the help of a sorcerer, as well as to believe in his supernatural powers, is considered by the people to be a sin, although for this sin in the next world there is no threat of great punishment. But on the other hand, the sorcerers themselves, for all their deeds, will surely suffer a fierce, painful death, and a righteous and merciless judgment awaits beyond the grave. As soon as the grave of the sorcerer is buried, it is necessary to drive an aspen stake into it in order to prevent the deceased from rising from the coffin, wandering around the white world and frightening living people. The sorcerer harms a person, cattle and transfers his hatred even to plants. The harm brought to a person is most often expressed in the form of diseases: hernias, abscesses, binges, seizures. Generalized cases of cattle are also related to the work of sorcerers. Of the plants, bread is the most harmful. As lords of whirlwinds, sorcerers can send damage to their haters and rivals in the wind, lift them into the air and circle there with terrible speed. Wizards ride wolves, and witches ride cats and goats. In Rus', they talk about the trips of sorcerers on wolves. In an old popular print, Baba Yaga is depicted riding a pig. Sorcerers can turn into wolves usually at night. In Belarus they say about a sorcerer: flies in his nose." Evil spirits willingly turn into flies. The expression about a person that he is “with a fly” means that that person is intoxicated. “... The sorcerer Faladay, who got lost in the forest, an unpricked old man with a fly in his nose, waved and spat”(A.M. Remizov "Tales").

COW DEATH(Rinderpest, Black Disease) - a werewolf who takes on the form of a black cow, walks along with the village herds and puts damage on them. It also appears in the form of a cat, most often black, or a dog, sometimes in the form of a cow skeleton (a late symbol that arose on the model of the appearance of human death). Cow Death is fought with various rituals: plowing the village, killing a cow, cat, dog or sometimes a small animal, or a rooster (most often by burying alive), lighting "alive" those. mined by friction, fire, driving cattle through a ditch or tunnel dug in the ground, weaving the “ordinary”, i.e. woven in one day, canvas. When plowing, they sometimes sing, calling on the Cow Death to leave the village, because. Veles walks in the village, and with the spread of Christianity, St. Vlasy (patron of cattle). When an animal (a cat or a dog) came across in Kurshchina and Orlovshchina, it was immediately killed as the embodiment of Death, hastening to take refuge in the form of a werewolf. In the Nizhny Novgorod province, in order to avert infection, the peasants drove all the cattle into one yard, locked the gates and guarded until the morning, and at dawn they dismantled the cows, while an extra cow belonging to no one knows who is taken for Cow Death, they put it on a woodpile and burn it alive.

CAT- a werewolf who appears in the form of a cat.

KUZELNIK- sorcerer, sorcerer.

Kurdushi- originally light spirits (Kur soul), assistants of the Magi, magicians in the South Slavic lands. With the spread of Christianity, they were designated as evil spirits helping sorcerers in their work. After the successful completion of the rites of initiation into sorcerers, small lively imps - Kurdushi are assigned to the initiates for life for services. They take to the right place things taken from a contagious patient, so that another intended "spoil with attitude." And the cursed powder is thrown "downwind" on the intended victim. And they will bring a pinch of earth from the trail to the sorcerer, a hair from the head of the doomed. AND "damage" they will send to the specified "leak". All the whims of the sorcerer are performed by kurdushi.

BALD MOUNTAIN- expression "Witches fly to Bald Mountain" originally referred to mythical wives, catching up dark, thunderclouds on the high sky. Later, when the meaning of these metaphors was lost, the people associated witch flights with those mountains that rose in the areas inhabited by them. The main holiday of a number of European peoples (sabbat) is Walpurgis Night. Every year, on the first night of May, witches fly to Bald Mountain. Each witch comes to the feast with her devil lover. The lord of demonic forces himself - Satan, in the form of a goat with a black human face, solemnly and solemnly sits on a high chair or on a large stone table in the middle of the meeting. All those present at the meeting declare their obedience to him by kneeling and kissing. Satan particularly favors one witch, who plays the leading role in the circle of sorceresses and who is easily recognizable as their queen. Flocking from different countries and regions, unclean spirits and witches report that they have done evil, and conspire to new intrigues; when Satan is displeased with someone's tricks, he punishes the guilty with blows. Then, by the light of torches lit from a flame that burns between the horns of a large goat, they start a feast: they greedily devour horse meat and other dishes, without bread and salt, and drink prepared drinks from cow hooves and horse skulls. At the end of the meal, a frantic dance begins to the sounds of extraordinary music. The musician is sitting on a tree; instead of a bagpipe or a violin, he holds a horse's head, and either a simple stick or a cat's tail serves as a pipe or bow. Witches, grabbing hands with demons, with wild joy and shameless gestures, jump, spin and lead round dances. The next morning, in the places of their dances, circles are visible on the grass, as if trampled down by cow and goat feet. Then a big goat is burned (before they simply drove him out into the desert and gave away all their sins, after which the scapegoat died in terrible agony) and its ashes are divided among all the assembled witches, who, with the help of this ashes, cause various disasters to people. In addition to the goat, a black bull or a black cow is also sacrificed to the demon. The amusement ends with carnal intercourse, which the witches enter into with unclean spirits, with the fires completely extinguished, and then each of them flies home on her broom - the same way that she came to the gathering. In Slavic villages, bonfires are lit on this night until the morning, driving away evil spirits from the light. With the onset of dawn, the cry “Hurrah! ” as a sign of the victory of Light over Darkness.

NAUZNIK (knot, shoemaker)- a healer who wonders about imposing amulets-knots during treatment: “ who tie beasts and swords, and stare at the water, and bring in a little boy.

CLOUD PROCESSERS- sorcerers. There is a belief that sorcerers can rush about in clouds, produce thunderstorms, blow up storms, rain showers and hail; can fool, i.e. cover the surroundings and objects with fog, and, giving them deceptive images, make a person see something completely different from what it really is.

WEREWOLF- (volkodlaks or volkolaks - wolf skins) - initially sorcerers and warriors, after reading the prayer, they turned around (tumbled) over their heads and took on the image of a fearless and invincible wolf. With the spread of Christianity everywhere, people began to instill a different image: the souls of babies who died unbaptized, or the souls of sorcerers and apostates, condemned to wander forever and not know peace. The werewolf usually appears at dusk and at night; with a wild howl and uncontrollable speed, he rushes, throwing himself into a cat, dog, owl, rooster or stone, throws himself at the feet of the traveler and crosses his path; often he rolls up in a ball, a snow block, a haystack, and in the forest they meet him with a terrible beast or monster. Werewolves "throw off on time" the sorcerers themselves "wrapped" unbaptized babies, girls who took their own lives, or sorcerers, "if the sorcerer sold his soul to the devil." Werewolves are temporary creatures, being such only for the time when various circumstances require (for example, the desire to take revenge and even play a joke). Turning into a wolf, a person acquires the voice and predatory inclinations of this beast: he retires into the forests, attacks travelers and livestock, and, tormented by hunger, howls wildly, and even devours carrion.

OPOYCA- a creature that digs into a living body and sucks blood from it, like a leech, an analogue of a vampire.

MILF- sorcerers, witches, drunkards, and in general people who have given in to an evil spirit, cursed or excommunicated, do not rot after their death, because Mother Earth does not accept them; they come out of the coffins at night, wander around their former dwellings and come to their relatives and neighbors. History knows cases of "imperishable relics" of other corpses in mausoleums.

PORCHELNIK (porter)- sorcerer. The sorcerer and witches collect poisonous herbs and roots, prepare a poisonous drug from them and use it to harm people; in regional dialects "poison" denoted by the words: damage, portage.

HERBAL (rhizome)- sorceress, sorceress.

herbalist- sorcerer, doctor, healer. Grass is a poisonous plant that can be used to make a potion or poison. Medicinal plants have always been called "bylye", hence the expression "byly overgrown."

ghoul (ghoul)- a dead man who during his lifetime was an evil sorcerer, vovkulak and generally outcast by the church, which are: suicides, drunkards, heretics, apostates and cursed by parents. According to the Little Russians, ghouls are born from the fornication of a vovkulak or the devil with a witch. In the dead of midnight, leaving the graves where they lie as incorruptible relics (corpses), ghouls take on various images, fly through the air, roam the surroundings on horseback, raise noise and uproar and frighten travelers, or penetrate into huts and suck blood from sleepy people , which after that will certainly die; they especially love to suck the blood of babies. The pre-dawn cry of a rooster makes the ghoul instantly disappear or throws him bloodied to the ground - in complete insensibility. Appearing at night to the woman, the ghoul begins to inquire about how the shirts are prepared, in order to suck the blood out of her after selecting the answer. A smart woman should prolong her story as long as possible, and therefore first describes how flax is sown, how it is harvested and soaked, then she talks about yarn, weaving, bleaching linens, and finally about sewing a shirt. By the time she finishes all these details, the cocks will crow and the ghoul will be gone. They appear either in their own form or with blue faces wrapped in a black cloak. A ghoul can turn into a bat, a feather, a straw. A ghoul child can be recognized by its double rows of teeth. To stop the activity of the ghoul, it is necessary to drive an aspen stake into the place of the grave where the chest of the deceased is located. Ghouls are the enemies of the coast. The medicine for biting a ghoul is the earth taken from his grave. “Ghoul, is another matter; he is always angry "he will be born from a devil and a witch, or from a witch and a vovkulak. He lives as an evil person. Ghouls do not rot in coffins, they come out at night and, sucking blood from the sleeping ones, suck them to death"(N.A. Markovich. “Customs, beliefs, cuisine and drinks of the Little Russians”). “Vanya has become, - he can’t take a step. / God! the poor man thinks, / This, it’s true, gnaws at the bones / The red-lipped ghoul”(A.S. Pushkin. "Ghoul").

CHAROVNIK (sorcerer)- one who knows how to perform spells - superstitious, mysterious rites that are performed, on the one hand, to deflect various misfortunes, to expel evil spirits, heal diseases, establish family happiness and contentment, and on the other hand, in order to send on their own enemies of all sorts of troubles and betray them into the power of evil, tormenting demons.

WHISPER- so they call healers precisely for those "conspiracies" or mysterious words that are whispered over the sick, or the drug. Conspiracies are perceived either orally from teachers, or from written sources, abundantly distributed among the literate rural population under the name "flowers", "herbalists" And "healers". The main difference between sorcerers and healers is that the former hide from people and try to shroud their craft in an impenetrable mystery, while the latter work openly and do not get down to business without a cross and prayer: even their healing conspiracies, basically, consist of prayer appeals to God and saints as healers. The sorcerer often acts by inspiration: he allows himself to invent his methods and means, so long as they seem impressive and even frightening. The sorcerer, on the other hand, walks along a torn path and is afraid to stumble, adhering to the “flower garden” or the instructions of the deceased father. (N.A. Markovich. “Customs, beliefs, cuisine and drinks of the Little Russians”)

Unlike Christian statements that claim that the Witch is an evil woman flying on a broomstick and serving the devil, in fact, the Witch from Old Slavonic is the Knowing Mother. Slavic terms or names, such as: Witch, Witcher, Vedun, Vedunya have a common root “ved”, which means nothing more than “know or know”.

Among the Slavs, this is not at all a designation of the dark essence of a person, and even more so it is not an abusive expression. It is customary to call a witch wise women and women who know how to handle magic.

The magic of the Slavs more often turned to the forces of light and the forces of Nature. So, if you found out about this for the first time, know that the Witch does not carry anything bad in herself. A witch can be called a midwife and a fortune teller, and just a woman who occupies a certain position in society.

It is believed that in the ancient Slavic world, most or even all women possessed magic (to one degree or another). Someone, of course, at the level of divination and rituals, others at a deeper and more powerful level. However, most women, having become adults and wise, having known all the hardships of life, having learned all the instructions and knowledge of their ancestors, became Witches. They know how to use the magical power of Nature, communicate with the mysterious forces of the underworld and use it for good or bad purposes. Slavic Witches knew all the rituals, various spells, whispers, conspiracies. If a person had an assumption that he was jinxed, then to whom, if not to a witch, should he turn!? Before sowing or before harvesting, the witch must have whispered over the field, so that the hard work would be a little easier for the spirits of the Earth. Starting from the construction of a house and ending with weddings, most of the events in the life of the Slavs were accompanied by the presence of the Knowing Mothers or Veduns, who gave their strength and helped to call the necessary forces of nature, so that the pagan Slavs always lived with nature and other worlds in one closely connected life and did not forget who they actually exist.

Of course, as a result of the wild persecution of Witches in Europe (where they were subjected to inhuman torture and painful death), the active propaganda of the terrifying essence of all wise women and knowing men, the very word Witch suffered a strong conceptual change. Now, the Witch is understood as a hunched old woman, whose companion is a black cat, and a broom is a means of moving to the Sabbath. And yet, the more Russian people know the true meaning of this word, the faster it will be forgotten like a bad dream and everything will finally fall into place.

Who is a witch, or 64 qualities of a woman

Who is the Witch? Usually they represent an evil and terrible fury-old woman who is engaged in evil witchcraft, eats small children, etc. This image has been implanted in our consciousness for many centuries in order to hide the truth and ancient secret knowledge. Why this was done and is being done is a topic for another article. So who is this witch?

By medieval Christian standards, a female witch is a servant of the devil, allegedly possessing a supernatural ability to harm people and animals. Even now the attitude of Christianity has not changed. How many women were burned at the stake by "harmless" Christians. I wonder why in the Middle Ages there was such an attitude towards women?

Witch (from other Slavic “to know” - to know) - a woman practicing magic, witchcraft. The Slavic word "witch, sorcerer, sorceress" has the Old Russian root "ved", meaning: "know" ("know"). But the true meaning of the word Witch has been twisted. And now in modern Russian the word witch already has an abusive and envious meaning.

A witch is a knowing, knowing mother. Leading women know how to find family happiness. In order to become a good mother, you must first be a good wife, and even before that - a good woman!

A real woman (witch) must have 64 qualities necessary for a full-fledged family life.

The qualities of a woman that make her perfect

1. Have the determination to follow your husband.

2. The ability to deliver the greatest pleasure to the spouse.

3. The ability to guess and get ahead of the wishes of her husband.

4. The ability to be collected in any situation.

5. Possession and management of sexual power for the embodiment of highly spiritual ancestors in their children.

6. Cleanliness.

7. Knowledge of love games and the art of lovemaking.

8. Agility in love positions.

9. The ability to beautifully undress.

10. The ability to arouse the interest of the spouse by their behavior and attire.

11. The ability to present yourself.

12. The ability to excite a husband.

13. The ability to leave, without disturbing, a sleeping husband.

14. Know ways to fall asleep after your husband.

15. Be able to sleep in any position.

16. The ability to do various massages, maintain longevity and health.

17. Healer treatment: herbal medicine, conspiracies, healing with vitality.

18. Household and ritual witchcraft, knowledge of folk customs.

19. Knowledge of the basics of star reading: favorable and unfavorable days.

20. Ability to communicate with the elements of nature.

21. The ability to use their cosmos; knowledge of hair styles and the ability to style hair.

22. Knowledge of various characters.

23. The ability to show the necessary character.

24. The ability to express and subdue your feelings.

25. Knowledge of the necessary protection of one's honor and dignity.

26. The ability to reason, identify patterns and draw conclusions.

27. Ability to express thoughts eloquently.

28. Knowledge of games that develop the mental abilities of a person.

29. Conducting economic calculations, knowledge of measures, weight, volume, density.

30. Knowledge of the tax system.

31. Ability to negotiate and conduct business.

32. The ability to prove one's case.

33. The ability to recognize the qualities and abilities of people.

34. The ability to solve dreams and interpret signs.

35. The ability to settle down and create comfort in any environment.

36. The ability to make utensils, household items and toys from clay.

37. Making fabrics and yarns from various materials, making and decorating clothes; knowledge of the hidden meaning of patterns and characteristics of products.

38. Preparation of paints; dyeing of fabrics, yarn, clothes, utensils, knowledge of the basics of color science.

39. Knowledge of the properties of stones and the ability to use them.

40. Cooking art and preparation of drinks.

41. Knowledge of wild plants, their use in everyday life, nutrition and treatment.

42. The ability to get a good harvest in the garden, preserve it and make food preparations.

43. Knowledge of animal husbandry.

44. Communication and play with animals; their training, the suggestion of the necessary actions.

45. The ability to recognize the state of a person by his handwriting, to express himself beautifully and competently in writing.

46. ​​The ability to convey with the help of painting and drawing one's state and perception of the world around.

47. Making garlands, wreaths, bouquets and knowing their hidden meaning.

48. Knowledge of fairy tales, epics, legends, proverbs, sayings and folk songs.

49. Making dolls for games, rituals and witchcraft.

50. Composition of poems, songs and their performance.

51. Knowledge of favorable and unfavorable musical rhythms, sizes, melodies and their reproduction on various instruments.

52. The ability to move plastically and dance to different melodies.

53. Art in recreational games; dexterity and dexterity.

54. The ability to determine the terrain.

55. Ability to juggle various objects.

56. The ability to deceive (“deception” is what is next to the mind, with the truth: tricks, tricks, practical jokes, sleight of hand, cunning).

57. The ability to guess the intended numbers, names, objects, phrases

58. Knowledge of games based on guessing (riddles, puzzles, charades, hide and seek).

59. Ability to mislead opponents.

60. Knowledge of various betting games.

61. Ability to cry.

62. Ability to propitiate an angry spouse.

63. The ability to manage the jealousy of her husband.

64. Conscientiously fulfill their duties even in the event of the loss of a husband

The scriptures give three reasons why these arts should be studied:

1 - By applying these arts, it is easier to win the favor of a lover.

2 - A woman who owns these arts naturally occupies an honorable place in society.

3 - Knowledge of these arts contributes to greater charm, affection and attraction of a man to such a beloved.

Such a Witch woman will be protected by the Most High Ancestor Family; it is impossible to impose an alien worldview on her, such a woman is dangerous for any religion. Better to burn it and destroy it. This is what the valiant Christians did in the name of the prophet they crucified.

But before becoming a Witch, the girl was taught and prepared to become Vesta - the one who carries the message. Vesta became a witch after the birth of a child. If the girl did not comprehend the necessary skills and qualities, she became the Bride. And the love union with the bride was and is defective, i.e. marriage.

Thanks to technological progress, we consider ourselves more advanced than our ancestors, but in reality we have no idea about some of the things that they owned. Much knowledge has been lost and destroyed.

We all love to challenge each other. Husband to wife, wife to husband, looking for flaws in each other, forgetting about their own. Instead, you should think: “Do I myself live up to my claims to another person, to the world?” And it turns out that we still need to work and work on ourselves. And by changing and developing ourselves, we change the reality around us. better than those around us.

The next time you are offended by your husband or begin to make claims with other men, read this list and think about whether you should change yourself. The same applies to men.

What does a witch look like in the legends of the Slavs

There is a popular belief among Judeo-Christians that Witches are evil old women who are " servants of the devil, inflict damage, and fly at night on a broomstick". However, our Ancestors had a different opinion about what the Witch was. The ancient Slavs had a completely different meaning in the word Witch.

Translated from Old Slavonic Witch- this is the Knowing Mother (Witch). In the pre-Christian period of time, women with the status of a witch were highly respected members of society. This honorary title in the Vedic culture was given to a woman who raised virtuous offspring. The Slavs were Orthodox-PravSlavili (as they say now - pagans), that is why, after the spread of Judeo-Christianity in Rus', gloomy legends about witches began to appear, and this word itself acquired a negative connotation at the suggestion of the Judeo-Christians.

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witchcraft rites

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The Leading Mother used, of course, voloshba-witchcraft-magic. However, the magic Slavs was exclusively white. The forest witch turned to the forces of nature if she wanted to apply her charms, or to increase the healing properties of the decoction.

It is believed that many women in the ancient Slavic world owned magic, only some to a greater extent, and others to a lesser extent. Someone became a soothsayer or fortune teller, others were healers, others became midwives, and this was also considered a miraculous power, since it is a great miracle to help a new life come into the world.

But only those women who possessed all of the above skills became real Witches, about whom legends were made. It was them, with the spread of Judeo-Christianity in the Middle Ages, that they were mercilessly burned at the stake.

In harmony with nature

As the Slavic legends about witches say, the Knowing Mother must have extensive knowledge about nature, about the family, about the household.
A young girl could not get the status of a Knowing Mother for a number of reasons.
Firstly, because she had not yet become a mother herself, she had not gone through all the difficulties and hardships that every woman must (according to the ideas of our ancestors) go through.
Secondly, she still does not have enough knowledge about this world, that is, she does not know. Young girls who studied Vedic culture and magic were called witches.

If a young woman after marriage did not manage to give birth to offspring, then she was returned to her parents' house. It was believed that for some reason the magical forces of nature left her. Another interesting fact is connected with this. The word "marriage", that is, family relations, among the ancient Slavs meant a relationship with a woman who cannot have children. If someone decided to marry such a woman, then their relationship was called marriage.

Slavic legends about witches say that the witches knew all the Vedic rituals, conspiracies, whispers, spells. Not a single holiday or significant event, such as a wedding, seeing off to another world, or sowing and reaping, could not do without the presence and rituals of the Witch or the Vedun. It should be noted that not only women were engaged in magic among the Slavs, among men there were also owners of magical powers.

Over time, ideas about what witches look like have changed significantly. But knowledgeable people still remember that the title of the Witch is not an insult at all, but an honorary role, and maybe a mission.

About Witches to watch from 1 minute 44 seconds.