Christmas time can be safely called the most beloved Christian holiday in Rus'. They are celebrated from 6 to 19 January. It was believed that it was at this time that the souls of the dead and evil spirits appeared on earth. Therefore, these January days are the best time to look into the future. The Church never approved of these actions. Nevertheless, in Rus', young girls annually tried to find out their fate with the help of Christmas divination. Having decided to tell fortunes, remember that the result may not be exactly what you hope for.

Christmas divination

Divination with a bow.

On January 6, the girl planted onions in a bowl of water. If the onion sprouted before January 19, the girl will be married soon, if not, then it’s not destiny.

Divination with a cat.

Young girls went out into the street and carefully looked to see if the cat would appear. If you managed to see it, then the girl will meet her fate this year, she didn’t see the cat - it means to sit in the girls for a year.

Divination by eggs.

The girls gathered in one hut, each brought a marked egg with her and put it in a basket near the door. When all the eggs were in the basket, the youngest of the blindfolded girls pulled out the eggs one at a time. Whose first egg will get, she will be the first to marry and get out.

Divination with mirrors.

A popular divination in Rus', although the girls were afraid to carry it out. It was necessary to guess alone, in complete silence. Two mirrors were placed opposite each other, two candles were placed on the sides. I had to carefully look in the mirror and say the words “Betrothed - mummers, show yourself” three times, you had to peer until the groom showed up. I had to sit for a long time. Also, an unclean one could appear in the mirror, if he touches the girl's face, she will lose her beauty.

Divination with a ring.

Girls and boys gathered in the hut, each threw his ring on the floor, where fate would roll there. If on the threshold - the girl is married, and the guy - on the road.

The desire to know your future, or at least its key points (marriage, good luck in business) has been inherent in people at all times. In Rus', too, a lot and often guessed. Usually, a special, “sacred” time was chosen for this, when certain magical entities, otherworldly forces could reveal their secrets.

The days of the autumn and spring equinoxes, the summer solstice (Ivan Kupala), ancient pagan, and later Christian festivities (Trinity week, the time from Christmas to Epiphany, Intercession, etc.) were considered such times.

Kupala divination

On the night of Kupala, unmarried girls were guessing at their future betrothed. There were many ways. The most common:

1. Weave a wreath and let it float down the river. It will swim for a long time - soon the owner of this wreath will get married. If she drowns, she will have to spend another year in girls.
2. Jump above all over the fire, which was kindled in the evening on the occasion of the holiday. If it turned out to jump so high that the flames did not touch the legs, then the person will be happy all year and everything will work out for him.
3. Go to the field in the evening and pull out a small plant from the ground along with the root. If the spine is thick and short, the future husband will appear the same. If on the contrary, the husband will be tall and fine. If a lot of land stuck to the root, then a rich groom will marry the girl.

Christmas divination

For Christmas time - Trinity and Christmas holidays - there was a whole collection of all kinds of fortune-telling. Very often they guessed at the Christmas cake. Usually this was done in small groups, because it was more interesting that way. First, the girls baked a pie together, then they took turns leaving the gate with this pie. Seeing the traveler, the girl approached him, treated him to a piece of cake and immediately asked for his name. What name the man called, and according to the belief, the future spouse of this girl should have been called.

In a similar way, they guessed at the betrothed with the help of a boot. The girl had to take off her boot from her foot and throw it over the gate. Where the sock is turned - in that direction the groom lives.

Another method of divination required the use of several items. A group of girls gathered at one of their houses. Various objects were put into a felt boot or a bowl: a ring, a piece of sugar, a small onion, a handful of ash. Then, those participating in fortune-telling had to, closing their eyes, randomly pull out one object from the common heap. Depending on the “catch”, life was also predicted. The ring symbolized imminent marriage, ash - misfortune and poor life, sugar - on the contrary, joyful and sweet, onion - bitter tears.

Divination is as old as the world, and the ritual has left its mark, passing through many centuries. Mentions of various types can be found in ancient civilizations around the world, it was practiced by the inhabitants of Mesopotamia and the Mayan Indians. Divination, having reached the Slavs, for the most part, was the work of mainly healers, priests, soothsayers, sorcerers, sorcerers and magicians. A sign of mastery of science was the ability to predict the weather, interpret dreams, as well as ancient tablets and runes with mysterious symbols - traditionally family heirlooms.

The inhabitants of Ancient Rus' especially liked the rituals of divination. They were popular during the feudal system and the serfs. In winter, for long evenings, hawthorns and noblewomen were bored, and from exhausting idleness they tried to look behind the enticing veil of the mystery of fate, prepared by life, and find out their future. Simple peasant women at that time were guessing in the hallway.

The girls sat by the light of the torch, simple-haired, that is, without headdresses, with loose hair, as it was believed that magical power was hidden in them, and peered into mirrors, water, the form of wax poured onto the table. If the vision still managed to be seen, then in order for it to disappear, they said: “keep me away” - this is how they called on the god Chur, the ancestor who guards the house from adversity.

In general, paganism left a significant mark on fortune telling, as it is known now, because the ancient Slavic ancestors worshiped the gods, glorified the spirits of their ancestors, cajoled evil spirits, brownies, believed in the existence of goblin and brownies. A person who was then too dependent on natural and weather conditions, in order to achieve the location of all the numerous, powerful spirits and gods, came up with special rituals and sacrifices - hence divination on an ox skin and other impartial things.

With the advent of Christianity, it turned out that pagan holidays were replaced by Christian ones. Either the church established sacred holidays in accordance with the main pagan ones for the sake of the convenience of celebrating, because the people still have the habit of celebrating them on certain days, or, in this way, it prudently replaced “demonic rites” with church ones. Needless to say, after Rus' was baptized, fortune-telling was not approved by the church, moreover, they were considered as the machinations of the evil one, therefore, according to popular custom, all “dark” rites were timed to coincide with midnight.

The time, as if created for divination, was considered the feast of Ivan Kupala, Christmas time, the night before the New Year and Epiphany, evil spirits roamed free, and were especially powerful. In those days, it was on the night of Epiphany that mummers and fortunetellers, after carols and rituals, washed in a cruciform hole, washing away all sins from themselves.

Colorful, favorite girlish entertainment had a variety of topics: fortune-telling for the harvest, for marriage, for the future fate, for the fulfillment of a wish, for weather conditions. There were many varieties of fortune-telling: on wax, cards, thick, mirrors, logs, shadows, even on roosters and eavesdropping. They guessed by the shape of the wax in cold water, by the cards that had fallen out of the deck, by the coffee grounds left in the cup, by the knots of logs exposed to a kind of otherworldly portal for evil spirits.

Examples of ancient divination

• Divination by shadows. One of the options for divination by shadows is with the help of paper and a candle. To do this, you need a sheet of paper crumpled by hand, with an indistinct outline, not completely rolled into a ball, and a candle stub. Paper is set on fire with a match at the bottom of an overturned plate, and immediately extinguished without touching the burnt paper. A candle is placed against the wall, and a plate with ashes is also placed there. It will take a little imagination to judge the future based on the shadow contour that has formed.
• Fortune telling with a rooster. There were a lot of fortune-telling with a rooster, most likely for the reason that everyone had this poultry in their backyard. The ingenuity of the ancestors could be envied, they would spill the grain in front of the bird, if it pecked everything, there would be luck in the house, and the rings of unmarried girls laid out in a circle, which one pecked, she would go down the aisle. Sometimes a chicken also participated in such fortune-telling. If a rooster flies up to a chicken and pecks, it means that the fortuneteller will have a quarrelsome husband, and if the bird defends itself, does not let itself be offended, the woman will be the main one in marriage.
• Eavesdropping. The eavesdropping took place near a church, or chapel, late at night. Two girls went to guess at the locked gates of the church, usually together. If joyful church singing was heard, as at a wedding, this is for an early marriage, and if the funeral service is for death. They believed in the veracity of this fortune-telling, therefore they approached this fortune-telling with all trepidation, being afraid to hear something bad, because the prediction was to be fulfilled in the coming year.

They turned to fortune-telling thousands and hundreds of years ago, hoping to find out about what was conceived by the fate of the villain, they tried to change what was destined, to avoid unpleasant events. This ritual, shrouded in mist,

Christmas time two weeks of winter holidays are called, from Christmas Eve, which falls on January 6, to Epiphany, celebrated on January 19. Fortune telling at Christmas is considered to be the most truthful. Holy with their roots divination go back to the times of pagan Rus'. It was fortune-telling during the winter solstice (and this is the period of Christmas time) that was given special importance in pagan times. It was believed that it was on these days that otherworldly forces were most active, and the boundaries between the worlds were thinner, which contributed to a more truthful result of New Year's, Christmas and Christmas fortune-telling.

With the advent of Christianity in Rus', Christmas divination not only survived, but also acquired more mystical meaning, and although the church tried to fight superstition and fortune-telling, they were carefully passed down from generation to generation, and have survived to this day in a slightly modified form.

Having decided to guess for Christmas, remember that the result of fortune-telling may not meet your expectations, so is it worth spoiling your holidays ...

There were a lot of ways of Christmas fortune-telling in Rus', but the main theme of all Christmas fortune-telling is fortune-telling for the betrothed ( groom). This is understandable, because in ancient times, the fate of a girl depended entirely on how well she would come out. married .

Fortune telling (with felt boots) on the "side" in which you will marry

This is the most famous and widespread type of divination. The girls alternately throw the felt boots over their backs onto the road and, in the direction of the toe of the fallen felt boots, recognize the direction in which they will get married.

Divination with mirrors

This fortune-telling is well known from literature and is now popular with brave girls.

Mirrors in the old days were attributed magical properties. The custom of closing mirrors if there is a dead person in the house also reflects this attitude of our ancestors to the magic of mirrors.

Divination is carried out in an empty and quiet room. There should be no one and no sound. The fortune-telling girl should let her hair down and fully concentrate. She should sit in the dark near two opposite mirrors. The picture of Novikov shows this position of the girl. At midnight, the girl lights two candles, placed on the sides of the mirrors, and says: "My betrothed, mummers, show yourself to me" and begins to peer into the gallery of reflections, hoping to see her fiancé. You can sit in front of mirrors for a long time, or you can see your betrothed right away.

Divination in a new house

You can guess only in the house where you spend the night for the first time. Only then is the divination considered correct. Before going to bed, you should cross yourself three times and go to bed with the words: "I'm sleeping in a new place, dream of the bridegroom." The man you dream of will be your fiancé.

Fortune telling on straw

Guessing on straw is most interesting when there are many people present. Exactly at midnight, gather in one room, light a candle and start guessing. To find out the name of your betrothed, put straw on the table, knocked into a ball, put a frying pan on this lump, put a stone in the frying pan and pour some water. Then each of the girls should slowly pull out a straw, and the name of the betrothed should be heard from the sounds made by the stone when it vibrates in the pan. During divination, the room should be absolute silence.

Fortune telling (with burning the thread) on the speed and order of getting married

A simple and visual fortune-telling, which is popular in our time. It lies in the fact that the girls cut the threads of the same length (it is better to take thicker threads) and set them on fire at the same time. The threads must be held at one end, the other - lowered down and must be set on fire. Whoever burns out the thread ahead will be the first to be married. The sequence of burning threads in the hands of girls will show the order of their marriage. If someone's thread went out immediately or the thread burned out by less than half, then this girl will not marry.

Fortune telling (with a ring or a needle) on the gender of the unborn child

Certain actions are performed with a ring or a needle: the ring is lowered into a glass of water, a woolen fabric is pierced with a needle, then, suspended on a hair or thread, they are slowly lowered near the hand of the one they are guessing at. If the object (ring, needle) begins to make circular movements, a girl will be born (less often - a boy), if pendulum-shaped - a boy (less often - a girl), if the object does not move, there will be no children.

Divination (with the choice of subject) on the "quality" of life

Objects are hidden in a bag, cup or felt boot, then the girls choose their felt boot or bag. The choice of an object symbolizes life in the coming year: ash - a bad life, sugar - a sweet life, a ring - getting married, an onion - to tears, a glass - drunkenness, a golden ring - a rich life, etc., you can invent and refine fortune-telling with your own options .

Fortune telling with a rooster for a betrothed

Several plates or bowls are taken, grain is poured into one plate (or money is put), water is poured into another, a mirror is placed next to it, sometimes a chicken is brought. A rooster approaching a mirror symbolizes the beauty and tenderness of the future groom, approaching grain or money - his wealth, water - a tendency to drunkenness, if a rooster approaches a chicken, then the groom will be a "womanizer".

Divination with matches

Two matches are inserted on the sides of the matchbox and set on fire. If the burnt heads are facing each other, then the "conceived" guy and girl will be together. If the match heads look in different directions or fall off, then no.

Fortune telling (by barking dogs) about the age of the groom

At midnight, take a knife, go out into the street, go up to the snowdrift and start cutting the snow with a knife, saying: “Damn, damn, don’t be silent, damn, damn, tell me what kind of husband will I get, will I have to laugh or cry?”.

After saying the words of the spell, shut up and listen carefully to the barking of dogs.

• If an angry, sharp bark is heard, it means that the future husband will be strict and gloomy;
• hoarse barking promises an old groom;
• shrill barking - the groom will have a bad temper;
• sonorous barking - young;
• if the dogs bark cheerfully and loudly, then the husband will also be cheerful and kind;
• it is very bad if a dog howl is heard during fortune-telling. This suggests that the marriage will be short-lived and very quickly the young wife will become a widow.
  

Fortune telling "Well"

To conduct this divination, you need a well. If a girl lives in a village and has a well with a lockable roof, then this is ideal. If there is no such well at your disposal, then you should make a symbolic well. To do this, you can use matches, toothpicks, other sticks. Building a well is quite simple. Make a square out of the sticks, laying the sticks on top of each other, and so make several rows. Take a thimble, pour some water into it and place it next to the well. In the villages, girls can pour water into a bucket and put it near a real well. Lock a real well with a real key, “lock” one made of sticks with any key, making the appropriate movement with your hand, and put the key under your pillow. Going to bed, say: "The betrothed-mummer, come to me to the well of water to drink, ask me for a key." A betrothed will come to you in a dream to drink water from your well.

Divination of fate by the shadows

This type of fortune-telling, due to its simplicity and clarity, is very common in the modern girlish environment. The girl sets fire to a paper sheet crumpled by her hand, and then examines the shadow of the burning paper on the wall - this is the first stage of divination, even at this stage quite clear images can arise.

Everyone takes a blank sheet of paper, crumple it, put it on a dish or on a large flat plate and set it on fire. When the sheet burns out or almost burns out, it is displayed on the wall with the help of a candle - this is the second and main stage. Carefully examining the shadows, they try to find out their future from the images of the shadows.

Fortune telling with a ring to evoke the image of the future groom

Take an ordinary glass with smooth walls, a flat bottom and without a pattern, pour water into it to 3/4 of the volume and carefully lower the wedding ring to the middle of the bottom. The ring must be pre-washed in running water so that it does not bear the information of its owner. Looking closely at the very center of the ring, saying the words: "My betrothed, mummers come to me," you can see the betrothed. To see it, you may have to look into the ring for quite some time.

Fortune telling with inducing sleep about the betrothed

We write the name of the young man on a piece of paper, put it on a small mirror and under the pillow, or put three bay leaves under the pillow. On one they write - "Ananias", on the other - "Azarius" and on the third - "Misail" and cast a spell: "From Monday to Tuesday, I look at the windowsill, whoever dreams of me, let me dream."

Guessing in the night from Monday to Tuesday. A sprig of spruce is taken, placed at the head of the head for the night. At the same time they say: "I lie down on Monday, I put a spruce tree at the head, dream of the one who thinks about me." Whoever dreams, he loves you.

Guessing in the night from Thursday to Friday. Going to bed, they say: "Thursday with Wednesday, Tuesday with Monday, Sunday with Saturday. Friday is alone and I am young, alone. I am lying on the Zion mountains, three angels in my head: one sees. Another will say, the third destiny indicate."

Girls wonder if they go to bed where they didn’t have to before. Before sleep say: "In a new place, dream groom to bride." In a dream you will see her fiancé.

Card reading

Before going to bed put under the pillow four kings and they say: "Who is my betrothed, who is my mummer, that dream to me in a dream." If you dream of a king of spades, the groom will be an old man and jealous, a red king means young and rich, a cross king means wait for matchmakers from a military or businessman, and a tambourine one from the desired one.

Divination by relatives

They go to look out the windows of their neighbors during dinner. If they see the heads of those sitting at the table, they foretell to themselves that future relatives will all be alive; if they don’t see the heads, then misfortune should happen to relatives.

Divination on wax

Melt the wax in a mug, pour milk in a saucer and place it at the threshold of an apartment or house. Say the following words: "Brownie, my master, come under the threshold to drink milk, eat wax." With the last words, pour the melted wax into the milk. Now watch closely what is happening.

• If you see a frozen cross, some kind of illness awaits you in the new year.
• If the cross only appears, then in the coming year your financial affairs will not go too well, and in your personal life troubles will overcome, but not too serious.
• If a flower blooms - get married, get married or find a loved one.
• If the beast appears, be careful: you will have some kind of enemy.
• If the wax flows in strips, you will have roads, crossings.
• Lie down with stars - expect good luck in the service, in your studies.
• If a human figure is formed, you will gain a friend.
• House - soon acquiring a new household; for a girl, this is primarily due to her marriage.
• Shapeless ruins - misfortune in the near future.
• A pit, a small cave or a grotto is the most undesirable figure, since it symbolizes the burial place and predicts a serious illness or close death .
• Trees - they can be interpreted in different ways: the upward branches of a tree promise quick joy, drooping - sadness, longing and boredom.
• A ring or a candle definitely predicts a quick wedding.
• A pancake that has sunk to the bottom, on the contrary, promises a long girlhood.
  

On bulbs

Take several bulbs and label each one. These bulbs are planted in the ground: whoever sprouts first, that girl will marry ahead of others.

around the ring

In an ordinary glass glass with a flat bottom, without any patterns, pour 3/4 of water and carefully lower the wedding ring to the middle of the bottom. Then they look through the water into the middle of the ring, where the image of the betrothed should appear.

Throw the ring on the floor. If it rolls to the door, it means that the girl will soon get married, and the man - on a business trip. Can be interpreted as leaving home.

The call of passers-by

Go outside at midnight and ask the name of the first person you meet. That is what your betrothed will be called, just like that he will be handsome and rich.

Eavesdropping

Climb under the window of the neighbors and, of course, listen. If they have a showdown with breaking dishes, you can expect a "fun" year. If there is silence in the house - and your year will be harmonious. Depending on what is happening in the house of neighbors at the time of eavesdropping, and you will develop the coming year.

Fortune telling on a wooden chip

Pour water into a bowl. Attach along the edges of the pelvis paper strips, on which events are written, for example, a wedding, a trip, receiving money, a new job, etc. (if the fortuneteller is alone), or the names of all those present who want to know their future. In the second case, one event is thought of, in particular, a wedding, an acquaintance with a future spouse, etc.

You need to take a dry chip, preferably a deciduous tree, and fix on it the stub of a candle that burned in the house where fortune-telling takes place. Light a candle and push the "boat" to the middle of the pelvis. From there, the sliver should itself swim up to one of the notes. Which note floats to, the event will happen. If the sliver rolls over or sinks, then the event you envisioned will not happen next year.

Fortune telling on an egg

Take a fresh egg, make a small hole in it and carefully pour the contents into a glass of water. When the squirrel curls up, according to the shape it has taken, you need to guess your future. The type of church means a wedding, a ring means betrothal, a cube means a coffin, a ship means a business trip (for a man) or the return of a husband from a business trip (for a woman). If the squirrel sank to the bottom - be in the house on fire.

Divination on logs

You need to go back to the woodpile and choose a log by touch. If it is even, smooth, without knots, the spouse will come across with an ideal character:

• thick and heavy log - the husband will be wealthy,
• there are many knots - a lot will be born in the family children,
• a crooked log - the husband will be oblique and lame or angry,
• a log is even, with a smooth thin bark - a handsome and young husband,
• thick rough bark - the husband is ugly,
• the bark on the log is peeled off in places or is completely absent - the husband is poor,
• cracked log - the husband will get old, pockmarked, with a physical handicap,
• a big log - a strong, strong husband,
• knotted log - the family will be big: each knot is an unborn child.

Divination with a cat

Make a wish, call your cat. If she crosses the threshold of the room with her left paw, the wish will come true. If it's right, it's not meant to be.

Divination by the book

Best to take book spiritual content, you can, for example, the "Bible", without opening it, guess the page number and line from above or below, then open it and read in a hidden place. They interpret what they read in accordance with what the most fortune-telling person is most interested in.

About Christmas time, carols, fortune-telling ...

It's time for miracles - Christmas Eve, Christmas time,
festivities of mummers in the night
and singing carols,
gates, sweets, rolls… **

And dreams of dawn interpretation,
and candlelight gatherings
and midnight divinations
on maps, wax, mirrors...

The last ... magic is sung,
they are more mysterious, ancient,
their tenacious gaze keeps secrets
births, lives and deaths.

In the depths of the looking glass world,
beyond the thin line of silver
lives, according to holy traditions,
visions of ghostly game.

A story about the past and the future
holds magic glass,
and about the cherished daily day
He knows the whole truth...

But this holy night
when the candle drops a glare,
do not rush with an urgent desire,
look at the native, wonderful face.

You can see in the mirror
the great mystery of the image,
because the world is fragile ... the abode -
your radiant eyes.

They keep all revelations
and all the inheritance of the soul,
fate graceful weaving
and chastity dreams.

They… feed visions…
I dare to guess
that mirrors only reflect
what they are given to reflect.

And therefore, with a pure desire
and a heart full of warmth,
share with them the power of thought,
create the path of your destiny.

Let it penetrate your windows
christmas Magic Light,
let the mirrors tell you
love, wealth, long life.