Svarog (Old East Slavic: Сваро́гъ; Russian: Сварог) is a Slavic god with unclear functions, but most often interpreted as a sky god or a god of fire and smithing. He appears in only one source, which is problematic because of the unclear circumstances of its origin. His name can mean “wrangler” or be related to “heaven”. Father of Svarozhich.
Steps of Bestiary Artbook picture - work in progress.
Lady Midday or Noon Witch wasn’t always a monster like you might’ve seen in The Witcher games. It was a cunning spirit of hot summer noon, a golden haired girl in a snow-white dress, who knew many riddles and could make peasants dance with her all day long or simply fall asleep in the fields.
Not long ago I had a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of Celsys’ 21 Hour Drawing Party. This is a breakdown of the process behind making the illustration for the theme “Magic Me”, starting from a loose idea, defining the character and palette and the final results.
You can see the hi res image vibe to some Lo-fi slavic tunes on Acid Cake’s youtube channel: https://youtu.be/VnUa2JIKGfw
Mokosh with spindle, 2014. Weave structure: double weave pick up. Weaver: C. Jacobus
What a wonderful devotion. Мóкошь, Mokosh, is a protector of women’s work and destiny, divination, overseeing spinning, weaving, and childbirth. She brought rain, fertility, and ruled over the dead. Her image was captured in embroidery unto the 19th century.
Ludowe przekazy z XIX wieku opisywały ponadto Jaryłę jako realnie żyjącego niegdyś człowieka – mieszkańca miasta Kostromy: wesołego usposobienia, który pochwalał miłość, urządzał zabawy i tańce, a kiedy w wieku 150 lat zmarł, powstał zwyczaj „погребения Ярилы”, w którym go wspominano.
-Semantyka obrzędów wiosennych związanych z Marzanną i Jaryłą (Próba rekonstrukcji “Prasłowianskiego tekstu”) by Michał Łuczyński
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Further, folk tales from XIXth century described Yarilo as a historical persona, that really lived once upon a time — an inhabitant of the town of Kostroma: good spirited, supportive of love, a frequent organizer of parties and dances. When he died at the age of 150 years the tradition of „Yarilo’s burials” was established to commemorate him.
-Semantics of the spring rites connected to Marzanna and Jaryło (An attempt at reconstructing “the Proto-Slavic text”) by Michał Łuczyński, my translation
While gazing into the beloved’s eyes may be one way of signaling the lover’s desires, another charm that appears both in the literary sources and in the spell books is the apple charm—a type of spell in which the lover throws an apple (or a quince, a pomegranate, or some other seed-filled sweet fruit) at the target, transferring his love to the one who picks up this token charged with erotic resonances. Ovid recounts the tale of a clever youth, Acontius, who won his bride by tossing an apple inscribed with the words “I vow to marry Acontius” over the garden wall where his beloved would pick it up and read it aloud; the vow was magically effective, to the extent of incurring divine punishment when the girl’s parents tried to prevent the marriage.
A spell preserved on a first-century (BCE or CE) papyrus makes use of the same idea:
To whichever woman I give or whichever woman I throw the apple at or hit with it, setting everything aside, may she be mad for my love—whether she takes it in her hand and eats it or sets it in her bosom—and may she not stop loving me. O Lady Kyprogeneia, bring to perfection this perfect incantation.
Again, as with the eye contact spell, we can see the blurring of lines between magical action and simple flirtation—the tossing of the apple to the girl, catching her attention; the girl picking it up and putting it to her lips, or perhaps tucking it away into her bosom. Indeed, in Lucian, one courtesan complains of her boyfriend flirting with another woman by tossing her a bit of apple, which she kissed and put between her breasts. Tossing the apple is the active step in the relationship, signaling one’s interest, so a prostitute may toss an apple at a potential client, to catch his attention and express her readiness for sex.
The apple serves as a symbol of sexual desire, perhaps of fertility, certainly of erotic interest, which is why, Plutarch tells us, a quince or an apple was presented to a new bride on her wedding night, symbolizing the awakening of her sexuality, legitimized and sanctioned by the ritual of marriage.
-Drawing down the moon by Radcliffe G. Edmonds III
Spośród widocznych atrybutów Marzanny wymieniano: jabłko, klucze, kobiece ubranie, wieniec i ozdoby. Symbolice jabłka wiele uwagi poświęcił R. Katičić, który doszedł do wniosku, że jabłko to symbol miłości narzeczonej do „Zielonego Jerzego”.
Jaryło, pokonując po drodze most, przyjeżdża na dwór ojca. Staje do zawodów o rękę Morany. Ta znajduje się na zielonej łące, pasie gęsi, otwiera drzwi (wrota). Rzucając w bohatera jabłkiem, wskazuje go jako swojego wybranka.
-Semantyka obrzędów wiosennych związanych z Marzanną i Jaryłą (Próba rekonstrukcji “Prasłowianskiego tekstu”) by Michał Łuczyński
“Among visible attributes of Marzanna the commonly named ones are: apple, keys, feminine clothing, wreath and jewelry/ornaments. R. Katičić gave a lot of attention to the the symbolism of the apple, arriving at the conclusion that it represents the love that the bride bears for ‘Green George’.”
“Jaryło passes through a bridge and arrives at his father’s court. He enters a contest for Morana’s hand. She can be found on a green meadow, grazing geese, opening doors (gates). She throws an apple at the hero, marking him as her chosen husband.”
-Semantics of the spring rites connected to Marzanna and Jaryło (An attempt at reconstructing “the Proto-Slavic text”) by Michał Łuczyński
