Prologue lesson “Natural symbols of Russia. Natural symbolism

Homeland is... the most important part of any person’s life; a place where people live who love each other and everything that surrounds them; my country, my Penza region, my hometown, the Serdoba River; where I was born, where I grew up, where my home is, my friends. a large family at the same table with tea and grandma's pancakes

Creative task: Describe Describe a natural object (symbol) natural object (symbol) according to the following plan: according to the following plan: epigraph about it, epigraph about it, colorful description, colorful description, physical-geographical physical-geographical characteristic characteristic

The volume of the depression is enormous - 23 thousand cubic kilometers, this is a fifth of the fresh water of the entire planet; ! How long could the people of Earth live on Baikal water? 40 years; ! Baikal can be considered an emerging ocean; ! The water in the lake is the standard of purity. A disk with a diameter of 30 cm is hidden under water at a depth of 40 meters; ! Preservation of hundreds of species of ancient animals.

Knowledge about the forces of nature takes its origins from Ancient Egypt, where the Great Initiate lived and wrote his works. On the basis of Hermeticism, a mystical science was formed - alchemy, the purpose of which was to show the ways to comprehend the essence of things.

An element is a state of space, which is a consequence of the work of certain principles of the Universe. Symbols of the elements are designations of these principles or primary elements from which all substances of the cosmos are formed.

4 main states of space:

• hot;
• cold;
• dry;
• wet.

An elemental element is formed as a result of the interaction of a pair of principles. By changing one principle in a pair, you can transform one element of the element into another.

Elemental principles:

• Earth: dry and cold;
• Water: wet and cold;
• Air: warm and humid;
• Fire: warm and dry.

If we add up all the symbols of the elements into a single figure, we get a six-pointed star - a symbol of perfect form.

But any form, even the most perfect, is dead if it is not filled with life. In ancient philosophies and alchemy, the spiritualizing element is ether or the holy spirit - great power creativity. The unity of the spirit and body of the Universe is symbolically indicated by a six-pointed star with a dot in the center. The point is the designation of the fifth element of the universe.

Earth symbols

Qualities: feminine, passive, hard, indestructible I.

1. Archetype: Great Mother, feminine

Earth element- the material basis and foundation of life. Her image is nature, a fertile mother.

Archetypal symbols of the earth: Theotokos, patron goddess of the harvest, Great Cosmic Mother.

2. Shape: cube, diamond

A common symbol of the earth is the cube - the most stable figure in three-dimensional space. The cubic shape is inherent in the crystal lattice of diamond, a stone consisting of the densest concentration of carbon atoms. The earth symbol can also be any ordered structure or symmetrical shape.

3. Numbers: 6 and 4

Number 6 - the sign of perfect form is one of the symbols of the earth. The following figures also correspond to this element: a hexagon and a six-pointed star. Six is ​​also related to the cube - geometric figure with 6 sides.

The square and its corresponding number 4 are also associated with the element of earth. A square is one of the projections of a cube on a plane. It symbolizes: connection with matter, the physical world, the physical body, stability, endurance and constancy.

4. Side of the world and time: north, winter, night

The element of earth corresponds to the solid state of matter. Naturally, the cardinal direction of this element is North, where everything is covered with ice; Season – winter; The time of day is night.

5. Planets: Saturn and Venus

Due to its hardness and stability, the element of earth is associated with Saturn, the planet of restrictions and order. Saturn is the indestructible rock of the Supreme Law, which no one can escape.

Qualities of Saturn: severity, order, state, power, conscience, law, wisdom, old age, restrictions, karma, thoroughness, asceticism.

The splendor of forms is one of the aspects of the material world. Therefore, the element of earth is also associated with Venus - the ancient Roman goddess of love and beauty.

6. Sphere of existence: material world, nature

In the Tree of Life system, the principles of the earth reflect two spheres of existence: Binah - the Great Mother and Malkuth - Mother Nature.

7. Chakra: muladhara

The earth is a symbol of the material nature of our world. Therefore, this element corresponds to the energy center responsible for survival instincts.

Water symbols

Qualities: feminine, passive, soft, flexible.

1. Shape: bowls and vessels

The symbol of water can be a bowl, a jug or a sea shell. The bowl is also a symbol of the feminine principle, reproductive forces and abundance. Water is the principle eternal life and motherhood.

2. Sphere of existence: astral world

The water element on the Tree of Life represents the spheres of Yesod, which means “form.” Here we're talking about about astral forms formed in the interaction of feelings and logic.

Water is a symbol of the depths of the subconscious, insight and clairvoyance. This element connects us with the world of dreams and visions, with the sphere of astral forms.

Contemplation of the water surface was often used in the practice of foresight. Peering into the depths of the water, the soothsayer saw sacred symbols and mystical images that emerged from his subconscious mind and which were the answers to the question posed.

3. Time and place: west, autumn, evening

The rainiest time of the year, autumn, is associated with water. This season corresponds to the time of day - evening, cardinal direction - west. Autumn is also the time of harvesting and summing up the results of the year. And fertility and harvest are also one of the symbols of water, as mentioned above.

4. Planets: Moon and Neptune

The planet Moon corresponds to the water element. The Moon is the patroness of femininity, motherhood, emotions, feelings and intuition.

The water element also protects the planet Neptune. This planet is associated with the psyche, fantasies and dreams. Qualities of Neptune: a tendency towards mysticism, illusions, deceptive visions, mystery and nebula, but also spirituality, connection with the Higher Self, meditative mind.

5. Chakras: Ajna and Svadhisthana

Water qualities are inherent in two energy centers: and Ajna. The first is responsible for emotions, receiving pleasure, and the desire to procreate. The second chakra - Ajna - is water, as a symbol of clairvoyance and insight.

Air symbols

Qualities: masculine, active, agile

1. Shape: sword

Air is associated with quickness of thought and sharpness of mind. In accordance with this, symbols of air are swords, pikes and other piercing and cutting objects.

The sword pointing downwards denotes the descent of the creative divine will onto the earth. A sword raised with its tip up is a sign of war and destruction.

2. Essence: freedom and spirit

The white bird is a symbolic image of the spirit. In the esoteric sense, this is a conscious creative act or action aimed at creation. In the Christian tradition, the Holy Spirit is depicted as a white dove. And in Ancient Egypt, the hawk was a symbol of the human soul. In many traditions, the bird acts as a symbol of air - a link between heaven and earth, between the spiritual and the physical.

3. Phenomenon: wind

Air has the qualities of lightness, mobility and speed. At the same time, it can be changeable and sudden, destructive and unpredictable. The symbol of air contains phenomena from a light breeze to a giant tornado. Air is movement in all its manifestations.

4. Place and time: east, spring, morning

Air is the element of youth and new birth. Therefore, it is often associated with the east - the place where the Sun is born every morning. In accordance with this, the time of year of the air element is spring, the time of day is morning.

5. Planet: Mercury

One of the symbols of the air element is the planet closest to the Sun - Mercury. Mercury in ancient Roman mythology was the patron of trade and travel, a mediator between gods and people. His attribute is the Caduceus: a club with two snakes entwined around it and crowned with wings.

Qualities of Mercury: speed, cunning, resourcefulness, dexterity, wisdom, intelligence, eloquence, perfect mind, changeability.

6. Chakras: Anahata and Vishuddha

Symbols of air are also the respiratory organs and their corresponding energy centers: anahata and vishuddha. – the heart chakra, located in the center of the chest and is responsible for breathing, the manifestation of unconditional love and compassion. Vishuddha is the throat chakra, located in the thyroid gland and has the function of creative self-expression and connected speech.

Fire symbols

Qualities: active, masculine, fast, cleansing.

1. Shape: wands

In ancient times, the rod, as an attribute of power and magical power, belonged to the spiritual caste of priests. This symbol is a designation of the highest element in the hierarchy - fire. The rod also symbolizes the masculine active principle, the divine spark, the creative idea that gave rise to the entire Universe.

2. Place and time: South, day, summer

The symbol of fire corresponds to the hottest side of the world - South, the time of year - summer and the time of day - day. These symbols of fire indicate its burning nature and the destructive aspect of the element. Sun rays capable of giving life, but also taking it away.

3. Phenomena: lightning, explosion, flame

The element of fire can manifest different aspects of its character. The qualities of phenomena determine the qualities of the corresponding fire symbols.

• A sunbeam is a sign of the Creator’s light, a symbol of his pristine pure nature.
• Lightning is an idea, a thought born in the Supreme Consciousness, which gave birth to the world.
• An erupting volcano is a symbol of anger, rage, rage, and the destructive power of fire.
• A candle flame is a symbol of faith and spirituality, a guiding light, hope, the light of truth in the darkness.

4. Planets: Mars, Sun

The destructive qualities of fire are most manifested in the nature of Mars. The planet Mars is a symbol of an uncontrollable and raging fire that incinerates everything around. In Ancient Rome, Mars was the god of war and destruction. And at the same time, he was honored as the patron and protector of Ancient Rome.

Another symbol of fire is the Sun. The energy of the Sun gives life. This planet is the center and reason for the existence of life on our earth. In ancient times, the sun was often identified with the Creator himself. IN ancient Egypt the luminary was called by the name of Ra - and the creator of the world.

5. Chakras: manipura, muladhara, ajna, sahasrara

The symbol of fire can carry a variety of qualities. Accordingly, in the energy structure of a person this element is reflected in several centers at once.

Manipura - the solar plexus chakra carries solar qualities: generosity, leadership, will, primacy, nobility, desire for power. Muladhara contains the energy of Mars, manifested in the penetrating force and power of basic instincts. Ajna is heavenly fire, the electrical nature of thought. Sahasrara - the cosmic chakra - is a connection with the Creator Himself, who is the truth, the source and the cause.

NATURAL ELEMENTS

Solar symbolism is the symbolism of the solar element, the sun, the solar light gods.

The sun gods in Slavic paganism are Dazhdbog, Svarog, Khors. They are light, that is, representing the power of the Rule of the gods. Prav is the upper, heavenly world in Slavic mythology. The Slavs imagined Prav as an ideal world where the laws of justice and honor prevail. Many Russian words tell us about this: correct (as in Prav), spravny (with Prav), rule (in fairness), right (in both meanings). Solar symbolism is one of the brightest in the Slavic tradition. Among the solar signs, perhaps, there is not a single one that brings harm. On the contrary, all signs are associated with the acquisition of both material and spiritual benefits, their increase. The sun in paganism is also the all-seeing eye, which is why, if there was a need, they committed a crime at night - perhaps the gods of the Rule would not notice; That’s why evil spirits and dark wizards become active at night. In the sunny time of day, on the contrary, light forces predominate, helping man and nature. However, this is only one side of the coin.

Sun

The image of the celestial waters was only part of a more general picture of the world, where the celestial-water tier was only a distant background, and the main thing was the sun in its measured path across the firmament of the middle sky.

It is extremely important to note that in the entire decor of Russian huts of the 18th-19th centuries, throughout the vast expanse of the twelve northern provinces of Russia, the sun signs that abound in this decor were never placed above the sky-water zone, i.e. they did not violate ancient Slavic ideas about the upper sky. The zone of movement of the sun since the Eneolithic was the middle sky, separated by the firmament from the sky-water zone of the upper sky.

This ancient picture of the world was observed with amazing rigor in the system of architectural decoration: the path of the sun across the middle sky is emphasized by the fact that to display the solar signs, artificial special boards were used that did not play any constructive role - “towels”, descending vertically from the piers.

The positions of the luminary at sunrise and sunset were indicated by placing sun signs at the lower end of both piers, and they thus appeared in the overall composition of the pattern below the part of the piers on which the “heavenly abysses” were depicted. Sometimes here, too, to show the morning-evening positions of the sun, they resorted to using two vertical “towels” at the edges of the piers.

Sometimes the path of the sun was marked not by three standard positions, but by several additional intermediate signs attached to the lower edge of the piers. The daily course of the sun in these cases was marked by twelve solar signs.

Let's look at the sun signs included in common system defense of the Russian house from ghouls and navi.

First of all, it should be said that in the indicated three positions (morning, noon and evening) the sun signs were depicted not just as one of the elements of decoration, but quite meaningfully, with deep symbolic meaning. This is confirmed by the fact that they were almost never placed separately, but always in combination with other symbols - earth, a sown field, sometimes water. The relative position of different symbols in one complex further emphasized the daily movement of the sun.

The sun signs themselves are represented by several types. The most stable is a circle with six radii (“Jupiter wheel”). There is a circle with a cross inside it, and sometimes with eight rays. The rising or setting sun can be shown as a semicircle (arc upward) with three rays.

Of particular interest are the numerous signs depicting the “running” sun: several arc-shaped lines arranged radially are cut out inside the circle; they give the impression of a rolling wheel with curved spokes. The direction of curvature is always the same: the upper line in the circle convexes to the left, the lower one to the right, which determines the position of all the intermediate spokes of this solar wheel. Sometimes the movement of the sun is expressed by only three such arcs, but usually there are many of them.

Next to the symbol of the sun there is almost always one or another symbol of the earth or field.

The sign denoting earth is an ancient, Eneolithic symbol of field and fertility in the form of a rhombus or square, placed on an angle and divided into four parts. It existed steadily for several thousand years and is well reflected in Russian medieval applied art, in church decorative painting and is presented in ethnographic material, mainly in the patterns of the bride’s wedding clothes, which once again indicates a connection with the idea of ​​fertility.

The second group of signs depicts plowed land in the form of a large rectangle or rhombus, drawn lengthwise and crosswise. On the porches of the huts there were depicted rectangles and rhombuses formed by rows of small holes. In addition, diamond shapes are almost always carved on the edge of the piers.

a) “Towels” for morning, midday and evening complexes with security signs;

B) The midday complex of images of the entire daily sun (three daytime suns and two night and white lights - in the center);

B) Morning security complex of patterns: the symbol of the night sun on the “towel” and the rising sun on the pier;

D) “Towel” with the image of white light;

D) “Towels” of the midday complex with two suns and a cross

Sometimes the sun is shown already risen, above the earth; in these cases, the earth is shown not as a rectangle, but as a sign of fertility - a crossed square. In the complex of the lower ends of the piers, the sun is very often depicted as “running”, which is quite consistent with the visual perception of the course of the sun - at sunrise and sunset, the movement of the luminary is especially noticeable, quickly rising or falling in relation to the horizon.

Noon. The midday sun was depicted on the facade of the hut, at the very top, under the dominant figure of a gable horse, but, as already mentioned, still below the “heavenly abysses” that were the upper sky. In order to leave the sun in its proper tier, ancient craftsmen attached a short “towel” board to the gable, hanging vertically down the facade. It was at the lower end of this “towel” that the midday complex of solar signs was located.

The midday complex was always richer than the morning and evening ones. Most often, two suns were depicted here, just as on the calendar the month of the summer solstice (June) was designated not by one cross, like other solar phases, but by two crosses.

Two suns located one below the other could be identical (usually with six rays), but one of them could be given in the dynamic form of a running wheel. In some cases (in Christian times) an image was placed above the suns Orthodox cross, which gave clarity to the semantics of solar signs - they were also sacred and had the same power as the cross, which drove away demons.

Some “towels” depicted the entire daily course of the sun: at the top there are three daytime positions of the sun (morning, noon and evening), below there are two positions of the night underground sun, and in the center there is a huge radiant circle symbolizing the “white light”, the Universe, illuminated by in the opinion of Russian people of the 12th-13th centuries, “an intangible and inscrutable light.”

Earth symbols are usually absent from the midday composition, but sometimes they are still depicted. In these cases, they are necessarily associated with the sun: either the sun shines on the earth approaching it (above and below), or a small symbol of the earth is placed between two running suns, and it appears to be comprehensively illuminated.

Perhaps the fundamental sign of solar symbolism. For the first time, this symbol, along with some other symbols of German paganism, was appropriated for his fascist state by Adolf Hitler. Since then, it has become a custom that if there is a swastika, it means we are talking about fascism. In fact, the swastika has nothing to do with the outrage called fascism. This sign is an image of the sun, an appeal to the light gods; it brings goodness and justice to the world of Reveal, carries a huge charge of light magical energy.

The classical Sanskrit name for this symbol comes from the Indo-European root “su/swa”, meaning “associated with good”. Let us remember the bird Mother Sva (the patroness of Rus'), the god Svarog, Svarga - the habitat of the light gods of Slavic myths. The word “light” refers to the same root. The Slavs called the swastika kolovrat or solstice. However, the Kolovrat still begins with six rays. Since a kolo is a circle, a ring, a wheel, a well, a bun. Kolovrat has been a symbol of the sun in all centuries and among all peoples; there is even reason to believe that the sun in ancient times was called “kolo”.

Also, some authors associate it with the unity of statics and dynamics. Moreover, only the rotating swastika has a dynamic meaning. If it rotates clockwise (to the right), it symbolizes the desire for everything related to life, with positive qualities and active masculine; counterclockwise rotation, on the contrary, indicates dying, the denial of everything positive and passivity of behavior. The Greeks interpret the direction of rotation of their swastika absolutely differently (who called this sign “tetraxele” - “four-legged”, “four-pointed”), since they learned about the swastika from Slavic peoples unfriendly to them and decided that what is Rule for the Slavs is Hades for them . Hence there is a lot of confusion with the direction of rotation and the direction of the rays of swastikas. The swastika is not only a four-pointed sign. There are also swastikas with 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 or more rays. Each type of swastika has its own specific magical meaning. Let's look at some types of swastikas.

The six-pointed cross enclosed in a circle is the thunder sign of Perun.

This sign was very widespread; Scandinavians, Celts, and Slavs knew it. We can see the thunder sign in the ornament of Russian spinning wheels and on huts right up to our time. They carved it on them for a reason. On the huts it was carved on the kokoshnik (a board hanging from the end of the ridge) as a magical lightning rod.

Also, the thunder sign - a sign of courage, military valor - was magic sign Russian squad. This sign can be found on helmets and armor plates. This sign was also embroidered on a man's shirt.

The eight-rayed Kolovrat is the sign under which the revival of Slavic paganism is now taking place.

You can see it on the banners of modern pagan communities. This honor was given to this sign not by chance. This is the sign of Svarog, the creator god, the god of wisdom. It was Svarog who created the Earth, people (through Dazhdbog), and gave people a lot of knowledge, including metal and the plow. The sign of Svarog is a sign of wisdom and supreme justice, a sign of Rule. Also, the colo of Svarog is a symbol of the universe. The structure of the universal wheel of Svarog is very complex. Its center is located on Stozhar-Stlyazi - the celestial axis. It revolves around Stozhar in one day and makes a revolution in a year. The slowest rotation of the wheel leads to a change in the zodiacal eras. This revolution of the wheel lasts 27 thousand years. This time is called the Svarog day.

Trixel is a three-branched swastika. In the north, a “broken” trixel is used, that is, a trixel without connections between the rays. Its magical meaning is not very well known. This is a sign of “that which leads,” a sign that directs the development of an event in the right direction. This is a rune associated with the direction and orientation of human activity. Simply put, this sign guides a person in life and serves as a kind of guiding star for him. Also, some scientists associate this sign with time and the god of time, among the Slavs - with Chislobog, and the three rays of the trixel - with three legs bent at the knees (running), however, this definition is very superficial: it is based only on the Greek interpretation of the name of the sign: tri - “three”, kselos - “bone, limb”.

Following Greek terminology, the four-armed swastika is called a tetraxel.

So, the main forms of solar symbolism of the swastika are considered. However, there are also many other solar symbols that are less characteristic of the Slavic peoples, for example, the “eye of the dragon” - a three-rayed swastika with connected rays, used in Wales (Great Britain) in earth magic; the so-called “Celtic version” - a swastika with wavy curved rays inscribed in a circle, a sonnenrad (by the way, it was the emblem of some SS divisions), a “cross of dedication” and many others...

Also a solar symbol. We do not classify it as a swastika very conditionally - the cross is also a swastika, only without the rays extending to the side. The cross has become one of the most famous Christian symbols. And not only. For example, Catholic missionaries preaching in China saw crosses depicted on statues of Buddha, whose teachings arose about six centuries before Christianity, and the Spanish conquistadors witnessed the veneration of the cross by North American pagan Indians as a fusion of Heavenly fire and Earthly fire.

The word "cross" comes from the common European root cru, which means "crooked." We can observe this root in the words circle, curve, steep. In Latin crux means “cross”. There is also a version that the word “cross” comes from the Slavic root “kres” - “fire” (compare: kresal - a tool for starting a fire).

Archaeological evidence suggests that the cross as a symbol was revered in the Upper Paleolithic. The cross is a symbol of life, heaven and eternity. The correct (equal) cross symbolizes the principle of connection and interaction of two principles: feminine (horizontal line) and masculine (vertical). Crosses are also divided into straight crosses, that is, having horizontal and vertical lines, and oblique, having two diagonal lines, and the straight cross personifies male aggressiveness. creativity, oblique - a softer creative beginning.

A straight cross can also serve as a primitive model of the World Tree, where the vertical line is the World Tree, and the horizontal line is the world of reality. Accordingly, a cross with a horizontal line shifted upward indicates the location of the world of Rule on the Tree, and downwards - the world of Navi. Naturally, these crosses have a corresponding magical meaning.

Let's consider the main types of crosses characteristic of the Nordic tradition.

The Celtic cross, or kolokryzh, most accurately demonstrates the similarity of the cross with the swastika and the entire convention of their separation. Look at the six- and eight-rayed rotors presented in this work. Nothing changes except the number of rays for these signs. Despite the fact that this cross is called Celtic, it is known to almost all Indo-Europeans, including the Slavs. The history of the Celtic cross goes back at least 8-9 thousand years. The Celts especially revered this cross. The Celtic cross was also called the “warrior’s cross”, “Wotan’s cross” (Odin).

The twelve-pointed cross is a cross with a crossbar on each ray or a swastika with rays extended to the left (for the dark one, to the right). The purpose of this cross is protection from external influences. Also, many researchers talk about this sign as a magical sign of the Family. It is also called the "helmet of horror". This symbol was widespread in ancient times: there is archaeological evidence for this - many amulets with a “helmet of horror” were found in the territories of the Scythians, Mordovians, and Indo-European peoples; in the Middle Ages they decorated the walls of houses and wooden products, as well as often church utensils. The most powerful symbol among the "helmets of horror" is the so-called Aegisjalm (Scandinavian name), or the Cross of Invincibility - this symbol surpasses all others in its effectiveness.

Heavenly abysses

The magical system of protection from the spirits of evil included the depiction of not only the sun and its path across the sky, but also the sky itself as a container for rainwater, necessary for the growth of all living things.

So, the upper contour of the gable pediment of the Slavic house represented the firmament along which the sun makes its daily journey from the lower left end of the roof up to the gable of the roof, to its “ridge” and further down to the lower right end of the roof.

The firmament consisted of two heavens - water and solar-air, separated by the transparent “firmament of heaven”. As for rain, the ancient Slavs believed that rain moisture was taken from the heavenly reserves of water stored in the upper sky, located above the middle sky, along which the sun and moon move. The water reserves in the sky were called “heavenly abysses” in the Old Russian language. Heavy rain, downpour was defined by the phrase: “the abysses of heaven opened up,” that is, the heavenly water opened, gained freedom and rushed down to the earth.

The “firmament” in the medieval sense held the “heavenly abysses” somewhere in an unattainable height above the airspace ordinary sky. This division of the sky is reflected in the Russian language in the words “sky” (singular) and “heaven” (plural).

The celestial abysses of the upper sky on the ledges of house roofs were almost always depicted. The most common is a wavy pattern or a pattern of towns, which from a distance are also perceived as waves. Usually the waves of the hut “firmament” come in 2-3 rows, as if emphasizing the depth of the watery sky. Very often, small circles are depicted along with wavy lines, symbolizing raindrops.

Prichelins with the image of wavy streams are known in the Novgorod region, in Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Yaroslavl, Ulyanovsk, Gorky, in Russian villages of Karelia and in a number of other places in Central Russia and the North.

Another symbol depicted along with the celestial water were the symbols of female breasts. They are known to us from the Novgorod landmarks of the 11th-15th centuries. Breasts were depicted either in the form of a pattern, where this plot is repeated, or in the form of paired images of two breasts, carefully marked by the carver, but also forming a wavy pattern in their repeatability.

Sometimes the motif of a woman’s breast was conveyed by rounded protrusions on the lower edge of the piers (running continuously or in pairs, with intervals between pairs), but much more often it was depicted in the form of small jagged (stepped) towns, which at a distance, for a person looking from below, gave a complete illusion that symbolic figure of the breast, which was so carefully and naturalistically carved by the Novgorod carver from the time of Yaroslav the Wise.

Chalcolithic farmers imagined rainfall as a flow of milk from the Mother Goddess. And initially, the Slavic pagans revered two heavenly goddesses-birthing women, whose cult was later combined with the veneration of the male heavenly deity - Rod and even outlived it, surviving until the 19th century. in a whole series of peasant embroideries.

In medieval Russian, words such as “breast” and “breast” were very close. “Breast of dew” - drops of dew that help plants drink from heavenly moisture - “birthing drops of dew.” Russian pagans of the XII-XIII centuries. It was believed that dew falling from heaven in the form of a fog-cloud was sent by the sky god Rod precisely as the moisture of life.

The porches of Russian huts were decorated in two to four rows. The top row was most often occupied by a zigzag line, a stable ancient symbol of water, in this case - “heavenly abysses”, inaccessible rain reserves. Below there were a number of small towns or paired images of female breasts, obviously associated with the idea of ​​celestial goddesses giving birth, who, according to ancient hunters, gave birth to “small deer,” and according to farmers, shed rain on the fields. These two main rows were sometimes interspersed with rows of through round holes representing raindrops. Towns and semicircles of the lower row were often supplied with the same circles.

Often found (and in different remote places) is a combination of semicircles-breasts in one row with a circle in the middle and short zigzags between them. Here, obviously, the denticles between the semicircles can be interpreted as adding a symbol of water to the image of cloud-breasts.

So, the patterns of the hut piers showed two inextricably linked ideas: firstly, the presence of rainwater reserves in the upper sky (above the firmament), and secondly, the transfer of this water down to the ground to the plowmen, shown through a mythological symbol breasts of heavenly goddesses, watering the earth with “birthing” “dewy breasts”.

Fire

Fire... Probably even the most urban person has looked at a live fire at least once in his life, not from a gas stove or lighter, but a real one, which is in a stove or fire. A spectacle that captivates the eye and mind. Naturally, fire evokes the same feelings in a pagan.

Fire for a pagan is not just a chemical process, it is a sacred phenomenon. This phenomenon is directly related to the concept of sacrificial fire (earthly fire) - the smoke from the sacrificial fire carries the essences of the victims to Iriy (essences because it is difficult to say that, for example, a pancake has a soul or not, but any object has an essence ). There is also heavenly fire - the fire of the heavenly forge of Svarog. The Torah is one of the main creative forces. Let's draw some analogies with the Sun and plasma and the big bang theory and the period of the formation of the Earth, when active tectonic processes and volcanic eruptions took place on it. It would also be appropriate to recall the fiery sword - a symbol of justice and rule, with which many fantasy and historical characters in modern works are armed. Even the Jedi knights from George Lucas' films, who essentially practice paganism, are armed with lightsabers.

There is also the fire of Navi, here we will draw analogies with the Christian cult, in which sinners in hell are roasted by devils at the stake in seven modes of preparation for these same sinners (see Dante’s “The Divine Comedy”). This primitive belief about the unfortunate fate of sinners has roots in a broader and more justified pagan concept of Nava fire. A pagan associates Nav with the underground kingdom of fire (remember the Greek Hades) - and, by the way, no one is fried there, underground fire is simply understood as an element. Here it would be appropriate to remember fire-breathing dragons and snakes - they are also children of Navi. Navi's fire can be interpreted as a regressive, destructive force that burns goodness and light. After all, you can burn your heart with love (heavenly fire), or you can burn your soul with drunkenness and deception.

Now let's look at the graphic images of these signs. The signs of fire, especially the celestial forge, are quite complex signs to perform and understand.

They are, as a rule, four-part swastika-shaped signs, but this is not quite a swastika, because the fire does not spin anywhere, the rays, or rather even the tongues of flame, are located differently than in swastikas. They are associated not only with the formation and orientation of human activity (at any level) in the right direction, but also with giving it the necessary strength. The second aspect is disclosure. It is obvious that both aspects are interconnected - it is impossible to realize the plan without revealing yourself to the world. These signs make up the rune of fertility and heritage.

Flint is a means for making and maintaining fire - in Ancient Rus' was a common and familiar household item.

Device for making fire metal plate oval in shape with open ends that are bent inward or outward in such a way that rings are formed - “antennae”. In earlier times, a flint was known in Russian life, which had the shape of a dagger without a handle, with blunt edges and a sharp end. Its length ranged from 9 to 30 cm. To produce fire, it was necessary to have flint and tinder in addition to flint. The person who struck the fire struck the flint with a flint, and the sparks that appeared were caught on the tinder, which lay in a box with a lid - a tinderbox. The fire flared up in a box, from where it was transferred to birch bark, straw, tow, pine coals or homemade matches. The fire was extinguished after its use by closing the lid of the box.

Fire obtained with the help of flint is considered especially beneficial for humans. It brings happiness and prosperity to the house. In the Russian village there was whole line instructions on how to handle fire so as not to anger it, not to offend it, not to tarnish its purity. It was forbidden to spit on the fire, urinate in it, throw various garbage and sewage into it, trample it underfoot, and extinguish it. The fire could only be blown out or wait until it died on its own. If these rules are violated, the fire will punish the entire village with a fire, and the person who offended the fire will be punished with a wognik, a red rash on the face.

Ideas about fire and its magical properties were transferred to the tool for making fire - flint. In Russian fairy tales, a flint is an object used to summon spirits, and also acts as an intermediary between “our world” and the other world. Usually the hero of a fairy tale summons the spirits by striking a flint with a flint.

Water

Water, one of the creative elements, is very interesting from a pagan point of view; it has many sacred aspects, which cannot but be reflected in its symbolism. Firstly, water for a pagan is what gives life to all living things. With the help of life-giving heavenly water, grasses and forests turn green in spring, crops ripen, everything blooms, bears fruit and heads. According to ancient myth, earth was born from water, carried in the beak of the World Duck. Water carries the sacred meaning of purification. A pagan washing in a bathhouse washes away not only physical dirt, but also spiritual dirt - the shell of vice, darkness, hatred. A ritual is created, because the sacred act of rebirth, human renewal is performed - like the renewal of a person’s skin and body in a bathhouse, his soul and his aura are renewed. Ablution was performed before important matters - a priest must wash in a bathhouse in order to perform a ritual, a person must wash, for example, before a wedding - primarily not for beauty, but so that the ritual is not interfered with by dark forces. The warrior always washed himself before and after the battle, so that the same forces would not influence the battle. And the third, but not the last aspect of the meaning of water for a pagan is its flow. Everyone knows the proverb that you cannot step into the same river twice. Many people don’t understand it - for them, the river is a blue line on the map. For a pagan, a river is a stream of water - the water flows away, and the river is another. That is, the flow of water is a kind of indicator of time. It’s not for nothing that they say: “how much water has flown under the bridge since then,” meaning that a lot of time has passed. So flowing river water is also a sacred comparison with time - water inevitably flows away, just as days, years, and centuries flow away.

Accordingly, water symbols have different meanings.

Life-giving water is heavenly water, or, as the ancients called it, “heavenly abysses.” Rain, watering the field, gives vitality to the plants and fills them with juices. Also associated with heavenly water is the idea of ​​a cornucopia. The rains water the earth, the earth gives birth to lush grass, which means there is something to feed the cattle, there is milk and meat in abundance, grain is earing in the fields and fruits and vegetables are ripening. Sometimes the cornucopia is depicted with water pouring out of it. The word “rain” is related to the word “Dazhd” - one of the names of the great god - the giver of blessings and the progenitor of people, Dazhdbog. By the way, the name Dazhdbog came from two roots - “dazh”, that is, to give, to do good, to help, and actually “god”. Unlike river rainwater symbolizes the male fertilizing principle.

River water is completely different - unlike rain water, it basically came from underground - from springs, springs. By the way, the spring was considered a sacred place - desecrating it was the same as desecrating a temple. After all, water is “born” in a spring - coming from the depths of the earth, it flows from the spring in a thin stream, a stream connects with another, they connect with a third - this is how a mighty river is obtained. Some springs had miraculous healing properties. Again, this is not fiction - it has been scientifically proven that water enriched with salts and minerals flows from some sources, which is very beneficial for health.

Since spring and river water flows, it is depicted as wavy horizontal stripes. River water, unlike rainwater and along with thread, can act as a symbol of the passage of time and life. The water flows away along with the moments gone forever into the past. This is the truth of life... Water is not just fate, it is a leading force, that is, in water there is a sacred symbolism of fate, something that cannot be escaped, however, as a rule, in a positive sense. Running water, the moving one forms a flow and carries it along with it.

There are many amazing legends about magical rivers, they will seem familiar to you from fairy tales - this is the Iriysk milk river, flowing from under the Alatyr stone (on the island of Buyan) - it symbolizes not just anything, but the Milky Way. The Milk River is a poetic representation of the outskirts of our galaxy. There are many legends associated with the Milky Way and the Milky (White) River, most of them with stories about life after death. However, another river appears in these stories - Smorodina, the river of fire. It separates the Java world and the “great expanses of Navi” (saying - “Naviy Shlyakh”, community “Bor”). Baba Yaga, familiar to many, if not all, guards the borders of Navi.

With this knowledge, many fairy tale plots become clear - the hero crosses the fiery river and ends up with Baba Yaga - this is a plot somewhat similar to the ancient Greek plot about Orpheus and Eurydice. And the geese-swans carried brother Ivanushka away from his sister Alyonushka. Vanya died, and his sister rescued him from the clutches of death.

The idea of ​​Kalinov Bridge is also associated with mythical rivers. Kalinov Bridge is a multifaceted and very complex concept. It is associated with subtle states of the human soul - love, high feelings. In later times, “Meeting someone on Kalinov Bridge” meant love (see article by V. N. Vakurov “Kalina is hot”, magazine “Russian Language Abroad”, No. 4, 1990). However, not everything is so rosy. In fact, on Kalinov Bridge the main battle of the human soul takes place between the beginning of Rule and Navi - the battle with oneself (our life is an eternal struggle). The brilliant Russian artist Konstantin Vasiliev very accurately depicted this fight. A real man there is always a warrior in the soul, a warrior of the spirit, but if he is not a warrior, then he is a reptile, both figuratively and literally, that is, a snake, a worm. In the battle on Kalinov Bridge, it is very difficult to achieve complete victory, to destroy one side or another in oneself, just as one cannot be absolutely kind, absolutely wise - therefore the heavenly palace of Rule cannot defeat the forces of Navi.

The Slavs considered water to be the element from which the world was formed. Without the life-giving power of light, motionless water fills space in the form of snow and ice, but when light and heat awaken it, it spreads and, under the influence of light, gives birth and nourishes the annual world. On this basis, the light-worshipping Slavs revered water and inhabited it with various deities (morenas, mermen, mermaids). They also idolized special female water creatures - beregins, whose cult is directly related to water. Worshiping water deities, the Slavs purified themselves with water as a sacred element, and brought sacrifices to the water - flowers, food, chickens. All sacrifices were left on the shore so that the water could take them away.

The worship of beregins, as well as ghouls and vampires, dates back to the most ancient period in the history of the Slavs: evil vampires who need to be driven away and appeased with victims, and good beregins who need to “put demands” so that they help a person.

There are numerous fabulous images of living water and living fire. Living water heals wounds, gives strength, and restores life. The Slavs contrasted “living” water with “dead” water. “Dead” water was sometimes called “healing”: it knits together the dissected parts of a dead body, but does not yet resurrect it. “Living” water returns life to him. The folk epic tells that killed heroes are first sprinkled with “dead” and then “living” water.

Rain in folk tradition- an object of veneration and magical influence. Power over rain, like other elements, is attributed to representatives of another world - the dead and especially the hanged and drowned, who are considered the masters and leaders of the clouds - heavenly herds of cows, bulls, oxen, etc. The Serbs turned to the latter to drive away thunder and hail clouds in the village to a drowned man or a hanged man, calling him by name and conjuring him to take his “beef” away from the fields and lands.

During a drought, the inhabitants of Polesie mourned the mythical drowned Makarka, stirring the water in the well with sticks and crying: “Makarko-son, get out of the water, spill your tears over the holy land!” Wells, springs and other bodies of water, according to popular beliefs, are connected with celestial waters as communicating vessels, therefore the impact on earthly waters causes the “opening” of celestial waters. During a drought, they went to springs, wells and rivers, blessed the water and prayed, wishing for rain.

They often went to abandoned springs, cleaned them, pouring water on each other, causing rain. They walked around villages and fields, and performed prayer services at a well or river. In the Zhitomir region there was a custom to stop the drought by walking around an old well: three widows walked ahead, one carried an icon, the other bread and salt, the third accompanied them. Everyone held hands, prayed, and asked to send rain. The well was walked around three times; only women took part in the ritual.

In Polesie they often poured poppy into a well, threw money, salt, garlic, blessed herbs, grains of wheat and rye, prosphora, poured blessed water, scooped up all the water from the well, etc. Sometimes they threw clay pots, and in many villages of Polesie it was believed that the pot should have been stolen - from neighbors, foreigners, and potters. In Go-melitsin they said: “Since there is no rain, we’ll steal somewhere... a smoothie, and into the well - bang! And they also say it will rain.” This method turned out to be more effective when the ritual was performed by a widow or when the pot was stolen from the widow. In the Chernihiv region, a pot of borscht was stolen from the oven and thrown into a well. The motif of borscht is characteristic of widespread children's songs about rain: “Doshchiku, doshchiku, I’m making some borscht for the borscht.” Meni porridge, tobi borscht, shcheb ischov thick doshch”; “Go, go, plank, and water the miner.” Sometimes the stolen pots were first broken, and then the shards were thrown into the well.

Close to this method of causing rain are the Bulgarian and Serbian methods of protection against “tile magic”: the products of labor or the tools for their production were stolen from the tile tiles and brick makers and they were all thrown into the water. This action was understood as removing the damage (“blocking the rain”), which was supposedly caused by the tile tiles. They, like potters, were considered to be the culprits of the drought because of their involvement in the element of fire (firing pots, tiles) and professional interest in dry weather (for the sake of drying their products).

In Western Bulgaria and Eastern Serbia, a special ritual is known, performed during a drought in order to cause rain: girls sculpted a clay doll named Herman (a male figure up to 50 cm in size with a hypertrophied phallus) and then, imitating burial, buried the doll on the river bank or thrown into the water, wailing: “Oh! Herman, Herman, Herman died from drought for the sake of rain.” In such mourning rituals, tears were magically likened to rain. In Polesie, for the same purpose and with the same motivation, the funeral ritual of a frog was performed: during a drought, children caught a frog, killed it, dressed it in clothes made of rags, put it in a box, chanted over it as if it were a deceased person, and buried it near the spring; a cross was drawn on the “grave” by hand. Instead of a frog, they could kill some other small animal or insect - a crayfish, a snake, a mole cricket, a louse, etc. The snake and insects were sometimes hung on a tree or fence. They believed that after this it would rain.

Ritual dousing with water during drought had an even more direct magical meaning. People poured water on each other, saying: “As water pours on you, so that the rain pours on the ground” (Zhytomyr region). This was done by the river or by the well. Sometimes they doused people who, according to popular beliefs, had special magical powers: a pregnant woman (symbolizing the mother of the damp earth), a shepherd (the ruler of the earthly flock, capable of influencing the heavenly “flocks” of clouds), a priest (the same symbol of the shepherd-shepherd). In Polesie they also doused the corners of the hut.

Pouring could also be of an expiatory nature; it was used when the cause of drought was considered to be a violation of certain prohibitions. Thus, in the north of the Zhytomyr region, the drought was explained by the fact that some woman in the village on the Annunciation, contrary to a strict ban, was baking bread. Then, in order to atone for this sin and remove the punishment (drought), three women gathered, each took two buckets of water, went to the house of the “culprit”, poured out all the water in the middle of the hut and doused the outside corners of the house, and in some places they doused the woman herself. .

The ritual of pouring water on (or destroying) the grave of an unclean (false) deceased is also of an expiatory nature if he, in violation of the ban, is buried in a cemetery. Sometimes such a grave was dug up and the corpse was thrown into the river. The Serbs would remove a cross from some unmarked grave, take it to a river or stream and strengthen it so that it would stand until the water carried it away. When they installed the cross, they said three times: “The cross is in the water, and the rain is on the field!” From an unknown grave a cross, from an unknown mountain rain! In Polesie, they stole a towel from an icon from one of their neighbors, soaked it in water and hung it in its original place (secretly from the owner). Gauze, which was used to tie the jaw of the deceased, also helped against drought: they carried it to the field, burned it there and asked: “Lord, give us rain!”

In Polesie and adjacent regions of Belarus and Russia, to make rain, they performed the ritual of “plowing the river”: during a drought, they plowed or harrowed the dry river bed, or simply dragged a plow along the bottom. Symbolic plowing could also be carried out directly in shallow water: in the Surozh district, they chose a beautiful girl at the age of 15, stripped her naked, hung her with wreaths and forced her to harrow the water in this form. In our time, a similar method of causing rain was noted in the Grodno region: old women gathered, stole a plow from the collective farm yard, and brought it to the river - only women.

Some harnessed, while others drove. Sometimes, instead of a river, they “plowed” a road or dug holes on the road, symbolically “opening” the water (Polesie).

Since drought was understood as a natural disaster, general protective measures could be used to stop it, which helped in cases of pestilence, illness, fire, etc.: plowing a village or a roadside cross, walking around the village and fields, making harsh linen, a towel, or installing ordinary crosses . Another method of causing rain, which was of a purely magical nature, was the destruction of an anthill. The anthill was raked with a stick, just as they beat water in a well; at the same time, the spreading ants symbolized and magically caused raindrops. This method is known in Polesie and among the southern Slavs. The Serbs, raking out an anthill, uttered a special spell: “As many ants, so many drops!”

Pagan methods of causing rain, especially at wells, were severely condemned by the church.

To stop the rain, they performed various stopping or averting actions: they threw an egg into the yard, took out or threw a bread shovel, poker, bread bowl into the yard, under the house, onto the roof, burned Trinity greens, blessed willow, etc. in the oven. prolonged rains were considered to be desecration of water. For example, in Bosnia they thought in this case that there was something “filthy” in the water - an illegitimate child who had been thrown into the water earlier or had been killed, and the rain would not stop until the corpse was removed from the water.

During bad weather, women left the house, took out their wedding shirt and, calling the drowned people from the village by name, asked them to take the bad weather away from the fields. Widely known children's songs like “Rain, rain, stop...” undoubtedly go back to magical, incantatory texts.

Air is one of the elements of the universe (like earth, water, fire); the sphere of residence of souls and invisible demonic creatures. In folk beliefs, ideas about air and breathing, blowing, and wind come together. The space filled with air is larger than the earth; the sky “rests” or “hangs” in the air.

Air serves as a conductor, a medium through which damage is caused and disease spreads. The appearance of evil, unclean air is associated with a moment of complete calm, an eclipse of the moon, etc. People who find themselves in the open air at such a time are instructed to fall face down on the ground so as not to “grasp this air.”

The soul leaves the dying person in the form of steam, air or smoke.

U Eastern Slavs They say about a person’s agony: the spirit is out, the spirit is out, or the steam is out. Air and steam emanating from the deceased can be dangerous to others. In Polesie there are many tales that tell how a passer-by sees a couple over a fresh grave, taking on the images of a woman in a white dress, a pillar (or a fiery column of air), or the deceased himself. This ghost chases a man when the wind blows at his back, and having caught up, sits on the captive and kills him. When escaping from a spirit, you cannot stop, you should hit it backhand, run against the wind and hide around the corner, but you can also dispel it with clothes, especially a white scarf.

IN Western Belarus after the death of a person, everyone left the hut and opened the stove so that the air would go up. The custom of “raising the air”, known in Polesie (usually on the fortieth day after death), is associated with the Orthodox idea that the souls of the dead rise into the air and remain there for forty days, after which they fly to the higher spheres, to judgment before God, etc. . d. In one of the villages of the Sumy region, they “puff up the air” at the grave of the deceased: those present take hold of the corners of the tablecloth and lift it up three times with the words: “The body is in the hole, the soul is with us, we are going home, the soul is going uphill!” .

Many demonological characters living in the air, including disease, have the appearance of steam, wind, air column, thick smoke, gas, etc. Thus, according to Belarusian beliefs, a witch, having drunk a wonderful liquid, becomes light as feathers and rushes around by air, by wind. Perfume that is dangerous to humans and causes strong wind, a whirlwind, a tornado, can lift a person into the air and throw him down, tear him to pieces in the air, etc. The view of air as a habitat for demons is also inherent in the bookish Christian tradition.

Earth

Niva - idiogram of fertility

Mother Earth, Mother Nature... Everyone knows such phrases, but few have thought about why they say so. But this expression came to us from paganism. It is not surprising that our pagan ancestor called the earth mother; she is the giver of all blessings. She feeds, drinks, clothes, and warms. The Earth in union with Heaven (in folk mythology they are spouses) gives us the world in which we live... Naturally, a lot is said about the earth in folk legends. The goddess of earth, fertility and fate is Makosh. Her name is formed from two roots: Ma - “mother” and kosh - “purse, storehouse of wealth.” This decoding gives a clear idea of ​​how our ancestors treated Mokosh and the land itself. The earth is associated with the feminine principle - firstly, the earth is capable of giving birth to life, and secondly, her sisters, Dolya and Nedolya, spin the threads of fate (Dolya spins a happy fate, Nedolya - an unhappy one), because the thread is a symbol of life. Dolya’s thread is soft, even, Nedolya’s is flimsy and thin, just like the fate of a person. When the thread breaks, the person dies.

An indispensable attribute of Mokosh is a cornucopia, which once again speaks of its significance for people and their relationship to the earth.

Let's talk first about the symbolism of fertility. It is represented by a very characteristic pattern - a rhombus (or square), divided inside into four more rhombuses. This field. Small diamonds are holes for seeds. If dots are depicted in small diamonds, this means that the field is sown - this is a symbol of fertility. If the small diamonds are empty, then the field is not sown. These symbols have a corresponding magical meaning. Countless variations are possible with diamonds, squares and dots. In general, a rhombus (square) with a point in the middle is something that can give birth, something that is a source of well-being and abundance.

An empty rhombus is the same, but unable (not fertilized) to give birth. Fortune telling "on good place“were used until the end of the 19th century, this is how fortune telling was done, for example, in a Belarusian village: a large square was drawn on the ground at the entire proposed site of the estate, then it was divided crosswise into four parts. The head of the family went “to all four directions”, brought four stones from four fields (and carried them under a hat on his head or in the bosom of his naked body) and laid them out in the centers of small squares. As a result, an ideogram of fertility appeared on the site of the future estate, which has come down to us since the Eneolithic and is found on Russian wedding embroideries even at the beginning of the 20th century. Bread, a sown field, pregnancy - these concepts for the ancient Slavs were identical and directly connected with the image of the “domestic universe”, and through it - with the cosmos, with the harmony of the world.

Then the owner stood in the center of the crosshair - in the center of the universe, in the place of the World Tree - and, baring his head, prayed, and without fail turning to the deceased ancestors for blessings and help. Instead of stones, sometimes heaps of grain were poured. Grain was often used to outline the contours of the future house, “fastening the corners.” Heaps of grain or bread were placed in the corners. After three days they came to look: if the fortune-telling objects (pebbles, grain or bread) turned out to be undisturbed, then it was possible to build.

Such fortune-telling, like sowing bread, was performed exclusively by men. Women never participated in it.

Sprouts

The diagram of the first sprouts is common: inside the heart-shaped shell, a “krin” with three shoots or a sprout with five leaves, reminiscent of a fern, was depicted. It is possible that the so-called “krin” (lily) in this case depicted a seed with a burst shell (two bent side spurs) and a bud, a future sprout. The sprout bud is often reddish in color, differing from the shoots of the shell. The plant is given in the dynamics of growth, in its initial phase; such a “krin” is a spell for the entire future development of the seed. These pictograms were usually placed in a central circle, giving them higher value than seeds. A four-part composition of four fern leaves reflects real view spring fern, the leaves of which are directed in all directions. The sacred nature of the fern is well documented in folklore: beliefs about the blossoming of the fern on Kupala night.

The heart-shaped pattern (point up) has become a stable form of expressing the agrarian essence of the ornament.

The seed pictograms do not occupy the central circle. Germinating seeds are sometimes arranged in groups of four.

Flowers

As a secondary theme on women's jewelry there are small flowers with four petals. The floral nature of these miniature images is emphasized by the coloring of the petals in red and white or red and blue.

One of the main plant subjects is a stable diagram, which represents a conventional plant (usually with two roots, well-rooted) with branches and petals widely spread to the sides. An oval “grain” of pollen is depicted above the resulting cleft in the plant. The importance of the pollination process is emphasized by the disproportionate amount of pollen penetrating the plant and the obligatory red color.

On later cassocks, an oval grain is depicted under a flourishing cross, and on the reverse side of the plaques there are four flower calyxes pollinated by oval pollen.

There is such a legend. The white-flammable stone Alatyr was revealed at the beginning of time. He was raised from the bottom of the Milk Ocean by the World Duck. Alatyr was very small, so the Duck wanted to hide it in her beak. But Svarog said Magic word, and the stone began to grow. The duck couldn't hold it and dropped it. Where the white-flammable stone Alatyr fell, the Alatyr Mountain rose. This is a sacred stone, the focus of the knowledge of the Vedas, a mediator between man and God. He is both “small and very cold” and “great as a mountain.” Both light and heavy. He is unknowable: “...and no one could know that stone, and no one could lift it from the ground.” When Svarog hit Alatyr with his magic hammer, gods were born from the sparks. The temple of the Most High was built on Alatyr by the half-horse Kitovras. Therefore, Alatyr is also an altar, an altar stone to the Almighty. On it, the Almighty Himself sacrifices Himself and turns into Alatyr stone.

According to ancient legends, Alatyr fell from the sky, and the Laws of Svarog were carved on it. Thus, Alatyr connected the worlds: the above - the heavenly and the manifest - the below. The mediator between the worlds was also the book of the Vedas, which fell from the sky, and the magical bird Gamayun. Both the Book and the Bird are also Alatyr.

In the earthly world, Alatyr is revealed as Mount Elbrus. This mountain was also called Bel-Alabyr, White Mountain, Belitsa. The White River flows from Elbrus-Alatyr. Near Elbrus there was a White City in ancient times, people lived here Slavic tribe Belogorov. Alatyr is connected with the heavenly world, Iriy, Belovodye, that is, with paradise through which rivers of milk flow. Alatyr is a White stone.

The Baksan River flows from Elbrus. Until the 4th century. n. e. it was called the Altud or Alatyrka river. These names contain the root “alt”, which means “gold” (hence “altyn”). Therefore, Alatyr is also a magic stone, the touch of which turns everything into gold. This is the Golden Mountain, the mountain of Zlatogorka and Svyatogor. This means that Alatyr is the Holy Mountain.

There is also the Alatyr stone in the Urals on the Irian Mountains, where the sacred Ra River originates. And at its mouth on the island of Buyan there is also the Alatyr stone, which cures diseases and gives immortality. The Altai Mountains were also called Alatyr-mountains; the Golden Island of the Sun in the Northern Ocean was also called Alatyr-island.

Alatyr is not only a mountain or a stone - it is the sacred center of the World. It is triune, therefore it means the path of Rule between Reality and Nav, between the earthly and mountainous worlds. It is twofold - small and large, light and heavy. He is one, because all worlds are united in him. He is unknowable, like Rule. This is the primordial stone.

The symbols of nature are very numerous and multifaceted. There is no such symbol that would mean nature itself. But quite a lot of magical signs are dedicated to her. First of all, nature is magical. Therefore, let's start with the symbols of the World Tree. The World Tree (among the Scandinavians – the Yggdasil ash tree) is the “Axis of the World”, it supports all the worlds. The world of Pravi is located in the crown. At the trunk - Reality, in the roots, where the World Serpent Yusha huddles - Nav. The shaman, being in a trance, can travel through these worlds. We see an echo of the ancient myth about the World Tree in the fairy tale about the magic bean, where an old man grows a magic bean vine up to the sky and climbs it onto the clouds.

A particularly well-known symbol is the fern flower, which is associated with a legend - the fern produces a beautiful fire flower on the night of Kupala. And it blooms only one night, and then disappears without a trace. Whoever finds this flower will become wise and strong.

Non-magical nature is also reflected in symbols. For example, the forest was depicted as several diagrammatically drawn trees. Moreover, let us note that when decomposing such a tree, we will get from the “herringbone” several Futhark runes Teiwaz, the rune of warriors, attacking forces or the Ansuz rune, which means “God” - this rune is associated with the Gods, and also with a journey through the World Tree. Using Vendian runes, the tree will appear before us as a combination of the runes “Alatyr”, “Need”, “Lelya”, “Treba”. It is clear that the “Christmas Tree”, or rather the Pine, is a tree of faith and magic. Not a fir tree, but a pine because spruce is a dark tree. As proof, there is a Russian proverb: “have fun in a birch forest, pray in a pine forest, and hang yourself in a spruce forest.” However, spruce is possible here as the dark, Nava side of faith. Now consider a “reverse Christmas tree”, whose branches are directed upward. Let's break it down into runes too. Before us are the Futhark ones - Fehu - possession (often spiritual) and Algiz - passive protection. In Vendian - “Peace”, “Krada” (sacrificial fire), Bereginya (female rune, Mokosh rune) and “Is” (nature, life, movement). Now the sacred meaning of the seemingly primitive “Christmas trees” is clear. While “Pine” is directed to the divine aspect of faith, “inverted pine” is a more human, worldly aspect - worship, traditions, sacrifice, procreation.

Also animal world was reflected in symbols. The signs have inherited the properties of animals, and you can always buy animal food here. Nakas denoting birds have a special meaning, for a bird is a mysterious, magical creature for the ancients. Many light gods can turn into a bird. Perun - into an eagle or raven, Volkh - into Finist the Falcon. An interesting sign common to all birds is the “pecking bird.” It symbolizes the sky, the heritage of the light gods, to some extent the gods themselves.

There are also swastika-like "bird" symbols, such as the raven sign. Take a closer look, at least at the Russian coat of arms, at the eagle with outstretched wings - you can see the outline of a swastika on it.

You can also look at Russian embroidery - birds also often appear on them. But these birds are no longer Javanese, but magical ones - known to everyone from fairy tales and songs - Sirin, Alkonost, Gamayun. These birds sit on the branches of the World Tree and sing their songs. They are not depicted as schematically as others, but their images are mainly of an aesthetic nature - they are not used for magic and worship. Perhaps this detachment from magic allowed these symbols to survive to this day in the form of embroidery, carvings and clay products.

Mother Earth, Mother Nature... Everyone knows such phrases, but few have thought about why they say so. But this expression came to us from Paganism. It is not surprising that our ancestor, a pagan, could call the earth mother - she, the giver of all blessings. She feeds and waters, clothes and warms. The earth is in union with the sky (in folk mythology, they are spouses). Gives us the world in which we live... Naturally, the Earth could not help but be reflected in mythology and folk legends. Goddess of the Earth, fertility and fate - Makosh. Her name is formed from two roots

Signs of a sown and unsown field

– “Ma”, Mother and “Cat” - a wallet, a repository of wealth. This decoding gives a clear idea of ​​how our ancestors treated Mokosh and the Earth itself. The Earth is associated with the feminine principle - firstly, the Earth is capable of giving birth to life, and secondly, her sisters, Dolya and Nedolya spin the threads of fate (Dolya spins a happy fate, Nedolya - an unhappy one), because the thread is a symbol of life. Dolya’s thread is soft, even, Nedolya’s is flimsy and thin, just like the fate of a person. When the thread breaks, the person dies. Mokosh’s indispensable attribute is a cornucopia, which once again speaks of her significance for people and her relationship to the earth.

Let's talk first about the symbolism of fertility . It is represented by a very characteristic pattern - a rhombus (or square), divided inside into four more rhombuses. This field. Small diamonds - if you want, holes for seeds.

If dots are depicted in small diamonds, this means that the field is sown - this is a symbol of fertility. If the small diamonds are empty, then the field is not sown. These symbols have a corresponding magical meaning. Countless variations are possible with diamonds, squares and dots. In general, a rhombus (square) with a point in the middle is something that can give birth, something that is a source of well-being and abundance.

An empty rhombus is the same, but unable (not fertilized) to give birth.

Nature symbols very numerous and multifaceted.

There is no such symbol that would mean nature itself. But quite a lot of magical signs are dedicated to her. First of all, nature is magical. Therefore, let's start with the symbols of the World Tree. The World Tree (among the Scandinavians – the Yggdasil ash tree) is the “Axis of the World”, it supports all the worlds. The world of Pravi is located in the crown. At the trunk - Reality, in the roots, where the World Serpent Yusha huddles - Nav. The shaman, being in a trance, can travel through these worlds. We see an echo of the ancient myth about the World Tree in the fairy tale about the magic bean, where an old man grows a magic bean vine up to the sky and climbs it onto the clouds.

A particularly well-known symbol is the fern flower, which is associated with a legend - the fern produces a beautiful fire flower on the night of Kupala. And it blooms only one night, and then disappears without a trace. Whoever finds this flower will become wise and strong.

Non-magical nature is also reflected in symbols. For example, the forest was depicted as several diagrammatically drawn trees. Moreover, let us note that when decomposing such a tree, we will get from the “herringbone” several Futhark runes Teiwaz, the rune of warriors, attacking forces or the Ansuz rune, which means “God” - this rune is associated with the Gods, and also with a journey through the World Tree. Using Vendian runes, the tree will appear before us as a combination of the runes “Alatyr”, “Need”, “Lelya”, “Treba”. It is clear that the “Christmas Tree”, or rather the Pine, is a tree of faith and magic. Not a fir tree, but a pine because spruce is a dark tree. As proof, there is a Russian proverb: “have fun in a birch forest, pray in a pine forest, and hang yourself in a spruce forest.” However, spruce is possible here as the dark, Nava side of faith. Now consider a “reverse Christmas tree”, whose branches are directed upward. Let's break it down into runes too. Before us are the Futhark ones - Fehu - possession (often spiritual) and Algiz - passive protection. In Vendian - “Peace”, “Krada” (sacrificial fire), Bereginya (female rune, Mokosh rune) and “Is” (nature, life, movement). Now the sacred meaning of the seemingly primitive “Christmas trees” is clear. While “Pine” is directed to the divine aspect of faith, “inverted pine” is a more human, worldly aspect - worship, traditions, sacrifice, procreation.

The animal world is also reflected in symbols. The signs inherited the properties of animals. Nakas denoting birds have a special meaning, for a bird is a mysterious, magical creature for the ancients. Many light gods can turn into a bird. Perun - into an eagle or a raven, Volkh - into Finist the Falcon. An interesting sign that is common to all birds is the “beaking bird.” It symbolizes the sky, the heritage of the light gods, to some extent the gods themselves.

There are also swastika-like "bird" symbols, such as the raven sign. Take a closer look, at least at the Russian coat of arms, at the eagle with outstretched wings - you can see the outline of a swastika on it.

You can also look at Russian embroidery - birds also often appear on them. But these birds are no longer Javanese, but magical ones - known to everyone from fairy tales and songs - Sirin, Alkonost, Gamayun. These birds sit on the branches of the World Tree and sing their songs. They are not depicted as schematically as others, but their images are mainly of an aesthetic nature - they are not used for magic and worship. Perhaps this detachment from magic allowed these symbols to survive to this day in the form of embroidery, carvings and clay products.

Symbolism of Water

Water, one of the creative elements, is very interesting from a pagan point of view; it has many sacred aspects, which cannot but be reflected in its symbolism. Firstly, water for a pagan is what gives life to all living things - you must agree, this thought is daring, apostate for Christianity - how can life be given by anyone other than the “only” “Lord God”? But it is with the help of life-giving heavenly water that grasses and forests turn green in the spring, it is thanks to it that the crop does not dry out in the field, but blooms, bears fruit and heads. Our ancient ancestors were fully aware of this. By the way, it was from water that the earth was born, brought in the beak of the World Duck according to one of the ancient Russian myths. Water also carries the sacred meaning of purification. A pagan washing in a bathhouse washes away not only physical dirt, but also spiritual dirt - the shell of vice, darkness, hatred. It turns out to be a ritual, because the sacred act of rebirth, the renewal of a person is performed - just like the renewal of a person’s skin and body in a bathhouse, the soul and his aura are renewed. Ablution was performed before important matters - a priest must wash in a bathhouse in order to perform a ritual, a person must wash, for example, before a wedding - primarily not for beauty, but so that the ritual is not interfered with by dark forces. The warrior always washed himself before the battle and after the battle, so that the same forces would not influence the battle. And the third, but not the last aspect of the meaning of water for a pagan is its flow. Everyone knows the proverb that you cannot step into the same river twice. Many people don’t understand it - for them the river is the blue line on the map. For a pagan, a river is a stream of water - the water flows away and the river is another. That is, the flow of water is a kind of indicator of time. It’s not for nothing that they say “how much water has flown under the bridge since then,” meaning that a lot of time has passed. So flowing river water is also a sacred comparison with time - water inevitably flows away, just as days, years, and centuries flow away.

Accordingly, water symbols have different meanings.

Life-giving water is heavenly water, or as they like to call it, “heavenly abysses.” It is thanks to her that our ancestors, and we see in our own dining table an abundance of breads, vegetables, fruits, meat and dairy products. It is thanks to this water that the plants feed, gain strength - the grass becomes green and juicy, the rye begins to spike, the turnips grow as in a famous fairy tale. Rain, watering the field, gives vitality to the plants and fills them with juices. Also associated with heavenly water is the idea of ​​a cornucopia. The fact is that succulent grasses played a strategic role in ancient times - livestock needed a place to graze, and if there was a place to graze, then there was an abundance of milk and meat. If there is rain, it means there will be ears of grain in the field and large harvests of vegetables in the beds, which means our ancestor will have an abundance of baked goods and large supplies of vegetables for the winter. Sometimes, therefore, the cornucopia is even depicted as pouring water. It is also worth looking at the word “rain” itself - doesn’t it seem to you related to the word “Dazhd”, one of the names of the great God, the giver of blessings and the progenitor of people, Dazhdbog. By the way, the name “Dazhdbog” came from two roots - “dazh” - that is, to give, to do good, to help and, in fact, “god”. And in general, rainwater, unlike river water, has a male fertilizing principle.

Bird

River water is completely different, unlike rain water, it basically came from underground - from springs, springs. By the way, the spring was considered a sacred place - to desecrate it was the same as desecrating a temple. After all, water is “born” in a spring - coming from the depths of the earth, it flows from the spring in a thin stream, a stream connects with another, these connect with a third - this is how a mighty river is obtained. Some springs had miraculous healing properties. Again, this is not an invention of “vile pagans” - it has been scientifically proven that some springs flow water enriched with salts and minerals that are very beneficial for health. Today, some representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church are even trying to make money on the property of the ancient pagans - they “bless the production” of certain waters (for example, the “Holy Spring” water extracted from a purely pagan source), but in general this is in the style of the Russian Orthodox Church - they are ready to rake in money from any little thing, and the fools who still live under ideological serfdom, like sheep, go in droves and buy everything that the divine right hand of the great and “ His Holiness Patriarch Moscow and all Rus',” be it even water or condoms. However, let's not get distracted. Since spring and river water flows, it is depicted as wavy horizontal stripes. River water, unlike rainwater and along with thread, can act as a symbol of the passage of time and life. The water flows away along with the past moments gone forever. This is the truth of life... Water is not just fate, it is the power of what leads, that is, in water there is a sacred symbolism of fate, something from which you cannot escape, however, as a rule, in a positive sense. In the Elder Futhark there is a rune “Laguz”, “Water”. Its meaning precisely reflects the essence of flowing water. Here is what the famous researcher A. Platov writes about this rune in his book “A Practical Course of Runic Art” (co-authored with A. Van Dart): “The name of this rune implies not just water, but flowing, moving water - the one that forms a stream and carries you along.”

In Tradition, there are also amazing legends about magical rivers, they will seem familiar to you from fairy tales - this is the Irian milk river, flowing from under the Alatyr stone (on the island of Buyan) - it symbolizes not just anything, but the Milky Way. The Milk River is a poetic representation of the outskirts of our galaxy. There are many legends associated with the Milky Way and the Milk (White) River, most of them with stories about life after death. However, another river appears in these stories, Smorodina, the river of fire. It separates the Java world and the “great expanses of Navi” (saying - “Naviy Shlyakh”, community “Bor”). The familiar to many, if not all, Baba Yaga (Storm Yaga) guards the borders of Navi.

With this knowledge, many fairy tale plots become clear - the hero crosses the fiery river and ends up with Baba Yaga - this is a plot somewhat similar to the ancient Greek plot about Orpheus and Eurydice. And where did the swan geese take brother Ivanushka from his sister Alyonushka? – Vanya died, and his sister rescued him from the clutches of death (let us remember here the concept of “Clinical death”).

Fern Flower (Fireflower)

The idea of ​​Kalinov Bridge is also associated with mythical rivers. Kalinov Bridge is a multifaceted and very complex concept. It is associated with subtle states of the human soul - love, high feelings. In later times, “Meeting someone on Kalinov Bridge” means love (see article by V. N. Vakurov, “Kalina is hot,” magazine “Russian Language Abroad,” 1990 No. 4). However, not everything is so rosy. In fact, on Kalinov Bridge the main battle of the human soul takes place between the beginning of Rule and Navi - the battle with oneself (our life is an eternal struggle). Look to the right - in the author’s humble opinion, the brilliant Russian artist Konstantin Vasiliev very accurately depicted this fight. Real man(man) - in his soul there is always a warrior, a warrior of the spirit, but if he is not a warrior, then he is a reptile both figuratively and literally, that is, a snake, a worm. In the battle on the Kalinov Bridge, it is very difficult to achieve complete victory, to destroy one side or another in oneself, just as it is impossible to be absolutely kind, absolutely wise - therefore the heavenly palace of Prav cannot defeat the forces of Navi.

World Tree

Fire Symbolism

Fire... Probably even the most urban person has looked at a live fire at least once in his life, not from a gas stove or lighter, but a real one, which is in a stove or fire. A spectacle that captivates the eye and mind. Naturally, fire evokes the same feelings in a Pagan. Fire for a Pagan is not just a chemical process, it is a sacred phenomenon. This phenomenon is directly related to the concept of sacrificial fire (earthly fire) - the smoke from the sacrificial fire carries the essences of the victims to Iriy (essences because it is difficult to say that, for example, a pancake has a soul or not, but any object has an essence) . There is also heavenly fire - the fire of the heavenly forge, the forge of Svarog, Torah - one of the main creative forces. Let's draw some analogies with the Sun and plasma and the big bang theory and the period of the formation of the Earth, when active tectonic processes and volcanic eruptions took place on it. It would also be appropriate to recall the fiery sword - a symbol of justice and rule, which is armed with many fantasy and historical characters in modern works. Even the Jedi Knights from George Lucas' films, who essentially practice paganism, are armed with lightsabers.

Heavenly fire (left and right in the pictures)

There is also a Navi fire, here we will draw analogies with the Christian cult, in which sinners in hell are fried by devils on bonfires, which (bonfires) have seven cooking modes for these very sinners (see “Dante’s Divine Comedy”) - just like a microwave -That. This primitive belief about the unfortunate fate of sinners (where is mercy and forgiveness?!) naturally takes its roots from a broader and more justified pagan idea of ​​the Nava fire. So the pagan associates Nav with the underground kingdom of fire (remember the Greek Hades) - and, by the way, no one is fried there, the underground fire is simply understood as an element. Here it would be appropriate to remember fire-breathing dragons and snakes - they are also children of Navi. Navi's fire can be interpreted as a regressive, destructive force that burns goodness and light. After all, you can burn your heart with love (heavenly fire), or you can burn your soul with drunkenness and deception.

Earthly Fire (three pictures - left and right)

These are the pies. Now let's look at the graphic images of these signs. Fire signs, especially the Heavenly Forge, are quite complex signs to perform and understand. As a rule, they are four-part swastika-shaped signs, but this is not quite a swastika, because the fire does not spin anywhere, the rays, or rather even the tongues of flame, are located differently than those of swastikas.

Let's take a look at the runic basis of these signs. When decomposing these signs, both heavenly and earthly fire, we get at least four Futhark runes Kano, “Torch”, this is how A. Platov characterizes the rune: “... A very powerful rune; is associated not only with the formation and orientation of human activity (at any level) in the right direction, but also with giving it the necessary strength. The second aspect of the rune is disclosure. It is obvious that both aspects of the rune are interconnected - it is impossible to realize the plan without revealing yourself to the world.” This is one aspect of fiery power. We may also get the Gebo rune, Gift - rune divine gift. We also see in them the Inguz rune, the rune of the Scandinavian god Inga (Frey), this is one of the most interesting Futhark runes, the rune of fertility in the reproductive aspect. The same rune in the Slavic system is similar in meaning to the rune of Dazhdbog, the giver of blessings - let us note that this rune is found only in the signs of heavenly fire. And finally, we may be faced with the Othal rune, a legacy whose name speaks for itself. So, the symbolism of fire is very complex.

Symbolism of air and space

Great open spaces bright Rus'... Go out into the field, see what beautiful lands stretch here right up to the horizon! Have you felt how the wind plays in your hair and how the waves move in the grain field, and how the trees rustle in the forest, and how the leaves play on the aspen? For sure. So, before us is the symbolism of space and air. Let's define what we will understand further by these concepts. So, space is what in mathematics means three axes - X, Y, Z, going to infinity. They indicate width, length and height. Simply put, space is a certain area of ​​the physical world, defined by some boundaries - explicit or implicit. Air is air - our habitat, a set of gases that determines, among other things, the laws of aerodynamics - this addition is very important, because our ancestors could use them to judge the nature of air.

Have you ever shot with a bow? Not at the shooting range or sports ground, but in the field? If yes, then you must be familiar with the indescribable feeling when you release an arrow and it flies whistling into the sky. It is no coincidence that the bow and arrows are mentioned here; the fact is that the arrow (or even the arrow) is the main symbol of air, and with it the wind. Our ancestors, gunsmiths and archers, knew the laws of aerodynamics remarkably well - they made it possible to create arrows and a bow - a Russian archer could easily cover a distance of more than 250 m with a direct fire (compared to Western European and English archers, this figure is very, very high, it exceeds local indicators are more than 100 m.). Space was depicted using arrows - one, two, four, eight. These arrows characterize the essence of space. In the case of two arrows, we have in front of us ascending and descending air currents, the upper and lower layers of the atmosphere. Let's also consider a typical sign - four crossed arrows: north (winter), south (summer), west (night) and east (day) - again we have a unity of opposites, here you have both progress and regression. Please note: horizontal line: east - progress, west - regression, vertical line: north - progress, south - regression. It is also worth mentioning the circle drawn along this cross (as in the picture on the left) - it means the unity of the elements.

In Rus' they honor Triglav as the god of space - the god of three heads, which, one might say, symbolize length, width and height. By the way, Triglav’s constant attribute is a fiery sword, which is discussed in the previous section. The god of the sea spaces is Pereplut - in general, his essence is clear from the name, this god is represented by four heads, they symbolize the north, south, west and east. The god of the wind is Stribog with his younger brothers- Dogoda and Pozvizdom, a pleasant breeze and a violent hurricane.

Air

There is also a non-material space, as modern “magician” clowns would say, the astral plane. That is, the space between the worlds, the great industrialists Rule and Navi. These symbols must be looked for in the image of the World Tree, images of these worlds. Let's consider the “crown” of the World Tree, Rule - in front of us is the Algiz rune of the Elder Futhark, a rune of passive order, and in the Vendian series in front of us is a rune called the World, that is, Rule, the inner Self, Belobog (a collective image of the light Gods), b. Now let’s look at the roots of the World Tree, before us is the inverted Algiz - active disorder, chaos, and in the Vendian runes - the Chernobog rune, the antagonism of the “Peace” rune. In my opinion, the connection is clear.

Space

Symbolism of the union of two principles

In the pictures here (3 pictures) - The union of two principles, symbolism.

As can already be seen above, the theme of unity and conflict of two diametrically opposed forces is one of the main, if not main law in paganism, the law of the existence of the world. This is the dual couple Prav-Nav, this is Day and Night, this is, finally, a man and a woman. Rule is the kingdom of all-conquering truth, justice, the kingdom of bright gods, it contains the beautiful Irian garden with rejuvenating apples and a milk river, magical birds live in it, people who lived in the Java world according to Rule - fairly, according to conscience (similar to the garden of the Hesperides) go there Greek myths). Nav is a dark kingdom of chaos and destruction, where dark gods and people live according to the laws of Krivda. The conflict between them is clear - Nav is trying to destroy the world, Prav is trying to preserve it, maintains its own order in it, but their unity is that none of these forces can win or lose, the world is unthinkable without them, their existence is a condition the existence of the world, their unity, we observe in the world of Revealing, the world of people, man, by the way, is the personification of the unity of these two forces (see the section “symbolism of water”). In general, we can talk endlessly about Rule and Navi, so we will refer those interested, for example, to the works of A. Platov, the Magi Veleslav, Velemir and Iggeld.

A dual couple, a man and a woman, is again a union of two principles. It is believed that in men the rational principle predominates, in women the sensual principle prevails. This is quite consistent with the findings modern psychology. If a man thinks, strives to bring everything into order and balance (let’s discard some “male” exceptions and sexual minorities), a woman tries to lead everything to chaos and imbalance (this is her normal environment of existence). Here we can draw an analogy with Prav and Navya, however, this is still a slightly different conflict; in the author’s humble opinion, we cannot say that the man is the personification of Prav, and the woman is Navi, but we can say that both and others personify some features of Prav and some features of Navi (it all depends on the person). If a person is inclined to the Rule (in his personal battle on Kalinov Bridge, the Rule wins), then he will show the sides of the Rule: if it is a man, he will “think according to the Rule”, like the light gods, but if it is a woman, she will “ feel according to the Rule”, as do the light goddesses - Lada, Lelya, Zhiva and others. However, if a person is inclined to Navi, he will be like Viy, Koshchei, the snake Yusha, or Morena (if it is a woman). The unity of a man and a woman is symbolized, as already mentioned, by the cross and similar signs.

Another dual pair that cannot be considered is Heaven and Earth. This couple is, in principle, similar to the Man-Woman couple, but there are some differences. So, in the traditional view, Earth is the mother, Sky is the father. The sky fertilizes the earth with heavenly water and rain, the earth will give birth to plants. This parental aspect is the main one here, in contrast to a man-woman couple, where it fades into the background.

As for the symbols of such unions, they are intertwined straight lines, eventually merging into one, intersecting straight lines, in short, two-part signs turning into one-part ones.

Source - ataman-kudeiar.narod.ru/simbols.html.