Before the adoption of Christianity, the Slavs were pagans. This means that in their view, man and nature were closely related. They perceived the world as a living and wise being, having its own soul and living according to certain laws. This feeling of the surrounding world contributed to the emergence of myths about gods and spirits that control human life.
The patron gods of the ancient Slavs
All Slavic pagan gods one way or another acted as patrons or any kind of activity, or a certain social group. So, Veles is considered the patron of animals and trade, Perun - princes and warriors, Svarog - fertility, the goddess Lada - the patroness of peace and harmony, Alive - youth and love, Makosh - fate and female needlework, etc. This is due to the fact that each deity was responsible for a certain natural phenomenon and the sphere of human activity, and therefore could contribute to success or failure in it.
To strengthen the connection with their patron, the Slavs made amulets withsymbols of the deity and carved idols. They also sent prayers to the Slavic gods.
Gods of the sun of the Slavs
The Slavic god of the sun had four hypostases in accordance with the four seasons, as well as the cycles of human life:
- winter sun - Kolyada, newborn baby;
- spring sun - Yarilo, a strong young man full of life;
- summer sun - Kupaila, mature strong man;
- autumn sun - Sventovit, a wise fading old man.
In this understanding of the structure of the annual cycle, the pagan idea of the infinity of the cycle of birth and death is embodied. So, the old man - Sventovit - dies before the Winter Solstice, and the next morning the newborn Kolyada appears.
Yarilo - god of the sun
Yarilo is the Slavic god of the spring sun, youthful strength, passion, unbridled thirst for life. This god is distinguished by purity, sincerity and fury. Yarilo let the sun's rays hit the ground, which in some cases are interpreted as love arrows. The Slavs imagined God as the life-giving force of the spring sun, which fills the earth with life and joy after a long winter, awakens from hibernation.
The Slavic god Yarilo is considered the patron of people with kind, pure, bright and cordial thoughts. They turned to him for help in conceiving children. He was also responsible for fertility and was considered the embodiment of rage in the most sublime sense.
Yarilo could be called Yaril, Yarovit and Ruevit.
What it looks likeYarilo?
Yarilo, the god of the sun, seemed to be a young attractive young man. His hair was blond or reddish, his eyes were light blue, clear, a red cloak fluttered behind his broad, powerful shoulders. Yarilo sat on a fiery horse-sun. Many girls fell in love with a beautiful young man. And God is ready to reciprocate each. Being the god of fertility and childbearing, Yarilo also acts as a deity of the bodily love of a man and a woman. This explains the fact that the Yarila doll was often made with a large phallus, which is the oldest symbol of fertility.
Attributes of God
Yarilo - the god of the sun - was endowed with such attributes as an arrow, a spear, a golden shield or a circle, personifying the sun. Amber is considered the stone of God, gold and iron are metal, and Sunday is the day. Also, all solar symbols can be identified with Yarila.
Yarila Holidays
Yarilo, the god of the sun, was revered starting from March 21, the day of the spring equinox, which also coincided with the pagan holiday Shrovetide. From this day began the time of the spring god of the sun. And it continued until June 21-22, when the moment of the longest day and the shortest night of the year came.
Another day of Yarila - April 15th. For God, a bride was chosen at the festival - the most beautiful girl in the settlement. They called her Yarilikha or Yarila. Yarila's chosen one was dressed up, put on a white horse, a wreath of spring flowers was put on her head, the girl took ears of corn in her left hand, and in her right hand - the image of a severed human head - a symbol of death. Horse withthe bride was taken through the fields - it was believed that this ceremony promotes fertility. This rite has another option, when a girl representing Yarila is tied to a tree, and then round dances are led around her with ritual songs.
Toward the middle of summer, Yarila was honored again. At this time, young men and women gathered on the "Yarylina Pleshka" - a certain place outside the village. All day people walked, sang, ate, danced. On this holiday, a young man (Yarila) and a girl (Yarilikha) were honored, dressed in white clothes and decorated with ribbons and bells.
As soon as night fell, bonfires were lit, called "Yarily fires". Often the holiday ended with a symbolic funeral of the bride and groom - effigies of straw in clay masks were thrown into the water or left in the fields. In this way, people seemed to say that it was time to stop having fun, it was time to work.
Myths about Yaril
Yarilo is the embodiment of youth and life, so often in myths he acts as a lover. Moreover, according to some signs, it becomes clear that God is in love with all the women on earth at the same time and even the Earth itself.
The main myth about Yaril is the story of the creation of life. There is such an option. For a long time, Mother Earth slept soundly, but somehow Yarilo appeared and began to wake her up with his caresses and passionate kisses. The kisses were as hot as sunlight, and the Earth, warmed by them, awoke. And in place of kisses appeared fields, forests, meadows. The sun god kept kissingEarth. And lakes, rivers, seas, oceans appeared on it. The earth got hot from the caresses of Yarila and gave birth to insects, fish, birds and animals. Man was born last.
This is one of the variants of the pagan myth about the creation of the world and the emergence of life.
