The meaning of patterns in Slavic embroidery. Slavic symbols and their meaning

In the school curriculum, ancient images in folk art occupy an important place in the study of national culture. Fine arts (fine arts) begin to be taught in primary school, and one of the first topics is devoted to the symbols that our distant ancestors embroidered on clothes, carved on wooden utensils, and depicted on jewelry and clay pots. served not only as decoration - they carried sacred meaning.

Spiritualization of images

Encoded in architectural compositions, household items, works of art and folklore texts, ancient images in folk art reflect the ideas of our ancestors about the world around us. The outstanding scientist Nikolai Kostomarov considered ancient symbols to be a figurative manifestation of moral ideas with the help of objects of physical nature endowed with spiritual properties.

Academician Vernadsky noted that works of folk art reveal the life of a given era and a given people, and thanks to this one can study and understand the soul of the people. He recognized the deep symbolism artistic creativity, which the Cosmos gives us, passing through the consciousness of a living being.

Basic images

Examples of sacred symbols and their meaning are presented in an accessible form in the school topic “Ancient Images in Folk Art” (5th grade, Fine Arts). These are geometric patterns, images of the sun, eggs, the Tree of Life, sky, water, mother earth, images of animals and others.

• The sun personified the womb of the Universe.
• The Tree of Life is the center of the universe, the hierarchical structure of existence.
• The egg is a symbol of life, the celestial sphere from which stars and planets arise.
• The image of the Earth was associated with the image of a mother-nurse.
• The sky, earth, water, animals and plants, fire, manifestations of nature (wind, rain, snow, etc.) were depicted with the help of ornaments.

Sun

This is the most ancient image in folk art. The sun was considered the center of the world and the source of life, symbolizing heavenly spirituality, often taking on the image of individual gods. The cult of the Sun was worldwide. In 1114 it is stated that “The Sun is the king, the son of Svarog, who is Dazhbog.” According to other sources, Svarog was considered.

The sun is the “Eye of God”, which is endowed with the epithets “holy”, “righteous”, “clear”, “red”, “beautiful”. Later the Sun occupies a special place in celestial hierarchy next to the Almighty: a clear month, a bright sun and Heavenly God. Let us remember who pointed out the need to give “morning Praise to God, and then to the rising sun.”

The school textbook about ancient images in folk art (grade 5) says that the Sun was symbolized by our ancestors allegorically in the form of rhombuses, round rosettes and even horses (symbolizing the arrival of spring). They were used to decorate women's hats, belts, beads, baked goods, wedding loaves, Easter eggs, ceramics, etc.

Tree of Life

This is no less ancient image in folk art than the Sun. The Tree of Life symbolizes the trinity of the world, the mythical bird - the creator of Existence. It unites the sky (branches), the earth (trunk) and the underworld (roots). Tree also means genus - hence the name “family tree”, “roots of the gens”, “native roots”.

The image of the Tree of Life has perhaps the most complex ornamental structure. This is a fancy pattern depicting a spreading tree, with leaves, large fruits and flowers. Often the tops of the ornamental tree are crowned with images (hence the expressions “blue bird”, “bird of happiness”). Canonically, the Tree is depicted growing from a bowl (vessel), thereby indicating the origins of its roots from the sacred womb (the container of the world, the universe). The famous folklorist Ksenophon Sosenko noted that the idea of ​​the World Tree “is considered by the people as the first peacemaking factor.”

Mother Earth

The Earth has always been associated with the female image of the mother, because the Earth is a nurse. The goddess of fertility is found in many world cultures. Ancient images in folk art of Mother Earth were personified with a large-breasted woman. She can give birth to children and produce crops. Until now, archaeologists have found figures of female wooden idols installed in the fields.

In ornamental images, Mother Earth almost always stands with her hands raised to the sky, and instead of a head, a rhombus can be depicted - one of these. This emphasizes the dependence of the harvest on solar heat and sky (rain).

Sky

According to ancient beliefs, the Sky was considered the core of the universe, a symbol of the cosmos, that is, order and harmony, the source of life. The semantics of the word “sky” among many peoples means “number”, “harmony”, “middle”, “order”, “navel”, “life” (in particular in Latin, English, Latvian, Hittite, Irish, Welsh images in folk art endowed Heaven with special power: often the interpretation of the word “sky” is consonant with the concept of “God”.

Our distant ancestors believed that the Sky is a river along which the bright sun travels. Sometimes a cow was identified with Heaven, which was considered a celestial being and was called the “heavenly cow.” People saw Heaven as a hemisphere, a dome, a lid, a vessel that protected them. Images of the sky were depicted on painted eggs, shirts, towels, carpets, etc.

Ornament

Since ancient times, pottery, woven, embroidered, painted, wicker, carved wooden and stone household items were decorated with various ornaments. The patterns had ideological semantics and compositionally consisted of simple elements: dots, zigzags, curls, straight and spiral lines, circles, crosses and others. Among the main groups and types of ornaments (geometric, plant, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic), researchers identify a group of symbols celestial bodies(sun, moon, stars, etc.).

It was in the form of ornaments that ancient images were most often depicted in folk art. The central place in such compositions was usually occupied by the astral signs of celestial fire, stars, sun and month. Later, these deified elements were transformed into floral designs.

Conclusion

The Sun, the Tree of Life, Mother Earth, the Sky, the Month - these are the main ancient images in folk art. Discussion of their meanings and on school lesson, and among scientists it develops into a fascinating debate. It is enough to imagine yourself in the place of a long-standing ancestor to understand what an indelible impression is made by the majestic sunrise and the bottomless depth of the sky above, the riot of the elements and the pacifying fire of the hearth. Our ancestors captured all this beauty, grandeur, and unbridledness in the ways available to them for future generations.

Mezen painting is one of the most ancient Russian artistic crafts. By her folk artists decorated most household items that accompanied a person from birth to old age, bringing joy and beauty to life. She occupied great place in the design of facades and interiors of huts. Like most other folk crafts, this painting received its name from the area in which it originated. The Mezen River is located in the Arkhangelsk region, between the two largest rivers of Northern Europe, the Northern Dvina and Pechora, on the border of the taiga and tundra.

This painting was called Mezenskaya because its homeland is considered to be the village of Palashchelye, located on the banks of the Mezen River, which was first mentioned as a center for wood painting in 1906. Therefore, in encyclopedias and various books on fine arts you can find the second name of Mezen painting - Palashchelskaya. In Mezen itself they did not do painting.

First of all, Mezen painting is its own original ornament. This ornament attracts and fascinates, despite its apparent simplicity. And objects painted with Mezen painting seem to glow from within, exuding the goodness and wisdom of their ancestors. Every detail of the Mezen painting ornament is deeply symbolic. Every square and diamond, leaf and twig, animal or bird are exactly in the place where they should be in order to tell us the story of the forest, wind, earth and sky, the thoughts of the artist and the ancient images of the northern Slavs.

Symbols of animals, birds, fertility, harvest, fire, sky, and other elements come from rock paintings and are a type of ancient writing that conveys the traditions of the peoples of the North of Russia. So, for example, the image of a horse, in the tradition of the peoples who have inhabited this area since ancient times, symbolizes the sunrise, and the image of a duck is the order of things, it carries the sun into undersea world until dawn and keeps it there.

Traditionally, objects painted with Mezen painting have only two colors - red and black (soot and ocher, later red lead). The painting was applied to unprimed wood with a special wooden stick (vice), a capercaillie or black grouse feather, or a human hair brush. Then the product dried out, which gave it a golden color. At present, in general, the technology and technique of Mezen painting have been preserved, with the exception that brushes have begun to be used more often.

The origins of the symbols of Mezen painting primarily lie in the mythological worldview of the peoples of the ancient north. For example, the frequent occurrence of multi-tiered structures indicates adherence to the shamanic tradition. Three tiers - three worlds (lower, middle and upper or underground, ground and heaven). This is the basis of the shamanic worldview of many peoples of the north. In the Mezen painting, the lower and middle tiers are filled with deer and horses. The top tier is birds. The rows of black and red horses in tiers may also signify the worlds of the dead and the living. Numerous solar signs placed around horses and deer emphasize their unearthly origin. The image of a horse among the peoples of the Russian north is also a talisman (a horse on the roof), as well as a symbol of the sun, fertility, and a source of life’s blessings.

The tiers are separated by horizontal stripes filled with a repeating pattern. Elements of such patterns, as well as some other frequently occurring elements of Mezen painting, are shown in the figures below.

Earth. A straight line can mean both the heavenly and earthly firmament, but do not be confused by this ambiguity. By their location in the composition (top - bottom), you can always correctly determine their meaning. In many myths about the creation of the world, the first man was created from the dust of the earth, dirt, and clay. Motherhood and protection, a symbol of fertility and daily bread - this is what the earth is for humans. Graphically, the earth is often depicted as a square.

Water. The celestial design is no less interesting. Heavenly waters are stored in hanging clouds or spilled onto the earth in oblique rains, and the rains can be accompanied by wind or hail. Ornaments in an oblique stripe most of all reflect such pictures of natural phenomena.

Wavy lines of the water element are present in abundance in Mezen ornaments. They certainly accompany all straight lines of ornaments, and are also permanent attributes of waterfowl.

Wind, air. Numerous short strokes scattered in Mezen painting on ornaments or next to the main characters most likely mean air, wind - one of the primary elements of nature. Poetic image a revived spirit whose influence can be seen and heard, but which itself remains invisible. Wind, air and breath are closely related in mystical symbolism. Genesis begins with the Spirit of God. He flew like the wind over the abyss before the creation of the world.

Besides the spiritual aspect of this symbol, specific winds are often interpreted as violent and unpredictable forces. Demons were believed to fly on fierce winds that carried evil and disease. Like any other element, the wind can bring destruction, but people also need it as a powerful creative force. It’s not for nothing that Mezen masters love to depict harnessed elements. Their wind strokes are often “strung” on crossed straight lines, which is very similar to a windmill (“Caught in the wind,” the children say).

Fire. Divine energy, purification, revelation, transformation, inspiration, ambition, temptation, passion, is a strong and active element, symbolizing both creative and destructive forces. The ancients considered fire to be a living creature that feeds, grows, dies, and then is born again - signs that suggest that fire is the earthly embodiment of the sun, so it shared much of the solar symbolism. In pictorial terms, everything that tends to a circle reminds us of the sun and fire. As academician B. Rybakov believes, the spiral motif arose in the mythology of agricultural tribes as a symbolic movement of the sun across the vault of heaven. In Mezen painting, spirals are scattered everywhere: they are enclosed within the framework of numerous ornaments and curl in abundance around celestial horses and deer.

The spiral itself carries other symbolic meanings. Spiral shapes are found very often in nature, from galaxies to whirlpools and tornadoes, from mollusk shells to patterns on human fingers. In art, the spiral is one of the most common decorative patterns. The ambiguity of symbols in spiral patterns is great, and their use is more involuntary than conscious. A compressed spiral spring is a symbol of hidden power, a ball of energy. The spiral, combining the shape of a circle and the momentum of movement, is also a symbol of time, the cyclical rhythms of the seasons. Double spirals symbolize the balance of opposites, harmony (like the Taoist yin-yang sign). The opposing forces, clearly present in whirlpools, tornadoes and flames, are reminiscent of the ascending, descending or rotating energy (“whirlpool”) that governs the Cosmos. The ascending spiral is a masculine sign, the descending spiral is a feminine sign, which makes the double spiral also a symbol of fertility and childbirth.

The ancient signs of fertility are interesting and beautiful - symbols of abundance.

Wherever they were placed, and everywhere they were in place! If you hang a zhikovina (keyhole cover) of this shape on the door of a barn, it means wishing it to be full of goodness. If you draw a sign of abundance at the bottom of a spoon, it means wishing that there would never be hunger. If the hem of the wedding shirt is to wish the newlyweds a large, full family. The sign of fertility can be found on ancient cult figurines depicting young pregnant women, which was placed where the child of the expectant mother is. Almost all Mezen ornaments are in one way or another connected with the theme of fertility and abundance. They depict plowed fields, seeds, roots, flowers, and fruits in abundance and variety. The ornament can be built in two rows and then the elements in it are arranged in a checkerboard pattern. An important symbol was the diamond, endowed with many meanings. Most often, a rhombus was a symbol of fertility, the rebirth of life, and a chain of rhombuses meant the family tree of life. On one of the Mezen spinning wheels we were able to see a half-erased image of just such a unique tree.

Straight check patterns
Geometric patterns have become widespread in folk art. It can be found especially often among weavers and embroiderers. The basis of the ornament is made up of rhombuses, squares, crosses and swastika images. The diamond-dot pattern is a symbol of fertility among agricultural peoples.

Simple elements
Not a single painting is complete without depicting all kinds of zigzag and spiral shapes. They are especially common when depicting the world tree, or “tree of life.” Researchers believe that spirals and zigzags are nothing more than the image of snakes, which are always present in such scenes.

Patterns in oblique cage

The motif of a bird bringing good news or a gift is widespread in folk art. A bird on the top of a tree can often be found on Mezen birch bark trees. The bird is perhaps the most favorite motif of folk artists. In addition, it is the custom of northern peasants to hang wooden birds made from chips in the red corner of the hut. This is a relic of the same motif - “a bird on a tree”, since the revered tree was associated with the red corner of the house.

Quite often found on Mezen spinning wheels is the image of several trees or a single standing tree, often ate. Of particular interest is the composition of three trees: two identical trees are located symmetrically with respect to the central tree, which stands out relatively large size. The fact that such a plot is not accidental on Mezen spinning wheels is evidenced by the fact that the same plot takes place in the painting of antique furniture in Mezen houses.

Among the most common and favorite images, most often depicted by Mezen masters, are images of horses and deer. The horses of the Mezen paintings are more distant from the real prototype than the images of horses in other peasant paintings. Most of them had a red-orange color, which, as is known, is unusual for horses. The body of a black horse was often covered with a continuous lattice pattern, further emphasizing it unusual origin. The unnaturally long and thin legs of the horses ended at the ends with the image of feathers, similar to those drawn on birds.

Often the horses were depicted not following each other, but opposing each other. Sometimes riders fighting each other were depicted on rearing horses. The fact that the horses depicted on the spinning wheels are of unearthly origin is also evidenced by the numerous solar signs placed by the draftsmen above the manes and near the legs of the horses.

The images of animal figures are very similar to each other. The only difference between deer and horses is that instead of a mane, branched antlers are drawn behind their backs with the same black strokes. Children copy the proposed image of a deer or horse. Each subsequent image of the animal differs from the previous one by the appearance of additional details.

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. Rule - 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 solar 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 millennia and is well reflected in Russian medieval applied arts, in the 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 by a rectangle, but by 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 of an Orthodox cross was placed above the suns, giving clarity to the semantics of the sun signs - they were also sacred and had the same power as the cross, which was used to drive 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 common 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 - “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 features, and oblique crosses, which have two diagonal features, with the straight cross representing the male aggressive creative principle, the oblique cross representing the softer creative principle.

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 image 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 is 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 of the 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 Central Russia and North.

Another symbol depicted along with heavenly water were the symbols 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, the birth mothers, 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 was a series of small towns or paired images of female breasts, obviously associated with the idea of ​​heavenly 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 easy chemical process, this 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 fantasy heroes are armed. historical characters in modern works. 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 graphic images 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 - a means for making and maintaining fire - was a common and familiar household item in Ancient Rus'.

A device for producing fire, an oval-shaped metal plate with open ends that are bent inward or outward in such a way that rings are formed - “antennae”. In more early time In Russian life, a flint was known that 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 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 flint and steel 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 the spring, crops ripen, everything blooms, bears fruit and heads. According to ancient myth, the earth was born from the water, brought 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 dark forces. The warrior always washed himself both 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 fluid river water- this is also a sacred comparison with time - water inevitably flows away, just as days, years, 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 water, 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 some springs flow from water enriched with salts and minerals, 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, moving, forms a stream 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 Buyan island) - 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 to love (see article by V.N. Vakurov “Kalina hot”, magazine “Russian Language Abroad”, No. 4, 1990). However, not everything is so rosy. In fact, on Kalinov Bridge there is main battle the human soul between the beginning of Rule and Navi is a battle with itself (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 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 clay pots were thrown into the well, and in many villages Polesye 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, water the miner.” Sometimes the stolen pots were first broken, and then the shards were thrown into the well.

A similar method of causing rain is 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 the removal of 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 similar method rain-making 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 floats 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, gives water, 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 “for a good place” was 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 supposed location 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 with an indispensable appeal for blessings and help to the deceased ancestors. 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 greater significance 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 fern blooming 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. Floral character These miniature images are emphasized by coloring 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. In ancient times, near Elbrus there was a White City, where the Slavic tribe Belogors lived. 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.

Hello, dear readers!

At first glance, it may seem that the figures and ornaments in the pattern are only a figment of the imagination of its author. In fact, all its constituent elements are symbols of ancient knowledge.

They are part of mythology and cultural heritage of this or that people. And today we will look at some Buddhist patterns and find out their meaning using the example of Buryat ornaments - ugalza.

Definition and functions performed

The word ornament in Latin means “decoration, pattern.” Its main characteristic feature is that it is not independent, that is, it cannot exist separately from the object it decorates.

But decoration is not the only function of this image. It also serves for protection, as a talisman and for the transmission of certain information that reveals the properties of objects or phenomena, the qualities of a person.

Not every pattern is destined to become an ornament. For a pattern to fit this definition, the patterns in it must alternate or repeat in a certain order.

Creative sources

Where do the ideas for this type of creativity come from? Usually they are drawn from folk faith, the natural environment of many generations, and their way of life.

All patterns are divided into:

• cosmogonic (natural);
• zoomorphic (animalistic);
• geometric;
• vegetable;
• cult.

Variety of constituent elements

The most popular motifs are suggested by nature itself. These are rain, thunderstorm, water, wind, sun, moon, stars, fire, rainbow, mountains and also mythical animals elevated to the rank of deities.

Animals may not be depicted in their entirety. Some part of their body is often taken as the basis. The most popular is the “horned” pattern, where the image of a horn is repeated.

The most ancient motifs are various geometric figures:

• straight,
• zigzag lines,
• spirals and curls,
• different types of crosses,
• circles and circles,
• diamond patterns.

They symbolically convey natural phenomena associated with fertility. For example, round shapes represent the celestial bodies, zigzag and wavy shapes represent the air environment, reflecting the influence of wind, clouds and clouds on obtaining a good harvest.

Plant patterns include images of leaves, flowers, stems, shoots, fruits, and trees. The image of a lotus flower has special sacred meaning for any Buddhist. It usually forms the throne of deities in Buddhist icons, on which they sit or stand.

Since the green world draws strength from nature, floral motifs usually personify motherhood, vitality, and powerful energy.

Peoples who professed always tried to live in harmony with nature. She inspired them to create unique and original designs. Buryat patterns are similar to the motifs of ancient and modern South Siberian and Central Asian nomads and semi-nomads.

Elements in iconic images

Speaking about Buddhist ornamentation, one cannot fail to mention 8 auspicious symbols that can be found everywhere both in temples and on altar tables in the homes of believers. This

• white umbrella,
• two goldfish,
• treasure vessel,
• sink with right turn,
• endless knot ,
• victory banner,
• golden wheel.

8 symbols of Buddhism

In different Buddhist cultures, these objects are interpreted differently: in China they are associated with the internal organs of the Buddha, in Tibet - with parts of his body. Also, each of these items has many more independent meanings.

Description of some images

All Mongol-speaking peoples, including the Buryats, prefer geometric shapes. Among them, the most common patterns are:

• hammer (alkhan hee, meander),
• wickerwork (ulzy),
• (has).

Hammer motif has many varieties: ancient Greek classics, simpler and more complex options. The meander contains the idea of ​​continuous movement:

Meander Pattern

The herders also expressed their respect for the artisans and love for the craft itself by using the name of the ancient tool, the hammer, to designate this ornament.

It is a well-known fact that nomadic tribes became famous as great craftsmen in the manufacture of jewelry and horse harness.

The scope of application of the meander is wide. They decorate both hard and soft objects. This:

• parts made of wood;
• furniture;
• felt products;
• embroidery;
• cloth;
• utensils;
• harness;
• musical instruments.

Patterns for nomadic dwellings

If earlier the hammer ornament was found only on things dear to the heart, then in the age of workers it can be seen everywhere.

Swastika– symbolizes:

• the path of the sun around our planet;
• four Seasons;
• life;
• light;
• abundance;
• generosity.

The two Sanskrit words from which “swastika” is derived together mean “welfare.”

The image focuses on winter and summer solstice and to the four cardinal directions. The swastika can show movement either clockwise or counterclockwise. Accordingly, it symbolizes male and female energy, as well as good and evil.

The right-handed swastika dominates the material and controls energy on the physical level in order to prevent lower forces from manifesting themselves.

The left-handed swastika gives freedom and physical strength and instincts, which interferes with the influence of higher forces. She personifies black magic and negative energy.

This symbol can be seen in all places associated with Buddhism: on statues, rocks, in temples, on, in caves.

Ulzy- This is an image in the form of weaving, which is a symbol of prosperity and longevity. The sign can be framed with floral motifs. It is placed on an object made of any material, and can be woven from beads. In Buddhism it means infinite, which echoes the meaning of a meander.

Ulzy

Tattoo in Buddhism

Many Buddhist images look impressive on the body in the form of tattoos. The attitude of Buddhists themselves to this is ambiguous.

Some Buddhist branches have a neutral attitude towards tattooing, while others have a sharply negative attitude, especially when sacred patterns are placed on the feet of people who do not adhere to the Buddhist faith.

Nevertheless, in southeastern countries there is the practice of Sak Yant - applying sacred images to the body.

A specially trained Buddhist master applies the desired design using bamboo sticks and either oil (if the client wants no one to see it) or ink. At the same time, he reads prayers, and upon completion, he becomes the customer’s spiritual teacher. The image acts as a talisman.

Getting a tattoo at the Sak Yant festival in Thailand

Among the popular tattoos is the image of unalome. It symbolizes enlightenment. Winding lines represent the vicissitudes of fate, and straight lines represent victory over weaknesses and desires and spiritual purity.

Conclusion

Buddhist ornamentation has not yet been sufficiently studied. If all its mysteries are ever revealed, ideas about the unique Buddhist culture will certainly expand significantly.

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In past centuries, embroidery for peasants was never just decoration. On the contrary, Slavic ornaments were considered a powerful magical tool capable of creating order out of chaos. In order for life to develop according to the desired scenario, a person had to have a supernatural image, as if a reduced “model” of well-being. This role was played by elements of embroidery on clothing or woven household items, made with one’s own hand or by those closest to them.

Of course, the products were not made just like that, but according to strictly observed canons. When embroidering motifs, not only the exact execution of the element was required, but also the quality of the stitches, equally beautiful on the front and back sides, without knots. From this, the magical power of the product increased many times over and formed an even and strong energy field around the owner.

Different symbols of the Slavs had different thematic meanings. Each element of the ornament performed a specific function: protection from diseases, assistance in spiritual quests, preservation of the family, etc.

For example, in Sverdlovsk region It was customary for loved ones to embroider something with the following symbol:

It means “Unity and harmony of masculine and feminine principles”, serves to strengthen love and family ties. And the women's amulet “Blessing of Mother Earth and Ancestors” (Tver region) looks like this:

These Slavic ornaments on clothes gave the woman the belief that she would have many healthy, strong and smart children, and that her youth would not fade for a long time.

“The Sun’s blessing of grains in a field” (Perm region) can be interpreted by contemporaries as a talisman for successful business and success in studies, mastering new knowledge:

There is another interpretation of this symbol - “The Holy Union of the Sun and Earth.” Our ancestors believed that this ornament guaranteed a bountiful harvest.

In the Yaroslavl region, a light curtain over a cradle, and the clothes of children and teenagers were often decorated with the following embroidery:

It is called “The Blessing of the Seven Elements”: fire, water, earth, air, matter, spirit and mind. Served to protect children from all misfortunes.

“True love” is already a wedding talisman from Perm region:

Slavic ornaments, on which S-shaped figures are embroidered, depict pairs of white swans. And the red motifs between them form repeating symbols of Mother Earth. They bless the couple, grant protection from any harm, real and eternal love based on friendship, respect and care.

Ritual embroidery for expectant mothers “Healthy pregnancy and happy motherhood” from the Perm region looks like this:

This is like a graphic spell for a healthy pregnancy and easy childbirth - a blessing from Mother Earth for the mother and baby.

In the computerized era, you won’t see outfits with such embroidery, except that in winter you can see mittens with an ornament on a child. And still ancient art embroidery of pagan symbols has not gone into oblivion, it is actively being revived. Slavic ornaments attract not only their beauty; faith in them is still alive magical power. This is, of course, good, it means it survived folk art. A new wave Symbolic art will certainly revive interest in the knowledge of our ancestors.

Slavic patterns and their history

Since ancient times, the art of the Slavs has been distinguished by its mystery and belief in magical powers. All this is clearly expressed by Slavic patterns, which were used for various purposes and individual patterns and compositions were created according to them. Each pattern was believed to have a special and individual magical power that could protect, strengthen, or even make richer anyone who wears it.

Mysterious Slavic patterns and their meanings

As everyone knows, art and religion are opposite poles, which, nevertheless, cannot exist without each other. It's funny that the religion of our ancestors had very interesting origins: these include Slavic patterns and other symbols, which later became church symbols. Even ancient Russian temples and divine fortresses were completely decorated with special ornaments. So let's talk and reveal the mysterious letters, signs, and find out what the Slavic pattern is and where it is used...

Architecture and ancient beliefs

For us, ordinary tourists and eternal passers-by, numerous Slavic churches seem simply beautiful and interestingly decorated, but in fact they can also be dangerous for people with an unclean soul. The fact is that thanks to their ancient alphabet of seemingly cute and harmless patterns, the Slavs could cast a kind of spell that could torture and heal the unclean.

If you look closely, you will notice that all Slavic patterns have their own meaning, for example, above almost all the entrances to the temple, on the top left side, there is a small “picture”, which is a guardian of peace. The Slavs believed that it was thanks to this pattern that upon entering the temple people were seized with peace and harmony, which gave strength to any lost soul.

Often, each temple was surrounded by Slavic patterns, which symbolized restraint. But this is not the only interpretation, since there is an opinion that this belt symbolized majesty, since it often had a chic and voluminous relief, it can be compared to a royal belt or crown...

The most interesting thing is that you cannot give a name to each and every one, since Slavic patterns have millions of varieties. Each ornament changed from year to year, and each spiritual representative had the right to change all meanings or add new ones. It is also important that each pattern was cut by hand, but only believers and adult craftsmen took part in the work, who gave their lives to art and faith.

Clothes: how they were selected and decorated...

The most interesting thing was the production of shirts and sundresses, which were decorated with Slavic patterns. The patterns were selected directly for the person who subsequently wore the item. As a rule, such ornaments were created with the aim of making the character of its owner stronger and more resilient. For example, if a boy was born weak, then he needed a pattern that would give strength, and if a girl was unkempt, then, accordingly, the pattern should give her cleanliness and neatness... The most important thing was that the pattern was selected after 5-6 years, this complex task belonged to the grandmother, and until the child was five years old, he wore clothes with a protective Slavic pattern.

Slavic patterns

SYMBOLICS OF EMBROIDERY ORNAMENT

The ancients believed that evil forces could penetrate through the edges of clothing (hem, sleeve edges, collars), and therefore these parts of clothing had to be protected with embroidery.

Ornament (from the Greek “ornamentum”) decoration.

In Rus' they used the word “pattern”.

“Pattern” comes from the ancient Slavic word “behold” - to see. See the beauty.

In Slavic ornament, red is the main color.

Geometric patterns are inherent in all Slavic mythology.

The rhombus is the most common embroidery pattern of all East Slavic peoples.

The diamond has many meanings: sun, fertility, agriculture.

A rhombus with extended sides is a symbol of the crown of a log house.

A rhombus divided inside into 4 parts is a plowed field.

A rhombus with dots inside is a symbol of a sown field.

A rhombus with hooks at the top and bottom (rhombus-frog) is a symbol of the feminine principle in nature (fertility, birth of children).

A cross with curved ends (solar sign) is a symbol of the solstice, the change of day and night.

There is a wide variety of designs and two directions of rotation.

The horizontal wavy line is a symbol of water.

A straight horizontal line is a symbol of the earth.

A female figure with her arms raised to the sky stands in the center of the pattern

and dominates the animals and plants around her - a symbol of Mother Earth.

At her feet there is a jagged line - water.

The East Slavic goddess Bereginya, or Mokosh (Makosh), was considered the patroness of water, family hearth, and fertility.

"Firebird" - spring sun.

The horse is the guardian of the hearth. According to legend, the horse participated in the movement of the sun across the sky.

Eagle, falcon, rooster - in different regions of Russia, these three birds symbolized fire.

“A pair of birds” is a symbol of the bride and groom.

Floral patterns – prosperity, wealth, birth of children.

A variety of plants are found in embroidery depending on the area.

In the south - roses, periwinkle. In the middle zone there are cornflowers and ferns, in the north there are coniferous branches.

The image of a sacred tree is found among many peoples.

In Rus', the sacred tree was the birch.

Ukrainian embroidery is characterized by the following floral patterns:

“Grapes”, “Hops”, “Oak Leaves”, “Periwinkle”, “Roses”, “Currant”, “Viburnum”, “Lily”.

"Periwinkle" is a symbol of unfading life.

"Apple circle" divided into 4 parts and opposite parts,

made in one color - a symbol of love.

"Grapes" is a symbol of family.

"Stars" are a symbol of the Universe.

"Lily" is a symbol of girlish purity and innocence.

“Oak” is a symbol of male energy and life.

“Hop” refers to wedding and youth symbolism.

“Tree of Life” - an ancient symbol depicted in the form of stylized leaves and branches.

The sun is the source of life, possessing life-giving power.