Slavs believed that the Earth was an Island floating in water that the sun was immersed
in every evening. At the center of this Island stood the world tree or mountain.
Wood and trees are significant in many of the world’s mythologies, and have been given deep and sacred meanings throughout the ages. Human beings, observing the growth and death of trees, and the annual death and revival of their foliage, have often seen them as powerful symbols of growth, death and rebirth. The roots of this tree extended deep into the underworld and the branches reached high up into the realm of the sky gods, Irij.
Polish and Czechoslovak mythology and folklore stem from the folklore and beliefs rooted in Slavic religion also known as Slavic paganism which was observed by the Slavs before the introduction of Christianity in the period from the 9th to the 12th century.
As the main BA diploma project I focused on visually representing only female characters from Slavic mythology as they are the least talked about. To commemorate the beauty of Slavic heritage and paganism, I visually interpreted and represented 5 goddesses through a detailed folk inspired set of illustrations that was later carved on birch wood planks in A2 format, a wall art - mural and additional prints, such as postcards, posters and bookmarks.
The main inspiration for this project are traditional embroidery patterns performed by women across Poland, mainly used on table cloths, bed sheets, aprons and clothing,
as well as paintings around windshields and used as house decorations.
Devana
Dziewanna (Devana) the daughter of both Perun, the god of thunder, and Mokosznica (Mokosh) , the Great Mother and protector of women. Dziewanna is the goddess of wild nature, forests, hunting and the moon worshipped by the Western Slavs. In the sources, she was first mentioned in the 15th century by Jan Długosz , who compared her to the roman goddess Diana, Artemis from Greek mythology. Another word, from which the name of the goddess may come from, the old Polish dziwy “wild:. However, the chronicles also mention her rebellious “wild” nature which could be the actual origin of her name. Dziewanna believed she should rule the three realms of the gods, the living, and the dead: Prawia (Prav), Jawia (Yav), and Nawia (Nav). Dziewanna has also become a popular goddess among feminists in modern day when discussing Slavic mythology. She is a symbol of freedom against traditional women’s roles, with her status as the wild goddess defying her father’s will. In this way, she’s a bit of an opposite to Mokosznica as well. While her mother takes the traditional role as Perun’s wife and mother of many gods, Dziewanna very much does not.
Lada
Łada (Lada) the Slavic goddess of spring, was worshipped at the end of winter. She is similar to the Norse freyja and the Greek Aphrodite. The oldest written references to the Lada cult are found in 15th-century Polish church prohibitions of pagan rituals. They owe their popularity to Jan Długosz, who in one of his sources recognized Lada as a goddess and in another as a god of war the Polish equivalent of the Roman god Mars.
Among many slavic deities, Łada is a goddess that represents beauty, youth, fertility,
love, and spring.
Morana
Marzanna (Morana) has indo-European roots same as the root of her name “Mora” which in English in Mare, and today we link that root with a well known word “Nightmare”. The daughter of the great goddess Lada and her husband God Svargo, has grown up to become what ancient slavs recognized as the patroness of the winter, the underworld and symbol of the end of physical life as we mortals know it. In pre-Christian times, Morana was also associated with harvest. She was worshipped as the Mother and Goddess of harvest and held in a very special reverence. She appears as an old woman dressed in white who becomes a hag when the winter hits and slowly dies off. Morana’s later association with death (in some regions she is called Death Crone) trivialized the importance of the goddess, who was the lady of not only death, but also life. Drowning Morana’s effigy in water (an element of high importance in many european season-related ancient celebrations) is understood as the goddess’ symbolic descent into the underworld, to be reborn with next winter.
Danica
Gwiazda Poranna (The Morning Star) opens the gate of heaven at dawn so the Sun can begin its journey. Danica is the personification of the Morning Star or the planet Venus as seen in the sky before sunrise. Danica was the “daystar” and the younger sister of the Sun. A female name origination from ancient Slavic mythology. Before Christianity came
to the Slavs f Eastern Europe, the deity Danica was prayed to in the early morning when she was said to appear in the dawn sky as the first star, or morning star. With the expansion of the monotheism Danica became less associated with the deity and became to be a common name for girls taking on the meaning morning star.
Slavic Mother Earth Mokosh - art mural
Mokosznica is celebrated as the Goddess of fertility, Slavic Mother Earth. Together with Svarog, she is responsible for the creation of the human race. She is the protector of women and household chores, she helps women in labor and protects their children. Many customs celebrate Mokosh as the protector of destiny as she spins the thread of a man’s fate and makes decisions about his life and death. As she was always connected to spindle and distaff, people would connect her to fate.
Thank you!
