Herbal magic. Mermaids: legends, beliefs, facts of the existence of mermaids Encounters with mermaids
At night, with the moon, which shines brighter than usual for them, they swing on the branches, call each other around and lead cheerful round dances with songs, games and dances.
But what are mermaids really like? Are they good or evil? Can they harm a person? The poetic image of the fantastic inhabitants of the aboveground waters, which inspired the poets of all countries and seduced artists of all kinds of fine arts, still lives in the popular imagination, despite the elapsed many hundreds of years.
Mermaids are different in different nations (and in different areas) and behave differently. In Slavic mythology, researchers believe, the image of a mermaid came from Ukraine and Eastern Europe. In Russia, however, their appearance has changed. From cheerful and playful creatures, mermaids have turned into evil and vengeful creatures, along with the "grandfather of the water". Mermaids singing merry songs with delightful and enticing voices have been replaced on forest rivers by disheveled and unkempt hair: pale-faced, with green eyes and the same hair, always naked and always ready to lure you in, only to, without any special guilt, tickle to death and drown . The mere fact that a mermaid was depicted (for example, in the Volga region) in the form of a straw effigy, and in some places even in the form of a horse skull with a bridle mounted on a pole, served as evidence of how the poetic myth of the graceful beauty mermaid disappeared in Russia . But everywhere in Rus', the so-called “Russian week” or “mermaid spell” was preserved - on Peter's post, a week after the Trinity. And at the end of the 19th century, on such a week, the girls were afraid to go alone into the forest.
Mermaids live not only in the water. From Trinity Day, they come out and, scattering, until autumn, through fields, copses and groves, they choose for themselves a spreading willow or weeping birch, bent over the water, where they live. At night, with the moon, which shines brighter than usual for them, they swing on the branches, call each other around and lead cheerful round dances with songs, games and dances. Where they ran and frolic, there the grass grows thicker and greener, and there the bread will be born more abundantly.
But they do a lot of harm. They can, for example, confuse the nets of fishermen or spoil them, and spoil the millstones and dams of millers. They can send crushing storms, heavy rains, destructive hail to the fields; they steal from women who have fallen asleep without prayer threads, canvases and canvases spread on the grass for linen; the stolen yarn, swinging on tree branches, unwinds and sings boastful songs under their breath. In such cases, various means and methods are found to combat the ventures of dashing mermaids, in order to make them harmless to the village household. In addition to church incense (an indispensable remedy against all evil spirits) - against the charms and machinations of mermaids, another drug was found that was equivalent to the sacred willow and candles of Holy Week. This is wormwood, "cursed, kneeless grass." You just need to use its power and apply it skillfully in practice. Leaving after Trinity Day in the forest, you need to take this grass with you. The mermaid will certainly run up and ask:
- What do you have in your hands: wormwood or parsley?
- Wormwood.
“Hide under the tyn,” she will shout loudly and quickly run past. It was at this time that you had to have time to throw this grass right into the eyes of the mermaid. If you say "parsley", then the mermaid will answer:
“Ah, you are my darling,” and he will begin to tickle until the foam comes out of the man’s mouth, and he falls down like a dead man. However, according to other beliefs, mermaids can really tickle a person to death.
Some other plants, such as horseradish and garlic, are also unpleasant for mermaids. Of the trees, they do not like aspen. How can one not recall the legends about vampires, who are scared away by the smell of garlic and killed with an aspen stake.
How to see them?
There is such a legend. One young man really wanted to see a mermaid. To avoid danger, he first turned to the healer. He advised him: “When the night comes and everyone goes to bed, and you lie down on your bed and do not sleep until everyone falls asleep. When everyone is snoring, you get up, strip naked and put on two crosses: one on the chest, the other on the back. Mermaids attack from behind, and not from the front, because they are afraid of the cross on their chest; but if you have a cross hanging on your back, and besides, you will be naked, then they will play with you, but they will not touch you. The guy strictly followed the instructions of the healer. He lay down first and pretended to be asleep; when the whole family died and fell asleep, he took off his shirt and went into the forest. There he saw many mermaids. Some swing along the branches, others lead round dances, others sing and laugh. They were all naked. Their bodies were white as snow; their faces shone like the full moon; hair of light fiery curls fell over her shoulders. The boy was stunned with fear and delight. For a long time he admired the beauty of the mermaids, graceful movements, pleasant and sonorous voices and their genuine delight and fun. Suddenly the mermaids calmed down and became motionless. They sensed the spirit of a man and, looking in the direction where the guy was standing, suddenly rushed to him with laughter and applause and surrounded him. Each wanted to hug and kiss the guy, but the hands and lips did not touch him. Each one ran back and tried to grab him under the armpits in order to tickle him to laughter and fun; but again their hands did not touch the boy. Then the lad cheered up; he himself began to play with them, tried to grab one, but his hands would not touch it. He sang and danced with the mermaids all night long. By morning, they lured the guy into the bushes - on thick and tall grass, and began to swing along the grass. The guy followed. But suddenly the cross hanging on his back fell off him. The mermaids grabbed him from behind under the armpits and began to tickle him. He laughed until he collapsed. Then it seemed to him that the mermaids laid him on the branches and carried him silently. And in the morning his father woke him up.
Where are they from?
As the Slavs believed, a significant part of the mermaids are the souls of drowned women who committed suicide. There is a Ukrainian legend where a girl falls in love with a young and handsome Polish pan who promised to marry her and did not keep his promise. The girl has disappeared. One monastery fisherman told a few days later that he saw a young girl on the banks of the Dnieper: her face was scratched by needles and branches of trees, her hair was scattered and her clothes were torn; but he did not dare to swim close to her, for fear that she was either a demon-possessed or wandering soul of some dead, serious sinner. The medicine man tells the mother that her daughter drowned herself and became a mermaid and gives her advice on how to take her home. With the help of magical amulets, she succeeds. She prays to her mother to let her go home, to underwater dwellings, because it is "stuffy for her to live among people." She even suggests that her mother drown herself in order to become a mermaid. Her mother did not let her go, and the girl sat for a whole year without moving or speaking.
And a year later, when the next “mermaid week” came, the girl woke up and, shouting “ours, ours,” ran away with other mermaids. And the next day, in the forest, find the body of that same pan, with no signs of violent death - the mermaids tickled him to death.
Mermaids can also steal unbaptized girls or drown a woman who went swimming without wearing a cross. They will also become mermaids.
And mermaids seduce men. There is a legend about how one young man fell in love with a mermaid and not a single healer could make him stop loving her. And when he saw the object of his love in the fire of the furnace (of course, it was an obsession), he thought that she was on fire and rushed into the fire to save her, and died.
Where else are they?
Mermaid-like creatures are present in the mythologies of different countries:
Greece. Sirens are beautiful maidens with a fish tail instead of legs and bird claws. Navigators are enchanted with beautiful voices.
Serbia. Pitchforks are winged beauties, spirits of mountains, lakes and wells. They wear long magical dresses. They sympathize with men, offended and orphans. Angry, they can kill with a glance. The pitchforks had an almost traditional appearance of mermaids, with the only difference being that their body is transparent. The pitchforks are the children of the clouds. They are the mistresses of pure springs. If the pitchforks, when they dance, like mermaids, manage to drag a young man into their round dance, they will enchant!
Baltic States and Germany. Undine and Nare. The root "unda" ("water") is present in many Germanic and Baltic languages. In the mythology of these peoples, undines, the spirits of water, have been known since ancient times. These are beauties with luxurious hair, beautifully built, long-legged. Another thing is the undines that exist in popular beliefs. They are typical mermaids with fish tails. In addition to the undine, bunks also lived in Lithuanian waters in the old days. Outwardly, they are exactly the same: up to the waist - women, below - fish. And beauties themselves. However, they differ in character from their water sisters, the undines. “On clear nights, as the moon came out, they appeared from the water, sang and danced. And then they were especially beautiful: like a rainbow they shone, sparkled and shone! Many wanted to admire their beauty. But not everyone succeeded.”
Ireland. Merrow are distant relatives of sea maidens, real beauties, but with fish tails instead of legs and webbed fingers. The appearance of merrow heralds a storm, but they are much more favorable to people than other mermaids and often fall in love with mortals. Sometimes merrow come ashore in the form of small horses, and under water they are allowed to live by red caps with feathers. If such a hat is stolen, the merrow will no longer be able to return to the sea.
Middle Asia. Su-Kaz. In Central Asia, not far from the city of Kara-Hisar, there is a large lake Oinar-gel. The beauties of su-Kazlar live there - half maiden, half fish. On a sunny day, they come out of the water onto a stone and comb their golden braids. Their appearance is strange for those places: their eyes are blue, their eyebrows are arched, their chins are round, their skin is white-white. It happens that guys spend the whole day guarding the beauties by the lake, but only in vain: as soon as they see a man, they rush into the water and do not appear again.
So, do mermaids really exist or not? No one can give an exact answer to this question. In official science, of course, they are considered mythical characters. And true Christians try not to bathe without a cross, or at least be baptized before entering the water.
In ancient times, people attached great importance to herbs. In Siberia, in the North, each shaman had his own "witch" tree. The life of a sorcerer was closely connected with the tree - the tree died, the shaman died too. So what can plants help with?
Nettle - removes damage, protects from evil energy and witchcraft. Nettle is also considered healing, and therefore is often used in potions. Oak is a sacred and magical tree that gives strength. Birch - the patroness of women and girls, is also considered the keeper of the hearth. Spruce - like oak, a sacred tree, is also a symbol of longevity and health. Burdock - a plant with the ability to send damage. Walnut is a symbol of victory, it is often used to fight someone. Hawthorn - protects from evil spirits. Blackthorn - has the same properties as hawthorn, protects from evil spirits and witches. Willow - will protect from the evil eye and witchcraft. Cedar - gives strength of mind and endurance.
Clover is a symbol of good luck and success. Ash - will help find inspiration Aspen - will not bring anything good, has always had a bad reputation. Rosehip - if you often fail, he will help you. Ivan da Marya - preserves love and devotion. Primula - symbolizes the road. Beech - it was believed that the spirit of the times was hidden in the beech. St. John's wort - a very strong plant. Protects from evil spells. If you weave and wear a belt from St. John's wort, he will take on all the evil, and if you throw the belt on November 1 (All Saints Day) into the fire, all the evil accumulated on the belt will return to the one who sent it. Elm - symbolizes knowledge. Sow thistle - as it grows in a swamp, was considered the patron of evil spirits. They will protect from witchcraft: barley, garlic, onions, mountain ash, birch, boxwood, elderberry. They will reveal extrasensory abilities, develop a “third eye”: chamomile and orchid.
plant magic
This topic is very extensive and cannot be placed in one or two articles, so the section will be constantly supplemented.
Plants have a certain energy and emit certain fluids - this does not contradict Christianity, since this quality was given to plants by God. So we will combine desires and strength, human energy and plant energy, or simply use their strength.
Absolutely everything, including plants, has its own biofield, energy. In a certain way, they will influence the subtle bodies of a person, his psyche, his subconscious.
It is with plants that you can begin your knowledge of healing and magic. And in fact, plant magic is experiencing a rebirth. A sage cannot be considered a real sage if he does not know how to use herbs in his practice. Since ancient times, sorcerers have turned to herbs.
Antidemonic herbs. Fumigation.
Each blade of grass absorbs a different range of power, so we use some herb for headaches, some for liver disease, some for colds, and so on. But there are a number of herbs that have a very powerful therapeutic effect, their effect is immediately on the entire human body, and not on any separate organ, and, in addition, they regulate the very energy of the body. These herbs have a very pure spectrum of radiation, in which there is practically no black color. There is nothing from the underworld in their energy, there is not even the energies of the dead kingdom, therefore they have a very strong healing effect on a person, as well as the ability to drive away evil spirits. They are called anti-demonic.
These are St. John's wort, hyssop (blue St. John's wort), lavender, nettle, wormwood, thistle, dill, Mother of God grass, Ivan da Marya, etc. In order to get the greatest strength from the grass, it is collected at a favorable time for this.
To protect oneself from evil spirits, herbs are used only in the form of incense or water infusions. Alcohol infusions, capsules with dried grass are not suitable for this purpose. To prepare infusions and incense, herbs must first be dried - losing water, they acquire a fiery energy force. A power that increases their ability to drive away evil spirits.
Smoking or incense act on our mind and, purifying our thoughts, drive away possible troubles and misfortunes. They are good because they clean not only the person himself, but also the dwelling. But if evil spirits have penetrated your body, fumigation will not help you, it will only protect you from a new attack.
If you want to use anti-demon herb smoking to protect your home, add a drop of pine resin to the dry herb and try to carry incense throughout the apartment. Then, when the apartment is filled with the smell of herbs, open a large window or balcony for a few minutes and wish the evil spirits to leave your house: "As the smoke leaves my house, so do troubles, illnesses, etc. leave my house." Then close the window, the smell of herbs will remain in your home for another day, calling your mind to be free from evil thoughts.
We emphasized that the resin must be pine, as it has more cleansing properties.
Aromatic essential oils are not used to expel evil spirits from the house. They act more on our mind than on the atmosphere of the home, although they are also able to free the head from the accumulated negative energy, and their healing effect is, in fact, based on it.
Herbal infusions act entirely on our entire body, cleansing it of accumulated dirty energy. Water allows the power of herbs to freely fill the cells of our body and tune in to receive light energy. The great power of herbs lies in the fact that they are able to form a common energy field, combining their disparate forces into a common mind. When a person consumes an infusion of herbs, he involuntarily connects to the general energy field of these plants. And the less he will resist its effects, the faster the recovery will come.
Therefore, never collect withered, weak grass growing in garbage dumps and other dirty places - otherwise, taking an infusion from it, you will connect not only to the pure energy of the plant, but also to the energy of the place where it grew; do not try to immediately take a "horse" dose of infusion inside - by dramatically changing the energy of the body, you frighten your own body and it begins to resist healing (microdoses act better and more beneficially, it is not by chance that homeopathic methods of treatment are one of the most reliable); by taking the infusion, help your mind - imagine a field of flowering herbs of the kind that you are taking - the cure will go faster. Pouring or bathing in the infusion, do not be too lazy to do this either - the surge of strength will be greater than during the mechanical procedure.
St. John's wort. One of the most powerful anti-demonic herbs in central Russia. This is a herb that absorbs sunlight, acts immediately on the entire human body, cleansing it. St. John's wort helps with depression, fatigue, the first signs of colds. It opens a person's heart, allowing his soul, mind and body to unite into a single whole. All evil spirits are afraid of him, just as she is afraid of sunlight. St. John's wort gains its greatest strength by mid-July. Previously, it (like all magical herbs) was collected on Ivan Kupala (July 7, according to a new style). St. John's wort is a very proud and whimsical plant that remembers the pain caused to it, so if you cut off the strongest shoots that caught your eye, then the next year you risk not finding it at all in this place.
St. John's wort is not used in smoking, as it does not have the power to drive evil spirits out of the room. It simply very powerfully fills the body with the solar energy contained in it. Therefore, St. John's wort is used in infusions or in aromatic oils, that is, for a direct effect on the body. Previously, in Rus', St. John's wort often replaced tea, which was very good, since in our climate there is a noticeable lack of solar energy, which the body has to extract from other sources.
Hyssop (blue St. John's wort) acts immediately on the subtle energy plans of our body. It is used in incense, incense, infusions, but it gives our body the greatest strength when in contact with the skin. This allows you to quickly clean the human energy from the accumulated dirt. And the rest of the nature of its action is similar to the usual St. John's wort.
Sagebrush- the second most powerful anti-demonic herb in Russia, which is now used extremely rarely. Among others, it drives away evil spirits of water origin. Mermaids are madly afraid of her, and in the mermaid week, to protect against their machinations, wormwood was hung in houses, and bonfires were lit near the houses with the addition of wormwood. The smell of this herb is able to expel almost any evil spirits from the house.
Wormwood loses some of its strength in an aqueous infusion, and it tastes very bitter, so it is more often used in the form of incense (besides, the strength of wormwood is very high and it can only be used inside in microdoses). Wormwood has the ability to restore our harmony with nature, and with a strong concentration of its smoke, susceptible people can begin to see beings of the subtle world - this is the second reason for such a rare use of wormwood. In fact, it is used only by magicians who are not afraid of otherworldly contacts.
An absolutely safe method of using it is to hang a small bunch of this herb in the house (preferably in the bedroom or corridor).
The smell of wormwood is so unpleasant to the water spirits that it leaves the house where the wormwood is simply present. Ritual wreaths of wormwood were always woven on the night of Ivan Kupala. They guessed about the future fate from them, a secret wreath (the one that decorated the effigy of Kupala all night at the fire) was hung in the house above the door so that quarrels and misfortunes would bypass it. It was considered a very bad omen if such a wreath fell or was torn - this spoke of the effect of evil witchcraft on the family. Wormwood is a very strong, but at the same time very whimsical plant. It grows slowly and grows poorly from seeds, so when cutting this herb, try not to cut it to the very root. Cut off only the top - this plant has the greatest strength in its buds (the stem is not needed for work). The anti-demonic properties of wormwood increase on the waning moon.
Nettle. This burning herb has the ability to counteract evil sorcery. It was used when the body was weakened and impotence, they were placed under the soles of the shoes or boots of the bewitched, so that evil spirits could not drag him into the underworld. Nettle brooms swept the floors in an enchanted dwelling in order to drive evil spirits out of it.
Rugs for the hallway were woven from nettles in order to deprive the evil power of those who entered the house. Nettle was also used as smoking to drive evil spirits out of the house, in the form of infusions and baths, in order to restore former strength to a person. Nettle was also part of the ancient elixirs of youth and beauty. The most powerful is the adult, but not the old nettle, the young nettle was used only for vitamin soups and salads. In magic, old and mature nettles have always been used. In order to destroy the power of evil, an old plant is more suitable.
The nettle on the young moon has the greatest anti-demonic power. But in order for it to help you or someone with your hands, you need to tear it without fear and without anger at burns. Nettle by nature is a warrior plant, does not like cowards and aggressors. When such people pluck it, the plant begins to drive a very burning juice along the leaves, which is akin to poison, and 70 percent of its healing properties are lost. Nettles are torn with bare hands for special purposes ... For greater preservation of its healing properties, nettles are best cut with a knife; this plant cannot be uprooted - half of its strength is lost, as it loses contact with the place where it grew.
Thistle- if you translate the name of this plant into modern Russian, you get "frightening devils", which is quite consistent with the abilities of this "weed". The devils are really afraid of her, so this plant was hung at the entrance to the house so as not to let evil spirits into the dwelling. They planted thistles on the graves of sorcerers and cursed people to prevent evil spirits from dragging their souls into hell.
This plant was not used in smoking - thistle smoke is very bitter, eats the eyes and throat. The evil spirits are driven out, but it is also difficult for people to remain in such a haze. Thistle grows in places that are unkind, protecting our world from evil. People living nearby were judged by this plant: thistle grows - either people are evil, or the place is not good; in any case, it is better to stay away from him. The thistle reaches its greatest strength when its flower blooms.
Lavender- this plant has the ability to concentrate the forces of the human body to fight evil spirits. It is used in the form of smoking and infusions. In large doses, lavender can cause aggression and hatred for everything, so it must be used carefully, little by little. The smell of lavender is not liked by animals and insects that are carriers of evil: mice, rats, moths ... Therefore, lavender oil was often placed in food storage areas and clothing. Lavender plucked on the young moon has a milder effect on the human body.
Dill. This grass is a familiar guest of any garden. But few people know that witches cannot stand her smell. The smell of dill dispels the effect of witchcraft spells, removes trouble from a person. An infusion of dill helps to expel the undead sent by evil sorcery from the body. The problem with its use is that dill itself is a weak herb. It works well as an aid in cleansing the body and home, but it would be irrational to rely on it alone to protect against evil forces.
virgin grass- a strong herb, which, unfortunately, does not have a universal effect. Her sphere of influence is fertility. But it always helps to restore fertility to the soil, animals, plants, people. Smoking from the virgin grass calms the nervous system, allows you to find a solution to a difficult problem, cuts off the action of energy sexual vampires. Infusions work in the same way. Washing and bathing in the infusion of the virgin herb contribute to the preservation of female beauty. This herb is poured with the greatest power near the full moon.
When dried, it loses about 10 percent of its healing properties every lunar month, although its chemical composition remains the same. But even more so, try not to miss the opportunity to wash yourself with a whisk of Ivan da Marya on the evening of July 7 (on the day of Ivan Kupala) in order to wash off those entities that, having stuck to you, devour beauty and well-being.
And I would like to finish the article with an old folk conspiracy, which was said aloud before tearing any herb for medicinal purposes. It sounds like this: "Earth-Mother, help me tear the grass." We wish you to use the property and power of herbs for your own benefit, because the happiness of each of us is the happiness of our whole world.
Indoor plants, their impact on us. About passions and character.
Indoor plants purify and revitalize the atmosphere in the house. And not only from dust and harmful chemical compounds, but also from energy dirt. Quarrels, anger, hatred, pessimism, failures, lack of money - it is with them that indoor flowers fight. It has long been noticed that in the presence of a heavy, scandalous person, flowers wither and die, because. do not endure screams, quarrels, lies and insults. Flowers clear the air of them, often dying themselves. A person who stays in such an environment for a long time also suffers psychologically and physically.
The first sign that there are negative energy flows in the apartment is the poor growth of indoor flowers, their illnesses, and a lethargic appearance. Although, some people grow well with certain types of plants, while others die. This is due to the correspondence or opposite of the zodiac sign of a plant and a person.
Any plant affects the environment and the person himself. Flowers absorb the energy of impure thoughts and influence the process of thinking and speech of a person, and this influence is very purposeful. In addition, by the appearance of a leaf of a houseplant, you can understand what kind of thoughts it relieves the atmosphere of.
Large, leathery leaves clear of long speeches, exaggerated doubts, big problems. People who tend to think about one thing for too long are advised to have a laurel ficus in the house. It will be useful to scientists, researchers, people of art.
The more fleshy the leaves, the more mundane thoughts the plant affects. A fat woman, for example, clears the atmosphere of constant thoughts about money, troubles, and mercantile aspirations. Those who are in a difficult financial situation would do well to plant this flower.
Small leaves (azalea, asparagus) free space and minds from the little things of life. Variegated leaves help to see the relationship of seemingly unrelated phenomena.
Trees
Trees, like people, have their periods of activity and rest, wakefulness and sleep. There are among them owls, and larks, and arrhythmias. Naturally, it is better to turn to the tree for strength and energy during the period when it is awake. And then there is such a situation - you came to him with love and hope for help, and the tree is sleeping. Until you get it, spend more energy than you gain.
Mermaids cannot in the full sense be ranked among the characters of Slavic mythology.
Legends of beautiful girls with human bodies and fish tails have been known since ancient Babylon. Then they were classified as powerful gods, directly personifying the Sun and the Moon.
As you know, the ancient Babylonians represented the sun god with a human body, a crown in the form of a fish head, and his mantle was woven from fish scales. And the goddess of the Moon Atargartis, who was half woman, half fish, is considered the immediate mother of mermaids.
There was a belief among the Babylonians that after the end of their journey through the sky, the Sun and Moon plunge into the depths of the sea. Naturally, people came to the logical conclusion that the gods must be adapted to exist in two elements - both in the sky and under water. This is where such an unusual idea of \u200b\u200bthe structure of their bodies appears.
We can say that mermaids inherited all these qualities. Therefore, there is an assumption that the mirrors with which they are often depicted are symbols of the moon, whose influence on the ebb and flow of the seas and oceans increases the magical power of mermaids.
If in ancient Babylonian beliefs mermaids were associated with power over the water element, then in Christian legends they are described as beings who dream of getting a soul. However, it is unlikely that such a desire could come true, because in this case they had to leave the abyss of water forever and live only on land, like the most ordinary person, and the anatomical structure of their bodies did not allow this.
Mermaids were forced to remain forever between land and water, obeying the god Yarila and his father Veles.
In addition, Slavic mermaids had one significant difference from their foreign "sisters". According to the ancient Slavs, mermaids did not have tails. They could come out of the water for short periods of time and even climb trees, waiting for people.
In Greek mythology, the predecessors of mermaids are described - tritons, half-people, half-fish. The ancient Greeks believed that it was the newts that controlled storms and tempests at sea.
In India, according to legend, there were river nymphs, in many ways similar to mermaids. They were distinguished by their extraordinary beauty and seductiveness, they played the lute bewitchingly, but did not seek to harm ordinary people.
The very name "mermaid" is of native Russian origin. It is based on the word "blond", which in those days was called everything clean and bright. Probably, such an association arose because mermaids have always lived in water bodies (lakes, rivers). And the water then was crystal clear and transparent.
In more recent times, the myth of mermaids has changed significantly. In Russia, a country of impenetrable gloomy coniferous forests, cheerful sea maidens have turned into gloomy, vicious and vengeful creatures. The change in character was also accompanied by a change in their appearance.
From beauties, attractive and seductive, they turned into pale-faced women with emerald eyes and tousled green hair. Their main goal was to lure people who were tickled to death and dragged to the bottom.
SCIENTISTS BELIEVE that in some northern regions of Russia, stories about mermaids are closely connected with fleeting encounters between humans and seals. This opinion is based on the fact that seals have a smooth body, and their behavior resembles human behavior in some ways. In any case, numerous legends depict seals as constant companions of mermaids.
Nevertheless, in Slavic folklore, mermaids have a significant place. The well-known day of Ivan Kupala is closely connected with them. On this day, the sun illuminates and revitalizes the waters, which is why the mermaids have to leave their abode, as they cannot be in such life-giving water.
In addition, on Petrovka (Apostolic Lent) the Mermaid Week and the Mermaid Conspiracy are celebrated. This happens on the tenth week after Holy Pascha. These days, not a single village girl will dare to go alone into the forest for fear of meeting evil mermaids. Mermaids come out of the water depths during the mermaid week.
Coming out of the water from Trinity Day until autumn, they disperse through fields, copses and groves, settle on a branchy weeping willow or birch that leans over the shore.
In the darkness of the night, with the moon shining brightly for them at this time, they lead cheerful round dances, swing on the branches, haunting and talking to each other. There was a belief that where mermaids frolicked and played, the grass became greener and thicker, and bread was born more abundantly.
In addition, people believed that mermaids, during their games and fun, tangled fishing nets, broke mill wheels and millstones of water mills, and destroyed dams. They could send heavy rains, storms and even hail. A woman who fell asleep without prayer during needlework risked losing her yarn, threads and canvases laid out on the grass for bleaching.
It was believed that mermaids have a huge influence on young people. With their magical songs, they were able to lull young people to death.
The words of one of the magical mermaid songs have survived to this day. The meaning and sound value of this song is absolutely incomprehensible. Even people who have deep knowledge of various otherworldly forces cannot understand and explain the meaning of these sounds.
Believing in the evil nature of mermaids, people were looking for ways to protect themselves from them, the main of which was the cross. Like any evil spirits, mermaids are afraid of the cross, so they never attack from the front if a person has a pectoral cross hanging on his chest. They do not like mermaids and witches. It was believed that if you “drive up” to a mermaid on a poker, then she will run away in horror, believing that this is a witch. When meeting directly with a mermaid, you need to draw a circle around yourself and cross yourself three times. In this case, the unclean one cannot cross it and grab the person.
Garlic also protects well from mermaids, so when meeting with them, you must definitely eat a clove of garlic.
But wormwood is considered the best talisman against mermaids. On Thursday on Trinity week, when the risk of mermaid attacks is especially high, when meeting with them, you should immediately say the word "wormwood". In this case, they will scatter, because they cannot bear this word spoken aloud.
For a talisman against mermaids, the girls wove a sprig of wormwood into their hair. Mermaids are also very afraid of stinging nettles and aspens. These creatures can not be feared when thunder rumbles, especially spring. Some mermaid children are very afraid of the first spring thunder.
According to popular beliefs, after the first spring thunderstorms, they can no longer go to people under the windows.
THERE IS A BELIEF that mermaids are drowned girls or ordinary human children who died before the rite of baptism. In some areas, mermaids are considered children who have been replaced at a time when a woman is left alone in the bathhouse immediately after giving birth and she lies without a cross, and the child next to her sleeps unbaptized.
Since ancient times, evidence of the existence of mermaids has been preserved. For example, in 1531, in the Baltic Sea, one of the representatives of this evil spirit fell into the fishing nets. The catch turned out to be so outlandish that it was immediately decided to send the captive as a gift to the Polish king Sigismund II. However, people did not know then that mermaids cannot live in captivity. The captive lived with the king for only 3 days, and then died.
Cases of the capture of mermaids were also recorded in Russia, of course, these were “river” mermaids. A record of the story of the peasants about the meeting with them has been preserved. According to the description of eyewitnesses, they did not have fish tails. From the same description it follows that they looked like ordinary women, had long hair, were silent all the time and only wept bitterly.
After the peasants took pity on them (or maybe they were just scared) and released them, they sang merrily and disappeared into the forest.
In Slavic languages, in addition to the word "mermaid", there are other names for these creatures. For example, in Belarusian folklore it is called "kupala".
The name "vodyanika" is also known. This evil spirit has large pendulous breasts and long hair. She emerges from the depths at midnight completely naked and sits on a large rock. Sitting on it, she begins to comb her hair with a large comb, which has great magical power, and if you stealthily sneak up from behind and pull it out, then all the power passes to its new owner.
There is a kind of mermaid called "hitka". In all likelihood, the name comes from the word "hijack", i.e., to kidnap. This is due to the fact that she steals people and drags them with her into the pool.
Standing apart is this type of mermaids, which include Navkas and Mavkas. So in Slavic demonology they called evil deadly spirits. The very name of this evil is associated with death, as it comes from the Ukrainian word "nav", which means " the embodiment of death». People believed that children who died before baptism turn into mavok.
These creatures have a terrifying appearance: they have an ordinary human body in front, but there is no back, but all the insides are visible.
ANCIENT GERMAN LEGENDS tell of nymphs living in ponds and lakes among water lilies and reeds. From above, the bodies of these creatures look like beautifully built women with a constant friendly smile on their faces. And from below this picture is overshadowed by a terrible fish tail. Like all evil spirits, the nymphs begin their dirty work at midnight - they lead round dances and drag people passing by the reservoir with them.
The ancient Bulgarian analogues of mermaids were called "forks, samovils". South Slavic mythology describes them as female spirits: they look like charming girls with flowing hair and wings, dressed in magical dresses that cover their goat, horse or donkey legs. It was believed that a person who managed to take possession of their dress would gain power over them.
Vils lived high in the mountains and had the ability to fly. They were in charge of wells and lakes, and they could "lock" them, blocking access to them for a mere mortal. However, pitchforks were not as invulnerable as normal mermaids. If they were deprived of their wings and the ability to fly, they turned into ordinary earthly women. Forks did not bring harm to people, especially men, on the contrary, they always came to the aid of the offended and orphans. In addition, they could heal ailments and even predict death. But if the vila is angered, her anger will be terrible, since she can kill a person with just one look.
Scientists involved in the problems of human interaction with otherworldly forces assure that mermaids still exist today. According to the results of observations over the past 50 years, at least 500 human contacts with mermaids have taken place, and for 60 people these meetings ended tragically. More than 400 people miraculously managed to escape death. According to some radical parapsychologists, the number of contacts and deaths after them exceeds the previously indicated figure by at least twice.
A case of a tragic outcome was recorded in the Krasnoyarsk Territory near the village of Voznesenki in 1995. In the summer of that year, three people drowned in the forest lake Chernoye.
Three men were returning home from the wedding and, having decided to shorten the path, they went through the forest. In all likelihood, the lake somehow attracted them, and they turned towards it. Eyewitnesses said that on the faces of the dead men they saw a frozen expression of unearthly bliss.
This fact defied any real explanation. And since rumors about the existence of mermaids in the lake have long been circulating in these parts, the locals decided that mermaids were to blame for the deaths of people. Then the inhabitants decided to destroy the evil spirits with the help of dynamite. As a result of the explosions, a large number of dead fish and the corpse of an unknown man floated to the surface of the lake. At the same time, no mermaids were found, and the corpse remained unidentified.
One of the real cases occurred in 1936 on the Smorodinka stream, which flows near the village of Elizavetinskoye in the Urals. As a child, a resident of Nizhny Tagil A. Azisova, together with her father, came to this stream, not far from which there was an old abandoned working, which eventually filled with water.
In this small lake, overgrown with thick bushes, the girl and her father saw humanoid creatures and watched them for a long time. These creatures (most likely they were mermaids) periodically appeared from the water, climbed nearby trees and jumped from them into the reservoir. Azisova says that beautiful melodic singing was heard from their side all the time, but the girl could not make out the words.
An unusual and mysterious incident occurred in 1992 in the Tver region. A programmer from Moscow, Igor Peskov, along with his dog named Sakur, came to fish on a lake near the village of Rozhdestvenskoye. It so happened that the first night at the lake coincided with the beginning of the mermaid week. The fisherman had a small radio with him, which he grabbed so that it would not be completely boring and lonely. When midnight came, Igor was sitting by the fire and listening to a radio broadcast. Suddenly, the fire suddenly began to die out, although there was enough firewood in it and they were very dry.
A few seconds later, Igor heard a distinct bell ringing. This fact seriously alerted the young man, because he knew absolutely for sure that the nearest church was located at least 40 km from the place of his overnight stay. The dog also began to show signs of anxiety and periodically howled.
Here is what Igor himself said about what happened to him next: “Very little time passed, and suddenly the space above the lake lit up with an unusual blue light. It seemed to me that some kind of power hypnotized me. I clearly saw all the surrounding objects, I seemed to be perfectly aware of everything that was happening, but at the same time I was unable to control my actions. Something drew me to the lake. I entered the water and suddenly felt like I was wrapped in seaweed and pulled to the bottom. I began to sink and could not find the strength to resist. At that moment, I heard Sakura barking. His voice literally brought me back from oblivion. I began to resist desperately and, as it seemed to me, saw the contours of a human figure under the water. After some time, I felt free from the bonds and rushed to the shore. I called out to Sakura, who was still in the water. Finally he swam to shore. With my help, he got out of the water. His whole neck was covered in blood."
Igor could not find an explanation for what happened.
In the Penza region, not far from the village of Shirokoye, two local guys walked through the forest and came across a small lake overgrown with mud. There they met three naked girls who walked towards them and smiled invitingly. They did not utter any words, but the guys distinctly distinguished melodic singing.
One of the guys was very scared and rushed to run. And the second, on the contrary, went straight to the mermaids. The runaway friend gathered men in the village, and they went to the lake.
However, nothing was done. When they reached the shore of the lake, only the cap of a young man floated on its black surface. His body was found the next day.
The locals and the investigation could not give any explanation for the tragic death of the guy, except to call it the machinations of evil spirits.
Then they invited a local priest, who performed a special ceremony to exorcise evil spirits. Since then, mermaids have not been heard from in this lake. But who knows, maybe the meetings did not take place because the locals were simply afraid to approach the terrible place.
In RUSAL WEEK, mermaids try to ask people to give them a name and clothes. There is nothing strange about this request. As you know, girls who died before baptism and do not have a name turn into mermaids. So they want to get it now, in order to turn into a human child again and now die for real. In no case should a mermaid refuse such a request, as she will cruelly avenge this.
The difference between mermaids and classical and Romanesque sirens. The legend of Melusina and the tales of the serpent-wives. The unity of the nature of the mermaid. Mermaids are drowned. Mermaids are unbaptized children, their afterlife and appearance.
According to the materials of printed editions of 1899.
When studying stories and beliefs about Little Russian mermaids, it is necessary to separate from them the classical and Romance legends about similar female creatures - sirens: half-women, half-fish, who attracted and destroyed travelers with charming singing, since these beliefs were reflected in Ukraine very weakly, only in the remark that the songs made up of sea people. In addition to this brief indication, there is not a single fairy tale either in ethnographic collections or, apparently, in the mouths of the people, in which a creature would meet with all the listed features of the sirens taken together, and only occasionally some of their individual signs are found. For example, in one fairy tale recorded in the Lubensky district, a girl imprisoned in a wall is covered with fish scales, which is a feature of the sirens. But with this outward sign, the resemblance of the imprisoned maiden to the siren ends. So the British siren, white, with golden hair and a fish tail, resembles Little Russian mermaids, except for her childhood and nothing else.
Almost the same should be said about the romance of the French fairy Melusina, half-woman, half-serpent, who married Comte Raymond de Poitiers, gave him ten sons, but disappeared when the duality of her nature was discovered; this story passed through Germany and the lands of the Western Slavs to the Right-Bank Ukraine and was reflected here only in the name melusins of the singers - half-women, half-fish.
But if the novel about Melusina has nothing to do with the beliefs about mermaids, then in its main motive it represents some similarity with the tales of the maiden and wife - snakes, which, like Melusina, for the time being, i.e., before pointing to their serpentine nature, beneficent beings. So, in a fairy tale, once recorded in the Lubensky district, a snake wrapped around the neck of a sleepy boy, turning into a princess from a petrified kingdom. She then helped her pet all her life, among other things, giving a shirt of snake power. A more detailed and better version of this tale is given by Chubinsky. In the collection of Afanasyev's "Russian Folk Tales", the snake-maiden is included only episodically in two fairy tales about a magic ring. In the first version, the girl, surrounded by fire and saved by the peasant, turns into a snake, in the second, on the contrary, the snake on the fire after being saved turns into a girl.
Even closer to the main motive of the legends about Melusin is another tale, also recorded in the Lubensky district. In it, the guy set fire to the pile where the snake was hiding. The snake, having crawled out, turned into a girl, married a guy and lived with him until he called her a reptile. From that moment on, she retires forever, the children turn: the son into a nightingale, the daughter into a toad. The first half of Chubinsky's tale is the same: the snake turns under the crown into a woman, lives with her husband and moves away from him forever after mentioning her snake nature.
Thus, mermaids differ from all the listed fantastic creatures in that there is nothing dual in their nature. They, according to Solovyov, Afanasiev and Kavelin, are the souls of dead young women, girls and children. Mermaids are drowned maidens or maidens who died on Green holidays. Mermaids, girls and drowned women become mermen's wives. According to Belarusian beliefs, mermaids are also drowned women; they tickle people, having been caught, they serve a person for up to a year and perform various jobs; they feed on steam. But such an idea of mermaids as adult girls and women is found only in artificial poetry, in literature and painting; to the people, at least in Central Little Russia, it is completely alien. There are no fairy tales, songs, beliefs or rituals about such mermaids here. The people know only mermaids - children. They are stillborn, sleeping by their mothers, generally unbaptized children. Mermaids also include children killed by their mothers at birth. According to the beliefs of the Podolsk province, a tormented or worn out, turns only after seven years into a mermaid-mavka, or malka. The stay of the mermaids behind the coffin is depicted by the people in such colors: “It is dark for the mermaids on this retinue. And the darling is so cast, like a bird on a tree, and there is no stamina. And cry out on your mother, she didn’t save the mats. At the quarters at the klechalny Christmas time, God elects to the mist, to give them a few troshki, otherwise it’s dark for them.
Mermaids are drowned. Mermaids - unbaptized children, their afterlife
Thus, mermaids are born only on Green Christmas time, which is also confirmed by printed materials. The week before Trinity Day was called in Russia in the 12th century. Mermaid. Mermaids can only be born on St. Spirit and Trinity. Girls and women stock up on dawns or lovage so that they are not tickled by mermaids. “Rusalchyn, Mavsky Velykden” takes place on Thursday during Green Week. On this day, they do not work, so as not to offend the mermaids, and they do not swim alone all week. At Rusalchyn Velikden, women who have lost unbaptized children gather children from the neighborhood or whatever they come across and treat them to dumplings, palyanitsi, pies, and bagels. During the Mermaid Week in Belarus, the girls, swinging on the branches, invite the mermaids. Children are not allowed to swim. “Rusalchyn Velykden” is also called “dry quarter, so it’s like the tilko rosavki dry up, otherwise they are wet with a mustache.”
It is only during these days that observations can be made on the management of mermaids, their places of residence, appearance, and their transformations. The mermaids are controlled by a special eldest, or abbess, and according to other beliefs, a did, or a saint. With or without such supervision, mermaids graze like geese on islands, swamps, fields and forests.
They are found in kopets, but cannot cross between. Most often they are near the water: here they bathe, run, scream like cats. They prefer stagnant water and small, slow rivers, "Schaub did not bring water." The mermaids are depicted as laughing, clapping children, shouting “Gup! where are you?”, as well as singing. Their body is bluish, bluish or dark. "Goli creak, from the sedges of the scythe." Often dressed in red. Occasionally they appear in the form of cats, frogs or small animals from the rodent breed. “The genus of a rat, the tail is long, the ear is uphill, on the paws there are five fingers, no, no. The dog didn't take it." The following stories also belong to the Mermaid Velikodny: “Yshov did go hunting, crossing the swamp. The mermaids caught up with the did. Vin got to the oak, izliz, and there and sobi fight that giggle. Did shot, the stench Todi picked up one of the oak trees near the kopanka and bathed; and bathed until twelve hours. Blinking and seeming: “Wow, wow! straw spirit." Little children, shvydki, sons or little pigeons ”(from D. Bugaeva, village of Litvyakov).
“Drink and drink like this: Don’t be cross-legged, Not these borosna on diju, Wow, wow! I gave birth to the unbaptized mats, I sat on the stone. (from A. Getmanova, m. Snetina)
“Pishly girls on the field to tear a ticket for Rusalchyn great day. I went alone to the beam, when the children-manunis jumped. And she waved at her friend with her nose. Yak that friend jumped in a crack, that in a voice, that let's tick. Jumped home, fell ill and died ”(from E. Pavlikova, village of Litvyakov).
“A woman went near the village, when the little mermaids came out, in red shirts, splashing in their palms:
She didn’t lead me into the cross. The zhinka took Solomina and crossed her ears ”(from N. Kedeva, village of Litvyakov).
A similar incident is reported in the Auvergne tale: “At dawn, children in white surrounded the traveler and demanded baptism from him.
From all that has been said, it follows that mermaids, having nothing elemental and dual in their nature, are only a kind of dead people.
"Rusalia (Rusal Week) is a ritual holiday of "seeing off mermaids." Rusalii were celebrated on the eve of the Nativity of Christ and Theophany (winter Rusalii), a week after the day of Pentecost (Trinity) or on the summer Ivan's Day (Ivan Kupala).
Ethnographic data of the 19th century make it possible to correlate the evidence of medieval monuments with the rusal customs of the southern Slavs. In Macedonia, during the period from Christmas to Epiphany, groups of men called "Rusalii" walked through the courtyards, who arranged special round dances around sick people and performed ritual dances to heal them. Members of the “Rusali” squad for the entire period of Christmas observed strict prohibitions: they were not supposed to be baptized before meals and at night, to say hello at the entrance to the house and when meeting with fellow villagers on the street, they were obliged to remain silent; the whole group spent the night in other people's houses, not returning home for the night and not making contact with their relatives, the Rusal team was met in all houses with great honors.
In northern Bulgaria and northeastern Serbia, similar groups - "Rusal" - went from village to village with the aim of magically treating people who fell ill with the "Rusal" disease, but this happened during the week following the Trinity. It was believed that the "mermaid" disease was sent by harmful female mythological creatures - mermaids or samodivas (see Vila), who appeared on earth in the spring and summer. A group of men, consisting of an odd number of participants (usually 5, 7, 9 people), went from house to house during the Mermaid Week. They were dressed in fur hats, on which specially woven flower wreaths were put on: leather bast shoes on their feet, rattles and bells on their belts, large sticks in their hands.
Judging by the annals, the main period of mermaids was summer, adapted already in the 12th century. to the Christian trinity and ended with a strictly fixed day of the summer solstice - the day of Kupala (the birth of John the Baptist). Kiev Chronicle of the second half of the XII century. calls "Rusal week" the seventh week after the Christian Easter, culminating in the feasts of the Trinity (seventh Sunday) and the descent of the Holy Spirit (Spirits Day, Pentecost).
The holiday consisted in the fact that at this time all the youth of the village dressed up in white clothes, the girls let their hair down; everyone walked around the village together, sang songs, danced round dances, etc. (village Maryevka, Malo-Arkhangelskoye, Nikolaev district (now Pestravsky district). It was most interesting in the neighboring village of Krasnaya Polyana, where a guy was dressed as the main mermaid and they drove her into the river. Perhaps this is the earliest version of the rite, the essence of which was to drive the mermaid out of the village, clearing it of "evil spirits" before next spring. This whole procession was accompanied by the singing of mermaid songs:
I washed myself from the pelvis,
I wiped myself with a broom,
I prayed to God on the screen,
She bowed at the feet of the pig.
Among the Eastern Slavs, the rite “seeing off the mermaid” is timed to coincide with the Rusal Week (variant names: “funeral of the mermaid”, “expulsion of the mermaid”), known in the territory of the southern Russian regions and eastern Polissya: a group of girls dressed a “mermaid” chosen from their environment, put on her a wreath or many wreaths, sometimes hung all over with greenery and late in the evening on the last day of Mermaid Week (or on Monday of Petrov Lent) took the mummer out of the village to a rye field or to the river, to the cemetery; there wreaths were torn from the "mermaid", thrown into the water, into the fire, over the fence of the cemetery and ran away from the place of wires so that the "mermaid" would not catch up and harm. Wed East Slavic beliefs about the appearance on earth on the first day of the Mermaid Week of the souls of girls who died before marriage - mermaids and their return to the “other world” on the last day of the Trinity-Rustic period.
In some places this holiday was celebrated even after the war."
Taken from gnozis.info
Another detailed overview article about mermaids in general:
"Mermaids in Slavic mythology.
October 07, 2007
The image of a mermaid in Slavic mythology. Komneva N.
There is no consensus in science about what the word mermaid means. At present, it is generally accepted that it goes back to the name of the ancient rose festival rosalia, dedicated to the souls of the dead. However, the very image of a mermaid is, of course, primordially Slavic and developed in ancient times.
The word mermaid is not actually a folk and not the only name of this character, in some areas it is not known at all. In northern Russian villages, mermaids are called jokers (from the jester - "devil"), devils, vodyniks, in Ukraine they are patchworks, patchworks (from the Ukrainian verb los-kotat - "tickle") or mavki. (they "kazychu", i.e., tickle people). Mermaids become women who died an unnatural death, most often girls who drowned or died before marriage, as well as cursed, stillborn or unbaptized children. A man can also become a mermaid if he died during Mermaid Week (usually this was the name of the week following the feast of the Trinity, less often preceding it).How do mermaids look?In Russian literature of the 19th century, not without the influence of N.V. , with long flowing hair. This is how many beliefs describe mermaids, especially in those areas where they believe that dead young girls become mermaids. In Polissya, for example, they still believe in mermaids and believe that mermaids are young beauties with long hair, on which they wear wreaths woven from herbs and flowers. Their hair is blond or green, like river sedge. In legends and blades of grass, mermaids look like ordinary people, they don’t have any fish tails. Half-women, half-fish, about whom legends are composed in Western Europe, among the Eastern Slavs were called pharaohs. Mermaids have motionless or closed eyes, like those of a dead man, cold hands, a pale face, an almost transparent body, white clothes (white in Ancient Rus' was the color of mourning), loose hair (unmarried girls were buried with loose hair). Their whole appearance indicates that they belong to another world. However, in the folk tradition there is also a completely different look of a mermaid - a terrible, ugly, shaggy, overgrown hair, humpbacked, with a large belly and sharp claws. Her appearance emphasizes belonging to the evil spirit. Very often, folk rumor endows mermaids with long saggy breasts, sometimes even iron ones, with which they beat people to death. Sometimes a mermaid is represented as smeared with tar or resin and is called a tar. Like other evil spirits, mermaids are prone to shapeshifting - they can take the form of a cow, calf, dog, hare, as well as birds (especially magpies, geese and swans) and small animals (squirrels, rats or frogs). They can turn into a cart with hay, and a shadow that "walks in a column." Mermaids spend most of the year in the water - rivers, lakes and even wells. At the bottom of the reservoirs they have dwellings. According to some sources, this is something like bird nests, according to others - beautiful crystal palaces or halls built from sea shells and precious stones. Mermaids can often be found near the water - they like to sit on rafts, coastal stones, comb their hair with bone or iron combs, wash and wash themselves, but when they see a person, they dive into the water. Many have seen how mermaids wash clothes, beat them with a roller, just like village women, and then spread them out to dry near the springs. They love to sit on the spinning wheels of watermills and dive into the water with a cry and noise. On Trinity week, mermaids move to fields, forests and settle in trees, preferring oaks and birches. They weave wreaths, swing on the branches, lead round dances. Round dances are the most favorite entertainment of mermaids, and where they danced, circles of trampled and yellowed grass are visible, otherwise it stops growing altogether. They also love to swing in trees. Some tales say that they simply swing on flexible branches, while others say that they make swings and lure young men to swing with them in order to destroy them. During the Mermaid Week, mermaids can also be found in "unclean" spaces - on borders, at crossroads, bridges, and in swamps.
Хttp://www.rosculture.ru/mkafisha/arc/show/?id=20624
An ordinary wormwood can save you from mermaids. Her twigs are worn on the chest and when they meet a mermaid they are thrown at her. The mermaid immediately runs away. If wormwood is forgotten at home, it all depends on whether the person has a good memory.
When meeting a person, a mermaid always asks the same question: "Mugwort or parsley?" If the traveler answers: "wormwood", the mermaid shouts in disappointment:
- You yourself will perish! and disappears.
If the answer is the word "parsley", then the mermaid joyfully exclaims:
- Oh, you are my darling! - and rushes to tickle the poor fellow until he dies in cruel agony.
Female characters in Ukrainian mythology. Yulia Emets.
Judging by the legends, Ukrainian mermaids are quite different from their Western European undine sisters and classic antique sirens. In the old beliefs of Ukrainians, there are references to sea people, more precisely, half-fish-half-people, covered with scales, having a long, very flexible fish tail. They are of two sexes and live in the sea, compose and sing beautiful songs in the sea. It was from them that the Chumaks learned to sing their sad ballads.
In addition, among the mythical creatures there are melusines - half-woman, half-fish. Ethnographers believe that beliefs about them spread throughout Ukraine through apocryphal Christian legends about Moses crossing the Red Sea and German and Polish stories about the fairy Melusina. Western European Melusina was more often half-woman, half-snake. According to legend, she became a snake for sins on Saturdays and therefore forbade her own husband to see her on that day. French legends say that Melusina even gave birth to ten children, but when her double nature was revealed, she turned into a winged snake and disappeared.
In Ukrainian legends and beliefs, girls who died before the wedding become half-fish melusines. Melusines can be quite treacherous. Having dulled the vigilance of people, melusins can do much harm to them (according to some beliefs, even eat them).
But female snakes are often found in the tales of Central Ukraine. In one of them, a snake wrapped around the neck of a sleepy boy and then turned into a princess of the stone kingdom. For the fact that the child did not kill her, she helped him all her life and even gave him a snakeskin shirt. In another tale, a guy saves a snake from a burning stack. She turns into a beauty and becomes his wife. But one day, a narrow-minded husband calls her a reptile, and she disappears forever, and their children turn into a nightingale and a toad.
However, according to legend, there is nothing dual in the nature of mermaids, and they are often described as not scaly-tailed at all. Although there are different stories about the origin of these creatures in Ukrainian demonology (beliefs in spirits that harm and help people).
Water nymphs or living dead?
Humanoid creatures-spirits living in water are given special importance in Russian mythology. Every water symbol is a potential opportunity for both good and evil. Water has a dual nature: it can be both a helper and a habitat for dark forces.
Researchers argue that the inhabitants of reservoirs - mermaids - in ancient Slavic mythology are associated with the myth of the Foremother Lada. In the spring, when nature celebrated the resurrection and return of Adonis - Sventovit, they came out of the water and danced around the meadows, fields and forests. Confirmed by the influence of Lada, such creatures more often turned out to be harmless, subject to the peaceful coexistence of man and nature.
But even in ancient mythology, an interesting feature of them is revealed: water creatures are very capricious and often endowed with superpassion. Ancient texts that have survived to this day say that the water in which "water servants" and "water snake queens" live is a sign of erotic burning. Therefore, mermaids were carriers of a feverishly passionate love attack. In the Slavyansk region, to this day, there is a legend about "mermaid hair" - thin, tangled algae, as if without roots. They can braid the swimmer's body, appearing in the water "out of nothing". According to some beliefs, “mermaid hair” predicts an imminent passion (that is, they warn about it), and according to others, they themselves cause crazy love languor in a person.
Later origins have ideas about the evil and unclean nature of mermaids. The Ukrainian ethnographer of the 19th century, Vasily Miloradovich, believed that mermaids were just a kind of "living dead". In folk beliefs, those who died an unnatural death are often called "mortgage dead", which after death do not find peace. Among them were drowned people and children who died unbaptized. Mermaids, on the other hand, are the souls of young women, girls and children - either dead or drowned during the Green Holidays on the mermaid week on Trinity Eve. According to some legends, all dead unbaptized children become mermaids. In our region, there is a belief that a young drowned woman will be a mermaid for 7 years, until her relatives pray for her soul. And they say that mermaids can appear in front of people, turning into toads or rats.
Mavki, Malki and Nyavki
Among these creatures, there are also several types. Stillborn, unbaptized and newborns killed by their own mothers turn into mermaid children. They are also called poterchats, mavks or malks. According to legend, children stolen by evil spirits can also become mawks. Often they are represented as beautiful young women and girls with blond hair (in contrast to the green-haired drowned mermaids), mawok boys have red and curly hair. On the eve of the Trinity, little mavkas fly around the villages in the form of magpies and storks and ask for baptism. According to popular beliefs, in this case, you need to throw a scarf like a cry and give a name, saying: "I baptize you." Only then will the soul of the child find peace. But, if this does not happen to the little mavka until the age of seven, she becomes an evil spirit.
Often, a distinguishing feature of Mavok and Nyavok is a hole in the back, through which all the insides are visible. In addition to beautiful mawok, legends also tell about terrible mermaids living in reservoirs in the thicket of the forest. Their distinctive feature is their huge breasts, which they throw over their shoulders onto their backs. These creatures are very similar to foresters - "forest women" hostile to humans. They know how to copy the voice and appearance of some girl and lure men into the thicket.
There are also legends according to which mermaids become wives of watermen and live with them in whirlpools of rivers and near mills.
"Drop on you, but leave me"
Most beliefs say that mermaids are shown to people on the day of the Holy Spirit and on Nava Great Day before the Trinity. However, in Slobozhanshchina one can find beliefs according to which they appear in the warm season during the periods from the new month to the full moon. Mermaids swing on the branches of trees, comb their hair ("from the sedge"), make amusements and scream like cats. They especially like stagnant water, shallow ponds or slow-flowing rivers. Hiding from people, mermaids prefer to make themselves felt by clapping their hands. Legends say that their body is blue-blue, and their eyes are very shiny.
There is a belief in the Slavyansk region that in the "mermaid places" you can often find strange small footprints on the bottom at dawn, which the water does not wash away for a long time. But attempts to see mermaids and their eldest (or eldest - water grandfather) are fraught with consequences. Mermaids are almost incorporeal creatures, often not even too vicious, but very playful: they attack people, they can tickle to death and drag them into the water. In Slobozhanshchina, there are stories that mermaids can, during random meetings with girls, ask them riddles and, in case of incorrect answers, take the unfortunate ones with them. To protect yourself, you need to carry amulet plants with you: wormwood, lovage, onion, garlic. You can also protect yourself from mermaids by turning your shirt inside out. There is a rather dangerous way of girlish fortune-telling about her betrothed: you need to ask a mermaid about him, but she can jokingly deceive. People also say that in exchange for a curled wreath, mermaids can send a groom.
There are ways to appease mermaids. To this day, on the windowsills in the villages, bread and rolls are laid out to cool. old people say that the steam from bread is exactly what the field mermaids eat. But another custom - to hang a canvas on trees on mermaids' shirts - has almost not been preserved in our time. But there is a sign that few people associate with mermaids today. Egg shells must not be thrown into the water, otherwise the water creatures will get angry and harm. In order to protect yourself while swimming (especially on the "mermaid" days and for the young month), you need to take wormwood with you and say: "Tobi, mavko, shed, and leave me."
If you walk around the "mermaid places" and do things on "mermaid days" that can be postponed until a better time, then the "mav bone" can grow - a hard bone growth on the body, which hurts a lot.
Nowadays, in different variations, you can hear the story of a guy whose girlfriend died and became a mermaid. He was very homesick and wanted her to return, so he went to the field for a young month and lay down near the boundary (mermaids do not run after her). He sees: mermaids are running in the middle of the night, and his girlfriend is on the edge. He grabbed her by the hand, and she told him: "Even though you caught it, even if you don't let it in, we won't be together anyway." And she escaped, because what the mermaid says at such a moment will be.
You may or may not believe in such legends, but mermaid tracks and hair can still be found in our waters.
Folk ideas about Mermaids. A. Doronin.
The origins of the creatures of the oceans and seas, resembling people to the waist and with fish tails, go back to thousands of years of antiquity. The oldest legend existed in Babylon. The god Oannes was called the lord of the waters. Although he lived in the earthly sea, it was believed that he was a native of the Cosmos, who brought with him knowledge for the inhabitants of Babylon. The gods of the sea also appear in the religious legends of Syria, India, China, Greece, and Italy. Even those who did not believe in these gods admitted the existence of strange sea creatures. So, the ancient Greek naturalist Pliny the Elder wrote about "mermaids and naiads": "Sometimes their dead bodies were found on the shore." He confirmed that these are not idle inventions, but real facts.
Mermaid legends have spread all over the world. In old maritime England, the mermaid was a harbinger of misfortune; after her appearance, a sharp storm set in. Fascinated by the wonderful voice of sea beauties, sailors crashed against reefs and rocks...
History keeps a lot of allegedly reliable facts of meeting with mermaids. So, in 1610, several ships entered Newfoundland harbor and saw a strange creature: the face with eyes, nose, mouth and neck was female, and everything else was fish. It tried to climb onto one of the ships. The sailors were so frightened that they refused to swim ashore until the creature was gone. The English explorer Henry Hudson wrote in June of the same year: "In the evening we saw a mermaid. Her back and chest were female, but she was larger than even ordinary men. The skin is white, long black hair. The tail is spotted like a mackerel." In 1723, to put an end to the growing controversy surrounding such observations, the Danish Royal Commission was created. Officials from science and the state wanted her to prove that the rumors about mermaids have a completely ordinary, earthly explanation. Then anyone who argued otherwise could be declared a troublemaker breaking the law. But the opposite happened. The commission not only proved nothing, but the members of the commission themselves saw a strange male creature not far from their ship. It glared at them with anger, snorted, then sank into the depths and never showed up again. I had to declare officially in Denmark that mermaids and mermen exist. Thirty years later, in the multi-volume History of the Nature of Norway, Bishop Eric Pontoppidan wrote: "There will be hundreds of eyewitnesses with an impeccable reputation who will confirm that they have seen such creatures."
In the 19th century, reputable scientific journals, newspapers, for example, "American journal of science", "London times" seriously argued about mysterious aquatic inhabitants. And there was plenty of evidence. Either they observed a girl of bright pink color with long green hair, then their hair seemed light brown. The upper, "human" part of the body usually looked white, and the tail could be red-brown or red-green. Sometimes they amusingly washed their breasts with one hand, but alarmed by a person, they dived into the depths. Among the strange creatures, "men" were also seen. One witness from Wales contemplated such a creature for an hour. The creature's gaze was fierce and wild, it seemed like he was admiring seagulls. Most zoologists believe that everything they see is already known marine animals - walruses, dugongs, manatees (sea cows), turned into mysterious creatures by the power of superstitious imagination. But there are other scientists who convincingly proved that in 75 percent of the evidence, the places of events did not coincide with the areas where the listed animals live. In 1986, the researcher of unknown animals, the founder of cryptozoology Bernard Havelmans wrote: "Only unstudied species of walruses, seals, or, very improbably, unknown forms of primates adapted to the sea can explain all the evidence."
In favor of the fact that water creatures are not a hallucination or a game of imagination, is the fact that they, according to all evidence, do not talk to people and, in other manifestations, do not exceed the average level of animal intelligence. Their "gives out" only an unusual appearance.
But oddly enough, not a single mermaid or at least her dead body has fallen into the hands of scientists so far! Although scientists with their modern technology are difficult to escape even the rarest animals. We are again in the dark. Where are the answers? Where are the new witnesses?
Perhaps the problem is in the questions themselves. Sometimes an experience is so unusual and unique that it is impossible to sum up under it not only a rational explanation, but even a game of the imagination. In Russia, the center of water and mermaids is located in Karelia. So says the famous cryptozoologist, Doctor of Biological Sciences Valentin Sapunov. There is an opinion among his colleagues that the legends about mermen and mermaids are associated with a "snow" man who willingly splashes in the water. Not so long ago, a group of St. Petersburg researchers went to Karelia to the Vedloozero meteorite. The meteorite was not found, but we heard so many stories about mermaids and mermen from the local population! Not less than 20 only from the first mouth. They were (and probably still are!) creatures of small stature, with thin arms and legs, long hair, who like to sit on stones and comb their hair."
The material was prepared by the project "Cult of the Goddess" -
Each blade of grass absorbs a different range of power, so we use some herb for headaches, some for liver disease, some for colds, and so on. But there are a number of herbs that have a very powerful therapeutic effect, their effect is immediately on the entire human body, and not on any separate organ, and, in addition, they regulate the very energy of the body. These herbs have a very pure spectrum of radiation, in which there is practically no black color. There is nothing from the underworld in their energy, there is not even the energies of the dead kingdom, therefore they have a very strong healing effect on a person, as well as the ability to drive away evil spirits. They are called anti-demonic. These are St. John's wort, hyssop (blue St. John's wort), lavender, nettle, wormwood, thistle, dill, Mother of God grass, Ivan da Marya, etc. In order to get the greatest strength from the grass, it is collected at a favorable time for this.
To protect oneself from evil spirits, herbs are used only in the form of incense or water infusions. Alcohol infusions, capsules with dried grass are not suitable for this purpose. To prepare infusions and incense, herbs must first be dried - losing water, they acquire a fiery energy force. A power that increases their ability to drive away evil spirits.
Smoking or incense act on our mind and, purifying our thoughts, drive away possible troubles and misfortunes. They are good because they clean not only the person himself, but also the dwelling.
But if evil spirits have penetrated your body, fumigation will not help you, it will only protect you from a new attack.
If you want to use anti-demon herb smoking to protect your home, add a drop of pine resin to the dry herb and try to carry incense throughout the apartment. Then, when the apartment is filled with the smell of herbs, open a large window or balcony for a few minutes and wish the evil spirits to leave your house: “As the smoke leaves my house, so do troubles, illnesses, etc. get out of my house." Then close the window, the smell of herbs will remain in your home for another day, calling your mind to be free from evil thoughts. We emphasized that the resin must be pine, as it has more cleansing properties.
Aromatic essential oils are not used to expel evil spirits from the house. They act more on our mind than on the atmosphere of the home, although they are also able to free the head from the accumulated negative energy, and their healing effect is, in fact, based on it.
Herbal infusions act entirely on our entire body, cleansing it of accumulated dirty energy. Water allows the power of herbs to freely fill the cells of our body and tune in to receive light energy. The great power of herbs lies in the fact that they are able to form a common energy field, combining their disparate forces into a common mind. When a person consumes an infusion of herbs, he involuntarily connects to the general energy field of these plants. And the less he will resist its effects, the faster the recovery will come. Therefore, never collect withered, weak grass growing in garbage dumps and other dirty places - otherwise, by taking an infusion from it, you will connect not only to the pure energy of the plant, but also to the energy of the place where it grew; do not try to immediately take a “horse” dose of infusion inside - by dramatically changing the energy of the body, you frighten your own body and it begins to resist healing (microdoses work better and more beneficially, it is not by chance that homeopathic methods of treatment are one of the most reliable); by taking the infusion, help your mind - imagine a field of flowering herbs of the kind that you are taking - the cure will go faster. Pouring or bathing in the infusion, do not be too lazy to do this either - the surge of strength will be greater than during the mechanical procedure.
St. John's wort. One of the most powerful anti-demonic herbs in central Russia. This is a herb that absorbs sunlight, acts immediately on the entire human body, cleansing it. St. John's wort helps with depression, fatigue, the first signs of colds. It opens a person's heart, allowing his soul, mind and body to unite into a single whole. All evil spirits are afraid of him, just as they are afraid of sunlight.
St. John's wort gains the greatest strength by mid-July. Previously, it (like all magical herbs) was collected on Ivan Kupala (July 7, according to a new style). St. John's wort is a very proud and whimsical plant that remembers the pain caused to it, so if you cut off the strongest shoots that caught your eye, then the next year you risk not finding it at all in this place.
St. John's wort is not used in smoking, as it does not have the power to drive evil spirits out of the room. It simply very powerfully fills the body with the solar energy contained in it. Therefore, St. John's wort is used in infusions or in aromatic oils, that is, for a direct effect on the body. Previously, in Rus', St. John's wort often replaced tea, which was very good, since in our climate there is a noticeable lack of solar energy, which the body has to extract from other sources.
Hyssop (blue St. John's wort) acts immediately on the subtle energy plans of our body. It is used in incense, incense, infusions, but it gives our body the greatest strength when in contact with the skin. This allows you to quickly clean the human energy from the accumulated dirt. And the rest of the nature of its action is similar to the usual St. John's wort.
Wormwood is the second most powerful anti-demonic herb in Russia, which is now rarely used. Among others, it drives away evil spirits of water origin. Mermaids are madly afraid of her, and in the mermaid week, to protect against their machinations, wormwood was hung in houses, and bonfires were lit near the houses with the addition of wormwood.
The smell of this herb is able to expel almost any evil spirits from the house. Wormwood loses part of its vulture in an aqueous infusion, and it tastes very bitter, so it is often used in the form of incense (besides, the strength of wormwood is very high and it can only be used inside in microdoses).
Wormwood has the ability to restore our harmony with nature, and with a strong concentration of its smoke, susceptible people can begin to see beings of the subtle world - this is the second reason for such a rare use of wormwood. In fact, it is used only by magicians who are not afraid of otherworldly contacts.
