How did the Slavs feel about the house?

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

But before the house for a Slav was a dining room, a fortress, and a temple. The house was alive, and caring for it was not limited to simple cleaning. Each person knew that the house has its own magical places, symbolic household items, with the help of which you can get along with the space around you, protect yourself from dark forces, attract wealth, health and joy.

Threshold

They enter and leave the house through the threshold. The ancestors understood that this is not only the boundary between the house and the street, but also between the outer space and the ancestral space in which the family resides. Therefore, they begged the threshold so that people who cross it with dashing thoughts, he made them stumble and leave everything bad outside the house.

In addition, the threshold is also the border between the world of the living and the dead (the ashes of the Ancestors, the oldest in the house, were buried under the threshold, so that they would guard the clan). For this reason, it was forbidden for pregnant women to stand on the doorstep (or at the gate, according to the same principle) for a long time.

Garbage was never swept through the threshold, so as not to sweep out someone from the family. You cannot step over it with one foot shod and the other barefoot - otherwise you will not marry or you will not get married. Also, no things were passed through the threshold and did not give a hand. We remember some of these signs today.

Pokutiye

Traditionally, the pokut was placed diagonally from the stove. There were images of Gods, towels of gods (special embroidered towels for decorating images), household items of great value. There was also a table covered with a tablecloth.

Under the icons hung an icon lamp, which was lit on holidays and during prayer. Pokutiye was decorated with cherry twigs, herbs (roses, cornflowers, bird cherry, mint), later - with bright paper flowers. According to folk tradition, pokut should be “facing the sun,” therefore the table window, near which the pokut was placed, was made to the east.

Starting with the first harvest and the sowing of a new one, a bunch of ears stood at the store, a symbol of prosperity "so that bread is not translated in the house." These ears were consecrated, and the grains from them were added to the wheat, which was sown in the spring field.

The most welcome and important guests were invited to sit near the pokutty. The first baptismal font of a newborn took place near the pokuta, and a person who had left the Obvious World was laid with his head there. At this sacred place, the newlyweds and their gods were also revered. All important events in human life were associated with this home temple.

Not only places were considered alive and magical in the house, but also some important household items, such as a dizha (a container for kneading bread dough), a chest ("screen"), towels, a bed, a cradle, spoons, a broom, needles and many others …

Bake

If pokut is the most sacred place in the house, then the stove is undoubtedly the most mystical. The stove has been revered for a long time, because it gave both heat and the opportunity for cooking and baking bread, and most importantly, fire lived in it, the protector and guardian of the family, a manifestation of Fire-Svarozhich. The stove was kept clean, the girls painted it with flowers. In Ukraine, with the oven, as well as with a woman, a child or images, it was impossible to cheat (“Having said bi, that pich at hati”). Judging by this alone, one can imagine how much cleaner and brighter that ancient ancestral house was than our apartments, from the windows of which in the evenings drunken and sober abuse is often heard. Although most of us do not have ovens, this is not a hindrance in order to inherit such a wonderful example and follow what we say, because we put our strength into this.

Also, Slavic knowledgeable mothers knew that cooking is a real magical act, because the hostess adds not only salt, vegetables, seasonings to food, but also her own mental images, feelings. Therefore, when food was being prepared in the oven, all family members were forbidden to shout and slam the door loudly. And when bread was baked, the door was generally locked so that no stranger would enter (it was believed that this would attract poverty into the house).

House cleaning should start from door to oven, and not vice versa, and the garbage itself had to be burned in the oven: they believed that the energy of the residents was preserved in the household garbage, so they did not throw it out on the street in order to protect themselves from the negative influence of others. Some readers may think that the Ancestors were too fearful and superstitious, but this is not so. The old days are the times of magic, which was a big part of life itself, worldview. Then every woman knew the simplest ways to remove damage, evil eyes and other influences. With knowledge of the matter, she used the most necessary herbs in the treatment and the most important conspiracies for housekeeping. Ways to harm were no less well-known, and at all times there have been and are people who do not disdain them. Therefore, protection was actually needed.

The brownie loves to rest on the stove. In folk legends, there are often cases when he pushed women from the stove who were not averse to lying idle.

An important detail in home magic was the chimney - like a portal between Reality and Pravu. The herbs collected at Kupala were hung in the chimney at night to make them stronger. When they returned from the funeral, they put their hands on the stove and looked into the chimney so that the deceased would not be seen.

The oven was never left empty. They put firewood in it at night so that it would dry out in the morning, or put water to warm it up.

Table

The table in the house has long been a kind of altar. The first thing that was brought into the new house was a laid table with bread on it. Through the table, the young woman passed the handkerchief to the groom, showing her consent. And most importantly, the family dined at the table, and the common meal is a real rite of unity, peace and friendship.

It was impossible to sit on the table, because bread is put on it, and the bread is sacred (some people believed that if a girl sat down on the table, then at her wedding the loaf would crack, and this is a very bad sign). It was also believed that the food left on the table was treated with home spirits, so they did not leave knives, keys and matches there.

Young people did not sit on the corner of the table, otherwise they could be left without a groom or a bride.

The guests were treated only on the laid table.

Dizha

Bread has always been sacred to our Family, survival and well-being depended on it. A lot of labor and energy is invested in one loaf. This is the most lively, beloved and dear creation of our hands, and therefore it is this that we sacrifice to Gods and Ancestors. Accordingly, the container where the magic of the birth of the dough was happening, and then the preparation of the dough itself, was also considered a special item. The new dizha was filled with fresh water and the cow was given a drink. Such a ceremony brought wealth to the house. Only then was it used for its intended purpose. After each time, the dizha was thoroughly cleaned from the inside with onions and salt. Also, there was a popular belief that guys should not look into the DJ, otherwise a mustache and a beard would not grow.

Skrynya

A very important household item was a hide (chest for clothes). She was inherited from mother to daughter. Often it was decorated with carving. It kept the most important thing for a girl - a dowry, which she herself had to weave and embroider: shirts, wedding towels, scarves, bed linen. Jewelry, expensive buttons and other women's "treasures" were also kept there. A charmed potion was also put there, which contributed to the better storage and protection of things. Skrynya as an inheritance was not just a chest, but symbolized traditions passed from mother to daughter, the baggage of knowledge and skills.

Even in the conditions of modern life, we could purchase or order the master a strong chest of drawers decorated with protective carvings, which would then be presented to our daughter or daughter-in-law along with the decoration of the grandmother or our own wedding towel, if life with her husband was successful, for happiness and harmony in the family. We often grieve, they say, the traditions are gone, but wouldn't it be better to resume them right now, starting with your family?

Bed

A very important piece of furniture, of course, was the bed. It was placed in a good place. Such zones were determined with the help of a cat: where she sits, there will be a bed. Also, you cannot sleep with your feet to the door. Women embroidered generic symbols of their husbands, protective signs on pillows and sheets. After all, you need to continue the race, and often a woman brings souls from the clan of her husband to Reality. Garlic, chestnuts, and amber were placed under the bed as protection from evil forces.

Cradle

They took the cradles no less seriously. For girls, the cradle was made of female wood, and for boys, it was made of male wood. They hung it in a place where the child could see the dawn. If the parents wanted the child to show certain abilities, they put the appropriate objects in the cradle.

Under no circumstances should you rock an empty cradle. It is believed that this can greatly harm the child. If a young woman, who does not yet have children, rocks the cradle, it means that she will soon have a child.

A spoon

A lot of beliefs are associated with spoons. Amulets for wealth in the form of spoons were widespread among the people; they were often given to newlyweds. It was believed that you cannot eat together with one spoon, otherwise you can quarrel. If in the evening the spoons are not cleaned and are lying around the house, the tenants will restlessly sleep. You cannot wash dishes (and also take out the trash) after sunset. Also, you cannot knock with spoons, otherwise there will be a quarrel in the house.

Broom

A broom is also considered a magical item. After all, cleaning the premises takes place not only at the physical level, but also at the subtle level. The cleaner the house is, the brighter the energies are in it. And the broom was treated very carefully as a tool for cleansing dirt. Anti-demonic herbs can be woven into it (I remember my grandmother had one broom for the cellar, completely made of wormwood), which will increase the cleansing power. Since the broom is in contact with debris all the time, it should not be placed on the side of the road. They cannot beat anyone, otherwise the "evil" (spirits that bring poverty, misery) or disease will attack a person. The broom must not be burned, otherwise there will be a strong wind. Until now, we ask that we do not be swept, and do not step over a broom. They say that, stepping over a broom, you can get sick.

Needle

Needles were once very valuable. It is now possible to buy them cheaply almost everywhere. And before they had to be made by hand (and working with metal was much harder), and they cost more. Therefore, they were taken care of, trying not to break or lose. If you borrowed a needle, then only with a thread, otherwise the yarn will not give birth and you will be left without a shirt. Theft of a needle was considered a big lie.

How to fill a modern home with life-affirming power

Today we live differently from the ancestors. But this will not prevent us from taking the most valuable, wise and necessary from the tradition that goes into the irreversible past. Many people are skeptical about magic, omens, signs. But imagine that the Slavs have been living on their land for thousands and thousands of years. During this time, everything unnecessary, non-working, untruthful would definitely be forgotten and erased from memory. Indeed, in the culture of each nation, as in the forest, the strongest survive: the most important parables and messages, fairy tales, legends, stories about Gods, but also important landmarks, clues in the form of superstitions, signs, symbols and mini-rituals that were not invented just like that out of boredom, but helped our Ancestors survive and read space clues for thousands of years.

You can throw it into the trash heap. But it can also be used with intelligence, gratitude and love, filling your home with the Slavic spirit, light and harmony, realizing that everything that surrounds us is alive, and from every seemingly uninspired thing, from a threshold, a bed, our faith can make grateful assistant.

And let not everyone have ovens today. But there is a stove and a hood. In a metaphysical sense, it is almost an oven. You can learn how to bake bread for your family yourself (and it's not so difficult) with love and care, and at the same time respectfully treat the oven as the birthplace of a miracle. You can decorate the stove, and the entire kitchen, with Slavic symbols and flowers. Once upon a time, every girl knew how to do this beautifully, and any stove was a work of art and spoke of the author's character, soul and sense of beauty. Make your stove special! The brownie will also like it.

Everyone can embroider signs of procreation on the sheet, and amulets on the curtains. We can easily learn and teach children not to sit down or get up on the table, not to swear in the house, to properly sweep the garbage, and also take note of other useful tips. And then our home will really become a fortress, and a temple, and a real place of happiness, a corner of joy, tranquility and stability in a stormy life, where you will always want to return, regardless of whether it is good or very good abroad and on a visit.

May there always be light, love, prosperity and harmony in your house, and the Gods and the Ancestors gladly come to visit and bless the whole family for happiness.