The symbolism of water among the Slavs

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

Firstly, water for a Slav is what gives life to all living things, because it is with the help of life-giving heavenly water that herbs and forests turn green in spring, it is thanks to it that the crop does not dry out in the field, but blooms, bears fruit and ears. Our ancient ancestors were fully aware of this. By the way, it was from the water that the land was born, brought in the beak of the World Duck, according to one of the ancient Russian myths. Also, Water carries the sacred meaning of purification. A Slav washing in a bath washes away not only physical dirt, but also spiritual dirt - a shell of vice, darkness, hatred. It turns out a rite, after all, the sacred act of rebirth, renewal of a person is performed - like the renewal of the skin and body of a person in a bath, the soul, his aura is renewed. The ablution was performed before important matters - the priest must necessarily wash in the bath in order to perform the rite, the person must wash, for example, before the wedding - first of all, not for beauty, but so that the dark forces do not interfere with the ritual.

The warrior always washed himself before the battle, and after the battle, so that the same forces would not affect the battle. And the third, but far from the last, aspect of the meaning of water for a Slav is its flow. Everyone knows the proverb that you can't enter the same river twice. Many do not understand it - for them the river is this blue line on the map. For a Slav, however, a river is a stream of water - the water has flowed under the bridge and the river is different. That is, the flow of water is a kind of indicator of time. No wonder they say - "how much water has flowed under the bridge since then", meaning that a lot of time has passed. So, flowing river water is a sacred comparison with time - water inevitably flows away, as days, years, centuries do.

Accordingly, the symbols for water have different meanings.

Life-giving water is the water of heaven, or as they like to call it, "the abyss of heaven." It is thanks to her that our ancestors, yes, we see on our dinner table an abundance of breads, vegetables, fruits, meat and dairy products. It is thanks to this water that the plants feed, gain strength - the grass becomes green and juicy, rye spikes, turnip grows as in a famous fairy tale. Rain, watering the field, gives vitality to the plants, fills them with juices. Also, the idea of a cornucopia is associated with heavenly water. The fact is that succulent herbs played a strategic role in antiquity - the cattle had to graze where, and if there is where to graze, then there is an abundance of milk and meat. If it rains, it means that there will be ears of grain on the field and large harvests of vegetables in the beds, which means that our ancestor will have plenty of baked goods and large reserves of vegetables for the winter. Sometimes, therefore, the cornucopia is even depicted as if pouring water. It is also worth looking at the word "rain" itself - does it seem to you akin to the word "Give", one of the names of the great God, the giver of benefits and the progenitor of people Dazhdbog. By the way, the name "Dazhdbog" came from two roots - "dazh" - that is, to give, to do good, to help and, in fact, "god". And in general, rainwater is, in contrast to river, male fertilizing principle.

Quite different water - river water, unlike rainwater, it basically came just from the ground - from springs, springs. By the way, the spring was considered a sacred place - to desecrate it was the same as to desecrate a temple. After all, water is "born" in the spring - coming from the bowels of the earth, it flows from the spring in a thin stream, the stream is connected to another, these are connected to the third - this is how a mighty river turns out. Some springs had miraculous healing properties. It is scientifically proven that some springs flow water enriched with salts and minerals that are very beneficial to health. Since spring and river water flows, it is depicted as wavy horizontal stripes. River water, unlike rainwater, and along with a thread, can act as a symbol of the flow of time and life. The water flows away along with the moments that are forever gone by the past. This is the truth of life … Water is not just fate, this power of what leads, that is, in the water there is a sacred symbolism of fate, something that cannot be avoided, however, as a rule, in a positive sense. In the older Futhark there is a rune "Laguz", "Water". Its value just reflects the essence of flowing water. Here is what the famous researcher A. Platov writes about this rune in his book "A Practical Course in Runic Art" (co-authored with A. Van Dart): and carries you along."

In the Tradition, there are also amazing legends about magical rivers, they will seem familiar to you from fairy tales - this is the Irian milk river flowing out from under the Alatyr stone (which is on the Buyan island) - it symbolizes not something, but the milky way. The Milk River is a poetic representation of the outskirts of our galaxy. Many legends are connected with the Milky Way and the Milky (White) River, most of them with stories about life after death. However, in these stories, there is another river, Smorodina, a fiery river. She separates the Java world and the "great open spaces of Navi" (saying - "Naviy Shlyakh", community "Bor"). The borders of Navi are guarded by the familiar to many, if not all, Baba Yaga (Tempest Yaga).

With this knowledge, many plots of fairy tales become clear - the hero crosses the fiery rivers and gets to Baba Yaga - this is a plot that is somewhat similar to the ancient Greek story about Orpheus and Eurydice. And where did the swan-geese of brother Ivanushka take away from sister Alyonushka? - Vanya died, and his sister rescued him from the clutches of death (recall here the concept of "Clinical death").

The idea of the Kalinov Bridge is also associated with mythical rivers. Kalinov Bridge is a multifaceted and very complex concept. It is associated with the subtle states of the human soul - love, high feelings. In later times, “To meet someone on the Kalinov Bridge” means to love (see the article by VN Vakurov, “Hot Kalina”, the magazine “Russian language abroad”, 1990, No. 4). However, not everything is so rosy. In fact, on Kalinovy Most, the main battle of the human soul between the beginning of Prav and Navi is taking place - a battle with oneself (our life is an eternal struggle). A real person (man) is always a warrior in his soul, a warrior of the spirit, if he is not a warrior, then he is a reptile both figuratively and literally, that is, a snake, a worm. In the battle on the Kalinov bridge, it is very difficult to win a complete victory, to destroy one side or the other, just as one cannot be absolutely kind, absolutely wise - therefore, the heavenly palace of Pravi cannot in any way defeat the forces of Navi.