VELES - The God of Shepherds, Magic and Wild Animals

Veles was worshipped in two aspects. As Veles he is god of death and the underworld, god of music, and a sorcerer. As Volos he is god of cattle wealth and commerce. The worship of Veles vanished with the coming of Christianity, but the worship of Volos survived as late as the eighteenth century. The God, Volos, was replaced with St. Blasius, patron saint of domesticated animals. While its original roots are in the Roman Isis Feast, most people in the West , know the feast of Shrovetide as Mardi Gras. Veles's feast day is February 12th.

The Slavic Horned lord, ruled horned animals, earth, waters and Underworld, associated with dragons, cattle, magic, musicians, wealth and trickery. He was imagined to be (at least partially) serpentine, with horns (of bull, ram or some other domesticated herbivore), and a long beard. He has many associations with wealth and the magical forces of the spirit world. The character of Veles is very complex, and is likened to that of Cernunnos.

Along with a so many cultures ancient Slavs viewed their world as a huge tree, with the treetop and branches representing the heavenly abode of gods and the world of mortals, whilst the roots represented the underworld. Veles was seen as a huge serpent coiling around the roots, was ruling the world of dead.

The underworld was supposedly a lovely place, described in folk tales as a green and wet world of grassy plains and eternal spring, where various fantastic creatures dwell and the spirits of deceased watch over Veles' herds of cattle.

In more geographical terms, the world of Veles was located, the Slavs believed, "across the sea", and it was there the migrating birds would fly to every winter. In folk tales this land is called Virey or Iriy. Each year, the god of fertility and vegetation, Jarilo, who also dwelt there during winter, would return from across the sea and bring spring into the world of the living.

Veles also regularly sent spirits of the dead into the living world as his heralds. Festivals in honour of him were held near the end of the year, in winter, when time was coming to the very end of world order, chaos was growing stronger, the borders between worlds of living and dead were fading, and ancestral spirits would return amongst the living. This was the ancient pagan celebration of Velja noc (Great Night), the relic of which still persists amongst many Slavic countries in folk customs of Koleda, a kind of combination of carnival and Halloween, which can happen anywhere from Christmas up to end of February.

SEMARGL - Winged wolf

Semargl or Simargl is a deity or mythical creature in East Slavic mythology, depicted as a winged lion or dog. An idol of Semargl was present in the pantheon of Great Prince Vladimir I of Kiev. It may be the equivalent of Simurgh in Persian mythology which is also represented as a griffin with a dog body.

THE WHITE GOD - The God of Daylight and Everything Good

Belobog is a deity whose historical existence was, and still is, a subject of numerous debates. Belobog, which, translated into English, means White god, is imagined as a counterpart to Crnobog, or Černobog (Black god) and as such represents the light deity of good essentially opposed to the deity of evil.

According to the theory of Peter Kotka, the Slavs accepted Belobog in the period when they lived in the Persian neighborhood (8th – 2nd c. BC). As we know, the Persian religion was dualist in its nature, thus two opposed forces – Ormuzd and Ahriman ruled the Persian universe. The Slavic Belobog would thus correspond Ormuzd, though he was never on such a high place with the Slavs. Furthermore, Kotka presented a Slavic myth in which two opposed forces, just like those mentioned above, were responsible for the creation of the Slavic world, and the forces, of course, were Belobog and Crnobog. Both of these forces were necessary for the creation of the universe, which is, indeed, a principle that could have been taken from the Persians. However, this myth should not be taken for granted since there is a quite different myth about the creation of the universe, and the myth is about a god Rod who created the cosmos from a huge egg.

             However you look at it, the impression that Belobog is more of an abstract principle than a typical anthropomorphic deity stays, which can be seen in the way it was represented by the Slavs. Well, how was this deity represented? The Slavs imagined Belobog as an old man with a long white beard, dressed exclusively in white. As such, he would appear only during the daylight, doing good deeds as he went and bringing people success and happiness. Belobog helped many peasants to finish hard work in the field and he showed many strayed travelers the way out of a thick forest. The general impression of whiteness, light and positively made him an abstract deity, completely different from other gods. This is why he is more likely the very principle of light and goodness wrapped in the form of an anthropomorphic deity, than a god pagans would otherwise bow to.

Whether it is an abstract principle, or a manifestation of the supreme god (Ormuzd or Christian Yahweh), the appearance of Belobog in the Slavic mythology should by no means be ignored. Certain data about the notion of him with the Slavs can be found through the analysis of the name of this deity. Belobog's name reminds us a lot of the names of gods of other pantheons: Baldur, Belunos, Baal etc. All these deities are also of a light and solar nature since their names contain the same root (bal means something light and bright). The very occurrence of Baldur in the Nordic mythology is parallel to the occurrence of Belobog in the Slavic – both seem a bit of a foreign body in their systems, by being different in every possible way from other gods and by making their appearance seem extremely mysterious.  The same rules were applied both to Baldur and Belobog, Baldur was considered to be a Christian creation, wherefore he was even named Hvit Christ, i.e. White Christ. As far as the Serbs are concerned, Belobog's name has, up to now, remained with the people who use it to denote a deity, which can be seen in an old saying “he ate the white god”, used to show that somebody ate very much, i.e. that he ate everything there was to be eaten.

The Fates - "Sudjaje"

The Sudice are the Fates of Slavic mythology. Spirits of judgement that meted out fortune, destiny, judgement and in some cases, fatality, when a child was born. In Czech and Slovak languages, they are called Sudičky. They can also be found in Serbian mythology by the name of Sudice, Suđaje and in Polish mythology known as Rodzanice, Narecznice or Sudiczki. In Slovenian mythology are known as Sojenice and Rojenice.

Three Fates аrе sisters, and they determine the fate  most common third night after the birth of a child. It is believed that on the third night at birth in newborns gather Goddesses Fates and then determine his fate in life. What Fates then resolve, it is believed that it shall be. No one can escape or be saved. Fates determine not only how much time the child will live, but also how he will die.

It is custom to greet the Fates with neat and clean house. Mother and child are also clear . In addition to the child people put bread, wine, basil and a gold coin for the Fates .

Slavic Fates are somewhat parallel in Greek Moira.