SVETOVID - God of the visible world and festivities in his honor

Slovenian god of the visible world

The worship of Svetovid or Svantevid has been established among the Baltic Slavs, Rugians and Pomeranians, and the Carantanians in the Alpine region. We encounter him in Middle Europe, and nowhere else.
He was worshipped as Svantevid by the Baltic Slavs - the Rugians and Pomeranians, from the region that was christianized only in the 12th century. He was their highest god, the lord of the visible world. In Slovenian the word means all-seeing one, the root word vid meaning sight.

 His temples among the Rugians were preserved long enough to be recorded by the chroniclers, who report on deities of Pomeranians, or Pomaranian Rugians. The chronicler Hemold (c. *1120 - + 1170) mentions Svetovid in his Chronica Slavorum (I, 52) as Zuantevith, and says about him: "Among many deities of ancient Slavs, Svetovit stands out. He is god of the land of Rugians, effective in fulfilling requests, while other deities are seen as no more than demigods."

The chronicler Saxo Grammaticus, also describes him as the highest god of Rugians. He was god of good harvest, especially the grain harvest. With a good harvest he ensured prosperity for the people. This was represented by the horn of  plenty held in his left hand. His sword indicates, that he was also the god of justice, indicating punishment and protection. The bow held in his right hand indicates that he is also the god of love. The bow does signify war, but is a sign of the god of love when placed in hand of deities, just like the arrow in the hands of Apollo, Artemis and several other deities.

He was a four faced deity, the defender from the forces of evil. One view has it, that four faces represent four seasons. This claim is however contradictory since the god is connected with the summer harvest.
There is less evidence of his worship by Carantanians, the Slavs of the Alpine region. and what there is, is indirect, since the Christianization process began much earlier in this region,  but the pointers are compelling.
There are general indications that among Carantanians pagan gods were adapted and absorbed into the christian system of beliefs, and so remained close to the way the local people experienced life and nature that gave them sustenance.
There are signs that worship of Svetovid, the all-seeing god and god of harvest, was preserved among Carantanians in the figure of  St. Vid or Št. Vid / St. Vitus, an exceptionally popular saint in Slovenian lands. There is first of all the evidence of the name. It would be reasonable to assume that the old pagan Svetovid merged with the saint Vid. This is supported by the popularity of the saint in Slovenian territories. Many churches are dedicated to him, and many place names as well. In addition,  the prevailing opinion among Slovenian ethnologists is that churches tended to be built in places where pagan temples had stood.
Further evidence is provided by the festivities around the time of the saint’s name day, particularly festivities connected to celebration of harvest. There are also links to Svetovid worship in many surviving customs and traditions.The folk tradition of healing, particularly of sight, was connected to the saint and points to the strength of this worship. 

It is a characteristic of Slovenes and Croatians that they pray to Sveti Vid  in cases of eye disease. The explanation might lie in the meaning of the word – “vid”, which means sight in Slovenian. Thus the word vid and the name of the saint - Vid are identical. Further, the word vid is also part of the name Svetovid. So it is reasonable to suppose that prayers for good sight were also directed to the pagan predecessor of St. Vid. In some places, particularly Bela Krajina in south-eastern Slovenia, the custom was to gather dew before sunrise. It was collected with a piece of cloth, the moisture was then squeezed out and used as eye medicine. 

Niko Kuret, eminent Slovenian ethnologist believes that christian missionaries had successfully replaced the old Svetovid with the Christian Saint Vid. According to the old Julian calendar they celebrated his name day on the day of summer solstice, the 24th June, when the bonfires are lit. From 1582 onwards, in accordance to the new Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated a few days earlier, on the 15th June. Just how remarkable must have been the so-called Vidovo or St. Vid Day festival testify, says the ethnologist, the remnants of old customs, still maintaining their hold on the great feast days.

JARILO - The God of Spring,Harvest and Defender of the righteous people

Jarilo alternatively Yarilo, Jarovit, or Gerovit, is a major male Slavic deity of vegetation, fertility and spring, also associated with war and harvest.

Jarilo was a son of the Slavic god of thunder, Perun, his lost, missing, tenth son, born on the last night of February, the festival of Velja Noć (Great Night), the pagan Slavic celebration of the New Year. On the same night, Jarilo was stolen from his father and taken to the world of the dead, where he was adopted and raised by Veles, Perun's enemy, He is celebrated with song and dance in festivals held in late spring and early summer.

Jarilo and his sister Morana (goddess of winter & death), children of Perun, are both associated with the end of winter and the beginning of spring

Sun Wheel (swastika) is symbol of Jarilo

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.

Horses of the Slavic gods

Every Slav God was to some extent a warrior God and as such, most of them had horses. Horses often attributed with supernatural powers. These mythical horses had a strong connection with the Moon and the moon cult. They often had two very different “faces” one regular, like a completely normal horse and a second, divine, powerful and miraculous which they mostly used at night.

Svetovid’s white horse

At nightfall,the mighty Svetovid saddles his winged horse and pursues the enemies of the Slavs. Many things suggest that he had two horses, white one for day time and a black one for night time but those are probably two “faces” of the same magical animal. That’s backed up by ancient writings about priest guardians of his white horse in his temple of destiny. That white horse just looks like a regular horse but nobody except for the priests is allowed to touch him and it’s a sin to pluck a single hair from his mane or tail. Only the high priest can use that horse and only to predict the future in Svetovid’s name. Even though this horse is carefully guarded, there are records of him being exhausted, sweaty and muddy in the morning and it’s believed that Svetovid rode him that night.

This white horse was also used in predicting the outcome of upcoming wars. Priest would put three rows of spears on the ground outside of the temple and then bring the saddled white horse. If he crosses the spears right leg first, the outcome will be good but if he crosses left leg first, that was bad luck and the war had to be postponed. The horse was saddled and the high priest himself took him empty saddled across the spears which means that it was believed that Svetovid himself is riding him at that moment and that he is communicating with them through horse’s movement.

Magical horses in folk songs

Similar unusual horses are often found in folk tales and songs of the Slavs. Even though their owners are humans now they are usually great heroes or of strange origin. In the Serbian folk song Zenidba Kralja Vukasina (King Vukasin’s Wedding) we find out that his rival Momchil has a winged horse Jabuchilo. Jabuchilo’s wings can be only seen at the break of dawn or when his master orders him to show them. That horse is very similar to horses of the Slav gods, which he probably was in earlier version of the song.