Double Kolovrat Stickers and Canvas Prints

Stickers and Canvas Prints

A canvas print is the result of an image printed onto canvas which is stretched, or gallery-wrapped, onto a frame and displayed. 

Canvas prints are often used in interior design, with stock images, or customised with personal photographs.

 If you like something from these pages, you can place an order simply sending me mail so we can make a deal.

 vladimir.maticmail@gmail.com

Kolovrat pendants set

Kolovrat pendants set

The Kolovrat (lit.: “turning wheel”) is a symbol from pre-Christian Slavic religion. It was dedicated to the Sun God Svarog and often called “The wheel of Svarog.”

Kolovrat or kolowrat (also Colovrat, sometimes anglicized as Collowrath) means spinning wheel in a number of Slavic languages (contemporary or archaic meaning): “kolo” means “wheel”, “vrat” is the stem for “turning/spinning/etc.” 

It may also be an archaic form of the East Slavic word kolovorot for “brace”.

It represents strength, dignity, sun and fire, Life, death, rebirth, the turning of the wheel, the journey of the sun, the changing of the seasons. It is a symbol of secular as well as spiritual power. The kolovrat represents the endless cycle of birth and deaths. Each turn of the wheel is a cycle of life in our world.

This Kolovrat pendant measures approximately 45mm in diameter and has bale that will accommodate a necklace or a ring for keys. 

All pendants are made of galvanised metal and are very durable.

 If you like something from these pages, you can place an order simply sending me mail so we can make a deal. vladimir.maticmail@gmail.com

Svetovid's Kolovrat pendants set

Svetovid's Kolovrat pendants set

Double Kolovrat (double spinning Sun wheel) reflects the eternal connection of Jav - the physical world we live in, and Nav - the spiritual world .
Constant turning and interaction of these two worlds demonstrates their strong spiritual connection. Together they form Prav - heavenly law that was left to us to follow by the pride and glory of our ancestors and the Gods.

 If you like something from these pages, you can place an order simply sending me mail so we can make a deal. 
vladimir.maticmail@gmail.com

SVAROG -Grandfather of the Gods, Creator

We praise Svarog, Grandfather of Gods who is to whole Gods' kin forefather and Creator of everything living, eternal spring that flows in the summer and everywhere and in winter and never it freezes...

( From the Book of Veles Plank 11/a)

Svarog is the God Creator.

Great god of blacksmithing, law and fire.

The origin of Svarog’s name can be traced to the language of Indo-European people, that is to say Sanskrit. Although an exact link has yet to established, some theories suggest the name comes from the Sanskrit word ‘Svarga’ meaning the sky or heaven. Another theory suggests Svarog’s name came from the Indo-Aryan word ‘svar’ meaning the sun, although this theory is discounted by some as the Slavs had possessed a different word for the sun at the time.

As of this writing, the details of Svarog are few. There is some

Svarog had fathered Dazhbog as well as several other gods, these being Perun, Svarozivic, Stribog, Semargl, and Radogost. It is generally believed that Dazhbog and Svarozivic are the same god, as the book of Kolyada mentions Dazhbog’s birth during the striking of the Alatyr-stone, but Svarozivic, who has been attributed to nearly the same aspects as Dazhbog was not mentioned.

The birth of Svarog’s sons is described in the Book of Kolyada’s myth of the creation of the mortal world, one of several myths involving Svarog. The myth states that a great rock, the Alatyr-stone, was brought from the depths of the ocean by a great duck. The rock possessed great magical powers and for this the duck had wanted to hide the stone in it’s beak. Upon finding the duck, Svarog uttered a phrase which caused the stone to grow in size and eventually become too large for the bird to carry.

Soon the stone had become a great mountain and later a center of knowledge of the tales of the gods (vedas) and a mediator between god and man. But upon seeing this, Svarog had decided that no man must know of the stone. With this, he struck the stone with his hammer, but he was only successful in creating sparks. With these sparks, the ratichi (celestial warriors, that is to say gods) were born, this included Semargl, the great god of fire. Because of this, the mighty winds rose, thus creating Stribog, the god of the wind.

After this, the duck who had previously carried the stone conceived a great black snake. The snake, sent to end the stone, crept up to it and struck it to the ground. the stone fell from the heavens and eventually came to be in the land of the mortals (The exact spot was said to be Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus mountains).

The impact of the drop had sent black sparks across the world, with this the dark forces of the world were born. Now Semargl had begun to fight with the snake and it’s troops, but he was outmatched and soon the sun had been blotted out by the snake and the world had been overrun by it’s minions. Defeated, Semargl ascended to the heavenly smithy, followed closely by the great snake. Seeing this, Svarog grabbed the snake’s tongue and tamed it so that it may plow the fields of the earth, whilst sending it’s minions to the underworld.

following this great victory, a half-horse by the name of Kitovras (Known to the Greeks as Chiron) constructed a temple around the stone with the most sacred area in the temple, an altar, being the place where Svarog spoke with man. The myth mentions it was here where Svarog taught man how to make food with milk and cheese curds, which is why the Slavs considered such a meal was a gift from the gods. Since then, this stone has been sometimes attributed to Svarog and in this way he is seen as the creator of the mortal world.

Meanwhile, Svarog had also created the blue Svarga, a land in the heavens where it was said the acnestors of the Slavs would live after death (which is contradictory considering the fact another myth states the souls of the dead would go to the land of Nav, an underworld of sorts. It is a possibility that these two concepts were influenced by separate mythologies, that is to say the Norse and Greek ones, respectively. It is not unlikely, as this conflict of mythologies had been seen before in other parts of Slavic mythology). It was believed the stars of the night sky were the eyes of the grandfathers, who look down from the Blue Svarga upon the Slavic people’s earthly affairs.

Svarog, unlike Veles, does not create the material world with words or magic, but rather his hands. He cared about the Slavs, giving them fire for the cold and to cook food as well as the Sun-Ra (sun) which later became the word for joy (Radost). He also came to the earth to plow the fields and gave the Slavs several gifts. The first, an axe of which to defend their native lands from enemies and the second being a bowl to prepare sacred drinks and the third being tongs of which to create forged weaponry. Finally, his last and possibly most important contribution was the creation of the two circles of time, one of the ground and one of space.

Most commonly, Svarog was thought to be part of the trinity of creator gods, Triglav, among Dazhbog and Perun. Although besides this, the way in which Svarog was honored by the Slavs is not known, nor are any other details on his appearance or personality.

As Christianity began to take hold in Eastern Europe, the idea of Svarog was replaced by Saint Damian, Saint Cosmas and Michael the Archangel. Although paganism was being replaced by Christianity, many were reluctant to give up their old traditions which is why so many attributes of the pagan gods were given to Biblical characters or saints.

SVETOVID -God of Light ,Sun and Protector of the realm

God Svetovid is also known under other names, depending on the particular Slavic tribe: Svyentovit, Svantovit, Swietowit, Svevid or simply Vid. Svetovid was main deity of Baltic Slavs and his cult is highly connected with fortress Arkona, located at Ruyan (Rugen) Island, which was once considered Holy land of the Slavs. The bulk of data about Svetovid comes from this ancient Slavic sanctuary.

Svetovid was protector of the arable lands and the God of the sun and light for those who believed in him. And for all others he was a god of war, destruction and defeat.
The last known temple of Svetovid was on Ruyan Island.

In the center of Arkona was temple of god Svetovid surrounded by two wooden fences. The temple was also made of wood, like all other Slavic temples, so today we have almost no remnants of these buildings. It was highly decorated with carvings and paintings. The size of temple was 20x20m and in inner part of building was statue of god, 8m height, also made of wood. Svetovid had four necks and four heads, which represented small pantheon of main Slavic deities: Perun, Svarog, Lada and Mokos.
In his right hand he held horn made of different kinds of metals. This horn was filled with wine or nectar and according to the quantity of liquid in it, the priest predicted future of the land. In the left arm he held a bow. In possession of Svetovid was also a massive sword made of silver. The body of statue was with carvings divided in three parts. The upper part symbolized the spiritual world, middle was material and the lower part symbolized hell.

The sanctuary of Svetovid in Arkona was destroyed in the year 1168 by Danish king Valdemar.

Once per year, during the harvest period, in front of a temple, people sacrificed parts of animals, mostly heads of domestic animals. This was also a great religious feast in which many people took a part. The priest would then predict abundance or scarcity in the upcoming year and pray to Svetovid for fortune and prosperity for the whole land.

The day before the feast, the priest would clean the temple with the broom taking care not to breath inside the temple. When he needed air he would simply run to the door to take a breath since he could not allow the human breath to desecrate the sacred.

On the day of the celebration, priest would take the horn from the statue. If the quantity of liquid decreased, the following year would be poor, and if it is the same it promised abundance. The rest of the day people would eat, drink and dance which also was the part of the ritual and celebration of Svetovid.

Svetovid’s temple was also a well-known oracle, where Slavs came to learn their future. In the temple, a white horse was kept, which belonged to Svetovid. No one may touch it except the priest who would take care of the temple. It was believed that God rode on white horse and lead his people in combats against enemies. The white horse was used in prediction of outcome of the approaching battles. Before going to war, in front of the temple priests would set the triple row of spears and horse was taken to cross over them. In case the horse started with the right leg then it was considered that outcome would be favourable. And if he started with left then war would be postponed. The temple possessed a great treasure. Slavs were obligated to give the part of their harvest to the temple as well as prey they seized by robbery.

There are a lot of theories about the exact meaning of Svetovid’s name. Some think that name is combination of words “svet” which means saint and word “vit” which means hero, knight. This way Svetovid’s name would mean St. Hero or St. Knight.

Others think that word “vid” means light, so the name can be translated as Saint or Holy light. But the closest is the theory where word “vid” is translated as world, and “sve” as all, everything, entire. According to this, Svetovid is God who sees everything and knows everything. As a confirmation of this is a fact that Svetovid is presented as God with four heads turned on the four directions of the world. So he was the one who observed the universe, saw and heard everything.

DAJBOG , DazdBog, Dazbog is also a Giver-God

   DazBog is a god of the Sun, flame and rain. Dazbog is also Giver-God  .

The first part of the name is “daj” – a form of the verb to give, while the second part “Bog” means God. But what did DazBog actually give? It is possible that giving refers the Sun and sunlight which is essential for many natural processes. The Sun was also very important to the Slavs. It was the source of life and was always considered to be a positive force. The Sun gave life to the Earth, and the god who gave it was therefore DajBog. DazBog actually stands for the Sun disc.
            In all surviving medieval texts concerning the Slavs, Dazbog is always mentioned at some point. His name was written down by Roman, Greek and Russian chroniclers who wrote about old Slavic creed. Helios from Greek texts was translated into Slavic as Dazbog. In the Malalin manuscript dating from the 6th century Helios was also translated as Dazbog. The Russian translator tried to tell a story set in Egypt, but he substituted Greek gods for Slavic. Dazbog is also mentioned in the Spanish Code, an epic telling about Igor’s quest and many other things. Vladimir the Great put statues of seven gods in front of his palace in Kiev, and among them was Dazbog’s statue.
           

To a family he was a protector of the house’s fireplace and its fire, man’s basic necessity for survival during the winter, and an indispensable help in performing everyday work. But flames could be cruel and turn against men, and take them to the underworld or destroy their property. Flames’ benevolence was crucial to survival, and many rituals were therefore related to them.
            DazBog was definitely the god of rain, too. One of his names was DazdBog, and “dazd” in many Slavic languages means rain (Slovak, Czech, Russian, Polish…). The rain was important because harvests depended upon it. In times of drought many rain invoking rituals were performed.
            We know that the Slavs addressed their gods as their equals and that they considered themselves gods’ descendants. To be more precise, they thought of themselves as Dazbog’s grandchildren, or his lineal descendants. DazBog was one of Svarog’s sons. It is not certain how many sons Svarog had, but Dazbog was almost beyond doubt one of them. Some authors mention only two – Svarozic and Dazbog (Vyacheslav Vsevolodovi and Vladimir Toporov), while others mention Perun, Svetovid, Dazbog and Veles as Svarog’s sons, and they refer to all of them as a group - “svarozici” (little Svarogs). Be that as it may, Dazbog appears in every combination.
           

During the day, the Sun was in the sky giving out light, while at night it was in the underworld. Actually, every morning DazBog would set out on the journey across the sky riding a white horse or riding in a carriage, and in the evening he died or went to the world of the dead, only to come to life again next morning. 

The Serbs more than any other people imagined Dazbog as a lame old man, dressed in animal skins, usually bear skin, accompanied by a wolf. The wolf actually stands for his animal incarnation, or his primary shape that did not cease to exist after Dazbog turned anthropomorphic. The wolf became a servant, and often a messenger as well. Although his basic form was anthropomorphic, Dazbog frequently changed his shape, and his earliest wolf form remained his symbol. As the Serbs considered themselves his descendants, the wolf became a sacred animal. In one catalogue of peoples, it is recorded that the Serbs were descendants of the wolf. “Saracen is descended from the boar, Turk from the snake, Tatar from the hound, Serb from the wolf, Bulgarian from the bull, Aleman from the eagle…”

            The belief in the power of the Sun was extremely strong among the Slavs. Cajkanovic claims that Dazbog was the supreme god of the Serbs. This is supported by the fact that a Slavic festivity dedicated to the invincible Sun coincides with Christmas Day. Since this holiday was impossible to uproot, it was simply substituted by a similarly important Christian one.
            Upon conversion to Christianity demonic characteristics were attributed to Dazbog. He became the most powerful of the demons and the main opponent of the Christian God. This was possibly due to his appearance of a lame one-eyed old man, dressed in dark bear skin, dwelling in the underworld quite often. We can however opt for the possibility that this was due to the power of Dazbog’s cult that was to be eliminated at all costs. Dazbog’s characteristics were later in Christianity transferred to St Sava, who was also presented in folk tales as a shepherd followed by a wolf. St Sava is also a giver in those tales.

VESNA - The Goddess of Spring and Youth

Vesna was the goddess of spring, and was associated with youth.

Vesna was a very popular goddess among people because she replaced winter and death that is Morena. Morena, however, was the goddess of winter, and this time for the Slavs (mainly northern) was associated with death. In past times winter was characterized by a scarcity of food from various diseases caused by the cold, and then associated with death. Vesna wore the green fields, the meadows, nice weather, favorable to life and work.
With these changes in the nature Vesna brought joy into the homes of the Slavs. The Slavs celebrated spring because it won winter and announced the summer season. As spring symbolized the beginning of a beautiful season, when it bloomed, the nature awoke, all was reborn and renewed life, Vesna had her role as a goddess of youth.

Vesna was one of the sunnier goddesses and was loved by people very much. Vesna represented spring in Slovene mythology and is still the poetic word for spring in the Slovene and Slovak languages.

It is precisely for this reason in particular the Serbs, had the custom of giving the name Vesna to a female.  People, who gave the name Vesna to a daughter, believed that their daughter would be happy and cheerful just like the goddess Vesna, or, as spring. Her name comes from an Indian word vas that means solar, illuminated and shiny. The word vas is located in the root of the name Vesna. This also shows that the deity Vesna was present in the Slavic people even when they were in India, and before they moved to Europe. In particular, Vesna was a model for women. She was beautiful and powerful and around her the wonderful scent spread. In addition to beauty, she is also attributed to the power of the Sun, without which she could not get spring.

Vesna was never alone. She was always accompanied by Gerovit, who watched her constantly, and Stribog, the god of wind and air.

Vesna was also the goddess of victory. She could overcome death and winter, and governed nature. This victory was celebrated by the people according to their customs. According to legend, every spring Stibog carried Vesna on the wings of light and nice breeze. In the duel between Morena and Vesna, the Slavs had always opted for Vesna. The Slavs had the custom to bring the doll Vesna on branches and to burn the doll Morena. This practice symbolically marked the victory of Vesna over Morena. Of course, the victory of Vesna was not definitive, as all cycles were repeated every year. The fight between Morena showed that Vesna had features that were common among mortals, intolerance towards other women, jealousy and the struggle for power.

Vesna is Morana’s opposite. Humans consider it completely good and fond of all people. Even though both goddesses as such are beautiful, Morana is pale and in a way represents beauty in decay while Vesna’s rose cheeks and luscious looks represent spring. People fear Morana and adore Vesna.

They don’t even exist in the same place at the same time. Only when Morana and her winter leave, Stribog brings Vesna on “wind’s wings”. In this context, Stribog was called “that who take one to bring another”. Vesna represents the coming of life after winter hibernation and the return of light after a period of darkness.

Polish Slavs called Vesna Devana with the added “title” of the goddess of fertility and sometimes even the goddess of the hunt. Apart from Vesna and Devana, the same goddess was also known as: Zhivana, Zhiva, Siva, Diva, Deva, Devica, Danica etc. The name Lada is a lot more mysterious than the ones mentioned just now. After Slavs converted to Christianity, Vesna’s domain was split between St. Petka and Virgin Mary.