Slavic ornaments: supernatural amulets. Slavic symbols and their meaning

Cross of Lada-Virgin— A symbol of Love, Harmony and Happiness in the family, people called it Ladinets. As a talisman, it was worn mainly by girls in order to have protection from the “evil eye”. And so that the power of Ladinets was constant, he was inscribed in the Great Kolo (Circle).

Ladinets, also known as Harmony of the Feminine, is a feminine Amulet that brings the feminine essence to harmony. Calmness and joy in your soul are immediately reflected in your appearance - you become more beautiful and attractive, and most importantly, healthier.
The amulet gives peace, joy and awareness of oneself as a Woman.

The red ray remains unchanged in any case, the color of the second ray changes depending on the zodiac sign.
Fire - Aries, Leo, Sagittarius,
Water - Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces,
Earth - Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn,
Air - Gemini, Libra, Aquarius

For the element of Earth - classic black (many people embroider dark green).
For the element of Fire, black is also used (many people embroider dark brown).
For the element of Air - blue.
For the element of Water - blue or turquoise.

Ladinets is usually embroidered in combination with roses.

A girl or woman who was given the Ladinets or Harmony of the Feminine amulet must wear a skirt and dresses for 40 days after receiving the gift!!! Even at home you need to wear robes or sundresses, trousers, shorts, etc. it is forbidden! This also applies to your loved one!!! It is very important!
Ladinets is also a popular and simplified name for the “Kolo-Ladnik” amulet.
Ladinets is a pair to Kolyadnik (Rodovich). Together they personify the feminine (Ladinets) and the masculine (Kolyadnik) principles, and form a heavenly family.

The Slavs called the Goddess Lada the great Mother Goddess, or the Mother in Childbirth. It is Kolo (the circle, the feminine principle) and the 8 elements (the symbol of infinity) that emphasize the feminine nature of the amulet, the harmony and embodiment in eternity of all living things.
Kolo-Ladnik or Ladinets can be seen paired with Kolyadnik inside the family home - these are symbols of the giving and receiving principle, they personify the unity of a man and a woman, and are swirled in a whirlwind of solar movement, which is embodied in 2 amulets.
Ladinets is given to a woman, regardless of her marital status. If Ladinets is worn by an unmarried girl, it reveals femininity, feminine qualities and character traits in her. Ladinets will help a married woman give birth to healthy children, promote family well-being, and maintain Peace, Harmony and Harmony in the house.
The Lada Cross of the Virgin Mary (Ladinets) is a Symbol of Love, Harmony and Happiness in the family. This amulet was worn mainly by girls in order to have protection from the “evil eye”. In order for the strength and power of Ladinets to be constant, the amulet was inscribed in the Great Colo (Circle).
If there is a Ladinets amulet in the house, Trouble will never befall it. Traditional colors for this pattern are blue and emerald green.
When to embroider: 10th, 14th lunar day.

Woman with raised palms: Makosh, with lowered: Lada.

Most often they are depicted with deer on their sides. These goddesses were identified with two northern constellations - Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. As you know, in Rus' these constellations were previously called Losin.

LIVING CREATURES

1) Bull is the sign of Veles.

2) The wolf is the sign of Yarila.

3) Raven - a sign of wisdom and death, Veles.

4) Tree - a sign of life and fertility; or - the Universe (World Tree).

5) The serpent is a sign of Earth, wisdom, Veles. Connected with the Lower World.

6) Horse is a sign of the Sun, Solar Gods.

7) Swan is a sign of Mary, death, winter.

8) Bear is a sign of Veles.

9) Reindeer (important) or elk - a sign of the Goddesses of Fertility (Rozhanits).

10) Eagle - sign of Thunder, Perun.

11) Rooster is the sign of Fire, Aguni.

12) Falcon is a sign of Fire, Aguni. There is an opinion that the “trident” (the coat of arms of the Rurikovichs and modern Ukraine) is a stylized image of a falcon in flight.

13) Cuckoo - a sign of life, Alive.

14) The goat is a sign of fertility, fertility.

15) The pig is a sign of fertility, abundance.

SIGNS

1) A wavy line is a sign of Water. Rain is depicted by vertical lines, rivers, underground waters - by horizontal lines, "heavenly abysses" - by horizontal lines.

2) Gromovnik (six-pointed cross in a circle or hexagon). Sign of Thunder (and Perun). Used as a talisman against lightning; is also a military amulet.

3) A square (or rhombus) divided by a cross into four parts - (plowed field). If there are dots inside, the field is sown. These are signs of Earth and fertility.

4) Kolokres (cross in a circle). The sign of the Sun, a barrier and aversion to evil, a sign of closure.

5) Krada (“lattice”) is a sign of Fire. Krada is a sacrificial or funeral pyre.

6) Cross (equilateral cross: straight or oblique) - a sign of Fire (and the God of Fire - Aguni).

7) Month - Sign of the moon, month. The “lunar” pendants are known.

8) A cockscomb with seven protrusions is a sign of Fire.

9) Horn of plenty. A sign of wealth, abundance.

10) Yarga (swastika). Otherwise, it's a whirlwind. There are a huge number of style options. Yarga is the sign of the Sun (and, accordingly, the Sun Gods: Khorsa, Dazhdbog, etc.).

Based on the direction of rotation (salt/anti-salt), the sign of the light Sun (sun of Yavi) and the sign of the dark Sun (sun of Navi) are distinguished.

The Sun of Reveal is a beneficial, creative Power; The Sun Navi is a destructive Force. According to Slavic myths, after sunset the Sun illuminated the Underground (Nav), hence the name.

We know that the Sun is not under the Earth at night, but it is difficult to doubt that the Sun has a destructive aspect... There are two interpretations for determining the direction of rotation of a sign; the traditional one, as far as I know, is this: the ends of the rays are bent against the direction of rotation.

11) A tree (most often a Christmas tree) is a symbol of the interconnection of everything in the world, a symbol of long life.

12) Spiral - a symbol of wisdom; if the color scheme is blue-violet - secret knowledge. The most powerful aversive sign for all dark entities of the shadow world - if the color is red, white or black.

13) Triangle is a symbol of man; especially if accompanied by small dots or circles on the apex side. Symbol of human communication.

Even 100 years ago, while studying embroidery, V. Stasov noted: “among the peoples of the old world, the ornament never contained a single extra line, each stripe had its own specific meaning here...

This is a complex language, a consistent melody that had its main reason and is intended not only for the eyes, but also for the mind and feelings." This is an invaluable amulet that has been passed down from generation to generation.

A little about the technique of embroidering Slavic ritual clothing.

The meaning of the main symbols of Slavic ritual embroidery, the principle of transmitting positive energy through embroidery.

In ancient times, only girls embroidered clothes, since they could not do anything in the field. The earth, as a manifestation of feminine energy, was supposed to be cultivated only by women with children.

It was believed that seeds sown by a girl simply would not germinate, since she did not yet have the power of fertilization.

In Slavic families, girls sewed and embroidered, old women cooked and looked after children, and mothers worked in the fields and did other housework.

A girl preparing for marriage had to embroider wedding towels, holiday towels, and shirts. By the time of her marriage, she had already prepared clothes for the whole family.

Shirts, embroidered by caring hands, were passed on by inheritance, first to children, then to grandchildren. Such clothes served as a talisman for the whole family.

Girls were taught to embroider starting from the age of three, thereby instilling patience, diligence, perseverance and understanding of family symbols.

Correct embroidery requires the absence of tangled threads and knots on the reverse side, that is, correct embroidery should be harmonious.

The front side of the embroidery symbolizes a harmonious world, and the back side symbolizes our attitude to this world. Clothes with knots are allowed to be worn only by ignorant people who do not believe in the sacred meaning of embroidered clothing, this is the varna of workers, for them spirituality does not matter, they realize the energy of the lower chakras.

The main technique for embroidering ritual clothing is the cross, which symbolizes vital energy, protection, and connection with the world of ancestors. The cross stitch technique includes embroidery with alatyrs, that is, a double cross, and perunichs, that is, a thin cross.

Clothing for warriors and hunters is embroidered with a double cross, designed to protect a man in extreme situations.

Embroidery is a kind of structured matrix, a reflection of the Universe and its divine images.

The Goddess Makosh or Earth is embroidered in the form of a square, rhombus or rectangle. The rhombus is also a symbol of family, one's home, one's ancestors. Unlike a man, for whom the whole world is his field of activity, a woman’s field of activity is her home, which she must fill with energy.

The element of air was conveyed in the embroidery by tick-birds flying away to warmer lands, just as our ancestors fly away to Iriy, in order to then incarnate again and return to their family.

The element water was depicted by meanders, wavy lines, broken lines, both horizontal and vertical. Horizontal lines meant earthly water, which in legends and myths was called the Smorodinka River. The Smorodinka River separates the world of Navi and the world of Yavi.

Vertical lines are a symbol of the flows of divine energy descending to the earth.

Fire is a symbol of light, warmth, life. There is an internal and external manifestation of the element of fire. The internal manifestation of the element of fire is fire in the hearth, the external manifestation of the element of fire is the sun.

The element of fire is a symbol of life, light, warmth. There is an internal and external manifestation of fire. The inner is the fire of the hearth. The external is the sun. Our ancestors considered the circle to be a symbol of the sun. The sun of Trypillian culture is a spiral twisted in a circle.

Solar energy was also symbolized by a cruciform Kolovrat and an equilateral cross, showing the sun in its manifestations: summer and winter solstices, autumn and spring equinoxes. Another meaning of Kolovrat is a symbolic display of the solar system and galaxy.

Our ancestors used the spiral symbol not only in embroidery, but also in the construction of dwellings, which were usually located in a circle. In the center of this circle there was a temple where people gathered for various celebrations and veneration of gods and ancestors. In this case, the spiral symbolized the unification of the people into a single whole.

The main patterns that are used in traditional Slavic embroidery: meanders, geometric patterns, floral patterns, zoomorphic patterns, anthropomorphic patterns.

The main motifs of embroidered towels and clothing: alatyr - an eight-petalled star that brings love, peace and harmony to the house; bereginya - a woman with her hands lowered or raised, symbolizing female wisdom and motherhood. Bereginya is a symbol of Mother Earth Mokosha and her daughter Lada.

A few more plant motifs that our great-grandmothers used to embroider women’s clothing: grapes - a symbol of connection with the ancestors of the family, a symbol of fertility; a rose that reveals feminine charm and attractiveness; viburnum is a symbol of girlish purity, health and happiness.

Oak embroidered on men's clothing symbolized masculinity, fortitude, honor and courage.

A knowledgeable woman can heal with the help of embroidery by passing divine energy through herself while embroidering. The canvas on which the embroidery is applied symbolizes the world of Reveal, the embroidery itself is information emanating from the world of Pravi, which the embroiderer receives from her gods and ancestors.

The thread is literally the thread of fate; if it gets tangled, then this indicates the confusion of the embroiderer’s thoughts, that she needs to cleanse herself before embroidering further.

The needle is like a magic wand that makes all wishes come true. While holding the needle, the embroiderer brings all her fingers together, concentrating the energy at the tip of the needle. All this is the magic of embroidery.

Before you start working with ritual embroidery, the needle must be spoken. Putting the needle on your hand and covering it with your other hand, we call upon the Living Mother and the Light of the Most High Family.

Feeling the flow of energy passing through the top of the head and the warmth spreading throughout the body, we merge with the needle into a single whole, only after that it will become a magic wand, a conductor of divine energy.

To enhance the healing energy of embroidery, it is recommended that while working on a thing, imagine the image that we want to embody, the image that we want to put into a structured embroidery matrix. During embroidery, the memory of the family awakens, the memory of past incarnations.

A spell that is used to charm a needle: I spell my needle - for health, for joy. May my thoughts come true, may all those images in life come true. Let it be so forever and ever, like the eternal stone Alatyr.

An embroiderer of ritual clothing must have a set of enchanted needles; she has no right to pass them on even to her daughters. It is best to store the needles in a piece of clean white cloth, which cleans the needles and removes negative information.

You cannot use a hoop to embroider ritual clothing and towels, since neither good nor bad can penetrate the circle, that is, the energy of Zhiva ceases to nourish the images that are embroidered inside the circle.

In addition, the movement of the needle from top to bottom symbolizes the world of Navi, and this changes the whole meaning of ritual embroidery.

The cross stitch technique has its own principles: we begin to embroider to the left, laying the left-sided feminine energy. Returning to the right, we lay down the male image.

The magic of Slavic embroidery works regardless of whether a person believes in it or not, since all the images used in embroidery were laid down by generations of women who know the secrets of transmitting positive energy.

Knowledge is most often hidden in symbols, images, numbers, notes, letters, patterns. Speech, song, rituals, embroidery, carving are woven from signs and images. Not everyone can know their deeper meaning, but the feeling of harmony, proportion and beauty through creativity is the right steps towards the truth. And anyone can master this.

Solar embroidery, "Deer with the tree of life", - Nevreva Klavdiya Petrovna

Symbolism is a legacy of human history, when people began to express their thoughts, their perception of the world through conventional signs. The study of ancient cult symbols reveals the spiritual world of human societies in the preliterate era. Similar cult symbols and ornamental motifs are widespread. Quite often similar or even identical elements are found among related and unrelated peoples.

Mass migrations of people contributed to the spread of ideas and experience. But sometimes a small tribe of aliens transmitted rich information to the population. Therefore, the migration of spiritual cultural phenomena: language, myths, rituals, religion occurred on a larger scale than the migration of people. It is difficult to trace the history of symbolism. Is this because the images were made from non-durable materials? bark, leather, wood, clay. Most examples of ancient symbolism have come to us from 2-1 thousand BC. e., when there was already a shift away from the use of symbols and they began to be used as an ornament or as sacred signs fixed by custom.

Ancient symbolism is a layering of motifs dating back to different eras, and an interweaving of plots of various ethnocultural origins. It is difficult to establish the chronological sequence and geographical routes of their distribution. And yet, in the exhibits and traditions that have reached us, along with the general picture of the world, there are their own original shades. There are great similarities in the patterns of the East Slavic and Finno-Ugric peoples.

Symbols, signs, ornaments - an amazing book about the life and beliefs of our distant ancestors, the pages of which are mostly lost. And, apparently, what was left was what should have remained, what is eternal.

Ornament is the language of thousands of years; it is older than all works of art. Academician B.A. Rybakov said this about it: “Looking at intricate patterns, we rarely think about their symbolism, we rarely look for meaning. It often seems to us that there is no more thoughtless, light and meaningless area of ​​art than ornament. Meanwhile, in the folk ornament, as in ancient writings, the thousand-year-old wisdom of the people, the beginnings of their worldview and the first attempts of man to influence the mysterious forces of nature were deposited.”

Our material world is currently decorated with both plant and plot ornaments, but the most ancient ornament is geometric.

Rosettes of various types are a favorite ornament in architectural decoration and applied art. The disk served to designate the sun in the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Asia Minor, and Mesopotamia, although it must be borne in mind that in the Bronze Age, a circle, disk and rosette could mean the sky. B. Rybakov believes that the sign in the form of a six-pointed rosette ^ was the result of a combination of a circle, supposedly symbolizing the sun, and a snowflake pattern, supposedly symbolizing the sky. Both the Slavs and Dagestanis depicted a six-petalled rosette on salt shakers, and salt is a product associated with the sun. The rosette wheel is almost always depicted on a spinning wheel.

The Rig Veda says that the sun “rolls like a wheel.” The sun is compared to a wheel in Slavic, Polish and Lithuanian songs. Such a sign can be found on an old boat, cart, chariot, on anything that moves. All European nations with Slavic influence retain the tradition of lighting wheels on Ivan Kupala and launching them from the mountain into the river as a symbol of the fading sun from this day.

A wheel with teeth and a cross signifies the sky, rain clouds and the sun. In the Rig Veda the sun is called the divine eye, in the mythology of the ancient Greeks the sun was represented as the eye of Zeus, among the ancient Germans - Odin, among the ancient Egyptians the sun and moon were represented by the eyes of Horus, among the Romans - by the eyes of Jupiter. But they are all connected with the concept of “luminary-eye”. In this case, the luminary was designated by a circle with a dot and a small circle inside.

Our ancestors felt two principles in the sun - male and female. Feminine is indicated by a circle, masculine by a square or triangle (which is rare).

Spinning wheels with the image of the Universe - the Earth and the Firmament (“white light”)

Sometimes the sun is depicted using a spiral - the movement of the sun across the sky.

Zigzags and streaks can often be a symbol of heavenly water if there is a cross among them

In Ancient Rus', fire was called Svarozhich, and the sun was called the son of Svarog, that is, fire and the sun had the same epithets. The fires lit at the summer and winter solstice festivals symbolize the heavenly fire-sun. This is also confirmed by the fact that there were customs of lighting a wheel at the top of a pole or rolling it down a hill while burning. Ritual fires were lit not only on holidays, but during any disaster in order to appease God, who was embodied in fire and was considered the source of these disasters. In this case, it was necessary that nine different types of wood burn in the ritual fire and that 9 people participate, and the number “9” was associated with the god of the underworld. On These examples show that fire can be the personification of the sun, god, and the underground ruler. The burning of a wheel on a pole is the connection of heaven and earth with fire.

The geometric figures that make up the simplest patterns once carried a great meaning, personifying the forces of nature and being security signs. They decorated all household items, clothing and the house itself.

In diamonds, crosses, squares, and dots, repeatability is observed primarily in certain numbers. Counting and rhythm help to feel and explain the structure of the world. Numbers are elements of a special numerical code with the help of which the whole world and a person can be represented, that is, numbers can be one of the images of the world. These numbers are: 3 - the image of the Absolute, the divine Trinity, three spheres of living space (heaven, earth, underworld), time (past, present, future). The number 4 is an image of integrity, an ideally stable structure: 4 cardinal directions, 4 elements, top-bottom-right-left, 4 seasons. 5 - sacred number - 4 sides + center - balance. The symbol of harmony has become the number 7. Through it, humanity is given 7 colors of the spectrum, 7 notes in music, 7 days in the week. From the product of numbers 3 and 4, the number 12 arises - 12 months, 12 zodiac constellations. Accordingly, all these numbers, and not only in the ornament, are considered lucky.

The number of teeth, diamonds, crosses was necessarily associated with this series of magic numbers or a multiple of them.

The laws of space, the mutual influence of the elements and their connection with man are also reflected in the ornament. Moreover, more often the elements are depicted in their correct combination: fire - air, earth - water. Earthly images were placed below, heavenly ones above. The laws were also reflected in the observance of color (in embroidery, painting). There were no fictitious and unnatural shades, only the colors of nature, and their arrangement in folk costume corresponded to the trinity of the world (the bottom from the ground is darker, and the higher, the brighter the color).

The cross is often found in Slavic arts and crafts. A straight equal-pointed cross is an image of the sun. The terminal cross is associated with earthly fire, which was represented as a type of heavenly fire. If cross-shaped patterns in the center of a circle and square can also mean the illuminated four cardinal directions, then the swastika 4-6-8-1 2rays is always a sign of the rotating sun. And they still call it a bracelet. Kolovorot is an ancient Slavic sign of the sun. It is considered a talisman against all dark forces. The word “kolo” in Russian means “circle”, “wheel”, “svorot” - rotation. The equilateral cross is a sign of justice, goodness, balance. More often it is depicted with tips rotating to the right - this is a sign of active, real justice.

In the design of Russian fairy tales we can often see a symbolic dome - this is a diagram of the sky. Ancestors imagined the sky as a transparent dome, and life underneath it. In the domes, as a rule, there is the letter “Zh”, which was called “lives” - “life” in the Slavic alphabet. The letter is composed of plant weaves, also symbolizing endless life. In the arches you can see scenes from the lives of gods and people, scenes of sacrifices. In the diagram we see Simargl (Semargl).Semargl from the word “seed”. He was depicted as a winged dog guarding crops and seeds. Semargl was also the personification of “armed good,” fiery, always ready to protect peaceful fields. Later, the archaic Simargl began to be called Pereplut. It was associated with the roots of plants and was closely related to the theme of water - mermaids. Under the domes, mermaids were also depicted - winged maidens, at that time they were deities of irrigation of fields, rains or humid morning fogs

Knot weaves are often found in Russian ornaments and the design of capital - red letters. Other peoples depicted the dome of the sky in the form of a circle, with waves or a cross - the sun and rain clouds.

The patterns of the water element are recognizable and varied. The ancient water pattern is geometric; this is a time when people did not know how to draw smooth lines. They especially liked to decorate bowls for water, drinking, wine, and sacrificial bowls with this design. The “running wave” of different inclinations looks rhythmic and especially beautiful. The patterns on the bowls can also be free (Trypillian bowls). The snake theme is also a favorite. Among the Slavs, the snake is a symbol of the first water, spring, and warmth. Seasonal calendars often reflect the image of snakes. Snake means spring, summer, rain. Consider some more examples of water-themed symbolism.

Single, double and triple clouds carrying heavenly moisture were depicted with and without rain. In carvings, such patterns are usually called “heavenly abysses.” Rain clouds also look like a woman’s breasts, because rain was considered heavenly milk, feeding the earth.

All patterns are dominated by the theme of the fertility of the earth. First of all, these are images of Women in Birth, giving harvests and benefits. The bottom of such an image is usually decorated with a seed or sprout.

Among the ancient Slavs, the rhombus was revered as a universal symbol of fertility and childbearing, i.e. a symbol of the feminine principle in nature, inextricably linked with ideas about the Mother-Progenitor, who was also thought of as Mother Nature. In geometric designs, this is embodied in a diamond shape with hooks on the top and bottom vertices. Women simply call it “frog” or “diamond frog.”

With the transition of the Nomadic tribes to sedentary life, pens-sheds, fenced with poles, and log houses appeared. The greatest discovery was made - the principle of fourfold time and space was discovered (four cardinal directions, four seasons). Hence, the ancients associated the rhombus with ideas about the cyclical nature of time, when a person was already aware of the beginning and end of a period; He was also aware of the basic principles of the daily movement of the sun - sunrise, zenith, sunset. As in nature, in human life there are successively periods of birth, flourishing, maturity, withering - old age. Generation succeeded generation, just as nature blossomed and died from year to year.

But the cycle that people live through during their “age” was experienced by nature before their eyes several dozen times. Therefore, the ancient farmers saw in nature only a regular repetition. Not change, not disappearance, but repetition was the determining motive of their consciousness and behavior. And this is conveyed in the image of a rhombus with hooks on the tops.

B. Rybakov, who writes: “Ancient people saw the ubiquitous bone images of female ancestors covered with a rhombic pattern of natural origin, inherent in the very structure of the tusk from which the sacred figurine was carved.

Because of this, the rhombic pattern united two important concepts in the eyes of the primitive hunter: the mammoth (the source of life, satiety, prosperity) and the sacred image of a woman (a symbol of fertility, continuation of life, account of kinship). The rhombus and the rhombic meander themselves became symbols of vitality and prosperity, the first ideogram of Life and Good in the history of human thought.”

On the other hand, for the farmer, the 4 cardinal directions were associated with the sides of his rectangular dwelling. It is known that in the hut the logs in the log house were stacked with the remainder; this remainder looked like a spear, a fork. The Russians even have a riddle: “On the outside there is a horn, on the inside there is a kamola” (izba). With the laying of the first crown, the space was ordered, its isolation and impenetrability to external, evil forces was ensured, chaos was transformed into space (that is, order). It is noteworthy that even when the hut was cut down without a trace, the first crown, on the ground, was always horned. Apparently, the close proximity to the “underworld”, the “house of the dead” required ensuring security from such a neighborhood, from the possible evil “intrigues” of the “inhabitants of the underworld”. Moreover, the earth was given the remains of enemies killed in battles during raids, and the ancient Slavs burned their relatives on a funeral pyre. Timber-type burials are also known. From here it is clear why the presented motifs of a rhombus with sides extended at the corners, with a marked middle, called a “rhombus-burdock” (also known as a “small lattice”), symbolized a log house, an enclosed space with a hearth or altar - the habitat of the ancestors.

And a rhombus of a different configuration of three pairs of intersecting lines is a funeral or sacrificial pyre, which was a sign of the sacred rite during the burning - according to ancient people, during this ritual contact with ancestors is established.

A diamond with dots is a sign of a sown field. You can often see crosses at the ends. This is a typical four-part scheme for distributing benefits in 4 directions.

Very often in geometric woven ornaments there is a hand (palm) motif. This motif played a big role in the art of the ancients of many peoples. The palm - the hand - was synonymous with the brush (bundle) of plants, which was relevant for the consciousness of early farmers. From Russian subject embroideries, the female figure is well known, often depicted with enlarged palms and with a head - a radiant rhombus, with solar rosettes in the middle of the figure. Academician B.A. Rybakov associates the weekly holiday of light - Sunday - with the embroidered goddess. This goddess could be only the Great Goddess, and such a title was preserved in Russian folklore for Lada.

Lada was revered as the goddess of marriage, marriage, fun, consolation and all well-being. She, Lada, is still called in many traditional rites, songs are sung, and she is hit with hands on hands or on a table. Apparently, by clapping their palms (palm - Lada) or hitting the table with their palms, the pagans thereby “established” a connection with the deity and asked her for a cheerful, blissful life. And the image of crossed palms on towel patterns are signs this deity.

Snake pattern. Bowls of Trypillian culture

The land, in the sense of a plot that produces a crop, was represented in the form of squares, rectangles, covered with a thick mesh, i.e. sown. Grains were placed between strips of earth and water. The main theme of the Earth, fertility, and childbearing prevails in the Russian pattern. The image of the Earth is a favorite in embroidery.

TREE. The image of a sacred tree is found among all peoples of the world. In one of the Russian fairy tales, the hero climbs a tree to the sky. Siberian shamans placed a tree at a ritual site and performed actions near it. On the Christian holiday of the Ascension of Christ, Russians baked small ladders from dough and imagined that one could ascend to heaven using wood or stairs. The Bible calls the sacred tree the “Tree of Life”, and it is said that it is located “in the middle of the garden”, under the clouds) which means the center of the world. In the hymns of the Rig Veda and Edda, a snake lives between the roots of a tree. The roots of the Tree go into unknown depths, and its top reaches into the sky. The snake is a symbol of time, spiral movement and repetition, wisdom and caution, and it all starts from the roots of a person, a nation, humanity. Therefore, you can find an image of a Tree entwined with a Serpent.

In the most ancient dwellings of the Slavs there was always a tree-pillar holding up the roof. The tree-pillar symbolized a woman; the ancients always believed that a house, a dwelling rests on a woman. The pillar supports the roof of the house, like the world tree supports the firmament. The world tree is the support of the universe, a pillar supporting the sky.

Plant motifs predominate in wooden carvings and embroidery of the South Slavs. Endless sprouts of sacred herbs and flowers are shown in the process of germination and flowering. Sprouts are depicted, as a rule, as strong, strong, and are guarded either by a lion or by a bird of Syria, since only they are trusted to guard the infinity of life. Is the plant world an image of reality, manifested life, sprouts and flowers? symbol of earthly life. The images of plants are different, it depends on which plants are considered pure and sacred in a given area. In the south - rose, periwinkle, in the middle zone - cornflower, fern, in the north - coniferous branches, bathing suit.

Deities with a spiral, sitting astride a wolf, were found on the territory of Russia, the Kama region. The images of the wolf and snake were the embodiment of the demons of the underworld. A labyrinth is a trap, along which you need to find a way out. But the labyrinth is also considered a home, a fortress. For many peoples, the labyrinth also reflects the sky. The floor in many temples is made like a labyrinth. Is gender earth? reflects the sky. Both Heaven and the Underworld, where everything is subject to eternal movement, repetition through the lives and destinies of people, were presented to the ancestors in the scheme of a labyrinth.

“Spiral codes were passed on from generation to generation, from people to people, from worldview to worldview, from religion to religion. The spiral is one of the oldest symbols of the Universe. And space itself is dotted and permeated with spirals-galaxies, vacuum quantum vortices. According to the torsion theory, the Universe as a supercomputer forms with the human brain a kind of biocomputer that works in accordance with torsion laws, that is, according to the principles of the same twisted spiral. 0

This article appeared due to the increased interest shown in the article “Solar Signs Around Us”. The topic of solar symbols fascinates many people. Firstly, its antiquity. Solar symbols have appeared since the beginning of time, perhaps at the very moment when man consciously looked at the shining circle of fire in the sky, the circle we call the Sun. Secondly, because this is one of the symbols often used by the Slavs. Thirdly, the theme of the sun is close to everyone, well, who among us is not happy when the sun comes out after a long period of bad weather?

In the modern RuNet there is a lot of different information on solar signs and, therefore, it is very important to “separate the wheat from the chaff.” That is, if you are interested in the real history, this article can and should be read, if you are satisfied with the pseudo-Slavic cranberry, then there is no point in reading the article, buy yourself some kind of “Perunitsa”, “Lada Star” or the “original Slavic symbol” “Kolovrat” and calm down. For those who are planning to reach the end, I advise you to be patient.

All illustrations in the article can be viewed in enlarged form (right mouse button - open image)

Sun worship.

Let's talk about how we know about solar signs, such as they were understood and depicted by the Proto-Slavs, Slavs and then the Russian people. The sources of our knowledge are primarily archeology and ethnography. Archaeological excavations provide a wealth of material: jewelry, religious objects and household items. Ethnographers provide material in the form of house carvings, carvings of household items, embroidery and oral art, and rituals.

Archaeological finds indicate the antiquity of the cult of the Sun. For example, solar signs from the Sungir site. . The Sungir River is a tributary of the Klyazma, not far from Vladimir. The age of the disks is approximately 25,000 years (from 20 to 29 thousand years). In the graves of mammoth hunters, the disks were located in such a way that the version of their cult significance, primarily the amulet significance of solar signs, is seriously considered by many scientists. The high level of burial culture, high technology in the manufacture of clothing (the hunter’s clothes were embroidered with 10,000 thousand beads from mammoth bone), weapons (a spear made from straightened mammoth ivory) and household items indicate the development of cults and culture in general. (read the article by O. N. Bader “Elements of the Cult of the Luminaries in the Paleolithic”)

It is believed that cults of sun worship were born in the Neolithic. And what is of particular interest is that these cults are common to almost everyone. Farmers, cattle breeders, and hunter-fishermen worshiped the sun in a similar way. Sun cults were similar among different ethnic societies, sometimes living far from each other and not connected in any way. The symbolic signs that are associated with the cult of the sun are also very similar. These signs have been preserved among many peoples of the world in one form or another, usually in the form of ornaments. In embroidery, folk crafts, in everyday life.

Solar signs of the Slavs.

Let's leave the distant past alone and talk about what, according to historians, happened quite recently. About the times of the formation of Kievan Rus and the first centuries of the formation of the Russian state. In particular, we are interested in real artifacts of the past, found by scientists, and “something” invented out of the minds of modern entertainers.

The topic of solar signs was most fully presented in his book “Paganism of Ancient Rus'” by the wonderful scientist B. A. Rybakov. His book traces several main theses regarding the solar signs that the Slavs used.

The solar signs of the Eastern Slavs primarily carry a protective, protective meaning. The Slavs used various versions of solar signs to protect a person and his home from evil otherworldly, night forces. From ghouls and navi.

Rybakov believes that the symbols of the sun were used by our ancestors not on their own, but as part of the universe, which the Eastern Slavs imagined as follows: the “firmament of the earth,” with plants, animals and people, was covered by the arc of the sky along which the sun moved. During this movement, the sun was depicted in several forms - Morning, Midday, Evening, all three suns together made up the Triune Sun. Often, below ground level, the Midnight Sun was depicted, which in the evening, having gone beyond one edge of the earth, appeared from behind the other edge in the morning. Above the firmament there were “heavenly abysses” in which all the moisture was stored, which then fell in the form of rain. Jets of rain connected the “heavenly abysses” with the earth.

Rybakov suggests distinguishing sun signs by shape. For example, he fills a circle with four spokes with the meaning of a talisman “on all four sides.” The solar symbol with six spokes is traditionally called the thunder wheel and correlates it primarily with the cult of the sun. Rybakov correlates the solar sign with many spokes or rays not with the Sun but with the White Light, the concept of which he distinguishes from the concept of the Sun (read optionally from Rybakov about the White Light). Rybakov does not define solar symbols with eight spokes separately; he only speaks about the rarity of their use by the Slavs.

The main images of solar symbols that the Slavs used in life and everyday life.

	A simple version of the solar symbol
	Solar sign "on all four sides"
	Solar sign "six spokes" - Thunder wheel
	Solar sign "eight spokes"
	Multi-beam solar sign. This option has a large number various images.
	Multi-beam solar sign. This option has a large number various images.
	"Artistic" solar symbol. This option has a large number various images.

Amulet meaning of solar signs.

According to scientists, solar signs were used by the Slavs primarily as protective, amulet symbols. The course of the sun across the sky was predetermined and has not changed since human memory. Day after day, the fiery wheel rose above the horizon and, having rolled across the sky, descended to the other end of the earth. I had to pray to the sky to send rain, I had to pray to the gods to protect me from bad weather, hail, invasion and other misfortunes. But the sun, for its unshakable course across the sky, could simply be revered and thanked. Day after day, the sun, rising above the horizon, gave people its warmth and light, dispelling the darkness of the night and driving away the cold. The sun embodied the victory of light forces over dark ones. The triumph of the forces of good over the forces of evil.

Therefore, solar signs carried within themselves, first of all, a protective meaning - the eternal victory of good over evil. What kind of dark creature would poke itself into where the bright and hot sun is depicted?

Thus, we can conclude that the Slavs and later the Russian people used numerous images of the sun as a powerful amulet symbol in the hope of protecting themselves and their home from all sorts of misfortunes “known and unknown”

Protective house carving of the Slavs.

The home, a sacred place for every person, had to be protected first of all. When enemies attacked, the man took a spear in his hands and went into battle, trying to defend his house. But what about invisible misfortunes, evil and malevolent spirits, navyas and ghouls? To protect the house from this threat, the Slavs used well-developed methods of house carving, the obligatory element of which was images of the sun.

All entrances to the hut were covered like locks with solar signs. This protective complex primarily included carvings on the piers and carved frames on the windows.

Rybakov clearly connects the ornamental carvings on the porches of huts with the Slavs’ understanding of the structure of the universe.

The prichelins embody the firmament, according to

to which the triune sun moves. Below on the left is rising, under the ridge is midday, on the right is setting. Several suns may be depicted, probably to enhance the effect. Under the ridge, on a vertical board - a towel, several sun signs could also be depicted. One of which was most often a thunder wheel. Images of a thunder wheel (six spokes) under the ridge were supposed to be used as a talisman against thunder and lightning. A wavy line was often drawn along the upper edge of the piers, which, according to Rybakov, represented “heavenly abysses.”

But covering the main entrance to the hut from evil forces was not enough. The windows also had to be protected. The protective function for the windows was performed by solar signs carved on the frames, among other ornamental patterns.

In addition to the external security complex, internal protection of the hut was also created. Ceiling beams (logs) called svolok or matitsa, which carry great domestic and sacred meaning in the hut, were also decorated with amulet carvings, including solar symbols.

Protective household carving of the Slavs.

The amulet carving of the Slavs extended to all aspects of human life. Protecting the hut was not enough. Therefore, protective measures were also taken for household items that people used in their lives.

Many objects were decorated with symbols of the sun. Dishes - ladles, clay pots, chests, chests. The backs of chairs and children's cradles were decorated with solar signs.

Among the protected household items and tools, a special place is occupied by those that were used in the production of fabric and clothing throughout the entire creation cycle. Tools and accessories for weaving and spinning were especially densely decorated with solar symbols. All objects are used in the cycle of creating fabric - rollers, crushers, ruffles, carders and others bore solar signs.

Spinning wheels were decorated with especially lavish carvings, often representing a true work of folk art. All work with yarn was considered sacred and often images associated with weaving were used in various magical rituals.

Rybakov believed that the protective carvings on the shovels of spinning wheels often not only carried images of the sun, but often reflected the Slavic worldview, with its earth’s surface, the course of the sun and the “heavenly abysses” connected to the earth by threads of rain.

Household items decorated with amulet solar carvings.

Items related to fabric production. Spinning wheels, rollers, ruffles.

I would like to dwell on this illustration in more detail. It is from the book by Darkevich V.P. “Journey to Ancient Ryazan”. Ryazan was destroyed by Batu's troops in the winter of 1237. There was never a city in this place again. The Ryazan that we know now was built in a different place.

Darkevich led the Staroryazan archaeological expedition for many years. A wealth of material was found, including numerous pot bottoms bearing marks. Very often the marks were solar symbols.

One hypothesis says that these signs are the personal marks of the masters. But Darkevich, after an in-depth study of the material, claims that these marks are symbols of amulets against evil spirits, applied to pots for magical purposes.

Protective clothing protection.

Having protected the hut, objects of labor and everyday life, it was necessary to protect oneself. Human clothing, both men's and women's, was covered with amulets embroidery or already woven with amulets ornaments. Ornamental images of solar signs, earth, and a sown field protected the “openings” of clothing—collars, sleeves at the wrists, and hem. Women's clothing was more carefully decorated.

Such a part of clothing as a belt was decorated with a talismanic ornament. Not a single Slavic costume could be imagined without a belt. The belt was a mandatory accessory to the costume. The belt was often used in folk customs, carrying a sacred protective and connecting meaning. Appearing in public without a belt was unthinkable.

Another sacred part of the costume of the Slavs and Russians was the headdress. The girl, after marriage, always wore a headdress to cover her head and hide her hair. Women in the hut did not take off their headdress like men. The women's headdress, as well as clothing, was richly decorated with embroidery and various metal products.

Often a woman’s headdress, especially a festive one, was a difficult-to-understand product, each detail of which carried one or another sacred and protective meaning. Various metal products were also used as decoration (especially for festive occasions) of women's headdresses, but more on that below.

The number of different options and the richness of decoration of women's hats is amazing. But you can often find symbols of the sun that protect a woman from evil.

Here's another interesting illustration. On the left is a drawing of embroidery on magpies (one of the variants of women's headdress) from the book by Grigorieva G. A. "Hats of the Russian North".

This embroidery can be mistaken for some kind of traditional ornament with plant elements.

But! If we try to apply to this embroidery the theory of the Slavic universe according to Rybakov, we can easily discern in this embroidery the “firmament of the earth” - it is symbolized by a floral ornament, a firmament with many suns depicting its course, and a wavy line of “heavenly abysses” above the suns.

Here it is - the Slavic universe, depicted in the center of a woman's headdress.

Very often, instead of the traditional circle, a swastika symbol in the form of a four-rayed cross with curved ends was used as solar symbols in ornamental embroidery. Or various combinations of connecting these symbols. Scientists traditionally include this swastika symbol in the group of solar signs; sometimes they talk about a second meaning of this sign. This sign symbolizes fire. However, the signs of fire are easily correlated with solar symbols, since the sun is nothing more than “heavenly fire.”

The presence of a swastika (traditional, four-rayed) in embroidery is connected, as one can assume, precisely with the embroidery technique. Rectangular symbols are easier to embroider (weave) than round ones; it is easy to build repeating complex patterns.

It should be especially noted that all the wealth of swastika symbols that in our time were invented by “neopagans” and with which online stores selling “pseudo-Slavic cranberries” are filled, is absent in folk embroidery.

Amulet jewelry and metal jewelry.

In the matter of jewelry, women have undoubted primacy. It is the women's costume and, especially, the headdress that is richly decorated with metal products that carry various amulet meanings. Solar signs are almost always depicted on jewelry.

Necklaces, necklace pendants, headdress temple pendants, bracelets, and rings often bore the image of the sun, additionally protecting the owner from dark forces. The temple rings of a woman's headdress can also be correlated with solar symbols. It is interesting that pendants with images of the sun going down on both sides of the woman’s head seemed to cover the woman’s ears. After all, ears are holes in the body and evil can penetrate through them.

At this point it will be interesting to draw some kind of analogy. In my article about pagan women's tattoos, I wrote about the tattoos of Berber women. By applying protective protective tattoos, Berber women protected all the orifices of their bodies. This detail interestingly coincides with the construction of the amulet protection of the Slavic costume, in which they try to cover with embroidery all the holes through which dark forces can gain access to the human body. Apparently people both in Africa and here, in the territory occupied by Slavic tribes, thought the same thing.

Coin-shaped pendants (see below). From the book by Sedova M.V. “Jewelry of Ancient Novgorod. ( X-XV centuries). These pendants were found mainly in layers XI - XIII centuries and you can see how many of them carry the Christian cross and how many bear solar signs. Quite a comparable amount. This indicates the wide distribution of solar amulets in the form of coin-shaped pendants.

Rings with geometric patterns (see left). Most of the finds were made in the Moscow region in the basin of the upper Klyazma, its tributaries Uche and Vore, and in the basin of the middle Moscow River. All these finds were made in burials, in the burial mounds of the Vyatichi people. It is believed that the existence of these rings began in the third quarter of the 12th century. Among the patterns, patterns containing solar symbols in the center of the composition are easily distinguished. (T.V. Ravdina “Old Russian cast rings with geometric patterns”).

The Arabic numeral to the right of each ring design indicates the number of copies found.

As you can see, solar symbols and swastikas were a popular part of the ornaments.

Comparative table from the article by Darkevich V.P. “Symbols of heavenly bodies in the ornament of Ancient Rus'.” I - general view of jewelry of the X-XIII centuries, II - diagram of the ornament on jewelry, III - signs used as solar symbols in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Darkevich included decorations in the form of a cross in the table, some in the form of an explicit Christian cross, on the basis that the cross is an ancient symbol denoting fire and the sun, but nevertheless, in the era to which these decorations belong, these crosses carried an unambiguous meaning - the meaning of the Christian cross, so the basis for including such decorations in this table is doubtful.

Conclusion.

Concluding the topic of the protective solar symbols of the Slavs, we can say the following - against the forces of evil, against dark forces and various misfortunes “known and unknown,” our ancestors used the powerful, so to speak, "deep in echelon" defense

The first line of amulet symbols protected the home.

The second is household and labor items.

The third line was used to protect people and especially women.

It can be assumed that this ritual of protection was developed by our ancestors long before the times of Kievan Rus and was used long after, already in Christian times, as a well-proven protection. However, the hidden semantic meaning of such protection began to gradually be lost.

There was actually another line of defense! But it no longer carried a material image of the sun signs, although it resorted to direct protection of the sun. More on this below.

Addition for those especially interested, like me J

The protective meaning of the sun in conspiracies.

Having almost finished writing this article, I thought about the fact that such a powerful belief in the good power of the sun should have left traces in the oral literature of the Russian people. In search of such traces, we can only operate with what ethnographers collected for us in the last centuries of the existence of Tsarist Russia. It is clear that we cannot see the amulet conspiracies of the Slavs, in the form in which they existed in pagan times. Centuries of Orthodox faith have introduced a strong Christian element into conspiracies, and in appeals to the active force, Jesus Christ, the Mother of God and various Christian saints appear primarily. This is quite understandable and understandable.

But, you can find traces of the solar cult in its amulet meaning (the given quotes are taken from the book by A.L.T. Porkkov “Russian conspiracies from handwritten sources of the 17th - first half of the 19th centuries”). I won’t give all the conspiracies, just what is related to our topic.

A conspiracy from sorcerers, evil people and corruption.

Speak(s) on Ivan Friday morning at the lock. Lord bless, father. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Behold, servant of the name, I will bless you, I will go and cross myself, wrap yourself in the red sun(emphasis added), I will gird myself with the bright dawn, sweat with the frequent stars, take the young bright moon in my hand, and go into the open field, and meet my guardian angel and the Most Pure Mother of God; and pray and cry: Cover me with your blood and your wings and protect me with your robe from the sorcerer and from the sorceress, from the sorcerer and from the thing, and from every evil person, and from every an evil parable on the waters and on the earth. ...

Hunting plot List from Timoshkin's letters to Polokhov.

Lord God, bless father. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Saint Trufan takes me from rivers and lakes and from stranded guns. And the same holy Trufan receives to me, to the servant of God named son, from all four sides every duck to my holy films, my holy films have sugar, on my circles there is a honey drink of my choice, and eat your fill and drink drunk. The earth is the father and mother of every man, I will support it with the earth, and I will fence it off with the sky, I will gird myself with the dawn, I dress with the red sun from the witch, from witches and from witches, from every horse sorcerer and from every sorcerer from white and from black, from monks and from monks and from girls of the head, from dashing blood and from envy. ...

Conspiracies against arrows, bullets and adversaries.

This ace, the servant of God named, shielded by the sun, I am covered with stars, I dress as a visionary from sorcerers and sorceresses. Stand near me, servant of God by name, fireplace wall from our adversaries who are fighting against me. I conjure you, iron and brush, and tin, all kinds of arrows, flying day and night, at all times from cannon bullets, from a knife and from an ax, and from a reed, and from a saber, and from spears, and from a spear, and from an awl, and from a wooden blow. Amen.

These are the conspiracies. And in each of them the sun is present, as a good and strong protection from dark and evil forces. Regarding the formula from the first conspiracy “...I will wrap myself in the red sun...” Toporkov gives explanations by correlating this formula with the Christian basis (Revelations of John the Theologian), maybe he is right, but this phrase falls painfully precisely into our topic - the sun as a talisman. In the end, you can take it literally - wear clothes decorated with solar symbols.

As can be seen from the quotes, the main active force to which the one who speaks turns is the Christian - Orthodox force, but, however, the “name” does not forget to use the powerful amulet power of the “red sun”, as his ancestors did from time immemorial. In the conspiracy, the protective power of the sun is used against sorcerers and other evil people, as well as against weapons.

The most interesting thing is that this is not all.

Almost every amulet or security plot mentions the sun. It is almost always said that the spell is pronounced in the light of the sun - “at dawn, as the red sun rises”, “under the red sun”, “turning towards the sun”, “to the east, at dawn, under the red sun”. That is, the one who pronounces the spell, as it were, calls the sun as a witness, and the sun, in turn, illuminates both in the literal and divine sense, and consolidates this magical action. Often this consolidation occurs through an action, for example, walking around three times in the direction of the sun’s movement - “salt”, the person pronouncing the spell imitates the movement of the sun across the sky, thus further consolidating the spell.

Thank you for your attention.

nordicrunes, April 2015

Bibliography.

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Mezen painting is one of the most ancient Russian artistic crafts. Folk artists used it to decorate most household items that accompanied a person from birth to old age, bringing joy and beauty to life. It occupied a large place in the design of the facades and interiors of huts. Like most other folk crafts, this painting received its name from the area in which it originated. The Mezen River is located in the Arkhangelsk region, between the two largest rivers of Northern Europe, the Northern Dvina and Pechora, on the border of the taiga and tundra.

This painting was called Mezenskaya because its homeland is considered to be the village of Palashchelye, located on the banks of the Mezen River, which was first mentioned as a center for wood painting in 1906. Therefore, in encyclopedias and various books on fine arts you can find the second name of Mezen painting - Palashchelskaya. In Mezen itself they did not do painting.

First of all, Mezen painting is its own original ornament. This ornament attracts and fascinates, despite its apparent simplicity. And objects painted with Mezen painting seem to glow from within, exuding the goodness and wisdom of their ancestors. Every detail of the Mezen painting ornament is deeply symbolic. Every square and diamond, leaf and twig, animal or bird are exactly in the place where they should be in order to tell us the story of the forest, wind, earth and sky, the thoughts of the artist and the ancient images of the northern Slavs.

Symbols of animals, birds, fertility, harvest, fire, sky, and other elements come from rock paintings and are a type of ancient writing that conveys the traditions of the peoples of the North of Russia. So, for example, the image of a horse, in the tradition of the peoples who have inhabited this area since ancient times, symbolizes the sunrise, and the image of a duck is the order of things; it carries the sun into the underwater world until dawn and stores it there.

Traditionally, objects painted with Mezen painting have only two colors - red and black (soot and ocher, later red lead). The painting was applied to unprimed wood with a special wooden stick (vice), a capercaillie or black grouse feather, or a human hair brush. Then the product dried, which gave it a golden color. At present, in general, the technology and technique of Mezen painting have been preserved, with the exception that brushes have begun to be used more often.

The origins of the symbols of Mezen painting primarily lie in the mythological worldview of the peoples of the ancient north. For example, the frequent occurrence of multi-tiered structures indicates adherence to the shamanic tradition. Three tiers - three worlds (lower, middle and upper or underground, above-ground and heavenly). This is the basis of the shamanic worldview of many peoples of the north. In the Mezen painting, the lower and middle tiers are filled with deer and horses. The top tier is birds. The rows of black and red horses in tiers may also signify the worlds of the dead and the living. Numerous solar signs placed around horses and deer emphasize their unearthly origin. The image of a horse among the peoples of the Russian north is also a talisman (a horse on the roof), as well as a symbol of the sun, fertility, and a source of life's blessings.

The tiers are separated by horizontal stripes filled with a repeating pattern. Elements of such patterns, as well as some other frequently occurring elements of Mezen painting, are shown in the figures below.

Earth. A straight line can mean both the heavenly and the earthly firmament, but do not be confused by this ambiguity. By their location in the composition (top - bottom), you can always correctly determine their meaning. In many myths about the creation of the world, the first man was created from the dust of the earth, dirt, and clay. Motherhood and protection, a symbol of fertility and daily bread - this is what the earth is for humans. Graphically, the earth is often depicted as a square.

Water. The celestial design is no less interesting. Heavenly waters are stored in hanging clouds or spilled onto the earth in oblique rains, and the rains can be accompanied by wind or hail. Ornaments in an oblique stripe most of all reflect such pictures of natural phenomena.

Wavy lines of the water element are present in abundance in Mezen ornaments. They certainly accompany all straight lines of ornaments, and are also permanent attributes of waterfowl.

Wind, air. Numerous short strokes scattered in Mezen painting on ornaments or next to the main characters most likely mean air, wind - one of the primary elements of nature. A poetic image of a revived spirit, whose influence can be seen and heard, but which itself remains invisible. Wind, air and breath are closely related in mystical symbolism. Genesis begins with the Spirit of God. He flew like the wind over the abyss before the creation of the world.

Besides the spiritual aspect of this symbol, specific winds are often interpreted as violent and unpredictable forces. Demons were believed to fly on fierce winds that carried evil and disease. Like any other element, the wind can bring destruction, but people also need it as a powerful creative force. It’s not for nothing that Mezen masters love to depict harnessed elements. Their wind strokes are often “strung” on crossed straight lines, which is very similar to a windmill (“Caught in the wind,” the children say).

Fire. Divine energy, purification, revelation, transformation, inspiration, ambition, temptation, passion, is a strong and active element, symbolizing both creative and destructive forces. The ancients considered fire to be a living being that feeds, grows, dies, and then is born again - signs that suggest that fire is the earthly embodiment of the sun, so it shared much of the solar symbolism. In pictorial terms, everything that tends to a circle reminds us of the sun and fire. According to Academician B. Rybakov, the spiral motif arose in the mythology of agricultural tribes as a symbolic movement of the sun across the vault of heaven. In Mezen painting, spirals are scattered everywhere: they are enclosed within the framework of numerous ornaments and curl in abundance around celestial horses and deer.

The spiral itself carries other symbolic meanings. Spiral shapes are found very often in nature, from galaxies to whirlpools and tornadoes, from mollusk shells to patterns on human fingers. In art, the spiral is one of the most common decorative patterns. The ambiguity of symbols in spiral patterns is great, and their use is more involuntary than conscious. A compressed spiral spring is a symbol of hidden power, a ball of energy. The spiral, combining the shape of a circle and the momentum of movement, is also a symbol of time, the cyclical rhythms of the seasons. Double spirals symbolize the balance of opposites, harmony (like the Taoist yin-yang sign). The opposing forces, clearly present in whirlpools, tornadoes and flames, are reminiscent of the ascending, descending or rotating energy (“whirlpool”) that governs the Cosmos. The ascending spiral is a masculine sign, the descending spiral is a feminine sign, which makes the double spiral also a symbol of fertility and childbirth.

The ancient signs of fertility are interesting and beautiful - symbols of abundance.

Wherever they were placed, and everywhere they were in place! If you hang a zhikovina (keyhole cover) of this shape on the door of a barn, it means wishing it to be full of goodness. If you draw a sign of abundance on the bottom of a spoon, it means wishing that there would never be hunger. If the hem of the wedding shirt is to wish the newlyweds a large, full family. The sign of fertility can be found on ancient cult figurines depicting young pregnant women, which was placed where the child of the expectant mother is. Almost all Mezen ornaments are in one way or another connected with the theme of fertility and abundance. They depict plowed fields, seeds, roots, flowers, and fruits in abundance and variety. The ornament can be built in two rows and then the elements in it are arranged in a checkerboard pattern. An important symbol was the diamond, endowed with many meanings. Most often, a rhombus was a symbol of fertility, the rebirth of life, and a chain of rhombuses meant the family tree of life. On one of the Mezen spinning wheels we were able to see a half-erased image of just such a unique tree.

Straight check patterns
Geometric patterns have become widespread in folk art. It can be found especially often among weavers and embroiderers. The basis of the ornament is made up of rhombuses, squares, crosses and swastika images. The diamond-dot pattern is a symbol of fertility among agricultural peoples.

Simple elements
Not a single painting is complete without depicting all kinds of zigzag and spiral shapes. They are especially common when depicting the world tree, or “tree of life.” Researchers believe that spirals and zigzags are nothing more than the image of snakes, which are always present in such scenes.

Patterns in oblique cage

The motif of a bird bringing good news or a gift is widespread in folk art. A bird on top of a tree can often be found on Mezen birch bark trees. The bird is perhaps the most favorite motif of folk artists. In addition, it is the custom of northern peasants to hang wooden birds made from chips in the red corner of the hut. This is a relic of the same motif - “a bird on a tree”, since the revered tree was associated with the red corner of the house.

Quite often on Mezen spinning wheels there is an image of several trees or a lonely tree, often spruce. Of particular interest is the composition of three trees: two identical trees are located symmetrically with respect to the central tree, which stands out for its relatively large size. The fact that such a plot is not accidental on Mezen spinning wheels is evidenced by the fact that the same plot takes place in the painting of antique furniture in Mezen houses.

Among the most common and favorite images, most often depicted by Mezen masters, are images of horses and deer. The horses of the Mezen paintings are more distant from the real prototype than the images of horses in other peasant paintings. Most of them had a red-orange color, which, as is known, is unusual for horses. The body of a black horse was often covered with a continuous lattice pattern, further emphasizing its unusual origin. The unnaturally long and thin legs of the horses ended at the ends with the image of feathers, similar to those drawn on birds.

Often the horses were depicted not following each other, but opposing each other. Sometimes riders fighting each other were depicted on rearing horses. The fact that the horses depicted on the spinning wheels are of unearthly origin is also evidenced by the numerous solar signs placed by the draftsmen above the manes and near the legs of the horses.

The images of animal figures are very similar to each other. The only difference between deer and horses is that instead of a mane, branched antlers are drawn behind their backs with the same black strokes. Children copy the proposed image of a deer or horse. Each subsequent image of the animal differs from the previous one by the appearance of additional details.