Dadźbóg

 

This week I had a couple D words I thought I wanted to write about for the Pagan Blog Project (PBP).

I spent a while researching Didgeridoos, and finally came to the conclusion I was not the right person to tell that story. I love the music and the information was fascinating, but something within me keep niggling at me… when I finally stopped to listen to what was going on in the background, I got the message loud and clear… I just am not supposed to tell the story of the Didgeridoo. Traditionally it is a male instrument and females do not play it… it just feels like I would have been dishonoring something were I to talk at length about it.

So, on to the D word that was actually calling me this whole week, even though I got sidetracked Down Under for a day or so…  

In an earlier post I talked about being of Polish ancestry and this week on and off I kept returning to the thought that I wanted to know more about the pre-Christian practices of my ancestors. I found myself looking for anything I could find about the Gods and Goddess that were worshiped, the days that were celebrated, and anything else I could find. 

I finally settled on Dadźbóg. After reading much information it became very clear that the gods and goddess of my Polish ancestors were often the same gods and goddesses of other Slavic speaking peoples in the region. There was some regionalization and yet Dadźbóg, was a universal god in that region. There are several pronunciations and spellings for this particular god, which I am not going to go into at this time. I am going to focus on the essence of this particular god; as that is what I feel is important. 

Because I’m not a linguist,  I’ve included some information detailing the entomology of this god’s name. 

Most scholars agree the root dažd- or daj- is derived from root of the verb dati "to give". Thus, according to Dubenskij, Ognovskij and Niderle, Dažbog would be "giving god", "god-giver, "god-donor". The close related word to slavic Dažd is in Avestian or east-Iranian language - dazdâ, dazda "gifts".^[1] This is particularly interesting since the Proto-Slavic word for god, *bagu (> Common Slavic *bogъ), the suffix of Dažbog's name, is argued either to be of Iranian origin (being related to Indo-Iranian etymons such as Old Persian baga, Sanskrit bhaga), or being semantically influenced by Iranian source, both being ultimately derived from PIE root *bʰag-, whose reflexes in both Slavic and Indo-Iranian came to mean both "deity" and "wealth, share".^[2] Thus, translated literally, Dažbog would be "giver of fortune". This echoes the ancient Indo-European concept that deity is, in essence, an entity which gives wealth and abundance, an indication, perhaps, that Dažbog is a relic from common Proto-Indo-European religion, or even that this was not a name for any particular Slavic god, but a general epithet of a deity. (Dažbog)

 

The idea, expressed above, indicates this particular god may not be an individual god, but instead may be a conceptualized understanding of deity in general, which feels right to me. 

The story of Dadźbóg, is often associated with wolves and sometimes is referred to as the lame shepard of wolves. He is also thought to be a Sun god who rises in the East as a golden infant who travels through his twelve kingdoms ( possibly the signs of the zodiac) in his chariot pulled by either three or twelve horses (depending on the legend),  he ultimately dies at the end of the day as an old man. Many of the stories I found on the internet shared similarities, but the details were sometimes different. This is common when trying to resurrect the old stories or reconstruct the old practices of most pre-Christian religions. 

Rather than regurgitate the information I found about this god, I have shared the information I thought was the most insightful for me. I have also decided to take the time to get to know this god and other gods and goddesses from this particular region. I really appreciate the work that went into the sites I reviewed to find out more about the Polish pantheon and Dadźbóg, in particular, but I know the information is primarily derived from stores or accounts, told by outsiders. Often when another culture tells the stories of another cultures deities and spiritual practices, the stories get distorted and often are told in an unforgiving or incomplete light.

I encourage you to take the time to read the information provided at the websites below. These are probably pretty good basic legends and a great place to get started on my path to knowing these deities and possibly building relationship with them. 

References:

beling.net. 17 02 2012 http://beling.net/articles/about/Da%C5%BEbog

Care erau zeii slavilor? 17 02 2012 http://www.frontpress.ro/?p=21443

Dazbog. 13 02 2012 http://www.fact-index.com/d/da/dazbog.html

Dažbog. 15 02 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da%C5%BEbog

Deities of pre-Christian Poland. 16 02 2012 http://sourceryforge.org/index.php/Polish_Pantheon

Polish Paganism. 12 02 2012 http://polishtoledo.com/pagan/index.htm

Slavic Deities and The Unclean Force. 16 02 2012 http://www.slavpaganism.com/#!__deities/a---da

SLAVIC GODS. 17 02 2012 http://slavialand.org/slavicgods.htm

Slavic Myth and Religion. 14 02 2012 http://www.winterscapes.com/slavic.htm

Slavic mythology. 17 02 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_mythology

Have a Wicked Good Day!
Molly

Imbolc

I am familiar with the eight sabbats commonly celebrated by wiccans and some pagans and I personally do not celebrate the major sabbats. I focus on the solstices and equinoxes which are referred to as the minor sabbats. I never understood why the sabbats marked by the changing of the seasons would be labeled lesser, but I’ve gone past that with a big shoulder shrug and a “whatever” (sighed).

For me the changing of the seasons, especially the summer and Winter solstice are the sabbats I focus on. It’s not that I was taught by a particular person or tradition that had less focus on the major sabbats, it is just what feels right to me… I did learn while doing some research on the Pagan practices of my Polish ancestors, that the early Poles and other Slavic people often held a primary focus on Summer and Winter solstices. It made me wonder if on some deeper level I was drawn to the seasonal celebrations of my ancestors. It’s a thought that might support the idea that learned behaviors can be passed down through the generations without there ever being an emphasis placed on these behaviors or beliefs.  

I just can’t get into the whole… Imbolc and ewe’s first milk thing… I grew up on a farm in Wisconsin and we raised sheep, cattle, horses, goats, fowl, and various other typical farm animals…  I don’t remember noticing the ewes bagging up at the first part of February… it was still usually cold and snowy, and we didn’t see any “sign” until the first part of March and then lambs started coming right around Spring Equinox. Anyway.. that's what I remember... I was a kid and that was a while ago.

The major sabbats are thought to be more important by some than the minors or the seasonal changes. I have never felt that is true. I will admit the veil or energy barrier between this world and the other world is thinner both Samhain and Beltane, and I do utilize this time of the year to focus on divination and communication with those who reside in the other worlds. 

Because I am participating in the Pagan Blog Project, I have found myself thinking about Imbolc and what it means to me today. In many of these instances, I wondered if I “should” do something for this sabbat, and then decided that the contemplation of the day was all I was going to participate in today.
I normally don’t even go that far for Imbolc. 

My contemplation today has brought me to a place of decision; I am going to let the energy of the day, Spirit, God/dess, direct me in regard to celebrating the major sabbats. I have a feeling I’m going to be surprised as the year unfolds. I am looking forward to hearing and heading the call of the sabbats this year. It's sounding decidedly Slavic..

Have a Wicked Good Day!

Molly

Baba Yaga

 

I was first exposed to Baba Yaga as a somewhat watered down character in the story of Hansel and Gretel. The next time I found myself face to face with the Baba Yaga was while going through a divorce. I had decided it was time to remove myself from a marriage that had nothing to do with me. I had no idea who I was, and happened to come across a book titled, Women Who RunWith the Wolves, written by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D. 

http://intothehermitage.blogspot.com/2010/11/marvels-and-tales.html

I immediately resonated with the author and found the stories she retold to speak to me in a much deeper way than I had ever expected. The first point of resonance for me was that this woman is Polish and Hispanic. I am Polish on my mother’s side and had been married into a Hispanic family for 13 years. I was able to identify with the feeling of cultural confusion and then personal emptiness.

 As a young person I was raised with every derogatory comment or joke being told around me, focused towards “Pollocks”… I learned that part of who I am is stupid, bumbling, foolish, and someone to be disrespected. As a young adult, married into a Hispanic family I learned “my place”… women were to serve, you were expected to be “fiery”, and yet you better shut the hell up and do what is expected. The role of woman in this culture was confusing to me, especially since it was the women who treated me the worst.  I had no idea who I was or what I was doing here on this planet. 

While reading Women Who run with the Wolves, I found the story of Vasalisa and the Baba Yaga.  I have read this story over and over many times. Each time I read the story or see images of Baba Yaga, I immediately remember being really small and going to my mother’s grandmother’s house to visit. When we got there Busha (Grandmother in Americanized Polish pronounced BOO-shah) would be there at the table. She was old… I mean OLD… she looked like the witch in the fairy tales my dad would read to me at night.

She always wore a heavy black dress, with heavy grandma shoes. To top things off she was always wearing a babushka (scarf tied on her head, it is actually a Russian word for grandmother).  Looking back at my memories of Busha, she definitely could have been Baba Yaga, flying through the air in her mortar, using a pestle as a rudder and dragging a broom behind her to sweep up and move the clouds.

  

http://debratski.deviantart.com/art/Baba-Yaga-123629862

The story of Baba Yaga is a story that reflects the transition from naivety or innocent youth to the wise crone. Now that I am a grandmother and moving towards menopause, I am struggling with the identity of the old woman… I don’t want to be the scary, witch figure, Busha represented to me as a child. 

The common story girls and women are raised on in today’s world is a story of beautiful, slender, youth ruling and being the desired prize of men and is in direct conflict with our image of a wizened up old woman who is ugly, fat/thin, dependent, and mean; something to be cast aside like yesterdays wilted and rotten dinner salad. The Baba Yaga challenges us to look deeper at ourselves as women.

I originally was going to tell the story of Baba Yaga for this post, but instead, I decided to tell the story of how she has influenced my life, through my Busha, who incidentally, happened to be a witch. My mother will never admit her grandmother was anything but Catholic, but the stories Mom tells of Busha’s "wives tales", tells me Busha was a wise woman. she made a huge impression on me and has returned to me in the story of Baba Yaga. 

I encourage you to read Women Who Run With the Wolves. You can also read an excellent essay on Baba Yaga at http://www.mythinglinks.org/BabaYaga.html  and you can find more info by checking out the links in the text.

 

Have a Wicked Good Day!

Molly