witch witch. Who is the witch. Here are some examples from the practice of modern witches and fortune tellers
BABA YAGA-BONE FOOT (Ide). WOMEN-CIRCUIT. WACODLAKI. A VAMPIRE. VARKOLAK. VEDUN AND VEDUNIA. WITCH. THE WITCHER AND SO ON.
Baba Yaga Bone Leg
BABA-YAGA-BONE FOOT (Ide) - in Slavic mythology, an old forest sorceress, a witch, a witch, who controls whirlwinds and blizzards and, by her very name, is related to a snake. Baba Yaga is originally a progenitor, a very ancient positive deity of the Slavic pantheon, a guardian (if necessary, militant) of the clan and traditions, children and the near-home (often forest space). Baba Yaga plays a very important role in the folk epic and legends of the Slavic tribe. She lives near a dense forest in a hut on chicken legs, which turns its back to the forest, and to the stranger in front; her hut stands on the border of two worlds: Reveal and Navi. You can find out your fate from her (path-road), improve your health in a special bath. Baba Yaga heals children from ailments in the furnace, with holy fire, putting them on a wooden shovel, she sends them to the furnace and returns healthy after the cleansing fire. In the Christian period, negative qualities were attributed to her: the fence around the hut was made of human bones, on the fence of the skull, instead of a bolt - a human leg, instead of constipation - hands, instead of a lock - a mouth with sharp teeth. She flies through the air and rides to the witches' sabbath in an iron mortar, driving with a pusher or stick, and covering her trail with a broomstick. Baba Yaga possesses magical, fire-breathing horses, walking boots, a flying carpet, a self-made harp, and a self-cutting sword. Pursuing fairy-tale heroes who run away from her malice and vengeance, she chases after them like a black cloud. Like a snake, Baba Yaga loves to suck on the white breasts of beauties and, like him, jealously guards the springs of living water and carefully hides copper, silver and gold in her pantries. Finally, like a snake, Baba Yaga devours human flesh. Through the efforts of later "storytellers" and their unbridled fantasy, she is presented as an evil, ugly, with a long nose, disheveled hair, an old woman of great stature. Baba Yaga has one leg - bone, she is blind, she is an old woman with huge breasts. The connection with wild animals and the forest allows her image to be derived from the ancient image of the mistress of animals and the world of the dead. At the same time, such attributes of her as a shovel, with which she throws children into the oven, are consistent with the interpretation of fairy tales about her as a priestess. She is the antagonist of the hero of a fairy tale, a warrior and a kidnapper, but much more often a folk tale knows Baba Yaga in the form of a giver and assistant to the hero.
WITCH
WITCH - initially - the mother in charge, the eldest woman in the family, see "sorcerer and sorceress". Through the efforts of Christian "correctors": a woman who decided to sell her soul to the devil; differs from all other women in that it has a tail (small) and has the ability to fly through the air on a broom, poker, mortar, etc. Russian witches and Baba Yaga rush through the air in an iron mortar, chasing with a pestle or stick and covering the trail with a broomstick, while the earth groans, the winds whistle, and unclean spirits utter wild cries. They have much in common with sorcerers: witches are in constant communication (for which the “bald” mountains serve, where playful widows play noisy games with cheerful and passionate devils); in the same way, they die hard, tormented by terrible convulsions caused by the desire to pass on their science to someone, and in the same way, after death, they protrude from their mouths a tongue that is unusually long and quite similar to a horse's. But the resemblance does not stop there, for then restless pacing from the fresh graves begins; they calm down in the same way with an aspen stake driven into the grave. In the Little Russian steppes, young widows are very common among witches, and, moreover, such that “it is not a pity to give their souls for the look of a black-browed beauty”; in the harsh coniferous forests, witches turn into ugly old women like Baba Yaga. Witches can turn into different animals, most often into sinister, dark-feathered and nocturnal birds, pigs, dogs and yellow cats (“striga” is a night bird, Czechs and Slovaks call witches that way; Croats call a ghoul a strigon). Very often, witches are tortured for milking other people's cows. Witches are diligently engaged in love spells and lapels of loving and cold hearts. By their elemental properties, witches can freely rush about in the midst of cloudy sources, and therefore the people were convinced that they walk on the surface of rivers and lakes and do not drown in the depths of the waters. Therefore, those accused of witchcraft were thrown into deep pools: the innocent immediately sank to the bottom, and the real witch floated on top of the water along with the stone. The first were pulled out with the help of ropes and set free, those who were recognized as witches were nailed to death and drowned by force. In addition to the indispensable little tail, they also say that witches, instead of two, have three nipples. “The witch herself felt that it was cold, despite the fact that she was warmly dressed; and therefore, raising her hands up, she put her foot aside and, having brought herself into such a position as a man flying on skates, without moving a single joint, she descended through the air, as if along an icy sloping mountain, and straight into the pipe. .. got out of the stove, threw off the warm casing, recovered, and no one could have known that she rode a broomstick a minute ago ”(N.V. Gogol. “The Night Before Christmas”).
Herbalist and others
Slavic sorcerers, healers, sorcerers, sorcerers, werewolves and the dead
BABA-YAGA-BONE FOOT (Ide) - in Slavic mythology, an old forest sorceress, a witch, a witch, who controls whirlwinds and blizzards and, by her very name, is related to a snake. Baba Yaga is originally a progenitor, a very ancient positive deity of the Slavic pantheon, a guardian (if necessary, militant) of the clan and traditions, children and the near-home (often forest space). Baba Yaga plays a very important role in the folk epic and legends of the Slavic tribe. She lives near a dense forest in a hut on chicken legs, which turns its back to the forest, and to the stranger in front; her hut stands on the border of two worlds: Reveal and Navi. You can find out your fate from her (path-road), improve your health in a special bath. Baba Yaga heals children from ailments in the furnace, with holy fire, putting them on a wooden shovel, she sends them to the furnace and returns healthy after the cleansing fire. In the Christian period, negative qualities were attributed to her: the fence around the hut was made of human bones, on the fence of the skull, instead of a bolt - a human leg, instead of constipation - hands, instead of a lock - a mouth with sharp teeth. She flies through the air and rides to the witches' sabbath in an iron mortar, driving with a pusher or stick, and covering her trail with a broomstick. Baba Yaga possesses magical, fire-breathing horses, walking boots, a flying carpet, a self-made harp, and a self-cutting sword. Pursuing fairy-tale heroes who run away from her malice and vengeance, she chases after them like a black cloud. Like a snake, Baba Yaga loves to suck on the white breasts of beauties and, like him, jealously guards the springs of living water and carefully hides copper, silver and gold in her pantries. Finally, like a snake, Baba Yaga devours human flesh. Through the efforts of later "storytellers" and their unbridled fantasy, she is presented as an evil, ugly, with a long nose, disheveled hair, an old woman of great stature. Baba Yaga has one leg - bone, she is blind, she is an old woman with huge breasts. The connection with wild animals and the forest allows her image to be derived from the ancient image of the mistress of animals and the world of the dead. At the same time, such attributes of her as a shovel, with which she throws children into the oven, are consistent with the interpretation of fairy tales about her as a priestess. She is the antagonist of the hero of a fairy tale, a warrior and a kidnapper, but much more often a folk tale knows Baba Yaga in the form of a giver and assistant to the hero.
WOMEN-CIRCUIT - twisted by their will. “And in the darkness, white girls languished in the meadow, empty-haired girls and women-hand-rolled cigarettes, watered the overpowered grass” (A. M. Remizov. “Tales”).
VAKODLAKI - dead men who come to suck the blood of babies.
A VAMPIRE (feasting on you) is a dead man who, during his lifetime, was a villain, a robber and, in general, a person with vicious inclinations, whose body was inhabited by unclean spirits. They also assure that if a cat jumps over a dead man when he lies in a hut, then the deceased will certainly become a vampire. The bared teeth of the dead man and the blush on his cheeks indicate a vampire in him. Forty days after the death of such a person, the evil spirit that has settled in his corpse begins to come out of the grave, wanders around the houses and sucks blood from the ears of babies and adults. To get rid of the vampire, he is conjured to enter the jug, after the spell, the throat of the jug is plugged with a cork, and then they go to the chosen place, several carts of firewood and sod are lit there and the jug is thrown into the middle of the flame: when the vessel is hot and bursts with a strong crack, "the people consoles himself with the thought that the vampire has already been burned.
VARKOLAK - an evil dead man, rushes at women and enters into a fornication with them; birth from him, children are without cartilage in the nose and have the ability to see spirits.
VEDUN AND VEDUNYA - see sorcerer, sorcerer, magician, sorcerer, prophetic wife, sorceress, enchantress, sorcerer woman, sorcerer.
WITCH - initially - the mother in charge, the eldest woman in the family, see "sorcerer and sorceress". Through the efforts of Christian "correctors": a woman who decided to sell her soul to the devil; differs from all other women in that it has a tail (small) and has the ability to fly through the air on a broom, poker, mortar, etc. Russian witches and Baba Yaga rush through the air in an iron mortar, chasing with a pestle or stick and covering the trail with a broomstick, while the earth groans, the winds whistle, and unclean spirits utter wild cries. They have much in common with sorcerers: witches are in constant communication (for which the “bald” mountains serve, where playful widows play noisy games with cheerful and passionate devils); in the same way, they die hard, tormented by terrible convulsions caused by the desire to pass on their science to someone, and in the same way, after death, they protrude from their mouths a tongue that is unusually long and quite similar to a horse's. But the resemblance does not stop there, for then restless pacing from the fresh graves begins; they calm down in the same way with an aspen stake driven into the grave. In the Little Russian steppes, young widows are very common among witches, and, moreover, such that “it is not a pity to give their souls for the look of a black-browed beauty”; in the harsh coniferous forests, witches turn into ugly old women like Baba Yaga. Witches can turn into different animals, most often into sinister, dark-feathered and nocturnal birds, pigs, dogs and yellow cats (“striga” is a night bird, Czechs and Slovaks call witches that way; Croats call a ghoul a strigon). Very often, witches are tortured for milking other people's cows. Witches are diligently engaged in love spells and lapels of loving and cold hearts. By their elemental properties, witches can freely rush about in the midst of cloudy sources, and therefore the people were convinced that they walk on the surface of rivers and lakes and do not drown in the depths of the waters. Therefore, those accused of witchcraft were thrown into deep pools: the innocent immediately sank to the bottom, and the real witch floated on top of the water along with the stone. The first were pulled out with the help of ropes and set free, those who were recognized as witches were nailed to death and drowned by force. In addition to the indispensable little tail, they also say that witches, instead of two, have three nipples. “The witch herself felt that it was cold, despite the fact that she was warmly dressed; and therefore, raising her hands up, she put her foot aside and, having brought herself into such a position as a man flying on skates, without moving a single joint, she descended through the air, as if along an icy sloping mountain, and straight into the pipe. .. got out of the stove, threw off the warm casing, recovered, and no one could have known that she rode a broomstick a minute ago ”(N.V. Gogol. “The Night Before Christmas”).
WITCHER - a sorcerer or bloodsucker who, according to legend, walks after death and kills people. In general, more often than not, the witcher is a good creature, not only not doing anything evil, but even trying to be useful: he prevents the witches from doing evil, forbids the dead to walk, disperses the clouds, etc. He does not lose his strength even after death. They say that they have seen him more than once, how he fights with the dead on the graves and always wins.
VLHVA - a sorceress, a prophetess, in one of the Slavic dialects, in later times she was singled out as a separate type of witches.
VOLKODLAK (Wolf skin, volkolak, vovkulak, vovkun, vavkalak, vukodlak) - a werewolf, a sorcerer and a warrior with the ability to turn into a wolf. According to Russian beliefs, vovkulaks are of two kinds: they are either warrior-sorcerers who take on an animal form, or simple people, turned into wolves by sorcery spells. It was also believed that sorcerers could turn entire wedding trains into wolves. A Vovkulak Human is easily recognizable by the fur that grows under his tongue. According to the legends of the southern Slavs, a sign of a wolfdog is a noticeable, from birth, "wolf hair" on the head. In the Christian period, the idea appears that wolves eat the moon or the sun during an eclipse. It was believed that the wolfdog becomes a ghoul, so his mouth was clamped with a coin after death.
VOLKH - guesser, soothsayer, sorcerer; children were brought to him to impose on them nauzes (knots, bindings).
VOLKHATKA (Volkhvitka) - fortune-teller, soothsayer.
VOLKHV (sorcerer, wizard) - a sorcerer, guesser, soothsayer (Nestor uses the words "sorcerer" and "magician" as unambiguous). Prince Oleg turned to the Magi with the question: what death was destined for him. Having told about how this prediction came true, the chronicler adds: “It is still wonderful, as if from sorcery it comes true by sorcery.” In addition to the gift of divination, the magicians are also credited with the art of medicine. According to the “Words about Evil Souls”, “when (people) find some kind of execution, or robbery from the prince, or dirty tricks in the house, or illness, or destruction of their livestock, then they flow to the Magi, in those for themselves to seek help ". “... Magi are not afraid of mighty lords, / And they do not need a princely gift; / Truthful and free is their prophetic language / And friendly with the will of heaven - / The coming years lurk in the mist: / But I see your lot on a bright forehead ”(A.S. Pushkin. “Song of the Prophetic Oleg”).
VOLKHOV - according to the old chronograph, a fierce sorcerer (magus - a sorcerer, magician). In the form of a crocodile, he settled in the river, which also received its nickname from him, and a waterway lay in it; all who did not worship him, the sorcerer drowned and devoured.
VOROG - an evil sorcerer, an enemy to man, an adversary.
VOROZHEY - a healer.
VUKODLAK - a man who, forty days after his death, enters the devil's spirit and revives his insensible body. Rising from the grave, he wanders at night, dressed in a shroud, sneaks into the huts, crushes sleeping people and drinks blood from them, which is why these unfortunate people not only die, but also become vampires (bloodsuckers) themselves.
ZHABALAKA - a werewolf who appears in the form of a toad.
ZDUHACH - among the southern Slavs, a person (less often an animal) possessing supernatural power, which manifests itself only when he sleeps. During sleep, a spirit comes out of it, which leads the winds, drives the clouds, drives and drives away the hail, fights with other spirits. Zduhach protects the fields and lands of his village, clan from natural disasters. Most often this is an adult man, but it can also be a child (especially born in a "shirt"), a woman and even a shepherd dog, an ox, a cow, a horse, a ram, a goat and other animals. Zduhach-animal protects only herds and animals. “According to popular belief, famous people were also zdukhachs historical figures. Fights between zduhachi occur most often in spring, when strong winds blow, and on long autumn nights. Eduhachi are armed with charred torches, spindles, but often in a fight they use stones and tree trunks uprooted. After death, zduhachi become volkulaks ”(N.I. Tolstoy).
KARG - a crow, as well as a swearing name for an evil woman or witch.
KARKUN - means both a raven and an envious person who can jinx (croak), mutilate.
KLIKUSHI are unfortunate people suffering from epilepsy or other serious illnesses, combined with delirium, foam at the mouth and writhing; they utter wild cries and, under the influence of the superstition prevailing among the people, claim that evil enemies have planted demons in them, which gnaw at their insides. This illness manifests itself in the form of seizures, more noisy than dangerous, and strikes with the monotony of the occasions and the choice of places for its temporary manifestation (the liturgy of the faithful, which precedes the singing of the Cherubim). An evil spirit that has inhabited a person violates church decorum and introduces into temptation: screams rush to the voices of all domestic animals - dog barking and cat meowing are replaced by cock singing, horse neighing, etc. They treat hysterics in home life with care and affection, considering them to be sick people, they free them from hard work even in times of trouble. When, after successful experiments at home healing, the patient completely calms down, she is not allowed to work for a whole week, she is fed the best food, they try not to get angry, so as not to give her the opportunity to swear with a "black word" and, thus, start to hysterically again.
THE WIZARD AND THE WITCH (Kaldavanian-Kaldovanets, Sorcerer) - initially, the one who makes bloodless sacrificial offerings and monitors the movement of Kolo has great magical (witchcraft) power. Sorcerers were divided into white and black. Sorcerers are natural and voluntary, the latter are more difficult to recognize in the crowd and not so easy to protect yourself from them. The natural sorcerer, according to the views of the people, has his own genealogy: a girl will give birth to a girl, this second will bring a third, and a boy born from a third will become a sorcerer at an age, and a girl a witch. There are, although very rarely, unwitting sorcerers. The fact is that every sorcerer before his death tries to impose his magical power on someone, otherwise he will have to suffer for a long time, and even Mother Earth will not accept him. Therefore, knowledgeable people avoid taking any thing from his hands and generally touching his hand. For the "involuntary" sorcerer, repentance and salvation are possible. Sorcerers, for the most part, are old people with long gray hair and unkempt beards, with long, uncut nails. In most cases, they are rootless people and always single, having enlisted, however, mistresses. In appearance they are always impressive and severe; they refrain from being talkative, they do not make friends with anyone, and even always walk around with a frown, without raising their eyes and intimidating with that look from under their brows, which is called "wolf's look". To use the help of a sorcerer, as well as to believe in his supernatural powers, is considered by the people to be a sin, although for this sin in the next world there is no threat of great punishment. But on the other hand, the sorcerers themselves, for all their deeds, will surely suffer a fierce, painful death, and a righteous and merciless judgment awaits beyond the grave. As soon as the sorcerer's grave is buried, it is necessary to drive into it Aspen stake, in order to prevent the dead from rising from the coffin, wandering around the white world and frightening living people. The sorcerer harms a person, cattle and transfers his hatred even to plants. The harm brought to a person is most often expressed in the form of diseases: hernias, abscesses, binges, seizures. Generalized cases of cattle are also related to the work of sorcerers. Of the plants, bread is the most harmful. As lords of whirlwinds, sorcerers can send damage to their haters and rivals in the wind, lift them into the air and circle there with terrible speed. Wizards ride wolves, and witches ride cats and goats. In Rus', they talk about the trips of sorcerers on wolves. In an old popular print, Baba Yaga is depicted riding a pig. Sorcerers can turn into wolves usually at night. In Belarus they say about a sorcerer: "He has flies in his nose." Evil spirits willingly turn into flies. The expression about a person that he is “with a fly” means that that person is intoxicated. “... The sorcerer Faladay, who got lost in the forest, stubbed an old man with a fly in his nose, waved and spat” (A.M. Remizov “Tales”).
COW DEATH (rinderpest, Black Nemoch) - a werewolf who takes on the image of a black cow, walks along with the village herds and puts damage on them. It also appears in the form of a cat, most often black, or a dog, sometimes in the form of a cow skeleton (a late symbol that arose on the model of the appearance of human death). Cow Death is fought with various ceremonies: plowing the village, killing a cow, cat, dog, or sometimes a small animal, or a rooster (most often by burying it alive), lighting a “live”, i.e. mined by friction, fire, driving cattle through a ditch or tunnel dug in the ground, weaving the “ordinary”, i.e. woven in one day, canvas. When plowing, they sometimes sing, calling on the Cow Death to leave the village, because. Veles walks in the village, and with the spread of Christianity, St. Vlasy (patron of cattle). When an animal (a cat or a dog) came across in Kurshchina and Orlovshchina, it was immediately killed as the embodiment of Death, hastening to take refuge in the form of a werewolf. In the Nizhny Novgorod province, to avert infection, the peasants drove all the cattle into one yard, locked the gates and guarded until the morning, and at dawn they dismantled the cows, while an extra cow belonging to no one knows who is taken for Cow Death, she is loaded onto a woodpile and burned alive.
CAT - a werewolf who appears in the form of a cat.
KUZELNIK - sorcerer, sorcerer.
KURDUSH - originally light spirits (Kur soul), helpers of the Magi, sorcerers in the South Slavic lands. With the spread of Christianity, they were designated as evil spirits helping sorcerers in their work. After the successful completion of the rites of initiation into sorcerers, small lively imps - Kurdushi are assigned to the initiates for life for services. They take to the right place things taken from an infectious patient in order to “spoil” another intended one. And the cursed powder is thrown "downwind" on the intended victim. And they will bring a pinch of earth from the trail to the sorcerer, a hair from the head of the doomed. And "damage" to the specified will be sent with a "leak". All the whims of the sorcerer are performed by kurdushi.
BALD MOUNTAIN - the expression "witches fly to Bald Mountain" originally referred to mythical wives who drive dark, thunderclouds into the high sky. Later, when the meaning of these metaphors was lost, the people associated witch flights with those mountains that rose in the areas inhabited by them. The main holiday of a number of European peoples (sabbat) is Walpurgis Night. Every year, on the first night of May, witches fly to Bald Mountain. Each witch comes to the feast with her devil lover. The lord of demonic forces himself - Satan, in the form of a goat with a black human face, solemnly and solemnly sits on a high chair or on a large stone table in the middle of the meeting. All those present at the meeting declare their obedience to him by kneeling and kissing. Satan particularly favors one witch, who plays the leading role in the circle of sorceresses and who is easily recognizable as their queen. Flocking from different countries and regions, unclean spirits and witches report that they have done evil, and conspire to new intrigues; when Satan is displeased with someone's tricks, he punishes the guilty with blows. Then, by the light of torches lit from a flame that burns between the horns of a large goat, they start a feast: they greedily devour horse meat and other dishes, without bread and salt, and drink prepared drinks from cow hooves and horse skulls. At the end of the meal, a frantic dance begins to the sounds of extraordinary music. The musician is sitting on a tree; instead of a bagpipe or a violin, he holds a horse's head, and either a simple stick or a cat's tail serves as a pipe or bow. Witches, grabbing hands with demons, with wild joy and shameless gestures, jump, spin and lead round dances. The next morning, in the places of their dances, circles are visible on the grass, as if trampled down by cow and goat feet. Then a big goat is burned (before they simply drove him out into the desert and gave away all their sins, after which the scapegoat died in terrible agony) and its ashes are divided among all the assembled witches, who, with the help of this ashes, cause various disasters to people. In addition to the goat, a black bull or a black cow is also sacrificed to the demon. The amusement ends with carnal intercourse, which the witches enter into with unclean spirits, with the fires completely extinguished, and then each of them flies home on her broom - the same way that she came to the gathering. In Slavic villages, bonfires are lit on this night until the morning, driving away evil spirits from the light. With the onset of dawn, the cry “Hurrah!” is heard everywhere. as a sign of the victory of Light over Darkness.
NAUZNIK (uzolnik, shoemaker) - a healer who wonders about the imposition of amulets-knots in the treatment: "which tie beasts and swords, and stare at the water, and bring in a baby boy."
CLOUDPROOF - sorcerers. There is a belief that sorcerers can rush about in clouds, produce thunderstorms, blow up storms, rain showers and hail; can fool, i.e. cover the surroundings and objects with fog, and, giving them deceptive images, make a person see something completely different from what it really is.
WEREWOLF - (wolves or werewolves - wolf skins) - originally sorcerers and warriors, after reading the prayer, they turned around (tumbled) over their heads and took on the image of a fearless and invincible wolf. With the spread of Christianity everywhere, people began to instill a different image: the souls of babies who died unbaptized, or the souls of sorcerers and apostates, condemned to wander forever and not know peace. The werewolf usually appears at dusk and at night; with a wild howl and uncontrollable speed, he rushes, throwing himself into a cat, dog, owl, rooster or stone, throws himself at the feet of the traveler and crosses his path; often he rolls up in a ball, a snow block, a haystack, and in the forest they meet him with a terrible beast or monster. Werewolves "throw off for a while" the sorcerers themselves or "wrap" unbaptized babies, girls who have taken their own lives, or sorcerers, "if the sorcerer sold his soul to the devil." Werewolves are temporary creatures, being such only for the time when various circumstances require (for example, the desire to take revenge and even play a joke). Turning into a wolf, a person acquires the voice and predatory inclinations of this beast: he retires into the forests, attacks travelers and livestock, and, tormented by hunger, howls wildly, and even devours carrion.
SHELL - a creature that digs into a living body and sucks blood from it, like a leech, an analogue of a vampire.
Midnighters - sorcerers, witches, drunkards, and in general people who have given in to an evil spirit, cursed or excommunicated, do not rot after their death, because Mother Earth does not accept them; they come out of the coffins at night, wander around their former dwellings and come to their relatives and neighbors. History knows cases of "imperishable relics" of other corpses in mausoleums.
PORCELNIK (porter) - a sorcerer. The sorcerer and witches collect poisonous herbs and roots, prepare a poisonous drug from them and use it to harm people; in regional dialects, "poison" is indicated by the words: damage, portage.
HERBAL (rhizome) - healer, sorceress.
HERBALIST - sorcerer, doctor, healer. Grass - poisonous plant, from which you can make a potion or poison. Medicinal plants have always been called "bylye", hence the expression "byly overgrown."
GHOUL (ghoul) - a dead man who during his lifetime was an evil sorcerer, vovkulak and generally outcast by the church, which are: suicides, drunkards, heretics, apostates and cursed by parents. According to the Little Russians, ghouls are born from the fornication of a vovkulak or the devil with a witch. In the dead of midnight, leaving the graves where they lie as incorruptible relics (corpses), ghouls take on various images, fly through the air, roam the surroundings on horseback, raise noise and uproar and frighten travelers, or penetrate huts and suck blood from sleepy people , which after that will certainly die; they especially love to suck the blood of babies. The pre-dawn cry of a rooster makes the ghoul instantly disappear or throws him bloodied to the ground - in complete insensibility. Appearing at night to the woman, the ghoul begins to inquire about how the shirts are prepared, in order to suck the blood out of her after selecting the answer. A smart woman should prolong her story as long as possible, and therefore first describes how flax is sown, how it is harvested and soaked, then she talks about yarn, weaving, bleaching linens, and finally about sewing a shirt. By the time she finishes all these details, the cocks will crow and the ghoul will be gone. They appear either in their own form or with blue faces wrapped in a black cloak. A ghoul can turn into a bat, a feather, a straw. A ghoul child can be recognized by its double rows of teeth. To stop the activity of the ghoul, it is necessary to drive an aspen stake into the place of the grave where the chest of the deceased is located. Ghouls are the enemies of the coast. The medicine for biting a ghoul is the earth taken from his grave. “Ghoul, is another matter; he is always angry "he will be born from a devil and a witch, or from a witch and a vokulak. He lives as an evil person. Ghouls do not rot in coffins, they come out at night and, sucking the blood out of the sleeping ones, suck them to death" (N.A. Markovich. "Customs, beliefs, cuisine and drinks of the Little Russians"). "Vanya has become, - he can't step. / God! the poor man thinks, / It's true, the bones are gnawing / The red-lipped ghoul" (A.S. Pushkin. "Ghoul" ).
CHAROVNIK (sorcerer) - one who knows how to perform spells - superstitious, mysterious rites that are performed, on the one hand, to deflect various misfortunes, to expel evil spirits, heal diseases, establish family happiness and contentment, and on the other hand, in order to to send all sorts of troubles on their enemies and betray them to the power of evil, tormenting demons.
WHISPER - this is what healers are called precisely for those “conspiracies” or mysterious words that are whispered over the sick, or the drug. Conspiracies are perceived either orally from teachers, or from written sources, widely distributed among the literate rural population under the name of "flower beds", "herbalists" and "healers". The main difference between sorcerers and healers is that the former hide from people and try to shroud their craft in an impenetrable mystery, while the latter work openly and do not get down to business without a cross and prayer: even their healing conspiracies, basically, consist of prayer appeals to God and saints as healers. The sorcerer often acts by inspiration: he allows himself to invent his methods and means, so long as they seem impressive and even frightening. The sorcerer, on the other hand, walks along a torn path and is afraid to stumble, adhering to the “flower garden” or the instructions of the deceased father. (N.A. Markovich. “Customs, beliefs, cuisine and drinks of the Little Russians”)
The witch is the woman of the earth. We inherit its natural power, ability to birth, transformation, healing. Women's power and energy is very similar to the power of the earth.
Can you see signs in simple things and find answers to your questions in the patterns that nature draws? Her wisdom is your wisdom?
Is your life and your body adjusting to the seasonal changes in nature? If you are active and dynamic in summer, become lethargic and calm in autumn, seem to be dead in winter, and reborn in spring, then you are completely dependent on the whims of nature.
- Signs of a witch in a woman.
- Inner wisdom.
You certainly have something of a witch if:
- You feel that a cauldron of natural healing wisdom boils inside you, and people turn to you for advice, talk about their lives, love or share their problems in the hope that you will help them.
- You, in turn, give them advice or prepared herbal tinctures and various drugs(because she is well acquainted with the properties of plants). People leave you with hearts full of hope for happiness and healing.
How do I know if I'm a witch?
- Proximity with nature.
Do you live in a forest or near a body of water? If not, do you spend a lot of time in such places, preferring them to urban areas?
Witches, being inextricably linked with nature, try to be as close as possible to nature and spend as much time as possible with it. Her natural beauty and energy feed the witches, give them strength.
Many perform their rituals by the water or in the forest. If you are a witch, you feel at home in the bosom of nature.
Signs of a Witch
- You are not afraid of storms and storms.
You do not feel fear, even when nature is raging so that it seems that the apocalypse has come. Moreover, you enjoy storms and tempests, and sometimes you wonder if it was your own energy that caused such a blow of the elements.
The witch revels in the power of nature in all its manifestations. She rejoices in the showers and the wind.
- Love to the animals.
You like animal world and empathize with all living beings on our planet. You are able to feel their pain and cry with him.
In some strange natural way, you know the entire animal race, you are able to understand it, and you also see the signs that animals give you.
Often, lost dogs enter your house or birds fly into your windows. And it also happens that in the field an unfamiliar horse will come close and bow its head on your shoulder.
Do you know how to talk with animals, understand their requests and heal them from diseases?
Witches and animals are so dependent on nature that they can speak a similar energy language and easily recognize each other.
How to spot a witch
- The influence of the moon.
Does your activity and mood depend on the lunar phases? The energy of the moon affects you. As a little girl, standing by a moonlit window, did you talk to the moon? Are you adjusting to her phases now?
For example, do you start any new projects or relationships when the moon is exceptionally waxing? Have you noticed that when the moon is full, things around you begin to behave in a strange way, and when it is waning, all undertakings or relationships weaken and decline?
If you have the traits of a witch in you, you will not miss the opportunity to sit in complete silence alone on the new moon. At night, you like to dream and make plans for the future.
So on the new moon you adjust to the phases of the moon, drawing on its energy.
Witch Abilities
- Powerful power to grant wishes.
Do you have suspicions that your wishes have the ability to come true? Be careful with them, because both good and bad wishes can come true.
Witches are as old as the world. If you are a witch, in your eyes you can see ancient stories and secrets of the earth, myths and mysteries, answers to many questions.
- The ability to heal people.
Most likely, you have the traits of a witch if you have a craving and the ability to heal people.
You have the gift to choose healing herbs, natural energy resources for yourself and loved ones. You are undoubtedly a witch if you simply put your hand on someone's sore back or bruised area, and tomorrow the pain disappears and the wound heals.
Witch traits
- Memories of a past life.
As a rule, witches remember their past lives. Many of them have painful memories of being burned at the stake or drowned in the Middle Ages, just because they were wild, wise and free.
Witches are desperately trying to drive away images from the past.
- White crow.
As a rule, witches always feel uncomfortable around people. They are often considered black sheep and underestimated despite being wise and insightful. They are simply not understood by others.
Sometimes it is said about them that they are outsiders, as they often withdraw into themselves and avoid people, although serious passions seethe inside them.
If you are a witch, most likely you do not fit into the generally accepted norms and rules. You know secret and sacred things and you can see what others cannot understand.
You do not merge with a large crowd, but, on the contrary, prefer loneliness.
You are very sensitive and fragile, but at the same time you have the strength of a lone wolf.
You need a lot of time to think, dream, communicate with nature and adjust to a new wave.
- Mystic crystals as a personal possession.
You are attracted by beautiful rocks that contain the energy of the earth. Rose quartz, turquoise, amber - these natural stones have been at your disposal for a long time.
You have been keeping them since the very times when you did not yet know about their magical properties. Some of them were given to you, while others you collected yourself.
The witch knows about their properties to heal ailments, knows how to charge stones, use them as protection from negative influences from the outside, and also wears them as jewelry.
If you are a witch, then you know how to call spirits and angels with the help of a burning candle and some stones, as well as create a magical divine aura.
- Magic.
You believe in magic like a child, you see mysticism in the air and around you.
You are attracted to unusual things, stories, objects.
Despite the fact that the people around you do not believe in mystical signs and omens, there is a corner in your heart in which you keep faith in magic.
You are attracted to movies, books, creepy and strange stories about witches, ghouls. You think that there are no coincidences, and that everything that happens to us cannot be called an accident.
You believe in signs and symbols and always see them. You adhere to the principle "there are no accidents in this world" and you know that even being somewhere completely alone, you are never alone.
- Divination.
You have a very developed intuition, and very often you foresee and predict events as accurately as if you had that very magic crystal ball inside you.
When you talk about what you think might happen, people tend to listen to you. Sometimes you can see the distant future and predict the result of this or that action. But you see not only the future, dreams and visions also tell you about the past life.
You can read a person like an open book, and you can tell a lot from his energy. You have a developed sixth sense. For this reason, you are attracted to Tarot cards and other mystical things and objects, thanks to which you can predict love, separation and other events.
If you can confidently attribute at least a few of the 13 signs to yourself, it is quite possible that you are the real witch.
Witch- is knowing in charge mother.
IN EDMA - in the pre-Christian, pagan period - these are, most likely, female witches, "knowing" (after all - knowledge, know - know), who during their lifetime played the role of the coastline of the clan, village; women who knew herbs and their medicinal properties who knew conspiracies and treated people, communicating, as it was believed, with spirits. How the characters of pagan mythology were images with dominant positive features.
Witch - in Slavic beliefs - a woman endowed with witchcraft abilities by nature or who has learned to conjure. In essence, the very name of a witch characterizes her as “a person who knows, possesses special knowledge” (“to witch, to witch” means “to conjure, to tell fortunes”).
Christianity in the fight against paganism turned the witch into a witch, endowed only negative traits. She began to be depicted as an old, gray-haired, disheveled woman with a hooked nose, wild eyes, bony hands and a small ponytail, living with the devil or making a deal with him. Witchcraft was declared a crime.
Witch has the properties of a werewolf. She can turn into a crow, an owl, a cat, a dog, a pig, or she can appear as a beautiful young woman. A witch flies on a broom, shovel, poker or on a goat, flying out of the chimney at home.
“They say about witches that they have a tail, they can fly through the air, turn into forty, turn into pigs and other animals, throwing themselves over twelve knives.”
“The king himself went out to the square and ordered all the witches to be covered with straw. When straw was brought in and surrounded, he ordered to set it on fire from all sides in order to destroy all witchcraft in Rus', before his own eyes. The frying pan of the witches engulfed them - and they raised a screech, scream and meow. A thick black column of smoke rose, and magpies flew out of it, one after another - apparently-invisibly ... So, all the witches-cross-dressers turned into forty and flew away and deceived the king in the eyes.
With their witchcraft charms, witches send damage to plants, animals and people. If a witch in the field binds several bunches of cereal plants or cuts a narrow path of ears of corn, then the entire crop dies - she takes it to herself. She can spoil any cattle, she can milk cows, no matter how far away, she can deprive them of milk: if she only draws a circle on the ground and sticks a knife into its center with a conspiracy, then the milk from the cow she has conceived will flow by itself.
Witches are to blame for the illnesses of people, especially if it is not known what and why this or that person is ill. Droughts, hurricanes, heavy, damaging downpours, hail, epidemics, crop failures, etc. began to be explained by their insidiousness. But, knowing certain methods of action, the witch can be disarmed, made peaceful.
“They say, in order to frighten the witch and disarm her actions, you need to in the hut where she is located, in the cross of the window frame, in the jamb of the door, which serves as a crossbar, or in the garden under the table, stick a knife, and the sorceress will be submissive.”
“If a sorcerer or sorceress ties a doll in bread, then you need to remove it with a poker and take it out of the pen, looking around or burn it right away, do not pull it out. They also do this: they take an aspen peg, split it, grab the doll into the split and pull it out. From this remedy, they say, the culprit of the doll suffers greatly - he gets severe pain in the lower back.
Dying, the witch suffers terribly. Both the witch and the witcher cannot die without passing on their sorcerous knowledge to some kind of successor. This is strictly followed by evil spirits, but they want to lose their influence on people. If there are no people willing to voluntarily take on this burden, then sorcerers transfer their abilities by deceit. Dying, they can take someone by the hand, give him any thing, while saying "on you." That person, without knowing it, becomes a sorcerer. Or they can even throw a stick - the one who picks it up will be given unclean witchcraft power.
In order for the soul of a dying witch to leave her body faster, it was usually supposed to break the floorboard - apparently, it was believed that such and such a soul could only go straight underground. In other places, it was believed that it was necessary to raise the mother or make a hole in the roof - evil spirits could not come for the witch in the usual way.
Such a transformation of ideas, characteristic of many images of pagan mythology, is largely due to the desire of Christianity to establish its undivided dominance in the minds of people, for which all the deities that were previously worshiped had to be presented as servants of the Antichrist. In addition, the image of a witch embodied the Christian idea of a woman as a vessel of sin.
In Slavic mythology, these are sorceresses who have entered into an alliance with the devil or other evil spirits in order to gain supernatural abilities. In different Slavic countries, witches were given different guises. In Rus', witches were represented as old women with disheveled gray hair, bony hands, and huge blue noses.
Peasant girls confided their secrets to village witches-witches, and they offered their services to them.
One girl, who served with a rich merchant, complained: "He promised to marry, but he deceived." “And you bring me only a piece of his shirt. I will give it to the church watchman to tie a rope on this tuft, then the merchant will not know where to go from longing, ”such was the witch’s recipe. Another girl wanted to marry a peasant who did not like her. “Get me the stockings off his legs. I will wash them, I will say water at night and I will give you three grains. Give him that water to drink, throw grain under his feet when he rides, and everything will be fulfilled.
Village witches were simply inexhaustible in inventing various recipes, especially in love affairs. There is also a mysterious talisman, which is extracted from a black cat or from frogs. From the first, boiled to the last degree, an “invisible bone” is obtained. A bone is equivalent to walking boots, a flying carpet, a hospitable bag and an invisibility cap. Two “lucky bones” are taken out of the frog, serving with equal success for both love spells and lapels, that is, causing love or disgust
In Moscow, according to researchers, in the 17th century different parties there lived witches or sorceresses, to whom even boyar wives came to ask for help against the jealousy of their husbands and consult about their love affairs and about means of how to moderate someone else's anger or harass enemies. In 1635, one “golden” craftswoman dropped a scarf in the palace, in which the root was wrapped. On this occasion, a search was appointed. When asked where she took the root and why she went to the sovereign with it, the craftswoman answered that the root was not dashing, but carried it with her from “heart pain, that her heart was sick”, she complained to one wife that her husband was dashing before her, and she gave her a reversible root, and ordered to put it on a mirror and look into the glass: then her husband would be affectionate to her, and in the royal court she did not want to spoil anyone and did not know other homies. The defendant and the wife to whom she referred were exiled to distant cities.
According to popular beliefs, witches "born" are kinder than "scientists" and can even help people, correcting the harm caused by "scientific" witches. In the Oryol province, it was believed that a "born" witch was born the thirteenth girl out of twelve girls in a row of the same generation (or, respectively, the tenth out of nine). Such a witch has a small tail (from half an inch to five inches). Sometimes witchcraft skills passed from mothers to daughters "by inheritance", and whole families of witches arose. According to popular beliefs, witches and sorcerers they cannot die and suffer terribly until they pass on their knowledge to someone; therefore, people endowed with witchcraft abilities, dying, could pass them on to unsuspecting relatives, acquaintances - through a cup, a broom, and other objects at hand. One of the residents Murmansk region she told how the old sorcerer offered to “write off witchcraft from him” as a sign of his disposition, but she was frightened and refused. The witch could get witchcraft abilities even after concluding an agreement with evil spirits: the devils began to serve the witch, fulfilling all her orders, even those not related to witchcraft. For example, for the sorceress Kostikha, devils regularly worked in the hayfield (Murm.). Another witch was taught to conjure by the devil in the form of a cat, whom she picked up in the forest, and he eventually tortured her (Tulsk.). According to beliefs, evil spirits could also move inside witches, who began to "live with an unclean spirit." Narratives about about how toads, snakes and other evil spirits crawl out of the body of a dead witch. In the Tula province they said: snakes, lizards, frogs gather on the chest of the deceased witch, and when her hut is burned “by the verdict of the rural community”, barking, screaming, voices are heard from there; in the ravine, where coal is poured, a pit with poisonous snakes is formed. However, the witch does not always resort to the help of devils, limiting herself to her own skills and powers.
In one village there could be several witches, sorceresses. On the Tersky Coast of the White Sea, until recently, residents called villages where there was traditionally "a lot of blackness", and, accordingly, there were many sorcerers and sorceresses. Sometimes witches were considered subordinates of an older, "strong" sorcerer. There are also references to the eldest, chief witch. From sorceresses (mostly grandmothers involved in healing), witches are distinguished by an unkind character and more diverse abilities and skills. The traditional appearance of a conjuring witch is a woman in a white shirt, with long flowing hair, sometimes with a kuban (pot) over her shoulders, with a pail or basket on the head, in the hands. She knows how to move quickly (fly) on a lutoshka (linden stick without bark), on a broomstick, a bread shovel, and other household utensils. All these magic tools of the witch indicate her special connection with the hearth, the stove - in the house the witch usually conjures at the stove. If you overturn the grip at the stove, then the witch will lose the ability to conjure (Vlad.), But if you turn the stove damper with the bow inward, then the witch will leave the house and will not be able to return to it (Vol.). The witch flies (flies out of the chimney) with smoke, a whirlwind, bird. In general, the chimney is a favorite way of witches from house to house, and the smoke, curling in especially bizarre rings, is one of the evidence of the presence of a witch in the hut: she has “the first smoke from the chimney never comes out calmly and quietly, but always twists and turns it in clubs in all directions, whatever the weather” (Vol.).
The witch turns into a needle, a ball, a sack, a rolling barrel, a haystack. However, most often it takes the form birds (magpies), snakes, pigs, horses, cats, dogs, rolling wheels . In some regions of Russia, it was believed that there were twelve possible forms of a witch. The ability to quickly transform and the variety of forms taken on distinguish the witch from other mythological characters. Turning around, the witch somersaults on the stove hearth (or underground, on the threshing floor) through the fire, through knives and forks, through twelve knives, through a rope, etc. There are also more well-known (according to fairy tales) ways of wrapping - for example, rubbing with magic ointment. A witch casts spells, turns around and flies or runs in the form of animals most often at dusk, in the evening, at night. A witch, a sorceress is a creature and a real one (in everyday life she an ordinary peasant woman), and endowed with supernatural powers and abilities. According to Russian beliefs, a witch has power over various manifestations of the existence of nature and man. From witches and witchers "depends on harvest and crop failure, illness and recovery, the welfare of livestock, and often even a change in the weather."
In the records of the XIX-XX centuries. such a skill of the witch as damage and theft of the moon is also mentioned. In the Tomsk province, it was believed that witches first learn to “spoil” a radish and a month, and then a person. The month is "spoiled" as follows. Baba, becoming "okarach" (on all fours), looks at him through the bath trough and conjures. From this, the edge of the month should turn black as coal. In the Astrakhan province, a story is recorded about how a witch “stole” a month during a wedding, and the trainees (participants in the wedding) did not find the way. And in the archive of the Kursk Znamensky Monastery there is a record of the 18th century, which tells how a witch removed stars from the sky. The connection with the Moon, characteristic of the most ancient deities, supernatural beings, testifies to the antiquity of the origin of the image of a witch. However, in Russia XIX-XX centuries. such beliefs (and even more so stories about a witch flying, eating, sweeping the moon and stars with a broomstick) are not as common as, for example, in Ukraine, among Western and southern Slavs. In Russian materials, a witch, conjuring over the Moon and stars, usually retains her human appearance, although she can be compared with an eclipse, a cloud. This does not allow us to see in the image of a witch only animation, a personification of natural phenomena. The witch sometimes imitates the elements, then subordinates them to herself, then, as it were, dissolves in them, merging with the elements, acting through them.
The image of a witch arose at the crossroads of ideas about “living” elements, about a woman endowed with supernatural abilities, as well as about animals and birds with special properties and abilities. In order to fly, a witch turns into a bird, a horse or becomes a woman rider. The "occupations" of flying witches are varied. In the guise of a magpie, the witch-thing harms pregnant women (see. GAME), less often - flies to the Sabbath (Tulsk., Vyatsk.) Or steals the Moon (Tom.). In Russia in the 19th-20th centuries. popular are stories about magical flights or trips of witches on a person wrapped in a horse (or, conversely, a person endowed with special powers on a witch-horse - Orl., Kaluga., Vyatsk.). The long spread of this plot is attested in the Nomocanon, which mentions the healing by Archbishop Macarius of a "wife turned into a mare." To wrap a sleeping or gaping person with a horse, it is enough for a witch to throw a bridle over him. The bridle and collar are traditionally one of the most "witchy" items. The Russians believed so much in the transmission of witchcraft through everything “belonging to horse harness and riding in general” that, for example, strangers were categorically not allowed to the royal horses, and in Eastern Siberia witches' damage to people, livestock and objects is still called "putting on a collar."
In the stories of the XIX-XX centuries. flights and trips of horse witches (witch riders) are aimless or end in the marriage (sometimes death) of a witch tamed in the form of a horse. Narratives about the flights and trips of witches to the Sabbath (as well as about the Sabbaths themselves) in the Great Russian provinces did not become widespread. In a story from the Vyatka province, for example, it is not so much about the Sabbath as about the fate of a person who accidentally fell into it: a magpie witch (and after her the witch's husband who turned into a magpie) arrives at a gathering of sorceresses. The husband is immediately forced to leave him (“until the witches have eaten him”) and flies away on a horse drawn and animated by his wife. Having jumped off his horse at the wrong time, he then gets home for half a year. Witches also have power over the weather, especially moisture and rain. In the Voronezh province, it was believed that a witch could drive away the clouds by waving her apron.
According to beliefs (albeit more characteristic of the southern and southwestern regions of Russia), a witch hides and stores rain, hail, and a storm in a bag or pot. Believing in a special connection between witches and water, since Ancient Rus' those suspected of witchcraft were tested in the following way: they were thrown into a river, a lake, and those who did not drown were considered witches (apparently suspected of being able to influence water). This custom can be regarded both as an execution, and as a purification, a sacrifice. During severe droughts, witches were usually sought out who had conjured a drought (perhaps even holding rain somewhere in or "in themselves"). Belief that a witch can somehow attract (or "draw" into herself) moisture - to hold back the rain, to rake in the dew, to milk the cows - is especially common in Russia. One of the most traditional occupations of a witch is milking other people's cows. Usually at dusk, at night, turning into a snake, a pig, a cat and secretly sneaking up to a cow, the witch milks her, while she can do without a milker, pulling the udder with invisible hairs (Raven.).
In a story from the Tula province, a rich peasant's cows do not give milk. He is advised to guard with an ax, sitting under a chicken perch. At night, a cat comes into the yard and, turning into a simple-haired woman, milks a cow in a leather bag. A man cuts off a woman's hand with an ax, and she disappears. In the morning it is discovered that he cut off the hand of his mother, who turned out to be a witch. The gathering decides not to let her out of the yard. A cow milked by a witch dries up the udder, she withers and dies. They also talk about more complex methods of witch milking: without touching the cows, the witch milks them by sticking a knife into the plow (which causes milk to flow out of the knife), or calls, calls out to the cows, listing their names. According to the word of the witch, milk fills the dishes prepared by her at home.
The actions of witches are also connected with the annual cycle of nature. They are especially significant and dangerous in the middle of winter and on the days of the summer solstice. In the southern regions of Russia, there are stories that on January 16, hungry witches kill cows, and during the summer solstice (on Ivanov, Petrov days, July 7 and 12) they try to get into the stables and get close to the cattle. The days of the solstice and major calendar holidays (for example, Easter) are a kind of witch festivities, accompanied, according to Russian beliefs, not so much by the Sabbaths, but by the activation of all the forces and creatures inhabiting the world: on Ivan Kupala, “witches and sorcerers fly out of their caves to protect treasures, spoil cattle, destroy spores in bread, make creases so that the reapers writhe, make gaps so that they are not threshed, ”etc. (Psk.). Fearing witches, on such days they tried to leave the cows together with the calves in the barn, so that the sucking calf would prevent the witch from taking milk, thistles were hung on the door of the barn, a young aspen tree was placed in the door of the barnyard, they propped up the door of the barn with aspen logs, sprinkled with flaxseed. Stinging nettles were placed on the windows of the hut, and in general they tried not to sleep on the night of The day of Ivan so as not to become a victim of witchcraft tricks. In the Smolensk province, before Ivan's Day, a Passion candle and an image were placed on the gates of the barnyard (a day later, the candle could turn out to be bitten by a witch, whom she prevented from entering the barnyard). In some regions of Russia (especially southern and southwestern), on the night of Ivanov's day, a symbolic burning of a horse's skull or an effigy depicting a witch took place. Calling cows driven out to the healing dew of Ivanovo, they simultaneously take away the dewy moisture that gives health, fertility, and milk.
According to customs, peasant women also "scoop dew" in the morning of Ivan's Day, "carrying a clean tablecloth over the grass and squeezing it into beetroot" (Volog.), or ride in the dew, trying to draw health and strength from it (Olon.). “Dew scooping” by peasant women is aimed at acquiring health and well-being; “raking in” the dew by a witch means “raking in milk” and spoiling health, spoiling a cow. Apparently, in some of their qualities, dew, milk, rain seemed to the peasants a single substance, the embodiment and guarantee of the fruitfulness of the land, livestock, people. Witches, on the other hand, had the ability to take away or “absorb” this fertility into themselves. The milk that is given out retains a connection with the witch who took it away: if such milk is boiled, then the witch will experience terrible torment (Perm., Sarat.) Or “everything inside will boil” ( South). If you stick a knife into the butter made from this milk, blood will come out (Novg.).
Milk seems to be inside the witch, in which there is some resemblance to a yard snake or noon snake ( see SNAKE) .It is difficult to say whether the witch "imitates" the snake or the image of a supernatural snake is one of the components of the image of the witch. One way or another, but the idea that witches can keep fertility, harvest ("abundance") in themselves, was noted even in Ancient Rus'.
During the famine in the Rostov land, the Magi cut the skin behind the shoulders of women suspected of witchcraft, releasing the “abundance” drawn into them. In the beliefs of the XIX-XX centuries. a milking bowl, a pot, a basket on the head and behind the shoulders of the witch, obviously, are also considered as vessels intended for “taken away” milk, dew, rain, harvest. The witch, thus, turns out to be associated with the most diverse elements and forces of the world: she and the snake , and a bird, and a horse, and wind, and smoke; she and a woman endowed with supernatural abilities - perhaps once a servant of various snake-like, bird-like, and other deities, an intermediary between them and people.
In Eastern Siberia, there is still an idea that a witch can command snakes, frogs, evil spirits (werewolves, brownies, devils). A witch, endowed with the ability to influence almost all essential aspects of life (especially moisture, water, fertility), perhaps it was also associated with the highest female deity of the East Slavic pantheon - Mokosh (Old Russian “moksh” means “conjure”, and “mokosha” means “bewitching woman”). The role of a witch commanding diverse forces and creatures could be not only harmful, but also necessary. Many researchers of the customs of the Eastern Slavs note the special vocation of women in the matter of witchcraft, keeping witch secrets and ancient beliefs. E. Anichkov believed that in Rus' (starting from the 11th-12th centuries) “with the decline of the role of the Magi”, a “primordial bearer of secret knowledge” - a woman, comes to the fore, “witchcraft becomes family, domestic” [Anichkov, 1914].
Indeed, even in the XIX-XX centuries. in especially important or critical cases (during epidemics, deaths of livestock) they tell fortunes, conjure ordinary peasant women. At the same time, their appearance, actions often repeat the appearance and actions of witches: women in shirts, without belts, with loose hair, walk around on pokers and brooms, plow the village during epidemics, blocking the path of the disease; or they run around the house on Maundy Thursday, driving away evil spirits, trying to “protect”, keep prosperity and well-being in the house. Women’s divination (like the woman herself, especially connected with nature and elemental forces) primordially seemed as necessary as dangerous. In the village of the XIX-XX centuries. a witch is almost always a negative phenomenon, a source of various troubles: "Whatever happens in a peasant family, the witch is guilty."
In addition to damage to the weather and livestock, damage to fields, health, people can be attributed to the witch. Usually the witch "spoils" the field, making "creases and twists": wringing and tying, twisting the stems, pressing the ears to the ground, she "binds fertility", prevents the ripening of cereals and destroys the harvest. According to popular beliefs, if a witch makes a hall or a gap in the field, a gap (lives through a strip), then the evil spirit begins to drag the grain from this field to the witch's bins (Yarosl., Tulsk., Orl.). In the hall, the twist cannot only be pulled out, but even touched without the risk of becoming fatally ill, therefore, in the Tula and Oryol provinces, for example, they were removed with a poker or a split aspen stake. The hall could be destroyed by a sorcerer who burned it or drowned it. For this purpose, they also invited priests who served in the prayer field. The antiquity of all these performances is evidenced by the monuments of ancient Russian and medieval literature. In the collection of the XV century. among confessional questions addressed to women we read: ... did you spoil a field with someone or something else, a person or cattle?
A witch can “spoil” people in many ways, chasing them in the form of animals (scaring, biting and even seizing, eating, “driving” in the form of a horse), slandering, spreading diseases through wind, water, various objects (and even through touch or glance ).The fear of witchcraft and witches, especially in medieval Rus', was strong; in many cases, even the clergy, like the highest secular authorities, "blindly believed in magic." The charter of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich mentions a sorceress woman who slandered about hops in order to bring a “plague plague” to Rus' [Krainsky, 1900]. Witches were especially feared during weddings, to which they tried to invite a “strong” guardian sorcerer (see. WITCH). Witches, sorcerers "blameless women" were tried and persecuted in Rus' until the 19th century, which was also marked by litigation between "spoiled and spoiled".
Numerous were extrajudicial reprisals against those suspected of witchcraft: testing, witches were drowned, and wanting to neutralize, they beat and maimed. It was believed that if you hit the witch with all your might, then she would lose her witchcraft abilities (or at least part of them). Less cruel ways: hit the witch with Trinity greenery or “nail” her shadow with nails, hit the shadow with an aspen stake, turn the damper at the stove, grip, etc. It was possible to find out who the witch was in the village, mainly during big holidays. The peasants believed that by the beginning of the festive Easter service, witches would definitely come to church and even try to touch the priest (probably in order to receive sacred, magical powers emanating from him). Therefore, if during Easter matins you look at those present in the church through a piece of wood from the coffin of the dead, you can see witches with jugs of milk on their heads (South).
They looked out for witches at Easter and held a piece of cheese saved from Maundy Thursday behind their cheek. “When the priest says:“ Christ is Risen! ”, All witches (with milkers on their heads) will turn their backs to the icons” (Sarat.). Witches could also be seen in the house, in the yard: if on Thursdays of Great Lent you make a harrow from aspen, and on Good Saturday hide behind this harrow with a lit candle and wait, you will see a witch (South).
In the Surgut Territory, they knew this way to catch witches: it was necessary to leave the entire post on a log from the morning firebox, and during Easter morning, flood the stove with these logs. Witches will flock to ask for fire, and if a floorboard is pulled out between them and the door, they will not be able to get out of the hut. However, the peasants were still afraid to irritate the witches and tried not to do this unless absolutely necessary. Dangerous during life, witches are restless, harmful even after death, continuing to frighten fellow villagers and relatives with their visits, and also persecute the victims they have chosen. The deceased witch often “bites”, “bites” people, personifying death, destruction. The dead witches take revenge on the priests who tried to expose them during their lifetime, they persecute both the guys who inadvertently rejected their love, and their suitors: “One guy in a strange village had a fiancee who died, and she was a witch. So that she would not torture the guy, the people advised him to go to her cemetery and sit on the cross of her grave for three nights, then she would leave him alone and do nothing to him. The guy went to the witch's grave for three nights and every night he saw her until the first roosters. All three nights she came out of the grave and looked for him. On the first night, she was looking for him alone, on the second night with her friends, and on the third, in order to find him, on the advice of the old witch, they brought with them a baby with a tail, who showed them where the guy was sitting. But, fortunately, at the time when the baby with the tail pointed to the cross where the guy was, the roosters crowed - and the witches failed. The baby was left with outstretched hand, and his parents were found by him; and this is important, because these people are treated with caution and they are watched so that they don’t do anything bad to the Orthodox.”(Tulsk).
In order to get rid of the persecution of the dead witch once and for all, her coffin and grave were "guarded" with special precautions. If the witch continued to “get up” and cause harm, the grave was torn apart, and the body was pierced with an aspen stake - aspen was traditionally revered as a tree that protects against witches. In general, after death, witches do not “get up” as often as the deceased sorcerers, and mostly only the first time after the funeral. In Russian beliefs, stories about witches of the 20th century. sorcery transformations, flights, trips of witches are described less frequently than in the 19th century, but ideas about the ability of witches to spoil cattle and people are still widespread. Witch, sorceress in the village XIX-XX centuries. as if personifies the troubles, dangers and accidents that lie in wait and pursue the peasants. It is an almost universal explanation of misfortunes, and in this capacity it is even necessary for the life of the peasant community.
In a spiritual verse written (by A. V. Valov) in Poshekhonye, Yaroslavl province, the soul of a witch, who has already completed her earthly existence, repents of her sins as follows:
“I gave milk from the cows, I lived a strip between the borders, I laundered the ergot from the bread.” This verse gives a complete characterization of the witch's evil activities, for these three acts constitute special classes women willing to sell their souls hell. However, if you carefully look at the appearance of the witch in the form in which it is drawn to the imagination of the inhabitants of the northern forest half of Russia, then a significant difference between the Great Russian witch and her ancestor, the Little Russian one, involuntarily catches the eye. In general, in the Little Russian steppes, young widows are very common among witches, and, moreover, according to the expression of our great poet, such that “it’s not a pity to give their souls for the look of a black-browed beauty,” then in harsh coniferous forests, which themselves sing only in a minor tone, playful and beautiful Little Russian witches turned into ugly old women. They were equated here with the fabulous Baba-Yagas living in huts on chicken legs, they, according to the Olonets legend, always spin a tow and at the same time “graze geese with their eyes in the field, and cook with a nomsom (instead of a poker and tongs) in the oven”, Great Russian witches are usually confused with sorceresses and are imagined only in the form of old, sometimes fat as a tub, women with disheveled gray hair, bony hands and huge blue noses. (Because of these fundamental features, in many places the very name of a witch has become a dirty word.)
Witches, according to the general opinion, differ from all other women in that they have a tail (small) and have the ability to fly through the air on broomsticks, pokers, mortars, etc. They go to dark deeds from their homes without fail through chimneys and , like all sorcerers, can turn into different animals, most often magpies, pigs, dogs and yellow cats. One such pig (in the Bryansk places) was beaten with anything, but the pokers and grips bounced off it like a ball until the roosters crowed. In cases of other Transformations, beatings are also considered a useful measure, only it is advised to beat with a cart axle and not otherwise than repeating the word “one” with each blow (saying “two” means ruining yourself, since the witch will break that person). This beating ritual, which determines how and with what to beat, shows that the massacres of witches are practiced quite widely. And it is true, they are beaten to this day, and the modern village does not cease to supply material for criminal chronicles. Most often, witches are tortured for milking other people's cows. Knowing the widespread village custom of naming cows according to the days of the week when they were born, as well as their habit of turning around at the call, witches easily use all this. Enticing "authors" and "subbotoks", they milk them to the last drop, so that after that the cows come from the field as if they had completely lost their milk. Offended peasants console themselves with the opportunity to catch the villain at the scene of the crime and mutilate her by cutting off her ear, nose, or breaking her leg. (After that, a woman with a bandaged cheek, or limping on one or the other leg, usually does not take long to show up in the village.)
Numerous experiments of this kind are carried out everywhere, since the peasants still retain the confidence that their cows are not milked by hungry neighbors who do not know how to feed the children, but by witches. Moreover, the peasants apparently do not allow the thought that cows can lose milk from painful causes, or that this milk can be sucked out by alien-eating animals.
Witches have a lot in common with sorcerers, and if you select outstanding features in the mode of action of both, then you will have to repeat. They are also in constant communication and strike with each other (it is for these meetings that the “bald” mountains and the noisy games of playful widows with cheerful and passionate devils) -
, in the same way, they die hard, tormented by terrible convulsions caused by the desire to transfer their science to someone, and in the same way, after death, their tongue sticks out of their mouths, unusually long and very similar to a horse's. But the similarity is not limited to this, since then restless night walks from fresh graves to the old ashes begin for the best case - to taste the pancakes put out of the window until the legal fortieth day, for the worst ~ to vent belated and uncooled malice and reduce unfinished calculations during life with unloved neighbors). Finally, the aspen stake driven into the grave calms them in the same way. In a word, it is useless to look for sharp boundaries separating sorcerers from sorcerers, just as exactly as witches from sorceresses. Even the history of both has much in common: its bloody pages go back centuries, and it seems that they have lost their beginning - the custom of cruel reprisals against sorcerers and witches has taken root in the people to such an extent. True, even in the Middle Ages, the most enlightened church fathers opposed this custom, but in that harsh era, the preaching of meekness and gentleness had little success. So, in the first half of the 15th century, at the same time as in Pskov, during a pestilence, twelve witches were burned alive, in Suzdal, Bishop Serapion was already arming himself against the habit of attributing social disasters to witches and destroying them for this “You still cling to the filthy the custom of sorcery, said St. father, you believe and burn innocent people. In what books, in what scriptures have you heard that there are famines on earth from sorcery? If you believe this, then why do you burn the Magi? Do you beg, honor them, bring gifts to them, so that they don’t make pestilence, let down rain, bring heat, tell the earth to be fruitful? Sorcerers and sorceresses act with demonic power over those who are afraid of them, and whoever holds firm faith in God, they have no power over those. I mourn your madness, I beg you, step aside from the deeds of the filthy. Divine rules "order a person to be condemned to death after hearing many witnesses, and you put water as witnesses, say:" If she starts to sink, she is innocent, but if she swims, then she is a witch. so as not to drown, and thereby lead you into murder?
However, these words of conviction sounded in the desert, filled with the highest feelings of Christian mercy: 200 years later, under Tsar Alexei, the old woman Olena was burned in a log house as a heretic, with magic papers and roots after she herself admitted that she spoiled people and some of taught them witchcraft. In Perm, the peasant Talev was burned with fire and, under torture, they gave him three shakes according to a slander that he was letting people hiccup. In Tot'ev 1674. the woman Fedosya was burned in a log house, with numerous witnesses, according to a slander "damage, etc. When (in 1632) news came from Lithuania that some woman was slandering about hops in order to bring pestilence, under fear death penalty, that hops were forbidden to buy. A whole century later (in 1730), the Senate considered it necessary to recall by decree that the law defines burning as magic, and forty years after that (1779) the Bishop of Ustyug reports the appearance of sorcerers and wizards from male and female peasants who do not they only turn others away from orthodoxy, but also infect many with various diseases through worms. The sorcerers were sent to the senate as having confessed that they had renounced the faith and had an appointment with the devil who brought them worms. The same senate, having learned from the questions of the sorcerers that they had been beaten mercilessly more than once and forced by these beatings to blame for what they were not at all guilty of, ordered the voivode and his comrade to be dismissed from their posts, the alleged sorcerers to be released and released, and the bishops and others to forbid spiritual persons to enter into investigative cases on sorcery and sorcery, for these cases are considered subject to civil court.
And since the life-giving ray of light flashed for the first time in the impenetrable darkness, on the eve of the 20th century we receive the following news, all because of the sorcery question about witches:
“Recently (our correspondent writes from Orel), at the beginning of 1899, a woman (named Tatyana), whom everyone considers a witch, was almost killed. Tatyana had a fight with another woman and threatened her that she would spoil her. And this is what happened later because of the women's street squabble: when the peasants came together to shout and turned to Tatyana with a strict request, she promised them to turn everyone into dogs. One of the men approached her with a fist and said: “You are a witch, but speak my fist so that it does not hit you.” And hit her on the back of the head. Tatyana fell; as if on cue, the rest of the men attacked her and started beating her. It was decided to examine the woman, find her tail and tear it off. Baba screamed with a good obscenity and defended herself so desperately that many had their faces scratched, others had their hands bitten. The tail, however, was not found. Her husband ran to Tatyana's cry and began to defend, but the peasants began to beat him too. Finally, badly beaten, but not ceasing to threaten, the woman was tied up, taken to the volost (Ryabinsk) and put in a cold one. In the volost they were told that for such deeds all peasants would be punished by the zemstvo chief, since now they are not ordered to believe in sorcerers and witches. Returning home, the peasants announced to Tatyana's husband, Antipas, that they would probably decide to send his wife to Siberia, and that they would agree to give their sentence if he did not put out a bucket of vodka to the whole society. While drinking, Antip swore and swore that not only did he not see, but never even noticed any tail on Tatiana in his life. At the same time, however, he did not hide the fact that his wife threatened to turn him into a stallion whenever he wanted to beat her. The next day, Tatyana came from the volost, and all the peasants came to her to agree that she would not conjure in her village, spoil no one, and not steal milk from the cows. For yesterday's beatings, they generously asked for forgiveness. - She swore that she would fulfill the request, and a week later an order was received from the volost, in which it was said that there should be no such nonsense in the future, and if something like this happens again, then those responsible for this will be punished by law, and, moreover, about this will be brought to the attention of the zemstvo chief. The peasants listened to the order and decided by all means that the witch must have bewitched the authorities, and that therefore, henceforth, one should not reach him, but should be dealt with by his own court.
Note - a story about a witch
In the village of Terebenevo (Zhizdrinsky district, Kaluga province), the seven-year-old girl Sasha told her mother that she and her aunt Marya, with whom she lived as a nanny, flew every night to the bald mountain.
- When everyone falls asleep, the lights go out, Aunt Marya will fly in as a magpie and chirp. I will jump out, and she will throw me a magpie skin, I will put it on - and we will fly. On the mountain we will throw off the skin, make fires, brew a potion to give people water. A lot of women flock: both old and young. Marya has fun - she whistles and dances with everyone, but I'm bored on the sidelines, because everyone is big, and I'm the only one small.
Sasha told the same thing to her father, and this one rushed straight to Marya:
- Atheist, why did you spoil my daughter? Marin's husband interceded: he pushed the fool out the threshold and closed the door behind him. But he did not let up - and to the headman.
The headman thought, thought, and said:
- No, I can't act here - go to the priest and the parish.
He thought, thought the father and decided to take his daughter to church, confess her, take communion and try to see if the priest would undertake to reprimand her. However, the girl herself refused confession.
- Witches do not pray and do not confess! And in the church she turned her back to the iconostasis. The priest refused to chastise and advised the girl to be thoroughly flogged.
- What kind of magpie did she throw off, where did she fly? And you, fool, believe the chatter of a child?
Meanwhile, at the hut of the alarmed father, the crowd of men and women does not disperse, and the girl continues to chatter her nonsense.
In the volost, the complainant was believed and Marya was recognized as a sorceress. The clerk rummaged through the laws and announced:
- No, brother, nothing can be done against the devil: I did not find any article against her.
Suspicion fell on Marya, and the fame of the witch began to grow. The neighbors began to follow her every step, remember and notice all sorts of little things. One told me that she saw Marya washing herself, leaning over the threshold into the street; the other - that Marya drew water for days, the third - that Marya collected herbs on the night of Ivan Kupala, etc. Every step of the unfortunate woman began to be interpreted in a bad way. The boys around the corner began to throw stones at her. Neither she nor her husband could show themselves on the street - they almost spit in the eyes.
“If only you, father, would stand up for us!” the priest’s husband begged Maryin. The priest tried to convince the crowd and calm Marya, but nothing helped, and, in the end, the innocent and meek Marya died in consumption.
15 years have passed since that time. Sasha has grown up a long time ago, she assures me for a long time; that her story is pure fiction, but now no one believes her anymore: a girl entered full sense and I realized that this should not be said. She is a good girl, but not a single suitor will marry her: no one wants to marry a witch.
Probably, she, sitting in old girls, will also have to turn to the fortune-telling business, especially since such activities are almost not dangerous and very profitable. Neither daring fellows, nor red-haired girls, nor deceived husbands, nor jealous wives will pass by the fortune tellers, because even today, as in the old days, faith in “dryness” lives in people. There is no need for bald mountains, or roadside uprisings, and village rubbles are enough to, learning the innermost secrets, diligently engage in love spells and lapels of loving and cold hearts: both to your advantage and to help outsiders. In such cases, there is still a lot of room for clever people, no matter how this tricksters are called: witches or soothsayers, fortune-tellers or healers, grandmothers or whisperers.
Here are some examples from the practice of modern witches and fortune tellers
One peasant of the Oryol province seriously offended his newlywed wife and, in order to somehow rectify the matter, turned for advice to the vaunted old woman healer, who was rumored to be a notorious witch. The sorceress advised her patient to go into the meadows and find among the stakes (pegs on which haystacks are attached) three pieces of such that stood driven into the ground for at least three years; then scrape shavings from each hundred heat, brew them in a pot and drink.
And here is another case from the practice of soothsayers.
“I don’t have washed water from my neighbors,” one girl who served with a rich merchant also complained to the well-known Kaluga witch, “he promised to marry and deceived. Everyone laughs, even the little guys.
“Just bring me a piece of his shirt,” the witch encouraged her, “I’ll give it to the church watchman, so that when he rings, he will tie this piece on the rope, then the merchant will not know where to go from longing, and he will come to you.” , and you laugh at him: I, they say, did not call you, why did you come? ..
Another poor girl also complained, wishing to marry a rich peasant who did not like her.
- You, if possible, get his stockings off his feet, - the witch advised. - I'll wash them and spit the water at night. And I will give you three grains: one you will throw in front of his house, and the other under his feet when he goes, the third when he comes ...
There are an infinite number of such cases in the practice of village witches, but it is remarkable that healers and witches are truly inexhaustible in the variety of their recipes. Here are a few more samples.
A man loves someone else's woman. The wife asks for advice.
“Look at the yard where the roosters are fighting,” the witch recommends, “take a handful of earth in that place and sprinkle it on the bed of your lovebird. She will quarrel with your husband - and again he will fall in love with his "law" (that is, his wife).
For dryness, girls are advised to carry bagels or gingerbread and apples under their left arm for several days, of course, primarily equipped with slander, in which lies the main, secretly acting force.
Only knowledgeable and chosen witches do not talk conspiracy words to the wind, but lay in things they say, exactly what will then heal, soothe and comfort, at will. It is as if a sore heart is filled with the most healing potion when they hear ears about the wish that the melancholy that has been pressing so far will go away “neither in singing, nor in roots, nor in trampling mud, nor in boiling springs”, namely, in that person, who offended, fell out of love or deceived with promises, etc. For lovers, witches know such words that, it seems, are better and sweeter than them and no one can come up with. They send dryness “to zealous hearts, to a white body, to a black liver, to a hot chest, to a violent head, to the middle vein and to all 70 veins, to all 70 joints, to the very love bone. Let this very dryness set fire to a zealous heart and boil hot blood, so much so that it would be impossible to drink it down or eat it in food, not to fall asleep, not to wash it off with water, not to go on a spree, not to cry with tears, etc. .
Only proceeding from the lips of witches, these words have the power to “print” someone else’s heart and lock it up, but even then only when there are slanderous roots in the hands, the hair of a loved one, a piece of his clothes, etc. They believe every promise and fulfill every order: they put a golik under the sled for young guys, if they wish that one of them would not marry this year, they burn his hair so that he walks like a lost one for a whole year. If you stain his undershirt or fur coat with sheep's blood, then no one will love him at all.
But the most real tool in love affairs is a mysterious talisman, which is obtained from a black cat or from frogs. From the first, boiled to the last degree, an “invisible bone” is obtained, making the person who owns it invisible. A bone is equivalent to self-propelled boots, a flying carpet, a hospitable bag and an invisibility cap. From the frog, two “lucky bones” are taken out, with equal success serving both for love spells and lapels, arousing love or disgust. These cat and frog bones are also mentioned in fairy tales with complete faith in their sorcery. These bones are obtained very easily; it is worth boiling a completely black cat in a pot - and you get a “hook and fork”, or you should put two frogs in an anthill to get a “hook and spatula”. They hook the one they want to attract to themselves (or imperceptibly attach it to a scarf). With a fork or spatula, they push her away from themselves when she has time to eat up or is completely disgusted. Few rituals are required and the preparation is not particularly difficult. From the ant heap it is necessary to lead backwards so that the goblin cannot catch up when he goes to look for traces; then both tracks will lead to the forest, and there will be no trace from the forest. In other cases, it is advised to go to that anthill for 12 nights in a row and go around it silently three times, only on the thirteenth night such a treasure is given into the hands. However, you can do without these approaches. Failure occurs only when the marked girl, fastened to the dress, does not carry the hook on herself for three weeks in a row, etc. , now closes within the woman's kingdom. In this, of course, one must see great happiness and the undoubted success of enlightenment. Already from many places, and, moreover, famous for their superstition, one hears, for example, such encouraging news:
- In the old days there were a lot of witches, but now you don’t hear something.
- The current witch is most often a bawd. So. witches not only die, according to the old custom, on Sila and Siluyan (July 30), drunk on stolen milk from other people's cows, but, by many undoubted signs, under the new order, they completely prepared for real death.
Due to remoteness or directly due to the lack of “bald” mountains, closets and especially baths are recognized as quite convenient for dates, and there is a “witcher” to supervise them. Throughout the south of Great Russia, this is either witch, or ghoul-bloodsucker, which, according to the belief common to all Slavic peoples, walks after death and kills people.
Unlike various other evil spirits a mere mortal woman who has mastered special secret knowledge can become a witch. Any Marusa, Katya or Natasha, who has spiritual urges for everything supernatural and magical, with due desire, diligence and striving, is quite capable of attracting the attention of the Devil himself. Here, of course, you need to try very hard, and most importantly, to have the appropriate moral and volitional qualities so that the lord of the underworld becomes interested in a woman or girl and decides to join her to his unholy army.
Naturally, he himself will not appear in front of the witch candidate, but will arrange for her to meet with an already established witch. It is the first meeting that will be decisive. If the sorceress, burning with the desire to plunge into everything wicked and vicious, likes it, then consider that the deed is done. After numerous checks, training will begin, and very strict and demanding.
Here you need deep, fundamental knowledge, which is then fixed with skills. This work is exhausting and requires considerable will and perseverance. Not everyone can endure this, but there is nowhere to go. Having received at least a small fraction of mysterious knowledge, it is almost impossible to break out of this vicious circle. Therefore, as they say, the entrance is a ruble, and the exit is two. You can only go out to a cemetery or a madhouse - there are no other alternatives.
But after the course of study ends and aspiring to hellish knowledge finally gets the qualification of a witch, a completely different life begins, filled with events and adventures.
First, the newly minted witch is presented to the lord of the underworld. If she makes a favorable impression and manages to please, then the Devil can even take her as his wife. True, this happens very rarely, but what the hell is not joking. If such a marriage did not work out, then there is nothing to worry about. No one will reproach this, but they will appreciate and respect for their work in the controlled territory.
The main component of the work seduction and introduction into sin of pure and blameless souls. There are always those, and therefore the witch has the cards in her hands. How she will contrive, how she will build the style of her work - her business. Only if there are no concrete results, the slow worker of the underworld can be punished, especially since her possibilities are unlimited.
A witch can turn into anyone: a cat, a bird, a sultry blonde or a spectacular brunette, a respectable old woman and even a young schoolgirl. She is fluent in all kinds of spells, both black and white magic. He is well versed in the psyche of people and knows all the weaknesses of human nature. The subject of the Devil does not sink in water and cannot be broken by falling from any height.
The only thing that is beyond the control of a witch is a visit to God's abode. The entrance to the church is completely ordered to her. Even at the gate, righteous people can stop her, and if sacrilege nevertheless happens, and a servant of evil spirits enters God's temple, then the flame of all the lit candles will begin to fluctuate and a feeling of something disturbing and painful will arise in the spacious room. The faces of the saints on the icons will darken, and a quiet crackle will be heard under the arches.
The atmosphere will heat up until the servant of the Devil leaves the church. By the way, this is for her too. strong test. The witch may have a nosebleed and dizzy. But she can improve her health and raise her vitality at the Sabbath. This is a gathering of evil spirits serving the Devil.
Sabbat
Such gatherings are usually held on Bald mountains, and a witch can only get there on a broomstick. Having saddled the latter, the servant of the Devil flies on it through the chimney of any building and rushes to the appointed place with great speed.
The witch flies to the sabbath
You need to fly in what the mother gave birth, after smearing the body with special ointments. So that people walking on earth do not see such an unusual phenomenon in the sky, the witch must shout - invisible. After that, she, contrary to all the laws of physics, disappears from the field of view of mere mortals and very soon finds herself in the company of her own kind of witches and various other evil spirits.
The sabbath is the joy of the great sin. Sacrifices, feasts, dances. It all ends with various indecencies, which, not only to write or talk about, are ashamed to think about. The appearance of the Devil at the Sabbat puts everyone into a state of ecstasy. Screams, screeches, squeaks, howls, laughter of the worst kind - an unclean force in one word.
Scientists and born witches
The witch costume is dominated by black colors. Light colors are completely absent. With this, the witch is by no means in a hurry to inform the whole world about the tragedy and hopelessness of her fate. She does not believe that her life is dissolute and broken. On the contrary, the servant of the Devil is full of dignity and pride, and the velvet blackness emphasizes the sublime solemnity and involvement in the mighty dark forces.
This is how witches appear and live among people. They are called learned witches. But there are other witches - born. That is, those who are already in the mother's womb programmed to serve ungodly and deeply immoral deeds.
Here the selection is based on other principles, but true and unmistakable. Evil spirits immediately determines where her child is and where not. If seven girls were born in the family, but there was not a single boy between them, then the last born and be a witch. Or, when three generations of illegitimate female babies are born in a row, then the third in this line is the witch. Also, the daughter of the witch herself is simply obliged to continue the work of her mother.
A cursed, due to the stupidity of the mother, during pregnancy, a child with a high degree of probability may be in the ranks of evil spirits. The devil vigilantly monitors such things, and black words thrown in a fever can affect the fate of a future person in the most deplorable way.
Natural-born witches, for the most part, are more highly qualified than scientists. The point here is that the basics of witchcraft sciences are laid in them from infancy. But everyone knows that a small child absorbs any information much more efficiently than an adult. Of course, there are exceptions, but they, as you know, only confirm the rule.
The devil is more loyal to born witches than to scientists. They are not required to work hard, they are more independent and free in their actions and actions. These witches can even take pity and let go of the inexperienced soul that has fallen into their networks. Learned witches can't do that. All this does not mean that a woman who was born a witch is more humane and loyal. She just has the freedom of choice in the realization of her whims and passions.
Village witches
The activities of the devil's novices in the countryside and in the city are different. This was especially felt in the old days - even before the 20th century. Then the difference between the village and the city was more striking than today. Proximity to wildlife imposed its own specifics, which had nothing to do with the city.
Here, surrounded by witches, there was always an abundance of all living creatures: cows, pigs, goats, chickens, ducks. They occupied vast areas of arable land, the harvest from which directly depended on weather conditions. Many different travelers and wanderers passed through the villages, which contributed to the boundless scope for creativity.
Every village resident in those years knew that witches were big lovers of fresh milk. It smells of morning freshness and dew, and therefore is desirable for them in any quantity. From him, the servant of the dark forces is gaining strength and health. Even grumpy old age recedes for many years if the witch regularly consumes this healthy and tasty product.
Dependence on milk makes her get up at dawn, even before the first roosters. Turning somersaults seven times and hitting the ground, the Devil's henchman turns into a white dog and silently enters the barn, where the heifer sleeps peacefully. Here she clings to the udder and, choking with greed and groaning with pleasure, she drinks, drinks and drinks the white nutritious liquid. The evil spirits pull everything out of the cow's teats and break away from them only when the poor animal's blood begins to flow into her mouth.
Having done all these shameful manipulations, the bastard slips away from the master's yard. Again reincarnated as a woman and pretends to have just woken up in her hut.
Living in a village, a servant of the dark forces chooses a hut on the outskirts of the road, away from other houses. She does not run her own household - she can keep chickens and geese to avert her eyes. She likes poultry meat, but apparently someone else's is sweeter. The sorceress, as a rule, does not touch her living creatures, she again prefers to steal one from her neighbors in the early morning or in the dead of night.
Villagers often guess who lives next to them, and try not to come into conflict with the accomplice of all evil spirits. Indeed, in addition to spoiling livestock (taking wool from sheep, fat from pigs, eggs from poultry), a witch is quite capable of causing bad weather (hail, drought) or some kind of infection. People protect their homes and wealth, mainly by putting a knife or a thin metal plate under the rug at the front door. Near the buildings where cattle live, poppy seeds are scattered.
The witch loves poppy. She is so fond of eating it that she simply forgets about domestic animals. And when he remembers, he already feels full and satisfied.
In addition to the poppy, zealous owners hang on all front doors in Yuriev day wooden crosses coated with resin. The cross itself is already a protection, and the smell of resin is unpleasant for witches. This combination has always reliably protected the premises from the penetration of this evil spirits into them.
Even in large villages, it is difficult for witches to trap a local soul in their nets. But outsiders, but passing they do not miss. Here the witch uses all her charm and deceit. It can pretend to be a young beauty, and a mature woman, and an old woman - depending on the circumstances. She works quickly, energetically and efficiently, as she has little time.
In the course are magic spells, and female charms, and various secret drugs. A passing person often does not even have time to look back, as he finds himself in spiritual slavery from the mistress of the hut, into which he so imprudently looked and asked to stay. Having won a psychological victory over the unfortunate, the witch jumps on him and, like on a fast horse, rushes through the fields and meadows. Such jumps can end fatally for the unlucky traveler. His departed soul goes straight to hell.
City witches
As for the witches who live in the city, the situation here is somewhat different, although the essence is the same. The novice of the devil may appear among the inhabitants as a wealthy widowed lady of Balzac age. It can also be a nimble, pretty maid, a dazzling courtesan, or a lonely old woman living in poverty.
With such a variety of images, she uses either the craving of men for vicious women, or an immoderate desire for big money, or the pity and sympathy of others for poor old age. All these cards are win-win and bring an easily predictable win.
Skillfully placed nets easily get gigolos, frivolous conquerors of women's hearts, hardened libertines, rich womanizers and, sadly, decent and kind-hearted people. Each of them in communication with the witch finds what he is looking for. But since you have to pay for everything in this world, these people pay, and to the maximum. For dubious pleasures and vicious, and sometimes quite respectable desires, they give their souls to the Devil, although often, until their death, they don’t even know about it.
attitude towards witches
Witches and the Catholic Church
Society, at all times, treated witches negatively. The very word witch"means to know, to know, that is, to possess secret, magical knowledge. Witches use them to the detriment of people. This state of affairs has never been understood by either the church or the state and has always caused a response. Moreover, in different countries, among different peoples, this the response was not the same.
The Catholic Church was intolerant of witches. In countries controlled by the Pope, it was quite seriously believed that on the night of April 30 to May 1, witches arrange an annual holiday - walpurgis night. This is a gathering of witches near the Devil on the high mountain Brocken. It also contains demons in the form of men. All this evil spirits burns fires, dances, copulates with each other and sacrifices babies to their master.
For respectable Catholics, such things were unthinkable, which led to the mass persecution of women who, for one reason or another, were considered witches. The accusation was drawn up on the basis of a denunciation, very often anonymous. The suspect was seized by the Holy Inquisition: the trial was quick, and the sentence severe. The unfortunate woman was burned at the stake, believing that the cleansing fire would destroy all filth and evil spirits. For the first time such a sentence was passed in 1275, in the city of Toulouse in southern France.
Innocent women often suffered in such proceedings. Envy, self-interest, hostility served as the main motives for denunciations. Churchmen, however, did not bother themselves with a thorough study of numerous cases. Sometimes dozens of unfortunate people were sent to the fire at a time, whose only fault was that someone was not allowed to sleep by their wealth, beautiful appearance or success in their personal lives.
The peak of this nightmare came already in relatively enlightened times and lasted about three hundred years - from the 15th to the 17th centuries. During this time, tens and tens of thousands of women were destroyed. How many of them were real witches, and how many innocent victims - no one will ever know.
Witches and the Orthodox Church
At Orthodox Church the witches had a very different approach. In fact, the clergy did not pay attention to the witches at all. But to say that the case was left to chance is impossible. Lay people dealt with issues of causing damage through dark forces. They chose from their midst the most worthy, pious citizens, who made an unbiased, objective verdict.
There was only one punishment - a fine. For spoiled cows, chickens or sheep, the witch had to pay money. Of course, this is an unpleasant thing, but compared to being burned at the stake, it is innocent fun. The history of Orthodoxy does not know cases of physical abuse of witches.
Psychological portrait of a witch
With such antagonism and general rejection, the status of outcasts of society is quite suitable for witches. It would seem that this should put pressure on the psyche, give rise to various complexes and nervous disorders. However, nothing like this has ever been observed among the wise men. The acolytes of the Devil have always been distinguished by optimism, balanced character, purposefulness and cheerfulness. Their self-confidence is unshakable, and service to evil is seen as a way of life that deserves all respect.
This state of mind is achieved through certain psychological training and testing. They are conducted by experienced witches with their fledgling students. Initially, their chosenness and exclusivity are hammered into the minds of witch candidates. Then there are continuous rituals that desecrate everything that is righteous, ecclesiastical and divine. Here, there is the trampling of icons, and the reading of prayers on the contrary, and an irreverent attitude towards those whom the church has ranked as saints.
Such ungodly actions corrupt and corrupt the soul, make it cynical, cruel and vicious. But all these are flowers compared to what awaits a successful student at the final exam. This is where she goes main test, which hardens her character and makes her immune to ordinary human weaknesses and flaws.
Five minutes before the witch is already dreaming of a meeting with the Devil himself, when she is taken out on a dark night to the cemetery. In oppressive and gloomy silence, among the graves, they put it in a coffin and nail down the lid. Then the coffin is lowered into the dug hole. The woman lying in it first hears how clods of earth fall on wooden boards, located some twenty centimeters from her face. Then the sounds become more and more muffled, until there is complete and terrible silence.
The buried alive lies and does not know whether they will dig her up or leave her in the grave forever. Time seems to freeze in place, and every minute of waiting turns into an eternity. Oxygen gradually ends, suffocation rolls up. Nerves are stretched to the limit. Despair and hopelessness are slowly born somewhere deep in the chest. In such an environment, half a step to hysteria and a nervous breakdown.
But now, a faint rustle breaks through the cloudy consciousness. It gets louder and louder. Finally, the shovels hit the coffin lid. Fresh air begins to flow through the cracks between the boards. The coffin is raised to the surface, the lid is ripped off with a bang.
From a terrible wooden box, a completely different person steps onto the earth's firmament. He perceives the world around him differently, looks at reality with different eyes, and treats worldly values and joys differently than a few minutes ago. Now he is no longer afraid of anything, now nothing will embarrass him - after all, he has just passed the death test.
All learned witches are subjected to such an examination. Those who are born go through it when they reach the age of sixteen. The evil spirit does not know pity either for its adherents, and even more so for those whose souls it is simply obliged to drag after death to hell. In this world there is no love, no compassion, but only sober calculation, cruelty and benefit of the Devil.
modern witch
Conclusion
There is no need to think that things are different in the 21st century. The underworld has not gone away, but the many-sided free world today is much more subject to the machinations of evil spirits than the pious and conservative past times.
There is indeed a difference. In recent decades, there have been many impostors posing as witches. They do not have the necessary knowledge, have not been subjected to mandatory tests and have never seen the Devil in the eye. In such an original way, individuals are trying to earn their daily bread. For them, it's a business, not a way of life.
Well, God is their judge. Most importantly, they are completely harmless, unlike real witches who will never scream at every corner who they really are. As for ordinary mortals, it would be better if only impostors existed in the world, and real witches were just images from beautiful fairy tales invented by our chaste and righteous ancestors.
In the life of every person there are situations when you need a look from the outside, to scan the situation, and sometimes you need help. There are a lot of offers on the Internet.
How not to make a mistake in choosing the right specialist, get help and not harm yourself at the same time?! Let's figure it out together.
Who should not be contacted in any case even for an ordinary prediction ?!
First of all, you must remember - specialists in the field of magical services are divided into Light and Dark. It is better not to contact the latter ever, and under no circumstances. !
Who are the Dark Ones? These are sorcerers, magicians, witches, sorceresses, all who are engaged in black magic. What is black magic? These are rituals for inducing damage, love spells. Regarding casting love spells: You must clearly understand, once and for all:Not It happens whites, church and others harmless love spells. Any love spell (zombie for feelings) is evil, it is damage! All specialists in the field of magical services are thus divided into Light and Dark, into Witches and Witches (Sorceresses).
Although the two terms are related, Witch and Witch- it's far from the same thing.
In fact, the word "Witch" as well as the word "Vedunya" came from the word "Know". Undoubtedly, I will not deny, the Witch - she knows. The only thing I want to ask is through "what", or rather through "whom" does she know?! You know, it can be different)
Origin of the word "Witch"
I went online and, unfortunately, I saw false information. So, one word "Witch" is deciphered as " Vedas ing ma t", others - ma serialization Vedas(sacred knowledge of our ancestors). Wrong - neither one nor the other! On the Internet, everyone rips off this false information from each other, and without understanding, they post it on their websites). I advise everyone - do not listen to anyone and collect all the information on various sites and forums like a vacuum cleaner.Contact yourself personally to the source - to the Slavic-Aryan Vedas! Do not be lazy, find the Slavic-Aryan Vedas on the Internet - read it! There is not a word about witches, about what is good to induce damage and love spells, to do evil. Vice versa! Therefore, the word "Witch" cannot mean "materialization of the Vedas". No need to denigrate the Vedas - the sacred knowledge of our ancestors !!!
Go ahead. Deciphering the word "Witch" - how Vedas comforting ma th. Many mistakenly believe that the Witch - Vedas who, like the Vedunya, but unlike the Vedunya, has already given birth - ma t? It is especially regrettable to read this nonsense on Slavic sites or listen to these explanations on YouTube from "astrologers", "psychics" promoted in social networks and YouTube. I" or "materialization I" ?, "Ko-ma" - whose mother?))
In fact, "witch" is a purely Russian word, it really comes from the word "to know." This word has a root "VED". Previously, before the arrival of the Greek monks in Rus' with an alien religion, everyone who had the gift of foresight, that is, knew, was called “Vedi” and said: “Let's go to the Vedas”, “Learn from the After all”. About themselves, with such an unusual gift of a woman, they said: "We - Lead" or "We Lead". The Greeks renamed this expression, so the word "Witches" appeared. Later in Rus', those Vedi who did not disdain to engage in black magic, the people began conditionally call Witches, and those Veds who used their gift only for the benefit of people - Veduns. That's it, no hassle.
The witch is a conductor of dark forces.
From time immemorial, the people called the witch the "wife of the devil", since she takes all her "knowledge" from the Devil (dark or infernal forces, call it what you want, as you like). Hence - the Witch is always engaged in black magic,is conductor those dark forces.
You can read about this in my article "The situation in the world. How we are governed." Below is a link to my article. Many other authors write about it. You can find information on the Internet for review. It's time to wake up and know what's going on!
Our world is not homogeneous. There are dark, invisible to ordinary people, destructive substances, but it is good visible to people with special vision and children. Therefore, many children are so afraid of the dark, because the night is the rampant of all evil spirits.
Dark pull the evolution of the planet back - down. And this phenomenon must be fought!
Many people know that witches do not even die like ordinary mortals. Before dying, witches suffer for a very long time, especially if they do not transfer their black craft to a relative or, if there are no relatives, to another person. As you know from physics - there is a "law of conservation of energy". Therefore, for a dying witch, it is considered the main task to "preserve" her black craft, her so-called "dark infernal contribution" to environment. It is extremely important for her to pass the "relay baton", so that after her death one of her relatives would shit in the astral plane, so that with its help the necessary balance of the Dark Forces would be maintained.
The danger of witches lies in their vampirism. Since witches are the conductors of the Dark Forces, these dark forces feed on you through the witches. The stronger the witch, the more energy she can suck (eat) from you. It is impossible for her to live without energy. And if there is no place to get the right amount of energy, the witch begins a terrible life and, breaking like a drug addict. Therefore, as long as the witch is vamping, she will be "great".
A good option to get energy is to advertise and start "accepting clients"). By the way, many witches do this. I'll tell you a secret, stronger witches "see" with a bang, and read information from the client instantly. And, unsuspecting, customers are very satisfied. Clients are called the names of husbands, girlfriends, children ... For clients, this is a "trap". Customers clap their hands in delight). And that they “dug” in their subconscious, ate energy from them, attached demons, larvae, settlers and other evil spirits to them - they, naive, do not even guess. And, joyful, without suspecting anything, they leave the next visit to the Witch, with all this "charm", moreover, infecting their loved ones with all this, especially children. And, no matter what session the witch had - personal or remote. Going to a witch is the same as going to a TB dispensary specifically to get infected with tuberculosis, and then coming home and infecting your loved ones with tuberculosis. Know - no difference!
Often, those who want to bewitch the object of their sigh fall into the trap of witches. Moreover, men come with a request to bewitch their beloved. Clients have come to me with similar requests. I even posted a separate page on my website "Is it worth doing love spells? The whole truth!". There was one incident in my life. A few years ago, a man called me - a sorcerer from our city with a request to accept his client in order to bewitch a woman. He wanted to send his client to me, explaining that the case there is complex, and I am a more experienced psychic in our city. I answered:
I do not do that.
On what at the other end of the wire:
What even for yourself?
My answer:
What for?! Well, first of all, I'm a beautiful woman. I always, on the contrary, have problems to get rid of annoying fans. Secondly, a sense of pride and an understanding of all the vileness of such rituals do not allow one to sink to such a level! I somehow have a bad idea how to live or meet a person. realizing that he really doesn’t love me, and all his feelings are not real - on a love spell ?!
I don't know if he believed it or not, but that's his business). Many years have passed since then. He didn't call again.)
All who bring damage to people, love spells are connected to dark (demonic) infernal forces. Moreover, some of the sorcerers and witches are well aware through what and how they draw "their" information and power, others do not even guess. Either way, both are dangerous. In Rus', from time immemorial, our ancestors bypassed such people. And, not for nothing, the witches' dwelling has always been on the outskirts of the village.
Now, you know that Witches are just conductors of any Dark power - demons, settlers, etc. Therefore, when you turn to the Witches - immediately know and imagine that you are not turning to a particular fortune-teller, witch, but to Evil. The witch is the go-between! Behind her stands Evil! It's you asking the Unclean Ones for advice and help! Let me give you an example: When you transfer money to some oncologically ill child through a charitable foundation, you probably imagine a sick child, but not a charitable foundation? The charitable foundation in the above example is just an intermediary between you and the sick child. Also the Witch.
Also, think about it! It is not in vain that the word fortune-telling has the root "gad"! Therefore, after visiting such "masters", you are already leaving them along with demons and other disgusting things, and now you are putting your life on completely different tracks, joining yourself and your loved ones to the Dark Ones! Therefore, the choice is yours! Who are you with?!?
Now let's get back to physics. Turning to the Dark Ones, you energetically replenish and nourish these same Dark Forces. Having nourished and replenished, the Dark Forces now only have to find an outlet for their energy, they need to act. Get some energy! Having nourished and gained strength with the help of you, are you sure that you yourself or your dearest person - a child, a husband (wife) will not become another victim of the Dark Ones - a murderer, a maniac, a sadist? As I wrote above, the Dark Ones feed on the energy of pain and suffering. It is violet to them where to get this energy from. From where it is easier - from there they take it. Where is it easier? Where there is already a laid channel, which you yourself laid. I think it's clear enough?)
Age of Aquarius. Morning of Svarog.
Each of us is required to make a contribution. Our people face a fierce struggle against all Dark forces, and immediately and simultaneously at all levels of society, the planet. Only then will it begin normal life in people.
How not to accidentally get an appointment with the Witch?
Real witches, sorcerers. Vedism.
Unlike witches, like me and very few of my colleagues, unfortunately, there are still very few of us, you can count on the fingers of one hand across the country - the most real Vedunias! We don't do black magic! Our ancestors used their gift of clairvoyance, such a science as star reading (current astrology), natural signs and signs, intuition, as a last resort, Slavic Runes and Reza, and then as an auxiliary tool.
Behind us, behind the witches, there is a huge force, egregor!Try to offend one of us, harm us or our loved ones! Retribution is always very cruel! A few years ago, a man called me - a sorcerer. it hurt him my articles, exposing magicians, sorcerers, did not come to taste). So he told me right on the phone and said: “Here, you don’t do black magic, but I do, and I’ll do damage to you, but you won’t do anything to me, you don’t do damage!”. What could the poor fellow answer?!: “I don’t even need to do anything!”).... Except for pity and disgust for such people, I feel absolutely nothing! Many who threatened and did nasty things to me, or people like me, the Vedunyas, at best, are simply not alive! And this, I repeat - in the best case!
Witchcraft is an integral part of the traditions of our ancestors.
Do you know that witchcraft, Vedism appeared long before Christianity and other religions?! Witchcraft was an integral part of the traditions of our ancestors, and was based on the help of native Gods, light Spirits and the forces of Nature. By the way, have you ever wondered why the words Genus, on genus, at genus A, Genus ina, genus residents, genus stvenniks, genus nickname - have the same root?! In Rus', initially, these were the most important words. The word "people", literally, we read in syllables for people - this is on w Genus. Who lives in nature - is constantly at Rod e. That is, in accordance with nature, according to the canons of the universe - this is to have special protection, special patronage of the Family. The clan for our Russian ancestors was the highest divine power. They addressed him like this: "The Supreme Family ....", "God-Rode, the ancestors are glorious ...."!
Fortunately, to our time, despite the machinations of the Dark Ones, the Slavic-Aryan VEDAS, the Book of Veles and chronicles have been preserved.
In ancient times, the word "Vedunya" evoked trembling feelings in people, deep respect and reverence, because it meant that a person had perfectly mastered the VEDAS, that is, sacred knowledge. The sorceress has an innate gift to know the relationship between the subtle world and the physical. She possesses ancient wisdom clairvoyance and spiritual vision. Knows about the relationship between life and death, can communicate with souls who have left the physical plane of the Earth. He knows about the causes of problems from past incarnations that affect the life of a person now living. According to modern - owns clairvoyance (clairvoyance). And another, not unimportant fact - the Witches and Magi for many centuries were able to protect from misfortunes and ailments. Many of them mastered such a complex science as star science (current astrology). Therefore, many modern Vedunias are well versed in astrology. Black witches, as a rule, lack the mind to deeply and professionally master such a complex science).
At violent the planting of Christianity in Rus' - the Magi and Veduniy, after severe torture, were burned at the stake, specially "one size fits all" with Witches and Sorcerers. Knowing how everyone treated the Witches - servants of evil spirits, in order to completely confuse the people's brains - sorcerers, sorcerers, witches, sorcerers were burned together! So, along with the dark darkness demon they destroyed the very color of the nation - the keepers of the ancient Slavic knowledge, the brightest, the purest !!! At the same time, our good Gods were presented as villains, and good customs were portrayed as serving the demons. Everything that the people believed in was spat on and distorted. All this could not but affect the spirit of the people. Although Christianity was not able to completely stifle Vedism - the faith of our ancestors, but it was able to deceive people! Therefore, most people do not understand the true difference between Witches and Witches.There are no harmless love spells without sin.
In my many years of practice, there have been so many cases when lovers of adventures in witches, sorcerers - picked up so much demonic evil spirits from such "specialists" that they turned their lives and the lives of their loved ones into a nightmare.
I repeat once again - leaving the Witch, you are now leaving with the demons that will now accompany you all your life! Do you need it?)
Be vigilant, use sanity!