According to legend, the demon Mara can cause the death of a person who is in a dream. Scientists argue that the most defenseless state in which a person can be is sleep, therefore the spirit appears to a person only at night and poses a threat to his health and life.
Who is Mara?
It is believed that Mara is a kind of evil spirit that comes to people at night with the aim of scaring or even bringing deadly disease. When a person falls asleep, the demon king Mara comes to him, climbs onto his stomach and begins to choke him. As a result, the victim, who has come out of sleep, but as if half-delirious, is not only very frightened, but also suffocates.
Different legends describe this evil in different ways: Russian legends describe him as an old decrepit witch with long flowing hair, Ukrainian legends say that his appearance is similar to a human, but his facial features are strikingly different, and early Buddhists considered him just an annoying nuisance.
Mara - mythology
In mythology, Mara is the daughter of God and Lada, the goddess of love, beauty and the goddess of fertility. She has excellent external qualities, beautiful long hair and wears red clothes. Mara bestows not only death, but also life. People have always honored her on February 15th, sometimes sacrificing their cattle to her at the altar.
According to legend, Mara with her minions every morning tries to prevail and destroy the rising Sun, but every time she is powerless before his power and beauty. Being engaged in needlework, Mara uses in sewing not simple threads, but the threads of the destinies of living people. When she cuts the thread, the person passes away.
Demon Mara - Buddhism
In Buddhism, Mara is the personification of evil, equivalent to the destructive forces of pride and lies, volatility. The demon Mara is the embodiment of death and the finiteness of human life. This demon is believed to contribute to (repeated death). Demon Mara in Buddhism has four meanings:
- mrityu-mara (in other words, "death");
- skandha-mara (in other words, "form");
- klesha-mara (in other words, “suffering, trouble”);
- devaputra-mara (in other words, "God's child");
- kamma-mara (in other words, as the power of sensual desires).
Black Mara - who is it?
Black Mara is the spirit of retribution and revenge. Her image is associated with death and with the seasonal rite of resurrection and dying of nature. It has the appearance of a young girl or an old woman in black clothes. She is able to send nightmares and diseases, which can be protected from with the help of prayer. As a rule, she comes at night, addressing by name, asks to play with her or take her somewhere. If the victim cannot be lured to certain death, she touches him with her ice hand and from that moment man will sleep in anxiety and nightmares until the end of his days. Like vampires, a clove of garlic will help against a demon.
If Mara comes to the victim at night and starts to whisper something, the most The best way confrontation is not to be afraid and calm down. Black Mara is capable of tormenting not only people, but also livestock. There were cases when, back in 1646, there were first words that a home soon was dying in a barn every night at the hands of an old witch.
Slavic Mara
mara, Slavic goddess, has the ability to control the passage of time, and the ability to take life and save it. Mara is characterized by changes in appearance depending on the season, but it is believed that she is the goddess of winter, so she was revered on March 1, the last holiday of the winter deity. In another way, it is called "Morena" from the word "Mor", "Stain".
It is believed that she sends her messengers around the world, who appear to a person in the guise of beautiful girl, or in the guise of a double of a person who is threatened deadly danger. And if trouble happened in the village, with her idol or face, the Slavs went around him, asking Mara to allow the spirits of ancestors to be present at a difficult hour, which could help.
The Slavic goddess Mara has several names: Mara, Kashcheevna, Morana, Morena. Mara is the goddess of death and fertility. According to one version, Morena (Mara) was the daughter of Kashchei, the ruler of the lower kingdom of Navi. Therefore, she was also called Kashcheevna. But according to another version, Mara was the sister of Lada and Zhiva (or Lelya), who were the daughters of the first generation of gods that appeared from the sparks of the hammer of Svarog, which hit the sacred stone Alatyr.
Goddess Mara patronizes witchcraft and justice. According to legend, her beauty was in no way inferior to the beauty of the goddess Lada, but despite popular belief, she is not her antipode. Many also argue that the goddess Mara opposes Zhiva, but even though she embodies the whole complex of forces that are opposite to the creative energy of life, there are no confrontations between the goddesses.
So who is the goddess Mara? If we study Slavic mythology in detail, we can come to the conclusion that all three goddess sisters had absolutely equal rights and were equally perceived by both other gods and people.
Mara. Mythology
Goddess Mara in Slavic mythology presented as a young girl with fair skin and beautiful black eyes. She was the epitome of ice and dignity.
All her outfits were in the form of an azure dress, decorated with white lace. As the legends say, Morena lived in a large palace, which was made of pure heavenly ice, and in submission she had all the spirits of water and cold. It is believed that Mara is a dark goddess, since death itself was subject to her.
In addition, she also made friends with Veles' wife, Yaga. Their friendship was not quite ordinary. Mara gave human souls to Yaga, and Yaga, in return, allowed Mara to descend to the Navi world, into which entry was strictly forbidden to both people and gods. Together with Yaga, Mara often practiced sorcery, and they also learned to control the elements and various energies.
Goddess Mara and Kashchei
Mara, the goddess of the Slavs, was often associated in one way or another with the lord of the lower Navi - Kashchei. According to one version, she was his daughter, and according to another version, his wife. The Slavic goddess was seductive and had a very cunning and sharp mind. She managed to literally ask for Kashchei as a wife. How did she do it? Everything turned out quite unexpectedly. Marena promised Kashchei, if he would marry her, the lives of three Heavenly Maidens, as well as the lives of three Iry heroes. But Kashchei never received these lives, since Mara, after her marriage, chained him with her sorcerer's chains in the casemates of the Kashchei palace.
After that, the cunning goddess tried more than once to repeat her attempt to marry, but already to the god Dazhbog. After several of her attempts, she still managed to get the cherished family happiness, but it did not last long. Dazhbog left Morena, and she was left alone with her strength alone. Despite the unsuccessful relationship, Mara did not lose herself, and continued to fulfill her functions: in the summer she sent crops to people, and in the winter she gave vent to her feelings and was fierce.
Goddess Mara and the Slavs
The physical manifestation of Mary was, of course, winter. When the long cold dark winter nights came, she reigned supreme over the Slavic land. Maara filled the Navi to the very brim with human souls that died from bad weather or froze in a snowdrift. When the winter ended, the ancient Slavs drove the goddess of death from the world of Yave, constructing her effigy and symbolically burning it.
Over time, this custom has lost its meaning and its traditions have been perverted beyond recognition. In our time, such a pagan ritual is usually called Maslenitsa, but it is impossible to consider Maslenitsa as a rite that drives Mara out of the world of Reveal, because this is not even a rite at all, but only its echo.
Along with Truth, Mara is also considered the patroness of justice and fairness. Due to the fact that she simultaneously took the souls of the dead in Navi, and was Slavic symbol True, it is difficult to say what kind of goddess our ancestors represented - light or dark. Along with saving the world, Mara repeatedly threatened to destroy it completely.
Based on these facts, we can say that the goddess Mara was a creature that towered over such traditional concepts as "good" and "evil". It is obvious that the Slavs revered her along with the rest of the bright gods, and therefore it is stupid and groundless to consider her an exclusively negative character in the Slavic religion.
Despite all the arguments that claim that Mara is a dark goddess who came to our world with Chernobog, but eventually took the side of the Irian gods, she is still a representative of the Slavic pantheon of Yasunya - light gods.
Attributes of the Goddess Mary
The attributes of the Slavic goddess of death and justice are tren, winter, death, cold, destruction and darkness. Marena's personal symbol is a stream of frozen water, which is called “Water of Mary”. This symbol means immovable force, potential energy, which is at rest until a certain time.
Another metaphysical emblem of Mara that was widely used is the symbol of Winter, part of the season. The combined symbol, consisting of two triangles, which is called Mara-Viy, was perceived by our ancestors as very bad sign because it meant absolute death.
Goddess Mara.
The symbol of the bond of two gods, this is Dyy personifying masculinity and Mara, goddess of death and the feminine. Amulet connecting both gods. In the writings of the ancient Slavs, it was listed as a connecting process of two worlds, which subsequently connected the two runes together. The power of this talisman bestows such power, hardly any amulet can be compared with this species. Reproduced thanks to historical facts set out in the form of drawings and annals in the ancient language of the ancestors. A rare combination in the meaning of a talisman.
Goddess of death and fertility. The patroness of bright death and the keeper of dead souls. Her actions can resurrect the dead and kill living people, including nature itself and everything connected with it. Lord over the two worlds Nav and Yav, which in translation means the dead and the living. There was calmness in everything: in business, conversations, and what is most interesting, she was in no hurry anywhere.
The meaning of the name Mara
It has many names: Plague, pestilence, Beautiful death. Another meaning is Watery, Searing. Ambiguous spelling of the name. Instills fear and horror at the mere mention. AT different countries associated with different nominal values. Today in Russia it is called Marina watery.
The image of the dark goddess and her pedigree
The fair-skinned Goddess had pitch-black eyes, gazing into the abyss of the dark realm. Her beauty was not inferior to any mythological goddess. Dark hair, long as a train, splashed in waves all over the graceful body of a tall girl. The image embodied dignity cooling the body. Alluring beauty attracted many eyes of the gods. A gentle and affectionate creature with the voice of an angel on the one hand and with wires of slowness to another world.
Our days
Many eyewitnesses who have been in clinical deaths speak differently about the image of the goddess. For example, that this is a long-haired girl with dark eyes. Affectionate and friendly in her actions and conductive movements in other world. She seems to take her by the hand and lead into the darkness. But at this moment, everyone’s fear disappears and even calmness comes. The voice is not commanding, but clearly enough to understand what is required of you.
The version of myths says that Mara is the daughter of the Black Serpent, who guards the Kalinovy Bridge. This is a kind of transition from the realm of the living to the realm of the dead people. The second judgment says that the pedigree rests on the roots of the ancient generations of the Yasuns.
Feast in honor of the goddess
According to the ancient calendar, the holiday coincided with the 12th day of spring. But since time does not stand still, but only moves forward, scientists have calculated that this is the day of God's Shrovetide. But in Russia every year is celebrated on a different, fallen day, because leap years and there is a constant shift. Only when calculating the exact date is known.
In the people it is the Maslenitsa holiday. When burning an effigy, the incarnation from life into eternal sleep was implied. By this, the Slavs showed the seeing off of the queen to another world. This holiday was revered and honored, prepared carefully. They brought offerings to appease the goddess, so that she would not get angry and release the souls of the dead in peace.
Symbolism of the Goddess of Death
A symbol that carries negative, two-valued energy. Frozen streams of water, consisting in a calm, non-moving state. A sign of potential energy matter of several worlds. The world of death, hell is intertwined with the life-giving state of the fiery element. Continuous and continuous zigzags of infinity in all directions. Performance winter time year at rest, who is ready to wake up at the first call.
Use of symbolism
Only with permission Higher powers, it was possible to use symbols, amulets, an amulet of this type. To the common man, who did not have a gift at the level of magic, there was a ban. Terrible things have happened in the wrong hands. If the theft and the award of other people's skills through the amulet worked, then this was punished on a different level. The sorcerers, in order to return the amulet, asked Mara to punish the guilty. And it happened instantly. The thieves themselves gave back the thing they stole.
Reference! For such deeds, they paid with their lives. Ridiculous incidents happened to them, which entailed an unnatural death.
The Slavic goddess Marena or Mara is the personification of Winter and Death, the mistress of the Night, they were afraid of her and asked for mercy. But this mistress of life did not take all the dead with her, but only those who were worthy of eternity in the world of Glory. Our ancestors praised Marena twice during the year, connecting with the names of the great pagan deities Kupala and Dazhdbog, and there were reasons for this.
Madder - mythology
Legends about Maren arose from ancient Aryan myths, from where it passed into the legends of the Germanic, Scandinavian and Celtic tribes. She is called the daughter of the great Svarog and Lada, the sister of Zhiva and Lely. According to ancient beliefs, Marena the goddess has several titles:
- mistress of Winter;
- mistress of the night;
- keeper of eternal life;
- the embodiment of fate;
- mistress of death.
Her name comes from the word "pestilence", which was associated with death, but there is a version that this goddess did not interrupt a person's life, but introduced him to the world of eternity, indicated to her soul her further path: into the light of Navi or Slav, depending on whether what he deserved. Our ancestors believed: the insincere and impure soul Marena - the goddess of the Slavs separates from the pure world and sends a flock of vices and troubles to such people, therefore they represented this mistress in different images:
- women tall, in dark clothes;
- a hunchbacked, long-haired old woman;
- beautiful girl in white dress.
Goddess Marena Day
Ancestors believed that Marena had 2 possessions:
- ice palace in the northern lands;
- beyond the Smorodina River, which separates the world of Yavi and Navi.
Therefore, Mary had 2 holidays in the year:
- The first holiday of Marena was celebrated in the spring, on March 1, and it was called Navi Day or Vyunitsy. The souls of the dead were called Navia, the essence of this festival is the celebration resurrection of the dead, honoring the spirits of ancestors and the Lady of their world Mary. The pagans buried their dead in mounds, made treb - offerings of food and drink, so that their ancestors lived richly in another world.
- The second holiday fell in the autumn - November 25, when all the sacrifices were made only to Marena, who entered into her rights as the Lady of Winter. To protect themselves from it, people on this day went to the swamps and extinguished flaming firebrands in the swamp. By this, as it were, they showed their strength to the formidable goddess with the help of fire.
The symbol of Marena among the Slavs
Most famous symbol Madders - a straw doll, which was surrounded by special rites on the spring festival of the goddess, when the goddess of Winter was escorted to the northern possessions. Round dances were made around this doll, and then a burning ceremony was held, destroying cold and frost for their land along with it. The ashes were then scattered over the field so that there would be a rich harvest and a good year.
Researchers name 2 more personal symbols of Marena:
- The stream of frozen water is the "water of Mary", which personifies the frozen power, temporarily at rest.
- The sign of Winter is 2 triangles, called "Mara-Viy", our ancestors considered it disastrous and dangerous.
Veles and Marena
Names pagan gods Veles and Mary were connected only by their possessions. was considered the ruler of the world of the dead. Over time, the Slavs began to consider him also the patron of agriculture, since the ancestors buried in the ground were also bearers for our ancestors good harvest. Marena was also revered by the Slavs as the goddess of the world of the dead, but she accepted only valiant people, and she awarded the heroes who died for the family with an immortal kiss and escorted them to Iriy.
Marena and Dazhdbog
The Slavs revered Dazhdbog as the god of great wisdom and prosperity, and Marena, the goddess of Winter and Death, was called his wife in legends. In some legends, she is called the wife of the god of evil death Kashchei. 2 versions survive:
- Mara married Dazhdbog, but after the wedding she was kidnapped by Kashchei.
- The wedding took place, but the young wife ran away immediately after the ceremony, because she loved Kashchei. And she gave in to Dazhdbog, fearing the wrath of Perun.
Before the onset of cold weather, the pagans celebrated the wedding of Dazhdbog and Mary with special rituals. Dolls were made from straw, young couples jumped over the fire with them. Then the dolls were carried home with honor, and kept as amulets from illness and death. Tables were laid near the fire, at which the warring families must have reconciled, since Marena and Dazhdbog were considered patrons of the goodness of the family.
Marena and Kupalo
Ivan Kupala was revered by the Slavs as a god earthly fruits, this is the only pagan holiday which has survived to this day. Young people arrange magnificent celebrations, girls weave wreaths to float on the water and find out their fate. In honor of Kupala, tree branches are decorated with flowers, and a straw effigy of Mary is placed nearby. It is burned at night so that all colds and illnesses go away with the fire, because the Slavic goddess Marena was considered the personification of colds and death.
Couples in love are sure to jump over the fire to purify themselves in the flames. The burning of Marena was special ritual, which was accompanied by special conspiracies for a happy future life. In some regions, the ritual of drowning Mary has been preserved, as the personification of death and disease, because water was also considered a life-giving force that washes away many sins.
MARENA (Mara, Morena) - a powerful and formidable Deity. Mara Morena - ancient goddess associated with the embodiment of death, with darkness, diseases, with seasonal rituals of dying and resurrection of nature, sometimes with rituals for making rain. Goddess of Winter. Mara refers to.
NAME: The name Morana (Morena) is indeed related to such words as “pestilence”, “haze”, “gloom”, “haze”, “fool”, “death”. The names are different, the essence is the same.
OTHER NAME: Ice Goddess, Dark Goddess
- The quiet voice of the sorcerer broke the chains of obsession. Oleg shook himself like a dog and nimbly jumped away from the Ice Goddess... The Dark Goddess hurts heartily, cries bloody tears, comes with fierce longing. Why then did she go around me and take him away? Let me sip from the cup. A. Prozorov, O. Yankovsky, The Key of Times (Vedun-5)
POSSESSION: The domain of Morena, according to the Ancient Tales, lies beyond the black , separating and , through which is thrown guarded by the Three-Headed Serpent ...
IN THE PIGGAGE OF THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE. Get tired, get dirty
ACTIVITIES: Maru is neither an evil nor a good goddess. On the one hand, it bestows death, but at the same time it also bestows life. One of Mary's favorite activities is needlework: she loves to spin and weave. At the same time, he uses the threads of the fate of living beings for needlework, leading them to turning points in life, and, in the end, cutting off the thread of existence.
There is a very interesting take on what Mara does:
- Beautiful Mara does not bring death, - he raised his eyes to the goddess Seredin. Mara is taking her. It absorbs, drinks, takes into itself in order to give the dead the opportunity to exist in another, better world. In the Golden Kingdom of Mary. Takes from oblivion and takes somewhere behind the ice wall. A. Prozorov, Warrior of Gloom (Vedun-18)
True, one must take into account that a person who is deeply in love with this Mara thinks so.
PLACES OF WORSHIP: They did not build in the part of Mary permanent places worship, honors could be paid to her anywhere. For this, an image of the goddess, carved from wood or made from straw, was installed on the ground, stones were laid around the place. Directly in front of the idol, a larger stone or wooden plank was installed, which served as an altar. After the ceremony, all this was sorted out, and the image of Mary was burned or thrown into the river.
Offerings and Requests: Flowers, straw, and various fruits were offered to the goddess of death. Sometimes, during the years of severe epidemics, animals were sacrificed, bleeding them directly at the altar.
POWERS: Mara is able to stop the passage of time, both globally and locally. She controls life and death and is able to take life even from immortal beings, including the gods. On the other hand, it is also capable of bestowing life and immortality. They say that's how she extended long life to his son, sending him with small live ones.
Like most gods, Mara is an excellent sorceress who can completely change the world around her, but only for a while.
SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: Most of the time, Mara lives in, but, unlike, she is not a prisoner of this world, and can freely cross the border - although she prefers to send her messengers more often. Mara's influence extends to all three worlds, but the goddess is especially strong in Navi.
They say that the world of Mary has two entrances - one - through, and the other gate - in the mountains the giant guards.
SYMBOLS OF MARA: Black Moon, heaps of broken skulls and a sickle with which she cuts the Threads of Life. But the most famous symbol of Mary is her cup of a human skull. And the one who sips from this cup will forever remain in her kingdom.
- After all, then I almost gave you a drink from my cup, held it out ... But you turned out to be impolite, turned out. She laughed kindly again. - What kind of bowl is this? Laughter broke off, Mara's lips twisted unkindly. "I'll show you," she whispered, and raised her hand. A whirlwind soared above Mara's palm, flared up and formed into the easily distinguishable outlines of a human skull. The vision was filled with colors, took on volume. Oleg blinked in surprise. No, he wasn't wrong. The woman really held in her palm a real human skull, bound in silvery metal. Silver? Although why not. She's a goddess, not an undead. However, the skull continued to change. His outline floated again, like wax in the sun. Top part failed, leaving a void, the walls covered with a relief pattern. And again, Oleg did not catch the moment when the transformation ended. Mara held before him a small silver cup with a short stem. And inside, flashing with ruby sparks, a viscous liquid splashed. - Try it, witch. Just sip. A. Prozorov, O. Yankovsky, The Key of Times (Vedun-5)
APPEARANCE - tall black haired woman
- Flames flowed along the walls like a fiery serpent, brightly illuminating the high stone in the center and the fragile female figure... The woman's dress swayed with a quiet rustle, and she turned to the newcomer. Tall, incredibly beautiful, with a shock of lush, resinous black hair… Oleg involuntarily smiled himself. - Sorry, beauty, but we have not met with you. - No, he could not forget such a lady, had he met them earlier. - What is your name? She raised a black eyebrow in surprise. - People call differently. Who is Mara, who is Marena, and who is Ice Death. I didn’t know that there were those who didn’t recognize Maru. But our paths have already crossed. Oh, sorcerer, how many times have you been on the edge! How many times have I approached you with a bowl. A. Prozorov, O. Yankovsky, The Key of Times (Vedun-5)
LIKE A NIGHTMARE. Belarusians have a belief that at night Mara turns into an evil spirit, which is the embodiment of nightmares.
IN LITERATURE. The old people said that once - a long time ago - Morana almost reigned forever. Not to her liking, you see, was the warm summer, which then played on the earth all year. M. Semenova, The one I'm always waiting for.
In the MYTHOLOGY of OTHER PEOPLES there are goddesses of death - Kali and Yama - among the Hindus, Hades among the Greeks, Hel among the Scandinavians and Anubis among the Egyptians.
(41) A selection made specifically for the site
