Slavic Seasonal Rituals and Divinations

By: Olga Kruchkova

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Synopsis: Since ancient times a human wished to know what the future will bring and what kind of fate the gods have prepared for him. The foretelling in Russia (Ancient Rus') was done by the wise man called "veduni," and by "volhvi" — religious ritual practitioners. With the help of complicated ceremonies and magic rituals they "looked" into the future. Nevertheless, more simple fortune telling methods were available to our ancestors, who did not possess magic powers. Various objects were used to tell the future: wax and tin melting, silver mirrors, water, bones, intestines of the animals, seeds, legumes, porridge, animal sounds, runes, stones, flowers, and household items. Quite sometime later fortune telling on the coffee grinds, steeped tea leftovers, and cards appeared. To do the fortune-telling our ancestors also used elements that were available in nature. With a variety of ways to do fortune-telling, its timing was aligned with certain rituals and agricultural celebrations, and, therefore, there was a correlation with Slavic calendar. Slavic calendar, as a multifaceted and unique phenomenon, was created and improved through thousands of years. It is a reflection of a world-view of our distant ancestors and their daily routines.