Lelya is the goddess of love. Lelya Slavic mythology Lelya Slavic goddess

18.09.2021

Lelia or Lyalya, in Slavic mythology, the goddess of spring, the daughter of the goddess of beauty, love and fertility Lada. According to myths, it was inextricably linked with the spring rebirth of nature, the beginning of field work. The goddess was imagined as a young, beautiful, slender and tall girl. B.A. Rybakov believes that the second goddess depicted on the Zbruch idol and holding a ring in her right bow is Lada.

Lelya, Boris Olshansky

Lelya goddess of spring, Vladimir Forostetsky

In folklore, Lada is often mentioned next to Lelya. The scientist compares this pair: mother-daughter with Latona and Artemis and with Slavic women in labor. Rybakov associates two horsemen in Russian embroidery, sometimes with a wooden plow behind them, located on either side of Mokosh, with Lada and Lelya. The spring spell song contains the following words dedicated to Lele-Spring:

Eat Spring, Eat.
On golden horses
In the green say
On a plow gray
Cheese the ground of aruchi
Right hand seyuchi.

The cycle of spring rituals among the ancient Slavs began on the day of the arrival of the larks - March 9 (March 22 in the new style). People met birds, going to the tops of the hills, kindling fires, boys and girls danced in circles. There was also a special maiden holiday - lalnik - on April 22 (May 5).

Vasilisa the Beautiful, artist Ivan Bilibin

The most beautiful girl, crowned with a wreath, sat on a sod bench and played the role of Lelia. On both sides of it, offerings were placed (bread, milk, cheese, butter, sour cream). The girls danced around the solemnly seated Lelia. The existence of the goddess Lelya and the god Lelya is based solely on the chorus of wedding and other folk songs - and modern scholars have deleted Lelya from among the Slavic pagan gods. The chorus, in different forms - lelyu, lelyo, lely, lyuli - is found in Russian songs; in Serbian "Kralitsk" songs (Trinity) magnificant, related to marriage, he is found in the form of a lele, lele, in the Bulgarian great and Lazar - in the form of a lele.

Thus, the chorus goes back to antiquity. The old Polish refrain lelyum (if it really existed in this form with "m") Potebnya explains through the addition of lelyu with "m" from the dative case "mi", as in the Little Russian "schom" (instead of "shho mi").

In the refrain, "polelum" (if it is correctly conveyed by Polish historiographers) "po" can be a pretext; compare the Belarusian choruses: lyuli and about lyulyushki "(Shane" Materials for studying the way of life and language of the Russian population of the North-Western Territory "). Considerations about the etymological meaning of the chorus of lelyu were expressed by Vs. Miller (" Essays on Aryan mythology ").

Continuing the theme of the Slavic gods.
Lyolya is the goddess of spring, sincerity and beauty, pure girlish love.

PEDIGREE: Daughter of Lada and Svarog. Sister Lelya and Polelya. Lelushka is a caring, gentle and kind wife of the Volkh God, who is the keeper of the Heavenly Halls of the Irian garden. They had a son, Lute

The Scandinavians believe that the Volh rules in Wallhall, and Lelya protects his peace and comfort there, and the Goddess Valkyrie provides great help in this.

NAME IN THE STARRY SKY: In ancient times, one of the nearby Moons of Midgard-Earth was named after Leli.

FROM LEGENDS: A long time ago, as a very young girl, Lelya saw a beautiful young man - sunny Yarilo. I saw and fell in love. And God Yarilo liked her too. Lelia lit up with happiness, her eyes lit up with love.

I love! Be only mine! - she said to the golden-haired God.

But Yarilo laughed in response:

Yes, I love you, but I love other Goddesses too, and if I am yours, it will not be for long.

Oh, how painful it was for Lelyushka, oh, how heavy it was on her heart that those words fell. But nothing can be done, you will not be cute forcibly - Lelia did not succeed in pairing with Yarilo-Sun. For a long time afterwards she sighed over him, until she met her betrothed - the Fiery Volkh, who flew to him as Finist - the Clear Falcon.

AREA OF INFLUENCE: Lelya is the patroness of all lovers, as well as beauty, goodness and happiness. Lelya is a spring deity and the second is the younger goddess Rozhanitsa. On embroidered embroideries, it is usually represented as one of two Elks, between which there is Makosh. She is the quivering goddess of the first flowers - snowflakes, gentle spring breezes, youthful femininity. In the old days, it was believed that it was Lele who took care of the first, only emerging seedlings - the guarantee of the future harvest.
HOLIDAY: The ancient holiday Lelnik (Lyalnik) is dedicated to the goddess of love Lele.

In Lelnik, they always bake lalemye (ritual cookies), while a kind of ritual of baking a woman's share is performed. The girls go to the nearby sacred grove - to ask for their betrothed and to ask for fertile strength.

For Lelnik is the only day of the year when the Great Bereginya of pregnancy herself, tender Lelia, is called to the Bachelorette party.

In Lyalnik, men are supposed to honor Women in every possible way. And the best offering to our ancient Russian progenitor is wildflowers.

SPRING CHALLENGE: Lelya - Spring is important and solemnly "called out" - they invited, invited to visit, the whole village went out to meet her with refreshments and gifts. (Feast of the Magpies). And before calling, they asked Mother Lada for permission: How she wishes, will she let her daughter go? The spring holiday "Lelnik" was usually celebrated on April 21, on the eve of St. George's Day. These days were also called "Red Hill", because the nearest hill became the place of round dances, calls and other games. There was a small sod bench. The most beautiful girl who played the role of Leli sat on it. Offerings were laid nearby.

THE IMAGE OF LELYA: Lelia is the image of a young, sublime, pure and bright girl who has just reached the age when she can already get married. That is why the image of young Lelia, unlike Lada-mother or stately Mokosha, is never considered in accordance with everyday life. Usually they imagine Lelya surrounded by wild nature - somewhere at the edge of a forest, by a river, in a chamomile field. Her hair is thoughtfully stroked by the gentle warm south wind, and the deer and foxes touch her hands with their wet noses. Lelya is a carefree creature, half-woman, half-child.
SYMBOLS: Her day is Monday. Her tree is rowan or birch (“a birch stood in the field - Lyalya, Lyalya stood”), metal - silver.

Lelya has her own rune, which is named after her. And this Rune Lelya symbolizes water in its rather active playful manifestation (the word "lila" is translated from Sanskrit as "game"). Water jets are light, but all together this is a powerful spring stream, which is able to erase the past forever and bring with it great renewals for the entire sublunary world.

Lelya remained in the memory of the Russians as the personification of the purity of girls, love, purity and tenderness.

Our ancestors believed that at night a barefoot girl walks across the sky, scatters the clouds with golden long hair and clears the way for the sun. This girl's name was Lelya. Among the Slavs, she was revered as a goddess who patronizes unmarried girls. She helps them find sincere and pure love, maintain lightness in character, femininity, youth and attractiveness, and also protects them from mistakes.

They turn to Lele not only for help in love affairs. She is able to cheer up the saddened and reconcile those who quarreled. People go to her to learn how to never lose heart and always remain happy.

In Slavic mythology, Lelya is considered the goddess of spring, love, beauty and sincerity.... Lelya is the obedient daughter of the supreme god Svarog and the patroness of the hearth of the Lada Mother of God, and Perun is considered her brother. Lelya is in close contact with other goddesses, for example, with the Living and Mara.

Lelia also has a spouse - this is Finist. The goddess met him after her first unsuccessful and unrequited love, which she felt for the god Yarilo. However, despite this, she was able to keep in her loving heart a small flame of the feelings of that failed love.

The main feature of Lelya is youth, therefore the Slavs presented her as a very young girl - cheerful, playful and melodious... She had long hair to her feet with a floral wreath on her head and a radiant, open smile. Where she steps, the grass turns green and flowers bloom, and the birds happily chirp and circle in the clear sky.

At the sight of Lelya, the sun shines even brighter and warmer, because it is in love with the beautiful and gentle Lelya, in whose image there is not a drop of anger or deceit. She charges everyone around her with her joy.

However, Lelya not only has fun herself and pleases the human race, in difficult times she is able to take an important step for the sake of another. An example of this is the legend, according to which Lelya, in order to save the enchanted young men of one settlement by the insidious Morena, cut off her long golden hair and woven magic cloth from it.

Lelya is just a young girl of marriageable age who has woken up after the winter cold. She patronizes loving people in marriage., protects their family well-being and happiness.

Important: despite the fact that Lelya, like Lada and Makosh, is considered the patroness of family and marriage, she is not an assistant in everyday life or preserving a rich harvest.

Manifestation

Thanks to her pure love and the revitalizing power of the awakening of spring after a snowy winter, Lelya was very close to the Slavs. They always noted that she was easy-going and responsive, so they asked her for help in any matter and under any circumstances. Goddess Lelya brings the following to the world:

Family happiness and mutual love.
The warmth of the sun and the blossoming of nature in spring.
Youth.
Ease of communication.
Luck and luck.

Attributes

Lelya is considered the most diverse goddess among the Slavs... In one moment it can turn into a birch, in another it can become a deer. She has many attributes, including:

Birch and mountain ash, which are often found in ritual songs for chanting Lelya. Even the belief has gone that Lelya lives on birches - the same fragile trees as herself. Girls suffering from unrequited love often fled to the forest to hug a birch tree, cry to Lele about their female grief and take away their souls. Rowan, in turn, is a symbol of the feminine principle and modesty. This tree also helped provide protection from evil spells for newlyweds.
Doe. Among the Slavs, it was considered a symbol of prosperity.
The stork is a symbol of new life, spring, childish affection. Among the Slavs, the stork symbolizes love in the house and family well-being.
The first snowdrop is a symbol of the awakening nature after a long and cold winter.
Silver is the metal of the goddess Lelya. It is a symbol of true and wise love.
Agriculture. She helps and cares for young seedlings in the fields in spring.
On Lelnik and Krasnaya Gorka, the Slavs brought her flowers, milk and cheese, and on the spring equinox they baked cookies, cakes and biscuits in the form of birds, which are called larks.

Symbol and amulets

The sign of the goddess Leli is called Lelnik. It gives a feeling of joy and lightness in the heart, a feeling of whirling in a cheerful festive round dance and symbolizes the first love of a young girl. Even outwardly, Lelnik resembles a young joyful girl who is spinning in a noisy round dance with her friends.

reference: the amulet of this goddess helps girls, young girls, women, as well as little boys under the age of 3 years.

Lelnik has a certain strength, which manifests itself in the following:

Protection of young girls before marriage.
Development of talents and intuitive abilities.
Softening the female character.
Preservation of love, happiness, health and youth.
Recognition of other people.

The amulet protects its owner from the unwanted influence of certain things, for example:

From bad intentions and thoughts.
From other people's evil slander and conspiracies.
From failures and various troubles.
From self-doubt.

Attention: Amulets depicting the symbol of the goddess were usually made of birch and mountain ash, and were also embroidered by mothers on the clothes of their daughters who had not yet married.

Leli has her own rune, which bears the name of the goddess... This is the main rune of the water element and it means water running freely in streams and the awakening of spring. This rune of pure intuition and knowledge beyond reality has two meanings:

The direct meaning of the rune- the presence and manifestation of love in family relationships, as well as an emerging feeling of falling in love and the opportunity to find your future love.
Inverted rune meaning- search for deception, fraud and dishonest ways to get what you want in a relationship.

Who patronizes?

Goddess Lelya patronizes cheerful and kind-hearted people, who, like her, are easy-going and always optimistic, as well as young girls who wish to find pure and sincere love and successfully marry. Any troubles and sorrows will bypass the person who wears an amulet with the image of the symbol of the goddess.

Prayer

Since Lelya helps loving hearts to gain understanding of each other and family happiness, there is also a special prayer for love between husband and wife:
« Native mother Lelya, the red and beautiful Slavic Goddess,

You have protected our hearts and eternal consolation for our souls.

Wrap your heart in shade in my dear fret (my dear fret) (name), so that we rejoice in the treasure of heaven all the days.

On every path, in every bright deed, strengthen her (his) spirit, fill it with the power of love.

The clear dawns and the red sun may bring peace to my soul (my harmony) and firmness of spirit, for our love will shine forever.

Honor to You, mother Lelya, we are filled with Your tenderness, we give happiness to each other.

Glory to Lele! "
Mothers have been embroidering the symbol of the goddess Leli for their unmarried daughters since their very birth. When creating magic embroidery, women always recited the following prayer:
« Praise be to you, Lelya, a great woman in labor!

Hear my words, goddess of love,

For in my chest only affection and tenderness burn with a bright fire.

Give my daughter happiness and joy, let him believe in himself and his beauty,

Heal her from the ills of the wicked, protect her from anger and envy. "

Holidays - days of veneration

In Russia, people were very fond of having fun and walking on the spring holidays. These celebrations always took place with songs and dances. And many holidays are associated with the goddess Lelya.

Our ancestors believed that she arrives with Yarila, accompanied by migratory birds.

March 8- this holiday is considered the Russian analogue of International Women's Day, which is celebrated in the world today. In Russia, on March 8, children called for spring with special spring calls.
20th of March celebrate the day of the vernal equinox. On this holiday, the Slavic gods descend to earth, and the god of the spring sun Yarilo brings Lelia with him, who brings warm and sunny weather to people.
April 16-22 the First Rusals are celebrated, during which Lelya is honored by the Slavs. These days, green grass begins to grow in the meadows, and mermaids-bereginas awaken in the seething streams. This holiday is dedicated to drowned girls who in their lives did not have time to know sincere and joyful love.
April 22- Lelin day or Lelnik. On this day, the Slavs performed various rituals and sacraments, they prayed to Lelia to give the lovers consent and happiness. Even in the modern world, on this day, cleansing rituals are held that help drive out sorrow, discontent and envy from the heart. As a rule, people ask Lelya for happiness, inspiration, spiritual ease and joy.
from May 26 to June 2 Green Christmastide, Rusalia or Lely's farewell are celebrated. During this time period, the warm summer season is gaining its strength. The date of the celebration depends on the weather conditions and the geographical location of a particular settlement.

The Slavic people considered Lelya to be the closest goddess to people. The kind-hearted and sweet young girl carried light wherever she walked. Lelya helped young and pure girls like her to find their feminine happiness, successfully marry and maintain concord in marriage between the spouses.

Useful video

In addition to the article, we suggest watching a video about the goddess Lelia:

Lelya is the goddess of spring, girlish love, sincerity and beauty. Lada's daughter, sister (according to other sources - niece) Alive and Marena. Spouse. She was revered on a par with Lada. Traditional ritual elements associated with these two goddesses are practically inseparable in Slavic culture.

Lelya is the image of a young, pure and bright girl who has just reached the age when she can get married. This is a light and gentle allegory of the eternal purity of an immaculate woman's heart, its strength, invincible and irresistible to evil. Our ancestors represented this goddess as a young fair-haired beauty, no longer a girl, but not yet a woman, the keeper of the hearth. That is why the image of Lelya, unlike Lada or Mokosha, is never considered in accordance with everyday life. Lelya is always surrounded by wild nature - at the edge of the forest, by the river. A gentle warm wind strokes her hair, deer and foxes touch her hands with their wet noses. This is a carefree creature, devoid of even a hint of belligerence or aggression.

In Russian folk embroidery, Lelia is depicted as one of two elk, standing on opposite sides of the stylized image of Mokosh-land. This simple pattern can often be found on old towels or shutters of dense huts. Lelya has her own rune, which is called by her name. The rune Lelya symbolizes water in its active playful manifestation ("lila" is translated from Sanskrit as "play"). It is a light, but powerful spring stream that erases the past forever and brings renewal for the whole world. The motive of awakening is key in this aspect. In runic layouts, this is how the Lel rune is most often interpreted - liberation from the dark fetters, a clear view of things, not clouded by the superficial Krivda.

However, Lelya is a slightly sad image, despite all its positive and cheerfulness. A legend has survived that tells how Lelya fell in love with Yarila, the son of Veles. She fell in love openly and with all her heart, as soon as she can love a pure heart like a dewdrop, untouched by pain or troubles. Yarila, in response to Leli's confession, only smiled at her and said: “I love you too, maiden of the dawn! And I love Mara. And Lada. I love all women, because from my father I inherited the violent uncontrollable power of emotions! But if you want, then I will be with you and I will be yours. But only for a while. " Such speeches offended Lelya and she rightly decided not to associate herself with the god of the spring sun. But in secret, she loved this frantic and reckless fellow for a long time, until she met Finist on her way, the incarnation of Semargl Finist and Lelya, love each other, and soon got married, but the eternally young goddess of spring forever kept in her heart a small spark of inextinguishable feeling for Yarila ...

Our ancestors associated many holidays with Lelya, the goddess of spring. She was also called one of the Rozhanitsy (together with Lada, Zhivaya and some other mythological characters, different names are mentioned in different sources). Women in labor are goddesses who are patronized by the Rod itself. And Lel's reckoning to this series looks quite logical, because a single genus protects all women equally, for they are its successors.
Lelya's symbol is birch. Her day is April 22 (May 5). Its metal is silver. Its symbolism is not ideal, but the image of a young girl dear to the heart of each of us, honest, kind and open, ready to give her body and soul to only one man, her lover.

Bogushevskaya Love

Lelya

Summary of the myth

Goddesses Lada and Lelya

The Slavs had their own goddess of youth and love - the Goddess Lelya, the daughter of Lada the Mother of God - the goddess of motherhood and the patroness of all Slavs. It was believed that before marriage, all young Slavic girls are under the patronage of the eternally young Lelia.

According to myths, it was inextricably linked with the spring rebirth of nature, the beginning of field work. The goddess was presented as a young, beautiful, slender and tall girl.

The Earth and Heaven loved each other so much that their love came to life as a separate being - and, like themselves once, immediately split in two, into Female and Male Love, for one is not enough - there are always two lovers.

God Rod, Male Love, began to give offspring and offspring to all breathing creatures, and People soon learned to read it: they began to make images and invest in wedding cups, for happiness and many children for the new family.

The goddess Lada became Woman's Love. Wise wives, who know how to cope with the family, to make a harmony in the house, were nicknamed after it. The Great Goddess liked faithful conjugal love.

Lada was also called Rozhanitsa, in honor of the giving birth field and young mothers, whom she invisibly wrapped her belt around, helping to get rid of the burden.

The great Lada had a young daughter. Her name was Lelya, Lelyushka.

Lelya grew up and began to walk through the meadows, through the dense shady forests, and the silk ants clung to her feet to straighten even greener and thicker.

Images and symbols of myth

Goddess Lelya

From time immemorial, poems, paintings, music and everything in which their images could be displayed were dedicated to women. In the Slavic tradition, these images are carried by women in labor.

A woman, if viewed from the perspective of Christianity, is a true pagan symbol. Fertile strength. The essence of procreation. Therefore, it is the female images that are recreated in terms of the Land of Mother and Mother Nature.

We all know the custom of giving flowers to a woman, kept in our traditions from time immemorial, which carries the everyday ritual of sacrifice to a woman. Giving the life energy of flowers, men thereby express their respect for their beloved, in which they found the image of the goddess of love - Lelia. This image is as multifaceted as the woman herself.

Time passed - Lelya, together with her mother, began to go round and round the fields, pull barely hatched seedlings by the green ears, and People saw that there had never been such crops on Earth before. They began to praise Lelya on a par with her mother and honor her as a woman in labor, call her the Spring-Nurse. They began to ask Lada for permission to call out and invite Spring to visit, and when Mother allowed, they prepared a sod bench sprouted with herbs for the Daughter, made offerings: bread, cheese, milk. It was a girl's holiday, men, curious guys were not allowed close.

Lelya symbolizes fertility, female fertility, but at the same time fragility. She acted as a resurrection of the deceased nature and bestowing fertility, because of this, her cult approached the cult of a dying and resurrecting god. After the disappearance of the goddess on earth, the growth processes cease; the return of the goddess ensures fertility and prosperity.

Communication tools for creating images and symbols

Preparing to roll eggs nowadays

The formation of a positive image of Leli, first of all, was facilitated by the rituals associated with the development of agriculture. Plant and flower ornaments were dedicated to the goddess Lele. The custom of decorating household utensils and clothing with images of birds also goes back to the Rozhanitsy cult. The birds were dedicated to the goddess Lele, they were her messengers and servants, it was the birds that brought spring on their wings, and the birds easily rose from our Middle World to the Upper World - it was not for nothing that they were winged.

Images of birds are very common in everyday life - this is the custom of baking cookies in the form of larks for the arrival of spring and dishes - ladles and broths in the form of stylized birds (ducks and swans), and female amulets in the form of ducks.

In addition to traditional sacrifices associated with agriculture, there was a special holiday dedicated to Lele - Lelnik. The holiday was held in nature - they chose an open place - Krasnaya Gorka and performed rituals there. From a distance one could see how girls in smart sundresses, holding on to the long satin ribbons tied to Leli's kapi, lead a round dance. They donated wild flowers and herbs to her, danced around her chur - the young goddess of love carved from birch.

On this day, which according to the modern calendar falls on April 22, all Slavic girls performed rituals dedicated to Lelia, and asked her for understanding with her beloved and for a happy marriage.

The tradition of dyeing eggs is associated with all spring holidays of the Slavs. Throughout the Slavic world, various magical actions with eggs were widely used.

For example, divination for marriage in Lelnik:

The girls one by one, with the help of beaters, roll their dyed egg to Lelya's cap. It is important that at the last blow, the egg breaks on the drip - then the girl will marry successfully.

The tradition of dyeing eggs has not only been preserved in Orthodox Russia, but has also come down to our days.

The social meaning of the myth

Talisman with the rune Lely

The cult of the goddess Leli became widespread and went far beyond the borders of the territory of the Slavs. The young goddess Lelia herself and her rune are associated with the element of water, and more specifically, with living, flowing water flowing in springs and streams.

The mention of Lelya can be found in the mythology of different countries and peoples. We meet her under different names in European fairy tales about the sea (river) Virgin, in the tales of King Arthur, where she acts as the Guardian Virgin of the Holy Grail and the Road to it, in Slavic and many other ritual myths. This is the goddess of power in the Nordic tradition, who leads a stream of water, first dead, and then living force.

Nowadays, her name is associated with a very wide range of ancient roots. It is not for nothing that the beloved brainchild is still not just raised - cherished, the cradle is called a cradle, and the child itself is called tenderly as a lyalek. The cult of Leli is so ancient that, according to some scholars, it found a reflection in the Sanskrit "lila" - "game".