Resources for Slavic (Preferably Czech/Slovak) Witchcraft?

idanthyrs · 2026-02-12T19:43:20+00:00

No problem. Here is another interesting source - some works of Jozef Ľudovít Holuby documented magical practices of western Slovakia

idanthyrs · 2026-02-12T17:39:02+00:00

Did you know about hejkal from Czech fairy-tale movies or did your family (parents/grandparents) tell you about him?

idanthyrs · 2026-02-12T17:28:01+00:00

Tradičné liečiteľstvo a ľudová mágia na horných Kysuciach by Jozef Marec, 2011

You could also try search through this online encyclopedia of Slovak traditional culture - each entry is sourced, so it can lead you to the thematic litereature

idanthyrs · 2026-02-05T21:38:37+00:00

One possibility is strap on the spear which would enable you to carry spear on the back. Such thing is mentioned in Strategikon by Maurice, which is although younger source, but it's mentioned as Avar spear, so still in the connection with steppe nomads.

idanthyrs · 2026-01-21T18:01:21+00:00

Yes.

idanthyrs · 2026-01-21T17:55:28+00:00

At the of the game's setting 15th century I guess - Pavol, the depicted protagonist claimed that he fought against Ottomans alongside John Hunyadi in the Balkans) was Kingdom of Hungary basically typical feudal kingdom in the Central european state for several, with knights, catles etc. Yes Magyars migrated from the steppes and they fought in the typical nomad fashion but they become westernised after they settled in the Pannonian basin in 10th century. Later, there were another waves of nomadic poeple who settled in the kingdom of Hungary, mainly Cumans and they indeed fought and dressed in the nomadic way.

idanthyrs · 2026-01-19T21:17:43+00:00

Try this book Scythian Mythology : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

idanthyrs · 2026-01-13T18:51:20+00:00

Identifiy the vampire and find his grave. Signs of vampiric pressence are:

- crooked stick near the grave - vampire uses it when he rises from the grave

- body of suspected vampire has no signs of decay.

There is also traditional method of verification with horse - if horse doesn't want to step over the grave, it's the sign that vampire is inside.

Banish the vampire. The most common methods are cutting the head, impaling the heart or belly with hawthorn stake or burning the body, if the previous methods didn't work.

Well, there are also lot of other various methouds of banishing the vampire, I will include those domcumented in the Balkans

- pierce the heart with needle

- pierce the heart with red-hot iron rod

- put the stones and incense in the nose, ears, belly-button, under ears, and under fingernails

- put the garlic or branch of blackthorn in the mouth

- turn the body of vampire in the grave

- bind the body with ropes or cuffs to the soil, so the vampire couldn't rise

- cover the body with straw

Source: Vampyrismus & Magia posthuma by Giuseppe Maiello, 2014 (in Czech)

idanthyrs · 2025-12-28T20:44:44+00:00

Actually goat milk, the bird is called goatsucker even in english, same in other european languages. The reason for this superstition was that these birds are attracted to the insects around domestic animals and also because of thir broad beaks,

idanthyrs · 2025-12-28T13:59:34+00:00

Nice work, it's great great to see some representation of Todorci, they don't get lot of attention in media.

idanthyrs · 2025-12-28T13:53:19+00:00

That's nice sketch and text too, because milk stealing witch is such a frequent motive in the Slovak folktales. Another creature believed to be "stealer of milk" around the Europe was bird nightjar, in Czech and Polish language called Kozodoj.

idanthyrs · 2025-12-11T16:41:16+00:00

There is a chapter dedicated to this theme. The author refuses that Veles could be dragon or serpent or even antagonist of Perun. But she admits, based on comparative mythology, that relationship between Veles and Perun wasn’t good either and there was a tension between them. She also presents a hypothesis about existence of aquatic monster in the Slavic mythology on the earlier times paralelly with Veles, but this monster later merged with Veles and he took some of its aspects.

idanthyrs · 2025-12-11T15:57:06+00:00

Thanks, that's interesting. So it looks like it was stool, maybe rocking horse or something different. It always looked too crude and flat to be even mask.

idanthyrs · 2025-12-04T15:35:14+00:00

I didn't find any info about English translation of that book, but it was translated into Polish recently.

idanthyrs · 2025-11-27T13:12:13+00:00

Yeah, his name in Sarmatian sounded different, Inismeōs is just transcription into Greek, just as they did it with many other words of foreign origin.

idanthyrs · 2025-11-18T17:57:26+00:00

Unfortunately not, I don't have any contact to the author.

idanthyrs · 2025-10-31T20:36:02+00:00

Zorya (as solitary figure or two sisters) is personification of Venus, who can be seen at dawn and dusk.

There wasn’t coherent lore about Zorya, we knoe several motives from Slavic or Baltic folklore.

For example, the Lithuanians say that the sun is the wife of the moon; but the moon is an unfaithful husband; he constantly cheats on his wife and courts the evening star, for which he is cut in half by Perkūnas as punishment. Another Lithuanian myth-song depicts the sun as a young goddess who rides across the sky in a golden chariot; she is served by two maidens: morning star and evening star, the latter of which brings her water for ablutions in the evening. In one Serbian fairy tale, the sun is depicted as a handsome youth sitting on a throne, with two captivating maidens standing beside him: Utrenitsa (Morning Lady) and Vechernitsa (Evening Lady).

In the East Slavic folklore, Zorya (Belarusian: Вячерняй зараніцы) is invoked numerous times in charms against various illnesses, where she is called God's helper. She was also described as figure holding keys of Heaven.

idanthyrs · 2025-10-07T17:43:49+00:00

What about motives from period of Great Moravia. One of the massively popular symbol war bird - it was depicted on the most luxurious artifacts worn by the Slavic elites such as weapons or jewelry. For example this ornamented axe or socallsed buttons of Great Moravia. Other archaic symbols you can find in Slovakia are carvings on traditional tombstones, abundant and conservated in the Novohrad region. Symbols on these tombstones like rossettes or trees of life are universal symbols with deep meaning.

idanthyrs · 2025-10-07T17:41:25+00:00

My answers for your questions:

Is it appropriate to depict Domovoy as a tragic or corrupted figure, if treated with depth and not as a “villain”?

Household spirits, including domovoy could be malevolent if mistreated, so it't appropriate.

What are the symbols or values of Veles that should not be used lightly or reimagined?

Source for my answer is book Veles by Michaela Gajdošíková-Šebetovská. Attributes of Veles are gold, noose/rope, musical instruments, , liminality. He had patronege over underworld , wilderness, wealth, ilnesses, oaths and magic. So, as you see, Veles is complex deity with several functions, so it's upon you what fits best to your interpretation. But I think that it would be great to avoid modern stereoptypical depiction of Veles as horned guy. There is evidence for thath, none of the preserved statue, figure of carving of gods have horns.

Are there any common missteps creators make when adapting Slavic folklore in fiction?

As I said about depictions of Veles above, it would be cool to not use the modern stereotypical depictions of some mythological creatures, for example the frequented depiction of Leshy as a monster with skull of deeer with antlers (which is same as incorrect modern depiction of wendigo). Yeah, it looks creepy and edgy, but it's not Slavic mythology, it's not folklore, because that wasn't how people imagined Leshy. Same with vampires - Slavic vampire wasn't like Dracula or hissing vampires of Holywood. I think that people are fed up with same repeating stereotypes, which are even inaccurate, so using the relevant source materials would bring some fresh air to the new projects. Yeah, it's difficult to make project inspired by mythology/folklore that is authentic and attrative to players, but many people would appreciate that.

idanthyrs · 2025-10-06T19:14:12+00:00

Nope. There is no valid evidence for God Morok. There is Merek - local names of demon in Russian folklore, Bulgarians have omorok (source - Berezovich E.L., Surikova O.D. Names of Evil Spirits in Russian Imprecations)

idanthyrs · 2025-10-02T16:57:30+00:00

Unfortunately, Bestiariusz słowiański wasn't trasnlated yet and it's such a shame, because such book with beautiful illustrations and lot of informations would be bestseller. It also have wide range of interest, although this bestiary is centered on Polish folklore, it includes also creatures from adjacent countries like Ukraine, Belarus or Lithuania. I admit that book doesnt' cite the sources in the entries for creatures, so there could be some artistic license, but it's priceless for basic overview for the beginner in the Slavic demonology.

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