Carved platbands in Slavic houses are not only beauty, but also an important component of the natural way of life.
Firstly, the carved platbands themselves are a large amulet that does not allow the penetration of navies and darkness into the house. For this, the carving included the image of natural forces. The sun, "the abyss of heaven" and "firmament of heaven."
Second, the carvings around the window showed the sun's circular motion.
In the east, at the zenith, in the west and its lower movement along the underground river from the point of sunset to the point of sunrise. And if the Sun revolves around the window, then just imagine how a person felt! "I am", as they said before - "I am a man, I am God."
The most important pagan deities of our ancestors - the sky god Svarog and the sun god Dazhbog - were the basis for all the symbolism of wooden carving in ancient times. And since, according to Slavic mythology, Dazhbog is the son of Svarog, in decorating windows the symbols of the sky are usually placed above the sun, as if covering it from above.
Since ancient times, the upper part of the window, the so-called pommel or kokoshnik, has been most skillfully decorated. Of course, the “roof” of the top was of great importance, but the Sun was usually the central sign in the upper part of the frame.
The solar sign is a stylized symbolic embodiment of the sun, the most revered pagan deity.
The central image is truly radiant, perceived as an expression of powerful force, energy and radiance that carries warmth.
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Along the sides of the window, both on the right and on the left, there are also overhead raised rhombuses cut out of wood, which symbolize the rising, morning (on one side of the window) and setting, evening sun (on the other).
In addition, you can see other symbolic signs on the platbands. Here you can see the images of horses, which remained ambiguous - with their help various symbolic meanings were expressed. In the popular belief, the sun is driven across the sky by a golden horse harnessed to a golden chariot, and therefore the images of horses were directly associated with the sun. In the embroidery, the names "Thunderer" and "Fiery Maiden" with "Pribogs" have been preserved.
“In the views of the Slavs, a horse is a symbol of light, thunder, lightning, wind, water … I come to the conclusion that a horse or horses in a number of Slavic plots is an integral solar / thunderstorm sign … The existence of a pair of horses of the Thunder God in mythical scenes just emphasizes the inextricable connection between the old and the new, death and rebirth, the continuous cyclicality of phenomena in nature, in accordance with archaic beliefs."
Most often, these are solar horses that accompany, or rather, entail a luminary. They are usually located on two sides of the sun and, as a rule, are directed in different directions and symbolize movement from the past to the future.