Chernobog - Black God, Chernobog, Darkovit. The complete opposite of the light god Rod. Master of the world Navi, the underworld. In all legends, songs and tales, he appears as a kind of dark essence and the ruler of all the armies of the underworld, the underworld, hell, hellish world. In addition, Chernobog is called the Black Serpent or Lizard and all his sons, daughters, and also descendants are called Zmeevichs or Zmievichs. So, for example, Viy is called Viy Zmievich. It is believed that after the Christianization of Rus, the image of Chernobog passed to Saint Kasyan, who is the cause of various disasters.
The day of Chernobog is traditionally considered Monday, which was also called the firstborn, the villain, the evil. It is not recommended to start any new business on this day. In ancient Russia, Monday was the day of public reprisals, punishment or execution for any crimes. The symbol of Chernobog is the skull of an animal or human. The black horse, kite, nut and beech, number one (1) and stake, the planet Saturn are also symbols of this God Navi.
The world has always divided, is divided and will be divided into black and white. These forces must always exist and maintain themselves in harmony. Chernobog is an integral part of the world, one of those laws without which existence is impossible. Belbog and Chernobog are inextricably linked forever. Rod and Chernobog are the yin and yang of the universe, which maintain balance, both in the universe and in the life of every person.
Slavic peoples present this God as a warrior, chained in strong armor. He rules the afterlife. However, you should not confuse him with the Christian Devil. If the Devil is an absolute evil in its ideal embodiment, then Chernobog is one of the main gods of the universe and can even help in certain cases, for example, if it is associated with war, battles. The Slavs, honoring the gods at feasts, necessarily mentioned the name of Chernobog as one of their heavenly parents. It is not for nothing that Belbog and Chernobog are siblings and do the same thing in heaven.
According to popular beliefs, Belbog is in charge of all prosperity, and Chernobog is in charge of misfortunes, therefore, so that there are fewer misfortunes and Chernobog took them away from a person, he was certainly honored as one of the Highest Gods. This may be incomprehensible at first - how can a dark creature be useful to a person and not be absolute evil for him? To do this, it is worth giving the usual analogy and everything will fall into place. For example, imagine a warden. It cannot be assumed that the head of the prison is necessarily an evil and disgusting person. More often it happens the other way around. A person does his job, just like Chernobog does his job.
Chernobog is able to change the flow of time: stop it, accelerate it and turn it back. He is capable of changing the flow of time both for everything that surrounds him and for individual objects, creating the impression that he freezes or draws out life. In addition to the power over time, Chernobog has an unrivaled ability to magic, which allows him to change the world around him at will, with virtually no restrictions.
Chernobog has no enemies, but Belbog is opposed to him in everything, while he is more the reverse side of the coin than an enemy. Chernobog and Belbog, although they have opposite points of view on the world, never openly oppose each other.
Temples to Chernobog were made of black stone. Inside was the idol of the black god, which was also painted black, with a silvered mustache. The altar near the idol was often stained with sacrificial blood of animals or captured enemies. Temples and temples were surrounded by sharp stakes, on which sacrificial skulls were placed. The Slavs have mentions of Chernobog in many sources. Helmold spoke about this deity in his writings in the "Slavic Chronicle", the author of the "History of the Kamensk Diocese" of the 17th century, Peter Albin in the "Misney Chronicle" in 1590, ethnographer Abraham Frenzel in 1696, Al-Masudi in the 10th century, and others. so: ““… in it (the building on the black mountain) they (the Slavs) had a big idol in the form of a man, represented as an old man with a crooked stick in his hand, with which he moves the bones of the dead. Under the right leg there are images of dissimilar ants, and under the left - black ravens, black wings and others, as well as images of strange Khabash and Zandzhians (ie Abyssinians)."
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The Chernobog holiday is traditionally celebrated on February 29.