Do you know who Luck was?
It was the biggest demon that mowed down millions of souls. Moloch, or "Luck", was the god of happiness among the Romans, Sumerians and Carthaginians.
What was this god Moloch, or "Luck" as we call him today? His statue, cast in copper or silver, was transported on a two-wheeled cart. On his back he had a copper stove, and in front of him was a copper frying pan; behind, in Luck, they threw firewood until the statue glowed hot. And the priests carried him in their hands, axes, large and honed.
What sacrifice did Fortune accept?
Only nursing babies from mothers' hands. We came to the village where you live. They dragged the chariot of Good Luck with a frying pan red-hot, and they called, clapping their hands: "Who wants good luck, bring a sacrifice to Good luck!" And listen to the crazy women, they said to each other: "Kuma, will you give your child?" - and she replied: "I will give it, so that there is good luck!" The woman took the child from her father's hands, put it in the hands of the idol minister, he cut it into pieces and put it on the Fortune frying pan to fry. So he put up to 40-50 children at a time on that frying pan”…
Probably, many have a question. After all, "moloch" means "king", "royal". What does luck have to do with it?
Many sources indicate that it was a strong, powerful demon that took many lives. Many people worshiped Moloch at that time. Therefore, it is not surprising that "moloch" is translated precisely as "royal".
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Now let's take a look at the definitions, read about what kind of idol it was in general.
“Moloch (Latin Moloch sob.“King”) is the name of the Semitic deity mentioned in the Bible, who was worshiped by the Jews during the exodus (Amos 5:26) and during the time of King Solomon (3 Kings 11: 7). The worship of Moloch was distinguished by the sacrifice of children through a burnt offering. God, giving the law to Moses, even then categorically forbade, on pain of death, such a form of worshiping other gods (Lev. 18:21; Lev. 20: 2). In addition to the Jews, Moloch was worshiped by the Ammonites (1 Kings 11: 7) and the Phoenicians (they knew him as Melkart). A similar cult was practiced by the Moabites."
It is clear: a terrible, regal demon who accepted the sacrifices of babies.
Now let's read the texts about the words of Elder Cleopa in Romanian and see how this Moloch is connected with good luck. Elder Cleopa from Romania. And it is likely that the text contains errors related to translation, or simply errors of interpretation. But if he is accurately quoted, then the elder is talking about the demon Noroc. In our language "noroc" is translated as "luck".
Cleopa Elijah says: "Who is this god Moloch or good luck, as they call him today?"
And in some places the word "luck" is used as a proper name, in the texts it is written with a capital letter.
What sacrifice did Fortune accept?
It turns out that the elder is talking about the same demon.
So that's it. In short. It is said in this text that before the coming of Christ, people had their own demon for every sin, an idol, whom they revered as a deity. Mars, deity of war. Aforodita, the deity of lust. But Moloch is a deity, an idol, to whom they brought terrible sacrifices of children to get good luck.
Further, the elder describes who this idol Moloch was. And how women carried babies to him as a sacrifice, explaining that they wanted to get good luck. And then he quotes the words of the prophet Isaiah. If we take a modern translation of the poems he talks about, they sound like this:
“But those who left the Lord, I will punish. They forgot about My holy grief and began to worship luck and rely on the unfaithful god of fate."
That is why Elder Cleopas asks not to wish good luck to anyone, not to call on it! Because in fact, invoking good luck, we turn not to our Lord Jesus Christ, but to demonic forces, as once upon a time in those idolatrous times …
“You won't wish the same to the enemy!” - they say in those cases when some misfortune or misfortune occurs. However, we are accustomed to constantly wishing each other “Good luck”, without even realizing what a terrible curse we are sending on the one to whom this wish is intended!
The fact is that Luck, or, as we better know, Moloch, was the main deity among the Semitic peoples, who was one of the incarnations of Baal (or Baal, Beelzebub, Belshazzar), i.e. the devil. Baal is mentioned in the Bible several times in the Book of Judges - 2:11, 3: 7, 10: 6; about Moloch - in Amos 5:26 and 1 Kings 11: 7.
The cult of Moloch-Baal among the Semites consisted of wildly unbridled voluptuousness, seeking artificial stimuli. Its external symbol was constantly phallus, which was depicted as a column with a truncated top. Under the temples of Baal lived the so-called Kedeshim and Kedeshoms, holy fornicators and harlots, who doomed themselves to serve the temple by earning money by their fornication. The purpose of this cult was to deeply corrupt the people who resort to it. The fruits of this worship were the well-known sad events that occurred with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, where the cult of Baal was especially pronounced.
Both now and before, the main feature of the Semitic peoples - worshipers and servants of Satan, is lies and deceit. The priests of Baal-Moloch were no exception, who, trying to disguise the true purpose of the cult, so as not to scare people away from its devilish essence, spread the idea that they serve the fertile Sun, the source of warmth and vital fire that manifests itself in it.
As in all pagan cults, the servants of Moloch brought him sacrifices. As a rule, these were human sacrifices, which were performed in honor of Moloch through a burnt offering, supposedly leading them through the solar fire of life. The most pleasant sacrifices to Baal were considered newborn babies, especially children of noble families: “and they built the heights of Tophet in the valley of the sons of Hinnom to burn their sons and their daughters in fire, which I did not command and which did not enter my heart” (Jer. 7: 31). Children were laid on the worn hands of an idol with the face of a calf; a fire was burning below. These monstrous sacrifices were performed at night with the sounds of flutes, tambourines and lyres, which drowned out the cries of the unfortunate children, and also increased the excitement of the people. The altars of the gods were constantly stained with the blood of children,in the years of major festivals or in times of calamity, people and in particular children were sacrificed in hundreds and thousands.
“First comes Moloch, the terrible king, splattered with the blood of human victims and the tears of fathers and mothers. But over the sound of the drums, the screams of their children are not heard when they are thrown into the fire in honor of the terrible idol. - John Milton, Paradise Lost.
“The statue of Moloch was built specifically for accepting human sacrifices and burning them. She was colossal in height, all of copper, and empty inside. The head was bullish, because the bull was a symbol of strength and the sun in its fierce form. The arms of the statue were of monstrous length, and victims were placed on huge outstretched palms; hands, moved by chains on blocks hidden behind their backs, lifted the victims to the hole in the chest, from where they fell into a blazing hell, which was placed inside the statue, on an invisible grate, and ash and coals falling through it formed an ever-growing pile between the legs of the colossus … the children were laid alive on the terrible red-hot palms of the monster. Relatives were strictly forbidden to show sadness. Children, if they shouted while they were being prepared for a terrible ceremony, were soothed with caresses. No matter how ugly and impossible it must seem, mothers were obliged not only to be present at the terrible celebration, but to refrain from tears, sobbing and any manifestation of sadness, because otherwise they would not only lose all honor due to them due to the great honor shown to them publicly, but they could bring the wrath of the insulted deity on the whole people, and one reluctant offering could destroy the effect of the entire sacrifice and even bring on the people worse troubles than before. Such a weak-willed mother would be forever disgraced. Drums and flutes kept up a continuous noise, not only to drown out the screams of the victims, but to increase the excitement among the people. " [Ragozina ZA History of Assyria. SPb.: I-e A. F. Marx, 1902. S. 151-152].but to refrain from tears, sobs and any manifestation of sorrow, because otherwise they would not only lose all honor due to them due to the great honor shown to them publicly, but could incur the wrath of an insulted deity on the whole people, and one reluctant offering could destroy the effect of everything sacrifices and even bring troubles to the people worse than ever. Such a weak-willed mother would be forever disgraced. Drums and flutes kept up a continuous noise, not only to drown out the screams of the victims, but to increase the excitement among the people. " [Ragozina ZA History of Assyria. SPb.: I-e A. F. Marx, 1902. S. 151-152].but to refrain from tears, sobs and any manifestation of sorrow, because otherwise they would not only lose all honor due to them due to the great honor shown to them publicly, but could incur the wrath of an insulted deity on the whole people, and one reluctant offering could destroy the effect of everything sacrifices and even bring troubles to the people worse than ever. Such a weak-willed mother would be forever disgraced. Drums and flutes kept up a continuous noise, not only to drown out the screams of the victims, but to increase the excitement among the people. " [Ragozina ZA History of Assyria. SPb.: I-e A. F. Marx, 1902. S. 151-152].but they could bring the wrath of the insulted deity on the whole people, and one reluctant offering could destroy the effect of the entire sacrifice and even bring on the people worse troubles than before. Such a weak-willed mother would be forever disgraced. Drums and flutes kept up a continuous noise, not only to drown out the screams of the victims, but to increase the excitement among the people. " [Ragozina ZA History of Assyria. SPb.: I-e A. F. Marx, 1902. S. 151-152].but they could bring the wrath of the insulted deity on the whole people, and one reluctant offering could destroy the effect of the entire sacrifice and even bring on the people worse troubles than before. Such a weak-willed mother would be forever disgraced. Drums and flutes kept up a continuous noise, not only to drown out the screams of the victims, but to increase the excitement among the people. " [Ragozina ZA History of Assyria. SPb.: I-e A. F. Marx, 1902. S. 151-152].151-152].151-152].
As mentioned above, Moloch-Balaam also had the nickname "Luck". Why? Because it was believed that a family that sacrificed their child to the deity would certainly face a successful year in terms of agricultural work and harvesting. Therefore, when the priests of Moloch brought their idol cast from copper or silver on a two-wheeled cart to another village, they clapped their hands and shouted "Who wants good luck in business, bring sacrifice to Baal!" Then the mad women took their babies and gave them to the servants of Satan …
This kind of ritual infanticide was subsequently prohibited by the Mosaic Law and was punishable by death (Lev. 18:21; Lev.20: 2), however, until the Babylonian captivity (586 BC), the Semites did not stop practicing them.
But there is an opinion that initially, long before the appearance of the Slavic languages proper, this means that after a collective hunt, the person deservedly ended up at the distribution of trophies, that is, “At the dacha”. And that PART of the prey that was allocated to him is his PARTICIPATION. Later, when hunting ceased to play a large role, these concepts were expanded. Luck is oud + dacha. Ud is one of the Slavic names for a male causal place. Luck - initially, means that the peasant has broken off from the ladies. Hence the figurative expression "to fish". If you look from the side at a fisherman standing with a fishing rod, everything will immediately become clear. Then this word was joined by oud + appeared = surprised (equivalent to the modern gagged or o … ate)
In any case, it could not get to us from the ancient Greeks and Sumerians. It's just that from the once common proto-language, ancient hunting concepts spread to our ancestors, to the Greeks and Sumerians, and there they acquired their meaning.
Here's some more information on luck.
There are people who want to be next to, whose presence inspires, people who compete in every case for which they undertake. There are, on the contrary, people whose presence oppresses, brings heaviness, next to whom one gives up and the "taste for life" is lost. Each of us - sometimes consciously and sometimes instinctively - strives to be close to the former and avoid the company of the latter. We often call these latter failures, no longer remembering the true, ancient meaning of this word.
"Good luck!" - a habitual wish uttered by Russians when parting, and the corresponding ancient Scandinavian "Auja!" and the Old Central European "Aja!" we understand now just as wishes of luck. Meanwhile, these exclamations, which, as will be seen later, have a magical, incantatory character, are associated with one of the most important representations of the Nordic Tradition.
The concept of Luck in antiquity, as we see it in ethnographic materials and in the ancient Scandinavian sagas, does not mean "luck" at all, but a certain most important integral characteristic of a person. In the Scandinavian texts we can find such formulations as “he had good Luck” or “he had bad Luck”, “he gained (or lost) Luck by doing this and that”, “his Luck became more (or less) good. " In the Russian language there are still expressions that reflect the same ideas: "his luck left him," for example.
The Scandinavian term Auja, usually translated into Russian as "luck", means not only "luck", but also happiness, joy, strength. It was said about a Viking who was lucky in battle that he won because he had good luck; but they spoke the same way about someone who built ships well, whose wife gave birth to many children, who knew how to lead people. Thus, "luck" is only one - albeit characteristic - of the manifestations of Luck. She herself was understood by the ancient Nords as a special personal [magical] power (al. Ill. Megin), bringing good luck in the narrow sense of the word and good in general.
Likewise, the Russian word luck itself is not associated with "luck", although we still understand a favorable coincidence of circumstances as one of the manifestations of Good luck. However, this word itself comes from the verb to give and implies the meaning "that which is given." As a characteristic of a particular person, Luck is what is given to him. And if we are talking about paganism, then Luck is what is given by the gods.
Good luck in the old days.
1. So, firstly, Luck can be good and bad, in other words - "positive" and "negative". The first is good, the second is bad; a person whose Luck is bad becomes unlucky in everything he touches.
2. Luck can be acquired, lost or changed. So, for example, according to the ideas of the ancient Scandinavians, a person who committed theft ceased to be considered a man and lost good Luck.
3. In ancient times, luck was considered “contagious”. A person with bad Luck was doomed to loneliness in the early Middle Ages. We still avoid such people, in ancient times travelers often made a detour to go around the house or lands of a person with poor Luck, people fled from cities where such princes ruled, and soldiers left their squads, if ethical considerations did not interfere with it. On the contrary, the house of a person with good Luck is always full of guests - everyone wants to be near him, touch him, talk to him, i.e. take over some of his luck. Many Viking leaders sought to invite warriors known for great good Luck into their squads. At the same time, it was believed that Luck is not additive, i.e. no matter how much a person shares his Luck with others - be it good or bad - his own Luck does not diminish from this.
4. The leader's luck extends to his people. Passing, as it often happened, from one leader to another, the Vikings chose a Hevding who had good Luck. Veliky Novgorod chose himself as a prince, evaluating the nature of his luck; a prince who lost good luck or gained bad luck was expelled. In ancient Ireland, there were special rituals for assessing the "truth" of the future supreme king, since the enthronement of the "not-true" king, i.e. a king with bad luck led to crop failures, cattle deaths and bloody feuds.
5. Luck is partly inherited. This property is associated with the existence of a tribal, or clan, good luck, and even good luck of an ethnic group.
Luck in the old days, as already mentioned, was the main value that a person (or family) can own. Good luck, not happiness or material well-being - they asked the gods. Luck was treasured as their most valuable gift. Many magical technologies were aimed at acquiring or improving it.
Often, such technologies were associated with the personification of Fortune in the image of a deity associated with a specific person. Such a personified aspect of Fortune was called in the North-West fetch (Old English-Saxon fetch), fylgya (Old Scandal fylgja) or vedogon (Slav.); these traditional concepts were later adopted by Christianity, where the personified Luck became a guardian angel.
What do you know about luck?