Since ancient times, the shadow of a person has been attributed to various mystical properties. In numerous countries of the ancient world, people were convinced that the shadow of a person is a kind of personification of the inner "I", an integral part of his soul.
In ancient Russia, it was believed that the shadow is a kind of mystical character that can separate from a person and cause him serious harm, and in some cases even kill.
It was believed that if, in a fit of anger, a person steps on the shadow of the one who angered him and utters spells, then thereby he can influence its owner, tk. the shadow was considered an inseparable substance from a person.
The shadow of a man in the superstitions of nations
In different countries, a separated shadow appears to a person in different guises, for example, among the inhabitants of ancient Poland, a human shadow appears in the form of Mora; among the inhabitants of ancient Russia - in the guise of a ghoul, a vampire or the souls of the dead.
The ancient chroniclers of Bulgaria assured that the devil appeared from the shadow of a man separated from God. On the basis of these beliefs, the belief was formed that if you hit a sorcerer or a sorceress, it will not bring them any harm, but if you hit their shadow with a log of aspen, they will immediately become helpless, because lose their magical power.
Another mystical superstition came to us from Serbia, where it was thought that a shadow can penetrate a person's mind and lead to loss of reason. Because of this, in Serbia, children were strictly forbidden to play with their shadows, and even more so to step and jump on other people's shadows. In Ireland, this superstition is still considered relevant - to step on a human shadow here is considered a bad omen that will bring failure.
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In the mythology of the ancient Slavs, you can often find many beliefs about the mystical properties of the human shadow. For example, the Slavs believed that a shadow leaves a person's body a few minutes before death. If you pierce the shadow of the enemy with any weapon, for example, with a knife or sword, then after a while he will die. After death, the shadow of a person may not find solace and wander around the world in search of refuge.
On the night of Christmas Eve, many tried to recognize the near future by the shadow, they did it like this: when they went out into the courtyard, they looked out the window, if any of those sitting at the festive table did not cast a shadow, or his shadow was headless, then this meant the imminent death of a person.
In Belarus, to this day, there is an opinion that if the shadow reflected on the wall is circled with chalk or pins are pinned to it, then all ailments and diseases, as well as damage, will leave the person. At the end of the ritual, pins were placed on the threshold of the house and asked that the shadow take away the sick person's ailments.
In the far north of Russia, it was believed that a shadow that fell on the foundation may require sacrifice at the end of construction, and may even require the life of the owner himself as it, therefore, when laying the future house, the owner should not stand against the sun.