Image: The Seven Gods -- Maxim Sukharev

Description: The artwork represents the seven major deities of Slavic theo-cosmology, together constituting the hierarchy emanating from the supreme God, Rod (the concept of generation itself). ① The central axis is Svarog ("Heaven"), comprising his three forms: the four-faced Svetovid ("Worldseer"), Perun ("Thunder") at the very centre, and Svarozhich ("Son of Heaven") below. Further below Svarozhich there is another form of he himself contained in a squared receptacle, Maria Ognevo ("Fire Goddess"). ② On the right and left hand of Svetovid there are, respectively, Belobog ("White God") and Chernobog ("Black God"), themselves in the guise of Dazhbog ("Day God") and Jutrobog ("Moon God"). They are the supreme polarity upon which all the alternating ways of divine manifestation rely. ③ To the left and to the right of the white figure of Perun, there are, respectively, the black figure of the great goddess Mokosh/Mat Syra Zemlya ("Wetness/Damp Mother Earth") and the red figure of Veles (the male god belonging to the Earth and god of tamed animals). ④ The three forms of Svarog and the three gods Perun, Veles and Mokosh constitute intersecting trinities (Triglav, Tribog), which correspond to the three dimensions: Prav, Yav and Nav. Prav, literally "Right", is ultimately the central axis of Heaven itself, functioning as the medium of all dimensions of space-time. In the guise of thunder (Perun) it impregnates matter (Mokosh), which retains its rhythmic squaring regulations (thus constituting Nav, which is the continuity of time); in the guise of the Son of Heaven it comes to light in present reality (Yav), and is fostered by humanity (Veles), and preserved as the hearth (Ognebog).
Title: The Seven Gods
Credit: Maxim Sukharev's * vьsь mirъ (Vesemir) gallery of his works on Slavic spirituality.
Author: Maxim Sukharev (Максим Сухарев)
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Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Attribution Required?: Yes