Category: Soul

The force exerted influence, usually negative, on women and her fate. With time, this term has come to signify the deity of lower rank than the then pagan gods, then this term came to be the essence intermediate between goddesses, gods and humans. The ancient pagans distinguish between good (daemons) and evil (demons), after the Christianization of the Slavs and Balkans, all the demons (and pagan deities) came to be called bad and this must be returned to the original teachings of the Slavic grandmothers and grandmother shamans, not pagan men because they are missing to much of the whole picture and have only focused on men’s issues and men’s teachings. It was in the course of the process of Christianization was formed at the phenomenon. dwuwiary – that perfectly illustrates the idea demonology, which are a kind of combination of Christian and pagan themes. Today the remains beliefs are therefore the result of culture f the former, to whom we owe, among others, popular figures of the devil and the witch.
Night
Night was once our friend, it was a time of quiet and peace, and dreaming dreams, but after three-thousand years of men’s war and bloodshed, night is not sacred anymore, nor peaceful, but once long ago it was peaceful and most human beings cannot even fathom when dreams were our culture of spirituality, before paganism and before religions, that is all gone, humans had let the dreaming die, and the sacred dreaming tree was cut down.  In Slavic folklore “Night the Goddess” says – “I make people happy, sleep gives them rest and dreams, but war and machines have destroyed peace, and created women who are widows and children who are orphans. Day awakens to only concerns and hardships. Maybe if someone had asked people what they wanted, they would prefer the eternal and peaceful night.”

But how? Long thought Night and decided to weave a thick black veil, strong. As soon as the sun appeared in the sky, night envelops his blanket, and binds it tight and throw it somewhere behind the mountains, across the sea. She immediately sat down to work, and soon-the impenetrable black veil was woven. As soon began to fade in the sky the first stars, night is not removed, as usual, with the Earth, and rushed toward the sun. Shining so surprised, seeing her, even confused, and the night was able to pounce on his shining forehead covered and quickly tighten the veil. Then she pulled the sun into the dense forest. Breathing, looking around … What beauty reigned on earth! What silence! Stars are back in the sky and shining brighter than ever. Night white flowers emit a sweet fragrance, and Night smiled happily.

But what is it? The plaintive cry suddenly broke her bliss. Then another, and another … Night peered into the darkness, and her wonderful eyes, which could penetrate through the walls of the houses, I saw crying children. Encouraged by the fact that the morning does not come in due time. Overnight I saw the graves open, and out of these ghouls and upyritsy from the underworld. They lick, sucked the blood of those who were dreaming and sleeping, helpless people who do not awaken b any rooster or the rays of the morning sun. Sprites huddled on the edge of the forest and lustfully looked at the sleeping village.

Soon we will have some fun in plenty! – I heard their voices. – When people are asleep, soon all of them will come to desolation farm fields overgrown with grass and trees. Then will comes the kingdom of Military devils! – Go and away! – Cried the Queen of the Night, but the dark forces have not heard it and all the men have destroyed the women who honored her peace. She flew to the dense forest, as the sun began to unravel quickly. The sun burst into the sky, their radiance expelling all the evils that had time to multiply on the earth now on earth, now that the people no longer respected the night and the moon.

A Night with bowed head, humbly retired to her sky, taking with her pieces of sacred weaved blankets of the dreamers who were now interrupted in their sleep by roaming souls, which eked out on the ground and clung to trees and bushes, like a thick fog.

The four planes understanding of demonology
Currently, there are four basic levels of understanding demonology – 1 the most advanced which is whisperer or shaman ( women’s teachings), 2 colloquial (ordinary or familiar conversation both men and women), 3 scientific (men’s teachings) and 4 theological (men’s teachings including exorcist priests).

Shaman – Animist
Shaman cultures are far older than pagan eras and hold the mystery of the purity of the reality of our ten souls as humans, this is at the root of all shamanic cultures, but only a few shamans understand the entire process. Before paganism or religions, the shamans held the culture’s shadows at bay, each individual was responsible for their own shadows and fragmented shadows and not seen separate from the incarnated human. All has been lost of this ancient knowing of the ten souls, two mental bodies, one physical body and the mysteries of the spirit divine of human as wind, storm, etc, which were just turned into god names of the pagans. All philosophy, occult, theology, religious and pagan has distorted the one fact, that all shadow are us in a energetic astral body form.

Colloquial
Demonology is understood here as a sphere of belief in various spiritual beings, often non-individualized, sometimes amorphous. They are present in human surrounding natural and social reality. These creatures are devoid of divine attributes, but may have a negative or positive effect on the course of human life. This sphere certain magical-religious views existing in the sphere of social consciousness.

Scientific Recognition
This way of understanding and comprehension demonology can be presented in two aspects – religious studies and ethnography. When it comes to concepts religioznawczą, we are dealing here with a field of study on the theories of ideas or antyboskich bogopodobnych beings, shaped in various religious doctrines. Here are the topics studied the genesis of these notions, their place and role in the religious system and the social conditions of their development, operation and death. In the case of ethnographic concept, we are dealing with the field of research on the realm of folk beliefs, perceptions regarding demonic creatures, characters półdemonicznych, as well as parademonicznych and phenomena associated with these beliefs, practices and magical-religious activities.

The origins of Polish Folk demonology
Poland was once a pagan country and a pre-pagan country before war spread like fire around the earth, long before men led paganism and even before that, shaman grandmothers ruled in all things spiritual, there were ranks of Grandmothers within the Slavic nations, of leadership, spiritual leadership, sexual and sensual teachings by the Mothers, many things the pagans have no idea existed in these shamanic pre-pagan cultures. Today we have a more traditional folk culture archetype, a very strong tendency to mythological and symbolic personification of phenomena and processes occurring in the reality around us in nature behind the man veils here on earth, the natural humans, and the social humans like religious. The cognitive processes of the world around us, can not be given to rationally explanation because its energy, its in-between the veils of physical and energetic (dream gates), so one must not feel that they must attempt explaining it to non-believers and those who have no experiences because to them, folklore is real, but not “really” real, its just an art process, a writing of a book story, a sharing in a circle. When i have shared real experiences, even the strongest believer gets fearful, so I stopped sharing my teachings about ten years ago and now only work with gifted dreamers who can withstand the karmic purifications, as I am one of the pre-pagan shaman grandmothers (wind whisperer) and Polish.

A reflection of this fact in the sphere of folk consciousness has become a broad spectrum of fantastic shape demonic imagery. A feature of Polish folk demonology is also its relation to the acquired with the Roman Catholic religion topics belief in devils and witches. In the course of the centuries-old activities chrystianizacyjnych imagine these characters have penetrated into the realm of folk beliefs, they have followed the processes of assimilation and Polonization. Then came the formation of a specifically Polish folk devils perceptions, nobility and urban areas. They accounted for as a merger of former forest demons, wild or mud with the vision of the Christian devil. The situation is similar the shaping of a folk-Christian image of the witch.

Despite the passage of time, changes of civilization, social and mental demonic beliefs remain an integral component of folk culture, but along with these changes they undergo significant impoverishment and deformation, which will soon probably to their disappearance in a form which they have lived for centuries among the people. These beliefs include in its content, various aspects impersonation of individual phenomena and processes occurring in the natural world and in society. In his mythological interpretation also contain certain indications practical man refers to them when modeling, classification, interpretation of nature or society. Currently, the Polish people have lost almost irretrievably huge portion of their ancient beliefs and customs, dying in the social consciousness of rural residents. The relic form we find them even in verbal folklore – tales, legends, stories, proverbs and folk art.

In demonology, an extremely important component of the worldview has become so of natural causes beliefs that today can be equated with the concept of demonology. The idea of ​​individual demonic beings were the personification of natural phenomena, which were often inexplicable, difficult to understand, aroused fear and terror. As particularly dangerous and mysterious considered atmospheric phenomena – lightning, whirlwinds, hailstorms, snowstorms snow like. However, in the created concepts of doctrinal emerging religious systems, as demons define began being bogopodobne, often fulfilling the role of intermediaries between the world of the divine and the human, or being antyboskie acting to the detriment of human.

The largest group were the demons natural belief constitution, which luxuriant imagination Slavic populated woods and forests, fields, rivers, lakes, caves, dark ravines, treacherous swamps, ruins of old buildings. This demonic fantasies were given in various forms – from enticing girls, after a hideous monsters. Probably the most popular form of demonological derived from pagan times, the culture of ancient Slavs. However, in modern times in the beliefs of the people survived only a small part as a present in the culture of the former.

The divisions and classifications within demonology
Classification and division figures from the circle of demonology it is not easy because of the specificity of the test subject. Among several proposals for classification will refer to the division proposed by Leonard Pełka, who in an accessible, readable and logical way to put the question. Characters specific to the category that survived in the memory of the villagers will be presented later in the study.

I. The Religious demons vs daemons of weather
Although not totally corrupted, much had transferred from real teachings of mastery, into stories of folklore, and It was widely believed that supernatural forces that operate in the skies (but still not the evolution of it being god). These forces have become phenomena such as rainbows, clouds, winds, lightning, blizzards etc. With all this in mind, the people corresponded to specific demons.  The demons swirling were violent storms whirlpools and air of the rural population impersonation processes demonology. The phenomenon of a whirlwind had fascinated people and affect their imagination after goddess and pagan teachings were lost.

Swirling vortex, which is its “dance” was associated with weddings but after the Christian fathers shadows of total control over community, especially ancient women’s rituals, they forced upon women’s celebrations calling them devil’s weddings to make sure fearful women would be devoted only to men and their god. There was broad consensus that the vortexes are the domain of devils and evil spirits that create them to harm the man. In the Lublin region it was believed that whirling wind is a dance of the devil, not allowed to go near it because I could kidnap the man, lift up into the air and squeezing the ground. From the area Bełżyce comes a story about an incident from 1824. When the tornado broke a large part of the forest for Bełżycami – he said then that the devil to take root there. Seen the large size of the pear trees uprooted and transferred several hundred meters into the field – no one dared to touch her ax and the farmer in whose field lay beside tillage and seeding avoided me from afar.

Sometimes eddies took on concrete form, most often a man in an elegant suit with a hat or dressed in black or white. Wind also be able to “inspire” or “smack” a woman or man, causing illness and even death. In the area Bychawa its superstitious believed that when someone was mowing in the field of forbidden time, then appeared vortex and scattered bundles. To get rid of him was to throw at him with a sharp tool, eg. A knife – if it was possible to find traces of blood. In the area of ​​Chelm they believed that there are four secret spiritual beings under the authority Wiatroduja and send sowim blowing winds in the four corners of the world.

In pre-pagan times it was widely understood than shaman women’s spirit were the supernatural forces and were influenced by women who were sacred, in many cultures this was called cave culture and led by shaman grandmothers. The ability to become lightening, storms, rain, wind was the highest level past the ten souls. Every teaching today from the corruption calls many things spirit, but they are not, even weather, they are broken and fragmented souls of human beings for lifetimes. But once when peace reined on earth, humans were shape shifters within the context of souls, they were also able, from (no karma) able to reach spirit levels. With the return of some very ancient reincarnated females on the planet now, its in small circles teaching the steps to reclaim all dark karma and heal the ten soul’s fragments.

Weather spirits took care of the darkest and most evil of humans incarnated, but once the shaman women were destroyed by Christian, Islam and Judaic men, the teachings were lost as sacred and holy and turn into, and what remains today as …

Kites – Celestial Events
In some regions kites are also called bad air demons derived from the souls of porońców. They were associated with the phenomenon of falling stars. They were to take the form of enticing girls and seduce men and then take them to the soul.
There was also a belief that kites are the souls of children who died without baptism flying with the wind and the storm. Often, they imagined themselves in the form of birds, which sometimes can harass people demanding their baptism. Their favorite habitat were statues of saints and crosses standing at a crossroads.

In the pagan daemon or pre-pagan shamanism ancient cultures, bird cultures represents our soul, serpent cultures and their ancient symbols represents healing, combining the two in goddess shamanic cultures is the healing of our souls.  Kites were both warnings and blessings, a shooting star is considered good medicine and power in your dreams as you enter the dream worlds, and a falling star is and was considered problems in your dreams, where you will and would have be attacked by other dreamers.

In the eastern pagan regions of the country in the nineteenth century it was a fairly common view that wearing garlic can protect yourself from the kite like it is in many cultures. A person enslaved by a kite can liberate themselves from its activities through appropriate treatments of magic by drinking brew from a mixture of three herbs: wonieja, Štulík and lastowicznika, they also must fumigate (saged) the whole body, as well as incense with smoke of animal dung, which is also fuel of purification in other cultures.

Demons vs Daemon storm clouds and hail stones
It was thought that since these creatures to a large extent depend on the crop harvesting and security buildings. To ward off storm clouds initially served the church bells, then used for this purpose were also small bells called loretańskimi. In the Lublin region during the upcoming storm the call was a bell and run around the yard and the house, the storm was about to burst, spread out and not harm. At the beginning of the twentieth century. Church authorities issued a firm ban on the use of church bells to ward off the clouds.  One of the most famous characters from this circle is płanetnik.

Demons vs Daemon Forest
The demons inhabiting the once extensive forests, forests and forests took various shapes – human, animal, Teratology (człeko-animal creature) or were amorphous. The presence of demons in this category can be attributed to the Slavic beliefs, according to which area of ​​forests were staying souls of dead people – a pagan afterlife. Again Christianity had corrupted the original shamanic teachings that the dead do not remain here, and that any roaming souls are the dead aspects of living humans. Christianity made sure it destroyed these ancient teachings, and thus the spirit was created on the basis of men and their creation of a devil figure in mother earth’s forest, which resulted in a process of gradual disappearance of thread wierzeniowego in the forest demons. Forest Demons were generally power over the wild forest management and conduction of people in the woods.

Demons vs Daemon Field
A separate category of beings were demons living in the field. Female demons living in the balks were characterized by long breasts. They were moving field of standing grain, tickled and worried reapers, plagued them as children left in like sheets on balks, hałasowały in the fields. Demons wild men took on the character of an old grandfather landed on his chest resting reapers and suffocated them. They could also take the form of a dog, a whirlwind, or can be invisible.

Water Demons vs Water Daemons
In daemonology, the White Snake is the personification of summer, the white, ie, illuminated by sunlight, clouds, and therefore traditions which are connected with the embodiment of the rain cloud – The white wife: and she and the others guard the living waters; White and her husband often take on the image of the snakes. And the folklore is that water of wisdom is to drink and listen to the prophetic words of  the storm birds and animals.

Snake in many goddess, pagan and pre-pagan traditions mean healing and the White snakes were women and maidens (beautiful water nymphs) who were out in the summer in the light, white cloud fabrics lit up with bright sunshine in the winter months, and they are dressed in black veils in winter’s charm. They are  enchanted and can live in underground castles where the waters and springs were taken over by the Churches, and they can also be found in the bowels of the mountains and deeper water sources, protecting hidden treasures there – untold wealth in gold and precious stones.

At certain times of the year his wife and a virgin they appear far from their homes and have the eyes of mortals, they are usually out in the spring when blooming flowers of May, at a time, which is connected to the idea of ​​an impending or already coming awakening of nature from the winter Sleep.

Demons vs Daemon Holy Mountain
Characters so. demonology mountain almost wholly belong to the circle of ideas already discussed demonology atmospheric, water, dirt, forestry, as well as to the order of folk-Christian devilish beings and souls lingering. For this circle form is characteristic for example. Karkonowskiego idea Liczyrzepka mountain spirit, whose headquarters lie was inside the mountain Sněžka, of which the summit was watching his kingdom. His powers were subject to forest nymphs and fairies, taking care of mountain vegetation, as well as dwarfs supply of raw materials to the mine and help good people.

III. Social Demons
In the popular social demonology emerged two opposing circles demonic imagery – care of the demons of human fate, homes and workarounds and harmful demons misery, disease and death. The inability to find a rational interpretation of the conditions of human existence was the cause of demonic personification of social life, and thus creating a two-tier image of life. Trancendental beings in this way from the natural world have also been introduced in the human world as the embodiment of the aspirations and hopes, the fate of the existence of individuals and society.

Demonology caring home – common among people is the belief in elves ubożęta and very helpful for good and respectful of their hosts. It is known there were also forms of hell-kite, domowoja and the devil-familiar, which protected property and welfare on the farm. These creatures could take the form zomorficzną – eg., Rats, hamsters, snakes; anthropomorphic figure – little men with big feet, little black people with horns on their heads and hooves like. They could also remain invisible. It was believed that devils to help the economy passed from person to person – at the moment of death dying by giving a hand to communicate his devil’s successor. Devil assistant have had a generally wealthy, which fared well, often beekeepers and millers.

According to applications it was also possible to breed their own hell – had to take an egg from the black hens and wear for a week under his arm. After this time, the eggs will turn out to be a chicken, and it will be the little devil.

The host had to take care of him celebrating the demon welfare, among others, food and drink. The most common host for the devil himself home cooked millet, often with milk and not solił her, then he carried him to the attic. In the case of ill-treatment of these creatures can leave the farm and move to another, allow to act evil forces and bring misfortune, could also scare people.

In the Lublin region to determine the demons of care used names such as .: dieduszki, domowyje, household member domowoje, szporuchy. The Catholic clergy also progressed popularyzowało and worship angelic beings, especially imaginations guardian angels that had the human guard and guard his house. Demonology negative – in the operation of demons also were seen all sorts of miseries, sufferings, disasters and plagues. Demons hostile to man are: the demons detrimental to maternal and thrilling babies, demons, suffocating people and sucking out their blood, demons plaguing farm animals.

The demons of disease and death vs the slayers of demons 
The demonic personification of diseases (especially epidemic) is deeply rooted in the traditions of many peoples and cultures. It was believed that the appearance of such. Epidemic was caused by the arrival of a specific demonic creatures, often called “mighty virgins” – as imagined by invisible spirits, young and slim woman dressed in white robes or old ugly baby. There was also a view that the disease could bring witches – allegedly after the onset of the disease persistently persecuted. Also, any day now well established and is currently being treated disease activity were formerly attributed to evil demons diseases, it was believed then, among others, the demons fever, flu or ulcers. (For more on treating pronounced. In folk magic).

Demonic personification has been the phenomenon of death. It usually took on the form of bony woman with pale face in white clothing, and the figure of a skeleton with a scythe in hand – they are personifications of newer origin and derived from the circle of the Christian religion. It is not known exactly how the death of the ancient Slavs imagined.

IV. Phenomena parademoniczne
Parademoniczne phenomenon goes beyond the traditional understanding of demonic creatures, but not the way they are ignored in the context of this issue and gathered relationship. Parademonicznych representations to include:

1. Fears amorphous, often referred to as “something”. They worried person’s arouses a sense of anxiety and fear. These fears are revealed through various noises like. Popping, creaking, footsteps, sounds like. Often these noises are regarded as signals having come woes and warnings.

2. Apparitions – receiving the most anthropomorphic figure of a divine woman (in shamanic times it was our own higher feminine self, the karmaless soul), religion destroyed that and made it a mother of god. In the more shamanic traditions, apparitions also takes animistic (human animal) figures. They are not dangerous for human beings, but arouse anxiety and fear.

In the culture of the Slav peoples parademoniczne phenomenon they were firmly rooted and correct their development involves the infiltration of pagan beliefs to Christian notions of wandering and repentant souls. On this basis amounted to folk-Christian beliefs about the scare, ghosts, spectra and phantoms. Still works a lot of stories about straszącym “something”, which usually scares in some particularly predisposed to this place -opuszczonych homes, cemeteries, crossroads, lone trees, places of suicides etc. For the phenomenon is very characteristic and a separable group are ghosts and spectrum scaring castles. Often, these spirits were identified with specific historical figures.

In the context of the parademonicznych most frequently invoked is the character of the spirit – the spirit of religious concepts, is a supernatural being, disembodied, amorphous, dimensionless, endowed with reason. Spirit is often regarded as a synonym for the human soul appearing after the death of a man in places that had for a special affection for life. Often appearance in a certain place was a kind of penance, or was dictated by the need to complete the issues and responsibilities unfinished in his lifetime. In colloquial terms, the folk souls and spirits scaring people is being półdemoniczne derived from the souls of the dead. They can hurt people living and harass them.

Spirit of Women
It mówiu as where starszało, where śtukało were fears, dad opowiedał. On Korytkowie Una somewhere they did, there was an old building, it’s always something pounding. He says przenocujta, but says no bujta out here says yes cus break. Well, there was something, well and so nieroz as the so-pounding, because there one … and then sent messengers to the cottage and tem such as if it was wypolune, kind of like something like this. A tem was a cubit or less what she spun, because downo it submitted, there kumuś to submit, ordered someone out there, do not know if there seen as a front, like those młutki this is … Ji glow spun and always ukradała that some flax se for him, because it was not, it ŁO łukradła se, it later for yourself skein se se uprzedła and sold. And after his death it had to doprzudać. [Janina Oleszek, Kocudza III, 2011]

Over time, the influence of social and religious differences had become blurred. Polish folk demonology is mainly the effect of Slavic-Christian syncretism. The individual topics have different belief constitution further transformation and re-evaluation.
The void was filled with an unknown creations of the human imagination. Initially, the idea of ​​data demonic beings were the personification of the mysterious phenomena of nature, often incomprehensible to man, feared and terror, such as. Dangerous weather phenomena. However, in the doctrines of the emerging concepts of religious systems as demons came to be the essence of bogopodobne, often when acting as intermediaries between the world of the divine and the human beings antyboskie or detrimental to man. It seems that in folk beliefs have survived mainly these creatures transcendental world whose inclusion in the new system wierzeniowego (Christianity) been easier with modifications to their origin and change of human behavior magic to magical-religious.

The study will be presented figures which ideas survive longest in folk culture, which still can be heard stories – full of faith and authentic experiences, subjectively true, but rational assessment may prompt them something else – is still ongoing.

Witch
Popularity (mainly Christian) but also Pagan, vision witch was mainly due to the period of revival and the Counter-Reformation, then that clearly outlines its character and associations with the devil, also burned piles for burning women suspected of witchcraft. Poland quite a long time remained a country without stakes, and the first alleged witches were burned at the stake in 1511r. in Waliszewo near Poznan. This vision witch (derived from western Europe) encountered on the ground Polish folk demonology with functioning here already related her characters – witches, jędzami, zielarkami, znachorkami, grandmothers (which have the force of undoing charms, treatment of diseases, receive deliveries, etc.). On this medium has made the process of contamination of the two related topics of belief, and consequently formed a folk-Christian form of witch-hag.

It was widely believed in the so-called. Sabbaths, or nightly rallies on the so-called witches. bald mountains, where copulate had with the devil. These rallies were to take place during the new moon, on the first Thursday after the new moon, the nights of May, during the full moon, or on the contrary – in the dark, moonless nights and on the eve of various religious holidays. In and around the home magicians constantly fidget had a black cat, raven, tame mouse (drinking milk from a bowl with a cat), snake, toad or owl.

The Day Cross
They talked about such cases that Cross Days, witches sat naked under bridges, or on cross crawled naked, but upside down, somehow. 

According to folk beliefs Midsummer Night witches roam the meadows and balks, dragging the dew ropes, bridles horse or Powazki for straining milk. You can meet them on the paths, which usually makes up the cows at pasture and recognize the fact that they make moves mock seizure of something in ligated apron, speak at the same time spell. After such practices can throughout the year, without any effort and attempt to milk the milk of the strings, squeeze them out of the horse’s bridle, cloth, straps of the apron, etc .; eat butter and fat cheeses, while cows farm milking the blood, they die, they lose their milk. In some villages of Lublin was believed that a witch can pick up milk the cows through a magical treatment – takes an old weapons from wooden pegs, poses at his barn on the east side, she sits with her as with the cow, and the disc is treated as udder – milked with wooden teeth milk skopka. Thanks witch can not be perceived in the theft of milk. They can also surreptitiously put the horse from the stables, embroil him and ruffle mane and tail, and even overdrive to death during the night skirmishing.

The witch took milk
Well, here is telling my neighbor was dead, that as I used to go there, cast out cows so early in the morning and went to the mushrooms later went to it, it flew one woman near the cows and so rose rose so collected and so I hid in her apron. “I say or what flowers might una tore, or what is it?” Tam says, “Cows cut, milk gave nothing afterwards, milk cows yielded nothing. It just somehow had a grandmother and an older were again these drugs there, burnt incense there, it is these cows and it restored again, but that it was, a woman was usually out of the village and, and it is doing at cows and says, “I stood on the edge of the forest and watched what she was doing. It’s something so swept away and near the cows and plucked, and plucked “. Later he walked, arguing that there was. He saw what he was doing and what she did and asked himself: “Something I did, and cows do not give milk. Something you did and what you took? “And it was looking for the keys, and it lost the keys. “And what have you on my meadow with the keys did that circle the cows were looking for keys?” That was it, was it was then. Later in the letter that came this neighbor every evening, it was there telling. Among the many harmful human activities witch that casts charms and cause mourners.

The witch brought mourners
The witches said the child was bewitched charm, because witch brought on mourners placed against the window. The apartment, as there was somewhere a little child, a witch brought the mourners, the child was crying, could not fall asleep there, this, and whether it might tummy hurt, I do not know, but the witch.[…] No such has caused such with gałguna such dolls, six of these tiny, such as a finger, put, because it used as examples. [Karzimierz Błaszczak, Zabłocie 2011]

Some people know the habits of witches and their power: On the meadow dance witches “Look – he says – you know what? Here in the meadow – he says – there near me – he says – is dancing witches “. He says: “I saw them – he says – six”. He says, “I still like someone her there – he says – go out at midnight and they prevent it – he says – they do harm.” He says, “But you know what else? So you knew that. As you do not want your children give birth to children, it konopnymi threads navel tie, it’s child will not have. I have tied my guys. ” I still had no children. “Only one can – he says – to have children. And for what all those three will have children? “- He says. Well, he says, and there it began. She WOGL I was scared, because it was so terrible. She looked like a witch. [Mary Glen, Zakręcie, 2011] It was believed that witches had poppy seeds, which they could put to sleep people. To move through the air used were: brooms, shovels, stick, ożogu (phallic symbols) could also move on animals – a black cat, a huge black rooster, goat.

Her mother was a witch. And użenił August Wrębiak. How did you find łużenił and womb for you mietle at night. This is the twelfth hour is dangerous. And the womb on this mietle through the window. Chałupka was still, as ever, old. But I still remember those cottages. So this window, you Noji on a broomstick. Her daughter saw it and become brutish. [Maria Galczynska., Körchow, 2006 TL]

The beautiful bride of a charming look and the most old not very comely woman. It was believed that in order to detect witches should take a pot of water , put him nails or pins and boil. Then the woman – alleged witch should come to the cottage and ask for forgiveness. Spoil her this milk and someone advised her and so I did: milked the cow, przecedziłam by the cloth, but with the milk of all. I stuffed these needles there, what was there and Sundays at noon, the same sum was told to cook. And so far cook, until he comes, he comes. Stare, reptile, it goes this. He says: – “Kumo, pożyczylibyście my bread.” I have nerves – not borrowed. Three times come. The third time is the housekeeper’s son said: – “Janek, reptile, take this baniaczek, dropped from the sheet. Because jo terrible colic draw blood “.

It was widely believed that witches unmask priests who are evil, during the blessing of the Blessed Sacrament in Corpus Christi look at the crowd through the monstrance – witches had on their heads skopki for milk, which no one not seen, moreover, in the church witches bidding farewell to the left hand standing backwards to the altar, they were able to during the procession of Easter work around the church three times. You also could see witches by the sleeve of his jacket. Ji was carownice can zobacyć, only as interior was without a jacket and without the sleeve look. But every August bojał that it zacaruje. No one tried. Oh, no rus, because zacaruje of and zobacys later! Bojały people. But without a sleeve that can already be zobacyć. [Janina Bakal, Żyrzyn, 1993, the TL]

Devil
In addition, Christianity has demonized everything of the sacred path of woman, he and his men strengthened the position of the devil in the folk beliefs, imposing his ideas, scale of operations, sustaining faith in him alone, the priest alone, the church alone. One way to do this was to curse women, yes church men used black magic within their words and their “devil powers”.

There went again with ten other art, it says: “These are all for nothing.” Does he become so familiar, is not it show – is not known. And then it was birch sleigh hitched, blurred track, because in the winter, and in the morning already, hives, there are two beehives, or how much, has already been done. Piszkla was that such a knife what dłubało. And these hives were standing. And just then, there was the fact that – and this Matela was terribly stingy and gave nothing to anyone. The poor are driven out, he did not give anything. I got sick. But … the son went into the forest after a tree, there is no one, this grandfather fell ill. – “What are you doing?” But, no, they say: “Nothing will only die.” It’s been so for almost skonaniu was, but they say: ‘interiors bring these thick candles from the church, which the priest saints with holy water – the candle “. And because it was a habit. They brought the paschal candle … touched to – and died. Well, before her death, he says, he called you, that son of his, has already returned from the forest and says: “I already freeze, but remember that he is there in the attic. And you’re millet cook without salt and sugar. And once a week shalt carry – he says – and behind the chimney attitudes in a pot “.

And the boy: “And what, to whom, what, who will be there?” He wanted to say old yet and already died. Then he remembered for a week after, after the funeral. And so it was, that he ordered to cook the porridge. It amounted to the attic behind the chimney set and descends the ladder. And here there and I threw a pot of something – almost did not ubiło. And there came a shepherd, to Motycz walked, as long the courts, it served such Owcarz and knew each other for such a variety of tricks. I told him that I did. He would say: “You’re lucky you were not slaughtered, because it does not salt the porridge, but you have forgotten and little osoliłeś. A salt was coming. This evil does not like it. ” And from time to time short, there about two years, he says the apiary extinct. The worm itself threw some, there was no rescue. […] Well, it came out that it was some kind of devil. [Czeslaw May, Motycz, 2011]

Poludnica
When the shift came in religion, the old religions suffered so much from Christian persecution, all of these demon folklore are the tragic stories of women who suffered the matriarchal traditions of the goddess and traumatized by the military’s wars, bloodshed and killing to establish the new Christian religions. They are less demons, but the severe stress of the soul and its astral bodies, when death struck the villages in a crisis and crisis death always leaves the soul, when it walks out of the dead body, in a confused state. This is the basis of daemonology in realistic shaman terms.

The standard post-pagan and post-Christian frenzy form of demonology is conceived as a demon of the field which embodies the forces of nature. Poludnica in the Lublin region was also called żytnicami, rusalki. This figure is derived from the Slavic beliefs, where he was regarded as the guardian spirit of the growing of cereals and other crops. He took on the most anthropomorphic different shapes: a small woman hiding in the wild holes, tall and thin, old woman, a woman dressed in brightly; rarely zoomorphic and Teratology. She could also be invisible.

Their existence among wywodzono the souls of women who died after the engagement, but before marriage, during marriage or shortly after the wedding. Attributed to the ruthlessness and harassing people in different ways: they can tickle men to death, they asked riddles from the unraveling of which depended the fate of those questioned, they dictated to dance until the seasoning of disability, suffocating sleeping on the reapers, kidnap children left on balks. Typically, they appeared at midday on hot days in the fields, dirt roads and balks – naked or wrapped in coarse linen, dressed in gauzy white robes, long dresses. Poludnica went dressed in white Poludnica? Well, it straszały our grandmother always that Poludnica at noon comes on and children dressed in white paw. But I have not seen. [Czeslaw Mitrus, Kozlowka, 2011] They wore scarves or hats, sometimes with plants;

They were long and loose disheveled hair, konopiaste and zwichrzone. Their attributes were bags or linen cloth, worn on the back, which were used to transfer the kidnapped children. In the hands of stick they had two poles, broom or sickle which tormented victim. Usually during the day had been hidden among the tall grain, przesiadywały also on cops mowed cereals. People can reduce fainting, headaches, cross. The greatest activity have had at noon, because at that time had to stop work and to leave the field. Poludnica appears at noon and you can not be at harvest time to put on between because it can invade Poludnica miedzo. I remember paśliśmy cows, it was said that in the morning we bring the cows home because Poludnica will walk. He collects herbs. Not allowed to speak anything to Poludnica and close approach. [Czeslaw May, Motycz, 1992, TL]

But just told that Poludnica. Oh, what else, as there at noon did, and the women went to milk cows are: – “Run away, because you Poludnica carried away, run away”. One to the other said yes – “Poludnica you will attract.” Poludnica imagined also in the form of soft blue-gray mist floating in the air and then washes up on the stands of cereals causing their mild, light wave. We meet them only during the growing cereals after the harvest would disappear with half and appeared before the next planting season. It seems that the cyclical appearance of nymphalidae the fields and periodic just being there is an echo of ancient Slavic cult of birth and death in the natural world.

Rusalka

Rusalka were seen as being dangerous to humans – harm and persecuted, they could even deprive of life. Folk Beliefs distinguished two main groups of fairies: Water and Earth, living outside bodies of water – they had to share on the mermaid forest and field. Rusalka forest could be derived from the souls of girls who hanged himself in the woods. They asked people to puzzles. As a means of protection against the effects of wormwood used. Usually they took the form of beautiful naked or dressed in flowing robes of women with long hair loose and wreaths of flowers on her head. They like music, songs and dances in the moonlight. They misled the people in the woods, they can also tickle to death. The Podlasie also believed that there are old and ugly mermaid called there kozytkami or water babami.

They came from the old souls of women who are still alive and shamans, and can shape shift in the whisperer tradition before Religion shut the grandmothers down, now its just tragic death or zapiły vodka. Also in the Podlasie nymph it was also determined as bogunki – water nymphs, which was derived from the Bug River.

Formerly at source, under the trees and boulders crowd consisted of food offerings to them. People drowned by the crowd of nymphs increase water demons. It is traditionally believed that in places where water nymphs foot touched the ground the grass is always moist, lush and green.

Rusalka No, with us południcach was not. Only Rusalka believed about, Rusalka believed it. That rusalka chodit after Zyta and rye are not allowed to enter because they catch it and zalaskocze child, tickle will, right? Ukrainian luskotaty, and child with lus, from laughter to die. But it said threatened the children to rye no, no zmięcić. It’s Rusalka believed, but now I do not believe.

Drowned / Floater
Drowned was seen as półdemon water, usually identified with the soul of a drowned man without a confession. These creatures bully people are responsible for drowning. They took on a misty figure, experienced pale blue. There were often in places where someone drowned, accepted, his own life by drowning or was drowned. Lures its victims into the water and drown. It was believed drowned also because its existence is derived from a pregnant woman who drowned but most likely they could not deal with pregnancy outside the rules of the Christian Father. Now believed that in water is potoplawnik and can not … drip for yourself, because potoplawnik caught, or potoplawni, I do not know how to translate into Polish, drowned can such a drowning man who drowned in the spirit of the drowned man can catch and drown a child. Also they threatened not to bathe yourself in water. Because potoplawnik zlapaju, zlapaju is caught.

The floater was considered a kind of poor water sprites, nymphs water with long gold, sometimes black hair. Floater We here at Wieprzem znowuż said that as it went to bathe a young girl alone there or with a friend, a floater drew. She was a floater so that the Hog drew that was such, she looked like a woman, she had long hair, but always accused his face. It’s such a fairy tale with us każden went and told the men even said even young boys with us here sucked, yes. They said that he was, he says, as if it vortex was and there in the place that to this day no one there, I mean now that hardly anyone bathes in Wieprzu there from the shore, but once it floated, there kilometer sailed, or five kilometers Wieprzem , not now. And this, he said that this corner, on that corner to leave and go to another only continue to flow, because there was such a whirl and that there floater lives. Also, no differently people said. [Mary Glen, Zakręcie, 2011]

Demons water from this group most often took on the form: naked lean man of high growth with long legs and green oślizłym body with a large head, with long dark hair, a young boy or a young child as well as human rather short increase in red clothes and red cap, scantily clad women, could also take forms zoomorphic, eg. sheep, shaggy dog, frogs, etc. With the Lublin comes a story about the capture of a drowned man – who after pulling ashore dissolved in tar . It was said also that Wieprzu was an island to which forever at noon and midnight leaving you in a hat. He got even once in fishing nets, but quickly freed himself and ran into the water.

Phantom
Demon that was originally present in the form of demonic bird with a long sharp beak feeding on blood. Phantom attacked at night and sucking the blood of the people to keep their own vitality. Persons attacked by the ghost of themselves before they face. Sometimes it happened that the deceased during his lifetime suspected of being after death could become a wraith. In the Lublin region it was believed that such a man has wild eyes, always a red face, smile and mischievous szyderski, a huge figure.

After the death of his members have not stiffen up and his eyes look like in life, his face still red. It is also characterized large head, strong hairy body, joined brows. In the event of such a recognition of the deceased tied to the back of the hand or the two middle fingers of dedicated herb and turns it face down. If these treatments have not helped undertaken drastic measures are generally kept secret – was about midnight on the third night after his death to extract the dead from the grave, cut off his head with a shovel and put between your legs. In addition, the dead were placed into the mouth piece of iron, money under the tongue, drilled a hole in the grave and poured into the coffin with holy water, the heart and the head pierces osinowym pin or nail.

Also trimmed lived under his knees, kaleczono heels, put on your neck or chest sickle or scythe. To keep him in the grave were placed in the coffin objects whose conversion (eg. Sypano poppy), unraveling or the treatment occupied a lot of time. In addition, a sprinkling of poppy seeds also on the path leading from the tomb to the cemetery gates, in the hope that the ghost coming out of the grave will take on the road counting beans scattered, making it completes this operation dawn finds him. Poppy seeds sown well as house and path leading to it, and on windowsills and the thresholds laid garlic. Napotkanemu upiorowi had to throw in the face of a handful of poppy to flavor it with somnolence and deprive of power. Ghosts can not stand the light of day, acting only under cover of night. They have superhuman strength, and after leaving the tomb direct gaze to the east. Most often their existence wywodzono the souls of men: dead tragically, scarce and poor, niebierzmowanych who died without confession or believers, with two hearts, two souls, suicide, shepherds, sorcerers like. Once, it was not biżmowania and such were born, they had two syrca, such a godały like ghosts. With uno Late concerned, tułało so. [Janina Oleszek, Kocudza III, 2011]

There was also a belief that ghosts do not harm people they visited, and sometimes even helped – eg. The mother ghost came and fed the child, the husband specter helped his wife on the farm . mother after the death of a child nursed This good was the mother of the latter to the orphans, which was after the [late mother]. And this blanket, pillow lay on a blanket. And so was crying [child orphan] terrible – says, “I’ll go to give guinea, just go to you soon, have a fun, toys still remain”. She comes into the apartment and this babe like laughing, as if someone spoke.

She opens flat, and this child is not at the end but it is in the cradle, the new diapers obwinięte, washed. “Terrified – he says – I did not know what I’m doing.” A mother [after death] came, because at night a rocking cradle. You did not have to watch this dzieciunia. Only he swayed. Beyond the grave. Well, it took until the child was not. While it was not wise. It lasted a long time. This is a day not only at night. The baby was asleep, because cradle to rocking herself. “See – he says – have not seen her, but I felt the presence because – he says – the cradle. And this child – he says – like legs disguised as it pleases, as Glowko was spinning like a top looked “- because his mother had seen. [Janina Woch, Wolka Kątna, 2011]

Frequently, however, the specter accused were harmful effect – harassed and haunted people causes misery, destroys appliances, derived from cattle barns. Housing could get through the chimney or penetrate through walls and closed doors. With the first crowing of the cock, before the advent of dawn ghosts return took to their graves. Over time, the character ghost has been replaced (in the realm of naming and mainly in the minds of younger generations) zyskującymi increasing prominence in popular culture figures vampires.

Nymph / Mamun
Nymph is an archaic term that originally defined the female demons – goddesses. They are also commonly called mamunami. They inhabit were close to water, in the swamps and forests. Demons coastal waters, which include nymphs, in the opinion of the people were less dangerous than water. Its existence wywodzono from the soul of a woman who died during childbirth or in the postpartum period, and the woman who slew born baby, committed suicide, or in life, she was sentenced to infamy ancestral or exile.

They imagined myself as an old woman with a hideous appearance – big head, pendulous breasts, bloated belly, crooked legs, black teeth like. Sometimes it is imagined by even differently – as a young pale girls, alluring and tempting. They could also take animist shamanic figures – wolves, owls, large predator birds, black chickens or to appear or remained invisible. Again, religion demonized pagans and pre-pagan traditions making them all demonic when they were not.  They are magikal and mystical women who shape shift and have shamanic abilities.

The variety of performances as a goddess appears to be the result of a combination of several different forms of female demons of nature in one little coherent idea of demonic. Nymph particularly dangerous were supposed to be at noon, evening and moonlit summer nights. It was widely believed that are responsible for shuttling of babies (kidnapped girls were brought to the goddess, and boys different kinds of demons), harassment of pregnant women and young bachelors who zwabiały singing. They were also attributed to care for wild animals and ensure good fishing. In anger, however, they could destroy the network and drive away the fish and frighten cattle and horses. Hałasowały the night by washing in rivers underwear.

In the vicinity of Kraśnika they maintained that they are hostile towards humans and harm him but men fear emotional women and now they have tales and folklore about what they fear in women, especially men who are cowards. Widely called the goddess and was also called mamunami – it was believed that they visit humans settlements and are divine in the old ways. In the Lublin region the mamuny also called noculami, odmienicami and sidulami. In order to protect against mamunami, the Christians used a variety of protective measures  such as herbs święconych: placing the next head of a woman in labor in the door frame clogging wormwood Moreover, women should pray regularly.

There was also a series of measures to protect the child from abduction and transformed. The person responsible for protection was the mother should: postpartum pin safety pin itself to a shirt, he carries until the baptism of the child; during sleep should be constantly returned to the child’s head; should not stray from home without the rosary; after sunset not leave the room where the child is; can not leave a child alone, not after sunset washable nappies. It was also necessary to stock a child in apotropeiony: the child must be suspended around the neck devoted medal or crucifix on the handle should have tied a red ribbon, it can also have it on the head; the child assumes a red cap and his face should be protected from the light of the moon; at the cradle of the child should hang dedicated to the rosary. If, despite best efforts the child was swapped there was a way to get it back – had to reach a changeling on dung and beat him with the rod of birch. Attracted by the screaming baby Mamun come to rescue them and give abducted child.

Nightmares
Often nightmares were too amorphous and the person felt only suffocation and the burden of not seeing the persecutor. About being the bane of suspected typically six, eight, and mostly the seventh daughter in the family, again, blaming women for everything rather than men’s wars and killing and religious suffering of peasants: Well that these nightmares, it’s still there bothered by people bothered by people bothered to animals, no that these nightmares, it was, but I think that these nightmares, I guess they were witches, just as they were with us called these the nightmares and how was the seventh daughter in the family she was born, that’s for sure she was such a nightmare. [Elizabeth Wojtowicz, Wolka Kątna, 2009]

This again said that as seven daughters was the seventh nightmare was.And not like where there were seven children is mostly as it was the girls, but the seventh baby, it’s been a nightmare.

A nightmares, nightmares, say it is the soul of nightmares, I do not know, I have not had, but they say that the bane, they were nightmares that suffocated so humans. Ło so and I do not know this, because I have not had such a case. I do not know how to say, but I said yes, I heard my mother even told that as a seven daughters, one is a nightmare, such a thing.

The seventh, this is a nightmare. And if this nightmare went or what she did, I do not know, just so I could hear. Just do something like that it called that the seventh is a nightmare, but it was not enough so their way to make it seven girls.  [Karzimiera Gawron, Wolka Kątna, 2011]

Six sisters, one turns to, so people there plaited, but it it did not believe it. How would she turn?  [Janina Woch, Wolka Kątna, 2011] Moreover pedigree nightmares wywodzono of certain human souls – who died a violent death, evil in life, victims of death, the dead without confession, not baptized or bad baptized children, the damned. Animal Nightmares Nightmares tiresome animals, as the goal of his nightly attacks especially liked horses. Common practice nightmares and at the same time remain- by her braided pigtails footsteps were on the horses’ manes and tails. Zmory plotły braids Nightmares is there said that seven daughters was always like this one was a nightmare, listen, horses mane weaved on these braids. Well, it was so. And with my dad so it was that he mane plaited braids. And if this was indeed a nightmare or not it do not know.

Nightmare techniques defense:
1. Measures the most magical and practical nature and to some extent relics referring to the traditional beliefs of pagan times, for example, second night after the attackm, nightmares sleeping place must be changed, must burn straw, which was choking the bane of a shadow man, beware of sleeping on barley straw , you should sleep with his leg crossed over the other leg, beware of sleeping on his back, should fall asleep while lying on his stomach.

2. The actions of a magical and devotional in which you can clearly see the influence of the Christian tradition: you must sprinkle holy water (in pagan and pre-pagan eras it was spring water blessed by the shaman), carry in a flat dish and mark chalk outline with three crosses at the door handle, the attack should pray, falling asleep. Every evening to recite prayers, to be held confirmation or just hire yourself a shaman whisperer to rid the shadow soul of the human who is a live and reincarnated, generally a family member or intimate partner

Werewolf
Werewolf character is distant origins in Slavic folk culture. This thread beliefs, especially characteristic of the cultures of the peoples of hunting but really in the old shamanic cultures it was the wolf clans of women and men and they represent family, the wolf clan family are strongest of the dog family. In later times, when men created karma and would not humble themselves to women, or war created the shadow of a man, the animal soul got sick, this is a real werewolf. It is the evil shadow of past lives of pagans who did not use truth and humbleness, but we have all created karma, so thats not unusual.

Chlorosis
This is a daemon that can torment and harass livestock. It scared the horses and moved his so that they could not get to their farms. Also treated as a demon forest, which could lead people through the forest, leaving them confused.
Perceived was also a demon in the form of vicious swamp Ognik introducing zbłądzonych people in deep water. Folk Beliefs supported the belief that the vicious fires are the spirits of people lingering after death. Most often equated flames of spirits surveyors who cheat during the life of ordinary people to monitor and allocation of land.

Wisps
These are also shamanic cultures of pre-pagan shamans, and are associated with the souls of the wicked landowners and the people who died without the sacraments (more magic) in post-pagan times.

Sources