Mokosh
Mokosh, the Dreamweaver, is a Prime deity of the Creators' Pantheon. She is a goddess of twilight, dreams and secrets, as well as fertility and women, and one of the 3 elven sister goddesses. Widely worshipped within elven and twilight bogokovc cultures, she is largely considered to be the protector of the women and those who seek refuge in the night. Many women in labour pray to her, seeking her blessings for childbirth. Those who work in secrecy and trickery often ask for her blessing, and those who seek their destiny ask for her guidance.
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Since the Era of Rebirth it was wildly believed that she shared the role of Guardian of Destiny with her sisters, Nicha and Zorya (according to legends, they weaved the fate for newborns, predicting their talents, attributes, lifespan, path and death).
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Appearance
Mokosh is portrayed as a young woman, with light blue or greyish blue skin and dark black hair. She has a pair of cat eyes and her head is crowned with a silver headband, which ends with lily flowers near the ears and white bells hanging from under the flowers. Hems of her white clothing are covered in shadows and small shiny lights.
She is frequently depicted with a ball of thread or numerous threads wrapped around her hands, symbolizing her role of goddess of destiny, as well as representing her role of the Dreamweaver. Most of the Sarmarian worshippers also add horns to her portrayals, as highland cow is considered to be a sacred animal of the Dreamweaver.
History
Lunar Discord
Creation of bogokovc
War of The Burning Skies
White Crusade
Worship
by Felixora
Mokosh is one of the few gods, that have three creatures associated with her - a cat, a spider and in some regions of Sarmaria a highland cow, and her faith is intertwined with the cult of water and moon, as many of her temples are located in or near healing waters.
As an offering, people bring Mokosh the following: porridge, wool, thread, wine, handkerchiefs, utensils, ribbons, bread and honey.
The main temple to Mokosh is located in the capital of Silfurskogur Kingdom, Heimalstjornualf. It's decorated with a lot of lunar symbology, a thousand of mirror halls and corridors, that create bizarre illusions of the surrounding world, and many small rivers and waterfalls inside the temple grounds. Other temples of Mokosh can be found in different parts of Northern Sarmaria, as well as on the west of Dangean Kingdom.
Church of Mokosh has a special type of clerics - the Dreamwalkers. They are psionics that travel though the space of dreams. They can visit and manipulate dreams of others, have a much stronger connection to the Feyland, and are believed to have the ability to change someone else's memories. Many of them participate in the ritual of Acceptance - this is a ceremony reserved for those who carry dark burdens on their mind and wish to make peace with pain and troubles that haunt their minds. Those, who go through the whole ceremony, are said to let go of their burdens and walk back in the world as different, happier people.
Holidays
Babi Kashi is considered to be the day blessed by both Lada and Mokosh - keepers of mothers and women, respectively.
On this day, it is customary to honour midwives and women in labour. People bring them gifts and treats, kvass, pancakes, pies and fruits. Mothers come with their small children to grandmothers of the villages or the neighbourhoods so that they blessed them. They also pray to Mokosh, asking for protection of their children until they are young, and thank the goddess for sending off evil spirits.
First and second Rusalia - are also considered holidays blessed by the Dreamweaver.
First Rusalia is a series of holy days dedicated to the celebration of the Mokosh - the goddess of water, secrets and awakened female water spirits - mermaids. About this time, the virgins in long-sleeved jackets without amulets, being like mermaids, create "twisted dancing" in the fields, not allowing guys into their circle and singing song to the Moon Goddess, asking for her blessing, protection and fortune.
A second Rusalia, or the so-called "magic week" of spring, is dedicated to seeing off spring and accompanying female spirits, berehin, to Fey Land. It is accompanied by different rituals performed by the elders, to place protective wards around the settlements while the good spirits beregins are still around.
The main holiday of the Dreamweaver is the day of Mokosh - it is considered to be the day of rest for water and women.
On this day women were forbidden to do housework, bathe children and swim themselves. For disobedience, the goddess could punish - tear the canvas, confuse the threads on the spindle and even send diseases. Most often everyone spends this day dancing, feasting and attending fairs organized by the local clerics of Mokosh. These fairs, or rather carnivals, are places of many illusions and magic tricks, places where you can be anyone and everyone and the main goal is to forget about your burdens just for a day and just to have fun.
Commandments of the Dreamweaver
- Walk unhindered through your life, towards your desires and dreams.
- Don't be afraid of the night; hide in its veil from the burning light of fanaticism and the toothy darkness of evil.
- Through flexibility and patience, water always finds its way. Learn from it.
Links
- Mokosh is based on goddess Mokosh from Slavic mythology, Wiki page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mokosh
- The concept of "Destiny sisters" is based on Slavic legends of three sisters, Sudenitsy, that predict fate of a newborn on the 3rd day after their birth. The youngest sister predicted the wedding day, talents, gifts and future family of the newborn, the middle sister predicted the illnesses and troubles that will happen in their life, and the oldest predicted the day of their death. The concept of three sisters is present in the legends about Zorya as well - Zorya among many was considered to have 3 different aspects, or 3 different star-sisters (Morning Star, Midnight Star and Evening Star). These three women are often aspects of time (past, present, future) or age (young girl, mother, old woman) or life itself (creator, guardian, destroyer).
General information
| Classification | Greater deity |
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| Common symbol | a circle, with
2 crossed arrows in the middle and decorated with moon in 4 phases: full moon, first quarter, new moon and third quarter |
| Gender | Feminine |
| Pronouns | She/her/hers |
Worship
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Spouses
Children
by Felixora
Alignment chart
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