Born and raised in Russia, I spent my childhood in mysterious rich and exciting world of Slavic folk tales, the foreboding forests, thunderous seas, ragged legends and fairy tales. Steeped in dark myth and wild legends, Slavic folk tales paint a world of witchcraft and magic, a land of mystery, beliefs and traditions. Wild and wonderful tales, Slavic folklore is full of mysterious and fearsome beings and spirits.
Ever since I was a child I have been fascinated by the ephemeral nature and the beauty of the folk tales. These tales reach back in time for hundreds, and possibly thousands of years.
Svyetky, another wonderful tradition, is the most favorable time for fortune telling - the time when evil spirits are especially strong. Fortune telling was one of the main girlish entertainments for Christmas-day. Many young girls, while waiting for marriage, were driven to consider their distant futures. By conjuring an evil spirit, they might discover the identity of their husbands-to-be. As with many young girls, they were keenly interested in knowing what kind of husbands and lives would befall them.
With all the Slavic legends, myths folk tales, come traditions spanning hundreds, if not thousands of years. Since ancient times, Slavic people have celebrated the summer solstice as the day of Ivan Kupala. On the night of June 23rd (or there about), everyone celebrates this mystical holiday, filling it with songs, chants, fortune and storytelling. During the day of Ivan Kupala, young girls make wreaths of herbs and flowers and in the evening float then on the water watching as they drift away. A sinking wreath indicates the end of love for that girl, for that year and that she must wait another year to be married.
Another Slavic legend states that on this night of Ivan Kupala, the beautiful young mermaid, Rusalka can be found in bodies of water. Rusalka enjoys enticing young men to their demise. Although there are many different stories concerning the legend of Rusalka, they typically involve young women dying violent deaths sometimes at their own hands. Commonly, death is by drowning and often revolve around women betrayed by a lover or husband.
During Ivan Kupala, Rusalka leaves her lake or swamp and wonders through the woods searching for her lost love. When she comes upon a young man, she will lure him back into the dark water where he will spend eternity with her.
Because of the nature of suicide, Rusalka's soul is lost for all time and she is destined to wonder the dark and watery depths only coming out on Ivan Kupala's day to look for her lost love. In other Slavic mythologies, such as the stories of Sadko and Baba Yaga, this recurring theme of "the lost soul" is repeated.
