Mati-Syra-Zemlya: Moist Mother Earth

NAME: Mati Syra Zemlya which is not a name but a title that means `Mother Moist Earth.´ Other spellings, Matka, Mata Syra Zjemlja, Matushka Zemlia. Later possibly also Mokosh or Mokos a later human formed nature Goddesses & St. Paraskeva in a try to Church her up after she refused to go away.) SYMBOLS: Unplowed moist dark earth, stalks of wheat, sheep. USUAL IMAGE: Not viewed as human in form but as the Earth itself. She was thought of as not a spirit that represented Her sovereignty, but as the ground beneath one's feet, alive and all knowing. It was thought that at some times, such as Zemlya's Night on the 24th of June she would take human form and appear as a dark skinned Slavic woman dressed in brightly colored ribbons and ornaments, she would then visit homes bestowing blessings. HOLY BOOKS: N/A HOLY DAYS: May 1st (A day on which no plowing could be done) June 24 & August 1st. PLACE OF WORSHIP: In the home or on unplowed or freshly plowed earth. MAJOR TABOOS: Plowing on her holy days. RELATIVES: All the people, animals & plants of the earth, which she used as oracles when asked. There are some who say her husband Yarilo was the Slavic Dioceses as his name comes from a word that means passionate and uncontrolled. He was depicted as a blonde young man wearing a white tunic and going barefoot, who carried a bunch of wheat in one hand and a skull in the other. His festival day was June 4th. FORM OF WORSHIP: In holes dug in the earth place bread and pore wine or whisky. Respect Her by making sure you do not hit or cut her (plow) on her holy days, such as May 1st, when she is pregnant. SYNODEITIES: Nerthus (German), Zemes Mate (Baltic), Zem (Zoroastrian), Semele (Greco - Phrygian), Gaia (Greek), Changing Woman (Native American.)

DETAILS: Moist Mother Earth, which is what Mati Syra Zemlya means, was the oldest and most powerful of the Pre-Christian slavic Goddesses. So powerful in fact that she survived into the twentieth century despite efforts by both the Church and later the Communist Party to do away with her. I wouldn't doubt that in some form or other she is still honored in some way on the land that she was said to be. Moist Mother Earth was prayed to by digging a hole in the earth and speaking into it, or in times of plague by cutting a furrow around the home or village in trouble so that Her power would be relased and drive the demons of illness away. She was also invoced to confirm oaths and marriages by eating some of her earth or placing some of Her on the head while the oath was being spoken. She had all knowledge, and on being asked would release signs that could be interpreted. Never given a human image she however was said to take the form of a dark woman from time to time to aid those who observed the proper rites and traditions. Sometimes even taking the time to shear sheep, her totem animal. After the coming of Christianity, she was confessed to if no priest was available. The Church tried to equate her with Mary, but this was not entirely successful and during times of great illness there was a tendency for the people to revert back to worship of Her. Often the village women would dig furrows around their homes or village at night while carrying scythes to release the power of Mati Syra Zemlya and to kill any men who happened on them while preforming this rite. I have to wonder if this might not be a perfect example of a clash between two forces. One of which is represented by priests who were contacted by a power that came from the driest of deserts and the other which came from a moist living earth. It's something to think about.