by Mystic Fire
SZCZODRE GODY, Festival Of Giving in Slavic & Baltic Spirituality, December 21st
Szczodre Gody, which can be translated as Bountiful Festival Of Giving, is one of the Slavic &Baltic most important celebrations within the Wheel of the Year. It takes place on the night of the Winter Solstice (Przesilenie Zimowe). Since the ancient Slavic and Baltic people followed the nature-based calendar, their Wheel of the Year festivities are organized around the axis of Equinoxes and Solstices. Szczodre Gody begins when the first star on the sky appears. It is the Star of the Rod, God of the family, ancestors and fate. With Rod’s Star we embrace the darkness from which the Sun is reborn. That evening, a great vegetarian dinner is prepared and the souls of ancestors are invited.
Whenever the Slavic people honour their ancestors only plant based food is made. While the male head of the Households (Gospodarz) sets the bonfire outside, everyone is looking out for the first star to appear, then the Female Head of the Household (Gospodyni) opens the door and invites the souls of ancestors:
“Holy Spirits of Ancestors, our Grandmothers and our Grandfathers please join us at the celebrations”
Holy Fire & The Tree of The World
Into the Holy Fire, gifts for the Gods are being offered such as herbs and dried flowers. The whole family gathers to dress up The Tree of The World with Rod’s Star at the top, and at the bottom where the World of Weles, God of Underworld and Wealth is represented, the presents are being placed underneath the Tree with his blessing.
Sczodre Gody is a time for family, magic and spell casting, but also a time of remembering the ancestors, when we visit the graves of the loved ones who passed away.
Koliada / Kolęda & 12 days of spell casting
During that night the Solar calendar and the Slavic Wheel of the Year begins. The celebratory dinner must contain twelve vegetarian dishes each representing a different month, the festivities ought to be as joyful and bountiful as we wish the upcoming year to manifest. Szczodre Gody lasts twelve days, each day corresponds to the next month of the year and represents a magical spell for that day, observing the weather and the behavior of nature can provide us with the clues of what weather shall be expected. This period is also called Koliada or Kolęda, a wide spread Slavic and Baltic winter festival when we sing songs about the origin of the world and the birth of the Sun.
Indo-European roots & the Vedic Sanskrit hymns of Rigveda
Since Sczodre Gody date to the pre-Christian, ancient past, the festivities share the same origins in all Indo-European cultures, for instance according to Rigveda, ancient collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns, the twelve days of New Year’s celebrations were the metaphor of the whole year.
This year during Szczodre Gody a spectacular astronomical event takes place: the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. Yannanda is offering practical advice on how to maximise the planetary energies, as part of the Cosmic Plan to raise the consciousness and live up to the fullness of our spiritual potential.
About the author:
Agni Jnana Yannanda, which translates to Mystic Fire, is an astrologer and “Cosmic Serpent Journey” shamanic prophetess, living in the Shawangunk Mountains, as The Lady of The Mountain, otherwise know as Ninhursag.
