Closing of Svarga (Vyriy) among the Slavs

The first month of autumn is rich in holidays among many ancient peoples, whose life was closely connected with agriculture The peasants shared the joy from the fruits of their labor with each other, with their ancestors, spirits and deities The close connection with nature gave rise to many legends based on annual observations So, by the end of September, the Slavs of past centuries noticed not only the withering of foliage and grass, but also migratory flocks of birds stretching towards the southwest, and snakes crawling underground, and seasonal changes in mood All this spoke of the departure of the goddess Zhiva or Lada, who personified youth, spring, and fertility The date of her departure began to be considered September 27 (14 old style) Having stayed with people and given them a harvest, the goddess flew to the wonderful land of Vyriy (Iriy) This is a magical paradise where eternal spring is filled with birdsong, where the world tree grows with evergreen foliage, hung with wondrous fruits Magical rejuvenating apples grew on the branches of the World Tree, the marvelous birds Sirin and Alkonost lived in its foliage, the souls of dead ancestors and unborn children lived on it And souls move to the earthly world and back with the help of birds and snakes Hence, the stork bringing babies, and the meeting of larks in the spring on the day of remembrance of the dead Together with Zhiva-Lada, birds fly away to a fabulous place beyond the distant seas and oceans, carrying on their wings the souls of the dead who deserve the best fate of the afterlife - eternal spring with heavenly dishes and crystal waters But the path to the otherworldly kingdom goes not only through the air; another path goes underground This is the so-called lower world, through which snakes crawl This place is by no means hell; for the Slavs the world was not divided into absolute good and evil This is as much a part of divine nature as the bird's paradise It was believed that on September 27 (14), all snakes crawl underground, where they will end up in Vyriy along their own paths, and will remain there to spend the winter in a single ball With snakes, the souls of the dead pass away in the same way It was natural for the Slavs to convey messages to their dead ancestors along with birds and snakes, and in the spring to wait for an answer and the arrival of the souls of babies for incarnation in earthly life The whole world was understandable, familiar and friendly Man coexisted in harmony with birds, animals and reptiles But there was still a ban on going into the forest on September 27th It was believed that snakes, obeying natural instinct, could drag a living person underground Vyriy is the country of the solar deity Svarog, therefore the Slavic paradise is also called Svarga With the disappearance of Zhiva, migratory birds and snakes, Svarga closed, releasing clouds and rain Autumn bad weather came to the world of people, followed by severe frosts But the summer gifts of Zhiva-Lada were stored in the barns, which means it was possible to survive the cold in fullness and joy, celebrate the holidays of winter deities and wait for the onset of a new spring and long sunny days Thus, the amazing holiday of the Closing of Svarga connected all three worlds in Slavic mythology: reality, nav and rule, explained the rebirth of souls and seasonal changes in the annual cycle