Mokosh— Slavic God"Mother Earth"

The Great Goddess

Mokosh is the only goddess included among the major Slavic deities—her idol stood alongside Perun's in Kiev's sacred precinct. She is the great mother goddess, protector of women, guardian of fertility, and mistress of fate. Her name may derive from words meaning "wet" or "spinning," connecting her to the earth's moisture and women's work.

Goddess of Women's Fate

Mokosh oversees all aspects of women's lives. She watches over childbirth, protects mothers and children, and determines women's destinies. At night, she visits homes where women spin, blessing the industrious and punishing the lazy. Sheep, whose wool women spin, are sacred to her. No woman worked on Friday—Mokosh's day—lest they offend her.

The Spinner of Fate

Like the Greek Fates and the Norse Norns, Mokosh spins the threads of destiny. She and her helpers, the Rozhanitsy, determine each person's fate at birth. Women's spinning and weaving echo her cosmic work—transforming raw material into something new, just as fate transforms potential into reality. The spindle is her sacred symbol.

Mother Earth

Mokosh is closely connected to Mat Zemlya, Mother Earth herself. She embodies the earth's fertility, the moisture that makes things grow, and the abundance that feeds humanity. Farmers invoked her for good harvests; her blessing meant prosperity. Some scholars believe Mokosh and Mat Zemlya were originally the same goddess.

Saint Paraskeva

When Christianity came, Mokosh's worship proved impossible to eradicate. She was quietly transformed into Saint Paraskeva (also called Saint Friday), who inherited all her attributes: patronage of women, spinning, water, and fertility. Churches to Saint Paraskeva were built over Mokosh's sacred springs. The goddess survived, wearing a saint's mask.