Rozhanitsy- Slavic GroupCollective"Birth Goddesses"
Also known as: Rodzanice, Rozhenitsy, and Рожаницы
Description
On the night of every birth, two or three figures arrive unseen at the cradle. They examine the newborn, confer, and decree its lifespan and the manner of its death. No prayer can change what the Rozhanitsy inscribe.
Mythology & Lore
At the Cradle
On the night a child is born, two or three women arrive. No one sees them. They stand over the cradle, examine the newborn, and speak among themselves. Then they pronounce: how long the child will live and how it will die. The decree is final. Nothing done afterward can alter its shape. Their name comes from rodit', "to give birth." They are as bound to that moment as the child is to what they say.
The Second Table
Medieval Slavic homilies condemn the families who "set a second table for Rod and the Rozhanitsy." The Homily of a Lover of Christ, written in the twelfth century, describes the practice: when a child was born, the household laid out bread and kasha on a separate table for the invisible guests. The food was left untouched overnight. By morning, the spirits had passed their judgment. The Church railed against this for centuries. The families kept doing it.
Relationships
- Family
- Equivalent to