Since ancient times, people have used the wonderful properties of plants - to provide food and warmth. But in addition to these properties, people noticed that plants can influence a person’s destiny, as well as heal him from diseases, both physical and spiritual. Since ancient times, people have revered trees and sacred groves. People came to them for treatment, to pray, to ask for protection or love. From time immemorial, trees have been attributed Magic power. It was believed that human guardian spirits lived in them. There are many signs, beliefs and rituals associated with trees.

In the folk culture of the Slavs, a tree is an object of worship. In ancient Russian monuments of the 11th-17th centuries. It is reported that the pagans worshiped “growings” and “trees”, and praying under them (“growing... zhryahy”). Apparently, these were, as a rule, fenced areas of the forest. The groves were considered reserved; trees were not cut down in them, and brushwood was not collected. Among the Slavs, many groves and protected forests have “sacred” names: “divine forest”, “gai-god”, “goddess”, “righteous forest”, “Svyatibor”.

The category of revered and sacred trees also included individual trees, especially old ones, growing alone in a field or near healing springs. People came to these trees to get rid of diseases, the evil eye, infertility and other misfortunes. They brought gifts and sacrifices (they hung towels, clothes, rags on the trees), prayed, and touched the trees. The sick climbed through the hollows and crevices of such trees, as if leaving their illnesses outside this hole. When Christianity appeared in Rus', in order to attract people to churches, churches were built right in the illuminated groves. This is evidenced by numerous traditions, legends and apocryphal tales about the construction of churches near revered trees. Various rituals were performed near sacred trees.

The Southern Slavs practiced the custom of “crowning” young people around a tree (or preceding the wedding ceremony with this action). Among the Serbs, Bulgarians and Macedonians, many rituals and celebrations took place at the “record” - a sacred tree (usually an oak or fruit tree). Here they had festive meals, slaughtered sacrificial animals, burned bonfires at Maslenitsa; near the “zapischka” they took oaths, held trials, etc.. It was possible to confess to the old hazel tree - in the absence of a priest: kneeling down and clasping it with his hands, a person repented of his sins and asked the tree for forgiveness - this suggests that before After the advent of Christianity, trees were a link between God and people (the world of people and the world of gods). Oaks, elms and other large trees were classified as reserved. It was forbidden to cut them down or cause any harm at all. Violation of these prohibitions led to human death, livestock death, and crop failure. Such trees were considered the patrons of the surrounding areas - villages, houses, wells, lakes, protected from hail, fires, natural Disasters.

A tree as a metaphor for the road, as a path along which one can reach the afterlife, is a common motif of Slavic beliefs and rituals associated with death.

Characteristic ideas are about the post-mortem transition of the human soul into a tree. Thus, the Belarusians believed that in every creaking tree the soul of the deceased languishes, which asks passers-by to pray for it; if after such a prayer a person falls asleep under a tree, he will dream of a soul that will tell how long ago and why it was imprisoned in this tree. The Serbs believed that a person’s soul finds peace in the tree growing on his grave; Therefore, you cannot pick fruits from cemetery trees and break branches. Slavic ballads about people sworn in trees are associated with the circle of these beliefs. Such folklore stories usually refer to people who died a premature death, before their allotted time; their interrupted life seems to strive to continue in other forms. A tree, like a plant in general, is related to a person by external characteristics: trunk - body, roots - legs, branches - arms, juices - blood, etc. There are “male” and “female” trees (birch - birch, oak - oak), which differ in shape: birch branches spread out to the sides, birch branches upward. When a child is born, a tree is planted for him, believing that the child will grow in the same way as this tree develops. At the same time, in some beliefs, the growth of such a tree causes exhaustion of a person and leads to his death. Therefore, we tried not to plant large trees near the house.

The tree is closely connected with the field of demonology. This is the habitat of various mythological creatures. Mermaids live on birch trees, witches flocked to giant oak trees on Kupala night, the devil sits in the roots of elderberries, in hollow willows, pitchforks and samodivas on large spreading trees, with the branches of which they play, often demons live in thorny bushes (hawthorn is a pitchfork tree).

S. Yesenin said: “Russians have everything from the Tree - this is the religion of thought of our people.” And he explained why and why wood is usually embroidered only on towels. This has a deep meaning. “A tree is life,” writes the poet. – Every morning, getting up from sleep, we wash our faces with water. Water is a symbol of purification... By wiping their face on a canvas with a picture of a tree, our people say that they have not forgotten the secret of the ancient fathers of wiping themselves with leaves, that they remember themselves as the seed of a supermundane tree, and, running under its cover, plunging their face into a towel, they as if he wants to imprint at least a small branch of it on his cheeks, so that, like a tree, he can shed the cones of words and thoughts from himself and stream the shadow of virtue from the branches-hands.”

Tree of Life.

The tree generally occupied a special place in the life of the pagan Slavs. There is a legend that a long time ago, when there was neither heaven nor earth, but only the blue sea splashing everywhere, there stood in the middle of it two oak trees, on whose branches sat two doves. One day the pigeons fluttered, then dived to the bottom of the sea and brought sand and pebbles from there. The sky and earth and all the heavenly bodies were built from this material.

Since those ancient times, the myth of the tree of life has come. The Slavs believed that it served as the axis, the center of the whole world and, as it were, embodied the entire universe. The roots of this amazing tree, which was called the world tree, embraced the entire earth, reaching to the depths of the underworld. Its crown rested on the vault of heaven. In it for ancient man ideas about space and time were embodied. It is no coincidence that a riddle arose: “There is an oak tree, there are 12 branches on the oak tree, on each branch there are four nests, in each nest there are seven chicks.” This was the mythical image of the year: twelve months, each of them containing four weeks, and a week of seven days. (Then counting was carried out by lunar months).

In folklore Slavic peoples– in fairy tales, riddles, conspiracies – the image of the tree of life often appears. Most often it is a mighty oak tree that has lived on earth for several centuries. In one of the famous fairy tales, an old man climbed such an oak tree and reached the very sky. There he saw wonderful millstones - the emblem of a spring thunderstorm, giving people rain and fertility. Yes, and conspiracies against diseases most often begin with a joke that on the sea-okiyan, on the island of Buyan, where the Alatyr stone lies, there is a “damask oak”.

Images of the external and internal world of ancient man were strung on the axis tree. It systematized this world, gave it harmony, where every object or phenomenon, every living creature had its place.

At the top of the crown sat a deity - menacing, inaccessible. Birds found shelter in the branches. Bees swarmed around the trunk, moose, deer, horses, cows, and sometimes people crowded around. The roots gathered snakes, frogs and even fish around themselves. There were also demons and other evil spirits chained there. From this tree comes a fragrance, and from its root twelve springs flow with milk and honey. Sometimes the upper deity entered into battle with the “lower tier,” stopping the encroachments of snakes and dragons on the “warm-blooded” ones located near the trunk. According to legends, the tree is the path along which snakes go to the mythical land of vyves in the fall.

The tree, which connects the earthly and underground worlds, also appears in Western Slavic mythological stories about children replaced by demons. To get her son back, the woman takes the changeling under some tree, and later takes her child from there. Things that needed to be disposed of - sent to the next world (objects that had been in contact with the deceased, old wedding attributes, etc.) were thrown onto the tree (or taken to it), etc. There were, in addition, customs of burning, burying and discarding water these items.

Cult trees, symbolizing the world tree, have accompanied many important events in human life for centuries.

An indispensable participant in a traditional Slavic wedding was the world tree, its image. Bridesmaids sing about him, promising the newlyweds happiness and wealth. And when a new house was built, it was customary to place a ritual tree in the center of the building. Well, on national holidays, such as Trinity, you can’t do without a birch tree; all courtyards, houses and churches are decorated with green branches.

“A Christmas tree was born in the forest”... Everyone, young and old, knows this song. While dancing around the dressed-up forest beauty, the children do not even suspect that they are performing ritual actions, part of the myth-making of our distant ancestors. Likewise, many centuries ago, people gathered around the tree, brought sacrifices to its roots, sang, and performed ritual dances, in which every movement had a symbolic meaning.

To this day, in some places the following custom has still been preserved. If a guy brings a tree dug up in the forest and plants it under a girl’s window, this is clearly perceived as a declaration of love, a marriage proposal.

The tree of life was usually depicted with eight branches, four on each side. When depicting him, four colors were most often used: black, red, blue and white. The branches, trunk and roots of the world tree connect, respectively, the upper, middle and lower worlds, and the branches are the cardinal directions.

Oak

Since ancient times, it was a sacred tree among the Slavs - the king of forests. Oak rightfully takes first place in the Slavic arboretum. The Russians called it Tsar Oak, and, according to legend, the king of birds, the eagle, lived on it. God the Father appeared under the name or in the form of an oak tree. In folk ideas, oak acts as a symbol of masculinity, dominance, strength, power, and hardness. It is no coincidence that in conspiracies his constant epithets are “iron” or “damask steel,” and the proverb says about him: “You can’t knock down an oak tree in one go.” They say about strong strong men: strong as an oak (oak tree).

The Slavs especially distinguished and revered the oak among other trees. Perhaps at first they called all trees the word “oak”. It is no coincidence that the words “club” and “club” derived from it refer not only to an oak club.

The oak was revered as a deity. Sacrifices were made at its foot. Idols were hewn from oak wood. And the fire on the temple could only be “fed” with oak wood. The people considered the oak to be connected by invisible threads with the supreme deity Perun. After all, this tree seemed to attract lightning to itself. And today, during a thunderstorm, you shouldn’t take shelter under an oak tree - it’s dangerous. These are echoes of the main myth of the Eastern Slavs about the duel of Perun with an enemy who is hiding under an oak tree. The Slavs had a ban on growing oak near the house, since, according to legend, thunder strikes the oak first.

Mostly our ancestors and legends about the world tree attributed it to oak. This is exactly what an oak tree looks like in a Russian spell: “...There is the Holy Akiyan Sea, on that sea there is an island, on that island there is an oak tree, from earth to heaven, from east to west, from the new moon to the old one...”

Faith and worship of the oak tree continued for so long that after Russia adopted Christianity, under pain of church court, it was forbidden to “Petit’s prayer service in front of the oak tree.” After all, just as the gods decided the fate of the whole world and people in particular, sitting under the world tree, so they carried out judgment under the mighty oaks, believing that the sentences pronounced here were sanctified by the deity. There were entire protected sacred oak groves. It was considered blasphemy to enter such a place while walking, much less to pick a branch from a tree. For this, the Magi-priests could condemn the “sacrilege” even to death.

It was everywhere forbidden to cut down sacred oak trees. It was believed that any attempt to harm them (cut them down, break a branch, peel off the bark, and even use their dead wood for firewood) would result in misfortune for the person or for everyone living nearby. Belarusians believed that if you start cutting down an old oak tree, blood will appear from under the ax - the tree will cry tears of blood.

Archaeological finds also indicate the cult role of the oak: in 1975, an ancient oak tree was raised from the bottom of the Dnieper, into the trunk of which 9 boar jaws were inserted. In 1910, a similar oak was extracted from the bottom of the Desna River. Apparently, these trees were used in making sacrifices.

Oak groves were open-air sanctuaries.

The veneration of the oak tree, like many other pagan beliefs, entered Christianity as a symbol of veneration of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Oak, along with aspen, was one of several types of trees from which it was believed that the cross of the Lord could be made. Because of its hardness and endurance, the oak tree has become a symbol of the strength of faith and virtue, as well as the fortitude of Christians in the face of adversity.

The Russian apocrypha spoke of how Judas wanted to hang himself on an oak tree, but “by God’s command the oak bowed down and was preserved.”

A Bulgarian legend told how an oak grove hid God, who was fleeing from the Plague; In gratitude for this, God made sure that the leaves from the oak tree fell only in late autumn.

In beliefs, practical magic and folklore, the oak consistently appears as a male symbol. In signs and prohibitions, the oak is compared with the owner of the house, the head of the family. For example, the Nizhny Novgorod expression “Oak tree bark!” - meaning the husband’s order for his wife to undress him and take off her boots. After bathing a newborn boy, water is poured under an oak tree; when the bride is brought into her husband’s house, she enters first and says to herself: “There are oak trees near the yard, and sons in the house,” if she wants boys to be born to her. In the Vitebsk region, a midwife cut a boy’s umbilical cord on an oak block so that he would grow up strong.

In the Tver province, until the beginning of the 20th century, there was a custom: as soon as a boy was born, his father went into the forest and cut down several oak trees, the logs of which were then taken to the river and immersed in water. There they remained until their son grew up. When he intended to get married, oak logs, which had already turned into bog wood, so strong that it could not be cut with an ax, were taken out of the water and used as the foundation of a house for a new family.

Residents of Polesie considered it unacceptable for an oak tree to grow near their home: they believed that if there was this tree next to the house, then there would be no owner in the house. The Poleshchuks were convinced that if this happened, then as soon as the oak tree reached a size that would allow it to be made into a tombstone cross, the owner of the house would immediately die. According to local beliefs, an oak tree located near a dwelling generally “survives” the men from it.

An oak tree (like a tree in general) modeled the birth and growth of a child (the custom of planting a tree at the birth of a baby). Sometimes the child himself planted an oak tree, then the child’s health was judged by its growth and development: “When a boy plants an oak tree smaller than himself near his hut, it will outgrow the lad’s oak tree - the lad will be healthy, the oak tree does not grow - the lad will get sick.”

The Eastern Slavs have a known prohibition against growing oak trees from acorns: it was believed that a person who planted an acorn would die as soon as the tree became as tall as him. The role of oak in wedding ceremonies is also known. In the Voronezh province, the ancient custom was respected; Coming out of the church after the wedding, the newlyweds headed to the oak tree and drove around three times.

The strength of oak led to its widespread use in funeral rites: for a long time coffins, which in former times were a hollowed out log, and grave crosses were made from it. This can be seen in words and stable combinations of words used in modern language that denote a transition to another world: “look into an oak tree” - die, “give an oak tree”, “put some clothes on” - die. In Russian riddles, death is most often riddled through the image of an oak tree:

At the Tatar border

There is a veretya oak,

No one will go around, no one will go around:

Neither the king, nor the queen, nor the red maiden.

The properties of oak were taken into account in folk medicinal practice. In conspiracies against the most terrible diseases, the image of an oak tree is one of the most common. They not only turned to him in conspiracies, but also used oak trees in the treatment itself.

If a person has back pain, it is good to lean against an oak trunk at the first thunder of spring. There is a well-known East Slavic custom of tucking an oak branch into the belt on the back so that the back does not hurt during the harvest, etc. The Poles hung oak wreaths on the horns of cows so that the cows would be strong and so that the horns would not break when gored.

IN folk medicine Among the southern Slavs, a popular way of treating childhood illnesses, as well as a way to stop child mortality in the family, was the custom of placing cut hair and nails of a sick child or a thread with which the child was previously measured in an oak tree trunk, and then hammering this hole with a peg: when the child outgrows this hole, the disease will leave him.

The oak served as an object to which diseases were symbolically transferred. Belarusians poured water under a young oak tree in which they washed a consumptive patient; Poles with abscesses in their mouths spat into a hole dug under an oak tree; Ukrainians, Poles, Czechs, Moravians left the clothes of the sick person on the oak tree; Bulgarians, Serbs and Macedonians visited revered oak trees and tied ribbons and threads from clothes to their branches. Ukrainians hung towels and skeins of thread on oak trees as a vow.

To relieve a toothache, you need to bite an oak sliver with a sore tooth.

Better yet, find an old oak tree in the forest, next to which springs emerge from the ground, tear off the bark from the branch and soak it in spring water. If you wear such a talisman in your amulet, your teeth will never be disturbed at all.

A sick child can be cured if you split the trunk of a young oak tree in the forest and drag the baby three times between the splits. And then tie the trunk with a rope or sash.

You can walk around the tree with the baby three more times nine times, and then hang a piece of baby clothing on its branch. As the fabric left behind decays, so will the illness leave. From this ritual, the tradition subsequently arose of decorating trees with rags and ribbons, which began to be perceived as sacrifices to forest spirits.

Oaks were considered the habitat of mythological characters. For example, according to the beliefs of the Eastern Slavs, witches flocked to giant oak trees on Kupala night. Among the southern Slavs, large oaks, elms and beeches were called “Samovil”, or “Samodiv” (Samodivs, pitchforks, devils gathered on them).

Green oak near Lukomorye

Golden chain on the oak tree

Day and night the cat is a scientist

Everything goes round and round in a chain

He goes to the right - the song starts.

To the left - he tells a fairy tale.

There are miracles there, the devil wanders there,

A mermaid sits on the branches.

Narrated by A.S. Pushkin.

The presence of oak fruits brings its magical properties closer to the magical properties of fruit trees. Thus, rituals against infertility are usually performed under fruit trees, but sometimes under oak trees.

Oak branches were used as a talisman, stuck into windows and doors of houses before the Kupala night.

The Slavs made amulet from oak bark.

Ancient sages predicted fate by listening to the rustling of oak branches.

In love magic, in order to bring a guy and a girl together, they used a decoction infused with chips of oak and birch, chopped off in the place where these trees grew together.

A love spell on oak was also used. They tied oak and birch together. Having tied the knot, they said: “As I tied you together, so I am tied forever with the servant of God (name). Amen". Then they left without looking back, and never came to this place again.

Birch.

Since ancient times, the slender white-trunked birch tree has become a symbol of Russia. And although birch trees grow all over the world, nowhere are they loved and honored as much as in our homeland.

This has been the case throughout the centuries. After all, the birch Slavic mythology was also considered a sacred tree. Sometimes not only the oak, but the birch was revered by our ancestors as the world tree. This idea remained in the ancient conspiracy: “On the ocean sea, on the island of Buyan, there is a white birch tree with its branches down and its roots up.”

Linguists associate the Russian name for birch with the verb to preserve. This is due to the fact that the Slavs considered birch to be a gift from the gods that protects people.

Associated with birch Slavic rune- Bereginya - Birch, Fate, Mother, Earth.

Bereginya in the Slavic tradition is a female image associated with protection and the protective maternal principle. In archaic antiquity, Makosh, the Mother Goddess, in charge of earthly fertility and the destinies of all living things, acted under the name Beregini. This rune is the rune of fate.

The origin and natural properties of birch are told in legends and beliefs, often associated with biblical characters. In folk legends, the birch acts as a blessed tree, since it sheltered the devil from persecution. Friday, and she also sheltered the Mother of God and Jesus from bad weather: that is why she enjoys the patronage of all three. Or, on the contrary, the birch was considered a tree cursed by God, with the branches of which Christ was whipped. In eastern Polesie there is a legend about the human origin of this tree: birches are the daughters of the first man - Adam - who grew into the ground with their braids, and the sap of the birch is their tears. The white color of the tree trunk is explained in legend by the fact that the birch tree, when Judas wanted to hang himself on it, turned white from fear, but did not accept the traitor.

In Slavic ballads, legends, and fairy tales, it is said that a ruined girl turns into a birch tree. A Belarusian song sings about a birch tree that grew on the grave of a bride who was poisoned by the groom’s mother.

In traditional culture, the birch tree symbolizes the feminine principle. In many beliefs, rituals, and ritual songs, in folklore texts, it is contrasted with the oak tree as a male symbol.

The tender birch tree was revered as a female symbol and was considered the patroness of young girls. Brides came to her both in days of joy and in hours of despair. Clinging to the thin white trunk, they dried their tears, as if absorbing faith, hope, love.

Any spring holiday in Rus' in honor of the awakening nature would not be complete without birch. On Trinity Day, churches and houses were decorated with young birch branches. It was believed that the tree would not be “offended” if it was cut down with love in the name of such a great holiday.

In many Russian provinces on Semnik they went into the forest, chose a young birch tree, decorated it, curled wreaths on its branches, arranged a joint meal under it, danced in circles, and told fortunes. Then, with the felled birch tree (which was sometimes called “semik”), they walked around the village and, at the end of the ritual, threw the birch into the water, into the fire, into the ravine (that is, they “sored off the birch”, “buried” it). The girls had fun with the birch tree, asked for a share of it, and washed themselves with birch sap for beauty and health. This ritual survived until the beginning of the 20th century. and maybe somewhere it is being revived these days.

Trinity morning, morning canon,

In the grove, the birch trees are ringing white.

Written by Sergei Yesenin.

There was such a sign: the girl who was the first to sit down on Trinity Sunday in the shade of the treasured birch tree would be the first among her friends to get married. They also believed that if you sit in the shade of the Trinity birch tree and make a wish, it will certainly come true.

In the mythological ideas of the Slavs, the period of Trinity and Semik referred to those calendar periods when ancestors temporarily left the “other world” and appeared in the world of the living. Their place of residence on earth was the fresh greenery of birch trees. Therefore, for the souls of the “parents,” birch trees were brought from the forest and installed near the houses. These days we went to the cemetery, they brought birch branches, wreaths, and brooms here. The main ritual action was the “plowing” of the graves. They were covered with birch branches, after which the branches were stuck into the grave soil.

Trinity Week was also called “Rusal”: according to legend, only this week mermaids appeared on earth. The birch tree was considered the favorite habitat of mermaids. In mermaid songs they are imagined sitting on a green or crooked birch tree. So, in the Smolensk region they sang:

At Varot Birch

Zilina was freezing

Vettikym waved;

On the one on the birch tree

The mermaid sat down...

They imagined that mermaids lived on weeping birches, swayed on their branches or sat under a tree. Branches were woven on birch trees especially for swinging mermaids.

Thus, the use of birch in Trinity rites was determined by ideas about the image of this tree as the embodiment of fertility, as an object connecting the world of the living and the world of the dead and mythological creatures.

During Trinity Week, girls performed fortune telling, most of which were related to the birch tree. So, for example, at night they wove birch branches with grass into a braid, and the next morning they looked: if the braid came unraveled, then be married this year, if not, stay a girl. They also threw woven wreaths onto a birch tree: depending on whether the wreath caught on the tree or fell to the ground, they decided whether the girl would get married in the next wedding season or not. Wreaths made of birch branches, which were worn on the head all week, were thrown into the river: if the wreath drowns - to death, if it washes to its shore - it awaits the continuation of girlhood, if it floats away to someone else's shore - it will certainly be married.

Birch in folk ideas was endowed protective properties. Birch branches, especially used in Trinity and other calendar rituals, were considered a reliable amulet by the Slavs. Tucked under the roof of the house, they reliably protected from lightning, thunder and hail; stuck in the middle of crops in a field protects from rodents and birds; abandoned on garden beds - they protect the cabbage from caterpillars. With the help of birch branches they tried to protect themselves from evil spirits, especially the “walking dead”. On the eve of Ivan Kypala, birch branches stuck into the walls of the barn prevented the witches from milking milk from other people's cows and harming them in general. On the eve of Ivan Kupala, wreaths of birch branches were placed on the horns of cows so that the cattle would be healthy and produce healthy offspring.

Among the Western Slavs, a birch broom leaned against the bed of a woman in labor or the cradle of a newborn was considered a reliable amulet.

At the same time, birch is often mentioned as an attribute of evil spirits in demonological beliefs and epics. The witch could milk milk from birch branches, and could also fly not only on a broom or a bread shovel, but also on a birch stick. The white horses given to man by the devil turned into crooked birch trees, and the bread given by the devil into birch bark; a woman who was “possessed” by a demon during a seizure “threw” onto a birch tree.. Recently, during excavations near Novgorod, archaeologists found letters written on birch bark by our ancestors almost ten centuries ago. But birch bark is birch bark. The ancient Slavs wrote similar messages, “petitions” to the goblin, the water spirit, on birch bark and pinned them to the tree. They prayed not to deprive the hunter of game, to return lost cattle, to protect him in the forest or on the river.

Conflicting attitudes towards birch are also reflected in popular beliefs.

In some places it was believed that a birch tree planted next to a house would scare away evil and protect from lightning, and it was specially planted with the birth of a child.

In others, on the contrary, they were afraid to plant a birch tree next to the house, citing the fact that the birch tree “cries” a lot and that lightning strikes it again. In Polesie it was believed that a birch tree planted close to a house causes female diseases in its inhabitants; that growths form on birch trees from “women’s curses.”

In the Russian North, a place where birches once grew was considered unlucky, and a new house was not built on it. At the same time, sometimes and in many places birch trees were specially planted near the house for the well-being of the family. A birch branch installed at the front corner during the construction of a house was a symbol of the health of the owner and family. Birch branches were stuck into the field to get a good harvest of flax and cereals. A birch log was buried under the threshold of the new stable, “to guide the horses.” In ancient times, cradles were woven from branches to protect children from illness. If you tie a red ribbon on the trunk of a birch tree, it will protect you from the evil eye.

And yet, more often than not, birch was used as a talisman against evil forces.

They also turned to birch for help when they were ill. If you hit someone who is sick with a birch twig, it will help better than a doctor. And if you pour water under a tree after bathing a sick child and say the desired spell, the disease will spread to the birch tree. You just need to remember to say a conspiracy against a disease, like this one, from angina pectoris: “I’ll throw the toad under the Birch bush so that it doesn’t hurt, so that it doesn’t ache.”

They turned to the birch tree with a request for healing; they also twisted the branches of the tree over the sick person, threatening not to let go until the disease receded from the person.

In Mazovia, a person suffering from malaria had to shake a birch tree with the sentence “Shake me as I shake you, and then stop.”

Birch branches were used to impart fertility not only to the land and livestock, but also to newlyweds. The Slavs carried children through a split birch trunk to save the child from the disease (the birch tree takes it upon itself).

Birch is a “lucky” tree that protects from evil. They said about her: “There is a tree: the cry calms, the light instructs, the sick heals.”

A birch tree growing next to the house drives away nightmares.

The buds, branches, leaves, bark, sap of birch, and growths on the trunk were considered especially healing. The branches blessed in the church on calendar holidays were used to whip the sick person to impart to him the power of the plant. Decoctions for various diseases were made from buds, leaves and growths. Birch sap has long been considered a rejuvenating and cleansing agent. In spring, especially in holidays, girls and women drank the juice and washed their faces with it for beauty and health.

Birch was used in folk magic as a love potion. They cut a birch twig growing to the east and tore off its leaves; the twig was placed on the threshold over which the person being thought about must step, and the leaves, dried and crushed into powder, were placed close to the heart. When the person they thought about came, the powder was mixed into some drink and given to drink. They did it in an unnoticed way.

In Polesie, in order to bewitch a guy, a girl took a branch of a birch tree that had grown together with an oak tree, quietly walked around the guy with it, or gave him a decoction of the bark of this birch to drink.

Birch also played a significant role in life cycle rituals. In marriage rituals, it was used as a wedding attribute - a decorated tree, which was a symbol of each specific bride and the circle of girls as a whole. In the Russian North, birch was an obligatory attribute when preparing a bride's bathhouse: the branches of the tree were stuck into the ceiling and walls of the bathhouse, the road to it was “marked” with pierced branches, and a decorated birch broom was fixed on the top of the bathhouse. To carry out the pre-wedding ablution, the bride tried to choose birch firewood.

Its branches were stuck into a wedding loaf so that everyone in the house would be healthy.

In the East Slavic funeral tradition, birch was used directly in preparing the “place” for the deceased: the coffin was most often covered with birch leaves or brooms, and they were used to stuff a pillow that was placed under the head of the deceased. A birch tree was also planted on the grave.

The intermediary role of the birch in the mythological picture of the world space explains the contradictory ideas about it in popular beliefs. In any case, numerous descriptions of rituals and actions with birch indicate deep reverence for this tree.

Rowan.

In Ancient Rus', the mountain ash was considered the personification of the feminine principle. She was also a symbol of modesty and elegance. Many ritual songs and ceremonies were dedicated to this tree.

Rowan - tree of newlyweds. In the old days, the beautiful rowan tree was used to protect newlyweds: its leaves were spread and hidden in their shoes and pockets. It was believed that they would prevent the evil deeds of sorcerers and witches. And in general, for the well-being of the house, they tried to plant rowan trees near it. The ancient Slavs believed that a person with bad intentions would not enter a house with rowan trees planted under the windows.

In the Russian folk calendar there is a day “Peter-Paul Fieldfare”. It falls at the end of September - the time of ripening of rowan berries. On this day, rowan branches were picked into bunches and hung under the roofs of houses, barns, and various outbuildings. Branches were also stuck at the edge of each field. This custom is associated with the idea of ​​rowan as a tree that can protect from all sorts of troubles.

Rowan was considered a talisman in magic and folk healing. The Slavs said: “Stay under the mountain ash - you will scare away the disease.”

For various illnesses, a person climbed through a rowan bush three times. The Life of Adrian Poshekhonsky tells that after martyrdom Saint (1550), his body was buried in a wasteland where rowan trees grew. Once a year, on Elijah Friday, people from different cities came to this place and organized a fair; sick people came here - adults and children, who climbed through the rowan branches, looking for healing. According to Russian and Belarusian beliefs, those who harm the mountain ash will have toothache. In case of toothache, secretly at dawn they knelt down in front of the rowan tree, hugged and kissed it and uttered a spell: “Rowan berry, rowan berry, take my illness, from now on I will not eat you forever,” and then returned home, without looking back and trying not to no one to meet.

If you take out the core of a rowan growing on an anthill and say: “Do you, rowan, root or body hurt? So God’s servant (name) would not have toothache forever.”

In a collection of conspiracies of the second quarter of the 17th century. Several texts addressed to the mountain ash have been preserved from the Olonets region. “Conspiracy from portage, exile, commotion” was pronounced in the spring near a rowan tree standing on an anthill; You could also make a staff from a rowan tree, chew it and leave a sliver in your mouth behind your cheek, so as not to be afraid of any “kudes” (witchcraft) during the journey. A spell against fever was pronounced at the root of a rowan tree, and then, after tearing it out of the ground, it was placed on the bed near the sick person. At the beginning of the plot “for a hernia for a baby,” “two rowan trees, two curly ones” are described, they grow on a white stone in the middle of the sea-ocean, and between them hangs a golden cradle with a baby.

Among all the Slavs, there was a ban on cutting and breaking rowan, using it for firewood, picking flowers and even berries. Our ancestors considered the rowan tree to be a vengeful tree and believed that whoever breaks it or cuts it down will soon die himself or someone from his house will die. The rowan tree was not supposed to be cut down because the healers transferred the disease from a person to the rowan tree. And if you cut down this tree, the disease passed on to you... This is such a respectful attitude.

In magic, rowan was used to protect the house from magical attacks and evil spirits. To do this, rowan trees were planted near the porch or at the gate. A sprig of rowan with fruits has long been attached above the front door, where it protected both the house and its household from evil spirits. Rowan is a talisman against dashing people and bad news. If you look closely at the underside of the rowan berry, you will notice that its shape is an equilateral five-pointed star, and this is one of the most ancient and most important pagan symbols - a symbol of protection.

In the Novgorod province, upon returning from the cemetery, they hung rowan rods over the door so that the deceased would not return home. In the Voronezh province, a matchmaker sprinkled rowan roots on the groom's boot so that he would not be damaged at the wedding.

There are signs associated with rowan: “A large harvest of rowan means a long and frosty winter.” “Rowan berries in the forest are productive in a rainy autumn, if not, in a dry autumn.”

Willow It was considered a sacred tree among the Slavs, a symbol of the continuity and constancy of life. It is the willow that symbolizes the ancient Slavic pagan god Yarilu. To this day, the custom has been preserved once a year on the night of Ivan Kupala in honor of the sun god to decorate the willow with flowers and burn bonfires near it. At the end of the holiday, willow branches were planted in the courtyards.

In popular belief, it belongs to the trees cursed by God. According to legend, Christ’s tormentors made pins from it to hold the cross together. According to another legend, the nails with which Jesus was crucified were not iron, but made from willow. For this, the willow, according to popular belief, is subjected to sharpening by worms, and devils sit in the dry willow. According to the ideas of Belarusians, on the willow, especially the old one - dry and hollow, From Epiphany to Palm Sunday the devil is sitting. In the spring, the devils warm themselves on the willow tree, and after they are blessed on the holiday, they fall into the water, and therefore from Palm Sunday until Easter you cannot drink water drawn under the willow tree.

The willow in Rus' played the same role as the palm tree, the palm branches with which the people greeted Christ entering Jerusalem. The willow was and is consecrated in the temple with holy water.

Willow was attributed Magic force influence the irrigation of fields and meadows (willow grows in damp places, near water), which means that, the ancestors believed, it contributed to fertility and future harvests. There is a clear connection here with pre-Christian rituals and beliefs, with the cult of the spirits of vegetation and fertility.

It was also believed that willow had the ability to impart health and sexual energy to livestock and people, protect against diseases and cleanse from evil spirits. In ancient times, there was a custom: parents returning from church would whip their children with blessed willow and say: “The willow is a whip!” It brings me to tears. The willow is red, it strikes not in vain.” This was done with the aim of giving children health.

Young women and girls, as well as newlyweds, were beaten with the blessed willow, thereby wanting to make them childbearing.

In Rus', it was customary to keep the consecrated willow at home in the front corner behind the icons all year round. And on the holiday itself, they lash the livestock with willow branches and say: “As the willow grows, so do you grow” - in addition to wishing health to the pets, this was supposed to protect them from evil spirits. Branches of consecrated willow were strengthened in barns and stables. Before the first cattle drive into the field, these twigs were fed to the animals.

The willow was also credited with the power to protect houses from fires, fields from hail, stop a storm, recognize sorcerers and witches, discover treasures, etc.

Following the belief that the willow has universal healing power, our ancestors ate nine cones (earrings) from the consecrated willow, believing that this would protect them from fever. During a thunderstorm, the blessed willow was taken out from behind the shrine and placed on the windowsill - they believed that this would save them from being struck by lightning.

The preparation of willow branches in cities was a special ritual. On the eve of Palm Sunday in the old days, Russians, without distinction of classes and ranks (from the tsar to the commoner), went to break willow on the banks of nearby rivers. In Moscow, for example, to Kitay-gorod and to the banks of the Neglinka, overgrown with willows and willows. Foreigners who visited Moscow in the 16th - 17th centuries left interesting memories of how on Saturday, on the eve of Palm Sunday, before mass, from the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, in front of a large crowd of people, they carried out a large tree (willow), decorated with various artificial fruits, and installed it in a huge sleigh and they were taken as if in a religious procession.

The Slavs believed that willow amulets hung around the neck protected against hellish visions. Willow branches were hung over the doors of residential buildings, because they promised goodness and happiness. Women stuck willow branches into their hair, which protected them from evil spirits, added sharpness to their eyesight, and protected them from blindness.

All Eastern Slavs widely believed that a consecrated branch could protect from thunderstorms, storms, other natural disasters, from evil spirits and diseases. In the Tambov province it was believed that a willow thrown against the wind could drive away a storm, and thrown into a fire could calm it.

In Rus', weeping white willow species were a symbol of melancholy and sadness. In the old days, the willow was called the sadness tree, which not only sympathizes with the pain and illness of a person, but also takes it all away from the patient. There is a belief that willow has magical properties: it protects people from evil spirits, troubles and accidents. If you carry branches of this tree with you, you can get rid of the fear of death.

In folk medicine of Slavic countries, willow was used as an anti-inflammatory and anti-fever remedy for malaria. In Kuban, willow was used in the treatment of childhood diseases. To do this, early in the morning, before sunrise, they went to the river and there they cut the willow three times, nine branches each. At the same time, they counted from nine to one three times. Arriving home, they lowered them into hot water one bunch of nine branches and bathed the child near the window from which the sunrise could be seen. At noon, they put a second bunch of willow in hot water and bathed the child near the window, opposite which the sun stood at that moment. In the evening, when the sun was setting, the same actions were performed with the last bunch of branches in front of the window looking at the sunset. At the end, all the willow branches with water were taken to the river and poured out with prayer so that they would float on the water. It was believed that the disease would recede.

They fumigated sick cattle with willow, ground it into powder and covered wounds with it, made a decoction from it and drank it for various diseases, and also used it as a lotion for tumors and bruises. The blessed willow was fed to cows and sheep, and they said: “It’s not I who give, but the willow.” Just as the talnik does not dry, so you, my God-given cattle, do not dry out.”

Aspen- this plant, full of dignity and beauty, is considered in popular belief as a cursed tree; at the same time, it is widely used as a talisman.

There is a popular belief that demons live in aspen leaves. In Christianity, it is believed that Aspen is guilty of allowing the tormentors of Jesus Christ to make from its wood the cross on which he was crucified, the nails of the knitting needles with which he was nailed to the cross. The Mother of God or Christ himself cursed the aspen and punished it with eternal fear, from which it shakes to this day. According to another legend, the aspen did not show respect: at the moment of the birth of Christ and at his death, it did not calm down and did not bow down, but continued to rustle its leaves and tremble. That is why it trembles without reason, does not bear fruit and cannot cover a person with its shadow. According to other stories, the aspen was punished because by the trembling of its branches it betrayed the Virgin Mary, who was hiding under it with Christ, during the flight to Egypt. Finally, they say that Judas, tormented by fear and repentance, could not find a tree for a long time that would agree to “accept” him, and only Aspen took pity and allowed him to hang himself on it, for which he was immediately cursed by God.

It was forbidden to plant aspen near houses to avoid misfortune, including disease; it was not used in construction, the stove was not heated with it, they avoided sitting in the shade of a tree, they did not bring aspen branches into the house, etc.

In some places among the Eastern Slavs, aspen was also considered a “devil’s” tree, cf. The characteristic Hutsul name for the trait is “Osinavets”. In places where aspen grows, according to legend, devils “hover.” The presence of the devil on the aspen is evidenced by the prohibition to hide under the aspen during a thunderstorm, because “thunder seeks the aspen.” Thunder “strikes” the devil in Slavic beliefs.

According to Belarusian beliefs, witches prepared a harmful potion over a fire from aspen branches; in order to turn into a wolf or become invisible, the sorcerer had to somersault over five aspen pegs driven into the ground, or through an aspen stump; Throwing an aspen branch in front of the traveler, the sorcerer knocked him off the road. Wanting to make friends with the goblin, the man called on him, standing in the forest on fallen aspen trees.

Aspen was used for magical purposes and for fortune telling. To detect a thief, the Poles placed an object that the thief had touched into a split aspen; it was believed that this would make him shake with a fever, and the villain would hasten to return the stolen property. Aspen was used to identify a witch: it could be seen if, on the night before Ivan Kupala, one hid in a barn under a harrow specially made from aspen. To find out which of the women in the village was a witch, the Belarusians drove an aspen stake into the ground, cut chips from it, set them on fire and boiled a strainer (a cloth through which milk is strained) on the fire: it was believed that the witch would certainly come to ask not to burn her with fire.

In folklore, beliefs and rituals, aspen is an effective means in the fight against evil spirits, witches, sorcerers and chthonic creatures. After the death of sorcerers, they burned aspen wood on fire so that they would not harm people. In a Russian fairy tale, heroes defeat Baba Yaga by crushing her with aspen roots; Dobrynya Nikitich hangs the Serpent Gorynych, whom he defeated, on a “gag aspen” (the epic “Dobrynya and the Serpent”). According to Russian and Belarusian beliefs, dead snake You need to hang it on an aspen tree, otherwise it will come to life and bite a person. Conspiracies against snake bites are usually read over aspen bark, and then rubbed over the bitten area. A fire made from aspen wood is considered the most effective means of fighting evil spirits, hence the proverb: let it burn on an aspen tree!

Among the Eastern Slavs, as well as in Poland, an aspen stake was stuck into the grave of a “walking” dead person or vampire. This was often done during funerals so that the deceased would not turn into a “walking” dead man. The sharpened aspen stake received the meaning of Perun's club in the eyes of the people. To protect cows and calves from attacks by witches, they place aspen trees, cut down or uprooted, on the gates and in the corners of the barnyard; during the cattle plague, to drive away the Cow Death, they beat it (that is, wave it through the air) with aspen logs.

In the rituals of the Eastern Slavs, aspen was used as a talisman. On Yuryevsk and Kupala nights, with the help of aspen branches stuck into the walls of the barn, into the gates, barns, they protected cattle from witches who took milk from cows. For the same purpose, when calving cows, a piece of aspen was attached to the horn; The first colostrum was filtered through an aspen pipe and given to the cow. If a cow's milk was sour, she was driven through aspen branches placed along the threshold; they forced a newly purchased horse to step over an aspen log placed at the gate of the yard, etc.

To protect the fields from witches, aspen branches were stuck into the crops; in the same way they protected vegetable gardens from moles, caterpillars, etc. The healer, destroying a plant in a field, tore it out of the ground with aspen sticks and burned it on an aspen fire.

When building a house, aspen pegs were stuck in the corner of the foundation, protecting the house from any harm. Protecting himself from the devil, a man caught in the forest at night went to bed in a circle drawn on the ground with an aspen stick.

As a saving weapon against demonic obsession, aspen can also serve as a healing agent for exorcising evil spirits and diseases. They read the spell over aspen rods, which are then placed on the patient. When your teeth hurt, take an aspen branch and read the spell over it three times: “On the sea on Okiyan, on the island on Buyan there are three tall trees, under those trees lies a hare; Move, toothache, to that hare!” After that, an aspen knot is applied to the diseased teeth.

In folk medicine, various diseases were “transferred” to aspen: in case of fever, the cut hair and nails of the patient were put into a hole drilled in an aspen tree, and the hole was hammered with an aspen peg, believing that this would prevent the fever from coming out. Sometimes the patient’s belongings were buried in a hole under an aspen tree or the patient was seated on a fresh aspen stump, believing that the disease would leave the person and enter him. “Transmitting” the disease to the tree, they asked: “Aspen, aspen, take my quagmire, give me relief!”

In some cases, in exchange for health, a person made a promise not to harm the aspen - not to break its branches, not to chop it, not to burn it. Once he outgrows this place, he will recover. For childhood insomnia, they made a font from aspen for the child or put aspen in his cradle. Aspen was also used to treat toothache, hernia, childhood fear and other diseases. When a cholera epidemic approached, felled aspen trees were stuck into the ground at the four ends of the village, thereby protecting the village from the spread of the disease.

Healers advised those suffering from paralysis to lie down and rest their feet on an aspen log. The patient recovers if the spell is read over aspen rods and placed on his chest.

Everyone knows that the best way fight against werewolves and vampires - aspen stake. Aspen absorbs and diverts negative energy from the other world. It was this property that was considered magical in earlier times. In the aspen grove, psychics and magicians lose their abilities. Here you can find refuge from magical persecution, protect yourself from an energy vampire, and partially neutralize the consequences of damage or the evil eye.

Hawthorn. Among the Slavs, hawthorn is a noblewoman, hawthorn and a symbol of chastity.

The ritual functions of hawthorn are due to its thorniness, which makes this shrub similar to blackberries, rosehips, and blackthorns. In some nationalities, hawthorn is called thorn. Hawthorn was one of several plants intended to make a wreath for Christ.

The association between its spring flowering and virginity has led to popular belief that he defends chastity. Hawthorn flowers were used for wedding wreaths. However, the smell of hawthorn flowers could foretell death.

With the help of hawthorn, you can prevent a dead person from becoming a vampire. To do this, the belly or heel of the deceased was pierced with a hawthorn thorn, and for good measure, a hawthorn bush was also planted on the grave, and for good measure, a hawthorn bush was also planted on the grave. Branches of the plant were placed in the chimney if it was suspected that a vampire was entering the house through it. It is believed that the stick from this prickly plant You can drive away the devil and kill him with a knife whose handle is made of hawthorn. Hawthorn was placed on the threshold of a cow pen to prevent witches from entering.

There is a belief that demons live in thorny bushes, and hawthorn is a pitchfork tree.

Among the southern Slavs, an earthquake is also explained by the shaking or damage of a tree on whose branches the Earth is located, or a pillar on which it is supported. In eastern Serbia they say that the entire earth is located on the branches of a huge hawthorn to which a large black dog is tied. This dog constantly gnaws the hawthorn, and when there is very little left, he begins to try with all his might to break it. This makes the Earth shake, but does not collapse, because as soon as the trunk cracks, like St. Peter baptizes the tree with the rod and the hawthorn becomes whole again.

From the evil eye and damage, its branches were placed under the pillow, and at the same time protected from diseases.

Elder.

In popular belief, elderberry is one of the so-called cursed, dangerous plants, since the devil lives in it. In Ukraine, for example, they believe that the devil “planted” the elderberry tree and now constantly sits under it. In the apocryphal traditions of Christianity, the elderberry challenges the aspen for the dubious honor of being the very tree on which Judas Iscariot hanged himself.

According to another legend, the devil hanged himself on an elderberry tree, which is why its leaves and berries emit a corpse-like smell. The Polish legend says this. that the first demon settled in a huge hole and planted an elderberry on top so that it would protect him. The Serbs considered the elderberry bush to be the habitat of the pitchfork.

Perhaps this is why elderberry was not used in family and calendar rituals, but was widely used in magic, amulets, and healing.

At the same time, it was believed that the elderberry was the abode of household spirits, bringing good to the owners, guardians of the household, etc. In Polish and Ukrainian conspiracies, elderberry is identified with Adam; they address her with the words “Elderberry Adam,” “Man of God, Holy Adam,” explaining that both the elderberry and Adam have existed since the foundation of the world.

It was forbidden to burn elderberry to avoid toothache. Children's toys were never made from it, so that children would not have headaches. Among the Poles, Hutsuls, and Lusatian Serbs, it was forbidden to sleep under the elderberry tree, urinate under it, or climb on the elderberry tree. Elderberry was not used as fuel, so as not to bring bedbugs and fleas into the house.

There was a ban on uprooting elderberries (if it was necessary to uproot them, cripples or mentally ill people were specially hired for this work).

Violation of this prohibition, according to beliefs, could lead to misfortune or illness, for example, rheumatism (“if you chop an elderberry, it will twist your legs and arms”). It was believed that where the elderberry bush was dug up, nothing would ever grow.

These taboos were lifted if the elderberry was chopped or broken for any specific purpose: as medicine, for decorating a church or making fences, for fuel. It was possible to break elderberries on a certain day (on Holy Thursday, before noon).

Elderberry was used to magically treat illnesses. They poured water under the elderberry tree, in which they bathed a sick child, in the hope that the disease would take away the spirit living under the bush. They tied the elderberry with threads from the clothes of a person with a fever. Elderberry was used for incantations that were read under the plant when treating toothache: “Holy elderberry, I keep you from being burned by fire, and you keep me from toothache.” To protect a child from headaches, the Slovenians buried his cut hair under an elderberry tree, and the Slovaks bathed young children in a decoction of elderflower flowers to ensure their health.

And those with radiculitis knelt before the elderberry and asked her to take over their illness: “Elderberry! Dazhbog sent me to you so that you could take upon yourself my illness!”

Among the southern Slavs, elderberry was widely used for bites from snakes, scorpions and wasps, and was also used in folk veterinary medicine.

Among the Czechs and Slovenes, girls turned to elderberry during fortune telling about marriage. On Christmastide, the girl went to the elderberry bush, shook it and said: “I’m shaking, I’m shaking the elderberry, respond, dog, from the other side where my dear lives,” and listened to where the dogs bark. It was believed that during fortune telling one could see one's betrothed in an elderberry bush.

In Ukraine, conspiracies addressed to the elderberry are widely known: “from misfortune”, “so that the court does not sue”, “to gain strength and courage”, “to get rid of any trouble”.

Elderberry branches were used as a universal amulet. They were used to decorate houses, outbuildings, and fences to protect against witches on the nights of St. Yuryev and Kupala, and were simply carried with them. In the Balkans, elderberry branches (along with other plants) were used in rainmaking rituals. They decorated the dodola, peperuda, and Herman's doll from head to toe, and at the end of the ceremony, they threw the branches into the water.

In Russia there was a belief that if you set off on a journey with an elder staff, then neither evil people nor wild animals. The method of making a talisman cane can be found in ancient Russian herbalists. At the sight of such a cane, evil spirits run away as fast as they can.

Spruce. According to legend, the spruce sheltered the Virgin Mary during her flight with Christ to Egypt. According to another legend, she sheltered Christ, who was hiding from the plague, for which she received a blessing and was rewarded by remaining green forever.

The prickliness of spruce, as well as the strong resinous smell, determine its use as a talisman. In Ukraine fir branches(together with rosehip branches and nettles) were stuck on the eve of Kupala night in front of the gate, barn, in the eaves of the roof and other places to protect cattle from witches, pigs from diseases. At the first milk yield, the Poles filtered the milk through spruce branches placed crosswise so that it would not spoil. Spruce branches were widely used to protect buildings and cultural spaces from bad weather. In Moravia, they decorated crosses with them, which were stuck into crops to protect them from hail at Easter. However, fir branches consecrated at Christmas, Epiphany, Candlemas, Easter or on the Nativity of John the Baptist were considered a more effective remedy. In Belarus, consecrated spruce branches along with incense were placed at the four corners of the house to protect it from thunder. The branches that were stuck into the ice on the sides of the hole for Epiphany were brought home, placed behind the icons and stuck into the roof - from wind and thunder; tied to apple trees in the garden to protect the trees from storms; they stuck it into the wall, put it under the house, in the underground - “so that the storm wouldn’t touch it.”

Spruce is a female tree. Probably, it is precisely with the “female” symbolism of the spruce that the ban on planting and generally having a spruce near the house is associated, which supposedly “survives” from the men’s house. According to Serbian beliefs, if a spruce tree grows near a house, no boys will be born there. In the Russian North, they did not plant a spruce near the house, fearing that otherwise “the men will not live, they will die, there will be only widows.”

The ban on planting spruce near the house can be explained by the fact that spruce belongs to non-fruit trees (according to the Bulgarian legend, the spruce is “barren” because it was cursed by the Mother of God). In Belarus, spruce was not planted for fear that “nothing would be done in the house”, “nothing would be born either in the barn or at home.” They especially avoided keeping a spruce tree near the houses of newlyweds, so that they would not remain childless, “so that the family would not be uprooted.”

In the beliefs of the Eastern Slavs, spruce is also related to the field of folk demonology. According to the Vladimir tale, the brownie lives in a large pine or spruce branch suspended somewhere in the yard. The children of the forest spirits lie in cradles hanging on spruce and pine trees, and the children of mermaids lie under the spruce. The devils lead the cursed children and the children they dragged into the forest through the fir trees; the goblin puts lost children to sleep under the fir tree.

According to legend, on behalf of the sorcerers, the cursed children abandoned to them, as well as the devils who demand work from the sorcerers, are counting needles. There is a conspiracy against childhood insomnia: “Go, dawn, into the forest, sit on the Christmas tree, count your needles. There's business for you, there's work for you. Don’t hurt my dear child.”

According to Slavic beliefs, the devil hides under a spruce tree during a thunderstorm, bringing thunder and lightning upon himself. This explains the ban on being under a spruce tree during a thunderstorm.

Spruce has found wide use in funeral and memorial rituals. Among the Old Believer runners, it was customary to dig up the roots of a large spruce tree right in the forest, turn it out of the ground a little and place the body of the deceased without a coffin in the resulting hole, and then plant the spruce in its original place, “as if nothing had happened here for centuries.” This is consistent with the Olonets testimony about the funeral of the gallows between two spruce trees, as well as the motif of a funeral under a spruce tree in Serbian epic songs.

A coffin was often made from spruce (as well as pine and birch), in the hope that it would not allow the deceased to “walk” after death. This was reflected even in Russian carol curses addressed to the owner who gave bad gifts to the carolers: “If you don’t give it, New Year a spruce coffin for you, an aspen lid.”

Everywhere there was a custom of throwing fir branches on the road to the cemetery, both before and after the funeral procession. In this way they “covered” or “swept out” the path for the deceased so that “he would not come and disturb.”

Among the Western Slavs, spruce branches were used as an evergreen plant; garlands from it and spruce wreaths are one of the most common grave decorations. A felled spruce (as well as cypress and juniper pine), often decorated with flowers or ribbons, could be installed or, less often, planted on the grave of a guy or girl who died before marriage.

The spruce also served as a ritual tree, mainly in the Christmas and New Year, Maslenitsa, Trinity and Kupala festivals, as well as at weddings.

Spruce was considered a symbol eternal life, unfading. This is where the custom began at Christmas (later on New Year) of decorating the house with this tree.

There is a sign: “You can’t cut down a century-old spruce - it will lead to trouble.” - People believe that an old, centuries-old spruce tree is the home of a devil. If you cut it down, the goblin will begin to take revenge on everyone accessible ways, even to the point of arson. And he will certainly lead him off the road in the forest, where he is the master.

Kalina Since ancient times, among the Slavic peoples it has been a symbol of youth, girlhood, fun and revelry. In folk legends, this is a woman, her fate, her share. It blooms with a delicate white color, shining with the purity of innocence. But then comes marriage. Joy comes in half with grief. When a flower quickly fades, feelings quickly fade. A berry is born - either bitter or sweet. In the rain and wind, fragile viburnum branches break.

Viburnum guai have long been called sacred. It was forbidden to graze cows or cut down bushes near them. According to legend, if you rock a baby in a viburnum cradle, he will grow up to be melodious. The red color of viburnum has enormous amulet power, which is why the bride’s outfit used to always be red.

In the old days, viburnum was always present in the wedding ceremony. It is the main decoration of the bride's wreath, wedding tree, wedding loaf and other wedding attributes. The bride's wreaths were woven from viburnum, periwinkle and other fragrant herbs - this ensured the love of the newlyweds for many years.

Viburnum is also a symbol of procreation; there is even an expression: “Viburnum gave birth to the family.”

In Ukraine, when a girl was born into a family, berries and viburnum leaves were placed in the first font so that she would be beautiful, rosy, happy and healthy. Kalina was hung next to the woman in labor so that she and her child would be healthy and happy.

At the same time, viburnum is a tree and a funeral, memorable one - “you, my sisters, will plant a viburnum in my head.”

In the songs, murdered, sworn people, lovers who died of love turn into viburnum.

Viburnum with drooping branches symbolizes the girl’s sadness. Breaking viburnum branches - Symbolized getting a girl married. Collecting viburnum, walking through viburnum - looking for love or loving. In Ukraine, viburnum is credited with special powers: the viburnum color, picked and applied fresh to a loving heart, consoles longing.

Of the entire chain of images associated with viburnum, only the “viburnum bridge” was associated with daring and youth. Walking along the Kalinov Bridge meant indulging in selfless fun and revelry. In one song, a melancholy girl asks the fellows to “build her a viburnum bridge,” that is, to cheer her up, and a woman, striving to regain her youth, catches up with them on the Kalinov bridge with the words: “Oh, I caught up with my years on the Kalinov bridge; oh, come back, come back for a visit at least for an hour!”

Kalina is planted on the grave of a son, brother, young Cossack, and generally unmarried people.

Maple .

In the legends of the Western and Eastern Slavs, maple is a tree into which a person has been turned (“sworn”). It is for this reason that maple wood could not be used for firewood (“maple came from man”). It was impossible to make a coffin from its trunk (“it is a sin for a living person to rot in the ground”). It was forbidden to place maple leaves under bread in the oven (a palm with five fingers was seen in a maple leaf).

The transformation of a person into a maple tree is one of the popular motifs of Slavic legends: a mother “cursed” a disobedient son (daughter), and musicians walking through the grove where this tree grew made a violin out of it, which in the voice of the son (daughter) talks about the mother’s guilt.

In songs about a mother or a poisoner's wife, sycamore (white maple) grows on the grave of her murdered son (husband).

And in the South Slavic tradition, where such songs are unknown, the maple, nevertheless, is also thought of as involved in human destiny. According to Serbian beliefs, if a dry maple tree is hugged by an unjustly convicted person, the maple will turn green, but if an unhappy or offended person touches a maple tree that is turning green in the spring, the tree will dry up.

According to an ancient tradition, when a house was built, a couple of maples were planted on its southern side. Since a house was usually built when a new family was created, these trees received the names “Groom” and “Bride.” But, probably, in former times these two maples, under whose protection the house was all year round, were called the trees of the god and goddess.

The maple symbolized the ability to magically protect, love and material well-being.

Maple was used in the construction of bridges over running water. Running water is an obstacle to dark forces, and the maple did not allow these forces to use the bridge.

Maple branches covering the barn or stuck into the walls protect livestock from the evil eye and damage.

The maple was called the good tree, believing that it was the seat of deities or demons.

It was believed that the maple tree brings happiness and protects against lightning, so it was planted near the house.

In Rus', in order to prevent a witch from entering the yard and house, maple branches were stuck in the doors. To scare away evil forces, maple fruits were buried under the threshold of the house, and a green branch was hung over the bed.

Maple leaves were often depicted on Easter eggs.

The maple arrow is believed to kill the undead.

In agricultural magic, maple branches were used to grow flax. They were stuck into the arable land, saying: “Lord, give us flax, like a maple tree.”

There is a belief that there is a very strong connection between a person and the maple tree that grows next to his house. And as long as a person is alive and well, the maple tree grows and turns green.

Maple is a melodious tree. “Stretch a ringing string on a dry branch of a wedge tree, sing me your daring song...” is a frequent motif of ancient legends. Sadko's harp was made from maple.

Maple branches were used in the rites of the Trinity, Green Christmastide, and Midsummer. In Polesie, the Saturday before Trinity was called “maple”, “maple Saturday”. On the holiday, one or three trees were placed at the doors and windows, and the house was decorated with branches. It was believed that at this time the souls of deceased relatives come to the house and hide in maple branches.

After the holidays, trees and branches were not thrown away; they were burned or chopped for firewood.

There are signs associated with maple: “If the maple leaves curl up and expose their lower surface to the wind, it means it will rain.” “The maple sap has started flowing - the spring frosts are over.”

For women, it symbolizes a young man, slender and strong, kind and loved.

In Ukraine, maple and linden were represented as a married couple, and the fall of maple leaves promised separation from family

Linden The name of this tree in all Slavic languages ​​comes from the word “stick” (due to the viscous sap). Linden was attributed to softness, which made it a symbol of femininity, tenderness, the opposite of the “male” tree - oak. Among the Slavs, the linden tree was read not just as a symbol of a woman, but as the “mother of trees,” the giver of life (this attitude is associated with the role of the linden tree in a person’s material well-being). Just as the oak was dedicated to Perun, so the linden was the tree of the goddess Lada.

In Russian folk art, the beautiful linden tree is connected by love with both oak and maple.

Linden was closely associated with the Orthodox cult and Christian legends. It was she who was considered the tree of the Virgin Mary; they said that the Mother of God rested on it, descending from heaven to earth. Icons and icons were hung on the linden tree; on the linden tree, according to legend, miraculous icons appeared (“appeared”) more often than other trees. According to legends, the linden tree covered the Virgin Mary and little Christ with its branches during their flight to Egypt. Linden is a tree revered as sacred in all Slavic traditions. Among the southern Slavs, old large linden trees traditionally grew near churches and temples, especially ancient ones; Courts were held under these linden trees, holidays and meetings of residents were held. We stopped under the linden trees religious processions during religious processions through the fields, meals were held here, etc.

Linden was also considered happy tree, which they were not afraid to keep near houses and plant on graves. They also said that it was good to sleep under a linden tree. The sacred nature of the tree led to the use of linden wood to carve a “living” fire, with the help of which the fire in household hearths was renewed annually.

In this regard, it was natural to prohibit touching the revered linden trees, damaging them, chopping them, breaking branches, defecating under them, etc. It was known that if a person plucks a linden branch, his horse will certainly fall, but if the person returns the branch to its place, the horse will recover. The Poles were also wary of cutting down linden trees, believing that otherwise either the person who cut down the tree or someone from his family would die.

Ukrainians say about the linden tree that God gave it a special power - to save husbands from curses with which their wives “reward” them. The linden tree takes everything upon itself, which is why its trunk is covered in growths. And one more thing: you can’t hit cattle with a linden tree - they’ll die.

Use linden as a universal amulet. It was widely believed that the linden tree was not struck by lightning, so they planted it near houses and were not afraid to hide under it during a thunderstorm. The Russians hung linden crosses on the neck of a person tormented by obsessions. When grazing cattle, they stuck a linden branch in the middle of the pasture so that the cows would not wander far and could not be touched by animals in the forest. Everywhere in Russia it was believed that a witch could be discouraged from becoming a werewolf if she was hit backhand with a naked linden stick. Brave people also drove away the devil who became attached to them. During weddings, residents of Herzegovina held a linden branch over the heads of the newlyweds as a talisman. It was used to decorate houses and corrals with livestock on St. George’s Day and Trinity Sunday.

Like many other trees, linden played an important role in folk medicine: various diseases were transferred to it everywhere, driving pieces of the patient’s clothing, nails and hair into the tree trunk; they fumigated sick people and livestock with smoke from burnt linden wood, etc.

Alder- a tree mentioned in the legends of Western and Eastern Slavs. They tell how the devil, competing with God at the creation of the world, tried to create a wolf, but could not revive him; By the will of God, the wolf came to life and rushed at the devil, who was hiding from him on an alder tree. Then the blood from the devil’s heel, bitten by the wolf, fell on the alder tree, causing its bark to turn red. According to another legend, God created a sheep, in response to which the devil created a goat and, wanting to show off to God, dragged it to God by the tail. On the way, the goat escaped from the devil and hid on an alder tree. Since then, the goats have no tail, and the alder bark has become red from the goat’s blood.

It is also mentioned in the legends about the crucifixion of Christ: alder branches were broken during the scourging of Christ, for which Christ blessed this tree.

Among the Southern Slavs, Alder is used in folk medicine; “living fire” is carved from it.

In the Russian North, it was customary to leave a sacrifice to the field or forest spirits on an alder tree - usually in the form of bread and salt.

Because of its red color, alder became magical amulet. Like anything bright, red bark attracts the eye and, accordingly, protects against the evil eye.

Even if the bark is hidden in a pocket, the person is reliably protected. Hence the popular tradition of putting pieces of alder in newlyweds’ pockets to protect the newlyweds from damage. Its branches are stuck along the edges of the field for protection from hail and bad weather; They bathe in the water that washes the alder roots to protect themselves from diseases.

When you have a fever, you need to go into the forest and sit on a freshly cut Alder stump, and then the fever will spread to the tree. The Poles believed that the water washing the roots of Alder turns black; if you swim in such water, the body will turn black, but at the same time the person will be saved from all diseases.

In Poland, on Trinity Sunday they decorated houses with Alder branches to ward off thunderstorms and hail. The Poles stuck Alder branches into barley crops to prevent moles from tearing up the soil, and also placed Alder branches under sheaves to protect them from mice. Belarusians believed that Alder could protect households from visits from the “walking dead man,” since it bears “the red blood of Satan.” For the same reasons, in Polesie people planted Alder near houses so that “the devil would not get attached” to a person. The Slovaks placed a piece of alder leaf in the shoes of the newlyweds going to the wedding ceremony.

Hazel The Western and Southern Slavs have a sacred tree. Hazel belonged to the “blessed” trees, which “are not struck by thunder”: during a thunderstorm, they hid under its branches. They decorated houses with crosses made of hazel, stuck them into fields and outbuildings, especially on St. George’s Day, on Ivan Kypaly; It was believed that the thunderstorm would bypass places protected by hazel. At the same time, it was believed that thunder and lightning, which have no power over the tree itself, have a detrimental effect on its fruits. The nuts spoil, turning black, as if burning from the inside. Due to its status, hazel was widely used as a guard against evil spirits. Demons. The Bulgarians drove out those who caused insomnia on children by walking around the child’s cradle with a lit walnut branch. They used hazel branches to protect themselves from mermaids. Hazelnut was an effective amulet against snakes and mice. The Bulgarians believed that snakes were not only afraid of hazel, but also died from it. Czechs and Slovaks put hazelnut branches in barns, beat them on the walls of houses and storerooms, thus driving out mice from there.

The South Slavs did not plant hazel trees, believing that when its trunk reached the neck of the person who planted it, it would die.

During Christmas fortune-telling, Slovenians, summoning evil spirits to crossroads, outlined a magical circle around themselves with the help of a hazel branch.. In Bulgaria, Macedonia and eastern Serbia, the hazelnut and its branches were considered the habitat of the souls of ancestors who visited the earth during the Trinity period. Therefore, on the eve of Trinity, people avoided picking hazel branches, fearing to disturb the souls of the dead. On Ascension or on Spiritual Day, they decorated houses with hazelnut branches, laid them on the floor in the house and in the church, knelt down on them, prayed and, pressing their ears to the hazel branches, listened to them. It was believed that in this way one could hear the dead and even speak to them. At the end of the day, these walnut branches were taken to the cemetery and swept over the graves with them, so that in the “other world” the soul of the deceased could take refuge in their shadow.

Christmas fortune-telling speaks about the connection between hazelnuts and the cult of ancestors. It was believed that an empty nut foreshadows death and a hungry, lean year, while a full one portends prosperity and health.

The rosehip protected the newlyweds from the action of harmful forces. In Croatia, three rose hips were stuck into the groom's hat to protect him from the evil eye; After the wedding, the bride's veil was thrown onto a rosehip tree, to which she bowed nine times.

In Serbia, to protect a child from a witch, a rose hip was sewn into his clothes and placed next to him; In Bulgaria, it was forbidden to dry a newborn’s diapers on a rose hip, so that the samodivas living under it would not harm him.

In Croatia, rose hips were kept in the house to prevent the plague from entering it. To prevent the witch from taking the milk from the cows, on St. George’s Day they decorated the doors of the house with rosehip branches, stuck them in front of the entrance to the house and into the barn. Rose hips protected both people and livestock from snake bites; for example, the Poles fumigated cattle and shepherds with smoke from rose hips before driving them out to pasture.

It was believed that rose hips provided fruitful power, so rose hips were often paired with fruit trees in rituals. In Poland and Slovakia, as many rose hips were baked into Christmas bread as the number of heads of cattle the owner had: it was believed that the animals would not get sick, and the cows would give more milk. In the Czech Republic, cattle were fed rose hips at Easter.

The Kuban Cossacks have a legend that rose hips grew from the blood of a girl who, not wanting to marry someone she didn’t love, stabbed herself with a dagger. In the fall, this bush was dressed in an outfit of red berries, but only a kind person could pick them. If you approached him evil person, the bush bristled with thorns and did not allow me to pick a single berry.

In folk medicine: diseases were referred to it, water after treatment was poured under a rose hip bush. At the same time, the rosehip could give health, for which an exchange was made between the patient and the rosehip bush: the patient took the red thread that hung on the rosehip during the night, and entangled the bush with a yellow thread that hung around his neck for a day and said: “I’ll give you a yellow thread.” , and you give me a red thread.” The disease passed on to the rosehip, and the life-giving power of the rosehip to the patient. In Bulgaria, a patient with epilepsy was measured with a rosehip rod, which was buried in the place where the seizure occurred. In gratitude, the healer hung a red thread with coins strung on a rose hip and left a cake, wine, oats and three horseshoes under the bush. In Serbia, a sick person, in order to get rid of an illness, climbed through a split rosehip twig, which was then tied with a red thread.

Rejuvenating apples, according to Russian legends, had great power: they could not only impart health and youth, but also restore life to the deceased. They grew up in a distant country, and were guarded by evil giants or dragons. In Slavic mythology, all approaches to the Irian Garden, Alatyr Mountain and the apple tree with golden apples are guarded by griffins and basilisks. Whoever tries these golden apples will receive eternal youth and power over the Universe. And the apple tree itself with golden apples is guarded by griffins and the dragon Ladon himself.

It has been known since ancient times that the apple tree is a tree of feminine power. The fruits of the apple tree have long been used as a love spell.

Apples and apple tree branches play an important role in Slavic wedding ceremonies. The apple served as a function love sign: a guy and a girl, having exchanged fruits, expressed mutual sympathy and publicly declared their love. An apple accepted by a girl during matchmaking is a sign of consent to marriage. The Southern Slavs invite people to a wedding by delivering apples to their homes.

An apple branch is used to make a wedding banner and tree; apples are placed in the bride's wreath. Belarusians, Poles and Ukrainians stick branches of an apple tree into a loaf, and Russians stick them into a baked wedding chicken. Among the southern Slavs, when going to a wedding, the bride took an apple with her; in the church after the wedding she threw an apple behind the altar in order to have children.

Apples were given to newlyweds so that they would have many children; On the first wedding night, one apple was placed under the feather bed, and the second was broken in half, and each of the newlyweds ate half. The apple is a symbol of the bride’s chastity: it was placed on the wedding shirt or instead of it in a sieve. Under the apple tree, the Southern Slavs performed the ritual shaving of the groom before the wedding; when changing the bride's headdress to a headdress married woman the cover was removed from her head with an apple branch and thrown onto the apple tree.

Among the southern Slavs, on Christmas and New Year, the youngest member of the family brought a branch of an apple tree into the house, it was stuck into a Christmas roll; They hit all household members and livestock with an apple tree rod, and then threw them onto the apple tree.

The apple is the embodiment of fertility: it was placed in the seed grain so that the wheat would grow large, like apples, and to protect the crops from being robbed.

The last Apple was not plucked from the tree: it was left on the branch so that there would be a harvest next year.

In Slovakia, a young housewife, upon arriving at a new house, would turn over a basket full of apples so that there would be abundance in the household.

The apple that appeared after the secondary flowering of the apple tree, or the first one on the tree, helped against infertility. young tree, as well as hanging on an apple tree for a long time.

The apple is associated with the world of the dead and plays a significant role in funeral rites: it was placed in a coffin, in a grave, so that the deceased would take it to the “other world” to his ancestors. In Bulgarian beliefs, Archangel Michael accepted a soul into heaven only with an apple. The apple on the table on Christmas Eve was intended for the dead, so in Poland, fearing the revenge of their ancestors, it was forbidden to take apples from the Christmas tree.

The apple tree acts as a mediator between two worlds, as a connecting link in connecting the soul to the world of ancestors. In Serbia and Bulgaria, a small apple tree was carried in front of the coffin and planted on the grave (instead of a cross) so that the dead could communicate with the living through it. It was believed that the tree was with the deceased on the way until his transition to the “other world.” When the apple tree withered, it meant that the soul had reached heaven.

It was believed that before the Apple Savior, i.e. Before the blessing of apples, mermaids live on the apple tree, damn. Apples were blessed in the church on the Transfiguration (Apple Savior) and only after that they were allowed to be eaten.

In addition, apples are used to remove warts using magical rather than medical methods. An apple cut horizontally in half reveals a five-pointed star, and the wood and flowers of the apple tree are used in love witchcraft.

At the same time, the pear was treated as a habitat of evil spirits: in Macedonia, the wild pear is included in a number of trees called “Samovil”; it was forbidden to sleep under it, sit, tie a cradle to it, etc. In Polesie people were afraid to stand under a pear tree during a thunderstorm. According to Serbian beliefs, on Grusha (growing in a field, with a dense crown, crooked), veshtits and challs lived, witches gathered at night, strigas danced; during the ritual expulsion from the village of Chumy, a sacrifice was left for her on an old pear tree. Under the pear tree lived a snake that sucked milk from a cow every evening. The treasure was buried under a pear tree or a pear tree was planted in the place of the buried treasure. In many Slavic zones, a dry pear, like a willow, was considered the habitat of the devil, so old trees were not cut down for fear of incurring a loss on the farm.

In the Ukrainian charm tradition, the pear is correlated with the world tree (oak) and is the tree of the antiworld, the tree of evil and infertility, and is opposed to the apple tree.

Branches, fruits, wood, and pear ash served as a talisman and were used in productive magic. The Bulgarians made the pole of the wedding banner from a pear branch, the Ukrainians stuck a pear branch into the wedding loaf. When the bride was on her way to the wedding, dried pears were scattered at all the crossroads; in Polesie, the mother showered the groom with pears so that he would be rich; in Plovdiv it was believed that the barren young woman had to eat the pear that hung on the tree the longest. To keep the newborn healthy, pear branches were placed in the first font and water was poured after bathing under the pear. The first fruits were blessed and distributed to neighbors as a memorial service.

In calendar rituals, branches and pear trees were more often used. In southwestern Bulgaria and Macedonia, a pear tree was cut down for the badnyak, sometimes a wild one, because of its abundant fruiting, so that the house would be fruitful and rich. The fireman stirred the fire in the hearth with a pear branch, pronouncing good wishes; the owner took it to the chicken coop so that the chickens would lay eggs well.

In Serbia, they treated warts and abscesses by rubbing them with a pear fruit, after which they threw them out on the road with the words: “Whoever takes me, whoever bites me off, he’ll have a disease, and he’ll have health.” The disease was “hammered” into the pear into a hole drilled in the trunk; in northern Bulgaria, childless people were treated under a pear tree, whose shadow did not fall on other trees. To ensure your health whole year, on Midsummer's Day they climbed through a wreath twisted on a pear branch.

The Slavs treated fruit trees with special trepidation, because in folk tradition they were the focus of fruit-bearing power.

The fruit tree often acts as a mythological double of man. In ancient Slavic traditions, there is a known custom of planting a fruit tree at the birth of a child, so that he grows and develops like a tree, and the tree, in turn, will bring a rich harvest of fruit. In case of illness of a child, this tree was used to guess his fate: if the tree began to dry out, the child could die and vice versa.

An uprooted apple tree in the garden foreshadowed the death of the owner or mistress. In Polesie, after the death of the owner, it was customary to cut down a pear or apple tree.

Almost everywhere, the fruit tree was associated with the feminine principle. This is even evidenced by the fact that in Slavic languages ​​all fruit trees are feminine in the grammatical gender of their names.

According to legends, in order to get rid of infertility, a woman had to eat the first buds, flowers or fruits from a fruit tree, and also crawl under the branches bent to the ground, saying at the same time: “Just as you are not infertile in your family, so I will not be.” barren in its

A pregnant woman was forbidden to climb trees, pick fruits, or even touch a fruit tree, otherwise the tree, according to legend, could dry out.

Water was poured under the fruit tree in which the woman in labor washed herself; it was she who they tried to treat with the first fruits of the new harvest.

All Slavs know the ban on cutting down fruit trees. Cutting them down was considered a sin. Violation of this rule could cause death, injury, or drought.

Fruit trees were practically not used in healing magic; in particular, diseases and “lessons” were not “transferred” to them.

The wood of fruit trees was widely used for making amulets.

In general, we can say that all fruit trees have a positive effect on humans.

Information about the magical properties of trees was preserved in the minds of the Slavs only in echoes. They can be found in fairy tales, epics, and warnings. Sometimes you can hear: “Don’t hide under a tree during a thunderstorm!”, “Don’t dry your laundry on the branches of a tree!”, “Don’t break the tree!”. The warnings are still alive in our memory, but no one or almost no one knows why one should not do this or that. Under the influence of Christianity, some ideas about the magical properties of plants and the reasons for these properties have changed, and some have been lost. Therefore, in this chapter, my goal was to collect information about the magical properties of trees in the life of the ancient Slavs, and to trace the role they played in the life of our ancestors

Introduction. The study of natural regeneration is of particular importance in afforestation. Such studies make it possible to determine the quantity and quality of the young generation replacing the maternal tree stand. Of great interest is the establishment of the sustainability of stands dominated by Scots pine.

The current growth of young trees is an objective indicator for assessing the condition of the undergrowth, since the forest stand can have both negative and positive effects on it.

It is known that the quantity and quality of undergrowth under the forest canopy largely depends on the species composing the forest stand. The advantage of natural regeneration from the point of view of biology and economics was emphasized by G.F. Morozov.

Weiss A.A. found that as the plant grows, the influence of trees on each other increases.

Iteshina N.M., Danilova L.N., Petrov L.V. determined that pine stands of natural origin have lower growth rates compared to artificial plantings.

The main sources revealing the issues of morphological relationships that affect both the growth and condition of plantings were the works of Weiss A.A. .

The purpose of the study was to assess the growth of young animals in height under the canopy and in the open.

Objects and research methods. The research objects were located on the territory of the Usinsk forestry. For the research, forest areas with density of 0.4, 0.7 and an open place were selected.

The work was carried out at the end of the growing season - in September. A total of 3 trial plots were established. On each trial plot there were 30 experimental plots of 1*1 m, where a selective census of pine undergrowth was carried out (seedlings were not taken into account) with the measurement of linear indicators. On selected trial plots, measurements were taken of growth, age by whorls, height measurements, crown diameter and trunk diameter of Scots pine undergrowth in different conditions illumination (different tree stands).
The annual height growth of 131 pine undergrowth was measured on 3 trial plots.

Experimental studies. The growth of trees in pine forests is the most important taxation indicator separately standing tree, and the entire forest stand. With the help of growth, it is possible to evaluate the potential productivity of a forest stand, the quality factor of growing conditions, and the competitive relationships between the components of plantings.

The current growth of young Scots pine trees is an objective indicator that characterizes their growth and condition, and also synthesizes the results of the vital activity of the plant organism.

To identify the growth of young trees in height in order to separate the undergrowth formed under the influence of environmental factors, graphs of growth by year and growth taking into account age were constructed. These graphs are shown below.

Figure 1. Dependence of the growth of young trees by year

Having analyzed the graph of growth by year, we can say that in open areas the minimum increase in undergrowth was observed in 2008, and the maximum increase was recorded in 2011. We can also say that the average increase varies within 7 cm. Under the canopy of the tree stand, the minimum increase in undergrowth was observed in 2000 and 2003, the maximum increase in 2005. The increase in height of pine undergrowth over the years in absolute terms showed its dynamism. Changes in growth within the trial plot may vary across all years, or be similar in individual years (Fig. 1).
These changes in the growth of Scots pine can be explained by the fact that in different years climatic factors had different effects on the growth of Scots pine undergrowth.

Figure 2. Dependence of adolescent growth on age

From the graph of growth depending on age, it can be seen that in an open place, with increasing age, growth increases (direct dependence). The minimum growth in adolescent growth was observed at the age of 4 years, the maximum at 10 years. In an open place, the growth rate is greater, the larger the undergrowth. Under the forest canopy, minimal growth was observed at the age of 8 years and increased sharply at the age of 9 years. Under the canopy there is no strict pattern as in an open place, since growth under the canopy is greatly influenced by limiting factors (light, nutrients, flow and environmental pressure, soil, fires, microenvironment, etc.).

In a state of self-sowing, young trees have an underdeveloped root system and a small leaf surface. As the roots and leaves grow, the assimilating capacity of the crowns increases, and wood growth increases. Poor growth of pine undergrowth under the canopy of mature stands is due not only to a lack of light, but also to the fact that the trees of the mother stand intercept nutrients and moisture from the soil with their powerful and well-developed roots. The vital activity of the roots is significantly affected by the water located on the illuvial horizon, which most often appears in the spring after the snow melts. When it is high, the vital activity of the roots is delayed, the duration of the growing season is reduced and, as a result, growth is reduced. Pine is a light-loving species and grows well only without shading. Consequently, in an open place the growth rate is much higher than under a canopy.

Conclusion. Having studied the distribution of young animals by age and by year in an open place and under a canopy, the following conclusions can be drawn:

In an open area, the minimum increase in undergrowth was observed in 2008, and the maximum increase was detected in 2011;

Under the canopy of the tree stand, the minimum increase in undergrowth was observed in 2000 and 2003, the maximum increase in 2005;

The amount of growth within the trial plot may vary across all years, or be similar in individual years;

In an open place, the growth rate is greater, the larger the undergrowth;

Under the canopy there is no definite pattern as in an open place, since growth under the canopy is greatly influenced by limiting factors (light, nutrients, flow and environmental pressure, soil, fires, microenvironment, etc.);

In an open place, the growth rate is much higher than under a canopy.

Bibliography

1. Anhalt E.M., Zhamurina N.A. Analysis of the growth of pine undergrowth and young growth in pine-ash crops [Text] // News of the Orenburg State Agrarian University. 2013. No. 6 (44). P. 31-34.
2. Morozov G. F. Selected works/ Moscow: Timber Industry, 1971. 536 p.
3. Weiss A.A. Dynamics of competitive relationships: between tree individuals in a pine cenosis [Text] // Bulletin of KrasGAU. 2011. No. 5. P. 84-87
4. Iteshina N.M., Danilova L.N., Petrov L.V. Growth and structure of pine stands in various forest conditions [Text] // Innovative development of the agro-industrial complex and agricultural education - scientific support: Materials of the All-Russian scientific-practical conference. 2011. T.1. pp. 265-267
5. Weiss A.A. Dynamics of competitive relationships between tree individuals in a pine cenosis [Text] // Bulletin of the Krasnoyarsk State Agrarian University. 2011. No. 5. P.84-87.
6. Weiss A.A. Relationship between the diameters of the lower part of the trunks of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in the conditions of Central Siberia [Text] // Forest taxation and forest management. 2011. No. 1-2. P.29-32.
7. Weiss A.A. Patterns of relationship between the diameters of Siberian larch trees (Larix sibirica) at chest height and diameters at stump height in conditions of central and southern Siberia [Text] // Bulletin of the Adygea State University. Series 4: Natural, mathematical and technical sciences. 2011. No. 1. P. 53-60.
8. Machyk M.Sh., Weiss A.A. Assessment of the progress of growth of morphological parameters of young pine trees, taking into account their age structure in the conditions of the East Tuva-Southern Baikal mountain forest region [Text] // Modern Scientific research and innovation. 2016. No. 1 (57). From 268-276.

Let us imagine a forest capable of bearing fruit. The crowns of the trees are closed into a dense canopy. Silence and twilight. Somewhere high above, seeds are ripening. And so they ripened and fell to the ground. Some of them, finding themselves in favorable conditions, sprouted. So he appeared in the forest forest regrowth- young generation of trees.

What conditions do they find themselves in? The conditions are not very favorable. There is not enough light, there is also not enough space for the roots, everything is already occupied by the roots of large trees. But we have to survive, to win.

Young generation of the forest

Young generation of the forest, replacing the old one, has important to resume . Naturally, existing in harsh conditions, with a lack of light and a constant lack of nutrients in the soil, the undergrowth does not look good. common feature teenagers - severe depression. Here is an example of such oppression. Spruce undergrowth, only one and a half meters high, can have a fairly respectable age - 60 and even 80 years. Over the same years, fellow juveniles, grown from the same seeds somewhere in a nursery or near a forest, can reach a height of 15 meters. It is very difficult for a teenager to exist. But he nevertheless adapts to the living conditions under the maternal canopy and patiently waits for changes in his living conditions.

Here you will be lucky: either the mature trees will die or the young trees will die. It also happens that people interfere in this fight by choosing ripe trees for their needs. The regrowth then recovers and subsequently becomes new forest.

Especially tenacious spruce undergrowth. In a depressed state, he sometimes lives almost half of his life, up to 180 years. One cannot help but admire his vitality and boundless adaptability, which, however, is understandable.

You have to be very careful with teenagers.. Without knowing his specific growth, driven by the most noble motives - to give him freedom, we can nevertheless destroy him. Living in dim light and suddenly receiving long-awaited freedom from inexperienced hands, he unexpectedly dies. As they say, a teenager is “scared” of light. The needles quickly turn yellow and fall off, because they are adapted to a different mode of operation, to different living conditions. On the other hand, a teenager suddenly exposed to freedom may die of thirst. Not because there is not enough moisture in the soil. Maybe there is even more of it there, but with its poorly developed roots and needles the undergrowth cannot quench its thirst,

What's the matter? But the fact is that previously, under the mother’s canopy in a humid atmosphere, the young growth had enough moisture. Now the wind began to blow around, the physiological evaporation of the young trees increased, and the pitiful crown and root system unable to supply the tree with sufficient moisture.

Of course, earlier parent trees oppressed and suppressed young growth, but at the same time they protected them from the wind and from frost, to which young spruce, fir, oak, and beech are so sensitive; protected from excessive solar radiation and created a soft, humid atmosphere.

TEENAGE

Young trees that appear naturally in the forest are called undergrowth. They grew from seeds that fell on the surface of the soil. However, not every tree is classified as undergrowth, but only relatively large ones - from one to several meters in height. Smaller trees are called seedlings or self-seeding.

Undergrowth, as we know, does not form a separate layer in the forest. However, it is located for the most part at the level of the undergrowth, although sometimes higher. Individual specimens of undergrowth can vary greatly in height - from short to relatively large.

There is almost always some amount of undergrowth in the forest. Sometimes there is a lot of it, sometimes there is little. And it is often located in small clusters, clumps. This happens especially often in an old spruce forest. When you come across such a clump in the forest, you notice that it develops in a small clearing, where there are no trees. The abundance of undergrowth is explained by the fact that there is a lot of light in the clearing. And this favors the emergence and development of young trees. Outside the clearing (where there is little light), young trees are much less common.

Small clusters are also formed by oak undergrowth. But this is noticeable in the case when mature oaks are found in the forest alone among the total mass of other trees, for example, birches and spruces. The arrangement of young oak trees in groups is due to the fact that acorns do not spread to the sides, but fall directly under the mother tree. Sometimes young oak trees can be found in the forest very far from the mother trees. But they do not grow in groups, but one at a time, since they grew from acorns brought by a jay. The bird stores acorns, hiding them in moss or litter, but then does not find many of them. These acorns give rise to young trees located very far from adult fruit-bearing oaks.

In order for regrowth of a particular tree species to appear in the forest, a number of conditions are necessary. It is important, first of all, that the soil receives seeds and, moreover, benign ones that are capable of germinating. There must, of course, be favorable conditions for their germination. And then certain conditions are required for the survival of the seedlings and their subsequent normal growth. If some link is missing in this chain of conditions, then the undergrowth does not appear. This happens, for example, when conditions for seed germination are unfavorable. Imagine that some small seeds fell on a thick layer of litter. They will first begin to germinate, but then die. Weak roots of seedlings will not be able to break through the litter and penetrate into the mineral layers of the soil, from where plants take water and nutrients. Or another example. In some area of ​​the forest there is too little light for the normal development of undergrowth. Shoots appear, but then die from shading. They do not survive to the teenage stage.

In the forest, only a very small proportion of seeds that fall to the ground give rise to seedlings. The vast majority of seeds die. The reasons for this are different (destruction by animals, decay, etc.). But even if seedlings have appeared, not all of them subsequently turn into regrowth. A lot can interfere with this. No wonder our trees produce great amount seeds (for example, many millions of birch on one hectare). After all, only with such a strange, at first glance, extravagance is it possible to leave offspring.

In a forest, it often happens that one species dominates in the tree layer, and a completely different species dominates in the undergrowth. Pay attention to many of our pine forests that are quite old. There is absolutely no pine undergrowth here, but spruce undergrowth is very abundant. Often young fir trees form in pine forest dense thickets over a large area. Young pine trees are absent here for the reason that they are very light-loving and cannot withstand the shading that is created in the forest. In nature, pine regrowth usually appears en masse only in open places, for example, on fires, abandoned arable lands, etc.

The same discrepancy between mature trees and young trees can be observed in many birch forests located in the taiga zone. Birch grows in the upper tier of the forest, and beneath it there is dense, abundant spruce growth.

Under favorable conditions, the undergrowth eventually turns into mature trees. And these trees of natural origin are more valuable from a biological point of view than those grown artificially (by sowing seeds or planting seedlings). Trees that have grown from undergrowth are best adapted to local natural conditions and are most resistant to various adverse influences environment. In addition, these are the strongest specimens that have survived the harsh competition that is always observed between trees in the forest, especially at a younger age.

So, undergrowth is one of the important components of the forest plant community. Under favorable conditions, young trees can replace old, dead trees. This is exactly what happened in nature for many centuries and millennia, when the forest was little affected by humans. But even now, in some cases, it is possible to use undergrowth for the natural restoration of cleared forest or individual large trees. Of course, only when the young trees are sufficiently numerous and well developed.

Our story about forest plant communities has come to an end. You could see that all tiers of the forest, all groups of plants and, finally, individual plants in the forest are closely related to each other and, to one degree or another, influence each other. Each plant occupies a specific place in the forest and plays one or another role in the life of the forest.

There are many remarkable features in the structure and life of forest plants. They will be discussed further. But to make the story more consistent and clear, we divided the material into separate chapters. Each chapter looks at plants from a different perspective. One chapter talks about interesting structural features, another - reproduction, the third - development, etc. So, let's get acquainted with some of the little secrets of plants living in the forest.

But first, a few more words. The book consists of separate short stories, unique biological sketches. In these stories we'll talk about a variety of forest inhabitants - trees and shrubs, herbs and shrubs, mosses and lichens. It will also be said about some mushrooms. According to the latest ideas, mushrooms are not classified as flora, but are allocated to a special kingdom of nature. But the greatest attention will, naturally, be paid to trees - the most important, dominant plants in the forest.

It should also be noted that our story will concern not only plants as a whole, but also their individual organs - both aboveground and underground. We will get acquainted with the interesting biological secrets of flowers and fruits, leaves and seeds, stems and rhizomes, bark and wood. In this case, attention will be paid mainly to large external signs that are clearly visible to the naked eye. Only here and there we will have to touch a little on the internal, anatomical structure of plants. But here we will try to show how different microscopic features are reflected in external signs- on what is visible to the naked eye.

And one last thing. The division adopted in the book into separate chapters devoted to certain characteristics of forest plants (structure, development, reproduction) is, of course, conditional. This was done only for convenience of presentation, for some ordering of the material presented. There are no sharp demarcations between these chapters. It is difficult to draw, for example, a clear boundary between structural features and reproduction. The same material can be placed with almost equal rights in either one or the other chapter. For example, the story about the special structure of pine and spruce seeds, which allows them to rotate very quickly in the air when falling from a tree, concerns both structure and reproduction. In the book, this material is placed in a chapter devoted to the structure of plants. But this is just an arbitrary decision of the author, which I hope the reader will forgive him, just like some other similar decisions.

Back in the second half of the 19th century. Russian foresters paid attention to the need to preserve intact, reliable undergrowth, since it relatively quickly adapts to new environmental conditions and in the future forms a highly productive plantation.

Various experiments on the preservation of undergrowth have shown that spruce and fir undergrowth more than 0.5 m high, preserved in clearing, outstrips the growth of deciduous undergrowth that appears next to it.

The presence of only a few hundred specimens of coniferous plants up to 1.5 m high among many thousands of specimens of deciduous undergrowth ensures the predominance of conifers. In subord and ramen highly productive forest types, 40-60 years after the cutting of the mother tree stand, large trees grow, from which saw logs can be obtained. During subsequent renewal, such assortments are obtained in forest stands only after 80 years or more. 50 years later, for example, after deforestation in the Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, under favorable environmental conditions, a forest with reserves of 200-400 m 3 was formed from the remaining spruce and fir undergrowth, and in some areas up to 500 m 3 /ha.

It has been established that the natural regeneration of the main forest-forming species - pine and spruce in the taiga zone of the European part of the USSR, subject to certain technological methods of logging, is ensured on approximately 60-70% of the clearing areas, in the mixed forest zone by 25-30% and in the forest-steppe zone, where In addition to the influence of climatic factors, there is also an intense anthropogenic impact on 10-15% of the felled areas.

In this case, both preliminary and subsequent regeneration of valuable coniferous and deciduous species are taken into account. In the taiga zone, for example, the most favorable conditions for the preliminary regeneration of the main species are created in lichen, heather, lingonberry and blueberry forests, as well as in spruce-lingonberry and blueberry forests. In green moss pine forests and sorrel forests, spruce undergrowth predominates in the composition of preliminary regeneration. Reliable spruce undergrowth is available in large quantities under the canopy of deciduous (birch and aspen) and deciduous-coniferous plantings.

The safety of the undergrowth left at the cutting site largely depends on its age and condition. The greatest decline occurs in undergrowth formed under the canopy of dense plantings. When removing the top canopy under these conditions, the mortality rate of spruce undergrowth up to 0.5 m high is 30-40%, with a height of 0.5 m and above - 20-30%. The greatest preservation is achieved by undergrowth that is grouped and freed from the canopy in the autumn-winter period.

In the mixed forest zone, successful natural regeneration of pine is observed only in lichen forest types. In heather forests and lingonberries, regeneration takes place with a partial change of species. During natural regeneration in pine-blueberry, long-moss and sphagnum pine forests, the participation coniferous species is 15-30%. In green moss forests and sorrel forests, pine is completely replaced by deciduous trees. The regeneration of spruce forests in this zone is proceeding even less satisfactorily.

Every year, clear-cutting in the forests of the USSR preserves viable undergrowth on an area of ​​800 thousand hectares, i.e., on 1/3 of the felled areas. The largest areas of reforestation due to preserved undergrowth belong to the northern and Siberian regions, where coniferous forests predominate and industrial reforestation is still poorly developed.

The Rules for the conservation of undergrowth and young growth of economically valuable tree species during the development of logging sites in the forests of the USSR are mandatory for all loggers. The technological processes of developing cutting areas are subordinated to the preservation of undergrowth. For example, the method of felling trees onto a backing tree is used.

In this case, the cutting area is divided into apiaries 30-40 m wide, depending on the average height of the tree stand. In the middle of the apiary, a trail 5-6 m wide is cut. Felling of the forest on the trail begins from the far end, the trees are cut flush with the ground. After preparing the skidding trails, the forest is cut down in strips from the far ends of the apiaries.

Before starting to develop the side strip, the feller selects a large tree and fells it at an angle of 45° to the border of the apiary. Trees located closer to the portage are felled at a smaller angle.

Trees, starting from the drag, are felled onto a backing tree with their tops facing the drag (in a fan) so that the crowns of other trees are stacked one on top of the other. The butts of cut trees should lie on the backing tree. The number of trees felled on one lining “slimy” tree constitutes the trip load on the tractor.

After the trees have been felled, the tractor driver drives up to the drag, turns around, chokes all the trees, including the lining tree, and takes them to the upper warehouse. At the same time, the butts of the felled trees slide along the backing tree, bending them somewhat, but without damaging the undergrowth of valuable species. During this time, the feller prepares the next cart. After sending two or three carts, the feller moves to another apiary, from where he also sends two or three carts. After 25-30 m 3 of wood has been skidded to the upper warehouse, large-packet loading onto mobile transport is carried out using a skidder.

Labor productivity during logging using this method increases due to the lightweight choker of the tree crops. The branches cut off during felling remain in one place near the drag, where they are burned or left to rot. Labor productivity increases by 10-15%, and most importantly, up to 60-80% of the undergrowth of coniferous species with a height of 0.5-1 m is preserved.

When using LP-2 feller bunchers and TB-1 chokerless skidders, the technology changes somewhat, and the amount of remaining undergrowth sharply decreases. The amount of retained undergrowth also depends on the harvesting season. In winter, more small undergrowth is preserved than in summer.

Preservation of undergrowth when developing cutting areas with narrow strips was started by the Tatar Experimental Station. A cutting area 250 m wide is divided into narrow strips 25-30 m wide, depending on the average height of the tree stand. The width of the trail is 4-5 m. Skidding trails are cut along the boundaries of narrow strips. Trees in strips are felled without backing wood, with the top on the drag, at an acute, possibly minimal, angle to the drag. At the same time, the feller retreats deeper into the belt, distributing the trees into the right and left skidding lanes.

Skidding is carried out with a skidder with the crowns forward without turning the trunk in the direction in which the trees were felled. The technology for developing a cutting area changes somewhat when using a TB-1 chokerless skidder.

Quite viable undergrowth remains on the tapes, with the exception of those specimens that are damaged when trees fall. Small, medium and large undergrowth are preserved.

Drawings 4-5 m wide are left uncultivated. They self-sow. Broken branches and tops torn off during chokering remain on the drags. While the tractor is operating, they are crushed, mixed with the soil, where they rot. The undergrowth is preserved thanks to a well-organized cutting area. The skidder passes only along the skids; the felled tree is not turned around during skidding, but is pulled out at the angle to the skid at which it was felled.

When developing cutting areas in the Skorodumy timber industry enterprise, the entire area is divided into apiaries 30-40 m wide. The cutting of apiaries begins with cutting down trees in the central middle lane 12 m wide. The middle of this tape serves as a place for laying logging residues, and the edges of the tape serve as a place for skidding trails. The whips flicker over the top. On the side strips, trees are felled at an angle of no more than 40°. With this technology, the safety of the undergrowth is ensured due to the correct organization of the cutting area.

The preservation of undergrowth is of great importance in the rotational method of logging, when workshop areas work on shifts remote from the central villages - temporary villages with a period of basing in one place for up to 4 years. These are cases where difficulties arise due to the lack of roads, severe swampiness of the area, the island location of logging sites, or when it is extremely necessary to use the natural forces of the forest for self-renewal.

Preservation of undergrowth during the development of logging sites in mountainous conditions. In spruce, spruce-fir and fir-beech mountain forests growing on slopes, gradual two- and three-stage mechanized felling is used, as well as selective felling. In the Urals, in forests of group I on slopes up to 15° in the southern regions and up to 20° in the northern, in drying out and soft-leaved plantations without undergrowth, clear-cutting with direct adjacent cutting areas is allowed.

In beech forests, good results are obtained with gradual felling, when skidding is carried out by air units. In order to reduce damage to undergrowth and young growth, logging in mountain forests is carried out along the slope in the direction from top to bottom.

When aerial skidding of timber with cut-to-length logs, up to 70% of the undergrowth is preserved in summer logging and more than 80% in winter logging.

The method of preserving undergrowth in mountain conditions during the development of cutting areas on the basis of an aerostatic skidding installation (ATUP), first in the USSR developed and applied by V. M. Pikalkin in the Khadyzhensky timber industry enterprise of the Krasnodar Territory, deserves great attention.

The technology of work is as follows. An ATUP is installed over an area of ​​mountain forest inaccessible to ground skidding equipment. The feller with a gasoline-powered saw is at the cutting site, and the winch mechanic is at the control panel. The tree designated for felling is choked at the base of the crown with a special choker attached to the end of a skidding rope descending from the cable-block system of the balloon. A tree feller cuts down a choked tree.

Based on a radio signal from the feller, the lifting mechanism of the cable-block system is turned on and the cut tree is lifted into the air above the tops of the forest. Then, using a special winch, the tree is transferred from the stump to the main logging road, where it is placed on vehicles that deliver the cut trees to the lower warehouse.

The balloon-skidding installation consists of balloons, a winch and a cable-block system. The trees are lifted from the stump by a balloon and moved using an installed winch.

Advantages of developing cutting areas in mountain conditions on the basis of the ATUP installation: undergrowth, undergrowth and the second layer of valuable species are completely preserved; damage to standing trees is eliminated; The fertile soil layer is completely preserved; labor and equipment are saved, costs per 1 m 3 of harvested wood are significantly reduced; Ripe and overmature wood is used for the national economy, located in inaccessible and inaccessible mountainous areas, where it is impossible to use conventional ground-based skidding equipment, and the construction of aerial skidding installations is expensive. The balloon-skidding installation allows you to carry out any methods of final and intermediate felling with good silvicultural effect.