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🙂 Greetings to my regular readers and new guests of the site! Folk beliefs, rituals and customs are going further and further into history. And today, sitting at a computer, reading information about beliefs will cause a smile or bewilderment for the majority. But what has developed over the centuries must be listened to and treated with respect.
Beliefs and rituals associated with names
Dead and living
Calling a newborn by the name of the deceased has always been a bad omen. According to popular belief, a child can repeat the fate of a deceased relative. Or he will be alone all his life. It was believed that a girl named by a “dead” name would never marry, and a guy would never marry.
They were especially wary of the names of the drowned, fearing that the child might inherit his fate. This also includes the names of drunkards, suicides, deceased children and other “unclean” deceased, called in Russia “pledged.”
In this case, you can safely give the newborn the name of a deceased relative if they were happy during their lifetime. Allegedly, the karmic program (his fate) is passed down through the generation.
Secret
In ancient Russia, the real name was hidden from outsiders. This was used to protect against damage, love spells and other magical influences. They say that witchcraft is powerless if the evil does not know the name of the victim.
This tradition continues today. Many young parents try to hide the baby from prying eyes as long as possible (usually before baptism).
Previously, the Slavs often used false names, but the real ones were carefully hidden and revealed only to the closest ones. The spouses did not use personal names in front of strangers, instead they used phrases: “my husband / wife”, “my man / woman”.
The magical power of the deceased is protection for the living
According to popular belief, the names of the deceased (especially the drowned) are endowed with tremendous magical powers. Seeing a wolf in the forest, you need to pronounce the names of three, or better nine, deceased relatives, then the beast will not touch.
If a fire breaks out, you need to run around the house three times, calling out the names of 12 drowned people. With a request to save the village from drought, the Slavs turned to the drowned (using ritual magic).
A voice from the dark
If at an inopportune hour you find yourself in a dangerous, from a magical point of view, place. For example, at a cemetery or an intersection, and suddenly they heard the hail of relatives. Do not turn around under any circumstances!
Chances are high that this is the voice of evil spirits. As you know, she is very good at imitating the voices of people familiar and close to a person, as well as taking any shape.
The name and fate of a person
From time immemorial it was believed that people who changed their names, changed their destinies. Changing the name “just like that” is also not recommended, there must be good reasons for this.
The people believed that by doing this, a person renounces his old fate and karma and takes in return a new, clean one. In other matters, this does not guarantee happiness, because it is not so much a matter of the name as of the person himself.
What Scientists Say About Beliefs
This is a prejudice, which is a belief in any supernatural otherworldly forces. It contains the assumption, often unconsciously, that one can find protection from these forces or reach an acceptable compromise with them.
As a rule, it manifests itself at a behavioral level in simplified ritual forms: the use of talismans, a tattoo.
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