Wildspeak Article - Gods: Lesavny
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moonvoiceLesavny (pron. Leh-ZAV-nee)
Depicted As
- A darkened or black owl. (Omen of death.)
- A man in his mid-20s to 30s, with dark, curly hair that looks damp or wet. He is neatly dressed, often wearing some proportion of spiderweb. One or two items of his clothing will be reversed. His skin is slightly green. His face is angular and handsome, his nose is hooked and aquiline. Sometimes he is seen wearing leaves, branches and spiderwebs. He can be malicious or benevolent in this incarnation. He is always predatory.
- A hunting man in his mid-30s to mid-40s, sporting the horns of a reindeer or moose. He is predatory in this incarnation, and rarely petitioned.
- A young boy, post-adolescent, often sitting on rooftops or treetops, waiting for the sun to rise. There is often a white doe standing patiently beneath him, or that leaps into the sky the moment the sun rises. He is playful in this incarnation, and is known as Lesaril.
Other Names
Lesaril
God of Beasts.
Forest God.
Sly One.
Symbols
The Forest.
Animals.
Bear.
Deer (Roe, Reindeer).
Wolf.
Lynx.
Mouse.
Raven.
Night-Cricket.
Frogs with Golden Eyes.
The Erect Male.
The Phallus.
Vili (Wights.)
Presides Over
Lesavny is a dangerous deity. If you choose to contact him, you do so at your own risk.
Lesavny is complex and many-faceted. He presides over chaos, the untrustworthy and that which looks charming but is deceitful. He teaches self-sufficiency, for he absolutely cannot be relied upon. Though his counsel may be wise and seem loving, he can be innately malicious and sadistic. Lesavny is cruelty and mercy combined. He presides over illness and health.
Lesavny rules the hunt and the forest. He hunts the animals, and uses them for sport, but he also protects them from those who would destroy the forest and its creatures needlessly. He is considered a master of beasts. He is rarely a 'patron deity' to humans.
Masculinity, the phallus, fertility, sex and virility are all domains of Lesavny. He inspires the female to be submissive, and the male to be a conqueror. While the is contrary to the more harmonious teachings of Karijiana, this primitive force of Lesavny is what is often invoked during certain initiative rituals. Sex with Lesavny can be violent, more about masochism and sadism than mutual love, but it can also yield truths about trust, honesty and 'laying yourself bare.'
Connections to Other Deities and Folklore
Lesavny is connected to many of the other more well-known of the Vilturj gods, such as Vavale, Vasilia, Karijiana etc. He is considered good friends with, or brothers with L'yuvotn'r and Hrum, and he is also considered to have created or to be on good terms with almost all forest / woodland vili (wights) and woodland creatures. He has close relationships with many cloud, wind and sky gods, though he himself is not an upperworld deity.
Lesavny has intervened in creation myths benevolently in favour of human kind, and is known as a constant source of vexation to other deities. He represents the chaotic aspect of nature, alongside Vavale.
Times of Honour
- Lesere - Festival of Trees
- Winter Solstice
- Autumn Equinox
- 2 and 3 am or pm.
Places of Honour
- Forest
- Forest shrines
- Paddocks with livestock in them.
Offerings
- Tree branches.
- Leaf ornaments.
- Vodka.
- Meat. (Raw or cooked).
- Rock salt.
- Tree effigies
- Wolf / Frog / Raven / Lynx effigies and pictures.
It is not recommended to give Lesavny blood or semen except during Lesere. Otherwise such offerings are thought to attract his uncontrollable destructive and predatorial aspects.
Depicted As
- A darkened or black owl. (Omen of death.)
- A man in his mid-20s to 30s, with dark, curly hair that looks damp or wet. He is neatly dressed, often wearing some proportion of spiderweb. One or two items of his clothing will be reversed. His skin is slightly green. His face is angular and handsome, his nose is hooked and aquiline. Sometimes he is seen wearing leaves, branches and spiderwebs. He can be malicious or benevolent in this incarnation. He is always predatory.
- A hunting man in his mid-30s to mid-40s, sporting the horns of a reindeer or moose. He is predatory in this incarnation, and rarely petitioned.
- A young boy, post-adolescent, often sitting on rooftops or treetops, waiting for the sun to rise. There is often a white doe standing patiently beneath him, or that leaps into the sky the moment the sun rises. He is playful in this incarnation, and is known as Lesaril.
Other Names
Lesaril
God of Beasts.
Forest God.
Sly One.
Symbols
The Forest.
Animals.
Bear.
Deer (Roe, Reindeer).
Wolf.
Lynx.
Mouse.
Raven.
Night-Cricket.
Frogs with Golden Eyes.
The Erect Male.
The Phallus.
Vili (Wights.)
Presides Over
Lesavny is a dangerous deity. If you choose to contact him, you do so at your own risk.
Lesavny is complex and many-faceted. He presides over chaos, the untrustworthy and that which looks charming but is deceitful. He teaches self-sufficiency, for he absolutely cannot be relied upon. Though his counsel may be wise and seem loving, he can be innately malicious and sadistic. Lesavny is cruelty and mercy combined. He presides over illness and health.
Lesavny rules the hunt and the forest. He hunts the animals, and uses them for sport, but he also protects them from those who would destroy the forest and its creatures needlessly. He is considered a master of beasts. He is rarely a 'patron deity' to humans.
Masculinity, the phallus, fertility, sex and virility are all domains of Lesavny. He inspires the female to be submissive, and the male to be a conqueror. While the is contrary to the more harmonious teachings of Karijiana, this primitive force of Lesavny is what is often invoked during certain initiative rituals. Sex with Lesavny can be violent, more about masochism and sadism than mutual love, but it can also yield truths about trust, honesty and 'laying yourself bare.'
Connections to Other Deities and Folklore
Lesavny is connected to many of the other more well-known of the Vilturj gods, such as Vavale, Vasilia, Karijiana etc. He is considered good friends with, or brothers with L'yuvotn'r and Hrum, and he is also considered to have created or to be on good terms with almost all forest / woodland vili (wights) and woodland creatures. He has close relationships with many cloud, wind and sky gods, though he himself is not an upperworld deity.
Lesavny has intervened in creation myths benevolently in favour of human kind, and is known as a constant source of vexation to other deities. He represents the chaotic aspect of nature, alongside Vavale.
Times of Honour
- Lesere - Festival of Trees
- Winter Solstice
- Autumn Equinox
- 2 and 3 am or pm.
Places of Honour
- Forest
- Forest shrines
- Paddocks with livestock in them.
Offerings
- Tree branches.
- Leaf ornaments.
- Vodka.
- Meat. (Raw or cooked).
- Rock salt.
- Tree effigies
- Wolf / Frog / Raven / Lynx effigies and pictures.
It is not recommended to give Lesavny blood or semen except during Lesere. Otherwise such offerings are thought to attract his uncontrollable destructive and predatorial aspects.
no subject
Date: 2010-12-13 08:24 pm (UTC)To elaborate: when a myth involves a leshy, are they actually talking about the god, or are they talking about a type of nature spirit of some sort?
I wish this sounded more intelligent. Urgh.
no subject
Date: 2010-12-13 10:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-13 11:07 pm (UTC)One more question, if I'm not being a bother: can the Leszii/Leshy be considered as dangerous as their King, or is it a highly individual thing?
AND THANK YOU!
no subject
Date: 2010-12-13 11:17 pm (UTC)It is said that the Skoja (also forest wights) (also Laskoja and Laskowice) are often mistaken for Leszii - being that they also love fungi, tree boles, wolves and deer, and can occupy the same places - and the Skoja are often either benevolent or indifferent creatures, also royalty, and Lesavny is also their King.
Leszii can make themselves look like Skoja (since both are shapeshifters, in different ways), but Skoja won't to make themselves look like Leszii. That said, they don't dislike each other, and both can live in the same forest; kind of running with the idea that seelie and unseelie fae can live side by side and be happy about it - certainly true of Lesavny's forests!
Anyway, YMMV, this is what I've learnt via Vilturj, though some of my information is backed up by research into the Laskowice and Leszii of Slavic paths back when I was in university, I still tend to err towards the Vilturj stuff, since that's what I 'know'?
no subject
Date: 2010-12-13 11:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-14 02:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-12 06:27 am (UTC)So.
Owlish, that mostly quiet spirit who has been with me for years? Who bluntly digs in the talons to direct me where to go, when necessary?
My dedication was earlier tonight, and as my teacher read the tradition's version of the charge of the God aloud, I was wholly surprised at my reaction. I still can't verbalise how I felt but it was powerful. I had my eyes closed and I saw Owlish's face, and it was just driven home to me how similar the things in the Charge were and what I know of Owlish.
And when I got home I started Googling a little. I actually encountered the knowlege of leshy spirits just a couple days ago, and it stood out to me how Owlish's name is... close. I thought I came up with it (owl-ish like being,) but Owlish has always refused to give me another, and basically says this IS the name.
And... then I remembered your writings about Lesavny. Now, I don't think Owlish is him but one thing that came to me in my dedication ritual was that Owlish is like... not a servent or messenger, but kind of... part of the same, um, family maybe, not the horned God obviously, powerful but not that powerful.
Anyway, it's been feeling like a good thing for me, lately. I mean, okay, lots of things exploded on me, but it's like they had to, it was inevitable. And I feel reborn as myself.
But now I wonder if I should be... concerned? Owlish is NOT benelovent, or comforting. Owlish is blunt, direct, impassive, even sometimes cruel. Not a trickster that I can tell, but what do I know? Maybe I'm just going up the wrong tree? I guess I'm mostly trying to figure out if I should be concerned, try to move on? Can I even do that? Is it unrealistic or naive to think that Owlishy spirit is... overall a 'good' thing for me?
They have, um, taught me a thing or two, but mostly it's been directions to get my life more on track, and now I feel like Owlish is going to get more involved soon. But if that's not good, well... I don't even know what I could do at this point.
Oh and I am predominantly from north-eastern european heritage. Dad's side has the English last name but is Polish and Ukranian, his dad speaks Polish and his now-deceased mother cooked and did things that I now recognise as being culturally Ukranian/slavic in nature (this year when I got sick I made up lots of garlic and honey tea like she did for me all the time when I was little.)
I know you can't answer a lot of this, or maybe any. But... wow. Today's been something else, even outside of this. Sorry for the long, rambling comment.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-13 09:47 am (UTC)Okay, my thoughts are - and please, feel free to take or leave them.
Owlish has been with you for a while. Pushy and sometimes cruel, yes, but - from what I have at least read - never deliberately lead you in the wrong direction. Does that mean Owlish won't hurt you later? I can't answer that. But if you're worried (and I would be if I had any Lesavny-style deity with a significant role in my life), I would suggest going on a spiritual pilgrimage to specifically locate a totem, deity, being, etc. to balance out Owlish's influence.
Owlish may not like that, or alternatively may be really open to it; but I don't think it hurts to have a great range of support in that way anyway. My thoughts are, however, that you may have to go looking. If something else hasn't presented themselves by now, Owlish may be blocking them, or they may be an elusive deity or being that actually wants you to enter into a kind of 'hunt' or spiritual pilgrimage to find them.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-13 04:17 pm (UTC)Some recent homework of mine from my Wicca class was to research deity pairs for each of the elements, the goal was to learn more about polarity and balance. I actually did way more research than the homework required, buuuut that's my thing. Thanks to that though I saw polarity balances, checks, both across things like the elements, binary gender deities, and also within deities of the same gender and pantheon. Loki (who's really more gender fluid in my eyes) as fire not the same as Thor as fire, etc.
What I'm trying to say is that your suggestion of balance is timely. And I trust in your experience with spirits. I am going to think more and post an entry about this.
Thank-you.