Leshy: Master Of Forest And Wildlife In Slavic Beliefs

MessageToEagle.com – The forest is a very special place, where the passage of time ceases to have any meaning. It simply does not exist. Each forest has its own guard. In Slavic mythology it is a creature known as Leshy.

According to the early Slavic people, especially those who lived in heavily forested areas, Leshy was masculine and mortal, humanoid creature that could punish for killing an animal from his own herd, without permission.

He was the most powerful ruler of the forest and wildlife. He ruled over success, hunting and happiness, took care of pets, and helped the poor.

All plants, fruits and animals in the forest belonged to him. Each forest was believed to have its own guard. Leshy, who drew its power from the surrounding trees. A strong forest had a guard with more power than the weaker one.

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Many Slavic tales mention forest wanderers, who encountered Leshy, and the course of this meeting often depended on whether a person had something bad on his conscience or not.

He was depicted in human form or dressed in animal skins and his symbolic animal was represented by a deer and a wolf.

Some believed that Leshy was an earthly materialization of Bog Veles, a god of cattle and of wildlife, meanwhile others considered Leshy as a servant of Veles.

Leshy could easily change its size and height, but he was seldom seen, though his powerful laughing, whistling, or singing was clearly heard. When he was occasionally spotted, he was easily recognized because he had the appearance of a very tall man with unnaturally white face, whose hair resembled pine needles and his skin had bark-like appearance. His right ear, eyebrows and eyelashes were missing, his head was somewhat pointed.

For our forefathers forest was almost a sacred sphere, perhaps for many of us, this special place is sacred even today, because its history is much longer than human history.

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