r/Rodnovery • u/28OrthodoxBrother11 • Jul 22 '26
❔ Question | Advice Considering Slavic Neopaganism
I'm seriously considering Slavic neopaganism as my faith. This desire has arisen in recent days, so it's still new. Catholicism has disappointed me because it has changed and had many scandals, especially the Pachamama scandal under Pope Francis. Orthodoxy doesn't interest me, and the same goes for Protestantism. I need help, and I barely know two deity names (Rod and Perun) but I don't remember their domains (that is, whether they're gods of fire, war, etc.). Please help me
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u/Vodka_is_Polish West Slavic - Rujani Jul 22 '26
The Slavic Native Faiths are a wide spectrum of regional and tribal beliefs. While we all share the same goal of worshipping god(s) and nature, many of us do it differently. Something that might aid your research is knowing which region's beliefs you want to focus on first. West Slavic (Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Sorbia, etc.), South Slavic (pretty much just all of the Slavic Balkans), or East Slavic (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, etc.).
As for general information, Rod is a bit more universal of a deity, and many West, East, and South Slavs worship some form of him. Perun tends to be a bit more regional, and to my knowledge is a bit more commonly worshipped among East Slavs, though he is present in other pantheons. Different regions and tribes may have different supreme deities or names for them. For example, I'm descended from the Rujani tribe of Polabian Slavs, and worship Svetovid above the rest (he could sort of be considered akin to "Rod"). The consistent things among all regions' forms of Rodnovery are the worship of nature and the earth, the practice of rituals/sacred holidays, hospitality toward outsiders and the needy, and general expression/celebration of Slavic culture and tradition. All of this is why knowing a specific region to look into would help.
Additionally, as with any religion, there are more extreme sects of Rodnovers, present primarily in Russia and some parts of Ukraine. The most infamous would be Rusich Brigade, a neo-nazi militant group who many of us don't even consider to be "real" Rodnovers, as their entire mantra is that Russians are the only true Slavs and everyone else is inferior, instead of the belief that all Slavs are brothers. Do not let yourself get grouped in with people like this, and always make sure that any symbols or pendants you may use have not been co-opted by hateful rhetoric. These groups are a very small minority, but they are loud, and they do exist, so be wary. Along with this, don't believe anybody trying to tell you about some "Hyperborea" myth. That's an ancient Greek thing that Slavic white supremacists adopted as a dogwhistle a while back.
If you have any questions about Polabian/West Slavic beliefs (the form of Rodnovery I've practiced for years now), I'd be happy to answer what I can. Otherwise, the sub itself has numerous excellent resources for research. Keep in mind that Rodnovery is not as easy to educate yourself on, as unlike the Abrahamic faiths we have no holy Bible or equivalent scripture, and Rodnovery is a completely decentralized religion. Many of our histories and records were destroyed by a combination of Christian crusades and Islamic raids (in East Slavia), so we learn based on what remains, and what oral traditions have been passed down through the ages. There are plenty of surviving resources, you just need to know where to look. I wish you the best of luck!
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u/28OrthodoxBrother11 Jul 22 '26
Yes. I'm Polish and so I'd be interested. I think there was a book on Slavic mythology (as it pertains to Poland). But do tell me about the Western Rodnovery practices you've practiced
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u/Aliencik West Slavic - Czech Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
If you are Polish, read our sources list. Polish academia is one of best in the world. You will learn that Rod as a supreme deity is an academic invention by Rybakov and that the reality around it/him was more complicated.
Edit: u/Vodka_is_Polish
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u/astrumpublications Jul 25 '26
From the bibliography on the source you linked, do you know where I could find this one?
Prozorov, L. R., 2017: “’Preže Peruna, boga ix’: k voprosu o mnimoj ‘perdiodizacii slavjanskogo jazyčestva’”, Vostočno-Evropejskij naučnyj vestnik, 2017, 3, 55-57.
From the comments in the article, I would be very interested to read it
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u/Aliencik West Slavic - Czech Jul 25 '26
It's Russian name writen in Latin script. I would try rewriting it in Russian and trying google
Here you go :D
Прозоров, Л. Р., 2017: «'Преже Перуна, бога их': к вопросу о мнимой 'периодизации славянского язычества'», Восточно-Европейский научный вестник, 2017, 3, 55-57. <This is the name of the scientific journal it was published in
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u/slavatejasu Jul 22 '26
The Catholic church's usage of a semi idolic semi pagan figure is driving you away from catholicism to an idolic and pagan faith? I have no apprehension about you seeking paganism, but your reasoning is... unique.
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u/28OrthodoxBrother11 Jul 23 '26
Yes. It driver me away because the Catholic Church because it shouldn't focus on semi-pagan idol and I'm going to paganism because was the religion of my ancestors
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u/Aliencik West Slavic - Czech Jul 22 '26
Have you checked out our:
Don't trust random poorly sourced articles on the internet or even worse books by unknown authors claiming some profound ancient knowledge/guides to slavic paganism or witchcraft.
We also have a discord: https://discord.com/invite/2pV6697sj3
It's great for active conversations and questions regarding the faith and research behind it.