Yesterday i made a post about bridal headpieces & @eob_Rene brought to my attention that something is missing, but what exactly?

Today i will expand by explaining traditional Slavic weddings in this thread, so let's go! :

In order to gain a better understanding we have to examine the nature of Jarilo & Mara - they are Slavic deities that were in a way impersonated in the wedding rituals.

Jarilo, from Slavic root ''yar'' - bright, fiery, lively, also used to refer to young cattle and sprouting grains. Yar is derived from PIE root ''yeh'', from which we also get ''year''. He's also known as German (nothing to do with Germany) & as Kupalo in Russia.

He is the life force, the power of the rebirthing Nature, the reincarnating individual, the initiate, the hero which is to slay the Serpent, in many ways identical to Perun.

Mara is also known as Mora, Marzanna. I propose that her name is etymologically derived from the root ''mor'', meaning death or tiredness. She is also known as Kostroma in Russian lands.

Her Nature is harder to explain, due to it's evolving in mythological sense. She is the life force, rebirth in Nature, but also the ancestor, Winter & the She-Bear, Veles - these sides of her are gradually strengthened with the end of the year.

Their marriage symbolizes the coming of Spring. This thread is not dedicated to them entirely, so let us continue.

The groom represents Jarilo, and the bride is Mara, their union is Spring, the path to life, therefore the weddings are full of the symbolism of rebirth. Here, i present you with a few elements of the traditional Slavic wedding, and their relation to the ancestral worldview :