Mokosh: The Protector of Women
Homeliness, softness, peace, gratitude, feminine grace, and creativity are the feelings that permeate the month of October. This is a time for us – women. All external "masculine" tasks come to an end, the last crops are harvested, and internal "feminine" tasks begin – spinning, weaving, sewing. This is a time for connection between us, a time for ourselves, a time to find peace, a time for cleansing the past and creating the future.
This is the time of the goddess Mokosh, the Great Mother, the goddess of feminine energy, the goddess of fertility, the protector of women, the patron of spinning wheels, and Perun's wife for the first half of the year. Her main natural elements are earth and water; Mokosh is the embodiment of Mother Earth and thus the link between the underworld and the sky. In the latter part of the year, she becomes Veles's wife. Her name is associated with the moisture of the earth during this time. She is also connected with rain and snow – rain was once called "the milk of Mokosh."
Christianity gave her the name Saint Petka. Her day is celebrated on the last Friday of the tenth month – Friday is, in fact, the day of Mokosh. Friday is considered a day for women in other cultures as well (e.g., Venus – Vendredi or Freya – Friday). During her festival, the goddess is often depicted as heavily pregnant, which is a sign before the winter solstice when the new sun is born.
This is a time of feminine deepening, where it is important for a man to stand by her side. In the past, love was shown by a young man carrying a spinning wheel home for his beloved after an evening of communal wool spinning. Mokoshreminds us that not only women, but all genders should connect, socialize, and help each other. She is the force that enriches us during this time of slowing down, connecting us with nature and its natural cycle, and reminding women that we carry the power to bear new life within us.
Therefore, dear woman, do not forget yourself this month, indulge in nurturing your soul and body, and treat yourself to something special.
