Leshy/Леший




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The Leshy or Lesovik is a male woodland spirit in Slavic mythology who protects wild animals and forests. He is roughly analogous to the Woodwose of Western Europe and the Basajaun of the Basque Country.

A leshy usually appears as a tall man, but he is able to change his size from that of a blade of grass to a very tall tree. He has hair and a beard made from living grass and vines, and is sometimes depicted with a tail, hooves, and horns. He has pale white skin that contrasts with his bright green eyes. A leshy has a close bond with the gray wolf, and is often seen in the company of bears as well. He is the Forest Lord and carries a club to express that he is the master of the wood.

He is said to have the ability to shapeshift into any form, animal or plant. When he is in human form, he looks like a common peasant, except that his eyes glow and his shoes are on backwards. In some tales, he appears to visitors as a large talking mushroom.[citation needed] He can also vary in size, shrinking himself to the height of a blade of grass when moving through open fields, or growing to the size of the tallest trees when in the forest

If a person befriends a leshy, the latter will teach them the secrets of magic. Farmers and shepherds would make pacts with the leshy to protect their crops and sheep. The leshy has many tricks, including leading peasants astray, making them sick, or tickling them to death. They are also known to hide the axes of woodcutters.

Leshies are terribly mischievous beings: they have horrible cries, and can imitate voices of people familiar to wanderers and lure them back to their caves, where the leshies will tickle them to death; they also remove signs from their posts. Leshies aren't always evil: though they enjoy misguiding humans & kidnapping young women, they are also known to keep grazing cattle from wandering too far into his forests and getting lost. Sometimes cow herders will make pacts with a leshy by handing him their crosses from around their necks and sharing communion with him after Christian church gatherings; these pacts are said to give the cowherds special powers.
Domovoi/Домовой


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A domovoi is a house spirit in Slavic folklore. Domovois (the correct plural form is domoviye) are masculine, typically small, and sometimes covered in hair all over. According to some traditions, the domovoi take on the appearance of current or former owners of the house and have a grey beard, sometimes with tails or little horns.
Traditionally, every house is said to have its domovoi. It does not do evil unless angered by a family’s poor keep of the household, profane language or neglect. The domovoi is seen as the home's guardian, and he sometimes helps with household chores and field work.
Kikimora/Кикимора

(by Bilibin)



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Kikimora is a female house spirit in Slavic mythology, sometimes said to be married to the Domovoi. Kikimora is said to look after the chickens and the housework if the home is well-kept. If not, she will tickle, whistle, and whine at the children at night. She also comes out at night to spin.[1] It is said that a person who sees Kikimora spinning will soon die. To appease an angry Kikimora, one should wash all the pots and pans with fern tea. She usually lives behind the stove or in the cellar of the house where she haunts. Kikimora can also be found in a swamp or forest.

The Kikimora is the subject of a fairy tale for orchestra by Anatoly Lyadov, who says, as recounted by a Los Angeles Philharmonic program note[2], that she "grows up with a magician in the mountains. From dawn to sunset the magician’s cat regales Kikimora with fantastic tales of ancient times and faraway places, as Kikimora rocks in a cradle made of crystal. It takes her seven years to reach maturity, by which time her head is no larger than a thimble and her body no wider than a strand of straw. Kikimora spins flax from dusk and to dawn, with evil intentions for the world."

Marsh Kikimora (Russian: кикимора болотная) is featured in the animal world - in 1988 Kirill Eskov named a genus from the Linyphiidae spider family discovered by him Kikimora palustris, after this spirit in Slavic mythology.