Why drive in an aspen stake. Drive an aspen stake into the grave. Amulet from evil spirits

From an early age, we have all heard about the sacred properties of aspen, and this is not only a stereotype of material imposed by cinematography, with the help of which vampires are destroyed. In fact, the properties of aspen are much more extensive. Aspen can really protect us from sacred entities: ghosts, energy vampires and other irrational evil forces that love to visit us so much at night.

If you suspect that similar ones have settled in your house, then it should immediately be fumigated with smoke from aspen coals. Also, in this case, it will not hurt to hang a cross made of aspen wood above the bed.

If there is none, then the cross can be made by yourself using aspen branches. An aspen cross can also be attached above the door jamb. After fumigating the dwelling with smoke and hanging crosses, you should sweep the house with an aspen broom, and collect the garbage and take it to the forest.

Aspen also well protects and protects you from the presence of evil and unkind people. To do this, carry three small aspen sticks in the left pocket of your everyday clothes. Aspen absorbs negative energy very well, and when you suddenly feel that you just need to relieve yourself of the burden of accumulated problems and get rid of negativity, then turn to aspen for help. After all, communication with this amazing tree helps to get rid of unreasonable fear, some obsessive thoughts and calm the nervous system. Aspen is even able to ward off seemingly inevitable.

aspen peg

An aspen peg is not only a symbol of the fight against evil spirits, but also a powerful Item of Power, with which you can protect your home and yourself from bad energy, as well as save positive energy by blocking its leakage.

You must make an aspen peg from a living tree. In no case do not use dry wood or an ordinary bar, sawn down God knows when. Such a peg will be of little use; it is better to visit the forest: and fresh air, breathe, and prepare the necessary material. In the forest, we will need to carry out, which will give you full-fledged magical protection in the form of an aspen peg.

Ritual "Living Tree"

To perform this ritual, you need to stock up on a brand new knife with a wooden handle that has not yet been used; a small bag (the size of a notebook sheet of paper) sewn from undyed natural fabric.

Wait until the moon begins to rise, and in the morning you go to nature or to a park where there are aspen trees. The ritual must be performed before noon. Pick a clear, sunny day. The tree should not be too old or too young.

To perform the ritual, turn your face to the east and say:

“My mother. Mother Earth. Good and all-powerful. I know you love me, you love me, you will help me. You help me, you protect me. You are a blooming garden, you are the blue seas. You are the blue seas, you are the high mountains. You are high mountains, you are green forests. You are green forests, you are fast rivers. You are my home, you are my soul. We are one. Lead me on a bright day. Save me on a starry night. Protect me from evil misfortune. Give me happiness and give me love. I am your child"

After that, cut off a few branches of aspen. In this case, the knife must be held in the right hand, and cutting off the branch, say:

"My dear friends! My green friends! You will give us joy, Health, Happiness and Love!”

Put the cut branches of aspen in a bag and tie it tightly. Don't forget to thank the aspen that gave you its branches:

“Thank you, darlings. Thank you, good ones, for Joy, for Happiness, for Good and Love!”

In this case, you should first bow to the tree, and then to the entire forest or park where you performed the ritual.

The aspen peg must be cut with the same knife that you cut the branches. The size of the peg should not exceed the width of your palm. One of the ends of the aspen peg must be sharpened, on the second one make an even perpendicular cut.

Now we need to determine the place where the aspen peg will bring the greatest benefit. In any dwelling there are energy faults, which most often appear where dirty water flows. Most likely, this will be the bathroom of your apartment. It is necessary to find the most vulnerable spot in it.

To do this, take the aspen peg in your right hand with the tip up. Make a fist with a peg and stretch your hand forward. Walk with outstretched hand, in which your peg is clamped, in all places where dirty water flows: kitchen sink, toilet, bathroom. In the place where there is an energy rift, your hand will spontaneously twitch or tremble.

After the places of energy leakage are found, you will need to perform the ritual of driving in an aspen peg. This is done in the following way. Holding the peg with the tip down in the left hand on weight, we clap on it from above several times with the right hand, pronouncing the following words:

“Let the bad go away, and the good come (you need to say three times), aspen peg, you get up in place, protect the house from evil”

After that, the peg is wrapped in a new white cotton fabric, sprinkled on the bundle and hidden next to the energy rift. Now the aspen peg will prevent positive energy from leaking into the rift, and prevent negative energy from penetrating.

Dmitry Volodikhin recently published an article on the website of the wonderful Foma magazine “Only armored shoes are not enough ... (“Witchhunters” in Russian box office)”. These are impressions from one of the latest Hollywood blockbusters, which has recently been released on Russian movie screens. Most of you have probably seen the movie. But I, a sinner, didn’t see him - only trailers, excerpts, well, I read the impressions of some of these and those, therefore I’ll be likened in part to the famous character of the Soviet era, who said: “I haven’t read Pasternak, but I’ll tell you!”

So, I haven’t seen the film, but I’m unlikely to be mistaken if I assume that this is something like “Van Helsing” - poor Bram Stoker! , and even good literature! .. (I remember, by the way, the story of one of my friends: in their parish, “Van Helsing” was nicknamed the aunt, who is actively fond of demonic intrigues and the fight against them ...).

Actually, it wasn't the movie itself that attracted me. And the words of the author from the above note are as follows:

“Unfortunately, although the film directly tells about the exploits of the witch-fighters Hansel and Gretel, it also has the opposite meaning, somewhat camouflaged by a clear fight against witchcraft. And this reverse meaning is pure poison.

The key phrases that introduce this crafty semantic layer are: “Praying is useless!” and “There are good witches in the world. Not much, but there is!“.

The first of them, for example, is pronounced by a seasoned witch. Like, prayer will not help you, vile enemies, you will not cope with me with your prayer. How to trust her? However, the content of the film absolutely, one hundred percent confirms her correctness. God is taken out of the film. He is not. There is nothing to rely on Him. It is better to go to the witch, armed with a grenade launcher or a crossbow with multiple warheads. But not with prayer and not with hope in the help of the Lord.

But this is a poisonous view of the world. Strong and dangerous evil, it turns out, has nothing to oppose, except for its own strength. Arm yourself! Fight! No one is behind your backs, no one will help you except yourself! A good arsenal and knowledge of hand-to-hand combat skills will perfectly replace your pure soul and firm faith!”

Frame from the film "Witch Hunters". Photo: kinopoisk.ru

About the "good witches" - it's true. Good witches, like non-alcoholic vodka, do not exist in the world.

I'm talking about something else - about prayer as a means of combating evil spirits.

May the author forgive me, I'm not arguing with him, I'm just reflecting on what he touched (I really ask him for forgiveness - but, as d'Artagnan said in The Three Musketeers, only for this! ..): in this in relation to prayer, I see something ... not even Hollywood ... something deeply wrong. Pagan - in the sense in which he grieved that our Russia was baptized, but was not really enlightened.

By the way, this was once mentioned by someone who could hardly be happy about Orthodoxy in any of its versions (however, who knows ...), who could be one of the creators of this film "Witch Hunters" - the famous "king of horrors", American writer Stephen King.

There was a time, I read his books in batches. Yes Yes. King vaguely understood the nature of evil - but what vaguely, in my unbaptized mind there were splinters, unanswered questions after reading his books - it seems that King was never able to accept its meaning for real. He accurately and reliably described the symptoms of evil - but something prevented him from clearly identifying the root, prevented him, perhaps not least, and here is why (this is only my conjecture, forgive me, Mr. King): when you clearly understand the nature of evil - then the bewitching disappears interest to evil, the drive of mystical fear of evil, implicated in lust, disappears.

When you understand the main attitude towards Satan: "and blow and spit on him"- and forget, do not pay attention to the wood lice in the floorboard, in anything else, focus on the main thing, on Christ - then many fascinating "from this world" phobias, fantasies, interests and groundwork fall away. In particular, then there is nothing to weave a yarn of fascinating and dollar-bringing novels about the fight against an irresistible enchanting evil - then you need to come to the light and simplicity of Christ, and for the career of a successful horror novelist, you understand, it is not very useful ....

So, after being baptized in 1996, I threw away a pack of King's books in the trash. And never regretted it. He returned, years later, only two (and then - not to the bookshelf, but to the electronic reader to re-read) - the novels "Necessary things" and "Salimov's Lot" (the second, by the way, returned not to a small extent because of the wonderful lyrical passages about the weather, about autumn, about the wind, with which some chapters begin ...).

In "Salim's Lot" there is a scene in which two significant characters fight - the almighty age-old vampire Barlow and the priest Father Callahan, one - led by the power of magical satanic lust, the second - holds a crucifix in his hand as a weapon, as a symbol of resistance to evil. And so, forcing the priest of little faith to discard the cross, which seemed to have just shone with strength, and triumphing over him (according to the novel - an elderly alcoholic, prone), the vampire says this:

"It's too late for such melodrama," said Barlow from the darkness. The tone was almost mournful. - For what? You have forgotten the doctrine of your own church, have you not? The cross, bread and wine, confession are only symbols. Without faith, the cross is a simple tree, bread is baked wheat, wine is sour grapes.

And he says it's absolutely true.

What is the idea of Hollywood action films about the fight against Satan? It is to find - in a purely materialistic spirit - powerful magical artifacts that can crush the demon.

The words of the author of the note in “Thomas” led me to think: we, modern Russian Christians, are often looking for such artifacts: holy water, icons consecrated on the relics, earthenware, and ... prayer. “This prayer is oh, strong!” - we say - in a purely materialistic spirit again - sometimes we are. Purely pagan presentation...

After all, what is prayer? Simply put, a conversation between man and God. Child - with the Heavenly Father. Gratitude, request, petition, repentance, sometimes - just slurred babble ... conversation. It does not matter whether it is expressed by formulas that have been established over the centuries or simply by the words “as is”, from the heart - but a conversation.

Is it possible to be saved - by talking? You can save yourself - only by active action. This is known to all in the life of life.

Active opposition to evil, that is, the fulfillment of the commandments of God.

So if you answer the intrigues of evil not with a “prayer-spell”, but with an appeal to Christ, unity with Him and life according to His commandments, then life itself will change. She will go to a completely different area. In one where there will no longer be witches, ghouls, monsters from children's fantasies and American horror films that captivate us so much - but there will be real life. Eternal. But about it and about what we really need to live in it is a completely different story.

Aspen, or Aspen ordinary, or Poplar trembling(lat. Populus tremula) is a species of deciduous trees from the genus Poplar of the Willow family. Aspen is widely distributed in areas with a temperate and cold climate in Europe and Asia.

Aspen legends

Different peoples had legends and beliefs associated with the amazing property of aspen leaves to move from the slightest breath of wind.

According to one version of the myth of Greco-Roman mythology, the sisters of Phaethon, the heliads of Phoebe and Lampetia, turned into two aspens after an angry Zeus killed Phaethon with a thunderbolt, and he fell into the Po River. The tears they shed into the swift waters of the Po became amber.

In Christian mythology aspen leaves still tremble with horror, remembering the Crucifixion. It was believed that the Cross of the Lord was made of aspen, and "since then the branches of this tree have been seized with fear and tremble incessantly." However, aspen does not actually grow in Palestine. The flutter of aspen leaves in Russian tradition is associated with another episode of the New Testament - the suicide of Judas Iscariot. The people consider the aspen a cursed tree because, according to legend, Judas the Betrayer strangled himself on it.

Yermolov A. S. in the book “Folk Agricultural Wisdom in Proverbs, Sayings and Signs” (ed. 1905) writes: living, so todi Vinpishov tay siv pid with an osyka (aspen), and there it was like rustling, that y zlyakala the Savior; for tse Vin, cursing and saying: Bodai, you rustled with a windshield and without a windshield. There is also a variant of this belief: during the flight to Egypt, the Mother of God with the Eternal Child was hiding under the aspen, and the aspen was cursed not by the Savior, but by the Mother of God. In Ukraine, there was also a belief according to which aspens are not placed in the walls of houses during construction, “but then the whole family trembles the day and nothing ails like a osyka trembles.”

In fact, a fairly wide aspen leaf naturally has a very thin and flexible stalk, unable to hold it straight - this is why aspen foliage is extremely sensitive to even the lightest breeze. There is an assumption that this is due to the fact that aspen, due to its rapid growth, does not have time to build up a sufficiently large thickness and strength of the main trunk, while the total leaf area reaches a rather large size. Therefore, in a strong wind, a plant with leaves tightly pressed to the stems would constantly lose them (aspen leaves are held on long rather free petioles); and a rigid trunk would break (the trunk of an aspen is extremely flexible).

Aspen is attributed the property to drive away evil spirits:

The witch is afraid of the aspen(Little Russian). If aspen twigs are stuck into the wattle fence, then a witch cannot enter such a fence and will not spoil the cows (Little Russian).

It is also considered that aspen stake stuck in the heart of a vampire can stop him.

Folk proverbs, sayings, signs, riddles and jokes

Aspen - and without the wind it makes noise
Bitter aspen - cursed Judas gallows
The aspen is still whispering, and the cursed tree
Aspen beats her hands (the sheets on her tremble) (Smooth lips.)
“A frightened person is said to “tremble, tremble, like an aspen leaf.” Little Russians have two opinions about which tree Judas hanged himself on: others say that the vines hung on the bushes, and they are not fit for construction (the devil is alive in the bushes) ”
One berry is a bitter mountain ash, one tree is a bitter aspen (As an aspen is a bitter tree, so a mountain ash is a bitter berry: those places where only these two trees grow are bad).
Aspen leaves lie face up on the ground - the winter will be cold, and upside down - warm. folk omen.
This oats before the aspen blossoms (Yarosl. Lip.)
Large buds on aspen - for the harvest of barley
If the aspen is fluffy in the spring, then buckwheat will be born (Tobolsk lips.)
In the spring, on aspen and birch, there is a good lobe - there will be vigorous bread (good grain)
Aspen in catkins - harvest for oats (Orenb. lips.)
If tassels hang from the aspen in the spring, even before the buds open and the grass grows, - by the harvest of barley and spelt (votyatsk.)
Aspen has long cones - barley will be born (Perm. lips.)
When there are a lot of large earrings on the aspen at the beginning of spring - to a good harvest of peas (Vladimirsk lips.)
If there is a strong color (sheep) on the aspen, then there will be good barley (Kaluga lips.)
When there are no lambs on the aspen, there will be no oats that year (Latvian)
When rowan or aspen blossoms well, so will good peas (Latvian)
October 16 in the folk calendar - Denis Pozimny. On this day, it is necessary to fear the Sabbath of evil spirits. Autumn fevers are raging, roaming around the wide world, they themselves are tormented and people are tormented. autumn fever can get under clothes, turn into a mote - and fly into the eyes. Autumn fevers - lomiha, fire, shaker, yellowberry, fever, insomnia. They live, according to popular belief, in swamps, fly to human habitation.
If you carry aspen bark with you, do not hope for October, then the fever will circle around you, and retreat. Or else, cut off an aspen branch and carry it with you, too, they say, from the disease that fevers send, it saves.
If he brings his legs together, they put an aspen field in his legs. If the head hurts unbearably, an aspen field is placed under the head.
It is known that "aspen does not burn without kerosene" (meaning the low value of aspen firewood as fuel)

Aspen stake: manufacturing and processing features

The stake is considered to be the most powerful and effective tool for bringing restless undead to rest. “The sorcerer and the witch in the coffin are pierced with a stake through the chest so that they don’t go like a ghoul; common belief of all Slavic tribes", - points out Vladimir Dal. However, what exactly should be the correct stake? What are its dimensions, material of manufacture, sharpening features? Is it necessary to wind the twine around the stake and what is it for at all? What additional tools are needed to use the stake, are there any mandatory procedures that must be followed in the manufacture (conspiracies, rituals)? There are many questions, but there are surprisingly few answers in folklore materials and ethnographic studies. They are clearly not enough to make a stake on their own. We had to find the living bearers of the tradition of making stakes, which are still used in the villages of Russia to put the ghouls to rest and perform other apotropaic (protective) actions using time-tested technologies.

1. Material for making stake

What the count should be wood, not steel or bone, in this no one of the researchers disagrees. Some authors, who did not go into details, simply call it “wooden stake”, without unnecessary details, as, for example, Bram Stoker did in his novel “Dracula” (wooden stake - and that's it). Meanwhile, the material is very important, any wood will not work. The stake must be made only from the tree, which in itself is already a talisman against the undead.

“Among the trees and plants that occupy one of the first places in the beliefs of the common people is the aspen. In folk songs, aspen is not found and is not sung, just as oak, yavir, poplar, birch, viburnum, willow are sung; but in the beliefs of the common people about devilry, about witches, people from the other world are closely and inextricably linked with the idea about aspen as a talisman and a fuse from all this "evil spirits". The people consider this tree to be the first amulet and a protective measure against devils, witches, the dead, ghouls, etc.<...> With an aspen stick in your hands, you can go anywhere at any time of the night, and no evil spirits will approach a person. If at the windows and at the doors, when the dead person walks, put a piece of aspen, then the dead person will no longer enter the hut., - writes the ethnographer Ivan Benkovsky (Kyiv Starina. 1898. No. 7-8).

“Aspen was used at the funeral of suicides, sorcerers and witches. In the event of the death of a sorcerer or witch, an aspen stake was driven into the ceiling of the house so that the devil would climb into the hole and take the soul of the sorcerer to hell. At the death of the sorcerer, the evil spirit came out of his body in the form of a black animal, which was supposed to be killed by piercing it with an aspen stake. From aspen they made a coffin for suicides, as well as pegs with which they beat it<...> Suspecting a ghoul in the deceased, an aspen stake was driven into the grave during the funeral or aspen crosses or chips were placed on the chest of the deceased <...> To prevent the deceased from "walking", his grave was torn apart, and his heart was pierced with an aspen stake» (Slavic Antiquities. Ethnolinguistic Dictionary, edited by N. I. Tolstoy. T. 3. 2004).

So, the best material for making a stake is aspen. In addition to aspen, some other plants were also used, such as oak. South Slavs also make cola from blackthorn or elderberry, known for their protective properties.

2. Stake size

In Hollywood films about the repose of vampires, instead of stakes, they like to depict miniature wooden sticks 15-20 centimeters long and 2 centimeters in diameter. Heroic hunters from half a lance drive small pegs into the friable bodies of vampires, inflicting grievous injuries incompatible with their unlife. However, real folklore vampires cannot be penetrated by this: welcome to real life:) To put a vampire to rest, a stake is put to his body (chest, head, backside) and beaten with a powerful blow of a hammer or sledgehammer. Bram Stoker, for example, advised taking a heavy hammer, which you usually use to break coal blocks in your basement.

The stake does not have a mandatory fixed size, which may depend on the immediate purpose of use. It's one thing if you just want to drive a stake into a single ghoul; the other is if you want to dig open the grave and punch through the coffin and the vampire in it, pinning it to the ground. The height of a standard coffin is 50-70 cm, i.e. the length of the stake for breaking through the coffin will be at least 80 cm. Thus, the length of the stake will vary from half a meter to a meter or more. The diameter of the stake depends on the size of the aspen chosen for the manufacture of the stake, and is usually equal to the diameter of the aspen. However, a stake that is too thin can break, so it is not recommended to use stakes with a diameter of less than 40 millimeters. The maximum thickness is limited only by the biological characteristics of the aspen and your physical capabilities: driving a whole log into a corpse, especially if it resists, is not for everyone.

So, the required length of the stake is 50-100 cm or more, the diameter is 4-7 cm. It turns out to be a rather weighty drin.

3. Processing stake

The glamorous cinematographic stakes are carefully planed, carefully sanded and sometimes even polished. Such a work of art is even a pity to drive into a vampire. But is aesthetics really that important? Moreover, the stake is a disposable weapon, after hammering it is not removed back. So how should a traditional aspen stake be made and processed?

3.1. Is it necessary to dry aspen wood and make a stake from raw wood?

No, you don't need to dry. The wood must be "raw". This practice was even reflected in the dictionaries of the second half of the 19th century:

“To get rid of a vampire, according to the common people, there is only one means: to dig up his corpse, to hammer a sharp raw stake cut off the head and, tearing out the heart, burn it"(Desk dictionary for references in all branches of knowledge, edited by F. Toll. T. 1. 1863. S. 398).

“To get rid of a vampire, according to Calmette, there is one means: to dig up his corpse, to hammer raw stake, cut off the head, and tearing out the heart, burn it "(Reference encyclopedic dictionary edited by A. Starchevsky. T. 3. 1854. P. 41).

In the second example, there is a reference to the fundamental work of the Benedictine Antoine Augustine Calmette Traité sur les apparitions (1746). However, in this treatise there is no word about the material from which the stake should be made, or about whether raw or dry wood should be used. An 1850 English translation of the treatise is available from books.google.com and Project Gutenberg. Thus, apparently, the dictionaries reflect the real East Slavic practice of that time in making stakes from raw wood. The ethnographic expedition, which will be discussed below, confirmed this conclusion.

3.2. Do I need to remove the bark from the aspen, sand the stake?

This is a very interesting question. It came as a surprise to us. Initially, when the diameter of the stake was studied, the choice of diameter also assumed the processing of the aspen trunk, planing to the required size. The question of leaving the bark in place did not even occur to me.

The question of the bark was raised during an ethnographic expedition Folklore and ethnographic center of the resting place of the undead Upyrnet to the village of Danilovo, Udmurt Republic (2011). The village still has a tradition of using aspen stakes to fight evil spirits. Shortly before the expedition, a witch was dying in the village, as it should be very hard. To facilitate her death, a traditional all-Slavic ritual was used - driving an aspen stake into the ridge of the house; according to the villagers, the technology worked flawlessly. Our question about how to properly process the surface of the stake was met with bewilderment by the peasants: “The bark does not need to be removed. When a stake is hammered into the grave of a dead person, it will be better if it sprouts. Then the dead man will certainly no longer walk.”, the source said. The same consideration explains the need to use raw aspen - it has more chances to germinate. However, the use of a planed stake is also allowed.

3.3. How to sharpen a stake?

The stake must be sharp enough to facilitate driving into the dead body. Some authors indicate that the tip of the stake should be worked in the fire to make it more hard. More information has not yet been found in literary and ethnographic sources. The peasants of the village of Danilovo gave us more details. According to them, the point of the stake should be worked out with exactly three blows of the ax. At the first blow they sentence "in the name of the Father", On the second - "and the Son", on the third - "and the Holy Spirit, amen".

4. Twine

A twine (thin rope) is tied at the top of the stake. When hammering a stake, the twine is above the palm and prevents the hand from accidentally slipping off. Nevertheless, in addition to such practical functionality, the rope also has a protective purpose, because tying it with a rope is equivalent to creating a magic circle. In the village of Danilovo the twine is tied to a stake in three circles, for each circle, similarly to making a point, saying: "in the name of the Father", "and the Son" and "Holy Spirit, amen". Therefore, to support ritual functions, it is better to use a string made of a material that in itself is a talisman against the walking dead (flax, bast, hemp, etc.) Note for perfectionists: the perfect twine should be made by a 12-year-old girl on the day of the Holy Trinity. Degree of processing: it is desirable to use a harsh (unwashed) thread, undyed or red (red scares away evil spirits).

5. Application of sacred and protective symbols

We have not yet found any regulatory instructions for applying any sacred and protective symbols to the stake. In the village of Danilovo, nothing is put on the stake. However, in our opinion, the use of Christian symbols, such as a cross that can be burned or carved on aspen wood, cannot hurt.

Aspen stake in the sorcerer's grave

Illustration: shaminskiy.at.tut.by

A sorcerer was buried in the village of Klyukovo. Few dared to approach the coffin where the terrible old man rested. The villagers in the distance silently watched the burial, occasionally whispering to each other. They hired brothers from a neighboring village to hammer in the lid and lower the domino into the grave: they were constantly under a degree and were not afraid of anything - neither sorcerers, nor the devil himself. In addition, they were promised two liters of moonshine and a snack. When the grave was filled with earth, one of the members of this drunken funeral team drove a hefty aspen stake into the grave. “So it is necessary,” the villagers explained. “Now Erofeich will not rise, he will not wander around the village and frighten the living.” Some, however, considered this measure not quite sufficient. Grandmother Vera, whose mother was from the Vologda province, was especially upset. “Erofeich had to be carried out of the hut not with his feet forward, but with his head,” the grandmother whispered, “and when they dragged him to the churchyard, stop at the first river, turn him over in his coffin and cut his heels. buried..." Finally, it was all over. The people flowed with relief from the cemetery. Everyone gathered in Nikiforovna's hut. They thought - to commemorate the deceased or not. It seems that it is necessary to commemorate the deceased, but whether sorcerers are commemorated - no one could remember. "How can I drink my soul for a mention, if he sold it to the devil!" Grandma Vera was angry. We decided to just drink and eat. At first they drank in silence, but soon the alcohol did its job - the people took courage. They began to remember how the sorcerer Erofeich died. And he died hard. For several days in a row he had convulsions and repeatedly fell off the stove. So he died under the stove. And they also said that before his death, the sorcerer tried to convey his magical power. While he was still able to walk, he wandered around the village and invited everyone he met to his house. Only no one went to him - it was scary. Only when Erofeich was completely weakened did some compassionate villagers come to him - to feed and give him water. But all the same, they tried to stay away from the dying person and did not give anything from their hands, they put water and food so that he himself could reach. They offered, they say, medicines, but Erofeich refused them. A sorcerer is a sorcerer...

I remember when I was a child relaxing in the summer in the village with Baba Nyusha - the sister of my own grandmother - I was forbidden to go to the Kuzins' yard. All the villagers were convinced that old Cousin was a witch. Baba Nyusha said that she knew how to turn into a pig, and at exactly midnight a flame flies out of the chimney of their house - this is a witch who flew off on her witchcraft deeds. One day I could not resist and, overcoming my fear, crept up to Kuzinsky's house at night. Indeed, at exactly 12 midnight a sheaf of sparks flew out of the chimney. Then I was terribly frightened, but now I think that these same Kuzins were heating the stove with something wrong ... By the way, this village was only 200 km from Moscow, that is, not so far from "civilization".

As for the late Erofeich from Klyukov, several years before his death I met him and even had a short conversation. I think he was considered a sorcerer not by chance. Even then, that is, 15 years ago, he seemed very old. And he had an unusual appearance: he had long gray hair, a thick matted beard and a prickly "wolf" look. Erofeich lived as a bean, did not like to talk, did not drink wine, and in his dilapidated house, standing on the very edge of the village next to the graveyard, on which he was later buried, there was neither an icon nor a lamp. Yerofeich went out into the street only in the evening, and what he did during the day - only the devil knows (the villagers assured that Yerofeich never worked, he lived on products from his own garden). He always walked with a frown, looking at the white light frowningly. Seeing a sorcerer walking with a big knotty stick, the villagers hurried to take refuge in the huts, fearing the "evil eye and damage." All their troubles (the Colorado potato beetle ate potatoes, Vanka the tractor driver fell into the river together with the tractor, the calf died, the chickens do not rush well, the husband left Matryona and went to the postman, etc.) they attributed exclusively to Yerofeyich's witchcraft machinations. However, no one ever dared to quarrel with him, let alone beat him. I, as a city dweller, only laughed at the innocence of the villagers. And one day, despite the fact that they tried to dissuade me, I decided to go and visit the mysterious old man. Yerofeich met me unkindly, he did not let me into the upper room. I introduced myself as a writer - they say, I am writing a book about the village, collecting material and would like to talk with an old-timer. But the old man did not want to talk to me. "They talk about me who knows what. It's all because the vile people live here, all drunkards and lazy people ... And we have nothing to talk about with you, I don’t remember anything and don’t know. Go where you came from ..." Here , in fact, and all the words I heard from Erofeich. Later, someone told me that Erofeich was not a local. As if back in the days of collectivization, he was dispossessed and exiled to Siberia, but he ran away halfway, hid somewhere for a long time, and then, when it became possible, he settled in Klyukovo. Here he failed to find a common language with the locals, did not make friends with anyone. Probably because, firstly, he was a stranger, and secondly, he had such a frightening appearance. In general, Erofeich harbored a grudge against people, and this explained the strangeness of his behavior. And since faith in evil spirits lived in Klyukov from time immemorial, the locals mistook him for a sorcerer. Yes, Erofeich did not refuse this title. He probably liked that people were afraid of him. And only when he fell completely ill did he become afraid to die alone, that's why he began to walk around the village and invite to him. But the villagers interpreted his actions in their own way - they recorded him as a sorcerer.

Traditionally, people believe that sorcerers can be voluntary, involuntary and natural. Voluntary, of course, became such of his own free will, having performed the appropriate ceremony. Involuntarily forcibly (with the help of various tricks) the dying sorcerer passed on knowledge. A natural sorcerer has his own genealogy: a girl will give birth to a girl, this second will bring a third, and the boy born from the third will become a sorcerer at an age, and the girl will become a witch. People were afraid of all three categories of sorcerers, and they usually used three means to expose them: a willow candle, aspen firewood and a rowan twig. It was said that if you light a skillfully prepared candle, then sorcerers and sorceresses will appear upside down. In the same way, it is worth heating the stove with aspen wood on Maundy Thursday, as immediately all the sorcerers will come to ask for ashes. The rowan wand helps to identify these unkind people during the bright matins: they stand with their backs to the iconostasis. There were several other ways to identify the sorcerer. For example, put a knife with the point up and read the Sunday prayer (May God rise again) from the end - then the sorcerer will either roar or begin to swear badly. Or take the "forty-dinner incense" (which lay on the throne during forty), grind it into powder, pour it into wine or beer and give the sorcerer a drink - then he will start walking around the hut from one corner to another and will not find the door. And if at this time you offer him to drink filthy water, at least from the pelvis, he will willingly drink it and then lose all his strength. There was a way to single-handedly deal with the sorcerer. To do this, it was enough to hit him backhand with his left hand, without turning back. If blood is shed at the same time, then the sorcerer has already deteriorated and is no longer suitable for sorcerers.

Now, if in the village of Klyukovo they knew at least one of these methods, then they would have found out long ago that Erofeich was not a sorcerer, but was simply an unfortunate, offended by the whole world, a lonely and strange person. In vain they drove an aspen stake into his grave.

Such an interesting field of pseudoscience as demonology believes that the first was the biblical character Cain, who killed his brother and was expelled from Paradise. To aggravate the situation, he was doomed to live forever in torment and suffering. Another version of the origin of vampires claims that the first wife of Adam, Lilith, became the ancestor of blood-sucking ghouls. She, too, was expelled from Paradise for not being a very good wife. The theory that unites these versions says that it was Lilith who taught Cain to use the power of blood to turn other people into her likeness.

Later, Cain created three vampires, and with their help, the bloodsuckers family multiplied and spread throughout the world, instilling fear and horror in people. Some sources indicate that Cain, horrified by the actions of his creatures, unsuccessfully tried to stop them.

People were looking for ways to fight vampires, turning to everything that personifies God. The most effective tools were recognized as the cross, sunlight, prayer and holy water. Aspen stake did not immediately join this list.

Why ?

The aspen is best known as the tree on which Judas. It is believed that for the betrayal he was branded with the sign of Cain. Thus, a parallel is drawn between the death of a traitor and a tool, even if such a controversial one. Aspen is considered a cursed tree, which is why they decided to use it against vampires, killing like with like. A number of sources believe that a stake to kill a vampire does not have to be made of aspen.

Perhaps it was the Church that widely spread the rumor about the miraculous power of aspen stakes against vampires in an attempt to strengthen authority. Unfortunately, at present it is quite difficult to understand the intricacies of superstitions and facts of the Middle Ages.
If we ignore the church-biblical version, we can find out that the aspen has long been considered a talisman in the territory of modern Eastern Europe. It is not known whether this is a belief, perhaps it appeared due to the exceptional color of the wood itself.

Aspen was considered a good remedy against vampires, witches or drowned people. It was believed that a fence studded with aspen chips could stop an unwanted guest. The aspen stake "grew" out of this belief. In addition, in the villages, stakes were often the only weapons available, except for tools.

In some stories, the aspen stake is described solely as a means to delay or stop the vampire, but not to kill him. For the final destruction, it is necessary to use "heavy weapons" - crosses, holy water and prayer.

Everyone knows that the most effective remedies against ghouls and other evil spirits are holy water, garlic and aspen stake. If the picture is more or less clear with the first ingredients, then a quite reasonable question arises about the last item - why exactly does the aspen stake have such a powerful magical effect? What is bad, say, a stake made of walnut or birch?

According to the beliefs of our distant ancestors, aspen served as a reliable guide to the other world for restless souls. By driving an aspen stake into the chest of a dead man, or by placing an aspen cross in the coffin, he was forever sent to the afterlife. The deceased, awarded such a "one-way ticket", could never return to the world of people and harm them.

In general, aspen has long enjoyed, to put it mildly, not a very good reputation among many peoples. Among the Slavs, the tree was considered cursed and was widely used in witchcraft rites and black magic. Traditions that have come down to us from ancient times tell how the underground god Veles, fleeing the persecution of the powerful Perun, turned into a snake and hid in aspen branches. This explained why lightning (perunov's arrows) are so often targeted exactly at aspen during a thunderstorm, and the leaves continuously tremble with fear, fearing the wrath of the bright gods.

With the advent of Christianity, the attitude towards the tree has not changed. It was believed that the aspen gave away the Mother of God with the baby Jesus with the trembling of foliage when they hid under a tree, fleeing Herod's persecution. Also, according to legends, a cross was made of aspen wood, on which Christ was crucified. And the traitor Judas hanged himself on an aspen, because other trees did not accept the sinner.

Aspen was not planted near housing, they did not build houses from it, they tried not to wander for a long time in aspen forests, so as not to become a victim of the devil's tricks. It was believed that by accidentally falling asleep under an aspen, you can make a journey into the world of spirits. They believed that devils live in aspen forests, so rest in the shade of a tree could end very badly.

However, not a single sorcerer could do without the help of the "cursed tree". For example, in order to turn into a wolf or other animal, a person had to roll over five times through an aspen stump. A branch of a tree, thrown by a village sorcerer under his feet, knocked the traveler off the road. And the aspen peg, imperceptibly driven under the base of the house, was able to take away the health and strength of all household members.

The ability of a tree to separate the world of the living and the world of the dead was used not only for evil. A circle was drawn with an aspen stake in order to protect themselves from the wiles of the goblin, if they had to spend the night in the forest. Aspen chopsticks were used to take an object if they considered it “spoiled”. Aspen twigs placed in the cradle saved the newborn from the evil eye and terrible dreams.

On the eve of the Kupala night and St. George's Day, aspen branches stuck the walls of the barn, gates, sheds in order to prevent witches from stealing milk.

The ability to absorb any energy by a tree was also widely used to treat ailments. Aspen was asked to "accept" the disease, with the help of slander, many ailments were reduced to her, especially fevers. The clothes of an ill person were often hung on branches or buried under a tree, nails and hair were nailed into the trunk. An aspen log was considered a universal remedy for convulsions - one had only to attach it to a sore spot. Often, a kind of contract was concluded with a tree - they swore not to cause him any harm in exchange for health.

If it was almost impossible to meet aspen houses, then aspen logs at the base of the bathhouse and bathing utensils (ladles, troughs, gangs) were used everywhere. According to the beliefs of the Slavs, thus, the invisible owner of the bathhouse, or "bannik" could not bring guests from the world of Navi to a human dwelling.

The bark was used in tanning leather, as well as to obtain yellow and green dyes. A few twigs thrown into a tub of sauerkraut kept it from fermenting. Hunters roaming the forests in winter ate the bark to recuperate and relieve fatigue.

If we discard the mystical background and all sorts of beliefs, the aspen is a very curious tree. It is closely related to poplars, its name is translated from Latin as "trembling poplar". The constant swaying of the leaves actually does not come at all from the eternal fear attributed to the tree by popular rumor, but because of the long and flat leaf petiole. In other trees, the petioles are usually cylindrical in shape.

Compared to other trees, the age of the aspen is short - it rarely lives up to its centenary. Its wood is prone to rotting, so many trees break during bad weather. Also, aspen has difficulties in propagating by seeds: they quickly lose their germination capacity and germinate at relatively high humidity. Therefore, most often the tree propagates by root offspring. A powerful root system, located deep underground, helps the aspen survive extensive forest fires.

With the onset of autumn, an interesting phenomenon can be observed - along with the leaves of aspens, there is ... branch fall! By the way, it is still unknown why the tree gets rid of outwardly healthy and young twigs.

They say that if you stand next to a tree or touch it, you can get rid of a headache. Maybe before running to the pharmacy for life-saving pills, just go for a walk and ask the tree for help?