- A character exclusively from East Slavic mythology. The bearer of primitive magic. Functionally similar to sorcerer Characterizing the witcher (sorcerer) based on materials from the 19th century, V. Dahl highlights his ability to be a werewolf, as well as his particular harmfulness. This is “vovkulaka, a werewolf; ghoul, bloodsucker." He “walks around after his death and kills people” [Dal, 1880 In the minds of Russian peasants, all “strong” sorcerers can “walk and harm” after death and burial. Probably, the name witcher (like heretic, ghoul) most of all refers specifically to a “strong” dead sorcerer who destroys people by biting them to death, eating them and sucking their blood. The Witcher personifies death, understood as the devouring of a person by a supernatural creature. This idea of ​​death is one of the oldest. Material taken from the site http://slavyans. myfhology.info
According to legend, the witcher had two souls, human and demonic, which, in turn, determined his versatility: he could be hostile to humans and at the same time friendly.
Like witch, the witcher spoils livestock and crops, turns people into werewolves or punishes them by making them “worried” (in this case, it seems to the person that all his teeth are falling out, his eyes are disappearing, and it depends only on the witcher’s desire whether they will return to their place or not). The witcher himself is also capable of shapeshifting; he can turn into horse, wolf and even a moth . At the same time, according to legend, people also see a lot of good things from the witcher. He speaks, heals, knows the past, foresees the future, finds lost or stolen things. Leading over all the witches and sorcerers in the area, the witcher can prevent them from committing atrocities, drive away dangerous dead people, and so on.
The witcher not only does not do anything evil, but is even punished to be useful: he prevents witches from doing evil, forbids the dead to walk, disperses clouds, and so on. Even after death he does not lose his power. They say that they have seen him more than once, how he fights with the dead on the graves and always wins.
It was believed that the witcher looked like an ordinary man, but with a small tail on which four hairs grew. The witcher was also credited with a heavy gaze, from which a person could get sick and even die. There was a belief that a witcher sees the outside world upside down. Like the witch, he flies
to the Sabbath, leading there and having sexual intercourse with the witches. He lives alone, never marries, is silent and unsociable.
Before death, a witcher is obliged to transfer his power and knowledge to another person through a thing or a special word given to him. It was believed that this could happen against the will of the person himself, so before death they were afraid to approach the witcher. But even after death he retains some of his power. So that the human and not the demonic soul prevails (otherwise the former witcher will become ghoul), the deceased had his heels or hamstrings cut off, placed face down in a coffin, or an aspen stake driven into his heart. If everything was done “correctly,” people believed that the witcher would guard his village, keeping out the dead and ghouls.

Witcher - a character in Slavic mythology with witchcraft abilities. Also known as: sorcerer, werewolf, sorcerer.

Origin of the term

The name possibly comes from “to know” - to know, to have information about something, knowledge; “Poppy” - Goddess Makosh, who weaves the threads of destinies. That is, the “witcher” is the one in charge of destinies, the one who can control them. A related term is “witchcraft”, “Vedas”, “witch”, “knowledgeable” in something, “tell”, “witchcraft” - magic, witchcraft, sorcery, sorcery, divination.

Classification

According to legends, a witcher, like a witch, can be born and trained. You can become a witcher by selling your soul to the devil already in adulthood.

• U natural born no hair, beard, mustache, vertical pupils.
• Trained- no different from a normal person.

Rarely are witchers mentioned who are loyal to people: they charm diseases, heal people and animals, forbid witches from doing evil, and protect people.

Another point of view. Witchers, like human witches, are carriers of secret knowledge (constantly accumulating their knowledge and developing abilities to inhuman levels), received at birth as a gift, or transmitted from other witchers or witches. In the pre-Christian period (during paganism), witchers were hired to deal with wickedness, or other cases where a mercenary was needed with knowledge of combat, magic, poisons, medicine, manipulation, capable of managing things inaccessible to an uninitiated person. It is assumed that witchers could be adherents of: the dark side, light in practice, and gray ones who used their knowledge both for good (both in light matters) and for harm (and in dark ones); they can also be classified according to their way of life: wandering, hermit and village, wandering, mercenaries - who for a reward did various jobs using their skills and knowledge (usually gray or dark), the witcher became a hermit in two cases, in the first when he was expelled for dark cases and in the second, when he himself left to pass on his knowledge to a student in the wilderness, a village witcher who lived near the settlement (there could be several of them in one settlement). Ordinary people were afraid of witchers, as well as other bearers of the secret of knowledge, such as shamans, priests, magicians, witches, etc. With the advent of Christianity, they were declared evil spirits and began to be persecuted, and new myths also appeared, that in order to become a witcher, you need to sell your soul to the devil, before this period there were witchers in the land of the ancient Slavs, but no one had heard of the devil there yet , the devil appeared here along with Christian mythology.

Peculiarities

A witcher has two souls: human and demonic.

Abilities and habits

The witcher sees through all the witches and sorcerers in the area, controls the witches who confess to him the harm they have caused to people.

At night, through a hole under the kneecap, under the thigh or under the tailbone, the witcher's soul can leave the body.

On the eve of Christmas and Easter, witchers gather at crossroads, dance, have fun and be nice to each other, and also fly to Bald Mountain.

Often has a bad character. He often uses his abilities to settle scores with his enemies.

He has skills in freely handling human organs: he can take out a person’s eyes and return them to their place without any harm to him. He can also blow into his mouth and take out all his teeth. In addition, he has an “evil eye” - he can look into a person’s eyes with such a look that he will immediately get sick and die in a few days.

He knows how to control bees and disperse clouds. The mermaids' spells are powerless against him. The Witcher is capable of being a werewolf: he turns into a horse, a moth, a wolf, etc.

The witcher does not lose his power even after death: he fights with the dead on the graves, not letting them into the village, and always wins.

Recognition

A witcher can be recognized as follows: if you bury the bones of lamb's legs under the church threshold, then the witcher will not be able to leave the church. Also, if you throw a horse shoe and a stone into boiling water, the witcher will suffer and come to the house to cure the cow he has spoiled.

When a witcher dies, there is a drought or, conversely, long, lingering rains.

Precautions

Like any person who has sold his soul to the devil, a witcher may well become a ghoul after death, so it is better to bury him according to an old rite established to protect against witches: drive an aspen stake into his heart, place him face down in a coffin, cut the tendons on his legs to discourage I had to wander around the village at night and put aspen chips in my mouth.

Source

• "Dictionary of Slavic mythology"

I have always been amazed and pleased by Andrzej’s manner of reinterpreting legends, myths and superstitions, making them play with new facets that fit perfectly into the world and are perfectly adjusted to each other. He looks at them from a completely new angle. Which speaks volumes about his incomparable talent.)))

"The witcher is sitting on me, counting the stars with his claw - one, two, three, four...

The witcher has a dog’s head and a huge, hairless tail. "

A. N. Tolstoy. "The Witcher".

The knowledge left to us about the mythical witchers is very contradictory. And all Slavic peoples believed in them. Like a witch, a witcher can be born and trained. A natural witcher is a sorcerer born from

connection between a woman and the devil. He may lack a mustache and beard and generally no hair on his body, except for four hairs on a small tail. The image in the witcher's eyes is turned upside down. A witcher has two souls: human and demonic. When he sleeps, the second soul leaves the body through an opening under the kneecap. The Witcher has the ability to turn into a moth, horse, or wolf. This is a bloodsucker ghoul, a living corpse that goes around after death to harm people. He knows all the witches and sorcerers, controls the witches, supervises them during their orgies in baths and closets. The witchers themselves also organize their gatherings on Red Mountain - in contrast to the witches who gather on Bald Mountain.

According to some beliefs, the witcher acts in concert with the witches, even teaching them to take milk from cows, casting spells on them, and turn people into wolfhounds, especially at weddings. A witcher who settles personal scores with an enemy is terrible. He can take out a person’s eyes and return them to their place without any harm, he can blow into the mouth and all the teeth will fall out, he can look into the eyes with such a look that the person will get sick and die in a few days.

According to other beliefs, the witcher is a good creature, who not only does nothing evil, but even tries to be useful: he prevents witches from doing evil, forbids the dead to walk, and disperses clouds. And after death, the witcher does not lose his power. They said that they had seen him more than once fighting with the dead on their graves and always winning. According to the Ukrainian tale, the father-witcher, with his advice, saves his son, who spends three nights with a dead widow, and thus defeats all the witches - even the main one, the Kyiv one.

In old age, a witcher must pass on his knowledge to another person. When it dies, there is a drought or endless rains. Because of the second, unclean soul, the witcher can become a ghoul after death. To protect oneself from a dead witcher, during burial, his head is cut off, placed face down, a stake is driven into his mouth, and poppies are scattered three times at the grave.

Witches

“Hey,” he says, “witchcats, fortune tellers... make a wish for me and tell me what my share in marriage is written?”

A witch who practiced love magic was called a sorceress. This activity was almost not dangerous and very profitable. Neither brave fellows, nor beautiful maidens, nor deceived husbands, nor jealous wives will pass by the fortune tellers, because now, as in the old days, the belief in “dryness” still lives in people.

“I’ll tie a calf on a thin rope, I’ll be my own magician, I’ll dry Milenka.”

And here is one of the sweets (a plot for the love of a young man): Shine, shine, my dear, sweet sun, and early dew, don’t fall, but clear sun, don’t rise, don’t illuminate the mountains, valleys, crossroads, but look at my beloved, who was destined for me from God, to be soldered to my heart. You, clear sun, you shine on him, you see him, so kindle and warm his heart so that he can neither eat, nor drink, nor sleep, nor be cheerful, but only think about me; run to me, so that the hour is never too late for him, relatives are relatives, sister is sister, brother is brother, mother is mother, father is father, so that nothing will be dear to him except his betrothed, so that she will be dearer to him than all the others, all the girls, all the widows, all wives, all queens, all princesses, all expensive stones, more expensive than flowing honey and diamonds. If he 3a mountains, let him cut through them; if 3a by waters, let him swim across them; if behind the iron bars, let him break them, let him not hesitate, don’t hesitate, but come rushing to me

The most common was bewitchment through food and drink, which was given to a person of the opposite sex by casting a special spell or mixing a love potion. But the most effective means of love

In business, there was a mysterious talisman that was obtained from a black cat, without a single white hair, or from frogs.

A cat, boiled to the last degree, produces an “invisible bone”, making the person who owns it invisible. Finding it is as easy as shelling pears: sit in front of a mirror and put all the bones in a row alternately in your mouth. As soon as you become invisible, you yourself will disappear in the mirror. Or they ordered instead to simply boil the bones of a black cat at night until they all melted away and only the invisible one remained. Two “lucky bones” are taken out of the frog, serving with equal success both for love spells and lapels, arousing love or causing disgust (see “Frog”)

On May 19, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the biggest game of this spring, goes on sale. “Wild Hunt” is a turning point release for the series: if the previous “Witchers” were perceived by many as a product “for everyone,” then the new part is an unconditional blockbuster, ranking alongside giants like and. The scope and beauty of the third "Witcher" attracted a new audience who not only had not read Andrzej Sapkowski's books, but had not even launched the previous games. Especially for beginners, Gmbox has compiled a short guide to the heroes, geography and main events of the world of The Witcher.

Geography and history of The Witcher

The Witcher series takes place on a huge continent without a name. It was once inhabited by elves, gnomes and dwarves, but after several wars between the elves and dwarves, the latter retreated to the mountainous regions of the mainland, and the elves occupied the valleys and forests. Some 500 years before the events of the games, human colonists arrived on the continent and sparked a series of wars against other races. Humans soon became the dominant force on the continent.

Subsequently, elves and dwarves began to be considered second-class citizens in human society, they were allowed to settle only in small ghettos. Those who did not live in the ghetto had to put up with difficult conditions and settle in the most inhospitable regions of the continent that had not yet been conquered by people. Over time, racial discrimination has not disappeared anywhere - players observe it in the games of the series.

Today, the main players on the continent are one ever-expanding empire in the south and a conglomerate of states in the north.

Northern Kingdoms is an alliance of human states located north of the Amell Mountains. The inhabitants of these countries are called Nordlings. Most of the states belonging to the Northern Kingdoms are independent, so armed conflicts and territorial disputes, as well as dynastic marriages, are common between them. But when a threat from outside hangs over the countries of the region, they come to a consensus and stand shoulder to shoulder.

There is no single religion or pantheon of gods in the Northern Kingdoms, but two cults are most common. The first worships Melitele, the Mother Goddess who cares for her children. This cult is the most peaceful in the Northern Kingdoms, the tenets of its adherents are tolerance and helping one's neighbor.

Melitele's main rival is the cult of the Eternal Fire. Its clerics fanatically worship the Unquenchable Flame, which they consider the essence of all living things. This religion even has its own military formation - the knightly Order of the Flaming Rose.

Nilfgaard- the most powerful empire in the history of the Witcher world, located in the south of the continent. It is famous for both its thriving economy and its strong army with talented commanders. This empire, for the most part, expanded through the conquest of border countries, which after occupation became new provinces. Residents of the Empire believe that the only "real" Nilfgaardians are those who were born in the heart of the Empire, and not in the conquered lands.

The Nilfgaardian Empire frequently invaded and occupied parts of the Northern Kingdoms - their history of conflict includes two full-scale wars. In the second part of The Witcher, players witness the emergence of a third war, which will flare up in the new game. The final events of the First War were the Battle of Sodden Hill, in which the North lost as many as 13 out of 22 magicians, but was victorious, and the conquest of Cintra, one of the northern principalities, by the Nilfgaardians. The turning point of the Second War was the Battle of Brenna, in which the Nords defeated the Nilfgaardian forces and won.

Who are magicians

Triss Merigold is the most famous sorceress of The Witcher.

Few events in the world of The Witcher take place without the participation of magicians. Mages are small in number, but have colossal power and strength both in their profile and in politics.

Few have the potential to become magicians, and such a gift carries risks. A person who discovers that he has such a gift (the so-called Source) must learn to control his own abilities, otherwise he will fall into a half-mad trance. For this purpose, schools of magic have been created, where talented children study for many years, gaining knowledge and mastering magic. Words such as magician, sorcerer and sorceress usually refer to people who have been trained in magical academies, such as Arethusa or Ban Arde.

Because of their powers, magicians age more slowly than ordinary people. They can draw energy from the four elements, teleport over long distances, heal, and, of course, kill in the blink of an eye. With all this, they also have enormous knowledge in science and politics, which makes them excellent advisers for high-ranking persons. Finally, they are well organized: at the beginning of the book saga, the magicians of the Northern Kingdoms resolved important issues within the framework of the Chapter of Sorcerers, and later female wizards formed the Lodge of Sorceresses, which included magicians of both the Northern Kingdoms and Nilfgaard. True, during the events of the second game the Lodge ceased to exist.

Who are witchers

The main character of the series Geralt is a witcher

Witchers are traveling monster slayers for hire, trained in Witcher Schools that include merciless mental and physical conditioning and mystical rituals. Since childhood, when their abilities make themselves known only in hints, future witchers consume mutagenic mixtures and undergo other tests in order to prepare for clashes with the most dangerous monsters - most of their opponents have inhuman speed, strength and other deadly abilities. Essentially, a witcher is a mutant raised specifically to hunt and kill all kinds of evil spirits. Because of the “processing”, witchers live a long time and have an immune system that is resistant to many diseases and potions that are dangerous to ordinary people. Witchers are distinguished by high strength, speed and endurance and quick reflexes; their wounds heal quickly. They are also sterile.

Witchers are trained in special schools. It is known about the existence of the Wolf, Snake, Griffin and Cat Schools. Geralt, the main character of the series, studied at the School of the Wolf.

Who is Geralt

Geralt's medallion is a sign of his belonging to the School of the Wolf

Geralt of Rivia is a witcher, the son of the sorceress Visenna, who soon after his birth took him to the witcher School of the Wolf - the fortress of Kaer Morhen. At school, Geralt went through numerous mutations that gave him inhuman physical and mental abilities. Afterwards, he was selected for additional, more dangerous mutations, and he was the only one among the other young witchers who managed to survive them. His white hair, completely devoid of pigment, is a side effect of these experiments. After completing his training, he, like all his brothers in the workshop, became a hired killer of monsters. However, unlike other witchers, he often found himself at the center of the most important political events, despite the fact that he tried to stay as far away from politics as possible and adhere to neutrality. Despite his attempts to remain aloof, Geralt often has to make difficult choices.

At the end of the book saga, Geralt dies in Rivia, defending non-humans during a pogrom - another act of human racism against other peoples. However, in the game series he returns to life, however, without remembering both his past and his acquaintances and friends.

Women play an important role in Geralt's fate - you can read about them in .

Who is Geralt fighting?

A typical day for Geralt

The Witcher universe is filled with terrifying monsters and dangerous creatures, some of which come from Slavic mythology and Polish folklore. Therefore, here you can find goblin, mermaids and mermen along with the inventions of Western fantasy - elementals, gargoyles, wyverns and griffins.

In the new game, a more dangerous threat will appear and play a leading role - the Wild Hunt mentioned in the title.

The Wild Hunt is a horde of ghostly horsemen led by the King that suddenly appears in different parts of the world and also suddenly disappears. People believe that it appears mainly during winter. The appearance of the Wild Hunt is an omen of misfortune, death and an imminent war. But despite oral evidence, many believe that this is simply a magical phenomenon, and not a horde of ghosts.

What happened before the events of "Wild Hunt"

Emhyr var Emreis - Emperor of Nilfgaard

Before the third game, Geralt encountered the King of the Wild Hunt and his ghosts, both in person and in dreams. However, now the Wild Hunt will become Geralt's main enemy. In parallel, Geralt, one of the few remaining witchers in the world, has to find the Child of Destiny, a girl with ashen hair, a living and extremely unstable weapon that all the forces of the world want to control. At the same time, in the background, a third war breaks out between Nilfgaard and the Northern Kingdoms.

“The Witcher 2” talked about the murders of the rulers of the Northern Kingdoms: first, a mysterious killer killed Demavend, the king of Aedirn, and then Foltest, the ruler of Temeria. The Lodge of Sorceresses was accused of these crimes. At the end of the second game, in 1273, the kings of the north, the magicians and the Nilfgaardian ambassador gathered in the city of Loc Muinne. The Assembly was called to determine the future boundaries and balance of power in the Northern Kingdoms and to restore the Council and Consul of the Sorcerers. Over time, it became clear that the order of the murders was Emhyr var Emreis, Emperor of Nilfgaard, and not the Lodge. Thus, another conflict broke out between the North and the South.

It is not yet known what stage the war is at before the start of the third game. What is known is that the Nilfgaardian army has crossed the Yaruga River and is marching north, taking advantage of the chaos in the lands of the slain kings. It seems that Geralt will once again be at the center of historical events, although he would like to remain on the sidelines.

Dear readers! There are probably Witcher experts among you. If you think that we have missed any details that are important for beginners to understand Wild Hunt, please add us in the comments and we will expand this material.

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A character exclusively from East Slavic mythology. The bearer of primitive magic. Functionally similar to sorcerer but its magic is predominantly of a spontaneous nature (associated with the use of natural forces)
According to legend, the witcher had two souls, human and demonic, which, in turn, determined his versatility: he could be hostile to humans and at the same time friendly.
Like a witch, a witcher spoils livestock and crops, turns people into werewolves or punishes them by putting them in a state of confusion (in this case, it seems to a person that all his teeth are falling out, his eyes are disappearing, and it depends only on the witcher’s desire whether they will return to their place or No). The witcher himself is also capable of shapeshifting; he can turn into a horse, a wolf and even a moth. At the same time, according to legend, people also see a lot of good things from the witcher. He speaks, heals, knows the past, foresees the future, finds lost or stolen things. Leading over all the witches and sorcerers in the area, the witcher can prevent them from committing atrocities, drive away dangerous dead people, and so on. The witcher not only does not do anything evil, but is even punished by being useful: he prevents witches from doing evil, forbids the dead to walk, disperses clouds, and so on. Even after death he does not lose his power. They say that they have seen him more than once, how he fights with the dead on the graves and always wins.
Before death, a witcher is obliged to transfer his power and knowledge to another person through a thing or a special word given to him. It was believed that this could happen against the will of the person himself, so before death they were afraid to approach the witcher. But even after death he retains some of his power. So that the human and not the demonic soul would prevail (otherwise the former witcher would become a ghoul), the deceased’s heels or hamstrings were cut off, placed face down in a coffin, or an aspen stake was driven into the heart. If everything was done “correctly,” people believed that the witcher would guard his village, keeping out the dead and ghouls.

Experts, sorcerers and warlocks. Witchcraft and household magic in the Russian North

Dmitry Voron: Russian witchcraft. Sorcerer's Craft

Witchcraft: effective rituals