Giftware Figurines Collectables - Mokosh Slavic Mother Earth Goddess

In Slavic religion, Mokosh is the goddess of the earth, abundance and life. She is the protector of pregnant women and children, and is regarded as a mother goddess. Mokosh is associated with spinning and weaving, which makes her the patroness of women’s handicrafts, as well as a goddess of destiny, who determines human fate. A person’s life has traditionally been compared to a thread, the thread of life. Mokosh is the consort of Perun and the mother of the twins Marena and Yarilo.

Her name derives from the Proto-Slavic root *mok-, meaning ‘wet’ or ‘damp’. Mokosh is likely derived from an older Slavic deity: Mati Syra Zemlya (Mother Damp Earth). Mati Syra Zemlya was the earth itself, whilst Mokosh was its anthropomorphic form. Over time, Mati Syra Zemlya came to be identified with Mokosh.

Mokosh is mentioned in the 12th-century Nestor Chronicle, a chronicle of the history of the Kievan Rus’. Her statue stood in the capital, Kiev, in the pagan sanctuary of Vladimir the Great, alongside the statues of Perun, Khors-Dazhbog, Stribog and Simargl.