Veles: The Enigmatic Shapeshifter of Slavic Mythology
In the shadowy depths of Slavic lore, Veles emerges as a figure shrouded in mystery and magic. If Perun was the god of the sky, then Veles was the god of everything underneath it.
Veles was the protector of creatures of the earth, of water, of the forests, of livestock, and of wealth.
Where Perun’s favorite tree was the hard and steadfast oak, Veles’s favorite tree was the bendable willow.
Veles’s favorite animals were the wolf, the bear, the snake, the owl, and the dragon.
Every year, Slavic people celebrate Veles during midwinter, between February 11th and February 24th. The Festival of Veles corresponds to the “Day of Saint Blaise,” who was the protector of cattle. After Christianization, worship of Veles transformed into worship for Saint Blaise.” In honor of Veles, people might pray for good health, and bless candles apples in hopes that they would protect them from diseases. Some of these blessed apples would also be fed to cattle, in order to protect the animals throughout the remainder of winter.
Trickster and Shapeshifter
Veles’s most striking ability was his shapeshifting prowess. Legends tell of his transformation into a myriad of forms — from the magestic dragon, coiled in a nest of wool at the roots of the World Tree, into a bear, or a snake, or even a person. The capacity to change form speaks to Veles’s mastery over the natural world and of magic.
Much like Hermes and Loki (of the Greek and Norse mythologies), Veles is a trickster. His tales often involve cunning schemes and clever escapes (particularly after having pulled some prank on Perun). Many of Veles’s transformations seem to show that he has a sense of humor (for example, changing into a pair of underwear hanging on a clothesline in order to hide from Perun after having stolen Perun’s thunderbolt).
This aspect of his character highlights the complexity of Veles’s nature, combining cunning with deceit, creation with destruction.
The Woolen Dragon
The imagery of Veles as a dragon lying in a nest of wool is rich with symbolism. Wool, a crucial resource, represented wealth, warmth, and protection—particularly in an ancient Slavic society that had to withstand dark, cold winters. Veles’s association with it underlines his role as a guardian of prosperity and comfort, even in the darkest recesses of the underworld.
Alternatively, Veles is sometimes portrayed as having a pet dragon. This dragon, Zmej, was sometimes tasked with sitting on one of the roots of the World Tree and guarding the entrance to Nawia, the Slavic afterlife.
Veles’s connection to the dragon might also be related to his affinity to transform into a snake. Snakes are creatures of transformations in general. They shed their skins, they on the ground but can climb trees, and when the land is warm the reemerge from their winter hibernation.
God of Music and Magic
As the god of magicians and magic, Veles holds sway over the mystical forces that permeate the Slavic world. His connection to the arcane arts places him as a patron deity for those who seek to move emotions, bring wonder, or see beyond the veil.
God of the Underworld
Veles’s narratives encapsulate the essence of nature’s dualities — life and death, growth and decay, order and chaos.
While one aspect of him presides over the waters, the forests, and the fertile earth, he is also seen as having another solemn role: as the guardian of the underworld.
It is said that Veles is the supreme god over the land of Nav, which was a kind of upside down world that lay beneath the roots of the World Tree.
Some Slavs believed that you could enter Nawia through portals deep beneath the water, which was why people would sometimes pray to Veles to protect the souls of those who had died by drowning.
Nawia was portrayed as a vast green pasture, surrounded by water. This was a paradise where souls would go to rest and recuperate before choosing to be reborn to Earth, or to ascend to Prawia, the land of gods and unborn souls, before being reborn into Yawia, the land of the living.
Veles and Devana, goddess of the wilds
In many stories, Veles and Perun are portrayed as rivals in their mutual courtship of Mokosh, the goddess of the earth and the harvest. Veles and Perun also had a joint-custody arrangement in parenting Mokosh’s twin children, Jarilo and Marzanna.
But in some stories, Veles is the husband of Devana, the goddess of the hunt, the forest, and the wilds. Devana was a fiercely independent goddess, but Veles successfully wooed her by turning into a basil flower. The couple bonded over their mutual love of the forest and the wild.
Discovering the Many Faces of Veles
Veles is a complicated god who invites us to see beyond strict binaries of good and evil. He is a protector and a trickster who seems to delight in crossing boundaries.
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UPDATE — This blog post includes text and images generated with the assistance of OpenAI’s models. I provided detailed prompts, curated the outputs, and made edits, but the majority of the content was created with AI assistance. This disclosure aligns with my commitment to transparency under the EU AI Act. Disclosure added on November 18, 2024 to align with transparency requirements under the EU AI Act.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Portions of this content were generated using OpenAI’s models, with significant curation, editing, and creative input by E. S. O. Martin. AI-generated portions may not be subject to copyright under current laws.
