Also called Dola, Sreća, Nedolya (her unlucky twin).
Their story
In Russian, Ukrainian and Serbian folk belief each person has a dolya, their share or fortune, often pictured as a woman who spins their life. A good dolya works while you sleep, but an unlucky person is followed by Nedolya or Zlydni, and in tales a poor man must go and find his sleeping luck in a distant field and wake her. Afanasyev collected several such stories.
Best times to give to them
- Koliada
- the start of new work
- New Year
What they like being given
- bread
- a small portion of a good meal
- a thread spun or tied
How to honour them
- Set aside a little of a celebratory meal for your luck.
- When things go wrong, change something small, since folk tales say Nedolya follows the one who does nothing.
How they can help you
- luck
- resilience
- changing your fortune
Symbols
- a spindle and thread
- a young woman or an old one
- a sleeping figure in a field
Sources
- Alexander Afanasyev, Poetic Views of the Slavs on Nature
- Alexander Afanasyev, Narodnye russkie skazki (Russian Folk Tales)