Also called Semargl, Sim and Rgl, Simarigl.
Their story
Simargl is named among the idols Vladimir set up in Kiev in 980, and in some manuscripts the name is split in two as Sim and Rgl. A popular theory links him with the Iranian Simurgh or Senmurv, a winged dog-bird that guarded seeds of the tree of life, and winged beasts appear on Kievan jewellery. No story about him survives, and every modern picture of him is a guess.
Best times to give to them
- spring sowing
- Semik
- Kupala Night
What they like being given
- seeds or grain
- bread
- a sprouted plant
How to honour them
- Plant seeds in spring and ask for protection over what grows.
- Treat him as a guardian of thresholds and growing things rather than claiming certainty about him.
How they can help you
- protecting young growth
- guarding the home
- patience with mystery
Symbols
- a winged dog or griffin-like beast
- seeds
- sprouting shoots
He is the most mysterious of the Kievan gods and the winged-dog image is a scholarly theory, not a recorded belief.
Sources
- Primary Chronicle (Povest vremennykh let), entry for 980
- Aleksander Gieysztor, Mitologia Słowian
More Slavic gods
- Perun The thunder god of oak and axe
- Veles Lord of cattle, wealth and the underworld
- Dazhbog The giving god, the sun
- Svarog The heavenly smith, father of fire and sun
- Jarilo The youthful god of spring and growth
- Rod The god of kin, birth and fate
- Stribog Grandfather of the winds
- Khors The bright disc of the sun